International Master Orlando Husbands has achieved the highest ever FIDE (International Chess Federation) rating by a Barbadian.

In the latest ratings published by the world governing body at the beginning of the month, Husbands moved his rating to 2374 to surpass fellow International Master Kevin Denny’s all time highest rating of 2367 achieved in 2007.

The 24-year-old Husbands improved his rating by 26 points following his impressive performance to emerge joint top of the table in the Venezuela and Caribbean Islands Sub-Zonal Qualifier to the 2023 FIDE World Cup held in the Dominican Republic last month.

Husbands, one of only four International Masters Barbados has produced, expressed his delight at attaining the new record rating.

“Breaking the 14-year record set by Kevin Denny is a very special feeling. It is also an honour. He is someone I have enormous respect for, for how high he has set the bar and for what he has been able to do for Barbadian chess. It is really good to be able to move that bar even higher,” he said.

At the Sub-Zonal Qualifier, which was Husbands’ first over the board tournament in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the four-time national champion scored seven and a half out of a maximum nine points and in the process earned a performance rating of 2467, the best by a Barbadian in a FIDE rated event.

Husbands described the event as one of the strongest Sub-Zonals he has competed in.

“It came at a pretty strange time for me because I was out of form. Due to COVID, I hadn’t played a serious competition in over a year and a half. Nevertheless it was a big opportunity for me,” he said.

“It’s the start of the World Championship cycle. We start in the Sub-Zone 2.3.5. A few persons qualified from there to go to the Zonals. The top three in the Zonals go on to the World Cup which is a pretty huge achievement. Qualifying for the Zonals for me is very big. I’m focused on trying to win that tournament next year.”

Husbands has made tremendous strides on the chess boards over the past decade, attaining the tiles on Candidate Master in 2013, FIDE Master in 2014 and International Master in 2017 when he became the first Barbadian since Denny to win the gold medal in Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Under-20 Championships. He is also a three-time CARIFTA Under-20 gold medallist and in 2018 and 2019 he achieved the unprecedented feat of winning a treble of local national titles – Open, Rapid and Blitz.

The former Lodge School student now has his sights set on becoming the first Grandmaster from the English-speaking Caribbean.

“My primary focus has to becoming Grandmaster. This is the highest honour any chess player can achieve. I actually took a big step towards this back in 2017 when I became the first person from the English-speaking Caribbean to win a Grandmaster norm. I did so by winning the CAC Under-20 Championships,” he said.

“Funding has and continues to be the biggest constraint in my way. For this reason, securing sponsorship is absolutely vital as I continue on my journey to become the first Grandmaster in the English-speaking Caribbean.” (BCF)