THE NATIONAL CHESS Championship appears to be heading for a dead heat.
Championship favourites Yu Tien Poon and Martyn del Castilho played to a draw in their vital eighth-round game on Tuesday night at the Bridgetown Chess Centre to leave the battle for the title as close as it gets.
Poon, the two-time defending champion, and del Castilho, a four-time national champion, came into the contest with unblemished records, having swept to seven successive victories in the 11-round championship that has been affected by the late withdrawals of seven qualifiers, including three former national champions – Orlando Husbands, Terry Farley and Delisle Warner.
With Poon and del Castilho having scored seven and a half out of a maximum eight points and both favoured to complete victories against less fancied opposition in their last three games, it is expected that the two FIDE masters will end the championship with ten and a half points. (HG)
Please read the full story in today’s Weekend Nation, or in the eNATION edition.
