After three rounds of the 2023 National Female Chess Championship of Barbados, woman candidate master Julissa Figueroa has taken the sole lead with three impressive victories.

Figueroa, the number one ranked player in the event showed her class in the last round when she defeated a former champion in the likes of Katrina Blackman. Figueroa, playing the white pieces, came out of the opening in a promising position and was able to push through with her attack to claim victory.

Blackman leads three other players with two points. These include Gaybrianna Moore, Kiarra Eversley and current Central American and Caribbean Under 16 female champion Hannah Wilson.

In the last round, Moore defeated newcomer Shernelle Padmore, Eversley won against Heather Leslie and Wilson won a long battle against Leshay Springer. In the other game Chanon Reifer-Belle also won in a long encounter with Alesha Lovell. Moore and Eversley have one outstanding game against each other.

In the next round, the featured events will see the leader Figueroa with the black pieces against Springer, Blackman will battle Moore, while Wilson will have the white pieces against Eversley.

The national female final is being played as a ten player round robin event, where each player will get to play all of the others. The event will continue Thursday evening as well as over the weekend, concluding next Tuesday evening. The games are  being played at the Coles Building, Bay Street, Bridgetown, St. Michael. The weekdays will see action begin at 6.00 p.m. and on the weekends, action will begin at 10.00 a.m.