Jamaica entered the final day of Division Three competition knowing only perfection would see them through to Division Two of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Online Chess Olympiad.

After wins versus Mozambique (4.5-1.5) and Puerto Rico (4-2), drawn games versus South American top chess nations Venezuela (3-3) and Chile (3-3), losses to Bolivia (2-4) and Uruguay (1.5-4.5) in the first six rounds, the team was keen to make the top three from Group D.

The third day started with Jamaica defeating Mauritania 6-0, a matchup that saw 18-year-old Rushawn White beating Mauritania Fide Master (FM) Sidi Boidiya, a continuation of his good run of results, which saw him defeating and drawing games versus Grand Masters (GM), drawn games versus International Master (IM) and Fide Master in the previous rounds.

Next up was a tricky matchup versus Tunisia in which Jamaica prevailed 4.5 to 1.5, here again, White drew with FM Oussama Douissa. In Jamaica’s final group game versus Division Three top seed Denmark, the team went down (1.5-4.5), so too, the dream of promotion, the only bright spark coming from Candidate Master (CM) Malik Curriah, who drew his game against GM Sune Berg Hansen.

Women International Master (WIM) Rachel Miller was Jamaica’s top performer throughout Division Three with a seven-win, two-defeat record, this after going nine wins and zero losses in Division Four play.

Group D was won by Chile, followed by Bolivia and Denmark third, all three advancing to Division Two. Jamaica placed sixth in the 10-team group. Head coach, IM Jomo Pitterson echoed the sentiments expressed by president, National Master (NM) Peter Myers, when he said to the team, “Each of you embodies the spirit of what Jamaica can achieve when we dare to believe we are the best. We are extremely proud of what the team has achieved in this tournament, not many saw us progressing from Division Four, here we are, fighting for promotion to Division Two. Heartfelt congratulations on a job well done.”

FIDE.COM summed up Jamaica’s performance by saying, “Jamaica took points from Chile and Venezuela and somewhat unexpectedly sat in the top five entering the final day of competition, the land of reggae music Rushawn White played brilliantly in defeating GM Salinas Herrera of Chile, a result that not many would have anticipated at the start of the game.”

The FIDE Online Chess Olympiad is the second major tournament organised worldwide by FIDE after the Checkmate Coronavirus series.