Wilson takes clear lead in national female chess championship

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Woman FIDE master Hannah Wilson has struck the front of the 2025 Barbados National Female chess championship after an exciting fifth round was completed on Friday evening at the Fine Arts Gallery, Barbados Community College.
Wilson took the clear lead in the 10- player round robin event when she defeated former national player Gaybrianna Moore after a tough battle. Wilson had taken the advantage in the early middle game when she clearly won a piece for a couple pawns. However, she then miscalculated and in a tactical melee she lost the exchange and allowed Moore to regain some parity. Moore however, over stretched in the position allowing Wilson to penetrate with a knight and capture several pieces. From here she did not renege and stormed on to victory.
 Chanon Reifer-Belle, who was also a co-leader of the event up to that point, slipped from that position after she was held to a draw by Janiyah Browne. Going into the game, Chanon would have favored her chances against the much lower rated Browne. However, she soon found herself in a blocked position where even after a lot of piece maneuvering, she could find no advantage and had to settle for a draw.
Other results in this round saw Sameera Jaikaran defeat Laura Nicholls, Kayla Culpepper won from Daisha-Rose Parris, while Jaeda Herbert upset Leshay Springer.
As it currently stands, Wilson leads with 4 points, with Chanon in second with 3 ½ points. Sameera Jaikaran has 3 points, while Janiyah Browne and Leshay Springer have 2 ½ points each. It must be noted the two leaders have a game in hand on their closest rivals.
On the other side of the world, Chaz Reifer- Belle continues to find the going rough as he lost his second-round match against Andrew Tzu Chun Chao of South Korea at the FIDE 2025 World Cadet Under 12 Open Chess Championships in Almaty Kazakhstan.  We wish him better luck in his round three game against Damba Gun-Erdem of Mongolia.

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Wilson and Reifer-Belle share National Female chess championship lead

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After 4 of the 9 rounds of the 2025 National Female chess championship have been officially completed, the two top seeds in the event woman candidate master Chanon Reifer-Belle and woman FIDE master Hannah Wilson share the lead with 3 points.
Having only played 3 games so far, have looked the clear favorites for the title and they have both so far lived up to their billing.
Wilson, the defending champion, won her last game by default from Kayla Culpepper while Reifer-Belle was given a scare by the ever-improving Leshay Springer. Reifer-Belle had initially gained the advantage in the middle game by winning a piece, but then she allowed a tactical shot by Springer which brought back parity to the game. However, Springer went astray in the end game and Reifer-Belle was able to convert the point. Springer thus now sits in clear third spot with 2 ½ points but having played one more game than the two co-leaders.
Janiyah Browne and Sameera Jaikaran share 4th spot with two points in the 10-player field. In their latest matches, Browne won against Laura Nicholls, while Jaikaran defeated Daisha Rose Parris. The other match in the round saw Gaybrianna Moore defeat Jaeda Herbert.
When the action continues this weekend at the Liberal Arts Gallery, Barbados Community College, it will be Reifer-Belle and Wilson who would be looking to stamp their name on the winner’s trophy.

While Chanon is pushing to win her first female championship, her younger brother Chaz Reifer- Belle, the current Barbados Under 12 Open champion is participating in the Open section of the 2025 FIDE World Cadet Under 12 championships being played in Almaty, Kazakhstan over the next two weeks. Unfortunately, Chaz lost his first game against Nikolay Gladchenko of Russia. This section of the tournament has 173 players from about 80 countries. Chaz will be seeking to improve his rating going into the event as one of the lower rated players. The Cadet championships have young players participating in the Under 8, 10 and 12 age categories in both open and female section

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Del Castilho takes clear lead in 2025 national Open Chess Championship

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FIDE master Martyn Del Castilho has taken firm control of the 2025 national Open chess championship at the end of the fourth round which came to completion on Sunday at the Liberal Arts Gallery, Barbados Community College, this weekend.
Del Castilho defeated the then co-leader Justin Kirton in what was a top of the table clash to claim the sole overall lead with 4 points from his 4 games. Playing his favorite French defense opening Kirton could not withstand a determined Del Castilho who has his eyes sighted on retaining his national championship title.
Kirton now sits in clear second place in the 10-player field with three points from his four games, his only blemish being against the leader Del Castilho.
National Under 16 champion Noah Clarke is in third place with 2 ½ points. Clarke had a good Sunday at the event when he defeated Jsutin Parsons and Emar Edwards, two players who would have represented Barbados at recent chess Olympiads.
Mileke Sinckler, Ronaldo Rochester, Dr. Philip Corbin and Jeremiah Farley all share the 4th – 7th spot with two points. Farley, the youngest in the field at 11 years old, has shown great resilience so far. After losing both his opening games on the opening Saturday, he bounced back with two victories on Sunday including a massive upset against Emar Edwards. Parsons, Boris Thompson and Edwards round out the field in the 10- player , all play all event.
In an event that has so far seen many upsets, Del Castilho has been the one to keep his composure and with the other five games over the next weekend, it is difficult to see if anyone will be able to dethrone him of his crown.

