Entries by BCF

Veteran Harewood leads National Chess Championship 2nd Qualifier

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Othneil Harwood (left) started the tournament with a win against Hannah Wilson and has a perfect record after four rounds. (BCF Pictures)

Veteran Harewood leads National Chess Championship 2nd Qualifier

Veteran Othneil Harewood has reeled off a perfect streak to take the lead at the half-way stage of the Barbados Chess Federation’s (BCF) National Championship 2nd Qualifier.

The 68-year-old Harewood has scored four successive victories to maintain a 100 per cent winning record in the first over the board tournament hosted by the BCF in the COVID-19 environment.

Harewood, the no. 2 seed in the absence of some of the island’s top-rated players, started the tournament with a victory over youthful Hannah Wilson when the event pushed off last week Saturday at the Chess Centre on Exmouth Gap, Brandons, St. Michael.

He sustained his winning run throughout the week by completing wins against Hannah’s older brother, Louis, Taiye Estwick and Cyprian La Touche.

Harewood, the first president of the BCF when the Federation was established in 1981, heads the standings with a maximum four points and his followed by three contenders on three points – Louis Wilson, Mark Lowe and Adam Roachford.

The top five is completed by La Touche, who is on two-and-a-half points.

Harewood will look to maintain his winning streak when he faces off against top seed Lowe in the fifth round of games on Sunday starting at 4 p.m. The sixth round will be played on Tuesday with the seventh and final round set for Thursday.

The event has attracted 14 competitors and the top three finishers will advance to the National Championship finals scheduled for October 10 to 20. The final three qualifiers will come from the 3rd Qualifier which will be contested from September 6 to 19. The nine qualifiers will attempt to dethrone two-time defending champion Orlando Husbands.

Special COVID-19 protocols have been established for the Qualifiers which require players to wear face masks and undergo temperature checks on entering the venue.

Additionally, spectators are not allowed but the BCF is providing live streaming of the event to allow fans to follow the games in real time. (BCF)

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Blackman wins Caribbean Blitz Online Tournament

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Barbadian Justin Blackman was the champion in the Caribbean Blitz Online Tournament. (BCF Picture)

Blackman wins Caribbean Blitz Online Tournament

Barbadian FIDE Master Justin Blackman put in an almost flawless performance to emerge as champion in the Caribbean Blitz Online Chess Tournament last weekend.

Blackman, the reigning national blitz champion, won the event by securing six-and-a-half out of a maximum seven points to claim top honours in the 15-player field.

The 28-year-old was comfortably clear of his nearest rivals as second-placed FIDE Master Joshua Johnson of Trinidad and Tobago and third-placed Candidate Master Casanova Sanches of Suriname both finished with five points.

For his performance, Blackman has earned free accommodation for the 2021 Sub-Zonal Championships in the Dominican Republic.

“It was a pretty good tournament. I don’t think it was that easy. I got six-and-a-half points out of seven, but there were some close calls. Overall I would say there was a good level of play,” Blackman said.

“My plan was to always play in the Sub-Zonal. We don’t know when it will happen but to get free accommodation will be a cost saving.”

Blackman, the only Barbadian competing in the event, defeated Sanches, Trinidadians Amadeus Singh, Allan Monroe and Courtney Lee, Angelo Evens of Haiti and Edgardo Almedina of Puerto Rico. The only game he failed to win was his fourth round contest against Johnson which ended in a draw.

The tournament was contested in the fast-paced blitz format where each player is allotted three minutes plus two seconds for every move.

Blackman was Barbados’ best player at the 2018 over-the-board FIDE Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia and was also part of the national team that competed in the recent FIDE Online Olympiad.

The Caribbean Blitz Online Chess Tournament was part of a series of online tournaments organised by the Confederation of Chess for Americas in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. (BCF)

 

Barbadian Justin Blackman was the champion in the Caribbean Blitz Online Tournament. (BCF Picture)

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Over the board chess tournaments set to resume

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Over the board chess tournaments set to resume

Over the board chess tournaments are set to resume this weekend with the start of the National Championship 2nd Qualifier at the Chess Centre on Exmouth Gap, Brandons, St. Michael.

It will be first event hosted by the Barbados Chess Federation (BCF) in the COVID-19 environment and protocols have been put in place to ensure the health and safety of participants.

