Barbados womens’ chess team defeat Mauritius at chess Olympiad in Round 4

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It was a day of mixed fortunes on day 4 of 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary for Team Barbados.
The ladies’ team of Hannah Wilson, Katrina Blackman, Chanon Reifer-Belle and Leshay Springer on the day recorded a 3 ½ – ½ victory against Mauritius.
Reifer-Belle was the first to record victory as she pressed home a queen-side attack against her opponent Aamirah Becky and eventually was able to win a piece causing her opponent to resign. Leshay Springer then had to battle to a draw on board 4 against Stephanie Lee You Voon, even though Springer was a pawn down in the end game.
Next, national female champion Katrina Blackman who had won a piece early in her game was able to defeat Preetisha Devi Gungadoo. On board one, top junior Hannah Wilson won from  Chethanah Andhin after a lengthy battle. This was a good bounce back for the local team as they had gone down to Bangladesh 3 ½ – ½ in round 3.
In the Open section of the event, the team of Fide master Justin Blackman, Kemp Lynch, Emar Edwards and Lawrence Depradine went under 1-3 to the team of Uganda. Blackman won his match by default, the other three players put up a spirited performance, especially Edwards who was on the brink of a memorable victory before succumbing to defeat against Haruna Nsubuga.
Final overall results for all teams were not available as of publishing, but the Barbados women’s team will be moving up the tables in the almost 190 country field.

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Barbados teams bounce back in round two at chess olympiad

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Barbados bounced back on the second day of the 2024 Chess Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary with two commanding victories after suffering defeats in their opening matches.
The female team of women candidate masters Hannah Wilson, Katrina Blackman, Chanon Reifer-Belle and Kiarra Eversley all registered victories in their games to sweep the St. Lucian ladies team 4 – 0.
Current national female champion Katrina Blackman was the first to record victory against Chelsea Wahid, while top juniors Hannah Wilson and Chanon Reifer-Belle followed quickly against Mila Lui and Vernesa  James. Kiarra Eversley then brought home the whole hog when she defeated Shekinah Leonce.
The Barbados Open team of Fide master Justin Blackman, Kemp Lynch, Emar Edwards and Lawrence Depradine were just as impressive in their sweep of the U.S. Virgin Islands team.
Emar Edwards served notice early as he won a piece almost out of the opening in his game  against Abram Williams and duly won. Fide master Justin Blackman then recorded victory against Allen Daryl. The other two games were much longer affairs but Kemp Lynch and Lawrence Depradine in his first outing at this level won endgames to see Barbados record a comprehensive victory.
Barbados 4 – 0 USVI.
The Open team is currently lies in 101st  position of the 194 teams participating, with only Trinidad as the only English-speaking Caribbean team that lies  ahead of us. In the female section the team lies in joint 62nd from 180 teams. The  other top English-speaking Caribbean team Jamaica holds down a similar position.
In round three, the Open team will have a tough match against  Zambia, while the women team will play Bangladesh.
 

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Del Castilho is new National Chess Champion

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FIDE master Martyn Del Castilho was crowned the 2024 Rock Hard Cement  National Chess champion when action was completed at the Coles Building over the last weekend.
He went into the last round of the event on Sunday evening knowing that anything but a loss against the second positioned Emar Edwards would ensure himself of the title. Playing It safe and pragmatic, Del Castilho settled for a draw to reach 7 points and retain the national championship crown that he had last won a few years ago.
Edwards had his best performance ever in a National final tournament to finish in clear second on  6 ½ points. He was impressive throughout the event having suffered only one loss and one draw throughout his 8 matches.
Kemp Lynch also had his strongest performance in a National final to come clear thirdin the 9 player field of qualifiers on. In the last round, Lynch defeated a hapless Muralidhar Areti.
Justin Parsons and Hannah Wilson tied on 4 ½ points each to come 4th – 5th respectively. In the final round Parsons won against Ronaldo Rochester, while Wilson scored the full point against Amari Blackett.

