It was an exciting final round shoot out at the Bridgetown chess center last Sunday and when the dust had cleared Renaldo Rochester had won the CB Gilkes Open chess tournament by the thinnest of margins, to lead Hannah Wilson and Justin Parsons as the National championship qualifiers from the almost three dozen participants in the event.

Going into the last round 8 players had a chance to win the event or medal to qualify for this year’s national finals later this year. These top  matchups would see Renaldo Rochester(5) versus Emar Edwards (4 ½), Philip Roach(4 ½) versus Hannah Wilson(4 ½),  Justin Parsons(4 ½) against Boris Thompson(4) and the veterans clash of Othneil Harewood(4) against Cyprian La Touche(4).

The first player to punch their ticket to the final was Parsons. After winning a minor piece against Thompson in the middle game Parsons executed well and was able to finish off his opponent in the ending. This victory also secured third place for Parsons.

The next pairing to finish was the highly anticipated clash between the top seed in the event Roach against the 2022 CAC Under 14 girls silver medalist Wilson. And Wilson did not disappoint, as she played with great maturity in over coming the much higher rated Roach who was making a return to the game of kings, after a long layoff. This result placed Wilson second and made her the youngest female to qualify for the Open national championship.

Rochester had Edwards under early pressure and kept the game under control as he duly dispatched Edwards. With this win Rochester claimed his second tournament victory on the trot as he finished a half point ahead of  Wilson and Parsons on 6 points.

The last of the top boards was also the final game to finish in the round as Harewood outlasted La Touche to finish solely in fourth spot on 5 points. By then the three qualifiers were already known and this result was of academic importance.

Other results in the round saw victories for Travis Grant, Dr. Alfred Sparman,  Kanye Williams, Isaiah Archer, Amari Blackett, Mileke Sinckler, Loki Clarke, Nathan Patterson-Simmons and Liam Valles Desrochers. There were draws between Akan Herbert and Chanon Reifer-Belle, Aaronn Jaikaran and Aleshs Lovell, as well as Jonathan Griffith and Chaz Reifer-Belle.

The female special prize went to Chanon Reifer-Belle, while Jaikaran claimed the Under 16 special prize.

With this first qualifier now finished, players will have a couple of months to prepare for the second of the three national finals qualifiers. The top three positions from each of the  qualifying events will go forward to join the defending national champion from last year in the finals. The next event on the chess calendar will see the Under 12, 16 and 20 National Junior championships .