Barbados suffer defeats on third day of Chess Olympiad

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FIDE Master Justin Blackman maintained his unbeaten run in the third round of the Olympiad. (FIDE Picture)

Barbados suffer defeats on third day of Chess Olympiad

Barbados’ Open and Women’s teams suffered defeats on the third day of the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India on Sunday.

After both squads pulled off big victories on the second day, the Open team lost 3-5-0.5 against Morocco while the Women’s side were beaten 4-0 by Angola.

Both Barbados teams played against higher rated opposition and came out on the losing end at the Sheraton Mahabalipuram Resort and Convention Centre.

FIDE Master Justin Blackman was the only Barbadian to avoid defeat as the Open team, which is ranked no. 124 out of 188 teams, came up against 75th ranked Morocco.

Blackman, who has been unbeaten in the three rounds of competition, played to a draw against the higher rated International Master Mohamed Tissir.

Orlando Husbands, who returned to the line-up after sitting out Saturday’s 4-0 win against Cayman Islands, lost to fellow International Master Ilyass Msellek.

Olympiad debutants Justin Parsons and Adam Roachford, who both registered victories in the second round, lost to Adel Choukri and Yasser Hadj Kholti respectively.

On the women’s boards, Barbados, seeded at no. 111 out of 162 teams, were unable to avoid a clean sweep against 69th rated Angola.

The team of Woman Candidate Master Katrina Blackman, Hannah Wilson, Kiara Eversley and Chanon Reifer Belle, which crushed Djibouti in the second round, lost against Woman International Master Esperanca Caxita, Woman FIDE Master Ednasia Junior, Woman FIDE Master Luzia Pires, and Renelsa Taiane Antonio respectively.

In Monday’s fourth round of games, Barbados’ Open team will face New Zealand, who are seeded at no. 92, while the women will be up against 80th ranked Tajikistan. (BCF)

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Barbados register big wins on second day of Chess Olympiad

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FIDE Master Justin Blackman helped the Barbados Open team register a victory against Cayman Islands. (FIDE Picture)

Barbados register big wins on second day of Chess Olympiad

Barbados’ Open and Women’s teams bounced back from first round defeats to register crushing victories on the second day of the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India on Saturday.

The Open team, without their top rated player Orlando Husbands, who was rested, defeated Cayman Islands 3.5-0.5 while the Women’s side blanked Djibouti 4-0 at the Sheraton Mahabalipuram Resort and Convention Centre.

Both Barbados teams came up came against lower rated opposition and duly delivered victories.

Barbados’ Open team, ranked no. 124 out of 188 teams, had their own away against the 172nd ranked Cayman Islands.

FIDE Master Justin Blackman, playing on Board 1 in the absence of Husbands, defeated Clifford Shaw, and there were also wins for Olympiad debutants Justin Parsons and Adam Roachford as Barbados regrouped after losing to 31st ranked Sweden 3-5-0.5 on the opening day.

Parsons, on Board 3, won against Shaun Tracey, while Roachford, on Board 4, defeated Laia Swaminathan.

Emar Edwards, who played on Board 2, drew against Christopher Young.

Barbados’ Women’s team, seeded at no. 111 out of 162 teams, were too strong for the 153rd ranked Djibouti whose line-up did not include any players with FIDE ratings.

Woman Candidate Master Katrina Blackman, playing on Board 1, defeated Elmi Waberi Saredo, while ladies national champion, 13-year-old Hannah Wilson, who was on Board 2, won against Ismail Hassan Sagual.

Kiarra Eversley, playing on Board 3, beat Mohamed Direh Hasnaa, while 12-year-old Chanon Reifer-Belle, the youngest Barbadian to compete at an Olympiad, won against Mohamed Elmi Ramla on Board 4 after replacing Gaybrianna Moore in the line-up that lost to 31st ranked Peru 4-0 the previous day. (BCF)

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Blackman gains draw on tough first day for Barbados at Chess Olympiad

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Blackman gains draw on tough first day for Barbados at Chess Olympiad

Blackman gains draw on tough first day for Barbados at Chess Olympiad

FIDE Master Justin Blackman salvaged a draw to prevent both Barbados teams from slumping to clean sweep defeats on a tough opening day for Caribbean countries at the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India on Friday.

Barbados’ Open team, seeded at no. 124 out of 188 teams, lost 3.5-0.5 to 31st ranked Sweden while the Women’s team, seeded at no. 111 out of 162 teams, went under 4-0 to 31st ranked Peru on the first day of competition at the Four Points by Sheraton Mahabalipuram Resort and Convention Centre.

