Edwards overcomes late start to finish fourth at Caribbean Chess Cup

Barbadian Emar Edwards overcame a late start to finish fourth among 33 players in the Open section of the Caribbean Chess Cup, which concluded in Aruba last weekend.

Barbados’ sole representative missed the opening two rounds but won four of his next six games before defeating higher-rated Candidate Master Vaibhav Bedi of Curaçao in a must-win final-round encounter to finish on six points.

Edwards, who entered the competition ranked seventh in the Open section, remained in contention for a top-six finish heading into the ninth and final round.

Playing with the white pieces against Bedi, Edwards controlled the encounter and secured the victory he needed. With other results going in his favour, he finished fourth overall.

The tournament was contested in the Under-12, Under-18 and Open sections.

The Open section was won by FIDE Master Quinn Cabralis of Trinidad and Tobago with 8½ points from nine matches. Christiaan Smeets of the Netherlands finished second with seven points, while Juan Pabl De La Mey of Aruba was third with 5½ points.

Edwards’ performance came a week after two local school teams represented Barbados at the FIDE ISCF World Schools Team Chess Championship American Continental Stage in Costa Rica.

Local schools champions Queen’s College and Harrison College represented Barbados at the eight-round team event, with four players participating in each match.

The team from Queen’s College. (Photo Credit: KD)

Queen’s College finished 10th among 30 teams from 25 countries in the Americas, scoring nine points from a possible 16 after winning three matches, drawing three and losing two.

The team of Chaz Reifer-Belle, Jaeda Herbert, Nathan Simmons-Patterson, Zaine Ward and Aidan Greaves was also the highest-placed finisher from the English- and Dutch-speaking Caribbean.

Simmons-Patterson was Queen’s College’s most successful player, recording six wins from eight games.

The Harrison College team of Jeremiah Farley, Charis Stuart, Aidan Singh, Janiyah Browne and Ethan Alleyne collected eight points to finish 13th overall, having won three matches, drawn two and lost three.

Browne was Harrison College’s most successful player, scoring five points from seven games.

The tournament was won by Saco Oliveros de Lince school of Peru, which advanced to the World Schools Team Championship finals.

(KH/KF)