Brown wins Harold Chan Chess Open
One of Jamaica’s leading players, Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Raehanna Brown, handily won the NM Dr Harold Chan Open Chess Tournament recently with an excellent 5.5 points.
The six-round tournament was pla18yed from September 30 to October 1.
Jhustice-Dimonte McDonald finished in second place on tiebreak with an impressive 4.5 points, and third belonged to John Stephenson, who also finished with 4.5 points. Fourth and fifth places went to FDE Master (FM) Raheem Glaves and Geordan Sinclair who both gained 4.0 points.
In the Open section, Brown’s only setback was a draw with McDonald in the final round. The section provided several hotly contested matches, with a few upsets.
The exciting U1600 Intermediate Section was won by Zuberi Edwards with 5.5 points. Second place went to Terence Lindo on tiebreak with four points, followed by Kaia Gayle and Arena Candidate Master (ACM) Christopher Davis, who both also finished with 4 points.
The U1300 Absolute section was very competitive, with Maurice Gayle emerging victorious with a perfect five points from five games. Ajani McClean was second with 4.5 points. Third place on tiebreak went to Brian Thompson, who finished with four points, followed by Alwyn Sterling, Simon Lamm and Nathan Smith, who all finished with four points.
The U1300 Female Section, played over five rounds, produced several outstanding winners. First place went to Victoria Aung (4.5 points); second place to Elisha Patel (four points); third place to Tsahai Clarke (four points); and fourth place to Emilia-Rose Leake (3.5 points).
The tournament, featuring approximately 100 participants, is named in honour of a Jamaican chess pioneer and one of our greatest champions, Dr Chan. He was a five-time Jamaica chess champion, one of the country’s first National Masters and one of the founders of Jamaican Chess. Originally from Guyana, he settled in Jamaica and studied to become a pathologist at The University of the West Indies.
“It was a great event. Congratulations to the winners. Special thanks to the tournament committee, arbiters, and other JCF [ Jamaica Chess Federation] executive members who offered support and assistance in different ways, to ensure a successful tournament,” said FM Warren Elliott, the Jamaica Chess Federation tournament committee chairperson.