BARBADOS’ two best medal prospects remain in contention for the gold despite mixed fortunes in the latest round of games at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Youth Chess Festival in Trinidad.
Orlando Husbands and Leigh Sandiford achieved hard-fought victories on Monday  and are at the top of the table with other rivals in their respective divisions after the end of sixth round matches at the Cascadia Hotel.
After two successive draws that left Husbands half-point behind the Under-18 leader, the Barbados champion returned to winning ways by beating Mark Bueno of Aruba in another four-hour contest.
With the top-rated Cuban Jorge Gomez Sanchez playing to a draw, it left him and Husbands with five points ahead of the last three rounds of matches.
Sandiford won his first four matches before suffering a defeat in the fifth round against Columbian Ramirez Lopez, a Candidate Master who is far and away the highest rated player in the Under-10 division.
The Barbadian, however, stormed back with a strong performance to defeat Jamaican Mikhail Bond in the sixth round to move to five points, the same as Lopez and Jamaican David Thomas.
Barbados recorded six wins, six defeats and four draws in the only round of matches contested on Monday. It represented a recovery after a relatively disappointing third day on Sunday when they their record was ten wins, 15 defeats and seven draws over two rounds of games.
Apart from Husbands and Sandiford, Barbados’ other winners on Monday were Bryan Prescod, Allon Richards, Azari Gittens and Azaria Johnson.
It was the third win for both Prescod and Richards and lifted them to three-and-a-half points in the Under-18 division.
Gittens collected his third win in the Under-12 male division where Johnson also moved to three points among the girls. (HG)