Blackman, Barbados’ most successful player at the 2018 Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia, played to draw against a Tiger Hillarp Persson to deny the all-Grandmaster Sweden line-up a 100 per cent winning record.

It was, however, a difficult day for his teammates as International Master Orlando Husbands lost to Erik Blomqvist and debutants Emar Edwards and Justin Parsons went under to Jonathan Westerberg and Emanuel Berg respectively.

Barbados’ youthful Women’s team that included three players under the age of 21, also found it a rough against Peru and were unable to avoid a clean sweep.

Woman Candidate Master Katrina Blackman, the only member of the female team to play at a previous Olympiad, lost to Woman International Master Ann Chumpitaz.

First-timers, Hannah Wilson, 13, Gaybrianna Moore, 17, and Kiarra Eversley, 20, also suffered defeats to Woman International Master Mitzy Caballero Quijano, Woman FIDE Master Paula Paredes Bustamante and Kate Bravo Mallco respectively.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Open team was the only English-speaking Caribbean team to win in the opening round, defeating Niger 4-0.

Other English-speaking Caribbean countries also found the going tough.

In the Open section, Jamaica lost 3.5-0.5 to France, Guyana went under 3-1 to Andora, St Vincent and the Grenadines were beaten 4-0 by Panama, Dominica lost 4-0 to Iraq, St Kitts and Nevis were defeated by New Zealand 4-0 and St Lucia went under to Albana 4-0.

In the Women’s section, Jamaica lost to Netherlands 4-0, Guyana went under by a similar margin to Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago lost to Austria 3-5-0.5. (BCF)

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Barbados face tough opposition at start of Chess Olympiad

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International Master Orlando Husbands will lead Barbados’ challenge at the 44th Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India. (BCF Picture)

Barbados face tough opposition at start of Chess Olympiad

Barbados will face tough opposition in the opening round of the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad which pushes off in Chennai, India on Friday.

The Open team, which is seeded at no. 124 out of 188 teams, will come up against 31st ranked Sweden, while the Women’s team, seeded at no. 111 out of 162 teams, face 31st ranked Peru.

International Master Orlando Husbands, who is competing at his fourth Olympiad, spearheads the Open team that faces a Sweden line-up that includes all Grandmasters.

FIDE Master Justin Blackman is the only other Barbadian in the Open team to play at an Olympiad as newcomers Justin Parsons, Emar Edwards and Adam Roachford prepare for their debut.

Woman Candidate Master Katrina Blackman leads a youthful Women’s team which will clash with a Peru squad that includes one Woman Grandmaster, two Women International Masters and one Woman FIDE Master.

Reigning ladies national champion Hannah Wilson, 13, Chanon Reifer-Belle, 12, Gaybrianna Moore, 17, and Kiarra Eversley, 20, will all be making their first Olympiad appearance.

The Olympiad, which is a team event, will be played over 11 rounds in both the Open and Women’s sections and will conclude on August 9.  It is being contested by a record number of teams at the Four Points by Sheraton Mahabalipuram Resort and Convention Centre.

At the 2018 Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia, both Barbados teams were the highest-placed of the English-speaking Caribbean countries. The Open team finished 97th out of 185 teams, while the Women’s team placed 99th out of 151 countries. (BCF)

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Seven newcomers in Barbados team for Chess Olympiad

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Seven newcomers in Barbados team for Chess Olympiad

Seven newcomers have been selected in a youthful ten-member Barbados team for the upcoming FIDE Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India.

Thirteen-year-old Hannah Wilson, who was crowned as the youngest Barbados ladies national champion in April, heads the list of first-timers for the global event which will be held from July 28 to August 10.

Chanon Reifer-Belle, 12, who won gold medals in the online rapid and blitz events at the Pan American Youth Championships in recent weeks, becomes the youngest ever Barbadian selected for an Olympiad.

The other debutants in the Women’s team are Gaybrianna Moore, 17, and Kiarra Eversley, 20. Both Moore and Eversley were chosen for the 2020 Olympiad which was subsequently cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Five-time ladies national champion, Woman Candidate Master Katrina Blackman is the only member of the Women’s team with the experience of competing at a previous Olympiad.

There are three first-timers in the Open team which is spearheaded by four-time national champion, International Orlando Husbands, 25, who will be making his fourth appearance at an Olympiad.

The three newcomers are Justin Parsons, 25, Emar Edwards, 24 and Adam Roachford, 20.

FIDE Master Justin Blackman, the most successful Barbados player at the last Olympiad in 2018, completes the Open team.

