Three Barbadians were still in contention for top three places ahead of yesterday’s penultimate day of the inaugural Caribbean Chess Cup.
Six-time national champion Martyn del Castilho was in third place on four points after the sixth round, with Orlando Husbands and Bryan Prescod in fifth and sixth, respectively, on three-and-a-half points.
del Castilho lost to front-runner Ryan Harper of Trinidad and Tobago in the fifth round, but moved back into third place after defeating Kemp Lynch on Friday night at Divi Southwinds.
Husbands, ranked No. 2, enjoyed mixed results over the first four rounds, before defeating fellow international master Delisle Warner in the fifth round and playing to a draw against Jean Abreau of Dominican Republic.
Prescod, a two-time CARIFTA Under-20 bronze medallist, has performed creditably to score three wins against higher rated players – Dominican Republic pair of Leo Arvelo and Ferreras Crispin and Barbadian Justin Blackman – while drawing against international master Terry Farley.
As the tournament moved into the seventh round yesterday, Harper was top of the table with five points, followed by Abreau on four-and-a-half. In the open section for lower rated players, the competition was tight, with just one point separating the first ten players. Trinidadian Frank Sears and Guyanese Anthony Drayton were the leaders on five points. (HG)
