Persaud reigns supreme in Berbice Rapid Chess

Veteran chess player Kriskal Persaud clinched the Berbice 20/20 Rapid Chess Tournament, held at Little Rock Suites and Conference Hall, with a magnificent unbeaten run.

Playing in his home county, Persaud was dominant throughout the challenging seven-round competition, amassing an impressive 6.5 points out of a possible seven.

He saw off tough opposition from the 32-player field, defeating the likes of Gavin Dev Mahadeo, Farrukh Bahman, Jaden Todd, Rai Sharma, Kim Shing Chong, and Steve Leung.

His only blemish came in the form of a hard-fought draw against 13-year-old Nicholas Zhang from Georgetown.

Zhang’s strong performance secured him second place with 6 points, while another Berbician, 15-year-old Jaden Todd, took third with 5.5 points.

The tournament also saw a standout performance from Ciel Clement, a 16-year-old student from Queen’s College, who finished fourth.

With her calm composure and quick-thinking skills, Clement secured a notable victory over veteran Rai Sharma in the final round, with only seconds remaining on her clock.

Her performance also earned her the Best Female prize among the 13 female participants.

The tournament was supervised by National Arbiter and WCM Jessica Callender and supported by the Guyana Chess Federation.

Directors CM Loris Nathoo and Shiv Nandalall were in attendance.

The federation hopes to build on this momentum and encourage more student participation in the area. Through the Gift of Chess programme, it has distributed chess sets to local schools.