The Lodge?School’s?Orlando Husbands overcame a tough play-off to be crowned national under-20 chess champion.
After the seventh and final round of the tournament, Husbands, the reigning Under-18 CAC?champion, and schoolmate Jerome Harewood sat atop the 30-player field with 6 1/2 points from a possible seven.
They swept aside all their opponents, but having drawn with each other when they met, it meant that the two had to meet in a play-off to determine the winner.
The players duly split the results, forcing a showdown in the blitz format. In this phase, the pieces flew fast and furious but when the dust had settled it was Husbands who emerged victorious.
Jerome’s sibling Jakeel Harewood came third, finishing on five points after defeating Lydia Nurse of Queen’s College. Nitin Mahtani finished fourth ahead of Darnell Jones and Shaquan Jones on a tie-breaker after all three players ended on 4 ½ points.
Other winners in the final round included Christopher Grant, Anouish Pais, Akil Bennett and Jaden Franklyn. (PR/EZS)
