IM Kevin Denny Leads Barbados National Championships 2008

Date: 6th and 29th September 2008

Results Men Section

Road to Success for Kevin Denny Born in Birmingham, England, but raised in Barbados, young Kevin learned the game in 1983 as a student at Combermere Secondary School. Despite learning the royal game at the relatively late age of 15, he was immediately drawn to it. Fortune would shine on Kevin as he was immediately exposed to chess literature by his next door neighbor, Mr. A.V. Thompson, an avid chessplayer.  IM Denny reflects on the importance of that event: "The advantage of being exposed to chess literature at the very beginning of one's chess development is that bad practices are easily corrected. Through observation of many self taught players in action, it became clear to me that one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome in chess is the eradication of bad habits after they have become ingrained in the psyche, for example: 1) Exposing one's queen too early in the opening. 2) Ignoring King Safety. 3) Pawn hunting in the opening at the expense of rapid development." As with most chess players, there is one or more books that are instrumental in piquing further curiosity after learning the basic rules. For this budding chess master, four books were instrumental in Kevin's early development. They were: (1) How to Play the Chess Openings (2) How to Play the Middlegame in Chess (3) How to Play the Endgame in Chess and (4) The Art of Chess Combinations. Kevin reflects, "Luckily for me the first chess books I read allowed me to avoid the above-listed pitfalls. All four of these excellent books were written by the Late GM Eugene Znosko-Borovsky, and though dated, I would recommend them highly to anyone starting out in chess." As Kevin's appetite for chess and chess theory grew, his progress began to skyrocket. Two years after learning the game (at a "late" age),  his compulsive desire resulted in his first title as the 1985 National Junior Champion! Only one year later, he would become the National Champion at the age of 18!

"My favorite player of all time is Bobby Fischer; his determined struggle and ultimate triumph over Soviet dominance in chess has served to inspire me."

	Chess Résumé National Junior Champion, 1985 Silver Medalist in the 1986  C.A.C Under-20 Championship Gold Medalist in the 1987 C.A.C Under-20 Championship (His 10½-½ score earned him the FM title) Caribbean Open Champion - 1991 A 12-time Barbados National Champion, IM Denny made his debut in 1985, and has won in 1986 & 1988, 1991 to 1996 & 1998 to 2001. On two occasions, he scored 11-0!  In 1987, Kevin boycotted the National Championship, and in 1997 he lost on tiebreak points.  Awarded a 10 year subscription by the World Blitz Chess Association for the best blitz (5 minute) game played in 1992 for win over Yugoslavian GM Steffan Djuric in the St. Maarten Open, Blitz Final - 1992. Perhaps his most exciting win was his victory over the tough Israeli player, GM Alon Greenfeld. The game was played on the top board at the 1988 Olympiad in Greece. Earning the IM Title at the Subzonal Ajedrez 2.3.5, Venezuela - 2001 Taken from www.thechessdrum.net

Corbin Rashida Leads in the Ladies Section after Round 4

Rank	Name	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8		Score
1	Corbin Rashida			1				+	1		3
2	Howard Corrine			½	1			1			2.5
3	Garnett Juanita	0	½		1	1					2.5
4	Blackman Katrina		0	0				1	1		2
5	Mansour Co-Marie			0			1		1		2
6	Parris Cheriann					0		1	1		2
7	Mason O'shara	-	0		0		0				0
8	Austin Cherise	0			0	0	0				0