-despite upset by Shiv Nandalall
Shiv Nandalall took the lead briefly from Wendell Meusa in the Sasha Cells Chess Tournament on Tuesday only to relibnquish it one round later.
After handing the former Barbados national junior champion his first loss of the tournament in a fourth round encounter on Tuesday, Nandalall relinquished the lead after suffering an upset defeat to national junior champion Taffin Khan in the fifth round played on Thursday.
In the Meusa/Nandalall game Nandalall according to reports, found himself in trouble as he was late developing his pieces.
However the unthinkable happened and Meusa blundered away his Queen, thus allowing Nandalall to secure the victory.
In the battle of the Khan’s, the junior champion defeated his father David Khan in 42 moves. Veteran player Errol Tiwari continued to have an atrocious tournament going down to young Brian Thompson while Haatram Parbat defeated Omar Shariff.
On Thursday, Taffin Khan proved too much for leader Nandalall and after a relentless attack secured the win.
Nandalall’s defeat enabled Meusa to regain the lead with a win over Irshad Mohamed while Learie Webster got the better of David Khan and Parbat won from Thompson.
Tiwari’s woes continued when he was upset by Ryan Singh while Alex Joseph defeated Omar Shariff as the upsets continued.
After five rounds, Meusa and Taffin Khan are in the lead on four points and they are followed by Nandalall on three and a half points.
Webster and Parbat come next with three points each while Mohamed and Thompson are on two and a half points.
David Khan and Ryan Singh on two, Errol Tiwari on one and a half and Alex Joseph and Omar Shariff on one apiece are the other competitors.
In the junior category, Rashad Hussain is in the lead by half of a point, followed by his brother Aslam Hussain. The points standing after four rounds, Rashad Hussain three and a half, Aslam Hussain, Sham Khan and Saeed Ali on three, Sheriffa Ali and Devendra Singh two and a half, Khalid Gajraj, Carlos Griffith and Alexander Brassington on two apiece, Irshad Ishmael on one and a half and Clive Bender on one point. In the beginner’s category Mandy Ramnarine is in the lead followed by her sister Miranda Ramnarine. The tournament continues this Monday at the Kei-Shar’s Sports Club from 9:30 AM
Sasha Cells is the exclusive sponsor of the tournament.
