TRAINING partners Darren McKennis and Jaden Shaw finished first and second in the Open section of the IA FM John Powell Online Chess Rapids 2021.

McKennis won after beating his first five opponents, cruising into the final round versus FIDE VP Ian Wilkinson during which the veteran chess player dug deep, playing some solid defensive moves en route to a drawn result. Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Raehanna Brown was third overall and top female in the Open section.

Winning Coach IM Jomo Pitterson had glowing praises for the overall high standard of the competition while sharing that he wasn’t surprised with the result as his charges have been putting in the work, hence the favourable outcome.

In the U1600 section, Samuel Smith won ahead of J-Loy Samuels and Gabriella Watson in third position overall. The top three males were Samuel Smith, J-Loy Chin and Zahmir Smikle, while the top three females were Gabriella Watson, Kaia Gayle and Kaity Gayle.

In the U1300 Absolute section Rithvik Gogineni won from Aldain Kerr and Luc Sinton (Cayman), while the female section had Vitoria Lewin winning over Safiya Henry and Elisha Patel.

Forty-nine individuals contested the IA FM John Powell Online Chess Rapids, named in honour of the only Jamaican male chess player to have won a medal (silver) at a Chess Olympiad in Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1984.

IA FM John Powell was also a heavyweight boxing champion of Jamaica, a founding father of the Jamaica Chess Federation (JCF) formed in 1969, and served the JCF in the capacity of president and treasurer. He passed away in 2007.