National senior and junior chess champions awarded

National Senior Chess Champion Taffin Khan and his junior counterpart

2011 National Chess Championship winners display their prizes in the presence of officials including Dr. Frank Anthony (5th) from right

Suhai Feng were recently awarded for their outstanding performance in the 2011 GEDDES GRANT / SEVEN SEAS and SASHA CELLS National Chess Championships. The presentation ceremony took place at Olympic House, Kingston on Friday last.
Khan retained his title, having remained ahead of his seven rivals, four of whom were junior players. He lost one match only to Maria Thomas and drew one with junior player Anthony Drayton. Khan’s overall score was 12.5 points out of 14 matches.
Maria Thomas, the lone female participant, secured second place with ten points followed by Frankie Farley on eight points. Glenford Corlette, just under Farley with seven and a half points, placed fourth.
Four junior players, namely Anthony Drayton, Saeed Ali, Rashad Hussain and Junior Champion Suhai Feng became eligible and competed in the senior championship which started in November. However, they all followed the seniors in the championship standings.
The junior players also clashed separately in the 2011 SASHA CELLS National Junior championships.  Suhai Feng headed into a playoff with Cecil Cox in October last year after both players were tied on the same number of points. Feng won the junior title at the end of the playoff, taking over from 2010 champion Ron Motilall.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony congratulated the winners and called on everyone to ensure that chess remains active, noting its resurgence over the past few years. He challenged the Chess Federation to start making moves to establish its own playing center, similar to achievements made by other disciplines. He lauded the Federation for holding regular elections, calling it a healthy development.