National chess champion National Master (NM) Shreyas Smith made it two wins in a row for 2017, when he secured five and a half points from six games to finish atop the standings of the Open Section of the 2017 IA FM John Powell Memorial Chess Open, which took place at Liberty Academy from February 16-19.

Smith added to his National Champion title which he won earlier this year, when he finished ahead of NM Stuart James, who ended on five points, the same as NM Daren Wisdom, who was relegated to third place on tiebreak. The top five was completed by Raheem Glaves and Nathan Hinds, who ended on 4.5 points each. Glaves took fourth place on tiebreak over Hinds.

The Intermediate Section was won by Darren McKennis, who ended unbeaten after securing 5.5 points from his six games. Second went to Jaleel Thorpe, who also ended on 5.5 points but was relegated to second place on tiebreak. Third went to rising star Armani Dyer, who ended on five points. Also on five was Carson Thomas, who was adjudged fourth on tiebreak,

The Amateur Section was topped by Remone Johnson who ended on a perfect score of six points from six games. He was followed by Shamir Martin and Kennejah Wellington who both scored five points from their six games. Martin took home the silver medal and Wellington the bronze when the tiebreak was employed.

The tournament had 148 entrants participating across three sections — Open, Intermediate and Amateur.