CICF - Cayman National Championship Qualifiers 2026 (Absolute)
21 players participated in this 5-round tournament, held from 10 Jan 2026 to 11 Jan 2026 in George Town, Cayman Islands. Top 10 Elo average was 1648, and top seed was Mike McDonald (🇰🇾 CAY, 1848).
Edilberto Macatuggal (🇰🇾 CAY, 1598) won with 4.0/5, ahead of Owen Franklin (4.0) and Julian Rasch (3.5). Macatuggal shared the lead from round 1, winning on tie-break.
The biggest upset came in round 3: Lyubomir Dimitrov (1520) beat Jay-ar Lualhati (1786), a +266-point gap.
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How it unfolded
Top 6 · 5 roundsTight race until R4; 2 players tied at 4.0/5, decided on Buchholz.
Edilberto Macatuggal held the sole lead from R4 through R5 without losing it.
2 players finish on 4.0/5. Macatuggal takes the title on Buchholz Cut1 (13.0).
Edilberto Macatuggal 4 wins (R1–R4)Owen Franklin 3 wins (R3–R5)Julian Rasch 3 wins (R1–R3)
Key matchups · top 4
Head-to-head between the four finishers| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Edilberto Macatuggal | * | — | 1 | 0 |
| 2Owen Franklin | — | * | 0 | — |
| 3Julian Rasch | 0 | 1 | * | — |
| 4Mike McDonald | 1 | — | — | * |
Grille américaine
| # | Player | Elo | Fed | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts | Bu C1 | Bu | SB | Perf | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Macatuggal, Edilberto | 1598 | CAY | +16B | +7N | +6N | +3B | −5N | 4.0 | 13.0 | 15.0 | 11.50 | 1878 | +69.6 |
| 2 | Franklin, Owen | 1541 | CAY | +20B | −3B | +12N | +17N | +7B | 4.0 | 10.0 | 10.0 | 6.50 | 1695 | +31.6 |
| 3 | Rasch, Julian | 1581 | CAY | +18B | +2N | +8B | −1N | =4N | 3.5 | 14.5 | 15.5 | 9.75 | 1696 | +32.0 |
| 4 | Dookhy, Sastry | 1577 | CAY | +15B | −6B | +13N | +14N | =3B | 3.5 | 10.5 | 12.5 | 7.75 | 1675 | +20.4 |
| 5 | McDonald, Mike | 1848 | CAY | =13N | +19B | F | +9N | +1B | 3.5 | 10.5 | 11.0 | 8.50 | 1919 | +4.6 |
| 6 | Graham, Dez | 1698 | CAY | +14B | +4N | −1B | −7N | +15B | 3.0 | 12.5 | 14.5 | 7.50 | 1560 | -29.6 |
| 7 | WILSON, ALEJANDRO | 1543 | CAY | +21N | −1B | +20N | +6B | −2N | 3.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 3.00 | 1488 | -8.4 |
| 8 | Belanger, Jean-Philippe | 1578 | CAY | +12N | =17B | −3N | =11B | +14N | 3.0 | 10.0 | 11.5 | 6.00 | 1626 | +13.2 |
| 9 | Bush, Enfield | 1688 | CAY | =19N | =13B | +16N | −5B | +12N | 3.0 | 9.5 | 10.0 | 5.25 | 1638 | -5.6 |
| 10 | CLARK, ARTY | 1582 | CAY | −17N | −12B | +19N | +20B | +13N | 3.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 2.50 | 1482 | -20.4 |
| 11 | Lualhati, Jay-ar | 1786 | CAY | F | +18N | −14B | =8N | +17B | 2.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 4.00 | 1598 | -16.8 |
| 12 | Mclean, Kevon | 1408 | CAY | −8B | +10N | −2B | +19N | −9B | 2.0 | 13.0 | 13.5 | 3.50 | 1509 | +23.2 |
| 13 | Powell, Malcolm | 1522 | CAY | =5B | =9N | −4B | +21N | −10B | 2.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 3.25 | 1480 | -5.4 |
| 14 | Dimitrov, Lyubomir | 1520 | CAY | −6N | +15B | +11N | −4B | −8B | 2.0 | 12.0 | 14.0 | 4.50 | 1467 | -11.6 |
| 15 | Bhuyan, Shreeyansh | 0 | CAY | −4N | −14N | +18B | +16B | −6N | 2.0 | 10.5 | 11.5 | 3.00 | 1480 | 0.0 |
| 16 | Moore, Christian | 1490 | CAY | −1N | +21B | −9B | −15N | +20N | 2.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 0.00 | 844 | -27.2 |
| 17 | Barrett, Daijon | 1470 | CAY | +10B | =8N | F | −2B | −11N | 1.5 | 13.5 | 16.0 | 4.50 | 1533 | +9.2 |
| 18 | Barrett, Jaevion | 1426 | CAY | −3N | −11B | −15N | F | +21B | 1.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.00 | 882 | -17.2 |
| 19 | Mclean, Kylen | 1519 | CAY | =9B | −5N | −10B | −12B | F | 0.5 | 11.5 | 11.5 | 1.50 | 1310 | -38.4 |
| 20 | FIDE 33101337 | 0 | — | −2N | F | −7B | −10N | −16B | 0.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 0.00 | 746 | 0.0 |
| 21 | Coen, Carter | 0 | CAY | −7B | −16N | F | −13B | −18N | 0.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.00 | 708 | 0.0 |
Key insights
Biggest movers and upsets — the story behind the numbers.
- 1Macatuggal, EdilbertoCAY+69.64.0 pts · #1
- 2Rasch, JulianCAY+32.03.5 pts · #2
- 3Franklin, OwenCAY+31.64.0 pts · #6
- 1Mclean, KylenCAY-38.40.5 pts · #17
- 2Graham, DezCAY-29.63.0 pts · #10
- 3Moore, ChristianCAY-27.22.0 pts · #18
- R3+266 Elo gap
- R2+174 Elo gap
- R4+155 Elo gap