Guyana’s Taffin Khan ended in joint fourth position of the Challenger section of the just-concludedinaugural UMADA Caribbean Cup chess tournament which was played in Trinidad and Tobago.

The tournament was sponsored by the World Chess Federation (FIDE) and held at the Cascadian Hotel and Conference Centre in St. Ann’s, Port of Spain.

Khan ended the nine-round, Swiss system tournament with five wins, two draws and two losses for a total of six points.

He was tied for fourth position with seven other players in the Challenger section of the tournament which attracted 72 players with an ELO rating under 2100.

The Challenger’s section was won by Suriname’s Romario Sanches who ended on eight points out of nine games.

Seeded 14th at 1972 ELO, Sanches defeated several higher-rated players to clinch the crown.

Second and third positions were occupied by Venezuelans German Herrera and Ulises Hernandez, both scoring seven and a half points out of nine games.

Woman Fide Master (WFM) Deborah Richards of Jamaica was adjudged the best female player with six points from nine games.

International Master (IM) Rafael Prasca of Venezuela won the Open section of the UMADA Cup with a sparkling eight points out of nine games. He was followed by his fellow countryman IM Julio Ostos with seven points out of nine games while IM Gustavo Hernandez (Dominican Republic) and Fide Master (FM) Keron Cabralis (Trinidad) shared joint third with six points out of nine games.

There was a quintet of players on five-and-a-half points out of nine games with FM Ryan Harper (Trinidad), Martyn Del Castilho (Barbados), Marcus Joseph (Trinidad), David Finol (Venezuela) and Mario Sanchez (Costa Rica) in a tie for 5th-9th.

The tournament was graced with the presence of

Head of Republic of Kalmykia and president of FIDE Karan Ilyumzhinov who participated in the opening ceremony of the 1st Caribbean Cup – UMADA Cup.

According to a release, the idea of staging such tournament was born two months ago during Ilyumzhinov’s visit to Cuba for the closing ceremony of the Capablanca Memorial tournament.

“This tournament is very important for support of young chess players, in order that they may gain the necessary international experience to improve their ratings,” Ilyumzhinov declared.

Ilyumzhinov also took the opportunity to meet with the various federation presidents and representatives to discuss ways and means to improved chess in the Caribbean and primarily the implementation of a “Chess in Schools” programme.

The tournament attracted more than 100 chess players from 15 countries representing the Caribbean, South American and Latin America.

Also attending the tournament were Continental of Americas president, Jorge Vega, Chairman of FIDE CACDEC Commission, Allan Herbert as well as some  presidents of Caribbean chess federations.