National chess champion Shreyas Smith finished in third place on a tiebreak in the 2022 Orjan Lindroth Memorial Open Chess Championship tournament in The Bahamas, which started on March 31 and ended on April 3.

Smith, 25, was the only Caribbean native to finish in the top three. He finished with 5.5/7.0 points behind winner Johan-Sebastian Christiansen from Norway and Daniel Fernandez from the United States, who was second.

“I feel good about the top-three finish. It was not a bad performance finishing with 5.5/7, however, I am disappointed I wasn’t able to defeat any of the grandmasters. But it gives good insight into how to best them next time and going forward. It fills me with pride to know that I could finish amongst the top with these players, who come from these other big countries,” Smith told the Jamaica Observer.

“After being away from an official over-the-board play for so long, I was also anxious to get back out there and show that I am still one of the best. I also am very eager to play players of a very high level all the time, so just being able to play them made me feel very good and I am looking forward to be able to play again. I was not familiar with them prior to the tournament,” he continued.

The last national championship took place in 2020, and none was held in 2021 because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Smith holds the title until the event takes place this year.

Meanwhile, the New Haven, Kingston, resident said he wishes more emphasis could be placed on chess as a sport locally.

“I believe more knowledge and awareness about the game to the nation can help that. One way is through creating more in-school chess programmes as a part of the curriculum. More exposure and highlight in the media also could assist that greatly,” he said.

“Corporate sponsors could also help in assisting our young talented chess players by making them brand ambassadors to bring more awareness as well.”

However, despite there being little to no coverage or “excitement” surrounding chess events, Smith said that does not take away from his passion for the sport.

“Oh no. Not at all,” he said, categorically. “I enjoy the game first and foremost, and being the best I can be in it is what really matters to me. I started chess at age 11, when I was introduced to it at the Chess Club at Calabar High School. I always wanted to learn to play chess from as long as I can remember… from primary school, so it was natural,” he told the Sunday Observer.

“I always saw it on TV, and what attracted me was how the pieces looked, especially,” he said, laughing. “And I knew it was something I wanted to pursue since I won my first age group championship after my first year of learning the game. Training for the game can be very strenuous. It involves a lot of work, in terms of solving hard puzzles and playing a lot of practice matches.”

In 2014, National Master Smith helped to anchor Calabar’s first-ever hold of the Corporate Area chess title, and in 2015, he stepped up for the first time as captain of the Calabar team and led them to their second-straight hold of the corporate title. He also won the prizes for the Best Board and Most Valuable Player of the competition.

Now, he has gone from representing a school to representing his country.

“I’ve represented Jamaica on multiple occasions. Getting to this level was very hard; many long nights and hours of practice. I’ve had quite a lot of experience being coached… from my high school Chess Coach Russel Porter, to being coached by the national Olympian Coach Jomo Pitterson; although, right now, currently, I’m not being coached.

“Once I started on my path to be the best I never stopped. It was filled with many challenges mentally, with hard defeats, and financially, due to lack of funding to play in tournaments. It was never easy, but I stuck it out and have achieved great things since, including several Player of the Year awards and many more championships.”

Smith added: “I want to make a name for myself and my country, so to finish in the top three fills me with so much joy for myself and my nation. And I am hoping to inspire the other young chess players coming to aspire to do these things on the international stage and raise the bar of the black, green, and gold flag and to show the world what we can do.”