Bajan chess players got the new year off to a rousing start when two local players Loki Clarke and Jerimiah Farley won their categories in the XIV IRT Híbrido de Las Américas hybrid chess event played over the last weekend.

A hybrid chess event is one where players compete from a central location and play via an online chess platform under the supervision of a chess referee.

Clarke captures Open Section

Loki Clarke went into the Open section of the event as the 15th ranked player in the field of 27 players representing the countries of Venezuela, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Barbados. Clarke however made his intentions clear from the first round when he defeated the 2nd highest ranked player in the form of Christian Gabriel Allen Leydenz of Venezuela. He then racked up victories against two more Venezuelan opponents, before falling to Armando Jose Zanella Gonzalez also of Venezuela in round 4. Loki then regained his winning ways and by the final and 7th round, he was one of three players who led with 5 points from 6 matches. In this winner takes all round, Clarke would face fellow Bajan Adam Roachford, while the other co-leader Armando Jose Zanella Gonzalez of Venezuela was matched against veteran Terrence Lindo of Jamaica.

A quick draw ensued between Gonzalez and Lindo, and this would immediately mean that the winner of the Bajan clash would take the event. It was a hard-fought battle, but when Loki was able to exchange two minor pieces for a rook, it was Loki who was slightly ahead in the game. With his combative style Loki pushed for victory and eventually Roach would succumb to defeat to his lower rated opponent. It was a memorable victory for Loki as he not only won the event but defeated 6 players who were initially higher rated than him.

Of the other 6 Bajans in this part of the event Roachford was the best in third place, with 5 points.

Farley takes the Under 10 section.

Jerimiah Farley dominated the Under 10 section with 6 points from his 7 games in a masterful display of chess from the other Venezuelan and Peruvian players in his section. He missed a round due to previous engagement, but his play showed a level of tactical awareness beyond that of his opponents. If he keeps on his development trajectory, he will no doubt become a very competent player. He is currently being exposed to special training provided by the world governing chess body FIDE, and this hopefully will see him improving more quickly.

In the Under 16 section of the event, Noah Clarke finished in 4th place in a small 8 player field consisting of players form Venezuela, Peru and St. Lucia also with three and a half points. He started with two victories but struggled in the middle of the event, suffering three consecutive defeats.

Barbados had two players in the under 14 section of the event. Mileke Sinckler missed some opportunities to finish midfield in the 25-player event with three and a half points, while Isaiah Acher finished slightly behind on three points.

Overall, the event had 88 players participating in the 5 sections and representing 6 countries from the Caribbean and South America. Such events allow Bajan players to get regional competition without having to seek airfare and accommodation to attend overseas events.

Kemp Lynch is the new 2023 Blitz chess champion of Barbados after winning the 9-round event from a field of about two dozen players at the Coles Building, Bay Steet on Boxing Day in emphatic fashion. Blitz chess is a fast-paced version of the game where players had three minutes with two second increment for each side to complete their game. It’s much akin to twenty-twenty cricket.

Lynch went into the event as the top-rated player and was determined to prove the rankings correct. He struck the clear lead in round four when he defeated the also then co-leader Noah Clarke, and then it was just a case of him ensuring he racked up points to keep the lead. After 6 consecutive victories Lynch coasted to 7 ½ points and victory with 3 consecutive draws in his final three matches. This is Lynch’s second consecutive victory on the trot, and he is quickly asserting himself as one of the country’s leading active players.

Finishing in second was Justin Parsons on 6 ½ points who edged out a returning Craig Harewood on the tie-break. Parsons had defeated Harewood in their head-to-head clash and was thus awarded the higher position. It was a welcome return to the boards for Harewood who would not have played a competitive game since 2007 but showed that he was still as competitive as he was during his junior days.

The top female finisher in the event was Chanon Reifer-Belle, who finished in fourth place overall on 6 points. Reifer-Belle was steady throughout the event and suffered defeats to only the top three finishers but defeated all her 6 other opponents.

The best 1400 and under rating section was shared by Noah Clarke, Jerimiah Farley and Dr. Carlos Chase, all finishing on 5 points. Dr. Chase, a once active player, said he enjoyed the event and was impressed by the skill and enthusiasm of many of the junior players participating.

The next and final event of the year will be the National Rapid Championships to be held on Saturday, December 30^th, starting at 10.00 a.m. at the Coles Building, Bay Street in the city.

Kemp Lynch held on to win the 2023 Michael Forde Memorial chess tournament in exciting fashion when he edged out Justin Parsons and Chris White on tie-break after all three players finished on 5 ½ points from a possible 7 over the weekend at the Coles Building, Bay Street, Bridgetown.

Going into the last round of the event, Lynch led the field with 5 ½ points for his 6 games, but faced a tough opponent in Renaldo Rochester who is fresh off victory in the XIV IRT Híbrido del Sur U1800 hybrid chess tournament.

White faced the veteran Cyprian La Touche and Parsons faced Jacob Layson. Based on ratings, it was expected by all pundits that Lynch, White and Parsons would all secure comfortable victories. However, the script is not always so simple.

Parsons was the first to achieve victory as Layson was a no show. Disaster then befell Lynch as he found himself under some pressure out of the opening, and this continued increase in pressure was too much for him to bare and he eventually succumbed to defeat. White on seeing this, then made a heroic effort as he outlasted La Touche in a difficult ending, where La Touche possibly missed some drawing chances.

With these results, it was up to the tie-break to decide the winner and Lynch was declared winner, followed by Parsons and White in that order. Rochester finished in fourth with 5 points.

Other last round results saw wins for Lawrence Depradine, Leshay Springer and Charis Stuart, while Travis Grant and Mileke Sinckler drew their match.