Barbados continued to hold their own at the Seventh Carifta Chess Championships in Suriname after another decent showing in the third round of games on Saturday.
The Bajans scored 14 victories from their 22 players in the morning session after a solid first day performance that included 15 wins in the first round and a further 11 in the second at the Ministry of Finance Building in Paramaribo.
Spearheading Barbados’ challenge were the Sandiford brothers, Leigh and Kyle, and Vanessa Greenidge, who each completed a third successive win to maintain a 100 per cent record.
The Sandifords were part of a clean sweep of victories for Barbados in the Boys’ Under-16 division where Aaron Haynes, Yeshua Hill, Taiye Estwick and Tyson Holder also won to take their records to 2-1.
Greenidge, last year’s Girls’ Under-12 silver medallist who is competing in the Under-16 section for the first time, has established herself as a medal contender after defeating teammate Pritika Kandamaran to set up a fourth round showdown with No. 2 ranked Jamaican Adani Clarke.
Apart from Greenidge and the Sandiford boys, the only unbeaten Barbadian is Jaydn Gill, who completed his second win to move to two and a half points.
Gill and debutant Rory Prescod scored victories in the Boys’ Under-12 division, where Barbados fell down after their impressive showing on the first day.
First-timer Tarquin Clark and national Under-12 champion Dominic Jackman, who both won twice on Friday, lost to the two highest ranked players, Jamaicans Jaden Shaw and and Darren McKennis.
Another debutant, eight-year-old Hannah Wilson, who also registered two wins on the opening day, suffered a defeat in the third round.
In two other all-Barbados clashes, captain Nitin Mahtani beat Gabrilla Cumberbatch in the Open Under-20 section to move to two points, while Azaria Johnson won against Gaybrianna Moore to also progress to two points.
Barbados’ other two winners in the morning session were Shane Maughn and Kiarra Eversley, with both moving to two points in the Open Under-20 division.
The championships, which are being contested over seven rounds, are featuring 171 players from eight countries – Suriname, Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Aruba, Curacao and Bermuda. (BCF)