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Edwards leads 2024 National Chess Finals

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At the half ways point of the 2024 Rock Hard Cement National Chess Championship final, Emar Edwards holds a slim half point lead from FIDE master Martyn Del Castilho, but Del Castilho has a game in hand.
Edwards has three points from his four games, while Del Castilho has two and a half points from his three matches. Edwards suffered an upset defeat at the hands of Adam Roachford in his last match, while Del Castilho had to be contented with a draw against Justin Parsons in his last round four outing.
Roachford lies next with a group of four players on two points. These include himself, Kemp Lynch, Amari Blackett and Hannah Wilson. The young Blackett has not been over awed by his first national finals and has managed to defeat more experienced opponents like Roachford.
The other players in the field, Justin Parsons, Ronaldo Rochester and Muralidhar Areti bring up the rear of the field but will be hoping to make an impact in the final half of the event.
The National finals is a 10 player round robin event, but this year, the late withdrawal of a player has turned it into a 9-player field. Action will continue this weekend at the Coles Building, Bay Street, Bridgetown, with games at 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
 
 
 
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New Under 11 and Under 17 Scholastics chess champions crowned

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Jeremiah Farley won the Under 11 Scholastics Open chess championship last weekend at Harrison College in the city. Farley scored an impressive 5 ½ points from his 6 matches, to finish a half-point of the second-place finisher Charis Stuart over the two days of play.
Farley had struck the lead alone by the end of the first day as he had amassed the maximum of three points. Sitting in joints second, a half a point behind were Stuart and Ethan Alleyne, and based on their play, it was no doubt that the eventual winner of the event would come from one of this trio.
On day two of the event, in round four, Farley defeated Alleyne to maintain his lead, drew with Stuart in round 5, and won his round 6 game against Raef Clarke to secure victory. Stuart placed a commendable second with 5 points, while Alleyne settled for third with 4 ½ points.
Aaron Tash finished in clear fourth on three and a half points, while several players finished on three points in the middle of the field including Clarke, Dominic Cadogan, Theon Miller and Liam Neil. The girls played with the boys due to undersubscription, but Kalan Lovell was crowned girls champion after battling to two and a half points in a competitive overall field.
Noah Clarke won the Under 17 section of the event with three points from his four games. His elder brother Loki was second, while Leshay Springer won the girls Under 17.
Farley will be part of a team which heads off to El Salvador to compete in the 2024 Central American and Caribbean Youth Chess championships to be played from August 2 – 8. Other members of the team include Raef Clarke, Daisha- Rose Parris, Janiyah Browne, Sameera Jaikaran, Chaz Reifer-Belle, Darren Toppin, Jaeda Herbert, Aaron Jaikaran, Mileke Sinckler, Naomi Lewis, Noah Clarke, Chanon Reifer-Belle, Nathan Griffith, and Hannah Wilson. We wish them the best of luck. The players will be representing Barbados in the 12 age categories from Under 8 to Under 18 open and female.

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Emar Edwards Crowned king of 2024 Heroes Day Cup ‘Challengers’ Section 

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Multi talented Emar Edwards finished third-min

A final round push from Barbadian Emar Edwards crowned him king of the Barbados Chess Federation 2024 Heroes Day Cup ‘Challengers’ Section which concluded Wednesday night at Coles Building in the city.

