Barbados’ Orlando Husbands continued his good showing at the fifth edition of the FIDE-World Chess Federation/Guyana Chess Federation (GCF) Umada Cup, ending round six atop the field in the open category as action continued at the Sleep Inn International Hotel, Georgetown.
After gaining the lead at the conclusion of the fifth round with a win over Jamaica’s Malaku Lorne, Husbands managed to hold on to the pinnacle as he defeated Trinidad and Tobago’s Kevin Cupid to move to five points. He is being followed in second position by defending champion Ryan Harper who is trailing by a mere .5 of a point.
Vishnu Singh (T&T) fills the third position with four points while with 3.5 points each Dominica’s Christopher Guzman and Lorne are joint in fourth place. Taffin Khan the lone Guyanese in the open category was unsuccessful once more and remained on one point from six matches.
Meanwhile, the tussle in the challengers’ section is heating up heading into the final day as Andrew Mellace (JAM), Esan Wiltshire (T&T) and Guyana’s Anthony Drayton are tied for the lead at the end of six rounds. They have five points each and are being trailed by Guyana’s Maria Varona Thomas who scored four points.
Deborah Richards (JAM), Frank Sears (T&T), Avikaar Malgie (SUR) and Mikel Martin (T&T) with four points apiece are the other players who occupy the top five.
Up to press time results in the seventh round were unavailable.
Today will be the final day of challenge and the battle for the summit in both categories is expected to be fierce. Action will get underway at 10:30 at the said venue.
