BCF, Author at Barbados Chess Federation

Husbands retains National Blitz Championship

December 21, 2021/0 Comments/in Nationals, Tournaments/by BCF

Husbands retains National Blitz Championship

International Master Orlando Husbands put in an almost flawless performance to retain the Barbados Chess Federation’s National Blitz Championship last weekend.

Competing in his first domestic event of the year, Husbands scored eight and a half out of a maximum nine points to secure top honours in the Championship that was played as an online event due to COVID-19 restrictions on indoor sports.

The 24-year-old Husbands , the No. 2 seed, defeated the majority of his opposition but was denied a clean sweep, having had to settle for a draw against top seed and fellow International Master Delisle Warner in the sixth round.

Husbands’ success followed his outstanding performance to share top spot at the recent Sub-Zonal Qualifier to the 2023 FIDE World Cup in the Dominican Republic after which he achieved the highest ever FIDE (International Chess Federation) rating by a Barbadian.

Warner, who won last month’s National Rapid Championship, finished second in the Blitz with seven and a half points. In addition to the draw against Husbands, Warner suffered a defeat to veteran FIDE Master Dr Philip Corbin in the third round.

Corbin took third place with seven points while Justin Parsons was fourth on six points.

Hannah Wilson, who finished fifth on five and a half points, won the prize for the Best Female, while five players who ended on five points – Yeshua Hill, Chanon Reifer-Belle, Louis Wilson, Melvin Terence and Christian Mayers – shared the prizes for the Best Player rated between 1600 and 1401 and the Best Player rated Under 1400.

The Championship, played under a fast-paced format that is considered as chess’ equivalent to cricket’s Twenty20, attracted 21 players.

It came on the heels of last month’s National Rapid Championship where Warner, who has been resident in St Kitts in recent years, triumphed with six and a half out of a maximum seven points.

FIDE Master Justin Blackman took second place with six points, while Corbin and Emar Edwards shared third place with five points.

Gaybrianna Moore and Chanon Reifer-Belle, who both ended on four and a half points, shared the prize for the Best Female, while Louis Wilson, Melvin Terence, Adam Roachford and Travis Grant, who all scored four points, shared the prizes for the Best Player rated between 1600 and 1401 and the Best Player rated Under 1400. (BCF)

Delisle Warner finished second in the National Blitz Championship last weekend and won the National Rapid Championship last month.

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

Wilson captures her second national female chess championshipNovember 12, 2024 - 11:21 pm
Wilson continues to lead National Female Chess ChampionshipNovember 10, 2024 - 12:59 am
Wilson leads 2024 Female National Chess ChampionshipNovember 6, 2024 - 2:32 pm
Barbados women team win again at Chess OlympiadSeptember 20, 2024 - 12:09 pm
Barbados Chess Teams have a good round 6 in BudapestSeptember 17, 2024 - 7:30 pm

November 2024
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30

Archives

Husbands achieves highest ever FIDE rating by a Barbadian

December 4, 2021/0 Comments/in Rating, Tournaments/by BCF

Husbands achieves highest ever FIDE rating by a Barbadian

International Master Orlando Husbands has achieved the highest ever FIDE (International Chess Federation) rating by a Barbadian.

In the latest ratings published by the world governing body at the beginning of the month, Husbands moved his rating to 2374 to surpass fellow International Master Kevin Denny’s all time highest rating of 2367 achieved in 2007.

The 24-year-old Husbands improved his rating by 26 points following his impressive performance to emerge joint top of the table in the Venezuela and Caribbean Islands Sub-Zonal Qualifier to the 2023 FIDE World Cup held in the Dominican Republic last month.

Husbands, one of only four International Masters Barbados has produced, expressed his delight at attaining the new record rating.

“Breaking the 14-year record set by Kevin Denny is a very special feeling. It is also an honour. He is someone I have enormous respect for, for how high he has set the bar and for what he has been able to do for Barbadian chess. It is really good to be able to move that bar even higher,” he said.

At the Sub-Zonal Qualifier, which was Husbands’ first over the board tournament in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the four-time national champion scored seven and a half out of a maximum nine points and in the process earned a performance rating of 2467, the best by a Barbadian in a FIDE rated event.

Husbands described the event as one of the strongest Sub-Zonals he has competed in.

“It came at a pretty strange time for me because I was out of form. Due to COVID, I hadn’t played a serious competition in over a year and a half. Nevertheless it was a big opportunity for me,” he said.

“It’s the start of the World Championship cycle. We start in the Sub-Zone 2.3.5. A few persons qualified from there to go to the Zonals. The top three in the Zonals go on to the World Cup which is a pretty huge achievement. Qualifying for the Zonals for me is very big. I’m focused on trying to win that tournament next year.”

Husbands has made tremendous strides on the chess boards over the past decade, attaining the tiles on Candidate Master in 2013, FIDE Master in 2014 and International Master in 2017 when he became the first Barbadian since Denny to win the gold medal in Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Under-20 Championships. He is also a three-time CARIFTA Under-20 gold medallist and in 2018 and 2019 he achieved the unprecedented feat of winning a treble of local national titles – Open, Rapid and Blitz.

The former Lodge School student now has his sights set on becoming the first Grandmaster from the English-speaking Caribbean.

“My primary focus has to becoming Grandmaster. This is the highest honour any chess player can achieve. I actually took a big step towards this back in 2017 when I became the first person from the English-speaking Caribbean to win a Grandmaster norm. I did so by winning the CAC Under-20 Championships,” he said.

“Funding has and continues to be the biggest constraint in my way. For this reason, securing sponsorship is absolutely vital as I continue on my journey to become the first Grandmaster in the English-speaking Caribbean.” (BCF)