Barbados chess players reaped some glory when the 2026 Carifta chess championships were played via the hybrid system during the July 11- 12 weekend.
A hybrid chess event is when the event is played online on a playing platform, but all the players in a country play from a dedicated site under the supervision of an arbiter, the equivalent of a referee in chess.
The Carifta youth event was played in the Under 8 – 18 , with sections being played in the even years, so Under 8, Under 10 etc., up to Under 18. Both sexes played together, but there were separate prizes for the males and females.
In the Under 18 Female section, woman FIDE master Hannah Wilson won with 7 points from her 9 games. This was impressive as she finished only a point behind the first-place finisher in the combined group Corbin Harvey of Jamaica, who was the male champion. Thirty-five players from 13 countries took part in this section.
The next player who finished well in the event was Charis Stuart, who finished second in the Under 14 Open section. He scored 7 ½ points from his 9 games and finished a half point behind Jacek Lau of Trinidad, but ahead of Timothy Offers of Suriname in third with 7 points. In this section, 66 players participated from 13 regional countries.
Jeremiah Farley, who has been in good form recently, finished in a five -ways tie for first in the Under 12 Open section, but had to settle for 2nd place on the tie-break. Aihein Sampi of Surinam was declared the champion, ahead of Farley, Arty Clarke(Cayman Islands), Nicholas Mc Letchie(Trinidad and Tobago), and Noelle Noble(Jamaica). There were 64 players from 12 countries in this section.
Nia-Snow Clarke finished on 5 points to be fifth placed female in the Under 10 section. Rhea Gardener of Jamaica won this section with 6 points.
Raef Clarke of Barbados came 3rd in the Under 8 Open section with 6 points. He finished behind Ross Blackwood and Christian Moore both of the Cayman Islands.
On the Sunday after the youth event, the Open and female sections of the event were conducted. Barbados had a small contingent of Emar Edwards in the Open section, while Woman Fide master Hannah Wilson and woman candidate master Chanon Reifer-Belle partook in the female section.
Again, the two females did very well, with Wilson finishing in second place just ahead of Reifer-Belle on the tie-break after both players scored 7 points from their 9 games.
The overall winner of the female section was woman candidate master Elise Wu of Surinam. Forty-eight players participated in the event, representing 14 different countries overall. The two Bajan lasses will be off competing in the Central American and Caribbean games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from July 25 – 28.
In the Open section, Edwards found the going a little tougher and finished with 6 points from his 9 matches to rank 20th from 101 players taking part from 13 countries. This section of the event was won by Fide Master Joshua Johnson of Trinidad ahead on the tie-break from his fellow countryman Kevin Cupid, after both players scored 7 ½ players. Jason Yeung of Suriname finished in third place in the tie-break again ahead of Ryan Harper of Trinidad with both players scoring 7 points.
The revised Carifta played as a hybrid event was a success with roughly 500 participants taking part from 14 countries and it’s hoped that it can grow even bigger next yea
