Top seed Parsons comes from behind to win National Qualifier

Top seed Justin Parsons was forced to come from behind before winning the Philip Corbin Open National Chess Championship 2^nd Qualifier in exciting fashion on Wednesday night.

Parsons, who was lying in eighth place after the first three rounds, achieved a perfect record in his final four games to narrowly win the event at the Coles Building in Bay Street, Bridgetown.

The 25-year-old finished with five out of a maximum seven points – the same as teenager Louis Wilson – but Parsons was declared champion on the tie-break by virtue of beating Wilson in the head-to-head clash when they faced off in the final round.

Travis Grant took third place on the tie-break ahead of 13-year-old Rory Prescod after both players ended with four and a half points.

Prescod won the prize for the Best Under-16 player, while Gaybrianna Moore, who completed the top five with four points – the same as Othneil Harewood and Hannah Wilson – was the Best Female Player.

Parsons hardly looked like the winner after losing to Moore in the first round last Saturday and defaulting his third round game on Sunday due to another engagement. He, however, stepped up his game and did not drop a point for the rest of the tournament.

Wilson, favourite for most of the event, moved into the lead after the fourth round and played unbeaten until losing to the eventual winner in the last round.

The event, which was the second over-the-board tournament on the Barbados Chess Federation’s 2021 calendar since it was granted permission by the COVID-19 Monitoring Unit to resume face-to-face competition, attracted 15 players.

The National Championship 3^rd Qualifier, which will honour Charles Gilkes, will be contested from September 25 to 29. The top three finishers in each of the Qualifiers will advance to the National Championship in October to face defending three-time champion Orlando Husbands. (BCF)