A new vitality is expressing itself

During the Senior National Chess Cham-pionship last Sunday evening at the Wind-jammer Hotel in Kitty, Loris Nathoo (right) stunned FIDE Candi-date Master Anthony Drayton (left) with a nasty single move checkmate at the height of a complicated middle game. Drayton had meticulously launched an attack on a knight on the sixth rank which was bothering him and unconsciously exposed his king to checkmate. Nathoo guaranteed the gift of a checkmate for his opponent with his queen. 

The seven-round National Chess Championships continued yesterday and will conclude today at the National Resource Centre, Woolford Avenue. In the senior category, after the third round, Taffin Khan leads with 2½ points, while among the juniors, Joshua Gopaul and Ghansham Allijohn are leading by 2½ points each also. Both Championships are wide open since the winners cannot as yet be determined. Today’s final two games will decide the title holders.

The favourites in the senior category, Anthony Drayton and Wendell Meusa, trail Khan by 1 point and ½ point, respectively. Outsider Loris Nathoo created two upsets when he defeated Drayton and Ronuel Greenidge, two of our local Olympians. Nathoo was earlier beaten by Meusa.