The Tobago International Draughts Blitz Tournament, a highly competitive event that brought together elite draughts players from across the globe, concluded with a standout performance from Suriname’s top contender, Federation Master Arwien Bhagwandas. Competing in a packed field of 44 skilled players, Bhagwandas secured 13th place overall, finishing as the highest-ranked Suriname competitor at the tournament.
The tournament followed the Swiss system format, with nine total rounds of play and a time control of five minutes per player plus a three-second increment for each move. The strength of the participant pool was underscored by the fact that more than half of all competitors held official draughts titles: the field included 8 Grandmasters, 4 International Masters, 11 Federation Masters, and 1 Candidate Federation Master, totaling 24 titleholders. Holding his own against this exceptionally talented line-up, Bhagwandas outranked a number of more decorated titleholders with his final score of 11 points across nine matches.
Bhagwandas was not the only Suriname competitor to turn in a solid performance at the event, with several of his compatriots finishing close together in the overall rankings. Federation Master Niaaz Salarbaks earned 16th place with a total of 10 points, while Federation Master Santosh Bhagwandas matched that point total to claim 18th spot. Federation Master Arief Salarbaks and Candidate Federation Master Sharvan Debipersad both finished with 9 points, taking 22nd and 25th place respectively. Federation Master John Schmeltz and Phavan Basdewsingh each earned 8 points, finishing 26th and 28th, while Federation Master Rinaldo Kemnaad closed out Suriname’s contingent in 33rd position.
The overall tournament victory went to Dutch Grandmaster Jitse Slump, who led a dominant showing by the Netherlands’ national contingent. Slump’s fellow Dutch Grandmasters Wouter Sipma and Simon Harmsma rounded out the top three, finishing in second and third place respectively. Martijn van IJzendoorn, another Dutch Grandmaster with Surinamese heritage, claimed fourth place, while Russian Grandmaster Alexander Shvartsman completed the tournament’s top five. With four of the top four spots going to Dutch competitors, the Netherlands left an indelible mark on the 2026 Tobago Blitz Tournament, while Arwien Bhagwandas’s 13th place finish stands as the best result for Suriname in this year’s event.