National Chess champion Taffin Khan retains lead in the Red Cherry tournament

Senior National Chess champion, Taffin Khan, in an exhibition of speed and shrewd concentration, turned back the challenges of his detractors to lead the points table when the   fourth preliminary round of the Red Cherry Ladder chess tournament concluded at the Kei-Shar’s Sports Club, Hadfield Street, Georgetown Wednesday.
The local chess king has so far accumulated 63 points, ten more than his nearest rival, Ronuel Greenidge while his predecessor, Kriskal Persaud has amassed 51 points. Anthony Drayton has accrued 46 points while Saeed Ali has 44. The other points standing are, Glenford Corlette (43), Chino Chung (42), Roberto Neto (40), David Khan (35), Davion Mars and Irshad Mohamad (30 apiece) with Sheriffa Ali in the cellar on 28 points.

Khan (3rd right sitting) and Greenidge (extreme left sitting) pose with other ‘Red Cherry’ aspirants after fourth round activities.

Khan, who had earlier lingered behind Persaud, assumed the lead position at the end of the second round and seems set to capture the overall lead. He will have to be wary of Ronuel Greenidge who is quickly compiling valuable points after edging past Persaud to assume his current position.
Activities are winding down and with just two more preliminary rounds left, players would be going all out to overtake the national champion. The four top players clash on Saturday August 11 to establish the overall winner.
The fifth preliminary round gets underway tomorrow at the same venue with another six matches. Players would each have a limited time of 15 minutes to win their respective games.