irst in, First out

They led into the final straight, they led out of the final straight.

In Day 2 of the Yearend Two-Day Tournament, reigning National Champion Charles Micallef and Alfred Xuereb maintained their leadership to win the race and title. 

In Section A, Micallef, with 11 wins out of 14 games, finished well ahead of runner-up Christine Strawbridge on 7 and a half wins and third-placed Josephine Mayo on 6 wins.

In Section B, Xuereb (shown in photo) had to work much harder to outpace Pauline Cilia, who finished only one win off the winner. Carmen Stafrace, who came in third, was further off the pace. 

After finishing second after Day 1, Mario Saliba crossed the finishing line first in the half-distance category in Section A, with Albert Zammit, accomplishing the same feat in Section B.

Another sterling performance this year earns Xuereb a handsome 55 rating points along with entry into the mini-elite club of the +1200s. 

(see Word of the Month to the right)

(penned and published by Nicky Vella Laurenti)