October 15, 2024
Thirteen-year-old Angelina Yhap emerged as the winner of the Queenside Rapid Chess Tournament held on Saturday at the School of the Nations campus in Kingston.
The tournament, which was sponsored by Jade’s Wok and Pinnacle Business Services, was organized by the Guyana Women in Chess Community (GWICC) to encourage female chess players, especially those with no ranking points and newcomers to the game.
Yhap amassed a total of seven points to claim the title in the Beginners and Unrated Players category.
She was followed closely by eleven-year-old Rebha Lachman from Queen’s College, who also scored seven points but finished second on tiebreaks.
Twelve-year-old Lusianna Farlot from the New Guyana School took third place with six and a half points.
Other notable finishes included Marcia Lee in fourth place with six points, and Claire Cole from Queen’s College, who secured fifth place, also with six points.
Kaija Clement, a thirteen-year-old from St. Rose’s, rounded out the top six with six points.
Monetary prizes totaling fifty thousand dollars were awarded to the top three finishers, and trophies were presented to the top five players.
Special prizes were also given, including the Best Girl Prize to Kaija Clement, the Best Woman Prize to Mrs. Amanda Alli, the Best Beginner Prize to Kyla Jordan, and the Youngest Player Prize to Amy Ramphal.
A total of 21 girls and 3 women participated in the event, which consisted of nine rounds of 15-minute games.
The tournament is expected to contribute to the growing participation of girls and women in chess, as highlighted by the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF).
The tournament’s arbiters were National Women’s Chess Champion Jessica Callender, Odit Rodrigues, and John Lee.
The prizes were presented by Jessica Callender, who congratulated all participants for their efforts and contributions to the tournament’s success.