Placed third after the eighth and penultimate round, Edwards outplayed the second-placed Enen-Sa-Tefa Ab Khafra of Trinidad and Tobago to sneak to the top of the 29-player standings on seven points.
Having not previously led at any point across the nine-round chess tournament, Edwards’ six wins and two draws put him a half point above fellow Barbadian Adam Roachford who tied for second with Vincentian Chinedu Benjamin Enemchukwu.
Roachford reached 6.5 points after producing a final round upset over Enemchukwu, the top seed who led proceedings for the four previous rounds.
Khafra, early tournament leader Anthony Drayton of Guyana, and Barbadian Women’s Candidate Master all ended on six points to tie for the fourth position.
Meanwhile, in the six-man double-round robin ‘Masters’ section, International Master Roberto Carlos Sanchez Alvarez already has one hand on the US $1 000 cash prize with his total of 6.5 points in 10 games.
However, a rescheduled round one match between Barbadian FIDE Master Martyn Del Castilho and Venezuelan International Master Felix Jose Ynojosa Aponte will decide if Alvarez takes centre stage alone, after a drawn result with Barbadian International Master Orlando Husbands in the 10th and final round.
Only a win would do the job for Aponte who currently holds the second position on 5.5 points with the game in hand.
Cuban Grandmaster Luis Lazaro Aguero Jimenez and Trinidadian FIDE Master Joshua Johnson ended their campaign tied on 5.5 points, while Husbands placed fifth on five points.
Del Castilho is in sixth position on one point.
 
 

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Barbados Under 14 and 16 chess championships playoff

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Over the Easter weekend two playoffs to crown winners for the Barbados National Under 14 and 16 age category chess championships were played at the Harrison College school on Crumpton Street, Bridgetown.

Firstly, on Easter Saturday, Mileke Sinckler held the home advantage and duly delivered the Under 14 crown to himself and school as he battled through the four-player field to finish with two and a half points from a possible three to be clear first.  He was only held to a draw in the last round by Savion Little and by then no one could catch him as he had already defeated the two other players Aaron Jaikaran and Amari Blackett. Both Blackett and Jaikaran finished a point behind the winner.

On Easter Monday, it was Queen’s College’s Kanye Williams turn to strike glory as he battled through two bruising games to capture the Under 16 title. Firstly, he defeated Jaikaran, but then he had to play against the defending champion in Noah Clarke, who had also defeated in Jaikaran.

In a game full of missed opportunities, it was Williams who first had the advantage as under a withering kingside attack, he won Clarke’s queen for two minor pieces. But Clarke with a no surrender attitude, continued to play actively and Williams would lose another piece to put Clarke in the ascendency. He however, in an attempt to side step some mating threats by Williams, eventually lost his rook and would resign shortly after.

Playoffs were necessary in both age categories as the players had all come joint first in the initial phase of the championships.

While the juniors were doing their thing locally, two senior players were competing abroad. Locally based Englishman, Chris White campaigned in Martinique with some success  in the 11e Open International de Martinique – Memorial Joel Gratien to score 5 points from a possible 9 and finish in 19th position from 65 players. The event was eventually won by French grandmaster Christian Bauer.

President of the Barbados Chess Federation Allan Herbert, played in the Canadian Championship Festival last week and finished in 32nd place from 66 players. He was initially the 17th ranked players and would have fancied himself with a better showing. The event was won by Hanuel Park of South Korea, ahead of Sarthak Deshpande of Canada, after both players scored 6 points from a possible 7.

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Wilson and Lamm are Under 20 Chess Champions

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Hannah Wilson once again showed why she is the top junior chess player when she convincingly won the 2024 Under 20 Female chess champion recently. What was more impressive was that she won from a field which not only included the female players on show, but also involved the male players as the subscription of female players was small.

Wilson won all six of her games to achieve his first tourney win of the year and get her packed chess calendar year off to a perfect start. Wilson, who recently secured the Junior Outstanding Sportsperson Award 2023 in the female category in Barbados was only challenged by Simon Lamm of Jamaica in their round three clash. Lamm, who is studying at the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies was the surprise of the event and according to Wilson played impressively in their encounter.

Lamm scored 5 points from his 6 matches and would eventually be  crowned the Under 20 Open champion.

Leshay Springer finished second in the female section with a credible 3 ½ points. She would have been elated by her performance, especially her defeat of Loki Clarke, a much higher rated player who had won the XIV IRT Híbrido de Las Americas Open chess event late last year. Sariah Mc Clean came third in the female section.

