FIDE Master (FM) Joshua Christie convincingly won the Frederick Cameron Online Chess Tournament 2021 played on December 18.

The six-round event was played in five sections — Open, U1600 Absolute, U1600 Female, U1300 Absolute, and U1300 Female. This 19th staging of the annual event is named in honour of Jamaica’s Hall of Fame recipient, former Jamaican international player and Jamaica Chess Federation President Frederick Cameron.

UWI FM Joshua Christie won the tough Open section with 5.5 out of six points, the only blemish being a draw with third-place winner from Trinidad and Tobago, FM Ryan Harper, who finished with 4.5 out of points. Kartavya Anadkat, the Jamaica Open winner from India, finished second with five out of six points. FM Raheem Glaves was fourth with four out of six points, and Jaden Shaw was fifth with four out of six points.

The top female player in the Open section was Campion College’s Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Raehanna Brown, who finished with three out of six points.

The winner of the U1600 Absolute section was Wolmer’s Boys’ School’s Kamari Stephens, who won with a perfect six points. Green Island High School’s Aldain Kerr was second with five out of six points and St Jago’s Nathaniel Hope rounded out the top three with 4.5 out of six points on tie-break, from Odel Downer, who was fourth, also on 4.5 out of six points.

The winner of the U1600 Female section was Wolmer’s Girls’ Amy Stephenson, who won with a perfect six points, followed by Romania’s Camelia-Maria Tatu with 4.5 out of six points and Kahli Campbell on 3.5 out of six points on tie-break. St Andrew High School’s Kaity Gayle also finished with 3.5 out of six points and finished fourth on tie-break.

The U1300 Absolute section saw a four-way tie with five out of six points. Guyanese Jerod Roberts won on tie-break from Campion College’s Brandon Johnson. Alexander Bloomfield and John Robinson, both from Wolmer’s Boys’ School finished third and fourth, respectively, on tie-break.

Glenmuir High School’s Alyssa Stewart and Hillel Academy’s Victoria Salazar finished with five out of six points in the U1300 Female section with Stewart winning on tie-break. Hillel Academy’s Victoria Aung finished third with four out of six points on tie-break from three other players.

FM Christie, in winning the final Jamaica Chess Federation event of the year, stated: “I am thankful to the Jamaica Chess Federation for hosting online tournaments, which creates the opportunity for Jamaican-based Chess players to compete against accomplished international competition, which is a crucial part of Jamaican player development.”

The event was open to international players and was played online via the Tornelo platform, with a time control of 15 minutes, with five-second increments. One hundred and twenty participants from 15 countries were represented in the competition, including South Africa, India, Guyana, Barbados, Romania, The Bahamas, Spain, Kenya, Trinidad & Tobago, Costa Rica, United States, and Jamaica.