When the smoke cleared the score board read Barbados 2, Austria 2, match tied.

 

In what was their toughest fought match to date, Barbados remained locked for nearly four hours with Austria in a contest that saw neither side giving advantage.

 

Austria drew first blood with Terry Farley (Elo 2247) conceding to FIDE Master Herwig Pilaj (Elo 2431), but their success was short lived as FIDE Master Dr. Philip Corbin (Elo 2242) retaliated with a fine win against International Master Georg Danner (Elo 2436).

 

This ratcheted up the tension on the board, as National Champion, International Master Kevin Denny (Elo 2334) and team mate FIDE Masters Delisle Warner (Elo 2291) fought to press the Austrians.

 

Warner eventually let a drawn ending against International Master Martin Neubauer (Elo 2440) slip to put the Austrian up 2-1, but once again the Bajans retaliated thanks to Denny who equalized by a spectacular rook sacrifice which force an immediate resignation by International Master Friedrich Volkmann (Elo 2454).

 

Day 4 of 36^th World Chess Olympiad in Calvià, Spain was full of other surprises as Defending Champions went down 1 ½ - 2 ½ against number 2 seed and leaders Ukraine.

 

Grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuck (Elo 2705) of the Ukraine continued his outstanding form of the championships, winning his fourth straight game in a row, by beating Russian Grandmaster Alexander Morozevich (2758) on board 1.

 

Draws by former World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov (Elo 2710), Andrei Volokitin (Elo 2652) and Alexander Moiseenko against Grandmasters Alexander Grischuk (Elo 2704), Former World Champion Alexander Khalifman (Elo 2669) and Vadim Zvjaginsev gave the Ukrainians the match and have now made then the odds on favourite to win the championships.

 

The Ukrainians top the standings with 14 points and Israel thanks to a big 3 ½ -1/2 win over Bulgaria are in second with 14. Russia despite their loss is tied for 3^rd with Azerbaijan and Slovakia on 12 points.

 

Caribbean powerhouse Cuba moved into to the top 10 for the first time with a 2 ½ -1 ½ win over the strong, 8^th rank Dutch team. Ciuba have 11 ½ points are in a six way tie with Armenia, France, Spain, India and Bosnia Herzegovina.

 

The Dominican Republic crushed Namibia 4-0 and Trinidad won their first match in the competition when they defeated Monaco 2 ½ - 1 ½.

 

The rest of the Caribbean posted mixed results as Jamaica and Puerto Rico drew 2-2 with Malaysia and Palestine respectively, and the BVI and Bermuda losing 2 ½ - 1 ½ to Surinam and Nigeria.

 

The all Dutch Antilles affair of Netherlands Antilles vs Aruba ended 2 ½ - 1 ½ in the favour of the Arubians.

 

Barbados will come up against Bolivia next round in what should be another nail biter. The stats show that in their previous two encounters Thessaloniki 1988 and Istanbul 2000, the Bolvians have had the upper hand drawing 2-2 and winning 3-1.

 

Team Manager Peter Dawson has hinted at some team changes and seems to have his eye on 15 year old Sagicor Open Junior Champion Martyn del Castilho, a student of The Lodge School.

 

Live viewing of the top board matches can be followed every day on the Chess Federation web site www.barbados.org/chess.