Barbados set to push off in FIDE Online Olympiad

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Barbados set to push off in FIDE Online Olympiad

Barbados will face off against Honduras when they make their entry to the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad on Friday.

The eight-member Bajan team will also battle Jamaica and Puerto Rico on the first day of action in Pool E of Division 3.

Under the format of the event which will be played under the rapid time control, Division 3 includes 50 teams divided equally in five pools. The top three teams in each pool will advance to Division 2.

Barbados’ first match will be at noon with the second round scheduled for 1 p.m. and the third round at 2 p.m. The schedule will be maintained for Saturday’s games against Ghana, Nicaragua and Namibia and Sunday’s contests against Venezuela, El Salvador and Panama.

Unlike the over-the-board Olympiad where countries enter separate teams in the Open and Women’s sections, the Online Olympiad is a mixed event with countries fielding one team comprising male players on boards 1 and 2, female players on boards 3 and 4, an Under-20 male player on board 5 and an Under-20 female player on board 6.

The Barbados team will be spearheaded by International Master Delisle Warner, who is making a return to national duty for the first time in more than five years. Warner, one of only four International Masters Barbados has produced, has been residing in St. Kitts in recent years.

The other members of the Barbados team, which was selected from a local qualifying event at the beginning of the month, are Emar Edwards, Julissa Figueroa, Hannah Wilson, Louis Wilson, Gaybrianna Moore, Adam Roachford and Melvin Terence.

The Online Olympiad, which has attracted more than 1 000 participants from 153 countries, has been organised by the world governing body for chess for the second successive year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In last year’s event, Barbados finished seventh of ten teams in Pool E of Division 3. (BCF)

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Top seed Parsons comes from behind to win National Qualifier

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Top seed Parsons comes from behind to win National Qualifier

Top seed Parsons comes from behind to win National Qualifier

Top seed Justin Parsons was forced to come from behind before winning the Philip Corbin Open National Chess Championship 2nd Qualifier in exciting fashion on Wednesday night.

Parsons, who was lying in eighth place after the first three rounds, achieved a perfect record in his final four games to narrowly win the event at the Coles Building in Bay Street, Bridgetown.

The 25-year-old finished with five out of a maximum seven points – the same as teenager Louis Wilson – but Parsons was declared champion on the tie-break by virtue of beating Wilson in the head-to-head clash when they faced off in the final round.

Travis Grant took third place on the tie-break ahead of 13-year-old Rory Prescod after both players ended with four and a half points.

Prescod won the prize for the Best Under-16 player, while Gaybrianna Moore, who completed the top five with four points – the same as Othneil Harewood and Hannah Wilson – was the Best Female Player.

Parsons hardly looked like the winner after losing to Moore in the first round last Saturday and defaulting his third round game on Sunday due to another engagement. He, however, stepped up his game and did not drop a point for the rest of the tournament.

Wilson, favourite for most of the event, moved into the lead after the fourth round and played unbeaten until losing to the eventual winner in the last round.

The event, which was the second over-the-board tournament on the Barbados Chess Federation’s 2021 calendar since it was granted permission by the COVID-19 Monitoring Unit to resume face-to-face competition, attracted 15 players.

The National Championship 3rd Qualifier, which will honour Charles Gilkes, will be contested from September 25 to 29. The top three finishers in each of the Qualifiers will advance to the National Championship in October to face defending three-time champion Orlando Husbands. (BCF)

BCF - Louis Wilson
Second-placed Louis Wilson was edged on the tie-break.
BCF - Rory Prescod
Rory Prescod, who placed fourth, was the Best Under-16.
BCF - Gaybrianna Moore (1)
Gaybrianna Moore, who placed fifth, was the Best Female.

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Wilson lands top 30 finish at FIDE Online Rapid World Cup

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Hannah Wilson finished in the top 30 in the Under-12 Girls’ section at the FIDE Online Rapid World Cup Cadets and Youth Chess Championships. (BCF Picture)

Wilson lands top 30 finish at FIDE Online Rapid World Cup

Hannah Wilson landed a top 30 finish in her age-group to emerge as the standout player for Barbados at the FIDE Online Rapid World Cup Cadets and Youth Chess Championships.

