Primary Interschool Team chess championship about to begin

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The 2026 edition of the Barbados Primary Interschool Team chess championship comes off this Thursday and Friday at the Wildey Gymnasium starting at 9.00 a.m. each day.

The tournament is a 5 round Swiss team event with each team being made up of 5 players with a possible two reserves and is open to all public and private secondary schools and each school being able to enter up to a maximum of three teams. Each player scores a point for a win, a ½ point for a draw and zero for a loss. The cumulative game points are then used to determine the championship winners.

The champions of 2025, Charles F Broome, will be looking to defend their crown this year as they seek a three- peat of successes. They have been the dominant force of Primary school chess under the guidance of coach Corie Elcock over the last few years.

Last year, Charles F Broomes ‘A’ team eked out an exciting half – point win over second place finishers St. Winifreds. St. Winifreds had retained most of their players from last year, but due to the tournament clashing with exams, they have decided to forego the event. Unfortunately, also the 2025 third place finishers in the event St. Giles will not also be participating.  However, last year’s fourth place finishers St. Gabriels will be in action, and they will be looking to improve their finishing position from last year.

Last year’s championship had 20 teams participating from 14 primary schools and this number should increase this year. The Barbados Chess Federation continues to encourage the growth of the game in the school system and will be looking forward to cooperating earnestly with the Ministry of Education’s ‘Chess in Education program’ which it should soon implement.

Queens College sweeps Secondary School team chess championships.

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  • Nathan Simmons-Patterson Won all his games in the under 15 Section
  • Loki Clarke won all his games in the under 20 Section

Queens College school swept the Secondary School team championship that was played recently.

Queens College A teams clinched each of the three divisions to crown themselves as kings of the events.

The Secondary School team chess championship was played in three divisions, with players competing in the Under 13, Under 15 and Under 20 sections. Each team would have consisted of 5 players, with a player scoring 1 point for a win, a ½ point for a draw and 0 points for a lost. The team who scored the most points would be considered as the champions of that division.

In the Under 20 Section, Queen’s College A team won the section with 27 points from a possible 30 ahead of a dozen teams in that section. The team consisting of Noah Clarke, Chanon Reifer-Belle, Amari Blackett, Loki Clarke, Isaiah Archer and Eden Gibson won all 6 of their matches with their only scare being a 3-2 victory over Harrison College A. The Clarke brothers both won all their 6 games and led the team to an impressive victory.

Harrison College A team duly finished in second place with 23 points. The team of Mileke Sinckler, Aaron Jaikaran, Jeremiah Farley, Nathan Reid and Naomi Lewis played steady throughout the event but could not garner enough points for victory. Jaikaran played exceptionally well recording 6 victories from his 6 matches.

Queens College B team edged out Combermere A team on tie-break for third place as both teams scored 17 ½ points.

In the Under 15 section, Queens College A team also rose to the challenge as they claimed victory with 28 game points from a possible 30. The team consisting  of Savion Little, Cristopher Greene, Nathan Simmons-Patterson, Jayden Howell, Zefan Scott and Ziede was victorious over all the opponent teams they played. Greene and Simmons-Patterson were most outstanding, winning all six of their games, while Scott also scored 100% of his 5 games .

The Harrison College A team finished adrift in second place on 23 ½ points.
Aidan Singh playing on board 1 did his school proud as he won all 6 of his games inclusive of an upset over the Queens College A team board 1 player Savion Little.
The young team of Singh, Kayla Culpepper, Muaz Hussein, Ethan Watson and Luke Conliffe will be looking to improve next year as they will all be still eligible to play in this category.

Combermere’s A team edged out the St. Winifreds school by a half point to finish in third spot. Comberemere scored 15 games points versus St. Winifreds 14 ½.

In the Under 13 section, Queens College A team took the title by a bare one point over the Harrison College A team in what turned out to be the most exciting section.

Queens College A scored 26 points while Kolij A scored 25 points. When Queens College A defeated Harrison College A 3-2 in round two of the event. It was just a matter of them holding on to that slim lead throughout the next four rounds. Even as both sides dropped some points to other teams, it was Queens A who held their nerve till the end.

Congratulations go to the team of Chaz Reifer-Belle, Jaeda Herbert, Zane Ward, Aiden Greaves, Donte Young, and Nye-Moore Thompson.

Combermere A team finished in third place on 15 points, ahead of the Foundation school in fourth place at 15 points.

Approximately 200 players took part in event from 9 schools. Queens College were crowned as the overall champions.