Team Saint Lucia exited the 46th Chess Olympiad with several achievements, including a third-place group finish that brought the men’s team their first-ever bronze medals. Players like Justin James, Daniel Nunez and Chelsea Wahid also earned individual titles.
Over the past week, players from over 200 countries gathered at the Silk Road International Exhibition Centre in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. After the first three rounds, Saint Lucia’s men were placed in Category E based on their starting ranking.
Candidate Master Kaieem Elizee, Sixtus Gabriel, Daniel Nunez, Justin James, and Arvin Nicholas combined for victories over Grenada 3.5-0.5, Palau 2.5-1.5, and Cameroon in the bronze medal match, 2.5-1.5.
The men lost to South Sudan in Round 2, 3.5-0.5, and narrowly to Curaçao in Round 1, 2.5-1.5. The only teams ahead of them in Category E were gold medallists Qatar and second-place finishers The Bahamas.
The women made strides of their own, with a 4-0 whitewash of Guinea in Round 5, complemented by decisive wins over Chad and Djibouti.
Justin James finished a strong individual tournament by officially receiving his Candidate Master title. Daniel Nunez also performed well under pressure, holding off Palau’s Santiago Tan Jr to earn his own Candidate Master title.
Woman Candidate Master Chelsea Wahid also stood out. She scored six points from nine games and sealed her Woman FIDE Master norm with a clinical victory over Haiti’s WCM Merisina Cadeau.
The article Saint Lucia earns Olympiad chess medals in Uzbekistan is from St. Lucia Times.
Article origin: https://stluciatimes.com/184397/2026/09/saint-lucia-earns-olympiad-chess-medals-in-uzbekistan/
Original author: Terry Finisterre
