The Nassau GuardianSend an emailJune 8, 2022 252 1 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
For over eight intense hours, young chess players paired up at boards, fists on cheeks, contemplating their next moves at the 46th Annual Bahamas Junior Chess Championships. In the end, it was Curtis Pride Jr. who came out on top as the overall champion.
This championship was a qualifier for the Bahamas National Championships set for November 2002 and Pride has earned a spot. The Bahamas Junior Chess Championship was organized by the Bahamas Chess Federation (BCF). Participants played an intense five rounds of two-hour games.
BCF President Candidate Master (CM) Kendrick Knowles congratulated Pride for the victory and the other players.
“It’s a pleasure seeing our juniors compete during this tournament,” Knowles said. “In chess there are players and pieces, and the ratio is 1:16. One player has to manage 16 pieces; this many to one ratio is very similar to other aspects of life.”
Pride defeated his younger brother Avian Pride to be crowned junior champion. Curtis Pride finished with 4.5 points while Avian scored four points. Noah Albury also scored four points and finish third overall. The top female was Chika Pride.
Knowles continued, speaking about how the juniors can learn life lessons from chess.
“It’s always good to reflect that although we teach and encourage young people to play chess, we are also imagining how we can transfer the skills of managing a chess game to managing a group of people. It’s all very exciting when you think of the possibilities. Problem solving, self-control and effective management of resources are all virtues that young people can carry on to adult life – through playing chess,” Knowles said.
The next tournament on the BCF’s calendar is the Warren Seymour Classic scheduled for Saturday June 25.