BARBADOS made a commendable start to the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Youth Chess Festival in Trinidad on Friday.
After the start of the competition was delayed by four hours because of late registrations and technical challenges, Barbados players scored ten victories in the first two rounds of competition at the Cascadia Hotel.
Leigh Sandiford, champion in the Under-10 division at the recent Caribbean Chess Carnival, achieved two wins in the same category. He was especially impressive in his second round match which he completed in less than five minutes and a mere six moves against Ishaan Narsingh of Suriname.
Aaron Haynes, competing in the Under-12 section, also scored a double, defeating Trinidadians Justin Ramtahal and Matthew Inkim.
Orlando Husbands, winner of the Under-20 division of the Caribbean Chess Carnival, started with a victory over teammate Jakheel Harewood in the Under-18 category where Bryan Prescod was also in winners’ row.
Kyle Sandiford, who took second place among the Under-14s at the Carnival, also started with victory.
The other successful Barbadians on the first day were Azari Gittens (Under-12), Yeshua Hill (Under-10) and Jaydn Gill (Under-8).
While the competitors in Under-8, Under-10 and Under-12 played two matches, the entrants in Under-14, Under-16 and Under-18 were restricted to one game because of the late start.
The CAC Youth Chess Festival, which has attracted participants from 14 countries, is being contested over nine rounds and will run until next Wednesday.
In addition to hosts Trinidad and Tobago, competitors are from Barbados, Jamaica, Bahamas, Cuba, Colombia, Suriname, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Aruba, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic. (HG)
