The last of four preliminaries to decide who will contest the finals of T&T's national chess championship comes off on Saturday at the San Fernando Girls Anglican School starting at 9.30 am. Already, however, the climax to this race promises to be an exciting affair as it involves a mixture of top class players, ex-champions and talented newcomers. Indeed, title-holder FM Kevin Cupid will have to produce his best chess if he is to outplay the competition and so retain his title.
The first qualifier, the one in South, produced three formidable finalists, FM Adrian Winter Atwell, FM Ryan Harper and CM Esan Wiltshire. Winter Atwell joined the country's chess elite by a series of major victories including the Knights Chess Club Open and the Deverteuil Memorial, two of T&T's major tournaments. Harper, of course, has established a class all by himself, having won the national title a total of seven times and missing the IM norm by tiny margins in overseas tournaments. Wiltshire, back in competitive play, is now set to confirm his position among the country's leading youngsters.
The second qualifier, in the north, produced finalists FM Mario Merritt, FM Frank Yee and Rickson Thomas. Merritt is a formidable veteran whose notable performances at home plus his many appearances for T&T at the Chess Olympiad has set him apart. Frank Yee is a former national champion and a high tournament performer who is returning to the fray after a brief layoff.
The question is, can Yee regain the form that took him to the top? Youthful Rickson Thomas, breaking into the national finals for the first time, is a virtual newcomer to the tournament circuit who seems talented enough to produce some final surprises. The Tobago preliminaries produced Dr Dean Nedd and FM Joshua Johnson, two finalists who are sure to provide their own special excitement in this homestretch run to the T&T chess title. The spotlight falls particularly on Dr Nedd who has already achieved the distinction of being the first Tobagonian to contest the national chess finals. Holding a doctorate in chemistry, he surprised the local chess world by winning the Tobago preliminary with an unbeaten score against an "invasion" of notable Trini players.
Dr Nedd finished the six round event on 5.5, conceding just half a point to youngster Sean Yearwood. Now he is set to make chess history in his first national finals.
Joshua Johnson, 17, became the country's youngest chess star by a series of victories at home and abroad. At the Tromso Olympiad in Denmark the youngster attained the best score among T&T's five-man team.
Saturday's southern qualifier, of course, will add three more stalwarts to the coming national showdown helping to make it one of the most fascinating contests in T&T's chess history.
Meanwhile, the Chess in Schools programme being conducted by the Rotary Club of Point Fortin moves steadily ahead. The project will hold its first Open Junior Tournament on Saturday July 9 at the Point Fortin East Secondary School auditorium. Registration is now open and will close at 9.30am on the day of the event. Play will run from 10am to 4pm. The tournament will be held in five categories: Novices A. Novices B, Under 1400, Under 1600 and Open. Medals will be awarded to the top placing male and female players from Point Fortin. In addition, trophies will be presented to the first eight players and cash prizes of more than $3,500 for players taking the first five places.
The tournament will climax the Point Fortin Chess Club's 16 week training session facilitated by trainers from the T&T Chess Foundation and the Grant Memorial Presbyterian School Chess Club. The programme's training will resume in September.