Malik Curriah on a roll, wins 2018 President's Invitational

Report 1

 

Malik Curriah, who was named Jamaica's National Junior (Under-20) Chess Champion earlier this year, emerged victorious in the 2018 President's Invitational that concluded last weekend at Jamaica Olympic Association compound.

Curriah was undefeated over nine rounds, drawing only with National Master (NM) Stuart James, the tournament's runner-up, and NM Paul Brooks.

NM James and Candidate Master (CM) Shreyas Smith placed second and third, respectively, on seven points as a result of NM James' victory against CM Smith in the final round. Arena International Master (AIM) Tevanio Steadman placed fourth ahead of NM Paul Brooks, who placed fifth on 5.5 points as well.

In the lead-up to the Sub-Zonals 2.3.5 that Jamaica will host next month, Curriah will draw a lot of confidence from this win. The Sub-Zonals Tournament is a World Chess Championship qualifier and will attract players from all over the region.

Tournament Director Terence Lindo remarked: “It's great to see those really working on their game having some significant success recently. Although Curriah did not make the Olympiad squad he was able to beat some of Jamaica's top players in this tournament, and it will be quite interesting to see how he performs in the Robert Wheeler Open coming up this weekend and the Sub-Zonals in June.”

The 2018 President's Invitational was a closed, 10-player round robin tournament where players were invited by the incumbent Jamaica Chess Federation President Ian Wilkinson to compete in the event. The time control was 90 minutes with 30-second increments after every move.

The event was sponsored by the Jamaica Olympic Association, The Jamaica Chess Federation, and Magnificent Chess Foundation.

.. See other articles..