National Master (NM) Damion Davy claimed the title of 44th Jamaica National Chess champion, when he finished with an outstanding, unbeaten score of nine points from a possible 11. The event, which took place July 15-31, was sponsored by the Sports Development Foundation, the Spanish Court Hotel, the Liguanea Club, the Magnificent Chess Foundation and the Norman Manley Law School, and featured 12 of the best local chess players.

NM Peter Myers, who had been leading the tournament for the first eight rounds, had to settle for third place with 7.5 points, after failing to convert a win against Davy in the eighth round. Subsequently, Myers lost to the eventual second place NM Andrew Mellace and suffered a shocking upset to Markland Douglas in the ninth and 10th rounds, respectively.

Davy, having comfortably defeated veteran NM Mark Holness in the penultimate 10th round, secured his claim on the title with a round to spare.

NM Mellace placed second on eight points, and fourth and fifth places were claimed by Candidate Master Peter Thomas and Ian Wilkinson, who ended on seven and six points, respectively.

For several years, Davy, a second-year Actuarial Science student at the University of the West Indies, has been progressing towards claiming the highest accolade in Jamaican chess. He placed second in the 2009 National Championship and won the 2008 and 2009 Junior Chess Championships.

Women’s FIDE Master (WFM) Deborah Richards-Porter claimed her record 10th hold on the title of Jamaica National Women’s Chess champion. Richards-Porter, who is the top female player in the English-speaking Caribbean, outclassed her opposition to finish on a perfect score of eight points from eight games. Women’s Candidate Master (WCM) Zhu Hui followed in second place with five points, while University of Technology student Krishna Gray trailed in third place with four points.

The President’s Invitational, an annual tournament involving 12 special invitees of the president of the Jamaica Chess Federation, also took place alongside the event.

Veteran Bertram Scott made a long-awaited return to competitive chess, dispatching a predominantly young field of chess players to win the event on an impressive, unbeaten eight points from a possible 11.

Ardenne High student Jonathon Orgill also finished unbeaten to secure his most impressive result to date, placing second on 7.5 points. Kareem Wright, also finishing on 7.5 points, was declared third based on the tie breaks.