Edwards and Kirton Lead 2025 Kevin Denny Open chess tournament

/0 Comments/in /by

After three of the 7 rounds of the 2025 Kevin Denny chess event, the two top seeds in Emar Edwards and Justin Kirton jointly lead the standings with three points from their three matches so far.In the last round, the top ranked multi-talented Emar Edwards put down an impressive performance as he schooled the top ranked Primary school player Jeremiah Farley to record an erstwhile victory.

Edwards used his greater experience to overcome his tenacious opponent to be one of the two co-leaders.Justin Kirton, the other leader, had a more relaxing round as he quietly won by default from Janiyah Browne.Other results in the round saw victories for the Under 16 national champion, Noah Clarke, Cyprian LaTouche and Dominic Cadogan.

The most sensational result of the round however came when young Aidan Singh defeated the wily veteran Othneil Harewood. Harewood would have started as the clear favorite, but Singh was  not deterred and after a keen tactical tussle, Singh was able to prevail in the endgame.

With the top three finishers in the event qualifying for the 2025 Barbados Open national chess championship finals, Edwards and Kirton would be looking to secure their places, but players on two points like Browne, Farley, Clarke, Singh and LaTouche will still feel they are in touch with the leaders and would still fancy their chances of qualifying as well.The highlight of the next round will be Edwards versus Kirton. Action will continue on the next couple of evenings at the Main Guard (Clock Tower) Garrison Savannah.

Heroes Day chess festival climaxes

/0 Comments/in /by

As the day to commemorate the workers was celebrated last Thursday, three players who had definitely put in their work over that past week, reaped success by capturing the master’s, the challenger’s and the novice section of the 2025 Heroes Day chess festival.

In the top master’s section, it was Cuban grandmaster Luis Aguero Jimenez who showed he was the class of the 6-player event, when he finished a point and a half ahead of international masters Angel Cordoba(Colombia) and Felix Ynojosa (Venezuela). Aguero showed the difference in the given chess titles when he played a deep game to defeat Cordoba in the last round. It was the game that would have decided the winner of the event as if Cordoba had won, he would have leaped frogged Aguero.  However, the grandmaster showed his class and duly won the game to seal the event. The highest placed Bajan in this section was international master Terry Farley who finished fourth.

In the challenger section of the event local player, candidate master Justin Parsons stormed to victory with 7 ½ points from 9 matches. By round 8, after defeating Adam Roachford, Parsons had already secured an outright victory , so his draw against Jeremiah Farley in the last round was only of academic importance.

There was a three-ways tie for second to fourth, with Dr. Philip Corbin placing second on the tie-break, ahead of Mileke Sinckler and Kemp Lynch. These players finished with 6 points. Dr. Corbin’s last round victory against Roachford pushed him out of the prizes.

Sinckler was the top placed finisher in the Under 1700 rating section, just ahead of Savion Little and Jeremiah Farley who both finished on 5 ½ points.

Derick Boyce of Queens College capped a memorable week when he took the novice section of the event with 8 points from his 9 games.

Darren Toppin finished in second place on 7 ½ points, ahead of Aidan Singh on 6 ½ points in third. Singh edged out Jefferson Farley on the tie-break as Jefferson also finished on 6 ½ points.

This year’s Heroes Day chess festival had roughly 50 players contesting in 3 sections and representing 6 countries.

Leaders separate themselves in Heroes Day chess festival

/0 Comments/in /by

After two-thirds of the 2025 Heroes Day chess festival has been completed, there is a clear leader in each of the sections.In the masters’ section, Cuban grandmaster Luis Aguero Jimenez has a clear lead with 4 points from 5 games played so far. In his last round he defeated local Emar Edwards in a match where the grandmaster showed his in-depth experience and knowledge of the game.Sitting in joint second of the now 5 player field are Colombian FIDE master Agel Cordoba and Venezuelan international master Felix Ynojosa who each have 2 ½ points each. Locals international master Terry Farley and Emar Edwards both have one point.In the challengers’ section of the event, candidate master Justin Parsons leads with 5 points from his 6 matches.

In his last game Parsons drew against Kemp Lynch in a tough encounter. Ronaldo Rochester and Adam Roachford share second position with 4 ½ points. Rochester defeated the third ranked Justin Kirton, while Roachford had an emphatic victory over Savion Little. Lynch and Kirton have 4 points to lie in 4th and 5th position and would still fancy their chances of winning in the 20-player field.

In the novice section of the event, Aidan Singh has a slight half-point lead over Derick Boyce. Singh has 5 ½ points, while Boyce has 5 points. Singh will however feel contented knowing that he has defeated Boyce in their head-to-head contest. Darren Toppin lies in 3rd position with 4 ½ points, just ahead of Jefferson Farley and Zefan Scott. The winners of the event will be most likely from this group of players.The action will climax on May Day at the Divi Southwinds conference room with matches at 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m.

