Kavira Singh wins First Flight Chess Novice title

Nine-year-old Kavira Singh of Cedar Grove Private School finished unbeaten en route to winning the Novice A category of the First Flight Scholastic Chess tournament.

The event, sponsored by First Flight Air Ambulance Company, took place on Saturday at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba. The contest, which was launched 12 years ago by the Trinidad and Tobago Chess Foundation, attracted 96 players in this year’s edition, with the Novice A section attracting 59 players.

Singh ascended to Board one after winning her first game and maintained the top spot after seven rounds of competition. Her nearest rivals were Anastacia Ramdass, David Dasent, and Vivek Ramnanan who trailed with 5 1/2 points each in second, third and fourth places respectively.

The tournament, which offered prizes to the first eight finishers in five categories, saw a close finish in the under 1400 rated section as Kyle Jaggernath ended on 4.5 points, half a point ahead of runner up Jaedon Maharaj-Ali. Joseph Dasent, Jon-Raphael Sealy and Amir Mahadeo finished in third, fourth and fifth spots.

The under 1200 rated section, contested by nine youngsters, was won by Keshav Maharaj on 4.5 points, followed by Nicholas Ly Fook on 3.5 points and Aradhna Ramnarine-Singh and Cayleigh Manocha on three points each.

The Open section, which catered for experienced players, was won by Mikel Martin who played unbeaten in the five-round contest. Closest rivals were Jennika Lynch, Rayden Rampersad and Anusha Saha in second, third and fourth places respectively.

The newly introduced Novice B category for advanced beginners saw Reynaldo Cumberbatch taking the top spot with six out of seven games followed by Tristan Balliram and Sanat Maharaj on five points and Sareeq Sahadeo in the fourth spot with four points.

In his closing remarks, Edison Raphael, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Chess Foundation, thanked sponsor First Flight Air Ambulance Company for their continued investment in youth chess and for partnering with the Chess Foundation in its drive to develop critical thinking skills for the young people in the communities. He also thanked the Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Darryl Smith for his assistance and contribution in making the event a success.

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