After a tumultuous last round played at the Main Guard, Garrison Savannah over the weekend, Mileke Sinckler, Boris Thompson, Dr. Alfred Sparman, Noah Clarke and veteran Othneil Harewood all have 3 ½ points from their 5 matches and will all be in with a chance of grabbing the three qualifying spots for the 2025 Open national chess championship to be played later in the year.

In round 5, the wily Harewood pulled off an upset when he defeated the then sole leader in Sinckler. In a game where the higher rated Sinckler was the favorite, many pundits thought it would be business as usual for Sinckler as he has been in good form of late, recently capturing the Caricom Under 16 championship which was played in Guyana earlier this month. However, Harewood had other ideas and after a long and grueling contest which lasted over four intense hours, Harewood was able to force victory.

While Clarke and Thompson played to a quick draw in their match on board 2, another major upset was occurring on the board next to them. Sparman was battling against Cyprian La Touche, where again, La Touche was the clear favorite. Results are, however, based on what happens on the day, and the day belonged to Dr. Sparman as he was able to cope with La Touche’s unorthodox style and inflict a memorable defeat on la Touche.

Other results in the round saw victories for Kiarra Eversley, Isaiah Archer and Charis Stuart. Eversley and Archer now find themselves just off the leaders on three points and will still be in contention.

In the next round, important matchups will see Dr. Sparman against Sinckler, Harewood versus Clarke, and Archer will be up against Thompson. In an event that has turned out to be a battle of youth versus experience, it will come down to the last round to be played this Monday at 6.00 p.m. at the Main Guard to determine the top three positions to qualify and move forward to the Open national finals.