Winners of SITTU chess event crowned

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As the second edition of the SITTU Barbados Open chess tournament came to conclusion over the weekend at the Barbados Beach Club, Maxwell, Christ Church there were winners from at least three countries in the four sections, as overseas players made a heavy impact on the event.

The tournament consisted of over 100 players representing 10 countries, competing in four sections with three of the four sections being dominated by one player, while the other section saw an exciting four -ways tie, which had to use a tiebreaker to separate the players.

In Section A, Canadian grandmaster Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux, won the event comfortably with 7 ½ points from his 9 games in the 10- player, all play all event. Rodrigue-Lemieux was consistent throughout the event, winning 6 games and drawing the other three. His last round victory over Trinidadian Fide master Ryan Harper showed the kind of form he is in.

Finishing in second and third position were fellow Canadians international masters Mark Plotkin and Aaron Reeve Mendez. Both players scored 6 ½ points with Plotnik edging out Mendez on the tie-break.

The top local finisher in this section was current national champion FIDE master Martyn Del Castilho who finished with 4 ½ points. He finished off the event with a victory over candidate master Darren McKennis of Jamaica.

In section B, FIDE master Jose Mora Moron of Venezuela won with an impressive 7 wins fron 7 games. Mora Moron was the class of the field and by round 6, he had already captured the event. He celebrated his victory with a crushing victory over the Barbados female champion, woman FIDE master Hannah Wison in their final round match to finish an impressive outing.

Local ace tennis player Emar Edwards finished in clear second on 5 points following his last round over Jerimiah Farley and with a draw between Justin Parsons and Guyanese Taffin Khan, Edwards was able to secure second position alone. Khan, Wilson and Parsons finished joint 3rd to 5th in that order all on 4 ½ points in the 18-player field.

In Section C, Loki Clarke dominated the event to win with 7 points from his 7 games. By round 6, Clarke had already won the event but kept his foot on the gas in the last round by defeating woman candidate master, Kiarra Eversley to ensure a perfect score.

Savion Little finished in clear second with 5 ½ points following his last round draw with Allan Herbert, while Aaron Jaikaran clinched third spot with a last round win over veteran Cyprian LaTouche. Eversley, Herbert along with Charis Stuart finished joint 4th – 6th on 4 ½ points in the 26-player field.

The most competitive section of the event was the Novice Section D. Here four players ended on 6 points after a dramatic last round. Going into the final round, young Nathan Simmon-Patterson was in the sole lead with his six wins, however tragedy struck and Simmons-Patterson fell to defeat against Conrad Grits, along with this, Derick Boyce and Harry Shepherd also secured victories which also allowed them to climb up to 6 points as well.

Thus, a four-way tie had occurred, and it was the winner Harry Shepherd who edged out the three others by the slimmest margin on tie-break. Jaekeb Barrow, Rene Lashley, Gabriel Canterbury, Ernest King and Savinos Minas of Canada brought up positions 5 – 9 in this 50-player field.

It was 5 days of exhilarating  chess in the sun and the chess community will be eagerly looking forward to next year’s edition.

Bajan Chess Players Shining at 2026 SITTU Barbados Open Chess Championship

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Bajan chess players began to shine in the lower sections of the 2026 SITTU Barbados Open chess championship as action began for them and continued for the top section at the Barbados Beach Club hotel in Maxwell, Christ Church.

The event is broken into to four sections, A – D, based on a players rating.
In Section C, three Bajan players share the lead as Aaron Jaikaran, Loki Clarke and Savion Little all have three points from their three matches so far. In their round three matches, Jaikaran defeated Gennard Roberts of Grenada, Savion Little won from Bijan Ziaian of Canada, while Loki Clarke got past Jefferson Farley. These three players sit atop the 26 players in this section but players like Kiarra Eversley who sits ½ point behind will still feel they are in with a chance at claiming the top prize in these early stages.

In Section D, 6 local players share the lead in the almost 50 player field. These are Derick Boyce, Nathan Simmons-Patterson, Harry Shepherd, Conrad Brits, Che Yearwood and Rene Lashley. When the 4th round match ups occur, it will be interesting to see which of these players will be still on the maximum points. Another 13 players are just off the pace with 2 points and will still be in the hunt for the top spot in this section.

In Section B, Fide Master Jose Mora Moron of Venezuela is in the sole lead with 3 points from the 3 games completed so far. His round 3 victory over local boy Emar Edwards placed him into the sole lead and has made him the favorite to capture this section.

Sitting in second place is Noah Clarke on 2 ½ points and his next clash with Mora Moron will decide the leader and possible winner of this section. Edwards along with Lawrence Depradine, young Jeremiah Farley, Justin Parsons and Guyanese Taffin Khan are in joint third with two points and will be hoping for favorable results in their next games to move up in the 18-player field in this section

In the top Section A, grandmaster Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux of Canada continues to dominate. He has garnered 4 ½ points for his 5 games so far and seems determined to repeat as champion this year.

