THE tussle for the top spot in the Open Section of the fifth annual Umada Cup chess tournament is heating up with two FIDE Masters locked in the lead after four completed rounds yesterday at the Sleepin Hotel on Brickdam.Double defending champion Ryan Harper of Trinidad and Tobago and Orlando Husbands of Barbados are tied on 3.5 points, setting up an interesting situation heading into last evening’s fifth round and today’s sixth and seventh.
Following the pair are three players on 2.5 points each. They are Christopher Guzman of The Dominican Republic, Vishnu Singh of Trinidad and Tobago and Malaku Lorne of Jamaica. Darvi Ferreras of The Dominican Republic is next on 1.5 points, followed by four players tied on a point each, including the lone Guyanese in the Open Section, Taffin Khan.
The others are Martyn Del Castilo of The Dominican Republic, Roger Matoewi of Suriname and Kevin Cupid of Trinidad and Tobago.
In the Challenger Section, two Guyanese are in the top three, with Maria Varona Thomas in the lead on four points, followed by Andrew Mellace of Jamaica on 3.5 and Guyana’s Kriskal Persaud on three points.
Five others players are bunched on three points, namely Deborah Richards of Jamaica, Esan Wiltshire and Frank Sears of Trinidad and Tobago, Anthony Drayton of Guyana, and Geryen Dos Ramos of Suriname.
They are followed by Avikaar Malgie (Sur), Wendell Meusa (Guy), Frank Kim Lin Lo (Sur) and Rashad Hussain (Guyana), all on 2.5 points apiece, and Ronuel Greenidge (Guy), Haifeng Su (Guy), Glenford Corlette (Guy), Mikel Martin (T&T), Aditi Soondarsingh (T&T) and David Khan (Guy) on two points each. The remaining 12 players have 1.5 points or less.
The tournament is being organised under the auspices of current president of FIDE, the world governing body for chess, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. A grand payout package of US$16,000 is at stake.

In the Open Section, the winner will cart off US$2,500, while the second place finisher will get US$1,500 and third US$1,000. The winner of the Challenger Section is entitled to US$1,500, with the runner-up copping US$1,000 and third US$750. In the case of a tie, the sum of the prizes involved will be shared equally.