Barbados head coach Terry Farley is eyeing a top three finish at the 7th Carifta Chess Championships in Suriname over the Easter weekend.
Speaking against the background that two-time champions Barbados will be without two of their leading players in recent years, Orlando Husbands and Yu Tien Poon, Farley expressed confidence that other players can now rise to the challenge.
“I believe that the team can place in the top three. We are still without information pertaining to the other contingents. However, we think there is a high possibility that we can do well in particular sections,” the long-standing coach said.
Among those, Farley identified the female Under-16 division where Barbados’ four representatives are ranked favourably with their rivals, the boys’ Under-14 sub-boys’ section that features two-time Under-12 medallist Leigh Sandiford, the Under-18 boys’ sub category that involves national age-group champions Nitin Mahtani and Shane Maughn and the Under-20 female division with former women’s national champion Gabriela Cumberbatch.
“If we can try to capture those sub-categories and place high in the main categories, that can go to our tally of points … points are awarded for the top ten players. If we can score high in those main categories, that would add to our total,” Farley said.
Barbados won back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016 and finished as runners-up last year but will have to make do without Husbands, a three-time Under-20 gold medallist and Poon, an Under-16 gold medallist and two-time Under-20 silver medallist.
Husbands, who is one of the team’s coaches, has graduated from the junior ranks while Poon is unavailable due to studies at university in Canada.
“Orlando and Yu Tien were the torch bearers for those now coming up. I think that heritage Orlando left will certainly go towards motivating of a lot of these players, especially those playing in those particular categories. That is why I strategically put Orlando to work with those players. I think they can draw from that to want to do well.”
Barbados will be represented by a 22-member squad, their largest contingent for a Carifta Championships away from home.
The Championships will get under way with an opening ceremony on Thursday night and will be followed by seven rounds of games from Friday until Monday.
Squad:
Absolute Under-20: Nitin Mahtani (Harrison College), Shane Maughn (Queen’s College)
Female Under-20: Gabriela Cumberbatch (Harrison College)
Absolute Under-16: Kyle Sandiford, Leigh Sandiford, Taiye Estwick, Yeshua Hill (all Harrison College), Tyson Holder, Aaron Haynes (both Queen’s College)
Female Under-16: Vanessa Greenidge, Kiarra Eversley (both Queen’s College), Pritika Kandamaran, Azaria Johnson, Gaybrianna Moore (all Harrison College)
Absolute Under-12: Dominic Jackman (Harrison College), Jaydn Gill (Charles F. Broome), Kimahri Holder (Milton Lynch), Tarquin Clark (Wills), Rory Prescod (People’s Cathedral)
Female Under-12: Alesha Lovell (Ellerslie), Jalia Linton (Lawrence T. Gay), Hannah Wilson (People’s Cathedral) (BCF)