The Barbados Chess Federation (BCF)  recently received a donation of equipment from the Gift of Chess, a nonprofit organization based in New York, whose goal is to transform lives through the universal language of chess.

This organization distributes chess sets and chess training technology across four key social initiatives, those being educational, prison, global, and elderly outreach. It is active with chess federations, educational institutions, and non-governmental agencies especially in developing countries.

The Bajan leg of its global outreach of the body was represented by Marissa Broomes, a teacher based in New York, but born in Barbados. She made the equipment donation at her primary school alma matter Lawrence T Gay, where she gifted the equipment to former Barbados Chess federation president Rohan Waithe.

In their educational initiative, the Gift of chess has given chess sets to many schools all over the world from each New York city elementary school to schools in Lagos, Nigeria. They also donate a chess training application.  With the donation, its hoped that a club would spring up at the institution and that students would learn to apply some of the skills that they would pick up when they learn to play the game such critical thinking, planning, problem solving and time management.

With this donation it would be hoped that the BCF would seek initiatives especially at the community level to use this equipment.

The chess federation calendar ticks over this weekend with the hosting of the Margaret Prince Memorial rapid online event. This is a female only event for Caribbean territories in honor of Barbados’s first female national champion Margaret Prince.

Reigning national ladies chess champion Hannah Wilson dominated the National Scholastics Championships by winning two of the categories.

In the first local over-the-board action for juniors since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Wilson captured the Girls’ Under-15 and Under-17 sections when the Championships concluded last Saturday at the Coles Building on Bay Street in Bridgetown.

In the Under-15 age-group in which the boys and girls were merged due to insufficient entries among the females, the 13-year-old Queen’s College student took the Girls’ category with five and a half out of a maximum six points. She had to settle for a draw against Aaron Jaikaran in the fifth round but had her way for the rest of the competition. Naomi Lewis of Harrison College finished second in the Under-15 Girls’ category with three points, while Sahara Brathwaite of Queen’s College was third with two points.

Samuel Greenidge and Kanye Williams, both of Queen’s College, made a favourable impression in the Under-15 Open section and both finished with five points, losing only to Wilson. Greenidge, however, was declared the champion on the tie-break ahead of Williams with Jaikaran taking third place on four and a half points.

Wilson completed a 100 per cent winning record in the Under-17 Girls’ age-group in which the boys and girls were also merged. She went into the final round in a top-of-the-table clash against the previously unbeaten Alesha Lovell and duly won to record a maximum five points with Lovell taking second place on four points.

Alex Sargeant was the Under-17 Open champion with three points, while Jamani Bowen took second place with two points.

Jaikaran, of Harrison College, dominated the Under-11 Open category by scoring a perfect six points to win by one and a half points ahead of Chaz Reifer-Belle of Charles F. Broome Primary. Alexander Berry of Harrison College placed third on the tie-break ahead of Nathan Patterson-Simmons of Charles F. Broome Primary after both players ended on four points.

In the Under-11 Girls’ category, Jaeda Herbert of Luther Thorne Primary and Kayla Culpepper of Harrison College emerged as joint champions with four and a half points each. They were unable to be separated after the third tie-breaker. Makayla St. Aimee was third with three points.

The Championships, which attracted 44 players, were contested over six successive days, with the Under-11s in action last week Monday and Tuesday, the Under-15s on Wednesday and Thursday and the Under-17s on Friday and Saturday. (BCF)