Candidate Master Raheem Glaves contemplates his next move. (Photo: David Rose)
Jamaica College student Candidate Master (CM) Raheem Glaves was the overall winner of the 2019 Fredrick Cameron Chess Open and Jamaica Chess Federation's (JCF) Grand Prix series with a dominant performance last weekend at the Calabar High School Library.
T
he young CM started the event with five consecutive wins, which included notable victories against CM Akeem Brown, FIDE Master (FM) Shreyas Smith and FM Joshua Christie before conceding a draw in the final round against Jaden Shaw.
This stellar showing not only propelled CM Glaves to the number three spot on the country's local rating list, but also pushed him above the 2100 Elo mark in the international rating list for him to be awarded the FM title.
With this victory under his belt, one can only wonder how he will perform at next month's star-studded National Chess Championships.
Second place was a tie among three players, who finished on 4.5 points each. After tiebreaks, CM Brown was second with FM Smith and Shaw in third and fourth, respectively.
The best female player was Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Adani Clarke who finished ahead of WCM Raehanna Brown after both players finished on three points each. Nikita Austin was the third best player with one point.
The age group winners included Jaden Shaw (Under-12); WCM Brown (Under-14); Christopher Lyn (Under-16); CM Glaves (Under-18), and Michael Christie (Under-20).
In the FIDE Under 1600 Section, Chevaughn Grant finished undefeated on 5.5 points ahead of Daniel Williams, Terence Lindo and Justin Watts – they finished on five points each.
The best age group winners for the section included Ronak Shergil – Under-8; Cameron Coe – Under-10; Rohit Mahtani – Under-12; Diego Stewart – Under-14, while the best female players in the section were Amy Stephenson, Arielle Mckoy, Kaity Gayle, Gabriella Watson, and Danielle Rose.
In the JCF Under (absolute) 1300 Section, Shaquaine Wallace narrowly edged out Daniel Berry for the first-place medal after both players finished on five points each. With 4.5 points each, Namit Lalwani, Jayden Gregory and Caleb Taylor-Brown finished in third to fifth, respectively, after tiebreaks.
Lalwani, Green and Jair James were the best Under-10, Under-8 and Under-6 players, respectively, in the section.
In the JCF Under (female) 1300 Section, Ksenia Spaulding claimed the first-place medal over Danielle Yankana due to her victory in the third round as both players finished on five points each. Spaulding also claimed the best Under-10 player prize, while Yankana and Zzia Rowe were declared the best Under-8 and Under-6 players, respectively.
Ruthann Collins, Kathryn Okpiavbe and Victoria Lewin rounded up the standings of the top five players.
St Andrew Preparatory was declared the best preparatory/primary school, while St Jago High School was declared the best high school for the tournament.
The tournament is named in honour of former founding member, treasurer and president of the JCF. The former accountant and auditor was honoured by the Calabar Old Boys' Association for his years of sterling contribution to the JCF.
Reprinted from the Jamaica Observer
— David Rose