Nathan Griffith, with three points, finished in second in the open section while Clarke on two and a half, underperformed in the event finishing third in that section.

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Toppin and Browne are national Under 12 chess champions

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Darren Toppin of Charles . F. Broomes Primary school is the new National Under 12 Open chess champion when he won the event over the weekend at Harrison College from a stacked field which included the defending champion Jonathan Griffith, the current Under 10 champion Charis Stuart and the Under 9 champion Jerimiah Farley. It also included the top rated under 12 player Chaz Reifer-Belle.

It came down to the final round in an intense finish as three players from the two dozen participants went into the final round with possible chances to win the event. These included Toppin and Farley on four points, as well as the then leader Nathan Simmons – Patterson, who led with 4 ½ points.

In the final 6th round, Toppin faced Simmons-Patterson, while Farley faced Stuart. In a round which saw these players spending as much time looking at the neighboring games as much as their own, the results saw Toppin toppling Simmons-Patterson and Stuart defeating Farley.

The final results thus saw Toppin in first place with 5 points with Simmons-Patterson on four points edging out Stuart on the tie-break. Farley, Reifer-Belle and Kymani Gayle finished just off the podium on four points. Toppin thus claimed his first title and will be looking to win more throughout the year.

Browne wins Under 12 Girls championship.

Janiyah Browne turned the tables on last years defending champion Jaeda Herbert to capture the national Under 12 female championships. She was in dominant form as she won all six of her games in emphatic fashion with her only challenging match being against the eventual second place finisher Herbert. Herbert finished in clear second on 5 points. Sameera Jaikaran finished in third spot with 3 points from her 6 matches. It was thus a double victory for the Charles F Broomes school. Kudos to the coach Mr. Corie Elcock. 

The junior players will all be looking to compete over the next weekend in the Under 8. 10 and 14 championships to be played tentatively at the St. Michael school.

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Emar Edwards wins I.M. Kevin Denny Open

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Amari Blackett, came in third (1)
Second paced Muralidhar Areti (1)

The I.M. Kevin Denny Open came to an exciting conclusion over the weekend and Emar Edwards won the event in the last round to lead two other players Muralidhar Areti and Amari Blackett into the 2024 national chess championship final.

Going into the final round of the event, played on a glorious sunny evening at the Coles Building, Bay Street, Bridgetown, they were at least 5 players in the field who still had a chance of winning the event, far less moving forward to the finals later this year.

These players included the versatile Emar Edwards who led with 5 points from 6 games, while on four points were the top seed Muralidhar Areti, Cyprian La Touche who was the early leader in the field, wily veteran Othneil Yearwood and the unheralded Amari Blackett.

In the final round Edwards was pitted against the dangerous Harewood, while La Touche would have fancied himself against the junior Blackett and Areti played against current Under 9 scholastics  champion Jerimiah Farley. The overall final position would be determined by the results of these three games.

First it was Areti who put himself in contention when he gained the initiative against Farley and duly went on to record victory. Next it was Edwards who was pressing for victory against Harewood which he eventually achieved with some accurate play. All during this time, the veteran La Touche was building up a clear advantage against the junior Blackett and many pundits thought he would be the final one to join the aforementioned winners as the final qualifier for the 2024 national chess finals. However, in this battle of experience versus youth it was Blackett who would eventually turn the tables and record a memorable victory which would qualify him for his first national chess final. A devasted La Touche was left to rue his chances after having been an early leader in the event. Areti would also celebrate his first trip to the national chess finals.

Other results in the round saw victories for Chanon Reifer-Belle, Ronaldo Rochester, Derick Boyce and Alfred Sparman. Allan Herbert was held to a draw by Aaron Jaikaran.

When the dust had settled, it was Edwards who was the outright winner with 6 points, with Areti, second having edged Blackett on tie-break, with both a point behind Edwards. Reifer-Belle was the best female finisher on 4 ½ points from her 7 games, while Noah Clarke won the best Under 16 prize.

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