Persistence and determination are two of the qualities that any good sportsman should possess, and Justin Parsons has demonstrated these erstwhile qualities throughout the year and was rewarded with victory in the final chess event of the year, the 2023 National Rapid Chess Championships played on the last day of 2023 at the Coles Building, Bay Street in the city.

Parsons went into the event as the third highest rated player in the 20-player field, but it was a stacked field which included multi event winners over the past year like Chris White of England and locals like Kemp Lynch, Ronaldo Rochester and top junior Hannah Wilson.

Parsons was not deterred and in round four he took the clear lead in the event when he defeated White with the black pieces in a hard-fought battle. A draw with Lynch in round 5, a win in the next one and a final round victory against Rochester allowed Parsons to sit on the top of the podium with 6 ½ points and crown himself as the rapid champion. Rapid chess is where players have more than 10 minutes but less than 60 minutes and is akin to one day cricket.

Kemp Lynch finished in second with 6 points, a half point behind the winner, while the multi-talented Emar Edwards came in third with 5 points. The top female prize was garnered by Hannah Wilson, who scored a respectable 4 ½ points from her 7 matches.

The top 1600 – 1401 rating prize was shared by Rochester and veteran Cyprian LaTouche, while Mileke Sinckler and Stephan Wijnhof shared the Under 1400 and below category prize. All these players scored 4 points and it was a very credible performance for Wijnhof who was participating in his first competitive local event.

The Barbados Chess Federation will have a packed 2024 schedule locally, regionally, and internationally. It will start locally with the international master Kevin Denny Open in late January, the first Qualifier for the 2024 Barbados National Chess Championship final. The first Caricom team championship to be played in Guyana in early March will be the highlight of the regional events and then in September, Barbados will join all the other chess playing nations in the world to participate in the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Hungary.  As the world governing chess body F.I.D.E celebrates 100 years of existence, Barbados will hope to also make this a memorable year for chess. Happy New year to all and keep pushing those pawns.

While Hannah Wilson  was able to repeat as the Under 17 scholastics female chess champion, a new Under 17 Open champion was crowned in the form of Joseph Yeung – Chou over the last weekend at Harrison College.

Wilson was dominant in a small field of 6 players and showed why she is the top-rated junior player in the country as she swept all her opponents in the round-robin event to record 5 points from her 5 matches. The Open and female were played in one group due to low subscriptions.

Wilson led with three points after the first day’s play along with her local nemesis and fellow CAC medalist Chanon Reifer – Belle. However, when the two leaders met on Sunday morning in a clash which would have determined the tournament winner, it was Wilson who would come out victorious which would lead to her eventually reclaiming her title, which she duly did after defeating Cristiano Simpson in the last round. The defeat for Reifer-Belle seemed to offset the young player as she suffered a dramatic upset at the hands of Yeung-Chou.

In the female section, Reifer-Belle finished second, while Lashay Springer finished third.

Yeung-Chou Under 18 Open Champion

Jason Yeung-Chou of Harrison College had his most impressive result in his budding chess career when he captured his first championship title in his first individual event. Yeung-Chou looks like a player to watch for the future as he scored four points from his 5 games. His only lost came against Wilson, but he racked up four consecutive victories including the scalps of Loki Clarke, Leshay Springer and Reifer-Belle, who were all selectees to represent Barbados at the 2023 Central American and Caribbean Youth chess championships in Trinidad earlier in the summer.  Loki Clarke finished second in the Open section, while Cristiano Simpson finished third.

In his latest match, Husbands ranked 12^th in the event defeated Nicolas Batista Rosas of Panama with the white pieces to move just a half point behind the leaders. Husbands had started out with two victories, before falling to defeat at the hands of the 4^th highest ranked player in the event, international master Terry Renato of Peru n round three. He then followed that up with two victories to remain in contention for the lead.

In the 6^th round, Husbands will have his hands full as he battles with the black pieces against grandmaster Jose Cuenca Jimenez of Spain. He would be hoping for a good result to keep him in contention.

The tournament is currently led by grandmaster Ermes Veloz Espinosa of Cuba, Renato and top seed grandmaster Johan Sebastien Christiansen of Norway with 4 ½ points. Husbands sits in a group of 7 players just behind the group of leaders with 4 more rounds of the event left.

After 5 rounds of the IV Panama Chess Open being played in Panama City, Panama, current national chess player international master Orlando Husbands sits in 6^th position on the tie-break with 4 points from 5 matches in the 75-player field consisting of players from a dozen countries.

In his latest match, Husbands ranked 12^th in the event defeated Nicolas Batista Rosas of Panama with the white pieces to move just a half point behind the leaders. Husbands had started out with two victories, before falling to defeat at the hands of the 4^th highest ranked player in the event, international master Terry Renato of Peru n round three. He then followed that up with two victories to remain in contention for the lead.

In the 6^th round, Husbands will have his hands full as he battles with the black pieces against grandmaster Jose Cuenca Jimenez of Spain. He would be hoping for a good result to keep him in contention.

The tournament is currently led by grandmaster Ermes Veloz Espinosa of Cuba, Renato and top seed grandmaster Johan Sebastien Christiansen of Norway with 4 ½ points. Husbands sits in a group of 7 players just behind the group of leaders with 4 more rounds of the event left.