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Wilson and Del Castilho start defense of chess titles in style

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The Barbados Chess Federation’s National Open and Female chess championships began this weekend at the Visual Arts Gallery, Barbados Community College, Howells X Road, St. Michael in earnest.
Both events are being played as 10- player round robin events, that is where each player will get to play with each of the other ones in the tournament for a maximum of 9 games.
Both defending champions, FIDE master Martyn Del Castilho and woman FIDE master Hannah Wilson are looking to repeat as champions but will face stiff and determined challenges from several persons in their respective events.
In the Open section first round, Del Castilho started his defense confidently as he defeated the number two seed in the event Emar Edwards. Edwards was holding the position, but a simple one move blunder allowed Del Castilho to win a piece which he duly converted this advantage into victory. It continued a bad week for the ace road tennis player.
Justin Kirton showed glimpses of his form as a junior player some time ago as he masterfully outplayed the current Under 16 champion Noah Clarke.
An upset occurred when junior player Mileke Sinckler in his first national finals defeated the higher rated Justin Parsons. FIDE master Philip Corbin got his umpteenth national finals off to a bright start with a victory over Boris Thompson while Ronaldo Rochester was able to defeat the young upstart, Jeremiah Farley also in his first national finals.
In the Female section, Wilson set the tone for her event when she quickly defeated Laura Nicholls in round one. Out of a fiery opening, Wilson was able to tactically out- duel Nicholls which led to Nicholls losing several pieces and eventually the game. The next result saw Kayla Culpepper winning from Janiyah Browne. Culpepper was able to conjure up an attack in the middle game which eventually led to Browne being checkmated.
Gaybrianna Moore and Leshay Springer battled to a long hard draw, while the game between Daesha Rose Parris and Jaeda Herbert was postponed.
Other results in the round saw woman candidate master Chanon Reifer-Belle defeat Sameera Jaikaran in a workwoman like fashion.
The chess action will continue this Sunday at the Barbados Community College with matches being played at 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. respectively.

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Wilson places fourth in PanAmerican School Chess Championship 2025 Under 17 Girls

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Hannah Wilson finished a credible fourth place in the Under 17 female section  at the 2025 PanAmerican Schools Chess Championship which concluded in Florianopolis Brazil at the end of this week.
Going into the last two rounds of the event, Wilson would have needed two victories and  hope that those above her would have slipped up if she was to finish in a podium position.
In the 8th and penultimate round, Wilson defeated Giannini Tonial Kinaki of Brazil to keep her hopes up but the three players above her also recorded victories. This meant it would all come down to the last round where Wilson  again would have to hope for fortuitous results if she was to improve her position.
Wilson would unfortunately fall to defeat in the last round against Fiorella Allegra Mayeregger Gonzalez of Paraguay and this would leave her on 5 points from 9 games. This would secure her fourth place on the tie-break system ahead of two other players.
The tournament was won by Ayme  Maravi Ceron of Peru with 7 ½ points from her 9 matches, with Claris Dias of Brazil in second a half point behind, while Luciana Andrea Arenas Lavado of Peru was in third with 6 ½ points.

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Wilson in fourth, while Jaikaran and Gonsalves clinch local chess events

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Aaron Jaikaran won the rated section of the 2025 VEX chess tournament, while Maximus Gonsalves captured the novice section as the action in the event wrapped up earlier in the week.
 
Jaikaran eked out a narrow victory on tie-break as he finished on 6 ½ points from his 7 games, which was the same as Savion Little. However, using the second tie-break as they had drawn their direct encounter, saw Jaikaran coming out ahead by the slimmest of margins.
 
It all came down to an exciting last round where both Aaron Jaikaran and Little were the two players in contention for the overall tournament victory. Jaikaran faced off against national female player Leshay Springer, while Little was matched against Sameera Jaikaran, Aaron’s younger sister. Aaron was able to subdue Springer relatively easily but Little had to put in overtime against Sameera to ensure victory and after both leaders had won, it was down to the tie-break system which favored Aaron.
 
Charis Stuart finished in clear third position on 5 points after winning his last round game against Chaz Reifer-Belle.
Stuart finished a point ahead of a group of players on 4 points which included Cyprian LaTouche, Jacob Benajamin-Layson and Caleb Latchman, players who all won their final games.
 
Gonsalves take Novice Section
In the Novice section Maximus Gonsalves scored an impressive 6 points from his 7 games to claim a clear victory.
Maximus finished a point above Dominic Cadogan whom he had initially lost to in round 1. He then won 6 games in a row to claim a memorable victory. Cadogan finished in second on 5 points , ahead of Ethan John- Clement who finished third on 4 points in the almost dozen player field in this section.
 
Wilson in fourth in PanAmerican School Championship 
Woman FIDE master continues her progress in the 2025 Pan American School Under 17 female section being played in Brazil. In her last day’s matches, she had contrasting results. In the morning round, she defeated Consuelo Villegas Ampuero of Chile, but then fell to defeat to Fiorella Allegra Mayeregger Gonzalez of Paraguay in the evening round, the current leader of the event. This has left Wilson with 3 ½ points from her 6 games and sitting in fourth position, a half point behind the third-place player. She will need to finish strong in her last three matches to ensure a medal position.

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2025 VEXX chess tournament begins with heated action

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After two rounds of the 2025 VEXX chess tournament being held at the Christie Building, Barbados Light and Power company, Garrison, St. Michael, a group of leaders have emerged in both the Rated and Novice sections of the event.
In the Rated section, three players share the lead with two victories from their matches so far. These are three top rated seeds Savion Little, Amari Blackett and Aaron Jaikaran. In the last round, Savion defeated the veteran Cyprian La Touche, Jaikaran won with the black pieces from Charis Stuart and Blackett won from Alfred Sparman.
The important matches next round will see Jaikaran with the white pieces against Little, while Springer will battle against Blackett.
Leshay Springer sits in sole 4th position with 1 ½ points . She won a nice game in round two against Aidan Singh to lie close to the three leaders. Other results in the round saw victories for Janiyah Browne, Jacob Benjamin – Layson and Chaz Reifer-Belle.
In the Novice section, Ethan Clement-John and Dominic Cadogan share the lead with two points each. Cadogan defeated Lukas Coppin, while Clement-John won against Naja Howard . Other victors in the round were Evan Nascimento and Maximus Gonsalves. The two leaders will clash in the third round.

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