Events
A Resurgence of Chess in the Virgin Islands!
Upcoming
2023
The National K-12 Chess Tournament will take place in Washington D.C. from March 31to April 2, 2023. Sinclair Wilkinson has already booked (today) the students who will be participating and the parents who will accompany them, total about 20. Presently, the airline cost AA is $267. The group will leave on March 30 and return on April 4th. Note that the tournament will end on April 2nd but we will take a historic tour of DC on April 3rd. St. Croix students are encouraged to join! Please email Mr. Wilkinson at wilks2268@hotmail.com for further information or Ms. Widmer at glwidmer@hotmail.com to coordinate the STX group.
St. Croix Fun & Skill Building Tournament
January 21-22, 2023
12 participants (8 men, 4 women)
An especially intense and interesting game
Analyzing their games
Tournament Winners!
1st Place: Mayte Funtanilla (center)
2nd Place: John Dempsey (right)
3rd Place: Michael Bokeno (left)
Congratulations!
From left to right:
Lon Newman (amazing doner, assistant organizer, assistant tournament director), Gail Widmer (assistant organizer), Jeremy Thibodeaux (amazing tournament director & organizer)
Our next tournament is planned for March. Practice & Stay tuned! :-)
2022
The Second Scholastic Chess Tournament for 2022 on December 17th in STT
The Second Open Chess Tournament for 2022
Our lovely venue at the RT Park
1st Place Winner: Mayte Funtanilla
14 Guests from STT
The First Open Chess Tournament for 2022
Over the St. Thomas Carnival weekend, the USVI Chess Association held the first Virgin Islands Open Chess Tournament at Lockhart Elementary School. There were 27 participants from both St. Croix and St. Thomas, ranging in age from very young to senior, and ranging in skill from beginner to FIDE Master (FM). The tournament director, Jon Haskel, broadcast many of the games online and on the USVI Chess Association website making it possible for the public to view and enjoy watching the games live as they were happening.
This is the first inter-island chess event of this magnitude in a very long time. This tournament was open to all Virgin Islanders as well as off-island guests and chess players everywhere.
Pictured below are the winners of the first USVI Chess Association Open Chess Tournament.
From left to right:
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FM Will Van Rensselaer (1st place, open)
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Darryl Allen (2nd place, open)
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Eli Blondeau (tied, 2nd place, under 1000)
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Stefan Todman (tied, 2nd place, under 1000)
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Abram Williams (tied, 2nd place, under 1000)
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Eve Williams (tied, 2nd place, under 1000)
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Rohan Nagi (3rd place, open)
The First Scholastic Chess Tournament for the 2022-23 School Year
When: October 1, 2022
Where: Lockhart Elementary School, St. Thomas
Chess Tournament Winners by Category:
9 Years and Under:
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Tucker Edwards (Homeschool)
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Roman Overmyer (Antilles School)
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Jamiel Canton (Yvonne Bowsky Elementary School)
13 Years and Above:
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Eli Blondeau (Antilles School)
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Jermaine Jones (IEKHS)
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Naitik Jhanwar (All Saints Cathedral School)
GM Nigel Short's Visit to the Caribbean
Nigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster, columnist, commentator and, since October 2018, Vice-President of FIDE. Short earned the Grandmaster title at the age of 19, and was ranked third in the world by FIDE from July 1988 to July 1989.
First stop St. Vincent and the Grenadines, then Dominica, then the British Virgin Islands, then St. Thomas on October 26, then finally St. Croix from October 26 through November 1, 2021
Playing Sir Richard Branson on Necker Island
Talking to students about the value of chess at Good Hope Country Day School on October 28
Playing Nico at the Domino Club on October 29
On St. Thomas, October 26
The simultaneous exhibition at Ziggy's on St. Croix, on Saturday, October 30, 2021