Blackman wins the first event of the new online Grand Prix Series

Blackman wins first event of new online Grand Prix Series

Reigning Caribbean blitz champion Justin Blackman overcame top seed Martyn Del Castilho to come out on top in the first event of the Barbados Chess Federation’s new online Grand Prix Series last weekend.

Blackman, the no. 2 seed, defeated fellow FIDE Master Del Castilho in a top-of-the-table fourth round game and despite losing to Akeem Cox in the penultimate round, he took the honours after finishing with six out of a maximum seven points.

Cox’s win against Blackman paved the way for an exciting finish to the first event in the new series which is being contested under the short rapid format on an online platform given the existing restrictions on physical gatherings in view of the recent spike in C0VID-19 cases.

Del Castilho, a six-time national champion, finished second with five-and-a-half points while Cox, a former national Under-20 champion, was third with five points in the two-day event that attracted 20 competitors.

Blackman and Del Castilho went into the final round level on points. Blackman, however, was confirmed as the winner after defeating Louis Wilson while Del Castilho played to a draw with Cox.

Emar Edwards took fourth place on the tie-break, having finished with four-and-a-half points, the same as Julissa Figueroa, Nitin Mahtani and Melvin Terence.

Under the format of the six-event series, players are awarded Grand Prix points in each event based on their percentage score in each tournament. Blackman, therefore, gained 85 Grand Prix points, Del Castilho 78 and Cox 71.

The player with the most Grand Prix points at the end of the series will be crowned champion. There will also be prizes for the second and third place finishers, Best Female, Best Player rated between 1300 and 1599, Best Player rated between 1000 and 1299 and the Best unrated player.

The dates of the second Grand Prix event will be determined at a later stage. (BCF)

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BCF launches online Grand Prix Series

Reigning national triple crown champion Orlando Husbands (right) and Justin Blackman, who finished second in the National Rapid and Blitz Championships last year, are expected to be among the contenders vying for the new online Grand Prix Series. (BCF Picture)

BCF launches online Grand Prix Series

The Barbados Chess Federation (BCF) has launched a new online Grand Prix Series.

The series, which will take the form of six rapid tournaments throughout the year, has been conceptualised in view of the pending lockdown and restrictions on physical gatherings in an attempt to contain the recent spike in COVID-19 cases.

Instead of assembling in one location to play over-the-board games in a face-to-face setting, players will compete online on their computers from their homes.

The first event of the series is set for this weekend with the first four rounds of games carded for Saturday and the final three rounds on Sunday. Players will push off from 4 p.m. each day.

Rather than use the traditional time control where games typically last around three hours, the tournament will be played under a rapid format where each player will have ten minutes plus three-second increments for each move to complete their games which will last around 20 to 25 minutes.

One of the aims of the series is to expose players to this format, while taking into account that more international online rapid tournaments are likely to come on stream this year.

Last year, FIDE, the world governing body for chess, staged the inaugural Online Olympiad in August and the Online World Cadets and Youth Rapid Championships in December with both events attracting more than 1 000 participants from more than 100 countries.

The BCF will also use some of its Grand Prix events as qualifiers for international tournaments this year.

Under the format, players will earn Grand Prix points based on their performances in each event and the top finishers will receive prizes at the end of the series.

In addition to prizes for the first three places, there will also be prizes for four sub-categories – Best Female, Best Player rated between 1300 and 1599, Best Player rated between 1000 and 1299 and the Best unrated player.

This is not the first time the BCF will be staging an online event, having hosted the 2020 National Blitz Championship as an online tournament, while the 2020 National Rapid Championship was contested in a hybrid setting – players competing online on their computers in a face-to-face environment at the Chess Centre on Exmouth Gap, Brandons, St. Michael. Both tournaments were won by International Master Orlando Husbands on his way to completing a national treble for the second time. (BCF)  

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