Allon?Richards of Christ Church Foundation School won the Under-16 open section of the recently held 2014 CARIFTA?Chess Championships in Martinique.
Richards finished on five and a half points from a possible seven to emerge a half-point ahead of Brian Diaz of Aruba, Sylvio Prudent of Martinique and Isaiah McIntosh of Trinidad and Tobago, who were all on five points in that order on tiebreak.
Richards went into the last round a half-point behind McIntosh, but dismissed his opponent in a tactical melee of a game that lasted fewer than 25 moves.
With this win, it meant that whatever the outcome of the other games at the top boards, it could not change the overall winner of the tournament. This triumph is another regional title under the belt of Richards, who is also the current 2013 Under-15 Pan American scholastics champion.
Fellow Barbadians Luke Cardozo and Niccolo Walrond scored three and a half points and two and a half points, respectively, in that section.
In the Under-12 section, Kyle Sandiford came third on five points from seven. In a very tough field, Sandiford drew his last-round game against candidate master Nathan Smith of The Bahamas.
This result meant that Sean Yearwood of Trinidad, who was tied with Smith ahead of the leader board heading into the last round, just had to defeat Illian Clyrixx of Martinique to take clear first and the title, which he duly did.
Kishan Clarke of Jamaica won the girls’ top prize.
In the Under-20 section, the best Barbadian performer was Bryan Prescod of The Lodge School, who finished fourth on four points. He also won the Blitz tournament from a field that included international master Geraldo Lebredo of Cuba.
Justin Maloney finished on three points, while Lydia Nurse finished third in the Girls’ Under-20 section with one and a half points.
The overall Under-20 division was won by Thomas Gardet of Martinique ahead of compatriot Lionel Buisson, who had a disqualification in the last round when his mobile went off at the board after he arrived late and lost immediately as this is a rule violation in chess.
In the Under-16 Girls’ division, Gabriela Cumberbatch scored two points while Emerald Medford finished further down the field. The champion was Shannon Yearwood of Trinidad.
The next CARIFTA?Chess Championships will be held next year in Barbados, so junior players can begin sharpening their pawns for the tournament. (PR/EZS)
