The Liberian Chess Championship 2023 took place from 14-27 January 2023 at the Sinkor Palace Hotel in Congo Town, with three events on the schedule: Closed (Men’s), Women’s and Youth. The Winners of the event became Liberian National Champions, and the top five finishers in Men’s and Women’s sections reserved their seats for Liberian squad at the Chess Olympiad 2024 in Budapest, Hungary.
The Men’s Championship was played as closed 20-player swiss tournament with 11 rounds. David Leroy Debblay emerged as the sole Winner of the event scoring 9 points. He was half a point ahead of Saah Thomas and FM Harmon Barcon who tied for second place with 8.5 points, each. Saah Obediah came fourth with 8 points, and Smith Arnold finished the event in the fifth place with the score of 7 points.
Georgina Sackie won the Women’s championship after tying for the first place with Karyah Abigail. The players had the same score of 9/10 points. Princess K. Banney came third with 6 points, Kemvee H. Sambola was fourth with 3 points and Teta Thompson finished the event in the fifth place with the same score.
The Liberian Chess Championship 2023 determined the Liberian squad for the upcoming Chess Olympiad 2024 in Budapest.
Liberian Team for Chess Olympiad 2024 (open section):
- David Leroy Debblay (1791)
- Thomas Saah (1889)
- FM Harmon Barcon (1902)
- Saah Obediah (1756)
- Arnold Smith (1844)
Liberian Team for Chess Olympiad 2024 (women’s section):
- Georgina Sackie (1623)
- Abigail Karyah (1519)
- Princess K. Banney (1109)
- Kemvee H. Sambola
- Teta Thompson
Liberian Youth Chess Championship 2023 was held simultaneously, gathering 15 players who competed over the course of 9 rounds. Samuel Williams won the event with 7.5 points, Archie Dayyeah came second with 7 points, and Joe Warwo and Morlue Kerkula tied for third scoring 6.5 points, each. Final rankings of all events can be found below.
Photo gallery from the event (photos by Liberian Chess Federation and Kemo Sambola)
Final rankings of the Liberian Chess Championship 2023:
| Rk. | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. | |
| 1 | David, Leroy Debblay | LBR | 1791 | 9 | |
| 2 | Thomas, Saah | LBR | 1889 | 8.5 | |
| 3 | FM | Barcon, Harmon | LBR | 1902 | 8.5 |
| 4 | Obediah, Saah | LBR | 1756 | 8 | |
| 5 | Arnold, Smith | LBR | 1844 | 7 | |
| 6 | CM | John, Jallah | LBR | 1761 | 6 |
| 7 | CM | Daniel, Kolliemelen | LBR | 1809 | 6 |
| 8 | Martin, Dunbar | LBR | 1709 | 6 | |
| 9 | James, Tondo | LBR | 1837 | 5.5 | |
| 10 | Kennedy, Zinnah Kengo | LBR | 1789 | 5.5 | |
| 11 | Bobby, Ballah | LBR | 1913 | 5.5 | |
| 12 | CM | Anthony Waylea, Jr. | LBR | 1939 | 5 |
| 13 | FM | Jacob, Jallah | LBR | 1781 | 5 |
| 14 | Miller, Moore | LBR | 1677 | 5 | |
| 15 | Joel, O. Ebiekuta | LBR | 1875 | 4.5 | |
| 16 | Foday, W. Kondoh | LBR | 1785 | 4.5 | |
| 17 | Alfred, J. Kollie | LBR | 1612 | 4 | |
| 18 | Harold, Evans | LBR | 1735 | 3.5 | |
| 19 | Prince, Jegbadai | LBR | 1627 | 2 | |
| 20 | Rudolph, Edwards | LBR | 1630 | 0 |
| Rk. | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. |
| 1 | Georgina Sackie | LBR | 1623 | 9 |
| Abigail, Karyah | LBR | 1519 | 9 | |
| 3 | Princess, K. Banney | LBR | 1109 | 6 |
| 4 | Kemvee, H. Sambola | LBR | 0 | 3 |
| Teta, Thompson | LBR | 0 | 3 | |
| 6 | Amoah, Jannel Pauline | LBR | 0 | 0 |
Final rankings Liberian Youth Chess Championship 2023:
| Rk. | Name | FED | Rtg | Pts. |
| 1 | Samuel, Williams | LBR | 1536 | 7.5 |
| 2 | Archie, Dayyeah | LBR | 1556 | 7 |
| 3 | Joe, Warwo | LBR | 0 | 6.5 |
| 4 | Morlue, Kerkula | LBR | 0 | 6.5 |
| 5 | Aaron, S. Mulbah | LBR | 0 | 5.5 |
| 6 | Elijah, Thomas | LBR | 0 | 4 |
| 7 | Harris, Zubah | LBR | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | Jacobs, Mitchell | LBR | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | Dmentrous, Gizee | LBR | 0 | 3.5 |
| 10 | Montel, Moses | LBR | 0 | 3.5 |
| 11 | Junior, Taylor | LBR | 0 | 3 |
| 12 | Matthew, Page | LBR | 0 | 3 |
| 13 | Franklin, O. Harry | LBR | 0 | 3 |
| 14 | Hne, Arhhtur T. | LBR | 0 | 2 |
| 15 | Austin, Tuwoh | LBR | 0 | 0 |
