NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Bahamas Chess Federation hosted the Scholastic Chess Team and Individual tournaments on Saturday, March 23rd, which determined the country’s best school and student chess players for 2024. This year’s events were held under the theme “chess is for everyone.”
In total, 49 students competed at Queen’s College. The host school dominated all three categories, high, junior, and primary division, winning first place for each. Players in the primary / under 12 categories who won all four rounds were Amir Hamilton, Caerwyn Turnquest, and Mahali Lisgaris. Chika Pride had a perfect performance, winning all her games in the junior school division.
Queens College represented one of the oldest schools in the country, while Kings College represented the newest. C. C. Sweeting represented the government schools, Noble Preparatory Academy represented the non-traditional/innovative schools and the Bahamas Chess Academy’s BGT club combined teams allowed homeschooled students and students attending schools that lack a chess program to participate in the team division (Windsor, Eva Hilton, T. G. Glover, Kingsway, Empowerment Learning Centre, Lyford Cay, Ignite Christian Academy, Boost Academy and Sybil Strachan Primary).
On Sunday, March 24th, 33 students competed for the top chess players in various age categories: under 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, and 8.
Bahamas Chess Academy’s BGT students dominated the individual tournament, winning the Under 18, 14, 10, and 8 categories, proving that the club can boast of having the strongest players in the country. Grand Bahama’s Bishop Michael Eldon school was also represented in the individual tournament.
“These students are the future of chess in the country. With the help of corporate Bahamas, private donors, along with government support, can catapult and provide international opportunities for these students,” a press release noted.
