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The 37th Jamaican Championship went down to the last pawn push as the top two boards produced the deciding result. When the smoke cleared FM Warren Elliott won this 4th title with an undefeated 9˝-1˝ after squeezing a win from Peter Myers in the finale. Sources report that Myers could have taken a three-fold repetition which would have awarded Russel Porter the title on tiebreaks. Porter had earlier drawn with Jomo Pitterson ending on a stellar 8˝-2˝. Pitterson was 3rd on 7˝-3˝.
Mark Bowen pointed out, "You could say Myers cost Porter the trophy by beating him and then giving Elliott this crucial half point." Elliott has twice won consecutive titles (2000 & 2001 and 2004 & 2005) and is developing quite an impressive résumé in Jamaican chess. Shane Matthews, a 7-time champion, was unable to gain momentum and fell off the pace early. He finished joint 4th with Robert Wheeler and Malaku Lorne, each with 5˝-5˝. Deborah Richards, Jamaica's 1st Women's Master, scored 3˝-7˝, but scored an impressive win over Geoffrey Byfield and held Matthews equal in an interesting encounter.
In the President's Invitational, Daren Wisdom torched the field with an undefeated 10-1. His key win over John Powell provided him to squeak past Humphrey Gayle who finished on 9˝-1˝. Powell, a National Master and former Olympiad player, was coming off of an 11-year hiatus and scored 9-2 in his return to action. Wisdom, a former Jamaican Junior Champion, is poised to become the next National Master.
Jamaican Chess Federation
Coverage (The Chess Drum)
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