Trinidad and Tobago and the four other West Indian countries held their own at the Central American and Caribbean Sub Zonal championships held recently in Barbados.
Jamaica, in fact, made regional chess history by producing a winner in the female section of the tournament. WIM Deborah Richards scored 8.5 playing unbeaten in the nine round event. She was held to a draw by WIM Danitza Vazquez Maccarini of Puerto Rico who placed third on six points.
The men’s group did not produce a winner, but several of its players finished at the top level of the contest which drew 44 players from the CAC region.
The eight-round tournament was won by FM Mark Machin Rivera of Puerto Rico who scored seven and a half points. He was held to a draw by Jamaican Malaku Lorne who took third place on six points. Second spot went to German Salazar of Venezuela on six and a half while Christopher Guzman of the Dominican Republic finished fourth on five and a half.
T&T’s top scorer was national champion Kevin Cupid who gained seventh place also on five and a half. Finishing on the same score with him were fifth placed IM Terry Farley and sixth placed Delisle Warner of Barbados. T&T’s CM Adrian Winter Atwell also had a good tournament gaining ninth place on five points. Other “fivers” were eighth-placed FM Ramon Moron of Venezuela, tenth-placed Martyn Del Castilho of Barbados and 11th-placed FM Shane Matthews of Jamaica.
T&T’s former national champion FM Ryan Harper, in 12th place, headed a group of six players scoring 4.5. They are Edwin Diaz Montes of Puerto Rico, FM Warren Eliot of Jamaica, IM Kevin Denny of Barbados, CM Frank Sears of T&T, FM Orlando Husbands of Barbados. Next came the four pointers: FM Allan Munro of T&T, Kemp Lynch of Barbados, Wendell Meuse of Barbados, Taffir Khan of Guyana and FM Damion Davy of Jamaica.
Other T&T players in the Sub Zonals were Leonard Duncan 3.5; Mikel Martin 3.5; Andrew Bowles 3, Dev Soondarsingh 2.3.
Nine T&T players who represented the country at the Sub Zonals did not lose their games by default in the concurrent Knights Open Tournament. Thanks to the consideration of Knights Chess Club, arrangements were made for them to play their games in advance at the Brabant Street centre of the T&T Chess Federation.
In the female section of the Sub Zonals, WIM Deborah Richards of Jamaica topped the 26-member field, conceding only one draw in the nine-round contest to WIM Danitza Vazquez Maccarini of Puerto Rico who took third place on six points. Placing second was WFM Maria Diaz of Aruba on 6.5.
Among the three T&T entries, 11th-placed Shamila James had the best score on five. Behind her were 12th placed Gabriella Johnson and 13-placed WCM Aditi Soondarsingh who both scored 4.5.