National Champion, International Master Orlando Husbands, gave the local chess community the best Independence gift by tying for 1st place in the Dominica Republic at the Venezuela & Caribbean Islands Sub-Zonal Qualifier to the 2023 FIDE World Cup.

In what was a keenly contested event drawing 71 players from the Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Haiti, Jamaica, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Trinidad & Tobago and hosts Dominican Republic, the Bajan duo of Husbands and FIDE Master Justin Blackman flew the broken trident with pride maintaining a Bajan podium presence from start to end.

Husbands, who was 3rd seed, finished unbeaten on seven and a half out of a maximum nine points to tie with home boy and top seed International Master Jose Lisandro Munoz Santana for the top spot while Blackman end with five and half points in 15th place.

A critical juncture in the event, and what was easily the most difficult game for the two Bajans, was the 7th round match-up between Husbands and Blackman who were tied on 2nd place, just half a point behind tournament leader Munoz Santana.

A no-holds bar battle ensued between the two Bajans and when the smoke cleared it was Husbands scoring a fantastic win to draw level with Munoz Santa, thanks primarily to FIDE Master Joshua Johnson of Trinidad & Tobago who let a win slip to draw with Munoz Santa.

This set the stage for a Husbands vs Munoz Santana match-up in the penultimate round, where a win by either player would end the other’s podium chances and draw would open the door for Johnson to join them in a three-way tie should he win his game.

Johnson faltered against number 2 seed FIDE Master Carlos Jean Abreu of Dominican Republic and Munoz Santana offered Husbands a draw, which he accepted, in an unclear position with pending time trouble. Blackman, still with podium chances, despite his lost to Husbands, kept those chances alive by drawing with Victor Mendez Ramirez of Dominican Republic.

The final round was equally dramatic, with Husbands coming down with food poisoning over-night and being paired against number 2 seed Jean Abreu, who he had drew with in the 2017 BiiG Caribbean Cup held in Barbados. The luck of the draw favoured Munoz Santana who had the easier tie against fellow countryman and 16th seed Jonathan Subervi Nunez.

As anticipated Munoz Santa won against Subveri Nunez, leaving a physically weakened Husbands, who was given a 45-minute delay to start his game while he received medical treatment, to dig deep and pull of what was the most spectacular win of the tournament.

The young and rising Jamaican star FIDE Master Joshua Christie drew his final round match against Joshua Johnson to end on a two-way tie for 3rd with Puerto Rican Jaime Rodriguez Santiago who won against Justin Blackman to deny him a 3rd Place finish and a place on the podium.