Wilson scored six and a half out of a maximum ten points to finish 29th out of 155 competitors in the Under-12 Girls’ section when the selection stage of the global event concluded on Friday.

The performance by Wilson also landed her the best finish among the English-speaking Caribbean in the division and the fourth highest among the Americas region.

Fellow Barbadian Chanon Reifer-Belle, who also competed in the Under-12 Girls’ category, ended with four and a half points to finish 97th.

Barbados fielded 11 competitors in the event that attracted more than 1 600 participants from 100 countries and three other players  – Louis Wilson, Gaybrianna Moore and Rory Prescod – scored four points.

Wilson played in the Under-18 Open section while Moore in the Under-18 Girls’ division. Prescod was the best of the four Barbadians in the Under-14 Open category in which compatriots Melvin Terence scored three points and Keon Lashley and Taariq Callender both got two points.

In the Under-10 Open division, Aaron Jaikaran finished with three points and Alexander Berry two and a half points, while Christian Mayers ended with two points in the Under-12 Open section.

Some of the players turned their attention to the local scene with the start of the Philip Corbin Open – National Championship 2nd Qualifier on Saturday. The event runs over five successive days at the Coles Building on Bay Street in Bridgetown.

There will be more international competition for local players when Division 3 of the FIDE Online Olympiad is contested from next Friday until Sunday. (BCF)

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Barbados to compete at Online Rapid World Cup

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BCF-Gaybrianna-Moore
Gaybrianna Moore will compete in the Under-18 Girls’ category. (BCF Pictures)
BCF - Aaron Jaikaran
Aaron Jaikaran will play in the Under-10 Open division.

Barbados to compete at Online Rapid World Cup

Barbados will be represented by a 12-member team at the FIDE Online Rapid World Cup Cadets and Youth Chess Championships.

The Bajans will push off their campaign on Sunday in the global event that has attracted more than 1 600 participants from 100 countries.

Competition in the selection stage that runs until August 20 will be in five age-groups –  Under-18, Under-16, Under-14, Under-12, Under-10 – and will feature sections for Open and Girls. Each category will have ten rounds of games – two rounds a day – over five successive days.

The Barbados team was selected based on performances in the one of the events in the recently concluded local online Grand Prix series.

Three Barbadians will be in action during the first five days of the competition that will feature the Under-18 Girls’ and Under-10 Open sections.

Gaybriana Moore, one of three joint national Under-16 female champions in 2020, will play in the Under-18 Girls’ category, while 2020 national Under-10 champion Aaron Jaikaran and Alexander Berry will compete in the Under-10 Open division.

When the competition switches to the Girls’ Under-16 and Open Under-12 from August 6 to 10, Barbados will be represented by Christian Mayers in the Under-12 Open category.

Barbados will have its largest representation in the Under-14 Open division from August 11 to 15. Their four entrants will be 2020 national Under-14 and national Under-12 champion Rory Prescod, who was the Best player rated between 1000 and 1299 in the Grand Prix series, Melvin Terence, Keon Lashley and Taariq Callender.

From August 16 to 20, 2020 national Under-14 female and national Under-12 female champion Hannah Wilson, the Best female player in the Grand Prix, and Chanon Reifer Belle will play in the Under-12 Girls’ section while 2020 national Under-18 champion Aaron Haynes and 2020 national Under-16 champion Louis Wilson will compete in the Under-18 Open category. (BCF)

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Veteran La Touche wins first over-the-board chess tournament in 2021

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Cyprian La Touche (right) won the Kevin Denny Open – National Championship 1st Qualifier despite losing to Emar Edwards in the second round. Edwards finished second. (BCF Pictures)

Veteran La Touche wins first over-the-board chess tournament in 2021

Veteran Cyprian La Touche put in a solid performance to prevail over higher rated opposition and win the Barbados Chess Federation’s first over-the-board tournament in 2021.

La Touche, the no. 4 seed, took the honours in the Kevin Denny Open – National Championship 1st Qualifier by scoring six out of a maximum seven points in the five-day event that concluded on Tuesday night at the Coles Building on Bay Street, Bridgetown.

