BAHAMAS.- National Championship 2013

A new Bahamas National Chess Champion was crowned on November 24, 2013, when Kendrick Knowles edged out the field by the slimmest of margins to claim the prestigious title.

After eight rounds of play, Knowles finished with 5.5 points - a mere half point ahead of his nearest rivals Cecil Moncur and Ken Gibson.

Knowles' path to the top was neither smooth nor easy. He trailed Gibson, a former three-time champion, through much of the double robin robin tournament. Unfortunately for Gibson, consecutive losses to Moncur and Knowles in his last two rounds slammed the door on his title hopes.

With one last game to play, Knowles controlled his own destiny, and a win against the 14-year-old Bahamas Junior Champion Sandeep Gali would seal his championship bid. As the board cleared and the endgame approached, prospects looked good for Knowles, who had built up a healthy advantage of three connected passed pawns. But Gali's tenacious defense proved too much, and Knowles' advancing pawns were gradually corralled and captured until material was even. On the sixty fourth move, the players agreed to a draw and the championship outcome remained unclear.

So, the title would be decided by the final game of the tournament - Cecil Moncur versus Chappell Whyms. With a win, Moncur would leapfrog Knowles to take home the crown; but he had to earn it against the wily Whyms.

Out of the opening, Whyms, playing black, had a number of elements in his favor, including better-developed pieces, a safer king, and a central passed pawn that Moncur felt compelled to blockade.

After carefully weighing these factors, Whyms discovered the winning idea and uncorked the brilliancy of the tournament on move twenty five - a shocking rook sacrifice that sent Moncur's king scrambling for cover. When the dust settled twelve thrilling moves later, Whyms enjoyed a clear material advantage and had only to rely on sound endgame technique to close out. Before the seventieth move, Whyms had stopped Moncur firmly in his tracks, and Knowles was declared the tournament victor. As the 2013 Bahamas National Champion, Knowles will serve as the official representative of The Bahamas at the 2014 Subzonal Championship, scheduled for the end of March in Trinidad & Tobago.

Fuente: Bahamas Chess Federation