Bahamas National Chess Championship 2014
November 8-23, 2014
| The Punch - Nov 10, 2014.pdf |
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The Bahamas National Chess Championship concluded on Sunday, November 23 with candidate master (CM) Kendrick Knowles holding off the competition in a tense final round showdown to secure the title for the second year in a row.
Needing to win the final game of the tournament to topple the defending champion, CM Cecil Moncur had all intentions of playing aggressively. But Knowles, playing the best chess of his young career, made sure that Moncur's attack never materialized. Paired with the black pieces, Knowles adopted the super-solid Slav Defense and played it to perfection, giving nothing to his opponent. With Moncur's pieces fully restrained and poorly placed, Knowles launched a blistering attack on the enemy king, penetrating with his knight and rook deep into Moncur's position. On the 34th move, the pressure proved too much for Moncur and a small misstep allowed Knowles to initiate the decisive tactical sequence to end the game. It was a clinical display of high-level positional chess combined with precise attacking prowess. Out of a possible 10 points, Knowles scored an impressive 8.5, with his only loss coming at the veteran hands of national master Valentine Cox. Knowles also split a point with Moncur after a fifth round draw. Moncur finished on 6.5 points to place second, followed by Cox whose 6.0 point total secured third place. The championship tournament, sponsored by VitaMalt, featured six of the country's best players paired against each other in a double round robin format over the three week event. After adding the total points scored from the wins and draws, the player with the most points after ten rounds was declared the winner. Knowles, Moncur, and Cox, along with CM Elton Joseph and Chappell Whyms, represented The Bahamas in last summer's Chess Olympiad in Tromso, Norway, where the squad surprised observers by finishing forty places above its starting rank of 158th in the world. Of the English-speaking Caribbean countries, only Jamaica placed higher. Pairings and results are posted on chess-results.com. Bahamas National Chess Championship 2014Final ranking
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