Joshua Johnson, Fatima College student and national junior chess champion, added another trophy to his growing collection when he topped the under-20 section of the Indian Arrival Day Junior Chess tournament held at Presentation College, Chaguanas.The one-day rapid play contest, now in its ninth year, was organised by the T&T Chess Foundation and sponsored by Indus Merchant Limited. A total of 83 players from various parts of the country took part in the five-round contest.
Johnson who has experience of high-level competition both nationally and internationally, finished half a point ahead of his closest rival Mahendra Singh of Presentation College who scored four points. Johnson was denied a perfect score when he was held to a draw by Simon Ramdath of Naparima College in the final round. Ramdath, another promising youngster, took third place.
The competition offered cash prizes and trophies for the first top five players in each category. In the under-14 section, three players finished on top with four points each. The tie-breaker placed Sean Bridglalsingh of Naparima first with Daniel Bhola of Presentation and Rishon Ramlogan of Hillview College taking second and third places.
The under-12 category was dominated by Mikel Martin of Grant Memorial Presbyterian School who played unbeaten, finishing with a perfect score of five out of five. Behind him were Della-Marie Walcott of St Joseph's Concent, Port-of-Spain and Nicholai Mohammed of Grant Memorial, who were separated by the tie-breaker after scoring four points each.Tyrese Henry topped the field of 38 players in the Novices division, also winning with a perfect score of seven. Again the tie-breaker was used to separate Jordaine Ramnarine of Grant Memorial, second, and her schoolmate Athena Martin, third, who both finished on six points.In his closing remarks, sponsor Jed Janwani, Managing Director of Indus Merchant, thanked players, teachers and parents for supporting the event. He confirmed the company's sponsorship for the tenth edition of the tournament which will be held in the same occasion and venue next year.