National Age Group Chess Championships set for March 11
The largest chess tournament for youth in Jamaica is set to begin March 11 and is expecting an estimated 200 participants over 50 schools from across the island.
The tournament is being held at The University of West Indies’ Rex Nettleford Hall in Kingston.
The Jamaica Chess Federation tournament is used to select players who represent Jamaica at international tournaments at their various age levels. Sections range from Under-8 all the way to Under-18.
Grace Vienna Sausages and Tile City & Home Centre are the main sponsors of the event that is organised by two of Jamaica’s leading chess players, Warren Elliott and Jomo Pitterson.
Director at Tile City & Home Centre Melissa Moses said: “We believe playing chess has many positive effects on our youth and teaches youngsters to think and plan ahead. It was a no brainer for us to lend our support.”
The tournament will see youngsters not only vying to become national champions in their respective age levels but also competing for prizes such as trophies, books, gift baskets, certificates, and more. Grace Fish & Meats Brand Assistant Sha-Tara Carter expressed how significant it was to support events of this nature: “Chess helps so much with critical thinking. If youngsters at a primary and high school level all over were engaging in mind sports such as these, we could easily envision a changed Jamaica.”
The tournament is returning to its original early-year staging. Last year it was held later in the year because of COVID-19 restrictions that affected planning.
According to co-organiser and tournament chairman of Jamaica Chess Federation FIDE Master Warren Elliott, “We are happy to return to the start of the year to select our champions. It will give almost a full year of international representation possibilities.”
Last year, winners of the event went on to represent Jamaica at the Central American and Caribbean Youth Chess Championships held in Honduras. The champions and top players from Jamaica proved to be a force to reckon with, seeing three youngsters gaining international elect titles.
There are no clear favourites in any sections, but some names to look out for are FIDE Master-elect Jaden Shaw from Wolmer’s Boys’; Darren Mckennis from Campion College; Candidate Master-elect Emilia-Rose Leake from Creative Kids Learning Academy; Hillel Academy’s Victoria Aung; Ronak Shergill of Porter Centre for Knowledge; St Jago High’s J-Loy Chin; and Woman Candidate Master Raehanna Brown, also from Campion College; among many others. “Now in our 13th year of organising, this will be one of the strongest fields in the championships history,” opined international master and co-organiser Jomo Pitterson.
The 12-section National Age Group Chess Championships is expected to be the biggest one for the year. With so many young students participating it might be safe to say that Jamaica and chess have a bright future.