A seasoned chess player from Berbice emerged victorious at the Berbice 20/20 Rapid Chess Tournament, held at Little Rock Suites and Conference Hall in New Amsterdam on Sunday 24 August 2025.
The Guyana Chess Federation said in a statement that Persaud delivered an impressive performance, finishing the seven-round competition unbeaten with a total of 6.5 points.
The tournament featured 32 participants, half of them from Berbice. In the fifth round the eventual winner was held to a draw by a 13-year-old from Georgetown, who finished second overall with six points after also drawing his round-six encounter.
Third place, with 5.5 points, went to another Berbician, who lost only to the champion and drew with the runner-up.
A 16-year-old Queen’s College student who grew up in Berbice and now lives in New Amsterdam showed remarkable composure throughout, defeating a seasoned opponent in round seven despite being down to less than two minutes on her clock. She finished fourth with five points and received the best female prize among the 13 female participants.
A veteran player from Berbice and a competitor from Georgetown placed fifth and sixth respectively, both scoring five points.
The tournament used a 20-minute time control and was overseen by national arbiter Jessica Callender. Officials of the Guyana Chess Federation were in attendance to support both the players and the competition, and the federation expressed gratitude to the sponsors of the tournament venue.
With chess taking root in the Berbice region, the Guyana Chess Federation hopes the tournament will inspire greater participation among students. The GCF also distributed chess sets through its Gift of Chess programme to New Amsterdam Secondary and Vryman’s Erven Secondary schools, and plans to provide additional sets to more schools in the area to help build local chess communities.
The report was filed for LRTVS Newswatch by Lavina.