Top chess player Orlando Husbands brushed aside all of his opposition to emerge winner of the Barbados Chess Federation’s (BCF) first national championships qualifier with a 100 per cent record.
Husbands, who was recently named the National Sports Council’s Junior Outstanding Sportsperson (Male), completed nine successive wins to lead the first five qualifiers into the finals in August when the competition concluded last Tuesday at the Chess Centre, Exmouth Gap.
The International Master scored wins against Under-14 champion Leigh Sandiford, Under-20 champion Nitin Mahtani, Corie Ellcock, Allan Hebert and Emar Edwards in his final five games.
A former national champion, Husbands’ nine points was a point and a half more than second placed Bryan Prescod.
After losing to Husbands in the fourth round, Candidate Master Prescod hardly put a foot wrong for the rest of the qualifier and completed victories against Under-18 champion Kyle Sandiford, Herbert, Mahtani and Ellcock, and his winning streak was only interrupted with a draw against Shane Maughn in the seventh round.
Maughn, last year’s Under-16 champion, who started the tournament as the No. 9 ranked player, performed commendably to finish in third place on six points.
It was a close battle for the final three places with nine contenders going into the last round and Maughn confirmed his place in the finals by defeating veteran Richard Haddock, who was also in contention.
Mahtani took fourth place with five and a half points after beating Leigh Sandiford in the last round, while Herbert, the BCF president, earned the fifth and final place with victory over Kyle Sandiford.
Herbert finished on five points with Ellock and Lowe but edged out his two rivals on the tiebreak, while Haddock and Edwards ended with four a half points.
The first qualifier attracted 20 entrants and those missing out on the finals will have a second crack in the next qualifier in July.
The local calendar continues over the weekend with the staging of the National Youth & Cadet Championships at The St Michael School. Contested in the Under-18, Under-16, Under-14, Under-12, Under-10 and Under-8 divisions, the championships will serve as trials for the Carifta Championships in Suriname over the Easter weekend. (HG)
