Aaron Jaikaran of Harrison College did Barbados chess proud this weekend, when he captured the XII IRT Híbrido del Sur Sub-1800 2023 División Under 1400 rated section hybrid chess event from a 25-player field with representatives from Ecuador, Saint Lucia and Venezuela, in addition to Barbados.

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.

Jaikaran went into the event as the fourth highest ranked player but produced a very strong performance to finish unbeaten with 6 points from 7 games. He was steady throughout the event, never losing touch with the early leaders in the event but rose to the occasion when he defeated Felix Eduardo Pilco Velez of Venezuela in the last round, where it was a winner takes all final clash.

Two Ecuadorian players, Cristian Mateo Velasquez Cabrera and Josue Alejan Mendoza Montesdeoca finished a close second and third on 5 ½ points respectively.

Loki Clarke of Barbados finished in 4th position, after being the early leader after day one of the event, having racked up four consecutive wins with some aggressive play. He however stumbled on the Sunday morning losing in rounds 5 and 6 before rebounding to defeat Heidy Yarpas Flores of Ecuador to finish with a creditable 5 out of 7 points.

Other local performances saw Mileke Sinckler, Chaz- Reifer Belle and Rhys Francis finish on four points, while Charis Stuart and Isaiah Archer scored three points.

Depradine places third in Under 1800 Rating Section

In the Under 1800 section of the event, Lawrence Depradine was the highest placed local finisher in third spot with 4 ½ points from his 7 matches. He edged out Louis Wilson in the tie-break. Current local female Under 14 and 16 champion, Channon Reifer-Belle and the top seed Justin Parsons came 5th and 6th respectively on 4 points. Noah Clarke, the Under 14 national champion scored 3 ½ points.

The Bajan players had only themselves to blame as they just did not finish strong in the last two rounds with most of them suffering at least one defeat. This section of the event was topped by the brothers from Ecuador, Luis Manuel first with 6 points and Leandro Nicolas Ulloa Centeno second with 5.

The local federation wishes the Central American and Caribbean(

Aaron Jaikaran of Harrison College did Barbados chess proud this weekend, when he captured the XII IRT Híbrido del Sur Sub-1800 2023 División Under 1400 rated section hybrid chess event from a 25-player field with representatives from Ecuador, Saint Lucia and Venezuela, in addition to Barbados.

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.

Jaikaran went into the event as the fourth highest ranked player but produced a very strong performance to finish unbeaten with 6 points from 7 games. He was steady throughout the event, never losing touch with the early leaders in the event but rose to the occasion when he defeated  Felix Eduardo Pilco Velez of Venezuela in the last round, where it was a winner takes all final clash.

Two Ecuadorian players, Cristian Mateo Velasquez Cabrera and Josue Alejan Mendoza Montesdeoca finished a close second and third on 5 ½ points respectively.

Loki Clarke of Barbados finished in 4^th position, after being the early leader after day one of the event, having racked up four consecutive wins with some aggressive play. He however stumbled on the Sunday morning losing in rounds 5 and 6 before rebounding to defeat Heidy Yarpas Flores of Ecuador to finish with a creditable 5 out of 7 points.

Other local performances saw Mileke Sinckler, Chaz- Reifer Belle and Rhys Francis finish on four points, while Charis Stuart and Isaiah Archer scored three points.

Depradine places third in Under 1800 Rating Section

In the Under 1800 section of the event,  Lawrence Depradine was the highest placed local finisher in third spot with 4  ½ points from his 7 matches. He edged out Louis Wilson in the tie-break. Current local female Under 14 and 16 champion, Channon Reifer-Belle and the top seed Justin Parsons came 5^th and 6^th respectively on 4 points. Noah Clarke, the Under 14 national champion scored 3 ½ points.

The Bajan players had only themselves to blame as they just did not finish strong in the last two rounds with most of them suffering at least one defeat. This section of the event was topped by the brothers from Ecuador, Luis Manuel first with 6 points and Leandro Nicolas Ulloa Centeno second with 5.

