Rouge Salon and Spa onboard with GCF for National Junior Chess Qualifiers

Rouge Salon and Spa is sponsoring the upcoming National Junior Chess Championship Qualifiers Tournament, scheduled from July 25-29, with July 27 as a rest day.

This seven-round competition, hosted by the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF), will be held at the Guyana National Stadium in Providence, aiming to select the top nine junior chess players who will challenge the current National Junior Chess Champion, Ricardo Narine, in the National Junior Chess Championships scheduled to begin on August 1, 2025.

This eagerly awaited annual competition, open to players under 20, will be conducted using the Swiss format.

Each match will feature a 90-minute time control with an additional 30 seconds added to the clock after every move.

The tournament boasts a formidable line-up of top junior talents.

Reigning champions expected to compete include Candidate Master Sachin Pitamber (U-16), and Woman Candidate Master Aditi Joshi (Women’s and U-16 Girls Chess). –

Other key players contesting are Kyle Couchman, Alexander Zhang, Kishan Puran, Alek Ubaldo-Singh, Micaiah Enoe, Tremusa Marshall, Omar Shariff, Arysh Raghunauth, Rafael Park, Jaden Todd and Ciel Clement.

Champions for the 2025 age category competitions: Nicholas Zhang (U-14 Open), Emma John (U-14 Girls), Abel Fernandez Ciria (U-12 Open) and Kataleya Sam (U-12 Girls) will all vie for a chance to make the top nine contenders for the 2025 National Junior Chess Championship title.

With over 70 competitors participating in the National Junior Qualifiers annually, the GCF is setting an ambitious goal to boost attendance by 20 percent this year.

Chess activities hosted by the GCF, including tournaments, chess camps, chess clubs, and training sessions, have encouraged children’s participation over the past year.

The GCF has expanded its reach to thousands of children over the past two years, thanks to chess being on the curriculum in Georgetown secondary schools through the Ministry of Education’s Five Priority Areas Programme.

With this initiative, the federation is actively considering plans to include chess-in-schools in other Regions outside of Georgetown.

The GCF expresses its appreciation to Rouge Salon and Spa, a consistent sponsor of chess, especially noted for their significant contributions to the Women in Chess programme.

The GCF acknowledges the support of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport which will be providing the venue for the tournament.

The FIDE-rated tournament will be supervised by FIDE Arbiters, Mr. John Lee and Mr. Anand Raghunauth.

For more information on the tournament and sign-up details, please visit the GCF website (guyanachess.gy).

Follow the GCF on Facebook and Instagram for further updates. (GCF Press Release)