Shariff, Callender earn WCM titles at Chess Olympiad

Guyana's top chess players continue to earn victories at the ongoing FIDE Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India.

With only three rounds remaining in the tournament contested by more than 2000 chess players around the world, two players on Guyana's women's team have earned their first titles.

Jessica Callender earned her WCM in round 7 on Friday while Sasha Shariff won hers on Saturday.

Chess players are bestowed titles by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) based on their performance, and are referred to by the titles before their name based on their ratings. It is a metric of a chess player's rank.

The WCM title will be added to their names once they achieve rating points over 1800, but these titles have been earned for life and cannot be lost.

Sasha Shariff is currently rated 1183 while Jessica Callender is 1295.

For the remaining members of the women's team; Pooja Lam earned her first point against Sinnalone Sihavong from Laos while Nellisha Jonson has wins against Dasavong Moukda of Laos and a draw against WFM Jambo Linda of Malawi.

Reserve player Anaya Lall who has so far been subbed in for three matches earned a victory against Nathaela Baguida from the Central African republic.

As a team, Guyana's women have defeated Laos and the Central African Republic 3 to 1. They also drew against Oman.

The men's team defeated Seychelles 2.5 to 1.5. On Saturday, they also defeated Brunei Darussalam.