Persaud wins Berbice 20/20 Rapid Chess Tournament

In the ancient county of Berbice, veteran Berbician chess player Kriskal Persaud emerged victorious in the Berbice 20/20 Rapid Chess Tournament, held at Little Rock Suites and Conference Hall in New Amsterdam on last Sunday.
Persaud delivered an outstanding performance, finishing unbeaten with 6.5 points in the challenging seven-round competition, which featured 32 participants – half of whom were Berbicians. He secured victories against Gavin Dev Mahadeo, Farrukh Bahman, Jaden Todd, Rai Sharma, Kim Shing Chong, and Steve Leung, while his fifth-round encounter with thirteen-year-old Nicholas Zhang of Georgetown ended in a draw, a release said.
Zhang claimed second place with an impressive six points, following draws against Persaud and Todd. Todd, another Berbician, secured third place with 5.5 points. The talented fifteen-year-old Bishops’ High School student lost to Persaud and drew with Zhang in Round Six.
Ciel Clement, who grew up in Berbice and resides in New Amsterdam, played with remarkable composure throughout. The sixteen-year-old Queen’s College student produced a stunning victory over veteran speed chess specialist Rai Sharma in Round Seven, forcing him to concede despite his significant time advantage. Clement, who also benefitted from a dramatic time scramble earlier in the tournament, finished fourth on five points and captured the Best Female prize from among thirteen female entrants.

Veteran Berbician John London and Georgetown’s Kishan Puran placed fifth and sixth respectively, each scoring five points.
The twenty-minute rapid tournament was supervised by National Arbiter and WCM Jessica Callender, with strong competition from Georgetown players. The Guyana Chess Federation (GCF), which sponsored the event, was represented by Directors CM Loris Nathoo and Shiv Nandalall, along with FIDE Arbiter John Lee and Company Secretary Marcia Lee.
The GCF expressed its gratitude to Mr and Mrs Clement for sponsoring the tournament venue. With the reintroduction of chess in Berbice, the Federation hopes the event will inspire greater student participation. As part of its development drive, the GCF distributed chess sets through the Gift of Chess programme to New Amsterdam Secondary and Vryman’s Erven Secondary, with plans to expand to more schools in the area.