Emar Edwards Crowned king of 2024 Heroes Day Cup 'Challengers' Section

Multi talented Emar Edwards finished third-min

A final round push from Barbadian Emar Edwards crowned him king of the Barbados Chess Federation 2024 Heroes Day Cup ‘Challengers’ Section which concluded Wednesday night at Coles Building in the city.

Placed third after the eighth and penultimate round, Edwards outplayed the second-placed Enen-Sa-Tefa Ab Khafra of Trinidad and Tobago to sneak to the top of the 29-player standings on seven points.

Having not previously led at any point across the nine-round chess tournament, Edwards’ six wins and two draws put him a half point above fellow Barbadian Adam Roachford who tied for second with Vincentian Chinedu Benjamin Enemchukwu.

Roachford reached 6.5 points after producing a final round upset over Enemchukwu, the top seed who led proceedings for the four previous rounds.

Khafra, early tournament leader Anthony Drayton of Guyana, and Barbadian Women’s Candidate Master all ended on six points to tie for the fourth position.

Meanwhile, in the six-man double-round robin ‘Masters’ section, International Master Roberto Carlos Sanchez Alvarez already has one hand on the US $1 000 cash prize with his total of 6.5 points in 10 games.

However, a rescheduled round one match between Barbadian FIDE Master Martyn Del Castilho and Venezuelan International Master Felix Jose Ynojosa Aponte will decide if Alvarez takes centre stage alone, after a drawn result with Barbadian International Master Orlando Husbands in the 10th and final round.

Only a win would do the job for Aponte who currently holds the second position on 5.5 points with the game in hand.

Cuban Grandmaster Luis Lazaro Aguero Jimenez and Trinidadian FIDE Master Joshua Johnson ended their campaign tied on 5.5 points, while Husbands placed fifth on five points.

Del Castilho is in sixth position on one point.