Callender, Landon, Drayton outstanding
——-Suriname Independence Online Blitz event
FIDE Master (FM) Anthony Drayton, Jessica Callender and Landon Mohabir were the top performers for Guyana at the Srefidensi Online International blitz tournament last weekend.
According to a release from the Guyana Chess Federation (GCF)Callender, competing in the Challenger Class, was the best female player in the division and the top finisher for Guyana.
She placed ninth overall after earning five points from seven rounds.
She was Guyana’s only female competitor at the event.
Young Julian Mohabir won the prize for the best under 10 player in the tournament with three points.
The tournament was split into two divisions, a Master Class division restricted to
Landon Mohabir
players rated above 1750 and a Challenger Class open to everyone who did not meet this requirement.
Guyana’s FM Anthony Drayton, competing in the Master Class, ended on twoand-one-half points
(2.5 points) earning the prize for the best under 2100 rated player. He finished sixth overall in the division.
Other Guyana players that participated were Roberto Neto (19th on 4 points), Kyle Couchman (26th on 3.5 points), Owen Mickle (34th on 3 points)
and Landon Mohabir (49th on 1.5 points).
The tournament featured
60 competitors from Guyana, Suriname, Dominica, Barbados, Netherlands Antilles, Trinidad and Tobago Cuba and Jamaica.
The event was hosted by the Surinamese Chess Federation (De Surinaamse
Schaakbond). It is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of
Suriname gaining its Independence from the Netherlands on November 25th 1975. Srefidensi translates as Independence.
This year event features a special Stage Two where the top two male and top two female finishers across the Caribbean will face off as a team against China in December.
The second stage will be organised by the Chinese Chess Association.
As the best woman at the conclusion of the event, Callender will compete for the Caribbean in this team which also features Cuban Grand
Master Jimenez Luis Lazaro Aguero, Barbadian International Master Orlando Husbands and Surinamese Women’s Fide Master Catherine Kaslan.