Two of Jamaica’s finest chess players, FIDE Master (FM) Joshua Christie and Woman International Master (WIM) Rachel Miller turned in superb performances at the recent Central American and Caribbean Zonal 2.3 2022 tournament, which concluded recently in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Christie played in the Absolute section and scored 5.5 of 9 points in finishing 14th on tie-break out of 65 players. He was combative against Grandmasters (GMs) and International Masters (IMs) in this event. One of his wins was impressive against highly rated IM Santiago Pavas Avila from Colombia.
Miller played in the Female section and also scored 5.5 of 9 points in finishing sixth out of 24 participants. Miller played impressively in the event and was tied for first place after the first six rounds. She played several games on Board One and finished with an impressive performance rating.
“It was very impressive to see both FM Christie and WIM Miller be very competitive with the best players in the region,” Jamaica Chess Federation Public Relations Chair, Mark Cameron said.
“It is absolutely imperative for our Jamaican players to play on a consistent basis in high-level tournaments, to give them the opportunity to showcase their talent and excel.”
The winners of the tournament were both from Cuba. GM Carlos Daniel Cabrera Albornoz, the top seed won the Absolute section with 7.5 of 9 points and WIM Yerisbel Llanes Miranda, the top seed in the Female section, also won with 7.5 of 9 points.
The first two placed players in the Absolute section will advance to the next stage of the World Chess Championship cycle and the winner of the Female section will also advance to the next stage of the World Female Chess Championship cycle.
In 2021, Jamaica participated in the FIDE Online Chess Olympiad, outplaying English Caribbean and several Latin American rivals and finishing third in Division Three.
