Naparima College student FIDE Master Alan Safar earned a gold medal for the fourth year in a row to help T&T place second in Carifta Youth Chess Championships in Curacao on the weekend.
Safar scored 6.5 out of seven points to win the Under-16-Open category to see T&T finish behind overall winner Jamaica in the competition which started Friday and ended on Monday. In third place was Suriname.
T&T had athletes compete in three official categories including U-12, U-16 and U-20 Absolute and Girls.
Last year’s Carifta U-12 girls' champion, St Augustine Girls’ High School Form One student, Zara La Fleur, earned second place in the higher U-16 girls' category when she scored 5.5 out of seven points. She also earned silver in the U-14 girls' sub category.
Daenon Ramsumair, Naparima College student, earned silver in the U-20 Open category as well as copped the silver medal in the U-18 sub category with a score of five out of seven points.
Kyan Muradli and Charlise Mike dominated the U-8 sub category winning the Absolute and Girls. In the sub category U-12 Girls, Cayleigh Manocha was second while in third place were Arya Maharaj was third in the sub category U-10 Girls'; Juninho La Fleur in the sub category U-12 Absolute and Amy Ali in the U-18 sub category.
T&T contingent included Aradhana Ramnarine Singh, Aryana Nanan, Ari Bunsee, Luke Balliram, Taydan Balliram, Tristan Balliram, Rayden Rampersad, Aidan Chaitram, Aaron Chaitram, Adrian Lutawan, Kael Samuel Bisnath, Javed Maharaj in the U-12 division and in the U-16 grouping, Anusha Saha, Keira Samuel Bisnath, Keshav Maharaj, Kiran Mohammed and Sanat Maharaj.