Competitors and officials will be required to have temperature checks on arrival at the venue; they are required to wear face masks; they are encouraged to sanitise their hands liberally and players should stay three feet away from all other players bar their opponent. Additionally, no spectators will be allowed in the playing hall.

This over the board event follows Barbados’ participation in the inaugural FIDE Online Olympiad in which they finished seventh in Division 3 which was contested from August 7 to 9.

The Qualifier pushes off on Saturday at 4 p.m. with the first of seven rounds. Given the size of the Chess Centre, if the number of entries exceeds 20 players, each round of games will be played over two days with the top half of the draw playing on one day and the bottom half the next day. As a result, the Qualifier will run until September 4.

The top three finishers will advance to the National Championship finals set for October 10 to 20 and the last three players will come from the 3rd Qualifier which is scheduled from September 6 to 19. Awaiting the qualifiers in the finals will be the defending champion Orlando Husbands.

When the 1st Qualifier was staged in January, teenager Kyle Sandiford prevailed by upstaging senior rivals with Emar Edwards finishing second and Akeem Cox third.

The BCF was hoping to resume over the board tournaments with the conclusion of the Secondary Inter-Schools Championships on August 15 at the Wildey Gymnasium. However, after consultations with representatives of the eight competing schools on their willingness to conclude the Championships, a decision was taken not to continue with the Championships. The competition started on March 14 and was due to finish on March 21 but was suspended on March 18 after the island recorded its first COVID-19 case.

The BCF also took a decision not to stage the Primary Inter-School Championships but most of the tournaments on its original 2020 calendar have been included in a revised schedule. (BCF)

 

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Barbados end off with a victory at Online Chess Olympiad

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Barbados end off with victory at Online Chess Olympiad

Barbados defeated Dominican Republic in their final game of the FIDE Online Olympiad to claim seventh place in Pool E of Division 3 on Sunday.

The Bajans beat fifth-placed Dominican Republic 4-5-1.5 to finish off strongly after losing to eventual Pool winners Mexico 5-5-0.5 and second-placed Costa Rica 4-2 earlier in the day.

With four wins from nine games over three days of competition, Barbados ended with eight points which represented a commendable showing against mainly opponents with higher ratings from the Americas region.

The impressive win against Dominican Republic was set up by victories from Orlando Husbands, Katrina Blackman, Julissa Figueroa and Vanessa Greeenidge. Nitin Mahtani played to a draw, while Martyn Del Castilho suffered defeat.

In the penultimate round against Costa Rica, Barbados were in contention for victory after going ahead 2-1 with the help of a win by Husbands and draws from the two Under-20 representatives, Mahtani and Azaria Johnson.

Costa Rica, however, pulled back as Del Castilho, Figueroa and Blackman lost their games.

Barbados found the going tough in their first match of the day against top rated Mexico where Justin Blackman prevented a clean sweep by earning a draw.

Terry Farley, Gaybrianna Moore, Kiarra Eversley, Aaron Haynes and Johnson all went under against the Mexicans.

Mexico topped the Pool with seven wins and a draw to finish with 15 points while Costa Rica took second place with 14 points from six wins and two draws. Guatemala rounded off the top three with 12 points which came from five wins and two draws.

Mexico, Costa Rica and have Guatemala have advanced to Division 2 which will be contested from Friday.

Jamaica, the only other English-speaking Caribbean team in Division 3, finished sixth in Pool D, collecting ten points from four wins and two draws.

The Online Olympiad, which has attracted more than 1 500 participants from 163 countries, has been organised by the world governing body for chess in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. (BCF)

 

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Mixed fortunes for Barbados in Online Chess Olympiad

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Mixed fortunes for Barbados in Online Chess Olympiad

Barbados enjoyed mixed fortunes on the second day of competition in the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad on Saturday.

The Bajans defeated Suriname 4-2 but lost to Guatemala 4.5-1.5 and went under to El Salvador 4-2 as the battle intensified in Pool E of Division 3.

With the results, Barbados slipped to sixth place in the ten-team pool after holding their own on the first day with wins against Honduras and Panama that left them in third place.

It was a tall order for the Bajans in the fourth round when they took on the higher rated Guatemala.

Martyn Del Castilho registered the only victory for Barbados to maintain his 100 per cent winning record, while Justin Blackman managed a draw in his first game of the competition. The rest of the team, however, found it tough, resulting in losses for Katrina Blackman and Kiarra Eversley and the two Under-20s, Nitin Mahtani and Vanessa Greenidge.

