Four local chess players are currently playing in the prestigious World Open chess event taking place in Washington DC, U.S.A.

The group comprises four players, seasoned national representatives Emar Edwards and Justin Parsons, along with promising junior Jeremiah Farley and his dad Jefferson Farley who has had some recent success by winning a few novice events.

The event is played in six sections with an Open section and 5 ratings section going from Under 1400 to Under 2200 with each group being at 200 rating points intervals.

And it has been 12-year-old Jeremiah Farley who has been flying the Bajan flag the highest as he has had a dream start with 4 ½ points from his 5 games in the Under 2000 rating section. Jeremiah started out with three straight wins, before being held to a draw in round 4 by Jeremiah Beckles of the Unites States of America. He then bounced back in round 5  to defeat Gabriel Burgos also of the U.S.A. Jeremiah now sits in joint second place with 6 other players, a half point behind the leader Shreyas Rajendra in the 218-player strong field. He next faces Connor Laio of the US.

Emar Edwards and Justin Parsons are both participating in the Under 2200 rating section.
Edwards had a fantastic start, winning his first three games. He, however, has recorded two consecutive losses to have 3 points from his 5 games. He is in 71st place in the 263-player field and will be looking to finish strong in his last three games to improve his final position.

Justin Parsons has found the going tough and has two points from his 5 games. He was able to record a morale boosting victory in his last game against Navid Hakim of the US. Svetoslav Federov and Rahul Malayappan share the lead in this section with 5 points each.

Jefferson Farley playing in the Under 1600 rating section, in his first international event has also found the event challenging but has scored 1 ½ points so far. He like Parsons will seek to improve their results over their remaining matches.