Richards-Porter Wins Jamaica Chess Open

Woman International Master (WIM) and 10-time National Women's Chess Champion of Jamaica, Deborah Richards-Porter, defied the odds to win the Jamaica Chess Federation's Jamaica Open, which took place at the Christar Villas Hotel and the Campion College Auditorium.

Richards-Porter scored five points from six games to finish atop the standings of the Open Section, which included only seven female players among forty-four male players.

Included among her victories was a win over Jamaica's number three-ranked player and three-time National Champion, FIDE Master (FM) Damion Davy.

Also finishing with five points were Davy, Lucien Rowe and National Master Shreyas Smith, each of whom were relegated to second, third, and fourth, respectively after tiebreakers were employed.

The Under-20 category was won by Smith. St Jago's Alistair Walker and Joshua Christie finished second and third, respectively. Richards-Porter walked away as the top female player.

intense competition

There was close and intense competition in the Intermediate division, where Marlon Hutchinson of Glenmuir High, Angelus McDonald of St Catherine High, Rushawn White of Ardenne High, Rahjay Ellis of Glenmuir High, and Ramesh Watson of St Jago High all tied for first place with five points each.

While each player shared the monetary prize equally, they were separated by tiebreaker into first, second, third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.

Jamaica College's David Reid topped the Amateur division with a perfect six points from as many games.

St Andrew Prep's Justin McKay took second place on tiebreaker over Ardenne High's Ajay Tennant, as both players ended on five points.

Through a process of tallying the points earned by players, and weighting by the division, St Catherine Primary won the award for the top primary/preparatory school in the tournament, followed by St Andrew Prep and Hillel Academy.

Among high schools, Glenmuir won the corresponding award, followed by St. Jago High and Campion College.