Barbados bounced back in the fifth round to beat Caribbean rivals Suriname with Del Castilho, Orlando Husbands, Mahtani and Greenidge achieving victories. Katrina Blackman and Julissa Figueroa, however, were on the losing end.

The Bajans were unable to sustain the winning tempo in the sixth round and lost to the higher ranked El Salvador.

Terry Farley scored the only win for Barbados by completing his second victory in as many games, while there were draws for Figueroa and Azaria Johnson, who was playing her first game on the Under-20 female boards.

Del Castilho lost for the first time in five games while Katrina Blackman and Haynes also suffered defeats.

Having recorded three wins and as many losses, Barbados are on five points and in sixth place. They are level on points with fifth-placed Guatemala and seventh-placed Panama.

Costa Rica lead the table on nine points, leading top seeds Mexico on the tie break. The first three teams will advance to Division 2.

The Bajans, who are playing at the Chess Centre on Exmouth Gap on Brandons, will round off their Division 3 campaign today with games against Mexico at noon, Costa Rica at 1 p.m. and Dominican Republic at 2 p.m. (BCF)

Captions:

Vanessa Greenidge completed her third win on the Under-20 female boards. (BCF Pictures)

Terry Farley has won both of his games.

Note: Live streaming of the FIDE Online Olympiad with a focus on teams from the Americas region can be viewed by clicking on the following link: https://www.youtube.com/c/DavysChessChannel

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The Barbados Chess Federation has name a 12-member team

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The Barbados Chess Federation has named a 12-member team.

Barbados is among 163 countries set to compete at the inaugural FIDE Online Chess Olympiad.

The Barbados Chess Federation has named a 12-member team for the global event which will start on Saturday and run until August 30.

The event has been organised in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic which forced the world governing body for chess to postpone the over-the-board 44th Olympiad from August this year until the summer of 2021 in Moscow, Russia.

Played as a mixed event – each country will field three males and three females for each round – the Online Olympiad will be contested over the rapid format in which games usually last a maximum of half-hour. Each team is mandated to play an Under-20 male and Under-20 female in every round.

Reigning double crown champion International Master Orlando Husbands, six-time national champion FIDE Master Martyn Del Castilho, former national champion International Master Terry Farley and FIDE Master Justin Blackman, the island’s most successful player at the 2018 Olympiad in Batumi, Georgia will carry Barbados’ hopes on the male boards which also include Under-20s Nitin Mahtani and Aaron Haynes.

The youthful women’s unit is spearheaded by five-time national ladies champion Katrina Blackman and fellow Woman Candidate Master Julissa Figueroa. They are joined by four players under the age of 20 – Vanessa Greenidge, Gaybrianna Moore, Kiarra Eversley and Azaria Johnson.

Dirk Austin, who has the experience of coaching in Malaysia, is non-playing captain, while Belgian Grandmaster Mikhail Gurevich is coach for the male players and Spanish International Master Renier Castellanos is coach for the females.

The Online Olympiad is split into five divisions based on performances at the 2018 over-the-board Olympiad. Barbados, seeded at no. 102, will play in Division 3 from August 5 to 9. They are among 35 seeded teams in that division which will be completed by 15 qualifiers from Division 4 which will be played from July 29 to August 2.

Barbados is the only English-speaking Caribbean country in Division 3 – the others are in either Division 4 or the Base Division.

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Notice

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Notice

The Barbados Chess Federation has been advised by the Confederation of Chess for Americas (CCA) that it has postponed all of its events scheduled for 2020 (with the exception of events in November and December) until 2021.

A decision on events scheduled for the last two months of this year will be made in September.

Among the events which have been postponed until 2021 is the 9th CARIFTA Championship which was scheduled for Guyana from April 9 to 14, 2020. The Barbados Chess Federation had selected an 18-member team for the Championship.

The CCA has also announced that events scheduled for 2021 will now go over to 2022.

In March, FIDE, the world governing body for chess, had announced the postponement of the 44th Chess Olympiad that was scheduled to be held in Moscow, Russia in August 2020. The event is now set for 2021.