Sitting in joint second to fourth are Shawn’s fellow countryman international masters Aaron Reeves Mendez and Mark Plotkin along with Trinidad’s Fide master Joshua Johnson. These players all have 3 ½ points and will need the leader to lose form if they are to surpass him. The top positioned local player in the 10-player field is international master Orlando Husbands in 6th spot with 2 ½ points.

The action will climax this Sunday with games at 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m.

SITTU Barbados Open Chess Championship Begins

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The 2026 edition of the SITTU Barbados Open chess event began on Wednesday night at the Barbados Beach Club Maxwell Coast Road in Christ Church.

The tournament is structured into four sections, with the top Section A being for players rated ELO 2100+, Section B for ELO 1700 – 2099, Section C for ELO 1400 – 1699 and Section D being for unrated or novice players. The players in Section A will play 9 games while the others will play 7.

This year’s event has attracted just over 100 players with participation from at least 9 foreign countries including as far flung as Canada in the north, Guyana from the south and Panama to the west.

Section A of the event began a day earlier than the other sections and will see a strong 10 player event with each participant  having to play the other in a round -robin format.

Canadians Start Well

Last year’s Section A champion, Grand master Shawn Rodrigue-Lemieux of Canada began the defense of his title with an impressive victory over his fellow countryman international master Mark Plotkin. The top-rated Rodrigue-Lemieux showed why he will be considered the favorite in the event as he controlled the game from the opening and took no risk in defeating his opponent.

Another Canadian player also started with a win as young international master Aaron Reeve Mendes won from international master Felix Yjonosa of Venezuela.

Bajans Struggle

While the Canadians started with a bang, the local players in the top section all fell to defeat in their opening matches.

The top-rated local player international master Orlando Husbands lost to young candidate master Darren McKennis of Jamaica. Husbands seemed to have everything under control but came out the worst in a tactical melee that allowed McKennis to gain an advantage from which he was able to convert the game.

Current local national chess champion, FIDE master Martyn Del Castilho also lost his game against FIDE master Joshua Johnson of Trinidad and Tobago. Del Castilho seemed to confuse himself in the early middle game and his position quickly unraveled.

Finally, to complete a blank night for the Bajans, international master Terry Farley fell into a mate and lost against FIDE master Ryan Harper of Trinidad. Harper could consider himself lucky as he was several pieces down and Farley seemed to be cruising to victory. However, as, in most things in life, it’s never over until it is, and Farley blundered badly to allow Harper to win.

The chess action will continue at the Barbados Beach Club over the next three days with games at 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. with all four sections beginning their play.

Farley Leads Barbados – St. Kitts and Nevis Chess Event

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With 5 rounds of the 9 in the Barbados – St. Kitts and Nevis hybrid chess event completed, young Bajan chess player Jeremiah Farley leads the event with 4 ½ points.
A hybrid chess event is where the players play on an internet chess playing platform, but the players in a particular country will play from a central location under the supervision of an arbiter (chess referee) . In this event, they are 5 FIDE rated players from Barbados and 5 unrated players from St. Kitts and Nevis, with St. Kitts players seeking to acquire their ratings by a creditable performance in the event. It is a round – robin event where each player will have to play the other player in the event.


Farley after a draw against former local ladies’ chess champion Julissa Figueroa in his first-round game, has racked up four straight wins to be the sole leader of the event. In his last game, he defeated Isabella Jeetlal of St. Kitts in fine style to hit the front of the field.


A trio of fellow Bajans share the second spot with four points each and all within striking distance of the leader. These are the number one seed in the event Adam Roachford, Cyprian La Touche and Allan Herbert.


In the last round, Herbert overcame compatriot Figueroa after a long affair, while Roachford and La Touche won convincingly against Nohar Anganoo and Kaedan Fyfield- Jones of St. Kitts. By the showing of the players so far, the winner of the event will probably come from one of the Bajan players who lay in the first four positions. When these players do meet each other over next weekend for the climax of the event, the results will be of the utmost importance, and any slip up will be catastrophic.

Grandmaster Short win Blitz chess event

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While English grandmaster Nigel Short, the Director for Chess Development in the world governing body of chess, FIDE was in Barbados on a courtesy visit, he took part in several chess playing activities. These included a simultaneous exhibition against several of Barbados’s top junior players, but also, he partook in a grandmaster blitz chess challenge tournament, where he played against  nine of Barbados’s top ranked players.

