CM Sachin Dhilan Pitamber remained in firm control of the Guyana Chess Federation National Junior Championship Qualifiers after six rounds, as the competition continued yesterday at Olympic House, Liliendaal.
Pitamber, the top seed, moved to five points from six games after drawing his round six clash with Matthew Singh. His result kept him half a point ahead of Alexander Zhang and WCM Aditi Narayan Joshi, who are both on 4.5 points following their draw against each other in the same round.
The tournament is being played as a seven-round Swiss-system event, with games contested under the standard time control of 90 minutes plus a 30-second increment from move one. The qualifiers run from July 5 to July 8, with John Lee serving as Chief Arbiter.
Pitamber had also drawn his round five game against Zhang, while Joshi gained ground in that round with a win over Abel Fernandez Ciria. Kataleya Sam and Nicholas Zhang also shared the point in round five, while Jaden Todd, Darrel Abrams, Aquilani Swaminadha, Jeremy Cole, Alek Ubaldo-Singh, Ciel Clement, Vir Narine and Dominic Sam were among the winners.
Round six produced several important results as the race for the top nine places tightened. Nicholas Zhang drew with Fernandez Ciria, Todd drew with Abrams, Jeremy Cole drew with Kataleya Sam, and Swaminadha drew with Clement. Alek Ubaldo-Singh, Dominic Sam, Aiden Tinnie, Javier Davenand, Divya Persaud, Ethan Spencer and Saura Ruplall recorded wins in the round.
After six rounds, Pitamber leads the standings on five points, followed by Alexander Zhang and Joshi on 4.5. Singh, Nicholas Zhang, Fernandez Ciria, Swaminadha, Kataleya Sam and Todd complete the top nine positions, all sitting on four points.
However, the qualification race remains open, with Alek Ubaldo-Singh, Abrams, Cole and Dominic Sam also on four points just outside the top nine on tiebreaks. Javier Davenand, Aiden Tinnie and Ciel Clement are next on 3.5 points and will also have something to play for in the final round.
The competition wraps up today at the same venue. At the end of the qualifiers, the top nine players will advance to face reigning National Junior Champion Kyle Couchman in the next stage of the championship.
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