Seven-time national champion Martyn Del Castilho, who has played in seven previous Olympiads, was originally selected for the Open team but withdrew due to medical reasons. It also led to the withdrawal of his wife, Julissa Figueroa, from the Women’s team. Figueroa has played at five Olympiads, including four for her native Guatemala.

Belgian Grandmaster Mikhail Gurevich is coach of the Open team for the second straight Olympiad while British Grandmaster Nigel Davies is the Women’s team coach. Barbados Chess Federation 3rd Vice President Kelvin Daniel will be the Head of Delegation.

At the 2018 Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia, both Barbados teams were the highest-placed of the English-speaking Caribbean countries. The Open team finished 97th out of 185 teams, while the Women’s team placed 99th out of 151 countries.

This year’s Olympiad is expected to attract more than 1 700 players from 189 countries in the Open section and 162 teams in the Women’s category. (BCF)

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Edwards cops third place at T&T International Open

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Barbadian Emar Edwards (right) playing against top seed Patrick Terhuven of Germany in the seventh round. (BCF Pictures)

Edwards cops third place at T&T International Open

Barbadian Emar Edwards performed outstandingly to cop third place in the Trinidad and Tobago International Open chess tournament.

Edwards, who was seeded at no. 12 of the 58 entrants in the Open section, finished with seven out of a maximum points when the six-day event ended on Thursday at the Hilton Trinidad.

The 24-year-old, who is well known in road tennis circles, defeated two players with higher ratings on the way to winning the bronze medal.

Edwards’ biggest victory came when he beat no. 5 seed Kishore Ramadhar in the sixth round and he also got the better of no. 11 seed Daenon Ramsumair in the penultimate round.

The former national Under-18 champion started the final round in third place as one of five players on six points and with an outside chance of claiming gold.

With the two front-runners winning their games, it put the top spot out of reach but Edwards confirmed his place on the podium by overcoming 14th seed, Woman Candidate Master Shemilah James.

At the beginning of the tournament, Edwards suffered a surprise defeat in the second round against no. 27 seed Jerome Richardson. He then completed four successive victories to move into third place at the end of the sixth round.

Those string of wins pitted him against top seed, Patrick Terhuven  in the seventh round but Edwards was unable to conquer the German.

Terhuven took the gold medal with eight points, while no. 3 seed, Candidate Master Ravishen Singh of Trinidad and Tobago was second with seven and a half points.

The Trinidad and Tobago International Open also featured a masters section which was won by Grandmaster Robby Kevlishvili of the Netherlands ahead of Trinidad and Tobago FIDE Masters Ryan Harper and Joshua Johnson.

Former president of the Barbados Chess Federation Rohan Waithe served as chief arbiter for the event. (BCF)

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Hannah, Chanon finish mid-table at Pan Am Youth Championship

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Hannah Wilson (left) and Chanon Reifer-Belle finished mid-table in the Girls’ Under-14 category at the Pan American Youth Championship. (BCF Picture)

Hannah, Chanon finish mid-table at Pan Am Youth Championship

Barbadian chess players Hannah Wilson and Chanon Reifer-Belle landed mid-table finishes at the 32nd Pan American Youth Championship in Uruguay.

The two Queen’s College students both ended with four and a half out of a maximum nine points in the Girls’ Under-14 category when the week-long event ended on Saturday at the Radisson Victoria Plaza Hotel in Montevideo.

The two Bajans were among seven players level on points as Wilson took ninth place and Reifer-Belle 13thout of the 19 entrants in the section.

Wilson, who won silver in the Under-12 division at last year’s Pan American Youth Festival which was played under a hybrid format, was in medal contention after seven rounds but lost her final two games.

The 2022 national ladies champion, who was seeded at no. 6, scored victories against Maria Costa of Uruguay in the first round, Sadhana Arivoli of United States in the third round, Carrascal Isabela Brito of Colombia in the third round and Flores Soliz of Bolivia in the seventh round. Her defeats were against higher rated players, losing to the four of the top five seeds.

Reifer-Belle, who won gold in the online rapid and blitz events at the Pan American Youth Championship a few weeks earlier, was seeded at no. 17. She defeated Soliz in the third round and Maria Costa of Uruguay in the eighth round and also played to three draws, one of which was against Wilson when the two Barbadians clashed in the fourth round.

Canadian Rachel Chen, who was seeded at no. 3, won the gold medal with seven and a half points, while the silver went to top seed, Ernestina Adam of Argentina who ended with seven points. No. 2 seed Gabriela Goes Da Cunha of Brazil took the bronze with six and a half points.

The event attracted close to 300 participants from 15 countries and was contested in six age-groups. (BCF)

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