The 2025 Heroes Day Festival Begins!

/0 Comments/in , /by

The 2025 Heroes Day chess festival began this weekend at the Divi Southwinds Hotel with the tournament divided into three sections, a master’s section, a challenger’s section and a novice section.In the master section, there are 6 players partaking in a double round event.

This is where each player will play against each of the other participants, once with the white pieces and once with the black pieces.These include grandmaster  Luis Lazaro Aguero Jimenez of Cuba, international master Felix Jose Ynojosa Aponte of Venezuela, FIDE master Angel Gabriel Roa Cordoba, alongside international masters Orlando Husbands and Terry Farley, and Emar Edwards.After the first day the Cuban grandmaster Aguero leads the event with 2 points having racked up victories against local boy Edwards and the Venezuelan Ynojosa.

Local international master Farley also had a good first day to sit in second place as he upset fellow Bajan Husbands in the first round before gaining a draw with the Colombian Cordoba, from a favorable position.In the challengers’ section, three players share the lead with two points in the 20-player field.

These are local playerscandidate master Justin Parsons, Adam Roachford and Justin Kirton. These are followed by a large group on 1 ½ points which include Kemp Lynch, Ronaldo Rochester, Aaron Jaikaran, Savion Little and FIDE master Dr. Philip Corbin. The section is turning out to be a very competitive one.In the novice section 5 players share the lead in the event after two rounds. These are Aidan Singh, Derick Boyce, Dominic Cadogan, Zefan Scott and Darren Toppin. Boyce has looked impressive so far in his games and will be one of the favorites in this section. He is a seasoned campaigner and would be looking to eclipse the 20-player field.The action continues over the two upcoming bank holidays at 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. and Tuesday evening at 6.00 p.m.

Bajans Husbands and Wilson win Sub zonal 2.3.3 Open and Women chess championships

/0 Comments/in , /by

Barbados chess history was created this week when local players won both the Subzone 2.3.3 Women and Open Chess Championships 2025 played in Trinidad and Tobago. The event contained the best players from the English and Dutch Caribbean along with Haiti. International master Orlando Husbands lived up to his top ranking in the 96-player field from 15 different countries and won the Open section with 7 ½ points from a possible 9 matches. He won 6 games and drew three, with his last round draw against FIDE master Joshua Christie of Jamaica sealing the title.International master Vishnu Singh of Trinidad placed second with 7 points, just ahead of a young Jason Yeung of Surinam on the tie-break also on 7.Another Barbadian, ace road tennis player Emar Edwards put in an impressive performance to finish joint 4th, but 7th on the tie-break with 6 ½ points.

His last round draw against the second seed FIDE master Joshua Johnson of Trinidad climaxed a good tournament result for Edwards. He was among the prizes and with his score more than two thirds, he will be provisionally awarded the FIDE master title. Chess has several titles which start with candidate master, rise to FIDE master, then to international master and finally grandmaster. They are based on performances at specific events and a players’ rating.Justin Parsons, the other local participant in the Open section lost his last round game against Trini Yogendranath Ramsingh to finish with a creditable 4 ½ points.Queen’s College’s 15-year-old Hannah Wilson then did herself, country, parents and all proud when she clinched the Female section by winning her last round game against Polina Karelina of the Bahamas to finish with 8 points from her 9 rounds.

With this victory in such a prestigious event, Wilson will now have her woman FIDE master title upgraded to woman international master.Barbados then had more glory as Wilson’s school mate , Chanon Reifer-Belle and also 15 years, drew her last round game against Victoria Kaslan of Suriname to finish in clear second with 6 ½ points, just ahead of Ysvett Hermoso Rodriguez of Trinidad with 6. Chanon will have her title upgraded from woman candidate master to woman FIDE master due to her placing.  Both young ladies played tough chess throughout the event, and I believe that their fierce rivalry pushes both players to excel.To justify the young ladies’ talents, Wilson’s only loss in the event came at the hands of Reifer-Belle. However, Wilson’s last wrong victim Karelina has defeated the Open winner Husbands over 8 years ago in a standard tournament game.With their victories both Husbands and Wilson have qualified for the next chess FIDE World Cup. This is a knock out event that is part of the World championship cycle with the best players in the world from which the top three players will move forward to the candidates’ event, where the eventual winner of that will go on to challenge the current world champion Dommaraju Gukesh of India in the men and Ju Wenjun of China in the women for the world championship title.

