Cayman Islands chess champ Kudakwashe Chinake claimed the Caribbean crown over the Easter weekend.
The Zimbabwe-born auditor won six of his seven games in the Easter Classic event, defeating some of the best players in the region, to take the title.
Chinake, known as ‘Kuda’, came into the event without much recent tournament experience and as one of the lower-ranked players.
He said he had hoped to do well but was pleasantly surprised to win.
“I thought maybe I could come top five but not really to win the whole tournament,” he said.
“I wanted to shine and I went in to put the biggest effort I could, concentrating on the games and not really being distracted by anything.”
Securing victory involved playing around 20 hours of chess over the course of seven games. An early win against the highest-rated player in the tournament helped set up the victory for Kuda, who was one of 12 Cayman Islands players to compete.
Fellow team Cayman player Gilbert Abalos (5.5/7) tied for second place in the Swiss-style tournament.
Kuda said training with the national team coach, Jamaican international master Jomo Pitterson, had helped him prepare and to improve his game to the point where he could compete with the best in the region.
The Caribbean Easter Classic was held over three days across the region. Competitors played online with invigilators at each site and laptop cameras activated to ensure there was no cheating.
The U1400 section was won by Matthew Bailey of Antigua & Barbuda (7/7) and the highest Cayman players were debutants John-Henry Moore (5/7) and Israel Martin (4.5/7).
The event, organised by the St. Lucia Chess Federation and others, comprised more than 90 players from nine Caribbean nations.
The Cayman contingent of 12 players included national team players Cliff Shaw, Shaun Tracey and Laia Swaminathan, as well as debutants Dez Graham, Diamond White and James Whittaker, and club regulars Luc Sinton and Aidan O’Rourke.
The Cayman contingent played their games from a boardroom at Governor’s Square with Malcolm Powell as arbiter.
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