Cave stays in hunt for chess title

CHRISTO CAVE whipped both Andrew Bowles and Ravishen Singh to keep in line for the Prime Minister’s Trophy, as the New India Assurance National Chess Championships continued at the Conference Room, Student Activity Centre, UWI St Augustine.

Cave, a national Master who copped the title a record 11 times, used his favourite French Defence style to defeat Bowles in third-round action on Saturday and Singh in a fourth-round contest on Sunday. Singh, a silver medallist at the 2002 World Olympiad in Slovenia, used the Sicilian  Defence with a d6/e5 variation but Cave exchanged his bishop for a knight, which allowed him to cement his knight on d5. Singh, under pressure, went into a complicated counter-attack, losing a piece which left Cave with no problem in finishing off  his opponent. Defending national chess king, FIDE Master Ryan Harper, is joint-second on the standings, alongside Cecil Lee and Joffery Marcelle, after defeating Mario Merritt and Lenard Duncan over the weekend. Desire Derrick retained her national women’s title after sweeping past Aditi Soondarsingh and Sinead Furlong in her last two matches, with Soondarsingh finishing as the runner-up and Furlong third.

Men’s Results:
Round 3 - Christo Cave def Andrew Bowles; Cecil Lee def Frank Yee; Joffery Marcelle def John Raphael; Jerome Joseph def Kirby Hope; Ryan Harper def Mario Merritt; Ravishen Singh def Lenard Duncan.
Round 4 - Cave def Singh; Harper def Duncan; Merritt def Hope; Marcelle def Joseph; Yee def Raphael; Bowles def Lee.
Weekend’s Schedule -
Friday - Lee vs Cave;  Raphael vs Bowles; Joseph vs Yee; Merritt vs Marcelle; Duncan vs Hope; Singh vs Harper.
Saturday - Cave vs Harper; Hope vs Singh; Marcelle vs Duncan; Yee vs Merritt; Bowles vs Joseph; Lee vs Raphael.
Sunday - Raphael vs Cave; Joseph vs Lee; Merritt vs Bowles; Duncan vs Yee; Singh vs Marcelle; Harper vs Hope.