Six-time national chess champion Martyn Del Castilho finished in joint fourth place at the Central American and Caribbean Zonal 2.3 Chess Championships in the Dominican Republic.

FIDE Master Del Castilho was one of nine players who ended on six points – just off the medal positions – when the Championships concluded on Friday.

In a fiercely competitive Championships played over nine rounds, Barbados’ top rated player, International Master Orlando Husbands also performed commendably to finish with five and a half points that left him as one of nine players in joint 13^th.

The Open section, which attracted 65 players, was won by top seed, Cuban Grandmaster Cabrera Albornoz with seven and a half points. International Master Alvarez Sanchez of Panama took second place with seven points, while another Cuban Grandmaster, Suarez Ortiz was third with seven points.

Del Castilho went into the Championships seeded at no. 17 while Husbands was seeded at no. 9.

Husbands, who tied for first place at the Sub-Zonal competition in the same country last November, was in contention for a podium finish going into the final round, but lost to the higher rated Colombian Pavas Avila.

In the women’s section that featured 24 players, five-time national ladies champion Katrina Blackman finished 13^th with four and a half points, while another Barbadian, Julissa Figueroa was 16^th with four points.

Top seed Cuban Woman International Master Llane Miranda won the section with seven and a half points.  Fonseca Hernandez of Colombia was second with seven points while Woman International Master Jimenez Corrales of Mexico was third with six and a half points.

The Championships, which served as a qualifier for the 2023 FIDE World Cup, featured players from 15 countries. In addition to competitors from the host country Dominican Republic, players come from Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cayman Islands, El Salvador, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela,  The Bahamas and St. Lucia. (BCF)