The Tribune

NM Valentine Cox dominated the 2023 Bahamas National Chess Championship, winning the prestigious event with an impressive 8 out of 9 points.

The only player to beat NM Cox was FM Cecil Moncur in Round 9. NM Cox won his first Bahamas National Chess Championship 47 years ago in 1975.

He went on to win the title again in 2002 and 2015 according to The Bahamas Chess Federation’s (BCF) records.

The 2023 Bahamas National Chess Championship took place over two full weekends kicking off Friday, 13 January and ending on Sunday 22 January.

This year the tournament, which was sponsored by Colina, was held at the J. Whitney Pinder Building on Collins Avenue.

The event was an exciting one filled with several shocking defeats. Young Avian Pride beat FM Cecil Moncur in Round 3. Trevor Bridgewater pulled off an upset in Round 9 beating CM Kendrick Knowles.

The event was also an historic one as it was the first Bahamas chess tournament to be livestreamed. The BCF secured electronic chess boards and chess clocks made by Digital Game Technology (DGT).

DGT tournament boards are used at Chess Olympiads, World Chess Championships and all major chess tournaments around the world to show the games live as they happen.

“I would like to thank Colina for their sponsorship of the 2023 Bahamas National Chess Championship. I would also like to applaud all the players for participating in this historic tournament and congratulations to the winners,” exclaimed Curtis Pride, 2ndVice President, the Bahamas Chess Federation.

“We encourage you all to continue to participate in BCF tournaments this year and support The Bahamas Chess Federation. The Bahamas Chess Federation is committed to giving all chess players in The Bahamas exposure and opportunities to travel regionally and internationally to improve your ratings and gain titles and IM ratings.”

Kendrick Knowles, president of the BCF, was also pleased with what he saw.

“I am proud that we were able to secure the DGT digital boards and livestream these games,” Knowles said. “We had persons watching from all over the world including Norway, Jamaica and Switzerland.

“This is a huge accomplishment and allows us to attract more attention to Bahamian chess tournaments and our players.”

The 2023 Bahamas National Chess Championships was a FIDE rated tournament; set up as a 9 round Swiss format with Game in 90 minutes plus 30 seconds per move.

Chief Arbiter for the 2023 Championship was International Arbiter (IA), Andre White. Mr. White was assisted by Deputy Chief Arbiter, Angel Pride.

Here’s a look at the top ten finishers:

1- NM Valentine Cox - 8 points.

2 - CM Byron Smith - 7.5 points.

3 - FM Cecil Moncur - 6.5 points.

4 - Avian Pride - 5.5 points.

5 - CM Kendrick Knowles - 4.5 points.

6 - Kenville Lockhart - 4 points.

7 - Curtis Pride - 3 points.

8 - Noah Albury - 2.5 points.

9 - Trevor Bridgewater - 2 points.

10 - Shawn Barker - 1.5 points.