The local federation wishes the Central American and Caribbean(C.A.C) team of Orlando Husbands, Martyn Del Castilho, Julissa Figueroa and Hannah Wilson, the best at the C.A.C games which begin the next weekend in El Salvador.

C.A.C) team of Orlando Husbands, Martyn Del Castilho, Julissa Figueroa and Hannah Wilson, the best at the C.A.C games which begin the next weekend in El Salvador.

After a couple of rounds of the Karl Sealy Memorial Senior Games Chess Championships, top seed Philip Roach and Allan Herbert are the two joint leaders having won both of their games so far.

In the first round Roach defeated Ernest King while in the second round he defeated the defending over 50 years champion, Cyprian La Touche. It was a tough match in which La Touche held the advantage late into the contest. However, a minor blunder by la Touche brought some confusion to the position and in the ensuing complications, La Touche lost on time.

Co leader Herbert has so far defeated a returning Heather Leslie in the first round, and in the second round won from the defending sixty-five plus champion Othneil Harewood.

Other victors in the last round included the likes of ace checkers player Michael Barker, and Travis Grant.

The next round will see a clash between the two leaders in what should be an exciting match.

The tournament is being played under the auspices of the Ministry of Empowerment and Elder Affairs as part of the Senior Games. The sections are thus ages forty plus, fifty plus and sixty- five plus. Due to the entries the tournament is being played in one large group with the persons receiving their separate age category prizes. The American Psychological Association has said that chess has been shown to improve cognitive function, memory, and analytical skills while decreasing anxiety and depression in aging adults. Its thus a sport that can benefit Barbados’s ageing population positively.

Charis Stuart of Eagles Academy put in an outstanding performance last week to become the Under 10 National Open Chess Champion  when he finished first, winning all his 6 games.

In only his second event, Charis showed great determination and never wavered as he always kept his foot on the gas during the event. Taking the sole lead from the field by the end of the first day with three points, on day two Charis racked up consecutive victories against Nathan Cullpepper, Jaeda Herbert and Darren Toppin to ensure an emphatic victory.

Finishing in second on tie-break was Darren Toppin, third was Jacob Ratteray and fourth was Jerimiah Farley. All the players finished on a respectable four points from six.

Under 10 Girls Champion

Also finishing on four points was Jaeda Herbert. This allowed her to be crowned the Under 10 girls champion as the females had to play with the boys as they were undersubscribed.   Second in the girls Under 10 was Amelia Mottley.

Under 8 Girls Champion

Sameera Jaikaran was the Under 8 girls champion on 2 ½ points ahead of Daisha Rose Parris and Nia Snow Clarke in second and third respectively.

After the latest round in the 2023 Heroes Day chess tournament, in the Open section, Englishman Chris White and Martinique’s Marvin Guillaume lead the event with 5 points out of 6. They are closely followed Gilles Suez-Panama of Martinique and local girl Hannah Wilson, who both have 4 ½ points.

In a brutal sixth round, the veteran White was able to hold the youth Hannah Wilson with the black pieces. White took a draw even though he was a pawn up but was dubious on whether he could have held on to this advantage.

Louis Wilson, Hannah’s older brother was able to hold the other current leader Guillaume also to a draw, but many pundits were of the view that Louis who was the exchange up was in a superior position.

Suez-Panama however played a long arduous game to grind down Adam Roachford , another member of the Barbados team to the  2022 chess Olympiad in Chennai. Suez-Panama showed excellent skill and patience to whiter down his opponent and move closer to the leaders.

Other top board results saw victories for Lionel Buisson and Mathis Huyghues-Beaufond to keep them within striking distance of the leaders on four points also.

Masters’ Section

In the masters’ section, it’s a four ways tie at the top with the grandmasters Luis Aguero and Isan Ortiz (Cuba), Neuris Delgado (Paraguay) and Christian Rios (Colombia) all have four points.

In the last round, Ortiz defeated Orlando Husbands, Aguero and Delgado drew, while Rios was held to a draw by current national champion Martyn Del Castilho.

The final round of the event, will culminate on Tuesday evening at 5.00 p.m. at the Coles Building, Bay Street, Bridgetown.