Aditi Soondarsingh, women national master (WNM), successfully defended her title at the National Chess Championships, organised by the Trinidad and Tobago Chess Association (TTCA) which concluded last Sunday at St Georges' College, Barataria. This is a record eighth time Soondarsingh has won the National Chess Championship, having first captured it at age 15 when she became the youngest female to have won the title.
Soondarsingh played undefeated in the nine-round round-robin tournament.
Fresh from the World Chess Olympiad held in Istanbul, Turkey, where she added to the record books as the first female player from T&T to have beaten a Woman International Master (WIM), she maintained her form in the national championship.
She came up against stronger opponents from the previous year, which included the much talked about Jane Kennedy, the experienced Javanna Smith, the consistent Gabriella Johnson and the fast improving Shannon Yearwood, Najarah Rahaman, Shemilah James, Nikeila Chunnisingh and newcomers Sadiqah Razark and Danielle Cadogan.
Kennedy, a former joint champion, returned after an absence of five years, while Yearwood, female national under-12 champion, has shown a lot of promise this year.
However, there were no surprises at the finish line as, once again, Smith placed second, winning eight games and losing one against Soondarsingh, Kennedy third, (on tie break), Johnson fourth (on tie break), Yearwood fifth, Rahaman sixth, James seventh, Razark eighth, Chunniesingh ninth and Cadogan tenth.
Meanwhile, Soondarsingh will be launching a new all-female chess club, Female Exclusive Mind Sport (FEMS), on Friday December 7, at St Georges' College, which will also cater for all level of players. There will be a coaching programme for beginners. Interested persons can e-mail to aditikim11@gmail.com .