Young Bajan chess player Jeremiah Farley doing well in US chess event

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Four local chess players are currently playing in the prestigious World Open chess event taking place in Washington DC, U.S.A.

The group comprises four players, seasoned national representatives Emar Edwards and Justin Parsons, along with promising junior Jeremiah Farley and his dad Jefferson Farley who has had some recent success by winning a few novice events.

The event is played in six sections with an Open section and 5 ratings section going from Under 1400 to Under 2200 with each group being at 200 rating points intervals.

And it has been 12-year-old Jeremiah Farley who has been flying the Bajan flag the highest as he has had a dream start with 4 ½ points from his 5 games in the Under 2000 rating section. Jeremiah started out with three straight wins, before being held to a draw in round 4 by Jeremiah Beckles of the Unites States of America. He then bounced back in round 5  to defeat Gabriel Burgos also of the U.S.A. Jeremiah now sits in joint second place with 6 other players, a half point behind the leader Shreyas Rajendra in the 218-player strong field. He next faces Connor Laio of the US.

Emar Edwards and Justin Parsons are both participating in the Under 2200 rating section.
Edwards had a fantastic start, winning his first three games. He, however, has recorded two consecutive losses to have 3 points from his 5 games. He is in 71st place in the 263-player field and will be looking to finish strong in his last three games to improve his final position.

Justin Parsons has found the going tough and has two points from his 5 games. He was able to record a morale boosting victory in his last game against Navid Hakim of the US. Svetoslav Federov and Rahul Malayappan share the lead in this section with 5 points each.

Jefferson Farley playing in the Under 1600 rating section, in his first international event has also found the event challenging but has scored 1 ½ points so far. He like Parsons will seek to improve their results over their remaining matches.

Barbados Set for CARIFTA Hybrid Chess Championship 2026

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The road to regional honours continues next month as Barbadian players prepare to compete in the CARIFTA Hybrid Chess Championship 2026, bringing together some of the Caribbean’s strongest chess talent.

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Scheduled for July 11–12, 2026, the championship will see players from more than 20 CARIFTA territories compete simultaneously from approved national venues in a FIDE-regulated hybrid format using the Tornelo platform.

The event features competition in the Open, Women’s, Under-18, Under-16, Under-14, Under-12, Under-10 and Under-8 categories, with all youth divisions contested over nine rounds and rated for FIDE Rapid.

More than just another tournament, CARIFTA offers Barbadian players the chance to measure themselves against the region’s best, earn international rating points and strengthen the island’s standing in Caribbean chess. Youth competitors will also have the opportunity to earn Participation Bonds for the 2026 Central American and Caribbean Festival, while the Open and Women’s divisions will compete for a combined US$5,000 prize fund.

The Barbados Chess Federation encourages players of all eligible categories to be part of one of the region’s premier chess events as Barbados once again takes its place on the Caribbean chessboard.

Details on Barbados’ venue will be released shortly.

Regulations governing the tournament are below.

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♟️ Your Next Move Could Take You to Costa Rica

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Bridgetown Barbados. June 25, 2026 — The search is on for Barbados’ next generation of youth chess talent as the 2026 National Youth Chess Festival takes place on July 4–5, 2026.

The tournament will determine the country’s Official Players for the 2026 CAC Youth Chess Festival in Costa Rica, where Barbados will compete against the region’s top junior players.

Hosted annually, the CAC Youth Chess Festival attracts competitors from across the Caribbean and Central America, providing young players with the opportunity to gain international experience and earn valuable FIDE-ratings and international designations.

The Barbados Chess Federation is inviting entries in the Under-8, Under-10, Under-12, Under-14, Under-16 and Under-18 divisions.

Registration costs BBD $50, with a BCF Junior Membership fee of BBD $30 where applicable.

Registration closes at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 2.

Players can register online or by scanning the QR code on the event flyer.

Corbin and Corbin take International master Kevin Denny Chess tournament

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Veteran FIDE master Dr. Philip Corbin and young Junior Corbin, unrelated, won the two sections of the 2026 I.M. Kevin Denny Open chess tournament when the event was completed at the Barbados Football Association headquarters over the last weekend.

In the Fide rated section of the event, Philip Corbin rolled back the years to record his first tournament victory in many years in what turned out to be a highly competitive section.

