Delcastilho now a master

THERE IS a new chess master in town. Martyn Delcastilho, a student of the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, has successfully met the requirements for the FIDE master title.In the recently concluded sub-zonal tournament played in The Bahamas,  Delcastilho tied for second place with women’s grandmaster Sarai Sanchez of Venezuela. FIDE master Jomo Piterson of Jamaica won the tournament.  In the sub-zonal, a 50 per cent score earns a FIDE master title, and Delcastilho surpassed this requirement, scoring six-and-a-half points out of a possible nine. This tournament also serves as a qualifier for the World Chess Cup which is a 128 player single-elimination championship. This winner then earns the right to play in the challenger match to determine who will play the reigning world champion for the world title. The top four from the sub-zonal will move on to the next stage – the zonal, to be played in Ecuador next year.Delcastilho, the current national champion, played outstandingly in the tournament. In the nine rounds, he lost only one game – to Piterson – and he was the only player to defeat Sanchez, who was threatening to run away with the tournament.Delcastilho will begin his preparation by playing in two international tournaments in Trinidad and then return home to defend his national title.In October he will be part of the Barbados team that will go to Russia and play in the World Chess Olympiad. The next title he is looking for is the international master title which is held by Kevin Denny and Terry Farley, the only two players to achieve this title in the English-speaking Caribbean.Dr Philip Corbin and Shamel Howell, also of UWI, performed creditably but failed to make it into the final ten, finishing 12th and 11th, respectively. (PR)