Paladins Chess Club ran away with the inter-club championship title, scoring the maximum six points from the double round-robin event held at Pizza Hut, Windsor, Arima, on Saturday. The tournament which revived the inter-club contest after a lapse of some 20 years attracted only four of the country's eight chess clubs but generated a lively Christmas spirit in a gaily decorated section of the Pizza Hut outlet.
Paladins, represented by five prominent players, overwhelmed the opposition which consisted of Promenade Chess Club, organisers of the event, UWI and UTT chess clubs. Playing for Paladins were Guelmo Rosales, Ravishen Singh, Aditi Soondarsingh, Dev Soondarsingh and Esan Wiltshire. They won all six of their matches with the stiffest competition coming from Promenade which finished with three and a half. UWI won one match and UTT one and a half.
Promenade was represented by David Christopher, Anderson Gordon, Nicholas Chin, Dolabaille Hollingsworth, Kevin Cupid and Hayden Lee. In terms of games played, Paladins won 21.5; Promenade 17; UTT 11.5 and UWI 10. UWI fielded a team which comprised Marcus Joseph, Sterling Ramroach, Shailendra Seecharan and Avinath Ramadhin. UTT had Alpacino Smith, Omari Waldron, Adrian Mitchell, Vandorf Smith and Javannah Smith.
The tournament was weakened by the absence Knights and the Southern Chess Club, two of the oldest and most reputable chess clubs in the country. Also absent from the event were Kings and Queens of Arima and Central Vikings. For their victory, Paladins received the Pizza Hut Challenge Trophy together with $1,000 and KFC vouchers. Second-placed Promenade got $500 and KFC vouchers while third-placed UTT collected $300 and KFC vouchers.
Timothy Lawson, Facilities Manager of the Windsor Food Court, said his company was happy to assist in staging the tournament which fitted in their policy of encouraging good family values particularly if they involved young people. Promenade president Hayden Lee thanked Pizza Hut for its assistance and the colourfully decorated venue it provided.