The Pegasus Weekly Chess League is set for its biggest battle of the inaugural season after Davion Mars and Keron Sandiford emerged from Round Three as the competition’s only remaining perfect scorers.
Both players moved to three points from three matches on Monday evening at the Atlantic Meeting Room, Pegasus Hotel. Mars outlasted Woman Candidate Master Jessica Callender in a dramatic Board One encounter, while Sandiford defeated Raymond Sookdeo.
Those results have placed the two leaders on a collision course in Round Four, when one or both could surrender a perfect record.
Mars’ victory was far from straightforward. Callender, playing with the white pieces, held the better position for significant periods against the returning national player and mechanical engineer.
The game opened calmly before turning into a complex middlegame filled with chances for both players. Deeper analysis later showed that Callender missed a critical continuation around move 14 which could have given her an advantage of approximately +1.
She nevertheless navigated the complications well and emerged with an extra pawn, the bishop pair and the more favourable position.
Rather than allowing the material disadvantage to control the game, Mars changed the direction of the contest with an aggressive counterattack. His approach forced Callender to make a succession of difficult decisions while her available time continued to fall.
Once Callender’s clock dropped below one minute, defending the complicated position became increasingly challenging. Several inaccuracies followed, and Mars’ pressure caused her position to collapse. Callender eventually ran out of time, giving Mars the victory.
The result ended Callender’s perfect start and dropped her to fourth place on two points.
Ryan McKay climbed to third, also with two points, following his victory over Juliana Persaud.
Martin Poon was among the other players making progress in the standings. His draw against Odinnie Reece lifted him three places and moved him to 1.5 points.
Sachin Beharry also climbed three positions and now has 1.5 points, while Jaden Taylor collected his first point of the season and advanced two places.
Mars and Sandiford have created a clear battle at the top, but the league remains open with four rounds still to be contested and several players close enough to challenge.
The weekly competition is organised by Drayton’s Chess Club in partnership with the Pegasus Chess Club and the Guyana Chess Federation.
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