Cave defends New India Assurance chess crown

MARTIN NEUBAUER, an International Chess Master from Austria, whipped all his challengers, including national chess king Christo Cave, Hungarian Master Laszlo Somlai, Venezuelan Cesar Ramos and FIDE Master Mario Merritt in a recent six-round Swiss-style tournament. The event, held recently at Rhand Credit Union’s rooftop, Port-of-Spain, kick-started the 2004 local chess agenda. Neubauer, who is currently on a coaching stint under the auspices of the Trinidad and Tobago Chess Association (TTCA) and the Ministry of Sport, was undefeated during the semi-international event and took the first prize sponsored by UNESCO.

Ramos, who blanked Cave in the final round, was the runner-up with five points while Dr Eddison Chang defeated Somlai to finish third, alongside Cave, on four points. National junior champ Sean Perryman, national blitz champ Michael Pouchet, Kishore Ramadhar and Prakash Persad shared fourth spot with 3.5 points. Cave will be defending his national title when the seven-round Swiss tournament, sponsored by New India Assurance, takes place at the ALGICO Plaza, Edward Street, Port-of-Spain. Qualifiers for the event will begin in the North Zone on Saturday with other qualifiers scheduled to take place in the East, South/Central and Tobago. The top three players in each of the qualifiers will advance to the championships where they will be seeking to relinquish the Prime Minister Challenge Trophy from Cave’s grasp. For further information call Petronilla Araujo at 637-5702, Andrew Bowles at 637-4084, David Jones at 667-8574 or TTCA president Bhisham Soondarsingh at 622-8505.