Playing with the black pieces on Saturday evening, Husbands, who is the reigning Barbados national champion, surged to the top of the standings on 2.5 points after three rounds, ahead of Sunday morning’s fourth-round encounter against top-rated Grandmaster (GM) Luis Lazaro Aguero Jimenez (2469) of Cuba.

The Cuban was held to a draw in round three by Trinidadian FIDE Master and national champion Joshua Johnson (2324) who sits tied second behind Husbands after two draws and a round two upset over Panamanian IM and national champion Roberto Carlos Sanchez Alvarez (2407).

Undeterred from the loss, Alvarez recorded his second victory by defeating Barbadian FM Martyn Del Castilho (2226) who also went under to his Bajan compatriot Husbands in round two.

After three rounds, Husbands leads with 2.5 points, with the Trinidadian Johnson and Alvarez tied in second on two points.

Top-seeded Grandmaster Jimenez will have to play catch up having only scored one point after two draws and a loss to Alvarez in round one.

Aponte sits above Del Castilho with one draw in two matches, while Del Castilho is yet to register a point.

However, the Barbadian Del Castilho and Aponte do have a game in hand after their round one encounter was postponed.

There is little to separate the top crowd after two rounds in the Challengers section, with Guyanese Anthony Drayton (1978), Englishman Chris White (1902), 15-year-old Barbadian Women’s Candidate Master Hannah Wilson (1843), and Trinidadian Enen-Sa-Tefa Ab Khafra (1824) all on a perfect record after two rounds.

Wilson defeated Mileke Sinckler and Joseph Yeung-Chou to set up a tasty third-round encounter with the second-seeded Drayton.

Top-rated Chinedu Benjamin Enemchukwu (1998) of St Vincent and the Grenadines sits seventh on 1.5 points after a second-round draw with Barbadian Justin Parsons.

Ememchukwu meets top-rated Barbadian Justin Kirton who first defeated Women’s Candidate Master Chanon Reifer-Belle (1638), before going under to Ronaldo Rochester (1756) Barbados.

Thus far, three rounds of the ten-round double round-robin Masters section have been completed, with the 29 Challengers so far tested over two rounds out of the total nine.

A prize of US $1 000 is up for grabs for the winner of the Masters, with second and third position receiving $700 and $500 respectively.

Eight countries – Barbados, Cuba, England, Guyana, Panama, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela are represented at the tournament, while the Barbados Olympic Association have supported with sponsorship.