Leading Barbadian chess players Justin Blackman and Martyn Del Castilho landed top half finishes to advance to the knockout rounds of the American World Cup 2021 Qualification Stage event.

Both Blackman and Del Castilho earned five out of a maximum nine points in last weekend’s preliminary phase which was played as an online event under the fast rapid format.

Blackman was joint 31st to emerge as the highest placed finisher from the English-speaking Caribbean while fellow FIDE Master Del Castilho placed 46th in the two-day event that attracted 107 entrants from 16 countries.

The 29-year-old Blackman, the reigning Caribbean blitz champion who was seeded at no. 43, enjoyed the satisfaction of defeating two Cuban International Masters with higher ratings – Gonzalez Lopez and Perez Diaz.

Five other Barbadians participated in the preliminary phase of the event which was organised by the Confederation of Chess for Americas. Veteran Cyprian La Touche (88th), five-time national women’s champion Katrina Blackman (89th), fellow Woman Candidate Master and one-time national women’s champion Julissa Figueroa (92nd) and the youthful Keon Lashley (93rd) all finished with three points, while another youngster, Tarquin Clark (103rd) ended with two points.

The event was won by no. 6 seed Brazilian International Master Roberto Molina who finished with eight and a half points. Mark Polkin of Canada was second with seven and a half points and Sebastian Sanchez of Colombia third with seven points.

In addition to Justin Blackman and Del Castilho, teenaged Jamaicans Darren McKennis and Jaden Shaw also earned five points to progress to the knockout stage.

Justin Blackman and Del Castilho will join reigning national triple crown champion Orlando Husbands in the knockout phase which starts on May 22. Husbands, the highest rated Barbadian in the FIDE rankings, was entered directly for the knockout stage.

The knockout phase, which will feature 128 competitors, will be played under a significantly longer time control – games are expected to last more than four hours – and will be contested in a hybrid format where players in one country assemble at a single location to play their games online on their computers under the supervision of arbiters. (BCF)