Double delight as Reifer-Belle wins gold medal

Rising chess player Chanon Reifer-Belle is celebrating the capture of her second gold medal at the Pan American Youth Online Championship.

The 12-year-old Queen’s College student took top spot in the Under-14 Girls’ section of the blitz event last weekend, two weeks after winning gold in the rapid competition.

Reifer-Belle, competing in a merged division that included male opponents, finished with five and a half out of a maximum nine points in the fast-paced blitz format which is often regarded as the equivalent of cricket’s Twenty20.

It was Reifer-Belle’s third international medal in recent months, following her bronze in the Under-12 girls’ section in the Central American and Caribbean Youth Festival last November.

She finished off the weekend with a creditable performance in the Queens’ Online Festival, a series of continental women’s online blitz tournaments organised by FIDE’S Commission for Women´s Chess in cooperation with its Events Commission.

Playing in the Under 1600 rated section, Reifer-Belle, who went into the event seeded at no. 52 out of 131 entrants, finished 20th with seven out of a maximum 11 points.

The other Barbadian competitor, newcomer Tahlia Scantlebury, earned four points.

In addition to Reifer-Belle, three other Barbadians participated in the blitz section of the Pan American Youth Online Championship.

Melvin Terence, competing in the Under-16 Open category that was merged with the Under-18s, ended with five points.

Jonathan Griffith, who was entered in the Under-10 Open section, collected four points, while Aaron Jaikaran, playing the Under-12 Open division that was merged with the Under-14s, gained three points. (BCF)