Chelsea Juma and Sasha Shariff, the first two females to represent Guyana at the Central America and Caribbean (CAC) Women’s Chess Championships finished at the bottom of the table but gained valuable experience in the tournament that was won by host country, Barbados’ four-time national Women’s Champion Katrina Blackman.
In a tense finish to the championships, the 25-year-old Blackman clinched the US$1 000 top prize on a tie-break after finishing level on points with Ailen Oriana Mena of Curacao when the six-day tournament concluded at the All Seasons Resort in Sunset Crest on Thursday night.
Both Blackman, the number six seed, and Mena, the number two seed, went into the final round level on six points in a three-way tie at the top of the table. With the pair clinching victories to finish on seven points, Blackman took gold on account of winning their head-to-head clash in the sixth round.
