After the end of the second day of the title match which is being played at Anderson City Hall in South Carolina, King trails Moiseyev 3-1 at the completion of eight games.

King had taken a 1-0 lead on the first day when he won Game Two, using the red pieces and starting with compulsory 10-15, 23-19, 7-10 opening moves. But Moiseyev battled back to draw level 1-1 by winning Game Four, which featured opening moves of 9-13, 24-20, 10-15.

Moiseyev, who now represents the United States, then won Game 5, taking advantage of the Old Fourteen opening of 10-14, 22-18, 6-10 with the white pieces. He also triumphed in Game 7 with the red pieces following a 10-15, 22-17, 11-16 opening and drew the eighth game with the same opening after the players exchanged pieces.

Another 32 games are left in the championship match.

The dapper, smooth-talking Barbadian is convinced he is the best in the game, but there is one stumbling block. He is American-based Russian Alex Moiseyev, who holds the World Three-Move-Restriction title that once belonged to King.

King is the World Go-As-You Please champion, an honour he has held for the last 14 years, but next week's showdown in South Carolina is about more than unifying the titles. Pride and revenge It is about pride and revenge for the Russian computer programmer inflicted a heavy beating on King - 6-1 in Northern Ireland in November 2003 - the likes of which he has never suffered before.

This morning King steps on a BWIA aircraft vowing to be much better prepared this time. He told WEEKEND SPORT he was "like a wounded animal".

"Last time I took on the role of manager and promoter and burned myself out. I am not getting involved in any kind of negotiations. I am just going to beat the man. He can't trick me twice.

"I have gone back to the basics. I have been playing either table tennis or road tennis every day. I have done a whole lot of training for this event.

"This has gone past Barbados versus the United States. This is personal, this is the real Suki. I am like a wounded lion. I am dangerous. This is pay back time," he said.

The world championship showdown starts on Monday and will consist of 40 games with four games being played on a daily basis. There will be two rest days.

The match will be preceded by a spectacular opening ceremony which will see the signing of the contracts between the two players before an audience of the American media.

Prior to this the two draught masters will be flown over the city of Anderson in a hot air balloon. When all the fanfare is over, it will be down to ten grueling days of world-class draughts.

King's trip is with the assistance of the Barbados Tourism Authority (BTA), Nation Publishing, Berger Paints, Central Bank, Sagicor, Barbados Port Auhority, Barbados Mills, Oran Sports Club, BICO and Pizza Man Doc.

When the final move is made, King will journey to Dublin, Ohio, seeking glory in the United States National Tournament from June 20 to 24.

This tournament will be played under the Go-As-You-Please format and will serve as an ideal launching pad for King, who is expected to defend his World Go-As-You-Please crown later this year.

mikeking@nationnews.com