A blitz event is where the players each have a limited amount of time to complete their moves, and a game will are completed in less than 15 minutes. The action is fast and furious and is akin to T-20 cricket.

In the event, GM Short lined up against some of the top players from Barbados including current National champion FIDE master Martyn Del Castilho, former champions international master Terry Farley and FIDE master Dr. Philip Corbin along with the like of national representatives Kemp Lynch, Emar Edwards and Justin Parsons.

Short however, showed why he was once a challenger to the great Garry Kasparov’s title and was able to defeat all his opponents to finish on 9 points from his 9 games.

After 4 of the 9 rounds were completed, it was GM Short sharing the lead with Terry Farley as both players had won their previous matches. In this pivotal matchup of the leaders, Short playing with the white pieces, was however able to capture an early positional advantage and duly went on to win the game. Short then showed great competence in winning the remainder of his games, including a tricky last round one against Dr. Philip Corbin.

Two players finished the event in joint second place. These were Terry Farley and Justin Parsons. Both players finished with 7 ½ points from their 9 games having both lost to grandmaster Short and drawing with each other. Kemp Lynch finished on 5 points to finish in 4th spot, while Emar Edwards scored 4 ½ points to round out the top 5 finishers.

It was a memorable experience for the local players to play against such an esteemed player, who in his prime would have been in the top 10 players on the official rating list. I am sure that they would have benefited from his post analysis and anecdotes from the games.

Wilson takes clear lead in national female chess championship

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Woman FIDE master Hannah Wilson has struck the front of the 2025 Barbados National Female chess championship after an exciting fifth round was completed on Friday evening at the Fine Arts Gallery, Barbados Community College.

Wilson took the clear lead in the 10- player round robin event when she defeated former national player Gaybrianna Moore after a tough battle. Wilson had taken the advantage in the early middle game when she clearly won a piece for a couple pawns. However, she then miscalculated and in a tactical melee she lost the exchange and allowed Moore to regain some parity. Moore however, over stretched in the position allowing Wilson to penetrate with a knight and capture several pieces. From here she did not renege and stormed on to victory.

 Chanon Reifer-Belle, who was also a co-leader of the event up to that point, slipped from that position after she was held to a draw by Janiyah Browne. Going into the game, Chanon would have favored her chances against the much lower rated Browne. However, she soon found herself in a blocked position where even after a lot of piece maneuvering, she could find no advantage and had to settle for a draw.

Other results in this round saw Sameera Jaikaran defeat Laura Nicholls, Kayla Culpepper won from Daisha-Rose Parris, while Jaeda Herbert upset Leshay Springer.

As it currently stands, Wilson leads with 4 points, with Chanon in second with 3 ½ points. Sameera Jaikaran has 3 points, while Janiyah Browne and Leshay Springer have 2 ½ points each. It must be noted the two leaders have a game in hand on their closest rivals.

On the other side of the world, Chaz Reifer- Belle continues to find the going rough as he lost his second-round match against Andrew Tzu Chun Chao of South Korea at the FIDE 2025 World Cadet Under 12 Open Chess Championships in Almaty Kazakhstan.  We wish him better luck in his round three game against Damba Gun-Erdem of Mongolia.

Wilson and Reifer-Belle share National Female chess championship lead

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After 4 of the 9 rounds of the 2025 National Female chess championship have been officially completed, the two top seeds in the event woman candidate master Chanon Reifer-Belle and woman FIDE master Hannah Wilson share the lead with 3 points.

Having only played 3 games so far, have looked the clear favorites for the title and they have both so far lived up to their billing.

Wilson, the defending champion, won her last game by default from Kayla Culpepper while Reifer-Belle was given a scare by the ever-improving Leshay Springer. Reifer-Belle had initially gained the advantage in the middle game by winning a piece, but then she allowed a tactical shot by Springer which brought back parity to the game. However, Springer went astray in the end game and Reifer-Belle was able to convert the point. Springer thus now sits in clear third spot with 2 ½ points but having played one more game than the two co-leaders.

Janiyah Browne and Sameera Jaikaran share 4th spot with two points in the 10-player field. In their latest matches, Browne won against Laura Nicholls, while Jaikaran defeated Daisha Rose Parris. The other match in the round saw Gaybrianna Moore defeat Jaeda Herbert.

When the action continues this weekend at the Liberal Arts Gallery, Barbados Community College, it will be Reifer-Belle and Wilson who would be looking to stamp their name on the winner’s trophy.

