Barbadian Jeremiah Farley has made a solid start at the prestigious World Open Chess tournament, taking place in Philadelphia.
The 12-year-old is the youngest member of a four player local delegation and has had a dream start, after securing four and a half points from his five games in the Under 2000 rating section.
He began with three straight wins, before being held to a draw in Round Four by Jeremiah Beckles of the US. The Barbadian however bounced back in Round Five to defeat Gabriel Burgos, also of the US.
He now sits in joint second place with six other players, and a half point behind the leader, Shreyas Rajendra in the 218-player strong field.
The other members of the team are seasoned national representatives Emar Edwards and Justin Parsons, along with Jefferson Farley, who is Jeremiah’s father.
Emar Edwards has three points from five games in the Under 2200 rating section. (Photo Credit: KD )
Edwards and Parsons are both participating in the Under 2200 rating section. Edwards had a fantastic start, winning his first three games, before recording two consecutive losses.
With three points from his five games, Edwards sits in 71st place in the 263-player field and will be looking to finish strongly in his last three games to improve his final position.
Parsons has found the going tough, while securing two points from his five games, but he recorded a morale boosting victory in his last game against Navid Hakim of the USA.
Farley senior meanwhile is playing in the Under 1600 rating section during his first international event and has also found it challenging. He has scored one and a half points so far, but like Parsons will seek to improve his results during the remaining matches.
(KH/KD)
