Team Bahamas was able to hold off Nicaragua in the final round of the Olympiad and secure a trilling match draw.  Their board 2 player failed to show up for the match, giving Elton an easy win by default and putting The Bahamas in perfect position for an upset.

After Kendrick's loss on board 2, it was left to Valentine and Carver to hold their own.  Four hours later, both battles were neck-and-neck, and it looked like the match might actually go the distance.  Carver's game against the 2156-rated International Master ended first, placing the team within 1/2 point of a drawn match.  But could Valentine work his endgame magic against a 2200-rated player?  Indeed, he could.  In a dead-drawn position, both players agreed on move 54 to share the point and draw the match. 

What an incredible journey this has been.  The closing ceremony is tonight, and depending on the final tie-breaks, The Bahamas may be awarded a prize in the E category.  Our flights leave very early in the morning, so there may be no further updates until Saturday, August 16.

As always, the results can be found on http://chess-results.com/tnr140380.aspx?lan=1&art=0&fed=BAH&flag=30&wi=821

Update!: Bahamas places 3rd in Category E, and finishes in 118th position--up from 158 at the start!

Kendrick Knowles and Carver Moncur both hit their strides at the same time in these final rounds, and together with Elton Joseph, they helped to propel Team Bahamas to three straight match wins.  Kendrick's and Carver's hard work and detailed preparation for this Olympiad seems to have paid off mightily when today they both hit the minimum 50% score requirement for the Candidate Master (CM) title.  This marks The Bahamas' third title qualification of this Olympiad, after Elton achieved a 50% score through eight rounds.  The unofficial list of new CM's can be found at http://chess-results.com/tnr140380.aspx?lan=1&art=59&fed=NCA&flag=30&wi=821.

The trio on boards 2, 3, and 4 has performed far beyond their rating levels, fending off a host of 2000-rated players.  Once verified, the titles will be a fitting demonstration that Bahamas chess is on a steep rise, and the world had better take notice.

Now, on to the eleventh and final round -- Bahamas vs Nicaragua.  The match will take place on Thursday morning, 11:00 am Tromso time (5:00 am ET), after a well-deserved day off.  Tune in live at https://chess24.com/en/olympiad2014.

Nobody seems able to stop Team Bahamas right now.  Since losing to Guam in round 7, we have strung together three match wins in a row, leaving us with four total wins overall.  I have said it before but will repeat it again -- no Bahamas team has ever won more than two games in an Olympiad.

After their solid wins yesterday against San Marino, Kendrick and Carver have both set themselves up for the Candidate Master titles in round 10.  With a draw today, Kendrick will have met the 50% score requirement over seven games.  Note that his round two win was by forfeit and does not count as a played game.

With a current score of 3.0 from 7 games, Carver needs a win in his eighth game to reach the 50% mark.

Within hours of being voted in as president of FIDE for another four years, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov shook hands with members of the Bahamas Olympiad team, who too had scored a major victory.  Team Bahamas had just clobbered the higher-rated San Marino 3-1, while Kirsan had beaten former World Champion Gary Kasparov by a landslide vote count of 110-61.  Smiles all around!...except for Carver who never smiles.

In a HUGE win today, Team Bahamas held off the small nation of San Marino -- rated 300 points higher than us -- to score its third match victory of the 2014 Chess Olympiad.  The goal coming into the event was to pick up three team wins, something that The Bahamas has never before achieved at an Olympiad, and it has been accomplished with two rounds left to play.  Now, the competition will get tougher as we move up the ranks from where we started at #158 in the world.  The coaching and over-the-board experience is beginning to pay off.  By 2:00 pm ET, we will see who our next target is.

Elton has qualified for the hugely sought-after Candidate Master (CM) title!  Olympiad regulations stipulates that the title be awarded to all players who meet the minimum of a 50% score in at least 7 matches.  With 3.5 points from 7 games, Elton has just made the threshold.  He can now play on and make an attempt at the FIDE Master (FM) title, which requires a 65% score in at least 9 games.  For proof of what I say, go to http://chess-results.com/tnr140380.aspx?lan=1&art=59&fed=BAH&flag=30&wi=821.

Carver, meanwhile, has 3 points after 7 games and will qualify for his own CM title with a win in his next game.  We're coming home with all the spoils!

Team Bahamas edged past Tanzania in round 8 to score its second match win of the Olympiad.  Finishing first was board 3's Kendrick Knowles who grabbed the advantage on move 27 and never looked back.  Carver, meanwhile, kept the team on edge as he faced a vicious attack on his king that left him down material.  Thankfully, his opponent struggled to find the winning moves and instead lost material of his own to give Carver the advantage for good.  Elton sealed the match win by grinding out a draw against arguably Tanzania's toughest player, Geoffrey Mwanyika--rated 1922.

Well done, Team Bahamas!  With three matches to go, let's see how many more victims can fall :)

In any of my posts, I do not think that I have detailed how the Tromso Olympiad works "behind the scenes."  When a round has been completed and the results verified, the next round is paired by countries.  This is done by 22:00 Tromso time (4:00 pm ET) -- I have seen it released as early as 21:00 Tromso time (3:00 pm ET).  These pairing can be seen under "Team Pairings" at http://chess-results.com/tnr140380.aspx?lan=-1.

Teams then are given until 09:30 Tromso time (3:30 ET am ET) the following morning to submit their board lineups for the round.  If a top board player rests, those below him move up one slot and the reserve player is given board 4.  By 10:00 Tromso time, the board pairings are released.  These too can be found at http://chess-results.com/tnr140380.aspx?lan=-1.

The players then have four hours to prepare for their assigned opponent.  This is done with the help of the team coach who analyses the player's previous games both at this Olympiad and those that can be found in available databases.

The rounds begin sharp at 14:00 Tromso time (8:00 am ET), with the exception of round 1 and 11, which are scheduled for 15:00 and 11:00 Tromso time respectively.

Even the smallest of countries can bite you at a Chess Olympiad.  In round 7, it was Guam that delivered the blows.  While Carver, Chappell, and Valentine all lost their games, Elton, playing black, was able to turn around a bad position to give Team Bahamas its only game point on the day.

In round 8, The Bahamas will face off against Tanzania, starting at 8:00 am ET.