After three of the seven rounds of the 2023 VEXX chess tournament, Kemp Lynch is the sole player in the lead with three points.

Lynch, the second ranked player in the field, has looked impressive in his play and in the last round he defeated woman candidate master Julissa Figueroa with the black pieces. While Lynch’s victory allowed him to stand alone at the top, it was only so because Allan Herbert had defeated Travis Grant, after a long tough battle.

Grant had so far been the giant killer in the field and had defeated the number one and three ranked players in the field in the form of Philip Roach and Chris White. He found Herbert, a bridge too far to cross and after stubborn resistance , he succumbed to defeat.

Other important results in the round saw Roach defeat Ernest King, White win from Othniel Harewood, Kiarra Eversley got the point from Mileke Sinckler and Aaron Jaikaran defeat Jerimiah Farley.

Thus, Lynch leads 7 players in joint second on 2 points, which include all the winners in the afore mentioned paragraph as well as Figueroa, Herbert and Grant.

In the next round over this weekend at the Coles Building on Bay Street, Bridgetown, Lynch will try to stay in the lead as he battles Chris White, while the number one seed Philip Roach will hold the black pieces against Kiara Eversley.

Wilson campaigns in Puerto Rico

Top local junior player and current Under 16 Central American and Caribbean female champion Hannah Wilson is currently representing Barbados at the 2023 Central and Caribbean women’s chess championship in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

She currently sits in 6th position on two and a half points from four matches in a field of 20 players representing 10 countries from across the region.

Wilson started well by defeating the second highest ranked player in the event, Obdulis Hermoso Rodriguez of Trinidad, but then she lost to Polina Karelina of Bahamas in round two. Wilson then bounced back in round three with victory over Gabriela Vera Perez of Puerto Rico before drawing her fourth-round game against Daniel Juarez Garcia of Guatemala.

The event, is currently led by Danitza Maccarini Vasquez of Puerto Rico on three and a half points, ahead of her teammate Natasha Morales, Karelina and Katherine Kaslan of Surinam, all on three points. Five games remain and the matches should become more intense as a championship winner is to be crowned

The 5^th round of the 2023 National Ladies’ chess championship created an upheaval at the top, as current  Central American and Caribbean Under 16 female champion Hannah Wilson, defeated the then current leader Julissa Figueroa to now claim a share of first place with 4 points from 5 games.

In a clash of experience versus youth, it was the experienced Figueroa who was the one who built up a clear early advantage in the game. She however made a slight inaccuracy, and it was the youthful Wilson who turned the position around and with both players under time pressure, it was Wilson who pushed towards victory.

Two players sit jointly in third place on three and a half points. These are Katrina Blackman and Gaybrianna Moore. In the last round, Blackman outlasted Alesha Lovell, while Moore won quickly form Leshay Springer. Moore however has a game in hand.

Other results in the round saw Heather Leslie defeat Shernelle Padmore, while Kiarra Eversley and Channon Reifer-Belle battled to a hard-fought draw.

The Ladies National championship is being played as a round robin event at the Coles Building, Bay Street in Bridgetown. Action will continue over the weekend with games at 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m.

Local boy Ronaldo Rochester did himself and Barbados proud as he captured one section of the XIII IRT Híbrido del Sur 2023 hybrid chess event played over the last weekend.

A hybrid chess event is one where players compete from a central location and play via an online chess platform under the supervision of a chess referee.

Rochester won the Under 1700 rating section of the event in dramatic fashion from a field comprising of 21 players from the countries of  Dominica, Venezuela, Ecuador, St. Lucia, and Cayman Islands.

Rochester went into the event as the top-rated player, but the wheels almost quickly fell off when he lost his first-round game against Antonio Manuel Palacios Benites of Ecuador. Rochester then settled himself and racked up 4 consecutive victories that would see him going into the final round 6, as one of the three leaders on four points in what was turning out to be a very competitive field.

