Barbados’s women chess team again took honors at the 2024 Chess Olympiad as they won their round 8 match against Malawi 3 – 1.
Winning for Barbados was Hannah Wilson, Katrina Blackman and Chanon Reifer – Belle. Reifer – Belle won her game by default, while Wilson quickly disposed of Woman FIDE master Linda Jombo. Blackman then sealed the match with a victory over Tupokiwe Msuukwa. The only blemish in the match was Kiarra Eversley losing on board 4 against Rachel Jaylos.
This result has propelled Barbados up to position 89 in the 169-team event. The only English-speaking Caribbean team above Barbados is Jamaica who has 9 of 16 match points while Barbados has 8. Barbados will next play Angola in round 9 of the event. India continues to lead the women’s section even though going down to Poland in round 8.
Unfortunately, in the Open section, the Barbados team suffered an upset defeat at the hands of Myanmar. Kemp Lynch and Fide master Philip Corbin both lost, the board four, Lawrence Depradine salvaged a draw, while the top board Justin Blackman was efficient in his win against Maung Min Than. Barbados thus lost the match 1 ½ – 2 ½ .
India continues to lead the Open event with another impressive win 3 ½ – ½ over Iran. The Indian Open team is the only team to have won all their matches so far. They will face the defending champions Uzbekistan in the next round.