The 2026 National Chess Championship Qualifiers begin on Saturday, February 28, at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall from 9 am.
The Guyana Chess Federation and Diamond Fire and General Insurance are the main sponsors of the Open and Female categories, respectively.
The first four rounds of the eight-round classic tournament will take place this weekend, Saturday, February 28th, and Sunday, March 1st, before concluding the following weekend on March 7th and 8th, 2026.
The eight-round Swiss tournament features a classical time control of 90 minutes per player plus a 30-second increment per move, will see intense battles over the board as chess players vie to secure a spot and challenge reigning National Champions CM Taffin Khan in the Open Championship and WCM Aditi Joshi in the Women’s Championship for the coveted titles.
In the Open Category, a formidable line up featuring players like FM Rawle Allicock, FM Anthony Drayton, Kyle Couchman, CM Sachin Pitamber, CM Ronuel Greenidge, Keron Sandiford are expected to lead a diverse field of senior players seeking the top nine spots meanwhile, the rising wave of talent of the juniors including U12 Champion Aidan Tinne, U14 Champion Abel Fernandez Ciria, Vir Narine, Javier Davenand, among others will challenge the more experienced ones as they attempt to break into the top nine spots.
While in the Women’s Category, former champions, WCMs Jessica Callender and Sasha Shariff, are expected to battle it out against a highly competitive field. The top players will face a strong challenge from seasoned players, including Treskolé Archibald, Ciel Clement, Chelsea Harrison, Rebha Lachhman, Parnita Kishun, and from rising stars such as U14 and U16 Girls’ Champion Kataleya Sam, U12 Champion Divya Persaud, among others, all vying for one of the top 9 spots.
The top nine finishers from each category will earn a stake to participate in the National Chess Championship 2026 set to begin on March 14th, 2026.
The top eight boards for the Open Category and the top four boards for the Women’s Category will be live-streamed on lichess.org by John Lee, FIDE Arbiter and Technical Director for the GCF. Results and pairings can be viewed on chessresults.com.
