Justin Parsons defended his Rapid chess championship with a sweep of 7 wins from 7 matches to retain his crown in emphatic fashion over the weekend at the Coles Building on Bay Street in the city. Rapid chess is where players have one hour or less in time together to complete their game.

When Parsons defeated Jerimiah Farley in the 6th round of the 7, Parsons had clinched the event as no other players could have reached more points than him. Thus, when he defeated Mileke Sinckler in the last round, it was of academic importance.

However, Parsons’ victory was not all smooth sailing, as in the 6th round, Parsons found himself in a worst position against Farley. The under 11 scholastics champion Farley actually had a piece for a couple of pawns and many pundits believe an upset was on the cards. Unfortunately for Farley, he could not find the correct continuation and quickly found himself under immense pressure. Parsons with aggressive play was able to win a number of pieces to turn the tide and win the game.

Emar Edwards finished in second place with 5 points from his 7 matches. For Edwards who had suffered some upsets on day 1 of the event when falling to juniors Amari Blackett and Aaron Jaikaran, it came down to a tense final round game against another junior in Chanon Reifer-Belle. Edwards was however determined to show his mettle and won a nice game.

Reifer- belle finished in joint  third place with 4 ½ points along with Aaron Jaikaran. Jaikaran defeated Charis Stuart in the last round to grab a share of the third place. Reifer-Belle was also the best placed female.

Jerimiah Farley and Mileke Sinckler finished on 4 points to share the best 1600 – 1400 rating prize, while Isaiah Archer captured the best Under 1400/ Unrated prize with 3 points.