Taking his fate into his own hands, Rochester played a clinical game in the final round to dispatch Ulises Julian Diaz Araujo of Venezuela and with the other co-leader Gustavo Adolfo Vera Arboleda losing to Erich Reyes of Dominica, Rochester had crowned himself winner of the event with 5 points from his 6 games. Reyes was second and Hugo Jose  Mejias Villafanez of Venezuela third on tie-break, as both players finished on 4 ½ points.

Other Bajan participants in the section were the pair of Chanon Reifer – Belle and Noah Clarke who both finished on 2 ½ points each.

Edwards third in Under 2100 Rating Section

Multi-talented Emar Edwards was Barbados’s best performer in the Under 2100 rating section as he placed third with 4 points from a possible 6.

Barbados would have initially felt confident, for in the 15-player field in this top section, local players were initially seeded second to fourth in the form of Emar Edwards, Justin Parsons, and Lawrence Depradine. The 6 local players competing here would have included 5 who would have recently played in the Barbados National chess championship final including current  Central American and Caribbean Under 14 female champion Hannah Wilson.

The Bajan players, however, found the going tough and only Edwards was able to make a significant impact. Depradine finished on 3 ½, Wilson and Parsons on three, while Adam Roachford and Cyprian La Touche finished on two points. The section was won by candidate master Marlon Aspiazu Sibri of Ecuador with an impressive 5 ½ points from 6.

Under 1300 Rating section

Mileke Sinckler was the top Bajan performer in this massive field of 61 players. He played solidly throughout the event with four wins and two draws to score 5 points from a possible 6, to tie for joint second with four other players, but had to settle for fourth on the tie-break.

The next best local performer was Aaron Jaikaran in 7^th spot but who was initially seeded first but could only muster 4 ½ points. Jacob Layson finished 9^th with 4 points after being up with the leaders after 4 rounds, but losses in the last two rounds caused him to slip down the pack. The other 7 Bajan players finished further down the field, but Ernest King, Jerimiah Farley, Dr. Alfred Sparman and Loki Clarke did manage to make a respectable 50% score.

Felix Eduardo Pilco Velez of Ecuador was winner of this section with 5 ½ points from the 6 games. Ricardo Alfonso Rondon Zapata and Samuel David Caraballo Briceno, both of Venezuela finished second and third respectively on the tie-break with 5 points.

Just past the half ways point of the 2023 National Open Chess Championship, international master Orlando Husbands has taken the lead after defeating former leader and defending champion Fide master Martyn Del Castilho in the 5^th round of the 9-round event.

Husbands went into the round, a half-point behind Del Castilho, who was on maximum points after having won all his matches. With Del Castilho playing the white pieces, many pundits believed that he could neutralize Husbands and probably steer the game to a draw. Husbands, however, showed his pedigree and played very actively throughout the clash, and eventually put Del Castilho under pressure until the latter blundered a piece and resigned.

With this result Husbands now leads with 4 ½ points, while Del Castilho is still in touch on 4 points.

In third spot is Emar Edwards with 3 ½ points. Edwards showed his attacking prowess in the last round when he swiftly defeated the current under 14 Central American and Caribbean(C.A.C) female bronze medal Channon Reifer-Belle.

Dr. Philip Corbin lies currently in fourth spot after a  comfortable victory over Adam Roachford. Current C.A.C under 16 female gold medal winner Hannah Wilson rounds out the top 5, after she defeated Ronaldo Rochester. The other result in the round saw Lawrence Depradine defeat Justin Parsons with the black pieces to claim his first victory after having only racked up two draws previously.

With 4 more games remaining in the event to be played over the weekend at the Coles Building, Bay Street, Bridgetown, it will be a chase until the finish, as Husbands will need to win all his games to ensure victory.

The nest round to be played on Saturday at 10.00 a.m. will see the important matches of Depradine against the leader Husbands and Wilson against Del Castilho.