CAC Youth Festival 2015 - Port of Spain, Trinidad
Daijah Johnson, The Bahamas' top under-12 female chess player, won the bronze medal at the Central America & Caribbean (CAC) Youth Chess Festival, held in Trinidad & Tobago from August 14-19, 2015.
Johnson competed in the Under-12 Female section against players from seven countries to capture the third place medal. Finishing on six points of a possible nine, Johnson trailed only Colombia (8 points) and Jamaica (7 points) in the final standings. A draw against Cuba in the last round secured Johnson's prize and qualified her for the Woman Candidate Master (WCM) title awarded by the World Chess Federation (FIDE). The title, given for life, would be the first for a female player from The Bahamas.
Johnson was joined by candidate master (CM) Nathan Smith and Luke Stuart in representing The Bahamas at the regional event, considered to be one of the toughest on the annual chess calendar.
Smith and Stuart both finished on 4.5 points--impressive scores considering the level of competition.
To gain experience against older players, Smith--who won gold and secured his title at CAC 2013 in Costa Rica--opted to enter the Under-12 Absolute section, despite being eligible for the Under-10 category.
Playing in his first international tournament, Stuart was paired in the Under-18 section, which featured five FIDE Masters (FM) and two Woman FIDE Masters (WFM) among the thirty-three players.
The CAC Youth Chess Festival is a premier event held each year exclusively for Central American and Caribbean countries. The top regional chess players in U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, and U18 age categories gather to compete for medals and titles, and to forge new friendships. This year, over 180 players from fourteen countries registered for the week-long, nine-round tournament. The 2016 edition will be hosted by Venezuela.
The final standings and pairings for each round can be found on chess-results.com: U8 Absolute, U10 Absolute, U10 Female, U12 Absolute, U12 Female, U14 Absolute, U14 Female, U16 Absolute, U18 Absolute
Johnson competed in the Under-12 Female section against players from seven countries to capture the third place medal. Finishing on six points of a possible nine, Johnson trailed only Colombia (8 points) and Jamaica (7 points) in the final standings. A draw against Cuba in the last round secured Johnson's prize and qualified her for the Woman Candidate Master (WCM) title awarded by the World Chess Federation (FIDE). The title, given for life, would be the first for a female player from The Bahamas.
Johnson was joined by candidate master (CM) Nathan Smith and Luke Stuart in representing The Bahamas at the regional event, considered to be one of the toughest on the annual chess calendar.
Smith and Stuart both finished on 4.5 points--impressive scores considering the level of competition.
To gain experience against older players, Smith--who won gold and secured his title at CAC 2013 in Costa Rica--opted to enter the Under-12 Absolute section, despite being eligible for the Under-10 category.
Playing in his first international tournament, Stuart was paired in the Under-18 section, which featured five FIDE Masters (FM) and two Woman FIDE Masters (WFM) among the thirty-three players.
The CAC Youth Chess Festival is a premier event held each year exclusively for Central American and Caribbean countries. The top regional chess players in U8, U10, U12, U14, U16, and U18 age categories gather to compete for medals and titles, and to forge new friendships. This year, over 180 players from fourteen countries registered for the week-long, nine-round tournament. The 2016 edition will be hosted by Venezuela.
The final standings and pairings for each round can be found on chess-results.com: U8 Absolute, U10 Absolute, U10 Female, U12 Absolute, U12 Female, U14 Absolute, U14 Female, U16 Absolute, U18 Absolute
