TT chessists for Miami tourney

EIGHT of Trinidad and Tobago’s up-and-coming chess stars will showcase their talents at the sixth annual Junior Orange Bowl International Scholastic Chess Championship, scheduled at Miami, Florida from Saturday until Monday next. Events will be staged at the Embassy Suites Hotel, which is located near to the Miami International Airport. The competition will be a seven-round Swiss style event in five age groups - 19-and-under, 15-and-under, 12-and-under, nine-and-under as well as six-and-under.

And those flying the Trinidad and Tobago flag at the three-day contest are Chantal Fitzpatrick and Margaret Thairu (15-and-under), Christopher Raphael and Mikkell Samaroo (12-and-under), Johann Thairu, Prithvi Ramakrishanan and Keron Cabralis (nine-and-under) and, in the six-and-under, Prasanna Ramakrishnan. The octet were beneficiaries of the Trinidad and Tobago Chess Foundation’s training programme, which ran from January to October. And the Miami-based event has been organised by the Miami-Dude Scholastic Chess Association.