THE?STAGE?HAS?BEEN?SET for Sergio Scarpetta versus Ronald “Suki” King round two.
Scarpetta predictably earned another title shot against King, the World-Go-As-You-Please champion, when he comfortably won the men’s division in the Ronald “Suki” King International Checkers and Draughts Festival on Friday evening at Divi Southwinds Resort.
Starting his final round match against Barbadian Dwayne Harris with an unassailable four-point lead, the Italian wasted no time in wrapping up proceedings, registering two comprehensive victories against his hapless opponent.
The wins carried him to 27 points, six more than his nearest rivals, Barbadian Jack Francis and American Jim Morrison, who both finished on 21 points.
It was the exclamation mark to a dominating performance by Scarpetta, who will now resume his rivalry with King at a date to be announced next year.
Back in 2011, the Italian also won the World Qualifier which assured him of a chance to challenge for the world title the following year.
Despite a valiant effort, he fell just short, as King retained his title after the 24-game series which was played in Italy ended 2-2, inclusive of 20 draws.
Francis second
Francis finished in second position on the tie-breaker though, having amassed 337 honour points to Morrison’s 322.
Another Barbadian, Colin Price placed fourth with 18 points.
Francis, the national champion, ended the tournament on a disappointing note, being held to two draws by Charles Freeman.
In the women’s competition, Ukranian Nadiya Chyzhevska wrote her name into the history books when she became the first female to hold both the Three-Move Restriction and Go-As-You-Please titles simultaneously.
The 29-year-old ended an impressive tournament by blanking Barbadian Samantha Holder 2-0 to finish on 26 points.
There was a two-way tie for second place after Barbadian Wilma Branch and American Luba Turiy finished on 21 points.
Both players also had 222 honour points.
Branch eased to her eventual total after picking up a bye in the last round, while Turiy defeated another Bajan Monica Hinkson 2-0.
Earlier, American Alex Holmes was crowned the world junior champion.
With the individual competition out of the way, the United States then jumped out to an early 16-12 advantage over Barbados in the team series.
There were wins for the United States’ Richard Beckwith, Joe Schwartz and Alex Holmes, while King and Dwayne Harris picked up victories for the home side.
