Justin Parsons continued his winning ways over the weekend when he clinched the 2024 Michael Forde Memorial chess tournament played at the Coles Building, Bay Street, Bridgetown.
Parsons went into the last round with a point lead over his two nearest rivals Ronaldo Rochester and Travis Grant and he knew that all he had to do was to avoid defeat, and the championship would be his.
In this final round, Parsons faced the plucky junior Savion Little who had already upset the number two seed Chris White of England and once again Parsons found himself under some pressure out of the opening. He however was able to navigate the turbulent waters and was able to steer his game into a balanced position before offering a draw to which Little agreed. With this result Parsons had reached an unassailable 6 points from his 7 games.
Ronaldo Rochester finished in clear second place with 5 ½ points after he defeated Noah Clarke in a relatively short affair. Rochester was in second place alone because Travis Grant, who went into the last round on the same points as Rochester fell to defeat against junior Amari Blackett. Grant finished on 4 ½ points to claim third position.
Other results in the last round saw victories for Boris Thompson, Mileke Sinckler and Jerimiah Farley. The event is named after Michael Forde who was an educator at St. George Secondary and was responsible for coaching chess at the school as well as to many junior national players during the nineteen eighties.
The next event on the Barbados Chess Federation calendar is the 2024 National Blitz championship to be played this upcoming Saturday at the Coles Building. Parsons will be looking to continue his good form recently by adding this title to his trophy cabinet

After the final round of the 2024 National Female chess championship on Monday evening at the Coles Building in Bridgetown, woman FIDE master Hannah Wilson has been crowned the triumphant winner with a maximum of 8 wins from her 8 matches.
Wilson was the top – rated player in the field and lived up to her billing as the favorite. She was very efficient in executing victory in all her matches and played with great determination. Going into the last round Wilson faced Laura Nicholls and had already won the tournament as she sat two points clear of the field with only this sole round remaining. However, Wilson was in a no – nonsense mood and she won Laura’s queen for a minor piece just after the opening was completed.
With this clear advantage Wilson duly converted the match and with that won, to officially claim her second national female title, having won her first in 2022.
Woman candidate master Chanon Reifer-Belle finished second in the event with 6 points, two clear points behind the leader. In her final round game, Reifer-Belle played very tactically to force Leshay Springer to resign as she could not keep from losing her pieces. Springer finished in third position with four points in the event.
The next event on the Barbados chess Federation calendar is the 2024 National Rapid chess championship slated for next Saturday and Sunday at the Coles Building, Bay Street, Bridgetown.