Barbados to compete at Online Rapid World Cup

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BCF-Gaybrianna-Moore
Gaybrianna Moore will compete in the Under-18 Girls’ category. (BCF Pictures)
BCF - Aaron Jaikaran
Aaron Jaikaran will play in the Under-10 Open division.

Barbados to compete at Online Rapid World Cup

Barbados will be represented by a 12-member team at the FIDE Online Rapid World Cup Cadets and Youth Chess Championships.

The Bajans will push off their campaign on Sunday in the global event that has attracted more than 1 600 participants from 100 countries.

Competition in the selection stage that runs until August 20 will be in five age-groups –  Under-18, Under-16, Under-14, Under-12, Under-10 – and will feature sections for Open and Girls. Each category will have ten rounds of games – two rounds a day – over five successive days.

The Barbados team was selected based on performances in the one of the events in the recently concluded local online Grand Prix series.

Three Barbadians will be in action during the first five days of the competition that will feature the Under-18 Girls’ and Under-10 Open sections.

Gaybriana Moore, one of three joint national Under-16 female champions in 2020, will play in the Under-18 Girls’ category, while 2020 national Under-10 champion Aaron Jaikaran and Alexander Berry will compete in the Under-10 Open division.

When the competition switches to the Girls’ Under-16 and Open Under-12 from August 6 to 10, Barbados will be represented by Christian Mayers in the Under-12 Open category.

Barbados will have its largest representation in the Under-14 Open division from August 11 to 15. Their four entrants will be 2020 national Under-14 and national Under-12 champion Rory Prescod, who was the Best player rated between 1000 and 1299 in the Grand Prix series, Melvin Terence, Keon Lashley and Taariq Callender.

From August 16 to 20, 2020 national Under-14 female and national Under-12 female champion Hannah Wilson, the Best female player in the Grand Prix, and Chanon Reifer Belle will play in the Under-12 Girls’ section while 2020 national Under-18 champion Aaron Haynes and 2020 national Under-16 champion Louis Wilson will compete in the Under-18 Open category. (BCF)

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Veteran La Touche wins first over-the-board chess tournament in 2021

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Cyprian La Touche (right) won the Kevin Denny Open – National Championship 1st Qualifier despite losing to Emar Edwards in the second round. Edwards finished second. (BCF Pictures)

Veteran La Touche wins first over-the-board chess tournament in 2021

Veteran Cyprian La Touche put in a solid performance to prevail over higher rated opposition and win the Barbados Chess Federation’s first over-the-board tournament in 2021.

La Touche, the no. 4 seed, took the honours in the Kevin Denny Open – National Championship 1st Qualifier by scoring six out of a maximum seven points in the five-day event that concluded on Tuesday night at the Coles Building on Bay Street, Bridgetown.

The 58-year-old La Touche lost to top seed Emar Edwards in the second round, but triumphed over his remaining opponents to seal one of three places up for grabs in the National Championship finals later in the year.

Edwards, who played unbeaten, finished second with five and a half points, while Adam Roachford was third on the tie-break ahead of Allan Herbert after both players ended on four and a half points.

Hannah Wilson, who placed fifth with four points, won the prize for the Best Female Player, while Melvin Terence, who was seventh with three and a half points, was the Best Under-16 Player.

La Touche started the tournament with a victory over Aaron Jaikaran and after losing to Edwards, he reeled off successive wins against Alexander Berry, Keon Lashley, Wilson, Othneil Harewood and Roachford.

While Edwards did not lose a game, he had to settle for three draws – against Roachford, Harewood and Herbert.

The event was the first face-to-face tournament for the year after the lifting of some of the COVID-19 restrictions that allowed for the resumption of some competitive sports. It attracted 14 entrants and was named in honour of Kevin Denny, the most successful player in the National Championship with 14 tittles.

The second qualifier will be named after seven-time national champion Philip Corbin and the third qualifier will honour 12-time national champion Charles Gilkes. (BCF)

BCF - Melvin Terence
Melvin Terence was the Best Under-16 Player.
BCF - Hannah Wilson
Hannah Wilson won the prize for the Best Female Player.