The 58-year-old La Touche lost to top seed Emar Edwards in the second round, but triumphed over his remaining opponents to seal one of three places up for grabs in the National Championship finals later in the year.

Edwards, who played unbeaten, finished second with five and a half points, while Adam Roachford was third on the tie-break ahead of Allan Herbert after both players ended on four and a half points.

Hannah Wilson, who placed fifth with four points, won the prize for the Best Female Player, while Melvin Terence, who was seventh with three and a half points, was the Best Under-16 Player.

La Touche started the tournament with a victory over Aaron Jaikaran and after losing to Edwards, he reeled off successive wins against Alexander Berry, Keon Lashley, Wilson, Othneil Harewood and Roachford.

While Edwards did not lose a game, he had to settle for three draws – against Roachford, Harewood and Herbert.

The event was the first face-to-face tournament for the year after the lifting of some of the COVID-19 restrictions that allowed for the resumption of some competitive sports. It attracted 14 entrants and was named in honour of Kevin Denny, the most successful player in the National Championship with 14 tittles.

The second qualifier will be named after seven-time national champion Philip Corbin and the third qualifier will honour 12-time national champion Charles Gilkes. (BCF)

BCF - Melvin Terence
Melvin Terence was the Best Under-16 Player.
BCF - Hannah Wilson
Hannah Wilson won the prize for the Best Female Player.

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National Chess Qualifiers named after Denny, Corbin, Gilkes

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Kevin Denny
The National Championship 1st Qualifier is named in honour of Kevin Denny.
Philip Corbin
The National Championship 2nd Qualifier is named in honour of Philip Corbin.

National Chess Qualifiers named after Denny, Corbin, Gilkes

The first face-to-face chess tournament for 2021 pushes off on Friday as the Barbados Chess Federation (BCF) honours three stalwarts who have made an outstanding contribution to the sport.

As part of its 40th anniversary celebrations, the BCF has named its National Championship Qualifiers after three of the most decorated players the island has produced – Kevin Denny, Philip Corbin and Charles Gilkes.

The Kevin Denny Open – National Championship 1st Qualifier, which will be played at the Coles Building on Bay Street in Bridgetown, will be the first over-the-board event for this year which has been limited to only online events due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The way has been paved for a return to face-to-face competition after the BCF was granted approval from the COVID-19 Protocols Monitoring Unit following the submission of protocols to govern its events.

Under the protocols, competitors and officials will be required to have temperature checks on arrival at the venue; they are required to wear face masks; they are encouraged to sanitise their hands liberally and players should stay three feet away from all other players bar their opponent. Additionally, no spectators will be allowed in the playing hall.

The 1st National Championship qualifier will be contested over seven rounds and will be played over five consecutive days, culminating on Tuesday. It will feature double headers on Saturday and Sunday with morning games scheduled for 10 a.m. and evening games at 4 p.m. The games on Friday, Monday and Tuesday will start at 5:30 p.m.

The top three finishers from each of the three Qualifiers will advance to the National Championship finals in September to face defending champion Orlando Husbands.

The second Qualifier, which is set for August, will be named after Corbin, while the third Qualifier the following month will be in honour of Gilkes.

Denny, Corbin and Gilkes are three of Barbados’ most successful players in the history of National Championships. Denny won 14 national titles between 1996 and 2008; Corbin was national champion seven times between 1975 and 1997 and Gilkes won the first of his 12 national championships in 1927. (BCF)

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Blackman wins final Grand Prix, Del Castilho takes overall honours

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Justin Blackman won the final event of the series with a perfect record.

Blackman wins final Grand Prix, Del Castilho takes overall honours

Justin Blackman won the final event with a clean sweep of the boards last weekend but Martyn Del Castilho claimed the overall honours in the Barbados Chess Federation’s online rapid Grand Prix Series.

Blackman, the reigning Caribbean Blitz champion, defeated Del Castilho in a top of the table fourth round clash and went on to finish with a perfect seven points in the final event of the series.

Akeem Cox took second place with five-and-a-half points while the youthful Rory Prescod, who ended with five points, finished third on the tie-break ahead of Emar Edwards and Hannah Wilson.

