Nine young Surinamese chess players will take part in the 21st edition of the Central American and Caribbean Youth Chess Festival in San José, Costa Rica, from 1 to 8 November 2026. The delegation left for the Central American country on Friday, 30 October, under the auspices of the Surinaamse Schaakbond (SSB).
At the international youth tournament, chess players from 19 countries in Central America and the Caribbean will participate. The participants compete in six age categories, divided into an open category and a girls’ category. The championship will be played over nine rounds.
According to the Surinaamse Schaakbond, the tournament provides an important opportunity for the young chess players to gain international competition experience. In addition, they can measure their level against peers from other countries, improve their international rating and possibly achieve chess title norms.
Nine chess players represent Suriname
Suriname is represented by nine youth players, divided across various age categories:
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U16 Open: Ravish Ramesar and Yash Jankie.
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U14 Open: Timothy Olfers, Rithvik Chotkan and Sohail Girdhari.
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U14 Girls: Avantika Poetoe and Rikisha Chotkan.
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U12 Open: Aryan Jankie.
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U10 Open: Arav Jankie.
The delegation is led by Ashwienkoemar Poetoe, who is travelling as delegation leader.
Parents make participation possible
The participation of the Surinamese youth chess players has been made possible by the financial commitment of their parents. The Surinaamse Schaakbond expresses its appreciation for this initiative, which gives the young athletes the opportunity to further develop at international level.
The association emphasises the importance of such international competitions for the growth of youth chess in Suriname and wishes the participants success during the championship.
The match results and further progress of the tournament can be followed via Chess-Results.
