BARBADOS’ highest rated chess player Orlando Husbands blew away the field to capture the Blitz National Chess Championship last weekend with a maximum nine points after winning all of his games.
FIDE master Husbands, who missed this year’s regular national championships because of exams at the University of the West Indies, was in impeccable form and had already clinched the championship with one round to go when he had defeated the eventual second place finisher Nitin Mahtani of Harrison College.
In the final round, however, Husbands’ quest for a perfect record almost became derailed when he found himself up against it in the final round with national Under-14 champion Kyle Sandiford pressing for an upset victory.
Sandiford had a slight material and time advantage, but in his haste to ensure victory, he made an illegal move and forfeited the game to Husbands. (PR/HG)
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