National Youth Chess Championship 2026 - Under 16 Open
Open SwissStandard
17 players participated in this 7-round tournament, held from 17 Jan 2026 to 25 Jan 2026 in Couva, Trinidad and Tobago. Top 10 Elo average was 1596, and top seed was Levi James (🇹🇹 TTO, 1824).
Andre Rupert (🇹🇹 TTO, 1495) won with 5.5/7, ahead of Levi James (5.5) and Luke Gillette (5.5). Rupert won on tie-break after catching the field in the final round.
The biggest upset came in round 4: Andre Rupert (1495) beat Levi James (1824), a +329-point gap.
Location
🇹🇹Couva, Trinidad and Tobago
Dates
17 Jan 2026 → 25 Jan 2026
Time control
Standard: 90 minutes with 30 second increment from move 1
System
Swiss · 7 rounds
Federations · 1 represented
🇹🇹Trinidad and Tobago×15
Top 3
- 🥇
- 🥈
- 🥉
How it unfolded
Top 6 · 7 roundsTight race until R7; 3 players tied at 5.5/7, decided on Buchholz.
Co-leaders
8
5
3
1
1
1
3
R5 · LEADER CHANGE24 Jan
Luke Gillette takes the sole lead (4.5/5).
R7 · TIEBREAK CLUSTER
3 players finish on 5.5/7. Rupert takes the title on Buchholz Cut1 (28.5).
R4 · HEAD-TO-HEAD · WINNER VS 2ND
Levi James lost to Andre Rupert (White).
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Levi James | * | 0 | 1 | — |
| 2Andre Rupert | 1 | * | 0 | ½ |
| 3Luke Gillette | 0 | 1 | * | 1 |
| 4Arjun Rambally | — | ½ | 0 | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rupert, Andre | 1495 | TTO | +5N | +4B | +8N | +2N | −3B | +9B | =6N | 5.5 | 28.5 | 32.5 | 24.75 | 1850 | +122.8 |
| 2 | James, Levi | 1824 | TTO | +9N | +8B | +12N | −1B | =4N | +5B | +3B | 5.5 | 28.0 | 30.0 | 22.25 | 1817 | +0.4 |
| 3 | Gillette, Luke | 1692 | TTO | +6N | +11B | +10N | =5B | +1N | +4B | −2N | 5.5 | 28.0 | 30.0 | 22.25 | 1795 | +32.0 |
| 4 | Bramble, Dereon | 1588 | TTO | +14B | −1N | +15B | +10N | =2B | −3N | +7B | 4.5 | 26.0 | 27.5 | 13.75 | 1590 | +0.8 |
| 5 | Bernard, Omari | 1717 | TTO | −1B | +17N | +11B | =3N | +7B | −2N | +13B | 4.5 | 24.5 | 24.5 | 10.75 | 1606 | -28.0 |
| 6 | Rambally, Arjun | 1489 | TTO | −3B | −7N | +14B | +13N | +11B | +12N | =1B | 4.5 | 21.0 | 23.0 | 10.75 | 1593 | +35.2 |
| 7 | Austin, Angelo | 1514 | TTO | −10N | +6B | +16N | +9B | −5N | +8B | −4N | 4.0 | 25.0 | 26.0 | 13.50 | 1637 | +33.2 |
| 8 | Manswell, Castillo | 1535 | TTO | +17B | −2N | −1B | +15N | +10B | −7N | +11N | 4.0 | 22.0 | 22.0 | 7.00 | 1391 | -31.2 |
| 9 | Lewis, Maliq | 1502 | TTO | −2B | +13N | +17B | −7N | +12B | −1N | +15B | 4.0 | 20.5 | 20.5 | 5.50 | 1411 | -20.4 |
| 10 | Rampersad, Yuvraj | 0 | TTO | +7B | +14N | −3B | −4B | −8N | =15N | +16B | 3.5 | 21.5 | 22.5 | 7.75 | 1478 | 0.0 |
| 11 | Bassant, Zac | 1506 | TTO | +13B | −3N | −5N | +12B | −6N | F | −8B | 2.0 | 22.5 | 22.5 | 4.00 | 1363 | -34.8 |
| 12 | Borneo, Arcanjo | 1583 | TTO | +15N | +16B | −2B | −11N | −9N | −6B | F | 2.0 | 18.5 | 18.5 | 2.50 | 779 | -82.0 |
| 13 | Saboo, Daniel | 0 | TTO | −11N | −9B | F | −6B | +17N | +14B | −5N | 2.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | 2.00 | 1287 | 0.0 |
| 14 | Haynes, Anthony Daniel | 1423 | TTO | −4N | −10B | −6N | +16B | F | −13N | +17B | 2.0 | 15.5 | 15.5 | 1.00 | 737 | -28.0 |
| 15 | FIDE 7716990 | 0 | — | −12B | F | −4N | −8B | +16N | =10B | −9N | 1.5 | 19.0 | 19.0 | 2.75 | 752 | 0.0 |
| 16 | Thomas, Chad Elias | 0 | TTO | F | −12N | −7B | −14N | −15B | +17B | −10N | 1.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 0.00 | 707 | 0.0 |
| 17 | FIDE 7710941 | 0 | — | −8N | −5B | −9N | F | −13B | −16N | −14N | 0.0 | 17.5 | 17.5 | 0.00 | 745 | 0.0 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
Top rating gainers
- 1Rupert, AndreTTO+122.85.5 pts · #2
- 2Rambally, ArjunTTO+35.24.5 pts · #4
- 3Austin, AngeloTTO+33.24.0 pts · #5
Top rating losers
- 1Borneo, ArcanjoTTO-82.02.0 pts · #13
- 2Bassant, ZacTTO-34.82.0 pts · #11
- 3Manswell, CastilloTTO-31.24.0 pts · #12
Biggest upsets
- R4+329 Elo gap
- R1+222 Elo gap