While Chanon is pushing to win her first female championship, her younger brother Chaz Reifer- Belle, the current Barbados Under 12 Open champion is participating in the Open section of the 2025 FIDE World Cadet Under 12 championships being played in Almaty, Kazakhstan over the next two weeks. Unfortunately, Chaz lost his first game against Nikolay Gladchenko of Russia. This section of the tournament has 173 players from about 80 countries. Chaz will be seeking to improve his rating going into the event as one of the lower rated players. The Cadet championships have young players participating in the Under 8, 10 and 12 age categories in both open and female section

Del Castilho takes clear lead in 2025 national Open Chess Championship

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FIDE master Martyn Del Castilho has taken firm control of the 2025 national Open chess championship at the end of the fourth round which came to completion on Sunday at the Liberal Arts Gallery, Barbados Community College, this weekend.Del Castilho defeated the then co-leader Justin Kirton in what was a top of the table clash to claim the sole overall lead with 4 points from his 4 games. Playing his favorite French defense opening Kirton could not withstand a determined Del Castilho who has his eyes sighted on retaining his national championship title.Kirton now sits in clear second place in the 10-player field with three points from his four games, his only blemish being against the leader Del Castilho.National Under 16 champion Noah Clarke is in third place with 2 ½ points. Clarke had a good Sunday at the event when he defeated Jsutin Parsons and Emar Edwards, two players who would have represented Barbados at recent chess Olympiads.Mileke Sinckler, Ronaldo Rochester, Dr. Philip Corbin and Jeremiah Farley all share the 4th – 7th spot with two points. Farley, the youngest in the field at 11 years old, has shown great resilience so far. After losing both his opening games on the opening Saturday, he bounced back with two victories on Sunday including a massive upset against Emar Edwards. Parsons, Boris Thompson and Edwards round out the field in the 10- player , all play all event.In an event that has so far seen many upsets, Del Castilho has been the one to keep his composure and with the other five games over the next weekend, it is difficult to see if anyone will be able to dethrone him of his crown.

Wilson and Del Castilho start defense of chess titles in style

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The Barbados Chess Federation’s National Open and Female chess championships began this weekend at the Visual Arts Gallery, Barbados Community College, Howells X Road, St. Michael in earnest.Both events are being played as 10- player round robin events, that is where each player will get to play with each of the other ones in the tournament for a maximum of 9 games.Both defending champions, FIDE master Martyn Del Castilho and woman FIDE master Hannah Wilson are looking to repeat as champions but will face stiff and determined challenges from several persons in their respective events.In the Open section first round, Del Castilho started his defense confidently as he defeated the number two seed in the event Emar Edwards. Edwards was holding the position, but a simple one move blunder allowed Del Castilho to win a piece which he duly converted this advantage into victory. It continued a bad week for the ace road tennis player.Justin Kirton showed glimpses of his form as a junior player some time ago as he masterfully outplayed the current Under 16 champion Noah Clarke.

An upset occurred when junior player Mileke Sinckler in his first national finals defeated the higher rated Justin Parsons. FIDE master Philip Corbin got his umpteenth national finals off to a bright start with a victory over Boris Thompson while Ronaldo Rochester was able to defeat the young upstart, Jeremiah Farley also in his first national finals.In the Female section, Wilson set the tone for her event when she quickly defeated Laura Nicholls in round one. Out of a fiery opening, Wilson was able to tactically out- duel Nicholls which led to Nicholls losing several pieces and eventually the game. The next result saw Kayla Culpepper winning from Janiyah Browne. Culpepper was able to conjure up an attack in the middle game which eventually led to Browne being checkmated.

Gaybrianna Moore and Leshay Springer battled to a long hard draw, while the game between Daesha Rose Parris and Jaeda Herbert was postponed.Other results in the round saw woman candidate master Chanon Reifer-Belle defeat Sameera Jaikaran in a workwoman like fashion.The chess action will continue this Sunday at the Barbados Community College with matches being played at 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. respectively.

Wilson places fourth in PanAmerican School Chess Championship 2025 Under 17 Girls

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Hannah Wilson finished a credible fourth place in the Under 17 female section  at the 2025 PanAmerican Schools Chess Championship which concluded in Florianopolis Brazil at the end of this week.

Going into the last two rounds of the event, Wilson would have needed two victories and  hope that those above her would have slipped up if she was to finish in a podium position.In the 8th and penultimate round, Wilson defeated Giannini Tonial Kinaki of Brazil to keep her hopes up but the three players above her also recorded victories. This meant it would all come down to the last round where Wilson  again would have to hope for fortuitous results if she was to improve her position.

Wilson would unfortunately fall to defeat in the last round against Fiorella Allegra Mayeregger Gonzalez of Paraguay and this would leave her on 5 points from 9 games. This would secure her fourth place on the tie-break system ahead of two other players.The tournament was won by Ayme  Maravi Ceron of Peru with 7 ½ points from her 9 matches, with Claris Dias of Brazil in second a half point behind, while Luciana Andrea Arenas Lavado of Peru was in third with 6 ½ points.