WHEN the dust settled at the end of the 2025 Caricom Chess Classic held in Guyana from July 2-7, not only did Jamaica finish atop the standings of the team event but two of its representatives, Kaia Gayle and FIDE Master (FM) Joshua Christie, were able to secure individual honours.

Gayle, who is the current national under-16 girls champion and runner-up in the National Women’s Championship, ended the tournament unbeaten with eight points from nine games. With this performance her calculated FIDE rating passed the 1800 mark, which means she met the final condition to secure the title of Woman Candidate Master (WCM).

Gayle had conditionally qualified for the WCM title when she finished second in the Under-16 Girls section of the 29th Central American and Caribbean Youth Chess Festival held in El Salvador in August last year. However, her rating, which at the time was 1467, would have needed to be at least 1800 as a condition to be awarded the title.

In less than a year Gayle was able to increase her rating by over 333 points to secure the title. This increase in international rating is one of the most significant by any Jamaican in recent history.

FM Christie came out victorious in the second staging of the Caricom Classic Blitz Tournament, which was held alongside the team tournament. FM Christie ended with an almost perfect 6.5 points from his seven games, which included a critical victory against his main rival and namesake, FM Joshua Johnson of Trinidad and Tobago. Second place went to FM Jason Yeung of Suriname, who edged out Johnson on tiebreak after both players ended with 6 points.

Both the team event and the Blitz Tournament have now been cemented as permanent fixtures on the regional chess calendar and will be staged every two years going forward, with the next staging set for 2027.