As Husbands and Wilson will be the first participants to take part in a World Cup event from the English, Dutch or French speaking Caribbean, this is a momentous achievement by these young players. The only chess achievement, that I can say is as comparable for Barbados, is when Kevin Denny became the first international master from the English, Dutch or French speaking Caribbean in 2001 at the then Subzonal 2.3.5.  Kudos must go to these players, but also to their parents, coaches and supporters. In Husband’s case, special mention must be made of Dr. David Jordan who would have taught him the game at Lodge school and supported him in many of his early chess endeavors. In Wilson’s case , to her parents Albert and Jenita who have sacrificed a lot to support Hannah’s love for chess. These two players will now have to prepare earnestly for their next big challenge. Congratulations on an incomplete journey of hard work and dedication.

Barbados chess players making strong moves in Trinidad

/0 Comments/in , /by

Five Barbados chess players are currently participating in the Subzone 2.3.3 Absolute and Female Chess Championships 2025 being played in Trinidad and Tobago over this week at the Cascadia hotel.

The tournament is a 9-round event being played as separate Open and female events whereby the winner of each separate event will progress to the 2025 World Cup which is a qualifier for the world chess championship. All the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean from Bermuda in the north to Suriname in the south, along with Haiti are invited to take part.

Barbados is represented in the open section by international master Orlando Husbands, candidate master Justin Parsons and Emar Edwards. There are 96 players from 15 countries participating.

Husbands is the top-rated player in the event and after the first day, he has two victories to be one of the leaders. He defeated Jayden Foreshaw of Jamaica and Kael Samuel-Bisnath of Trinidad. Edwards has one and a half point so far, having defeated Gennard Roberts of Grenada and drawn with Kaieem Elizee of St. Lucia. Parsons had a fair day with a victory over Arthur Superville of Trinidad in round one, before going down to FIDE master Joshua Christie of Jamaica.

Other favorites to win their first two games included the second ranked FIDE master Joshua Johnson of Trinidad, Christie and Kevin Cupid of Trinidad.

In the female section Barbados’s representatives are woman FIDE master and current national champion Hannah Wilson and woman candidate master Chanon Reifer-Belle. They are the third and fourth ranked players in the 27-player field with representatives from 13 countries.

Wilson won her first two matches against Adaya Johnson of Trinidad and Chika Pride of the Bahamas. Reifer-Belle started well with a victory over Jessica Callender of Guyana but then fell to an upset defeat to Samantha Dolly of Trinidad.

Other favorites doing well with two victories, also include Ysvett Hermoso Rodriguez of Trinidad and woman FIDE master Polina Karelina of the Bahamas.

The Bajans will look to keep the local flag high as the participate during the week.

Harrison College “A” team takes Secondary School Team Under 20 Chess championship

/0 Comments/in , /by




Harrison College “A” team takes Secondary School Team Under 20 Chess championship
Harrison College “A” team won the 2025 Secondary School Under 20 team chess championship which was played at their school at Crumpton Street over the last weekend.Harrison College “A” edged out the number one seed Queen’s College “A” by a mere one and a half game points as the former scored 26.5 points, while the later garnered 25.Harrison College’ s “A” team of Mileke Sinckler, Aaron Jaikaran, Charis Stuart, Joseph Yeung-Chou and Melvin Terence won all their 6 matches, and none was more important than the head-to-head clash with Queen’s College “A” in round three.In this match, Kolij “A” edged the Queen’s College “A” team 3 – 2 in a very tense affair. On board one, Mileke Sinckler upset the higher rated Chanon Reifer-Belle in a tough battle, while the other victory for them came on board 5, where Melvin Terence defeated Loki Clarke.

Loki’s brother Noah won for Queen’s College “A” on board three from Charis Stuart, while the other two matches ended in draws.After this match Harrison College “A” held a very slim one-point lead and to secure the title they would have to rely on no slip ups and another team taking some valuable points away from the Queen’s College “A” team. As such would happen in that the Combermere “A” team would take a vital 2 points from Harrison College “A” team in their round 5 match-up. The heroes for Combermere “A” were Leshay Springer and Nathan Griffith who won their games even though the team eventually went down 2 – 3.Combermere “A” eventually came third on 19 points while Queen’s College “B” came fourth on 15 ½ points in the dozen team field.The outstanding players were Mileke Sinckler and Melvin Terence who won all their games. Noah Clarke won all his games as well.

Aaron Jaikaran and Joseph Yeung-Chou scored 5 ½ points from their 6 games, as well as Amari Blackett form Queen’s College also scored 5 ½ on board 4.The top 5 finishers were

Rank.   Team              Points1    Harrison College A      26,5     2    Queens College A       25        3    Combermere A         19         4    Lester Vaughn A        16,5      5    Harrison College B      16  The next event on the Barbados Chess Federation calendar is the 2025 Under 8 – 18 Youth Championships at the St. Leonard’s Secondary school over the weekend of April 5 – 6 beginning at 9. 00 a.m.

