Ortiz and White win masters and Open Section of 2023 Heroes Day Chess Event

Englishman Chris White and Cuban Isan Ortiz were the winners of the two sections of 2023 Heroes Day chess tournament that was played over the Heroes Day weekend at the Coles Building, Bay Street, Bridgetown.

White won the Open section of the tournament with an outstanding 7 ½ points from a possible 9, losing no games, winning 6 and drawing three. He finished off the event with an easy draw against Samuel Alcindor of Martinique knowing that no other player could challenge his score.

Finishing second in the 30-player field was Marvin Guillaume of Martinique. In his last round game, he defeated the second ranked player in the section, Kemp Lynch of Barbados. Guillaume caught Lynch with a neat tactical shot which allowed him to gain the advantage which he duly converted. Guillaume edged out Hannah Wilson of Barbados on the tiebreak by having defeated her in their head-to-head encounter.

Wilson eventually finished in third place and was the highest placed local player in the field. This was an outstanding performance considering that she went into the event as the 11^th seed. She finished an impressive event by defeating the number one seed Lionel Buisson of Martinique in the last round.

Gilles Suez- Panama of Martinique finished fourth on 6 points. Mathis Hugyhues-Beaufond and Alcindor finished 5^th to 6^th on 5 points.

Mathis received the best 1600 – 1300 rating prize, while local Katrina Blackman won the best female prize with 5 points. Mileke Sinckler and Noah Clarke won the best rating prize for those rated below 1300.

Masters’ Section

The masters’ section was dominated by the Cuban grandmasters Isan Ortiz and Luis Aguero. Ortiz on his second visit to Barbados, won the 6-player double round robin event with 6 ½ points form his 10 games to edge out Aguero on the tie-break. In joint third to fourth was  grandmasters Christian Rios of Colombia and Neuris Delgado of Paraguay, while the Bajan pair of international master Orlando Husbands and Fide master Martyn Del Castilho brought up the rear of the field.

The tournament provided the local players with a quality level of competition needed by them in preparation for future events like the Continental championships and the Central American and Caribbean championships. Hannah Wilson and Katrina Blackman will be first out of the gates as they participate in the XIV CONTINENTAL WOMEN’S CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE AMERICAS 2023 in Habana, Cuba over the next week.