University of the West Indies, Mona, Student FIDE Candidate Master (FCM) Malik Curriah and Campion College student Raehanna Brown captured their respective Absolute and Female Junior (Under-20) titles recently at Liberty Academy.

Playing in his final championship, FCM Curriah maintained his dominance on the field going into the fifth round against Di-Jaun Smith. After a gruelling three-hour match, Curriah emerged the winner and became the undisputed leader for the remainder of the tournament. His final round victory against National Master (NM) Raheem Glaves left him with his second national junior title on an undefeated seven points from eight games.

Despite his fifth-round loss to FCM Curriah, Smith delivered three consecutive victories to finish in second place on 6.5 points. Christopher Lyn and Michael Christie finished third and fourth, respectively, on 5.5 points each after tie-breaks.

In the Female Junior Chess Championship, Raehanna Brown won her first national junior title and ended the three-year reign of Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Adani Clarke. Before the final round, WCM Clarke led the field on 5.5 points with three players trailing her on five points each. Her final round encounter against Sheanel Gardner would decide the winner of the championship.

In a surprising result, Gardner defeated WCM Clarke in what was the biggest upset of the tournament. With this result, and the draw between Amy Stephenson and Nickaylah Curwin, Brown leapt to first place on six points after defeating WCM Zaina O’Connor in a relatively easy game.

Second place was a tie among four players who finished on 5.5 points each. After tie-breaks were employed, Stephenson was second, Sheanel Gardner third, WCM Clarke fourth, and Curwin fifth.

With their victories, FCM Curriah and Brown have secured their spots in next year’s respective National Absolute and Female Chess Championships.

The National Absolute and Female Junior Championships were closed eight-round events with each player being allocated 90 minutes with 30-second increments after every move. The event was hosted by the Jamaica Chess Federation with the support of the Sports Development Foundation.

— David Rose