Six lead the CB Gilkes Open chess event

/0 Comments/in , /by

Michael Forde memorial chess tournament begins

After two rounds of the 2025 CB Gilkes chess tournament currently being held at the Coles Building, Bay Street, Bridgetown, St. Michael, 6 players are in the lead of the 7- round event with 2 points each.

These players include FIDE master Dr. Philip Corbin, candidate master Justin Parsons, woman candidate master Chanon Reifer- Belle, Ronaldo Rochester, Lawrence Depradine and Emar Edwards.

In the last round played  on Errol Barrow day, Parsons defeated Allan Herbert, Reifer-Belle won from Isaiah Archer, Rochester defeated veteran Cyprian La Touche, Depradine defeated Aaron Jaikaran, Edwards won from wily veteran Othneil Harewood, while Dr. Corbin won from Amari Blackett. Blackett would have felt hard done as he played a good game and could have held on for a draw in the ending. However, a slight inaccuracy, Corbin was able to capitalize and claim victory.

Savion Little and newcomer Rasmakonnen  Lowe sit in joint 7th – 8th with one and a half points. These two battled to a hard-fought draw in round 2, with Lowe showing great competence in his play to push Little all the way.

Other players obtaining victories in round two of the event were Boris Thompson, Noah Clarke, Mileke Sinckler, Jerimiah Farley, Alfred Sparman and Janiyah Browne.

With only two rounds of the event completed so far, the battle is definitely on for the top three places who would qualify for the 2025 Open National chess championship final later in the year.

The action concludes over the coming weekend with games played at the Coles Building on Saturday and Sunday with games at 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m.

Husbands sweeps National Blitz chess championship

/0 Comments/in , /by

Parsons continue his winning ways in chess

Over the last weekend Barbados’s top rated active chess player international master Orlando Husbands put in a stellar performance to capture the 2024 national Blitz chess championship when he scored an unblemished 9 wins from 9 games to clinch the title from the two dozen competitors at the Coles Building, Bridgetown.

Blitz chess is where the two players in a game each have less than 5 minutes to complete the whole game. As such the action is fast and furious and many blunders can occur due to the time pressure. It is like T-20 cricket due to its phonetic pace.

Husbands had hit the front by round four, when he had overcome Kemp Lynch, the winner of the recent Governors Cup blitz event. He then kept his foot on the gas pedal and by round 8 when he defeated the current female champion woman FIDE master Hannah Wilson, it would be of academic interest what happened in the last round as Husbands had now taken an unassailable lead. Husbands, however, did not waiver and dispatched Emar Edwards in the last round to record an emphatic victory.

Veteran Philip Corbin turned back the clock to finish second with 7 points from his 9 games. Corbin only losses were  to the champion Husbands and the junior Jerimiah Farley.

Kemp Lynch finished in third with 6 ½ points, while a group of players inclusive of Noah Clarke, Hannah Wilson and Justins Parsons finished joint 4th to 6th on 5 ½ points. Wilson won the prize for the highest placed female, while Jerimiah Farley with his 5 points won the prize for the best performance of a player with a rating below 1600.

Parsons continue his winning ways in chess

/0 Comments/in , /by

Justin Parsons continued his winning ways over the weekend when he clinched the 2024 Michael Forde Memorial chess tournament played at the Coles Building, Bay Street, Bridgetown.
Parsons went into the last round with a point lead over his two nearest rivals Ronaldo Rochester and Travis Grant and he knew that all he had to do was to avoid defeat, and the championship would be his.


In this final round, Parsons faced the plucky junior Savion Little who had already upset the number two seed Chris White of England and once again Parsons found himself under some pressure out of the opening. He however was able to navigate the turbulent waters and was able to steer his game into a balanced position before offering a draw to which Little agreed. With this result Parsons had reached an unassailable 6 points from his 7 games.


Ronaldo Rochester finished in clear second place with 5 ½ points after he defeated Noah Clarke in a relatively short affair. Rochester was in second place alone because Travis Grant, who went into the last round on the same points as Rochester fell to defeat against junior Amari Blackett. Grant finished on 4 ½ points to claim third position.


Other results in the last round saw victories for Boris Thompson, Mileke Sinckler and Jerimiah Farley. The event is named after Michael Forde who was an educator at St. George Secondary and was responsible for coaching chess at the school as well as to many junior national players during the nineteen eighties.
The next event on the Barbados Chess Federation calendar is the 2024 National Blitz championship to be played this upcoming Saturday at the Coles Building. Parsons will be looking to continue his good form recently by adding this title to his trophy cabinet