The Kitty Square Mall National Under-16 Rapid Chess Championship 2026, hosted by the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) on Sunday, February 15 at the Christ Church Secondary School, saw a long day of competitive, tactical moves and excellent play, in which CM Sachin Pitamber successfully retained his title, while Kataleya Sam emerged as the new Under-16 Girls’ Champion.
Thirty-four boys and 19 girls competed for top honours in the One-Day Championships. In the Open Category, CM Pitamber delivered an outstanding unbeaten performance to win with a perfect seven points after seven rounds of fast-paced competition.
Building on his momentum from recent Grand Prix successes, he displayed remarkable consistency, composure, and strategic gameplay throughout the tournament.
Drawing on those experiences, he confidently defended his title as his opponents struggled to keep pace with his sharp preparation and accurate endgame techniques.
In second place was Aquilani Swaminadha, who finished with six points, demonstrating his growing skills with notable wins against Omar Shariff in the f ifth round and Alexander Zhang in the sixth Round.
Swaminadha’s only loss was against CM Pitamber in the third round. In third place was prolific player Alexander Zhang, who finished with five points.
He demonstrated his years of experience in chess, despite losses in the fourth and sixth rounds against Pitamber and Swaminadha, respectively.
Abel Fernandez Ciria, coming off a successful Under-14 tournament, also finished with five points. However, due to the tie-break rules, he placed in fourth place. His losses came in the fourth and fifth rounds against Arush Ramnarine and Zhang, respectively.
Rounding out the top five finishers was Nicholas Zhang, who finished with five points, also due to the tie-breaker calculation. No stranger to the chessboard, he competed skillfully and fiercely despite losing in the third round to his sibling, Alexander and the sixth round to Pitamber.
In the Girls’ Category, young Kataleya Sam carried the momentum from her recent Under-14 Championship victory into the competition. She demonstrated a remarkable blend of readiness, composure, calm, skill, and mental power against her opponents to finish with six points, having lost her final round against Rebha Lachhman.
Sam’s overall performance was enough to secure her the title. In second place was Parnita Kishun, who finished with a strong five points.
Despite setbacks in the third and sixth rounds, she held her own with the poise of being an experienced player, drawing on her experiences to navigate the field and finish as the runner-up.
Emma John also concluded the tournament with five points, securing third place after the tie-breaker rules were applied.
The 2025 Under-14 Girls’ Champion displayed excellent technical skill throughout the day, maintaining a high level of play despite tough losses to Kataleya Sam in the fourth round and Parnita Kishun in the sixth round, allowing her to secure a hard-earned third-place finish.
Rebha Lachhman finished in fourth place with five points due to the tiebreaker rules. Lachhman, no stranger to the competitive arena, played consistently throughout the tournament despite losing in the second and fourth rounds.
In the final round, she played an unconventional but brilliant game, which secured her a victory against the new Under-16 female champion.
Securing fifth place on a tie-breaker, Chelsea Harrison finished with a solid five points. Despite setbacks in the third and fifth rounds, she remained a formidable competitor, displaying a gritty and consistent style of play in the competition.
In addition to the main prizes, special prizes were awarded to the top performers in the younger age group. Aquilani Swaminadha and Kataleya Sam were recognised as the Best Under-14 players.
In the Under-12 category, Javier Devanand and Divya Persaud, the current Under-12 Girls’ Champion, earned the honours as the top players, while Mark Defreitas and Malia Thompson took home the best Under-10 prizes, respectively.
Notable performers in the Open Category included Aiden and Arian Tinnie, Jacob McDonald, and Omar Shariff. Meanwhile, the Girls’ Category saw Alesa Williams, Divya Persaud, Axela Vieira, Varsha Pooran, and Andrina Matthews secure their spots in the top ten.
Prizes were presented to the players during a simple prize-giving ceremony by Sabeita Hardeo, the proprietor of Kitty Square Mall.
The Guyana Chess Federation said: “Thanks to Chief Arbiters John Lee and the assistant Arbiters: Kim Shing Chong, Ethan Lee, Keron Sandiford, Kishan Puran, Italy Ton-Chung, CM Taffin Khan, and Joshua Gopaul, who worked together to ensure that all games were played in accordance with the rules and regulations through their collaborative hard work and supervision.”
The Guyana Chess Federation expresses its gratitude to the sponsor, Kitty Square Mall, for being one of the GCF’s trusted sponsors and always coming on board in helping with the development of chess in Guyana.
“Thank you to the venue provider, Christ Church Secondary School. For more information on the Guyana Chess Federation or on how to become a member of our chess clubs, visit the official website at guyanachess.gy.”
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