The second qualifying round of the National Chess Championship took place over the weekend, with 41 players competing for one of nine available spots to face reigning champion Candidate Master (CM) Taffin Khan.
The championship is scheduled to begin on May 24.
The preliminary rounds were held over the last two weekends (May 3 and 11) and have already produced a number of noteworthy performances. Top junior player Couchman secured a dramatic win over CM Ronuel Greenidge in a tense fourth-round encounter lasting nearly 80 moves, with Couchman’s connected passed pawns proving decisive in the endgame.
In one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far, 10-year-old Vir Narine defeated veteran Gilbert Williams in the opening round, while WCM Aditi Joshi, the newly crowned 2025 Women’s Champion, held AFM Davion Mars to an impressive draw.
Elsewhere, U12 Open Champion Abel Fernandez Ciria narrowly missed a potential checkmate in four moves during his third-round match against Saeed Ali, who managed to escape and secure the result.
The qualifiers include a strong field of experienced and emerging talent. Past National Junior Champions Saeed Ali (2016), Joshua Gopaul (2018), Keron Sandiford (2023) and Ricardo Narine (2022 and 2024) are all in contention.
They are joined by two-time Women’s Champion WCM Jessica Callender, along with Nicholas Zhang, Kishan Puran, Kim Shing Chong, Rolex Alexander, and U12 Girls Champion Kataleya Sam.
International Chess Federation (FIDE) Arbiters John Lee, who is serving as Chief Arbiter, and Anand Raghunauth are officiating the tournament.
Only the top nine players will advance to the championship stage.
