Claire Clarke, Contributor

Volume 2. No.8

The win or go home segment of the urban and rural high school chess tournament is about to begin, following the selection of the remaining teams that will get set to do battle. This selection took place last weekend.

The urban section is down to the last eight and the rural section down to the last 16.

In the urban competition Wolmer's Boys, Campion College B, Kingston College B, and Jamaica College A triumphed in the spot deciders on the weekend, and they will join Campion College A, Camperdown A, Kingston College A, and Campion College C.

In the rural section after matches last weekend, eight teams were added to the first eight qualifiers for the round of 16.

The newly qualified eight are St Catherine High B, Charlemont High, St Jago C, St Jago B, Old Harbour, Titchfield B, Iona, and Glenmuir B. These teams join earlier qualifiers: St. Jago A, Glenmuir A, St, Catherine A, Titchfield A, Manning's A, Munro A, Glenmuir B and Clarendon College.

Interesting to note is that only Campion College, defending champions in the urban section, and St Jago High, defending champions in the rural section as well as the all-island defending champions, have three teams going into these closing portions of the competition.

Quantity, however, is not an indicator of quality, so teams such as Glenmuir A led by Andrew Ellis, St Catherine A with Nathan Bellanfante, and Jamaica College are not to be underestimated.

Jamaica reigns supreme in Barbados

National women's champion and Olympian Krishna Gray was off on national duties in Barbados last weekend, and ended on top in the Margaret Prince Celebration Chess Tournament held in that country each year.

Gray finished the tournament on 5.5 points. The annual tournament is named and held in honour of Barbados' former national champion and attracts national women champions from across the region. Former Jamaica women's champion Deborah Richards-Porter has topped that tournament, too, in previous years.

The tournament this year featured players such as Woman FIDE Master Sheena Ramsay, a former Barbados woman champion, Trinidad & Tobago champion Aditi Soondarsingh, former Barbados women's champion Corrine Howard, Martinique women's champion Camille Sauveur, Barbados national women's champion Katrina Blackman, and CAC Girls Under-14 bronze medallist Gabriella Cumberbatch.

Upcoming tournaments

National Age Group Champion-ships: February 2 and 3 (Under 8, 12 and 16).

Urban High School Chess quarter-finals: Friday February 8, 2013 - Kingston College Library 3:30 p.m.

John Powell Memorial Open: February 9 and 10.

Urban High School Chess semi-finals: Saturday, February 16, 2013 - Kingston College Library 10a.m.

Urban and Rural High School Chess Finals: February 18-22. Venue to be announced

National Age Group Championships: February 23 and 24 (Under 10, 14 and 18).

Email feedback, send in your games or upcoming tournaments to yourchessmate@yahoo.com and join the facebook page chessmate. Claire Clarke is a former Women's National Champion, three-time Jamaica Women's team Chess Olympiad representative, trained journalist and editor.