CHESS-Husbands, Wilson emerges victorious in Subzonal, qualifying for Chess World Cup.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Barbadian duo of International Master Orlando Husbands and Women’s Fide Master Hannah Wilson created history here on Thursday by winning the Subzone 2.3.3 Open and Women’s Chess Championships 2025, respectively, to qualify for the 2025 World Cup.

In doing so, the 28-year-old Husbands and the 16-year-old Wilson became the first chess players from the English-speaking Caribbean to qualify for the World Cup in its new format.

The top-ranked Husbands won the Open division after playing unbeaten, scoring 7.5 points out of a possible nine, with six wins and three draws.

Needing to avoid defeat in his final round game against Jamaican Fide Master Joshua Christie to claim the title, Husbands earned a crucial draw with the black pieces to book his spot at the World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in New Delhi, India from October 31.

Trinidad and Tobago’s International Master Vishnu Singh was close behind in second on seven points, finishing ahead of Suriname’s Jason Yeung on the tiebreak.

Fide Masters Ryan Harper, Joshua Johnson, Kevin Cupid of Trinidad and Tobago, and Emar Edwards of Barbados shared fourth to seventh after they all finished on 6.5 points.

Barbados performed brilliantly in the Women’s division to claim the top two positions, with Women’s Candidate Master Chanon Reifer-Belle placing second.

With Wilson a whole point ahead heading into the final round, she played a superb game with the white pieces to defeat fellow Women’s Fide Master Polina Karelina of the Bahamas to end on eight points from her nine matches, with her only loss being to Reifer-Belle in round six.

The 16-year-old Reifer-Belle, who was in good position to win the tournament until her loss to Karelina in the penultimate round, had to fight tooth and nail to secure a draw against Suriname’s Victoria Kaslan in the final round, which earned her the silver medal and a Women’s Fide Master title.

Top seed Women’s Candidate Master Ysvett Hermoso Rodriguez of Trinidad finished third on six points after her final-round victory over Chelsea Wahid of Saint Lucia.