Caricom Chess Tournament: Surinamese Jason Yeung defeats T&T’s Joshua Johnson 

Trinidadian FIDE Master (FM) Joshua Johnson suffered his first defeat by checkmate at the hands of Surinamese FM Jason Yeung in Round Seven of the Caricom Classic Team Chess Tournament, currently taking place at the Pegasus Hotel.

In a marathon match lasting four hours, Yeung closed in on Johnson’s king with a rook, while a knight and passed pawn restricted the monarch’s escape, sealing the Surinamese victory. The match between Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname ended with two wins and two draws apiece.

FM Kevin Cupid of Trinidad and Tobago defeated Ethan Tjin Kon Kiem of Suriname to balance the team’s performance in Round Seven. Female Trinidadian players WFM Ysvett Hermoso Rodriguez and WCM Zara La Fleur each drew with their Surinamese counterparts, WCM Victoria Kaslan and WCM Alexandra Kaslan.

Also in Round Seven, Guyana Team B was paired against Dominica. Candidate Master (CM) Sachin Pitamber secured a win against CM Nigel Francis in an endgame scenario, where Pitamber’s knight and six pawns outmatched the Dominican’s bishop and four pawns. With an active king and superior pawn structure, Pitamber broke through to gain a decisive advantage. Guyana’s Keron Sandiford also emerged victorious over Edger Berridge in 32 moves, using four pawns that began as restricted but transformed into a dominant force in the endgame. Aniyah Couchman was on the verge of delivering a smothered mate with queen and knight when her opponent, Liudmila Domennova, resigned on move 28. Meanwhile, WCM Sasha Shariff drew with Dominican Ayani Casimir.

In Round Six, Guyana Team B had a tougher outing against Jamaica, with CM Sachin Pitamber, Keron Sandiford, Aniyah Couchman, and WCM Sasha Shariff all suffering losses. Pitamber fell to FM Joshua Christie in the endgame after Christie pushed two extra pawns unchallenged to promotion, prompting resignation on move 50. Sandiford faced FM Shreyas Smith in a difficult position where a passed pawn threatened promotion and an immobile bishop faced capture; he resigned on move 34. Couchman lost to Amy Stephenson, whose queen and rook overwhelmed a king defended only by a rook and bishop. Shariff was defeated by Kaia Gayle, who pinned her queen to the king with a rook on move 37, leading to resignation on the next move.

Guyana’s Team A fared better against Dominica, with CM Taffin Khan, Kyle Couchman, and WCM Aditi Joshi securing wins against Nigel Francis, Edger Berridge, and Liudmila Domennova, respectively. Ciel Clement drew her match with Ayani Casimir. After seven rounds of the nine-round event, the team standings placed Trinidad and Tobago in the lead with 13 match points and 24 game points, followed by Jamaica with 12 match points and 24.5 game points. Suriname and Barbados trailed with 11 match points each (20.5 and 19 game points, respectively), while Guyana stood at 10 match points and 18.5 game points. St Lucia earned 6 match points (11.5 game points), the Cayman Islands 4 (10.5 game points), and Dominica remained scoreless with 1.5 game points.

In the Under-16 individual category, the contest remains close after seven rounds, with Barbadians Mileke Sinckler and Noah Clarke, along with Guyanese Alexander Zhang, all tied for the lead at 5.5 points. Suriname’s Thie-Yen Fung and Barbados’s Aaron Jaikarran are just behind with 5 points each. The tournament, featuring 40 players in the team event and 48 in the Under-16 individual category, will conclude after Rounds Eight and Nine. It is being supervised by FIDE arbiters IA Kelvin Daniel (Barbados), John Lee (Guyana), Reyna Frijde (Suriname), and Jessica Callender (Guyana), with support from national arbiters Kim Shing Chong and Treskole Archibald.(Guyana Chess Federation)