RAJVIR Shergil made history by becoming the first Jamaican to win a medal at the FIDE ISCF World Schools Team Chess Championship, while Creative Kids Learning Academy (CKLA) became the first Jamaican school to compete at the event in San Jose, Costa Rica, August 12-15.

Shergil placed third overall on Board 2 to earn Jamaica’s first medal at the championship, making the achievement even more significant for the Jamaica Chess Federation, which described it as a milestone for local school chess.

Shergil was part of the four-member CKLA team that included Luke Wright, ACM Jayden Hylton and Isabel Misir.

The Jamaican team finished 14th among 29 schools from 25 countries across the Americas.

Saco Oliveros de Lince of Peru won the overall competition, with Harvest Park Middle School of the United States finishing second and Cresent Heights Academy of Canada third.

Shergil said he was happy to win Jamaica’s first medal at the competition and praised his teammates, coaches and parents for their support.

Coach Warren Elliott said he is proud of the team and Shergil’s historic performance.

“I’m extremely proud of these youngsters. They prepared hard and displayed true grit playing against opposition, in some instances, much older than they are. Rajvir’s historic performance will put a smile on my face for years to come,” Elliott said.

CKLA opened the competition with a 3-1 win over Colegio Padre Agustin Valentini of El Salvador before losing 4-0 to Harvest Park Middle School.

The Jamaicans rebounded with a 3-1 win over Unidad Educativa Salesianos Don Bosco Macas of Ecuador and then drew 2-2 with Colegio Celta Internacional of Mexico.

CKLA lost 3-1 to Columbus American School of Colombia before beating British School of Costa Rica 3-1.

The Jamaican team then drew 2-2 with The Oxford School of Panama before ending the competition with a 4-0 loss to Saint Gabriel’s School of Peru.

CKLA’s results

Round 1 – CKLA 3, Colegio Padre Agustin Valentini (El Salvador) 1

Round 2 – CKLA 0, Harvest Park Middle School (United States) 4

Round 3 – CKLA 3, Unidad Educativa Salesianos Don Bosco Macas (Ecuador) 1

Round 4 – CKLA 2, Colegio Celta Internacional (Mexico) 2

Round 5 – CKLA 1, Columbus American School (Colombia) 3

Round 6 – CKLA 3, British School (Costa Rica) 1

Round 7 – CKLA 2, The Oxford School (Panama) 2

Round 8 – CKLA 0, Saint Gabriel’s School (Peru) 4