After three rounds of the 2023 National Female Chess Championship of Barbados, woman candidate master Julissa Figueroa has taken the sole lead with three impressive victories.

Figueroa, the number one ranked player in the event showed her class in the last round when she defeated a former champion in the likes of Katrina Blackman. Figueroa, playing the white pieces, came out of the opening in a promising position and was able to push through with her attack to claim victory.

Blackman leads three other players with two points. These include Gaybrianna Moore, Kiarra Eversley and current Central American and Caribbean Under 16 female champion Hannah Wilson.

In the last round, Moore defeated newcomer Shernelle Padmore, Eversley won against Heather Leslie and Wilson won a long battle against Leshay Springer. In the other game Chanon Reifer-Belle also won in a long encounter with Alesha Lovell. Moore and Eversley have one outstanding game against each other.

In the next round, the featured events will see the leader Figueroa with the black pieces against Springer, Blackman will battle Moore, while Wilson will have the white pieces against Eversley.

The national female final is being played as a ten player round robin event, where each player will get to play all of the others. The event will continue Thursday evening as well as over the weekend, concluding next Tuesday evening. The games are  being played at the Coles Building, Bay Street, Bridgetown, St. Michael. The weekdays will see action begin at 6.00 p.m. and on the weekends, action will begin at 10.00 a.m.

International master Orlando Husbands has won the 2023 National Open Chess Championship by edging out the defending champion Martyn Del Castilho by a half – point after the final rounds of the event were completed over the last weekend at the Coles Building, Bay Street in Bridgetown.

Over a hectic weekend, Husbands racked up four consecutive victories to finish on 8 ½ points from 9. He was impressive in handling the pressure to maintain his slender lead and was only seriously pressed in round 8, when Fide master Dr. Philip Corbin fought valiantly to hold Husbands to a draw but to no avail.

Defending champion Martyn Del Castilho who would have been hoping that Husbands would have dropped at least a half point to give him some opportunity to have a chance to retain the championship he had won last year. However, it was not to be, and even though Del Castilho won all his games, he could only watch in frustration as Husbands held his slender lead to the finish of the event.

Finishing in third spot was Emar Edwards who had a pleasing tournament to finish on 6 ½ points. Edwards known for his road tennis, ballroom dancing and bridge accolades, showed good preparation and determination and exemplified this in his last-round victory over Ronaldo Rochester.

Dr. Philip Corbin after a long absence from a national final, came in 4^th position on 4 ½ points after being held to a draw by current under 16 Central American and Caribbean female champion Hannah Wilson in the final round. Adam Roachford rounded out the top 5 in the 10-player field with four points. He finished with an impressive victory over the higher-rated Lawrence Depradine in the last round. The ten players who qualified for this final, fought tooth and nail and made this event a memorable one for all.

After three of the 9 rounds of the 2023 Barbados national open chess championship finals, defending champion FIDE master Martyn Del Castilho leads with three wins from his three games.

Del Castilho has looked impressive in all his matches so far and his last round victory against Renaldo Rochester showed that it will be very tough to deny Del Castilho retaining his title.

International master Orlando Husbands lies in second place  with two and a half points from three games. Husbands was surprisingly held to a draw by the multi discipline talented Emar Edwards in round two. Edwards, not daunted by the large difference in ratings put down a gutsy effort in which he battled in a long game which went to an end game in which in the final position, Edwards might have held an advantage. Husbands, however, bounced back in round three to convincingly bring down Adam Roachford.

FIDE master Dr. Philp Corbin holds down the third spot currently with two points, having one win and two draws. In his last game, he was held to a draw by Justin Parsons in a very entertaining affair.

Edwards sits in joint fourth position on one and a half points along with the current under 16 Central American and Caribbean(CAC) Under 14 female champion Hannah Wilson, whom he defeated in the last round.

The other result in the round saw current under 14 female CAC bronze medalist Chanon Reifer-Belle hold the higher rated Lawrence Depradine to a draw.

The national final is being played as a 10 player round robin event, where each of the players will have to play all the others. There were three qualifying events and the first three placed players from each of those events would have qualified to play in the finals along with the defending champion from last year. This year the finals is historical in that two females in Wilson and Reifer-Belle have advanced to participate.

Action will continue Thursday evening at 6.00 p.m. at the Coles Building on Bay Street, Bridgetown, before climaxing on the two weekend days. An exciting finish to the event is anticipated.

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