Robert Zerafa from Marsaxlokk is Malta’s 86th chess champion. The 32-year-old has won the title for the fifth time in his career after winning it from 2016-2019.
This year’s Finals was held among five players – 2020 champion Jake Darmanin, Colin Pace, Jack Mizzi and John Richards. Held as a round robin, each player played each other twice – once with white, and once with black pieces.
Making his debut in this championship was 15-year old Jack Mizzi. Mizzi had a very positive tournament collecting 3.5 points and managing to draw against Zerafa, Pace, and beating Darmanin and Richards.
Outgoing champion Darmanin had a good first half, beating Mizzi and Pace. However, he lost the first two games of the second round and had to retire from the tournament.