A strong contingent of Barbadian master chess players, including top-rated International master Kevin Denny, competed in the recently completed CMMB Chess Carnival in Trinidad.Denny finished fourth on six points from a possible nine, losing only one game to Ariel Marichel of Cuba. The highlight of his tournament came in the final round when he held the eventual winner Grandmaster Gennadi Sagalchik of the United Stated, to a draw.Master Terry Farley also finished on six points, but fifth on tiebreak. He lost only one game to Grandmaster Sagalchik, as he displayed great determination in all of his games and also beat United States-based Nigerian International master, Oladapo Adu.National champion Martyn Del Castilho finished in joint eighth on five-and-a-half points. This was no mean feat as he had a very tough draw in which he played three of the top four rated players in the tournament. He eventually succumbed to Denny and masters Julio Ostos and Raphael Prasca from Venezuela.The three top finishers were Sagalchik on seven points, followed by Ostos and Prasca on six-and-a-half points.Also doing well in the Under-14 division was Allon Richards. The Under-16 national champion scored five-and-a-half points to finish in sixth place. Richards was in second after Round 6 with five points, but struggled in the last three rounds, only scoring half-a-point from the top three finishers Joshua Johnson, Christian Ammon and Jarryon Paul, all from Trinidad.The Under-20 section was won by FIDE master David Finol of Venezuela, while the Under-10 was won by Justin Labastide of Trinidad.The CMMB Chess Carnival was a great success with players from all over the Caribbean as well as to the north. It augurs well with the Barbadians holding their own against some quality competition as the team prepares for the 2010 Chess Olympiad in Russia next month. (PR/SAT)
