l ISTANBUL

Barbados lost 2½-1½ against Mozambique when the curtain fell in Men's Round 7 action at the 40th World Chess Olympiad, currently being played in Istanbul, Turkey.

National Champion, FIDE Master Martyn Del Castilho's loss to Wilton Calicoca on Board 1 gave Mozambique the decisive match winning point.

International Masters Kevin Denny and Terry Farley, and Candidate Master Shamel Howell were held to draws by Mariano Tesoura De Maia, Persson Abrantes and Ilidio Chunguane on Boards 2 to 4.

For Trinidad and Tobago, Round 7 was very productive as they crushed Bermuda 4-0.

Winning for the T&T team were National Champion, FIDE Master Ryan Harper, Marcus Joseph, FIDE Master Mario Merritt and Allan Munro.

The Jamaica men lost a close battle against Pakistan 2½-1½.

Jamaica's undoing came on Boards 3 and 4 with losses by Damian Davy and Andrew Mellace against Ahmad Waqar and Haseeb Ahmed.

International Master Jomo Pitterson drew on Board 1 against International Master Mahmood Lodhi while Candidate Master Duane Rowe beat Mohammad Qureshi on Board 2 to score Jamaica's only win in the match.

Cuba moved to 13th in the standings, with 10 match points, after another big 3½-½ win against the team from the International Braille Association.

Dominican Republic are the next highest Caribbean team in 83rd spot, having beaten Afghanistan 3-1.

Puerto Rico are 87th, and Jamaica, despite dropping to 113th, are still the highest placed English-speaking Caribbean team.

T&T are 130th, and Barbados are 146th.

In the women's competition, Barbados had a day away from the boards.

The Jamaica women, paired against Pakistan, suffered the same fate as their men's team, losing 2½-1½. It was the Pakistani top order of Zenubia Wasif and Nida Siddiqui who won the match by beating Woman FIDE Master Deborah Richards-Porter and Krishna Gray. Woman Candidate Master Hui Shu drew with Ghazala Khuaja and Melisha Smith won against Fatima Khuaja.

T&T had a successful round, taking out Namibia 3-1. Winning for the T&T team were Adeti Soondarsingh, Gabriella Johnson and Della-Marie Walcott on Boards 2 to 4. Jolly Nepando scored the Namibians' only point with a win over Nikeilia Chuniesingh.

Cuba drew 2-2 with Belarus to continue their climb back up the standings. In 38th position, they continue to be the Caribbean's top act. Puerto Rico are 66th, Dominican Republic 85th, T&T 103rd, Barbados 122nd, and Jamaica 123rd. –CMC