The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

THE local chess community is currently hosting several masters of the sport from across the globe at the Orjan Lindroth Memorial Open Chess Championship.

Hosted through April 3 at the Old Fort Bay clubhouse, the event will include three grandmasters and is the first international chess tournament held in The Bahamas to be organised and hosted by Bahamians.

To open the tournament, Norwegian grandmaster Johan-Sebastian Christiansen played a simultaneous exhibition match against 20 Bahamians, including 10 juniors.

Christiansen was awarded the titles International Master, in 2015, and Grandmaster, in 2018, by FIDE.

This year’s tournament features a cash prize of $16,500. The event format will be a seven-round Swiss tournament with 90 minute + 30 second increment.

The sections will include open and U1700. Prizes will be awarded to - best performance rated U2200, bet performance rated U2000 and best local performance (floating trophy).

Carver Moncur, president of the Bahamas Chess Institute, said the tournament provides exposure for local players at all ages an opportunity to asses their skill level against elite competition.

“We have a lot of title players at this event. It gives the local players an opportunity to play against high-classed players. These players at this level, we would have to travel to compete against and that requires great sponsorship,” he said. “It makes it difficult for us to grow just competing against each other, we are in a small pool in competition with the local community, but it is good to receive this kind of exposure against this talent.”

Lindroth was described as an avid chess player and supporter of the Bahamas Chess Federation.

“Mr Lindroth’s generous contributions to The Bahamas Chess Federation gave inner city kids an opportunity to learn chess and to travel to compete for The Bahamas at international competitions,” the organisation said in a release.

“His support assisted the BCF in outreach efforts, made it possible for the first female Bahamas Olympiad team to participate at the 2018 Olympiad and enabled BCF to host a grandmaster in The Bahamas to train senior and junior players. Mr Lindroth’s love for The Bahamas and his love for chess manifested itself through his donation of books and software to the BCF and the annual sponsorship of numerous BCF events and tournaments most notably the Old Fort Bay Tournament.

In 2017, in recognition of Orjan’s significant contributions to the growth of chess in The Bahamas, BCF named the trophy for the National Chess Championship ‘the Orjan Lindroth Floating Trophy’.