It was Blackman’s third tournament triumph in the six-event series, but Del Castilho, who won the three preceding events, still comfortably emerged as the Grand Prix champion.

Del Castilho, a six-time national champion, placed sixth in the final event with four-and-a-half points but sealed the overall title with 512 points – under the format of the series, players were awarded Grand Prix points in each event based on their percentage score in each tournament

Fellow FIDE Master Blackman, who missed the fourth event of the series, finished second overall with 455 points while Cox, a former national Under-20 champion rounded off the top three with 419 points.

Edwards, a well-known figure in road tennis circles and a former national Under-18 chess champion, was fourth with 391 points and also claimed the prize in the sub-category for the Best player rated between 1300 and 1599.

The 13-year-old Prescod, the 2020 national Under-14 and Under-12 champion, was fifth with 363 points and also won the prize in the sub-category for the Best player rated between 1000 and 1299.

The 12-year-old Wilson, last year’s national female Under-14 and Under-12 champion, finished sixth with 347 points and also secured honours as the top female player.

The list of the top ten was completed by Julissa Figueroa (342 points), Gaybrianna Moore (327), Melvin Terence (304) and Adam Roachford (299).

Taariq Callender, who placed 16th with 226 points, won the prize for the Best unrated player.

The final event attracted 25 players and there were 35 competitors in the series which started in February and was organised as an online completion in view of the COVID-19 restrictions on sporting events. (BCF)

BCF - Martyn Del Castilho (4)
BCF - Rory Prescod
BCF - Emar Edwards
BCF - Hannah Wilson

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Del Castilho wins third straight Grand Prix event

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BCF - Martyn Del Castilho
Martyn Del Castilho captured his third successive Grand Prix event. (BCF Pictures)
BCF - Akeem Cox
Akeem Cox placed third for the third time in the series to maintain third place in the overall standings.

Six-time national champion Martyn Del Castilho captured his third successive event in the Barbados Chess Federation’s online Grand Prix Series last weekend to take a firm stranglehold to secure the top honours.

The 32-year-old FIDE Master is on the verge of clinching the series with one event remaining after again overturning the challenge of Justin Blackman, the winner of the first two events.

Del Castilho, the top seed, defeated no. 2 seed Blackman in a top-of-the-table fifth round clash at the start of Sunday’s second day and duly went on seal the event with six and a half out of a maximum seven points.

Blackman, the reigning Caribbean blitz champion, took second place with six points while no. 3 seed Akeem Cox, who ended with five points, placed third for the third time in the series which be being played under the rapid format.

Emar Edwards was fourth on the tie break ahead of Louis Wilson after both players finished on four and a half points.

Under the format of the six-event series, players are awarded Grand Prix points in each event based on their percentage score in each tournament. Del Castilho, therefore, gained 92 Grand Prix points, Blackman 85 and Cox 71.

With three wins and two second places in the series, Del Castilho moved 448 points with Blackman, who opted out of the fourth event of the series, in second on 355 points and Cox third on 341 points.

Emar Edwards is in fourth place on 320 points and maintained his lead in the sub-category for the Best player rated between 1300 and 1599, while Rory Prescod is in fifth place on 292 points and still heading the sub-category for the Best player rated between 1000 and 1299.

The list of the top ten is completed Julissa Figueroa (278 points), Gaybrianna Moore (277), Hannah Wilson (276), Melvin Terence (262) and Chanon Reifer-Belle (256).

Figueroa heads the race for the top female sub-category in which just three points separate the first three players.

Taariq Callender moved into the lead in the sub-category for the Best unrated player with 169 points, one more than Joshua Blanchard, who missed the fifth event which featured 21 players.

The series will conclude next month with the sixth and final event. (BCF)

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Blackman, Del Castilho advance in American World Cup knockout

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BCF - Justin Blackman (2)
Justin Blackman defeated the higher rated Cuban International Master Gonzalez Lopez to advance to the round of 64.
BCF - Martyn Del Castilho (3)
Martyn Del Castilho progressed after his opponent failed to show up for both games.

Two Barbadian chess players have advanced to the third round of the American World Cup 2021 Qualification Stage event.