It all came down to the last round, where Jeremiah Farley went into his last match a half point ahead of Dr. Philip Corbin and current ladies champion woman fide master Hannah Wilson. Farley faced off against Justin Kirton, while Philip would match wits with Wilson.

In a tense atmosphere, Farley fought well but eventually found himself down some pawns in the late middle game and Kirton was able to use these extra pawns to secure victory.

While that was occurring, Philip was able to work up a furious attack on Wilson’s king in the center, where she inexcusably left it. In his element, Philip was able to apply significant pressure and was on the verge of winning a piece when Wilson resigned from the game. With these two results, it meant that Philip had leapfrogged Farley in the standings to finish in first on 5 ½ points, while Farley would come second on the tie-break with 5 points.

Justin Parsons also finished with 5 points along with Kirton and Ronaldo Rochester as all these players won their individual last round games. Parsons edged out the other two on the tie-break to finish third and grab the final qualifier spot from this event for the 2026 National Open chess championship finals.

Other victories in the last round came for Othneil Harewood, Jefferson Farley, Cyprian La Touche, Rebekah Lashley, Sameera Jaikaran and Paul Thompson.

In the Novice unrated section, it was even more tight as three players finished on 6 points, and it was Junior Corbin who won on tie-break ahead of Raef Clarke and Kevin St. Hill.

Going into the last round, all the three mentioned players topped the leader board with 5 points and all three duly won their respective matches to finish on 6.

Clarke would have led the event alone after 4 rounds with four straight victories, but when he fell to defeat against Corbin in round 5, it was now a matter of who could hold on to clinch victory. St. Hill also showed good staying power as also only last one of his 7 matches.

Other results in the last round saw victories for William Allen, Miguel Mings, Kendrick Corbin, Nia Snow Clarke, and James Alleyne.

With roughly 40 players competing in the two sections the event was deemed a success. It is played in honor of international master Kevin Denny, a thirteen-time national chess champion and is the second qualifier for the National Open chess championship finals.

The next event on the calendar will be the 2026 Primary Interschool team chess championship to be played June 18 – 19.

Young Players lead 2026 Kevin Denny chess tournament

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After 4 rounds of the 7 in the 2026 Kevin Denny Open chess tournament, two juniors lead in each of the two sections of the event.

In the Fide rated section of the event, 12-year-old Jeremiah Farley has the sole lead with 4 points from his 4 matches.

Jeremiah who has just returned from campaigning at the PanAmerican Scholastics Under 13 championships in El Salvador, has been in great form as he has defeated all his opponents inclusive of an upset victory over the number two seed Justin Parsons. In the last round, Jeremiah defeated Allan Herbert after a long and intense battle. The game seem heading for a draw with and endgame where both players had opposite colored bishops. However, Herbert lost the plot and succumbed to defeat.

Five players sit a point adrift of Jeremiah in joint second. These include Herbert, Fide master, Dr. Philip Corbin, Justin Kirton, woman Fide master Hannah Wilson and Mark-John Alleyne. In the last round Corbin played to a draw with Parsons, Kirton defeated Charis Stuart, Wilson won from Rebekah Lashley, while Alleyne garnered the full point from Ronaldo Rochester, after his position looked precarious at one point. Alleyne is the top seed in the event and is making a return to active over the board play after a long break.

The players in second will feel they all have a chance to still capture the event in the 20-player field. The featured match in the next round will see Dr. Corbin with the white pieces playing the leader Jeremiah Farley. Other important matches will see Wilson will face Alleyne, while Herbert will battle Kirton.

In the Novice section, the even younger 7 years old Raef Clarke is the leader with 4 points also after 4 rounds from the 20-player field. 

In the latest round he won from default against the then co-leader Ernest King to take control of the event. Just as in the Fide rated section, 5 players lie in joint second position with three points. These are King, Kevin St. Hill, Junior Corbin, Liam Martin and Jerome Stuart.

The featured games of the next round will see Clarke versus Corbin, King against St. Hill and Stuart taking on Martin.

Action continues this Friday evening at 6.00 p.m. at the Barbados Football Association headquarters in Wildey. The event will then climax with games on Saturday at 4.00 p.m. and Sunday at 10.00 a.m. At stake in the Fide rated section are three qualifying spots for the 2026 Barbados Open Championship finals for the first three finishers.