Couchman is new national junior chess champion

Kyle Couchman has emerged victorious in the Rouge Salon and Spa-sponsored National Junior Chess Championship for 2025, which concluded at the School of the Nations.
The fifteen-year-old played unbeaten in the nine-round Round Robin competition, earning 8.5 points to finish ahead of the top ten contenders for the title. After winning the National Junior Chess Qualifiers last month, Couchman, who has an ELO rating of 1915, delivered a stellar performance to secure the National Junior Chess Championship title. He defeated every opponent, with the sole exception of a draw against rising talent Micaiah Enoe in Round Three, a release said.
Guyana’s youngest Candidate Master (CM) and reigning U-16 Chess Champion, Sachin Pitamber, placed second with 8 points. The talented fifteen-year-old, who has an ELO rating of 1860, was a close contender for the title, but his loss to Couchman in Round Four put him at a disadvantage.
Ricardo Narine placed third with 4.5 points after an unsuccessful attempt to defend his title in his last year as a junior. The two-time National Junior Champion, who won four games and drew with Aditi Joshi, will move to the senior ranks next year.
Enoe, competing in the National Junior Chess Championship for the first time, placed fourth with 4.5 points, earning three wins and three draws. Woman Candidate Master Aditi Joshi placed fifth, also with 4.5 points, after securing three wins and three draws. The only female contender in the competition, she demonstrated skill and resilience throughout.
Twenty-year-old Jerod Roberts, also making his debut in the event, placed sixth with four points. Matthew Singh finished with 3.5 points, Alexander Zhang 3 points, Nicholas Zhang 2.5 points, and eleven-year-old Aquilani Swaminadha, the youngest competitor, with 2 points.
The U-20 players competed in the classical style format, with 90 minutes and a 30-second increment per move. Prizes will be awarded later this year. The games were live-streamed and monitored by FIDE Arbiter and Technical Director John Lee.