Reigning Caribbean blitz champion Justin Blackman and six-time national champion Martyn Del Castilho secured places in the round of 64 after scoring victories in contrasting fashion when the knockout rounds pushed off over the weekend.

Blackman, after battling to two draws against Cuban International Master Gonzalez Lopez over the standard time control, prevailed 2-0 in a tie-break under the faster rapid format. Blackman, who entered the knockout rounds seeded at no. 78 out of 114 players from 20 countries, had also defeated Lopez, who is seeded at no. 51, in the preliminary phase two weeks earlier.

Del Castilho’s passage to the next round was made without a challenge as his opponent, German Spata of Argentina, was a no-show for both games.

The round of 64 begins on Monday afternoon with the two Barbadian FIDE Masters coming up against Grandmasters. Blackman will face no. 14 seed, Perez Quesada of Cuba while Del Castilho, the no. 63 seed, is up against no. 2 seed Ramirez Delgado of Paraguay. The return games are scheduled for Tuesday at 2 p.m.

Reigning national triple crown champion Orlando Husbands, who entered the tournament from the knockout rounds, lost against fellow International Master Jonny Cueto of Bolivia in the opening game on Saturday before playing to a draw on Sunday.

The four other Barbadians in the knockout rounds – Katrina Blackman, Julissa Figueroa, Cyprian La Touche and Keon Lashley – lost both of their games against Grandmaster opponents.

The knockout rounds are using a hybrid format – players resident in one country assemble at a venue to play their games online on their computers under the supervision of arbiters. The Barbadians are playing from the Massy Training Facility in the Coles Building on Bay Street in Bridgetown.

The top eight players in the event, which is organised by the Confederation of Chess for Americas, will advance to the World Cup finals in Sochi, Russia, from July 10 to August 6. (BCF)

 

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Husbands makes entry to American World Cup knockout

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Reigning national triple crown chess champion Orlando Husbands is set for his first competitive action of 2021 this weekend when the knockout rounds of the American World Cup 2021 Qualification Stage push off.

The 24-year-old Husbands, who did not contest the preliminary round – each Federation in the Americas was allowed to enter one player directly to the knockout phase – faces fellow International Master Jonny Cueto of Bolivia in the first round of the knockouts tomorrow.

Husbands, who holds a FIDE rating of 2348, is seeded at no. 59 among the 114 entries from 20 countries and will fancy his chances of overcoming Cueto, the 70th seed who has a rating of 2241.

Six-time national champion Martyn Del Castilho, with a rating of 2304 and seeded at no. 63, clashes with German Spata of Argentina, who is seeded at no. 66 and has a rating of 2290. Reigning Caribbean blitz champion Justin Blackman, the no. 78 seed with a rating of 2192, comes up against Cuban International Master Gonzalez Lopez, who is seeded at no. 51 with a rating of 2379. Blackman defeated Lopez during the preliminaries two weeks ago.

Four other Barbadians who did not originally advance to the knockout rounds, will now get the chance play after other players who progressed opted out. They will all face Grandmasters.

Five-time national women’s champion Katrina Blackman, seeded at no. 107, meets no. 22 seed Duany Martinez of Cuba; one-time national women’s champion Julissa Figueroa, seeded at no. 108, faces no. 21 seed Darcy Lima of Brazil; veteran Cyprian La Touche, seeded at no. 112, clashes with no. 17 seed Quintana Almadra of Cuba; and the youthful Keon Lashley, seeded at no. 113, opposes no. 16 seed Akshat Chandra of United States.

While the preliminary phase was played as an online event under the fast rapid format where games lasted around 25 minutes, the knockout section will use the standard time control with games going more than four hours. It will also be played using the hybrid format – players resident in one country assemble at a venue to play their games online on their computers under the supervision of arbiters.

The Barbadians will play their games from the Massy Training Facility in the Coles Building on Bay Street in Bridgetown. Each round will feature return games. The first game of the first round is on Saturday at 3 p.m. and the second game on Sunday at 2 p.m.

The top eight players in the event, which is organised by the Confederation of Chess for Americas, will advance to the World Cup finals in Sochi, Russia, from July 10 to August 6. (BCF)

 

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