NITIN MAHTANI swept all before him to capture the National Rapid Chess Championship and record his most prestigious tournament victory.
The Harrison College student entered the tournament as the third seed but played consistent chess to win all of his games at the Bridgetown Chess Centre in Cavans Lane.
The rapid tournament was played at a time control with each player having 25 minutes to complete their game.
Going into the final round Mahtani was just half point ahead of the top seed, veteran Othneil Harewood, and it was known that the outcome of this match would have decided the winner of the tournament as no other player was in contention.
Mahtani played the white pieces and out of the opening he had a slight advantage of having a pair of bishops versus his opponent’s pair of knights. With correct manoeuvring he gradually built up a clear positional advantage and no matter what tricks Harewood tried, he could not escape his inferior position.
Under heavy pressure and short of time, Harewood eventually blundered two pawns and finally his time elapsed and he lost the game, giving Mahtani three points and tournament victory.
Harewood finished in second on one and a half points, while Richard Haddock rounded out the top three, a half point behind Harewood.
The Barbados Chess Federation programme is continuing with the Michael Forde Memorial tournament over the weekend. (PR)
