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Chess Masters set to clash at Barita Chess Open

Published:Sunday | April 21, 2019 | 12:34 AM
Barita Investments’ Assistant Vice-President of Marketing Dianne Clunie-Wallace (left) hands over a sponsorship cheque to tournament director of the Barita Chess Open, Zachary Ramsay.
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Barita Investments’ Assistant Vice-President of Marketing Dianne Clunie-Wallace (left) hands over a sponsorship cheque to tournament director of the Barita Chess Open, Zachary Ramsay.

Scores of young, ambitious chess players and experienced chess masters from around the island are set to compete at the Barita Chess Open.

The event is set to take place on April 27 at the Old Library of The University of the West Indies. The theme of the event is to promote the exciting speed version of the sport, where players must complete the game in 20 minutes (with five- second increments after each move).

Confirmed to participate are current National Champion Shreyas Smith and National Junior Champion Malik Curriah. Smith, who is the defending champion and also a FIDE (World Chess Federation) Master, stated that he is looking forward to the competition, which he hopes will help him reclaim his number one local ranking.

“My experience last year was a fun, clean tournament and I look forward to an even better event as I aim to surpass 2200 on the international rating scale (FIDE). My overall goal is to help prepare to reclaim my place as the number one in the island,” said Smith.

He will be competing with many other masters, including former National Champions FIDE Master Warren Elliott and Andrew Mellace. There will be sections for age group categories – under-12, under-14 and under-16, in addition to amateur and open sections.

Barita Investments Limited is one of the oldest stock brokerages in Jamaica, and joins the tournament as the headline sponsor.

Over the past 40 years, the company has built a solid reputation for excellence in the areas of Equities Trading, Fixed Income Securities, Foreign Currency Trading, Asset Management, Unit Trusts Fund Management and Investment Research.

Assistant Vice-President of Marketing Dianne Clunie-Wallace said that the company is excited to partner with the tournament.

“Barita is happy to be involved in promoting a sport that invests in building the minds of youth across Jamaica. We are confident the event will be a fun, entertaining and educational experience for all attendees,” Clunie-Wallace said.

The event is also sponsored by RamsaySmith attorneys-at-law, and is organised by M.R. Games. For more information visit www.mrgamesjamaica.com.