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 40^th 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 1^st 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 1^st 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)