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National Chess Qualifiers named after Denny, Corbin, Gilkes

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Kevin Denny
The National Championship 1st Qualifier is named in honour of Kevin Denny.
Philip Corbin
The National Championship 2nd Qualifier is named in honour of Philip Corbin.

National Chess Qualifiers named after Denny, Corbin, Gilkes

The first face-to-face chess tournament for 2021 pushes off on Friday as the Barbados Chess Federation (BCF) honours three stalwarts who have made an outstanding contribution to the sport.

As part of its 40th anniversary celebrations, the BCF has named its National Championship Qualifiers after three of the most decorated players the island has produced – Kevin Denny, Philip Corbin and Charles Gilkes.

The Kevin Denny Open – National Championship 1st Qualifier, which will be played at the Coles Building on Bay Street in Bridgetown, will be the first over-the-board event for this year which has been limited to only online events due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The way has been paved for a return to face-to-face competition after the BCF was granted approval from the COVID-19 Protocols Monitoring Unit following the submission of protocols to govern its events.

Under the protocols, competitors and officials will be required to have temperature checks on arrival at the venue; they are required to wear face masks; they are encouraged to sanitise their hands liberally and players should stay three feet away from all other players bar their opponent. Additionally, no spectators will be allowed in the playing hall.

The 1st National Championship qualifier will be contested over seven rounds and will be played over five consecutive days, culminating on Tuesday. It will feature double headers on Saturday and Sunday with morning games scheduled for 10 a.m. and evening games at 4 p.m. The games on Friday, Monday and Tuesday will start at 5:30 p.m.

The top three finishers from each of the three Qualifiers will advance to the National Championship finals in September to face defending champion Orlando Husbands.

The second Qualifier, which is set for August, will be named after Corbin, while the third Qualifier the following month will be in honour of Gilkes.

Denny, Corbin and Gilkes are three of Barbados’ most successful players in the history of National Championships. Denny won 14 national titles between 1996 and 2008; Corbin was national champion seven times between 1975 and 1997 and Gilkes won the first of his 12 national championships in 1927. (BCF)

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Blackman wins final Grand Prix, Del Castilho takes overall honours

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Justin Blackman won the final event of the series with a perfect record.

Blackman wins final Grand Prix, Del Castilho takes overall honours

Justin Blackman won the final event with a clean sweep of the boards last weekend but Martyn Del Castilho claimed the overall honours in the Barbados Chess Federation’s online rapid Grand Prix Series.

Blackman, the reigning Caribbean Blitz champion, defeated Del Castilho in a top of the table fourth round clash and went on to finish with a perfect seven points in the final event of the series.

Akeem Cox took second place with five-and-a-half points while the youthful Rory Prescod, who ended with five points, finished third on the tie-break ahead of Emar Edwards and Hannah Wilson.

It was Blackman’s third tournament triumph in the six-event series, but Del Castilho, who won the three preceding events, still comfortably emerged as the Grand Prix champion.

Del Castilho, a six-time national champion, placed sixth in the final event with four-and-a-half points but sealed the overall title with 512 points – under the format of the series, players were awarded Grand Prix points in each event based on their percentage score in each tournament

Fellow FIDE Master Blackman, who missed the fourth event of the series, finished second overall with 455 points while Cox, a former national Under-20 champion rounded off the top three with 419 points.

Edwards, a well-known figure in road tennis circles and a former national Under-18 chess champion, was fourth with 391 points and also claimed the prize in the sub-category for the Best player rated between 1300 and 1599.

The 13-year-old Prescod, the 2020 national Under-14 and Under-12 champion, was fifth with 363 points and also won the prize in the sub-category for the Best player rated between 1000 and 1299.

The 12-year-old Wilson, last year’s national female Under-14 and Under-12 champion, finished sixth with 347 points and also secured honours as the top female player.

The list of the top ten was completed by Julissa Figueroa (342 points), Gaybrianna Moore (327), Melvin Terence (304) and Adam Roachford (299).

Taariq Callender, who placed 16th with 226 points, won the prize for the Best unrated player.

The final event attracted 25 players and there were 35 competitors in the series which started in February and was organised as an online completion in view of the COVID-19 restrictions on sporting events. (BCF)

BCF - Martyn Del Castilho (4)
BCF - Rory Prescod
BCF - Emar Edwards
BCF - Hannah Wilson

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