Barbados Juniors Dominate CARICOM Chess Podium After Five Rounds

Georgetown, Guyana —  Barbados’ rising chess stars are making waves at the 2025 CARICOM Classic Junior Chess Championships, with a commanding performance that sees three of its top players occupying the top three spots after five rounds of play.

National Under-16 Champion Noah Clarke, Under-14 Champion Aaron Jaikaran, and standout junior Mileke Sinckler have surged to the top of the individual standings, each with 4½ points out of a possible 5. Sinckler currently leads the pack, followed closely by Clarke and Jaikaran in second and third, respectively.

Clarke’s fifth-round victory was a tournament highlight, as he outmaneuvered top seed Ravish Ramesar of Suriname in a grueling 71-move battle on Board 1. Jaikaran and Sinckler also delivered decisive wins over Suriname’s Ky-Mani Wijnhard and Guyana’s Mahir Rajkumar, respectively, after drawing against each other in Round 4.

Under-10 Female Champion Sameera Jaikaran holds 2½ points and sits in 25th position. She drew her fourth-round match against Guyana’s 7th seed Alexander Zhang but fell in Round 5 to Nicholas Zhang, also of Guyana.

Team Barbados Climbs to Fourth in CARICOM Team Standings

Barbados also made significant strides in the team competition, moving into 4th place behind defending champions Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, and Suriname.

In Round 4, Barbados drew 2-2 with Guyana A, thanks to a crucial win by Leshay Springer on Board 4. Woman Candidate Master Chanon Reifer-Belle and Emar Edwards held their own with solid draws, while Kemp Lynch was edged out on Board 2.

Round 5 saw Barbados overpower Dominica 3½–½, with Edwards, Lynch, and Reifer-Belle all scoring victories. Springer added a half-point with a draw against Ayani Casimir.

Meanwhile, Trinidad & Tobago tightened their grip on the CARICOM Trophy with a 2½–1½ win over second-place Jamaica, following a 4–0 sweep of Guyana B in Round 4. The standings now show Trinidad & Tobago leading with 10 match points, Jamaica in second with 8, and Suriname in third with 8, but trailing on game points. Barbados sits just behind with 7 match points.

What’s Next?

In Round 6, Barbados faces Guyana Juniors in team play. The Junior individual competition features a thrilling all-Bajan clash at the top of the table as Jaikaran takes on Clarke. Sinckler will face Suriname’s Thie-Yen Fung, while Sameera Jaikaran is paired against Tharisha Montes de Oca of Guyana.

With momentum building and podium dreams within reach, Barbados’ juniors are proving that the future of Caribbean chess is bright—and Bajan.