The 2010 national chess championship finals, which begin on Saturday at Cascadia Hotel, St Ann's, seem set for a particularly interesting run this year. The two major reasons for this are, first, the participation for the first time of four talented juniors in the open contest and, secondly, the largest number, 16 in all, of females who will vie for the ladies' title. These two factors give us reason, at least, to be optimistic about the future of the royal game in T&T since they seem to indicate that more youngsters are becoming seriously involved in this mentally stimulating sport. The juniors, of course, are led by 15-year-old FM Keron Cabralis who will be gunning for the national title a third consecutive time, having placed third in his two previous efforts. If he succeeds now, it would be a fitting climax to a year in which he has made chess history both at home and abroad.
Cabralis became the Caribbean's youngest FM at the sub-zonals to the world championship in Nassau, Bahamas. He was also the first T&T player to advance to the zonal stage of the contest which comes off in Ecuador in July 2012. And, at the recent Olympiad in Russia, the St Mary's fourth form science student finished with a creditable 45 per cent score. His achievements at home also enhanced his image as a young chess star, taking the Knights Open title, playing unbeaten in the national Under-16 championship, tying for first place in the Under-20 category of the Caribbean Chess Carnival and finishing joint third in the Umada Cup behind Venezuelan IMs Raphael Prasca and Julio Ostos. The youthful excitement that Cabralis brings to the national finals will be boosted by the presence of three other schoolboys who have shown themselves capable of upsetting any of their senior counterparts.
The youngest, 11-year-old St Mary's College first former Joshua Johnson, came into prominence last year when he won the Under-12 national title and brought home the Under-10 gold medal from the CAC Games in Panama. Last July, Johnson moved up to claim the Under-20 championship. Fourteen-year-old Vishnu Singh of Presentation College, Chaguanas, emerged a giant killer in the first of this year's of four qualifiers with victories over FM Ryan Harper, Alex Winter Roach, Hayden Lee and Darryl Davis. Three years ago he established himself in the junior ranks by topping the Under-14 category of the Orchard Grand Prix, a victory he repeated the following year. He proceeded then to win the national junior title in fine style and to reinforce that status by gaining a Bronze Medal at the CAC Games in Panama. Jayson Paul, Upper Sixth student of Queen's Royal College, is demonstrating his consistency by qualifying for the finals a second time.
The eldest of the four juniors, 17-year-old Paul has had to balance his studies with chess, but has achieved enough to make him a force in any contest. His successes include the 2008 Under-16 national championship title and the Under-20 first prize in the Orchard Grand Prix event the same year. The talented foursome, however, will have to match skills with a powerful group of senior players, two of whom, FM Ryan Harper and Ravishen Singh, will be striving to regain the title. The others, FM Mario Merritt, Dr Eddison Chang, veteran Andrew Bowles, Davis Christopher and Alex Winter-Roach have all been here before. Now, they are renewing the hunt for a prize that would give a lasting lustre to their chess careers. Of course, they will all have to contend with the strength of the champion himself, 22-year-old UWI student Marcus Joseph, whose bid to retain his title will tell a fascinating story of its own. The parallel contest to decide the female national champion should have a special interest this year since it has attracted more players than ever before.
The betting, however, is likely to favour Aditi Soondarsingh, UTT student, who has dominated the women's arena with five consecutive national titles. Her strongest challenge is likely to come from Melissa Pereira, Under-16 champion, CM Javanna Smith, Under-14 champion, and Joanne Rattan-Chung, the most senior. Also in contention are Sasiya Lambert, Under-12 champion; Della Marie Walcott, Under-10 champion; Amba De Silva, Under-8 champion; Gabriella Johnson, Jade Noreiga, Rhea Eccles, Yanna Lopez, Aliard Jerome, Sandell O'Neil, Jeselle Gajadhar, Ananya Annumunthodo, Lexi Brown and Najarrah Mohammed. "We are encouraged by the increased response from our female players," observes Quintin Cabralis, T&T Chess Association president. "We are hoping that the trend continues and we will soon see more of our young ladies taking part in open tournaments and even qualifying for the finals of the national championship." Play in the round-robin finals at Cascadia starts at 3 pm on Saturday and continues on Sunday at 10 am and 4 pm. Chess players and parents are welcome to come and watch the games.