CANDIDATE MASTER Shamel Howell is out front in chess.
Howell is in a prime position to take top honours in the ongoing BOA National Chess Championship after six rounds with five-and-a-half points.
With five rounds to go, the University of the West Indies student is a full point ahead of his nearest rivals, FIDE masters Delisle Warner and Martyn Del Castilho.
It is the direct result of Howell’s blistering start to the tournament, which included three successive wins in the opening three rounds.
Warner suffered a setback in the third round when he was held to a draw by the experienced Kelvin Daniel.
This is after Del Castilho, the defending champ, was hindered by a similar result in Round 2 in his battle with Central American and Caribbean Youth Games gold medallist Orlando Husbands.
And that was just the start of Del Castilho’s worries, as he dropped his fifth round encounter to Howell in stunning fashion. Warner, too, lost one of his late round games, going down to the in-form Husbands in the ensuing sixth round.
The championship continues today at the Chess Centre, Cavans Lane from 6 p.m. (PR)
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