Darren Toppin of Charles . F. Broomes Primary school is the new National Under 12 Open chess champion when he won the event over the weekend at Harrison College from a stacked field which included the defending champion Jonathan Griffith, the current Under 10 champion Charis Stuart and the Under 9 champion Jerimiah Farley. It also included the top rated under 12 player Chaz Reifer-Belle.

It came down to the final round in an intense finish as three players from the two dozen participants went into the final round with possible chances to win the event. These included Toppin and Farley on four points, as well as the then leader Nathan Simmons – Patterson, who led with 4 ½ points.

In the final 6^th round, Toppin faced Simmons-Patterson, while Farley faced Stuart. In a round which saw these players spending as much time looking at the neighboring games as much as their own, the results saw Toppin toppling Simmons-Patterson and Stuart defeating Farley.

The final results thus saw Toppin in first place with 5 points with Simmons-Patterson on four points edging out Stuart on the tie-break. Farley, Reifer-Belle and Kymani Gayle finished just off the podium on four points. Toppin thus claimed his first title and will be looking to win more throughout the year.

Browne wins Under 12 Girls championship.

Janiyah Browne turned the tables on last years defending champion Jaeda Herbert to capture the national Under 12 female championships. She was in dominant form as she won all six of her games in emphatic fashion with her only challenging match being against the eventual second place finisher Herbert. Herbert finished in clear second on 5 points. Sameera Jaikaran finished in third spot with 3 points from her 6 matches. It was thus a double victory for the Charles F Broomes school. Kudos to the coach Mr. Corie Elcock. 

The junior players will all be looking to compete over the next weekend in the Under 8. 10 and 14 championships to be played tentatively at the St. Michael school.