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Tournaments Postponed

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Tournaments Postponed

In view of the increased number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Barbados, we wish to advise of the postponement of the following tournaments:

1.March 30 and 31: National Scholastics (Under-7, Under-9, Under-13)
2. April 28 to May 3: Heroes’ Day Cup

Having been previously granted permission by a school to use its facilities for the National Scholastics on March 30 and 31, we explored the possibility of concluding the Secondary Inter-School Championships on March 30, 31 and April 1 – consideration was being given to staging the three age-groups on a different day in an effort to cut down on the number of participants assembled on each day. The school, however, informed us that in light of the current circumstances, its facilities will not be available on those days.

The Heroes Day Cup is an International Title Tournament – a tournament in which titles or title norms can be achieved. It usually includes overseas players and requires a minimum of three International Masters to qualify to be an International Title Tournament. In light of the postponement of the Heroes Day Cup, we will look at other options to host an International Title Tournament later in the year.

Given the constantly changing situation facing us as a result of the global pandemic, we wish to reiterate that we are mindful of the need to take steps to contain the spread of the virus and we place utmost importance of the health and well-being of all of our valued stakeholders.

We will continue to assess the situation and further announcements will be forthcoming as required. In the meantime, we urge everyone to follow the advice of the relevant authorities and take the necessary precautions to guard against COVID-19.

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The New Executive

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The New Executive

The Annual General Meeting of the Barbados Chess Federation was held on Sunday March 8 at the Chess Centre on Exmouth Gap, Brandons, St. Michael.

One of the items on the agenda was the election of officers. There is one change to the previous executive. Rohansonn Waithe is the new Treasurer, having replaced Donna Murray, who did not seek re-election.

The full executive for the 2020-22 period is:

President: Allan Herbert
1st Vice-President (Member Development): Carol Ann Burke
2nd Vice-President (Junior Chess): Lawrence Depradine
3rd Vice-President (Tournaments): Kelvin Daniel
General Secretary: Haydn Gill
Treasurer: Rohansonn Waithe

The new Executive wishes to thank the members for its endorsement and looks forward to working with the chess community over the next two years as we strive to further develop the sport. We also wish to extend our gratitude to former Treasurer Donna Murray for her service to the Federation over the past four years.

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Rory Prescod and Hannah Wilson victorious again.

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Rory Prescod and Hannah Wilson victorious again.

Two of the island’s promising junior chess players are celebrating the capture of a second national title in successive months.

Rory Prescod and Hannah Wilson, who won the National Under-12 Open and Female titles respectively in January, captured the Under-14 equivalents and were among eight champions crowned when the National Under-18, Under-14, Under-10 and Under-8 Championships concluded last weekend at Harrison College.

Wilson, a student of Charles F. Broome, extended a remarkable 100 per cent winning streak in junior competitions by marching to her fifth consecutive age-group title without dropping a point.

The top seed defeated each of her six opponents to win comfortably ahead of Yhden Layne of Queen’s College and Alesha Lovell of Ellerslie. Both Layne and Lovell finished with four-and-a-half points but Layne was second on the tie-break.

Prescod, of Queen’s College, also achieved a perfect tally of six points in a section that attracted 28 entrants.
The top rated Prescod finished ahead of Tarquin Clark of St Winifred’s and Kimahri Holder of Queen’s College who both ended on five points. Clark was second on the tie-break.

More than 70 players competed in the championships that were contested in four age-groups. The Open and Female categories were merged in three of the age-groups because of insufficient entries but there were champions for each gender.

Aaron Haynes of Queen’s College captured the Under-18 Open section on the tie-break ahead of University of the West Indies student Taiye Estwick after both players finished with five points, while Yeshua Hill of Harrison College was third with four points.

Jalia Linton of Alexandra won the Under-18 Female division with four points, beating Queen’s College’s Erin Mahon by one point. Jalia’s older sister, Jahzara, who attends Coleridge & Parry, was third with two points.

Wills Primary’s Aaron Jaikaran completed a clean sweep of the boards to emerge as the Under-10 Open champion with a maximum six points. Derick Boyce of Charles F. Broome was second with five points and Alexander Berry of St. Gabriel’s third on four points.

Charles F. Broome’s Jyizela Bajit took the Under-10 Female title with two points, beating out Bella Bourne of Wills on the tie-break.

Chaz Reifer-Belle of Charles F. Broome dominated the boards in the Under-8 Open division to register a perfect six points with the Wills pair of Luke Lewis and Ethan Morris taking second and third places respectively after both ended on four points.

Jaeda Herbert comfortably took the Under-8 Female section with four points, followed by Wills schoolmates Sameera Jaikaran and Abigail Payne who both managed one-and-a-half points.

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