Local boy Ronaldo Rochester did himself and Barbados proud as he captured one section of the XIII IRT Híbrido del Sur 2023 hybrid chess event played over the last weekend.

A hybrid chess event is one where players compete from a central location and play via an online chess platform under the supervision of a chess referee.

Rochester won the Under 1700 rating section of the event in dramatic fashion from a field comprising of 21 players from the countries of  Dominica, Venezuela, Ecuador, St. Lucia, and Cayman Islands.

Rochester went into the event as the top-rated player, but the wheels almost quickly fell off when he lost his first-round game against Antonio Manuel Palacios Benites of Ecuador. Rochester then settled himself and racked up 4 consecutive victories that would see him going into the final round 6, as one of the three leaders on four points in what was turning out to be a very competitive field.

Taking his fate into his own hands, Rochester played a clinical game in the final round to dispatch Ulises Julian Diaz Araujo of Venezuela and with the other co-leader Gustavo Adolfo Vera Arboleda losing to Erich Reyes of Dominica, Rochester had crowned himself winner of the event with 5 points from his 6 games. Reyes was second and Hugo Jose  Mejias Villafanez of Venezuela third on tie-break, as both players finished on 4 ½ points.

Other Bajan participants in the section were the pair of Chanon Reifer – Belle and Noah Clarke who both finished on 2 ½ points each.

Edwards third in Under 2100 Rating Section

Multi-talented Emar Edwards was Barbados’s best performer in the Under 2100 rating section as he placed third with 4 points from a possible 6.

Barbados would have initially felt confident, for in the 15-player field in this top section, local players were initially seeded second to fourth in the form of Emar Edwards, Justin Parsons, and Lawrence Depradine. The 6 local players competing here would have included 5 who would have recently played in the Barbados National chess championship final including current  Central American and Caribbean Under 14 female champion Hannah Wilson.

The Bajan players, however, found the going tough and only Edwards was able to make a significant impact. Depradine finished on 3 ½, Wilson and Parsons on three, while Adam Roachford and Cyprian La Touche finished on two points. The section was won by candidate master Marlon Aspiazu Sibri of Ecuador with an impressive 5 ½ points from 6.

Under 1300 Rating section

Mileke Sinckler was the top Bajan performer in this massive field of 61 players. He played solidly throughout the event with four wins and two draws to score 5 points from a possible 6, to tie for joint second with four other players, but had to settle for fourth on the tie-break.

The next best local performer was Aaron Jaikaran in 7^th spot but who was initially seeded first but could only muster 4 ½ points. Jacob Layson finished 9^th with 4 points after being up with the leaders after 4 rounds, but losses in the last two rounds caused him to slip down the pack. The other 7 Bajan players finished further down the field, but Ernest King, Jerimiah Farley, Dr. Alfred Sparman and Loki Clarke did manage to make a respectable 50% score.

Felix Eduardo Pilco Velez of Ecuador was winner of this section with 5 ½ points from the 6 games. Ricardo Alfonso Rondon Zapata and Samuel David Caraballo Briceno, both of Venezuela finished second and third respectively on the tie-break with 5 points.

Just past the half ways point of the 2023 National Open Chess Championship, international master Orlando Husbands has taken the lead after defeating former leader and defending champion Fide master Martyn Del Castilho in the 5^th round of the 9-round event.

Husbands went into the round, a half-point behind Del Castilho, who was on maximum points after having won all his matches. With Del Castilho playing the white pieces, many pundits believed that he could neutralize Husbands and probably steer the game to a draw. Husbands, however, showed his pedigree and played very actively throughout the clash, and eventually put Del Castilho under pressure until the latter blundered a piece and resigned.

With this result Husbands now leads with 4 ½ points, while Del Castilho is still in touch on 4 points.

In third spot is Emar Edwards with 3 ½ points. Edwards showed his attacking prowess in the last round when he swiftly defeated the current under 14 Central American and Caribbean(C.A.C) female bronze medal Channon Reifer-Belle.

Dr. Philip Corbin lies currently in fourth spot after a  comfortable victory over Adam Roachford. Current C.A.C under 16 female gold medal winner Hannah Wilson rounds out the top 5, after she defeated Ronaldo Rochester. The other result in the round saw Lawrence Depradine defeat Justin Parsons with the black pieces to claim his first victory after having only racked up two draws previously.

With 4 more games remaining in the event to be played over the weekend at the Coles Building, Bay Street, Bridgetown, it will be a chase until the finish, as Husbands will need to win all his games to ensure victory.

The nest round to be played on Saturday at 10.00 a.m. will see the important matches of Depradine against the leader Husbands and Wilson against Del Castilho.