Tobago's Kumar earns silver at CAC Youth Chess Festival

Tobagonian Alexandra Kumar earned a silver medal at the Central America and the Caribbean Youth Chess Festival in Honduras recently.

The Scarborough RC student finished tied in first position (second on tie-break) in the Under-ten female category.

A statement issued by the TT Chess Association (TTCA) on Tuesday said Kumar’s result may be eligible for a woman candidate master (WCM) title “pending attainment of a rating of 1,800.” This will be confirmed later on.

The result came after an appeal by TT’s FIDE master (FM) Joshua Johnson to the appeals committee against the initial result given in her fifth-round game, for which she was wrongfully disqualified.

In the end, Kumar, who played smartly, was justly rewarded with her second-place finish, aided by Johnson’s “coherent argument.”

TTCA president Sonja Johnson congratulated the 18 youth players, who “gave very solid performances with 12 players obtaining 50 per cent or more of the score, especially given that the overwhelming majority of the players have never participated at this event.”

Johnson said Kumar’s silver and the team’s overall performance augur well for TT’s youth chess development and helped prepare the players for the 2023 CAC event, to be hosted in Trinidad and Tobago.

After more than three years of no in-person international tournament participation, Johnson was satisfied with the results.

“The past few years have been challenging locally, due to limited over-the-board play. Despite this, our players still showed up and gave very strong performances against more experienced players in many instances.

“I am also so proud of Alexandra for her determination and commitment throughout the tournament, as she had to overcome what could have been a very unpleasant outcome in the fifth round and made a strong finish at the end.”

The association acknowledged coaches FM Ryan Harper, FM Joshua Johnson and CM (candidate master) Dev Soondarsingh, who worked overtime to analyse games, prepare players for the subsequent rounds and provide encouragement for them.

The TTCA also thanked the Ministry of Sport and Community Development for its continued support.

Other top performances:

Nicholas Mc Letchie – 5 pts

Tristan Balliram – 5 pts

Kael Smauel Bisnath – 5 pts

Joshua Medina – 5 pts

Zara La Fleur – 5.5 pts

Under eight Absolute (categories merged)

Nicholas Mc Letchie

Ethan Ramnarine Singh

Zaria Katteck( Female)

Under-ten Absolute (merged)

Alexandra Kumar

Ved Rampersad

Veer Rampersad

Under 12 Absolute

Tristan Balliram

Tayden Balliram

Under-12 Female

Adaya Johnson

Under-14 Absolute

Kael Samuel Bisnath

Joshua Medina

Luke Balliram

Under-14 Female

Cayleigh Manaocha

Aradhana Ramnarine-Singh

Under-16 Absolute

Juninho La Fleur

Under-16 Female

Zara La Fleur (WCM pending)

Under-18 Absolute (merged)

Keagan Ragoobar

Chaya Johnson (female)