One of Barbados’ most promising chess players, Ronaldo Rochester, has capped off a dominant run of play to take the top prize at the 2024 Dr Philip Corbin Open Chess Tournament, which wrapped its preliminary rounds recently at the Barbados Football Association headquarters. The tournament, which drew 28 competitive players from across the island, built to a tense final round that saw the top rankings hold steady despite late surges from lower-seeded competitors.
Heading into the final day of play, Rochester held a clear edge over the field, having accumulated 5.5 points through his first six matches. This gave him a half-point lead over second-ranked Justin Kirton, who in turn held a half-point advantage over third-place contender Julissa Figueroa on 4.5 points. The tight standings left the door cracked open for five other competitors sitting on four points, all of whom still carried a mathematical chance to crack the top three and advance with a strong final round performance.
When the final matchups concluded, however, the pre-round hierarchy held firm, with all three top contenders securing results good enough to protect their positions. Rochester, playing with the black pieces, forced a draw against Charis Stuart to lock in his overall lead, while Kirton and Figueroa battled to an even draw in their head-to-head matchup. When final points were tallied, Rochester finished the tournament with six total points to claim the championship title, while Kirton landed in second place with 5.5 points. Figueroa secured the third and final automatic qualifying spot with five points, edging out Loki Clarke and Aidan Singh on tiebreaks. Both Clarke and Singh posted strong late comebacks, defeating higher-rated opponents Mileke Sinckler and Adam Roachford respectively to climb to five points and force the tiebreaker decision.
Notably, Figueroa makes history as the only female player to qualify for the National Open Championship finals in several years, marking a milestone for women’s chess participation in Barbados. Rochester, Kirton, and Figueroa will join six already qualified competitors, along with defending national champion Martyn Del-Castilho, for the national finals, scheduled to kick off August 21 at the Fine Arts Gallery of the Barbados Community College.
Alongside the open competitive division, the tournament also hosted a novice section for emerging local players. In that bracket, Kevin St Hill turned in a near-perfect performance, claiming the novice title with an outstanding 6.5 points across his seven matches. Tanish Chaturvedi finished as runner-up in the novice division with six points, while Liam Martin rounded out the top three with four points.