Saint Lucia's chess team returned from the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with the men's squad earning their first-ever bronze medal at the international tournament.
The five-player men's team. Kaieem Elizee, Sixtus Gabriel, Daniel Nunez, Justin James, and Arvin Nicholas, finished third in Category E after winning their final match against Cameroon 2.5-1.5. They also defeated Grenada 3.5-0.5 and Palau 2.5-1.5 during the competition, though they lost to South Sudan 3.5-0.5 and narrowly fell to Curaçao 2.5-1.5. Only Qatar (gold) and The Bahamas (silver) placed ahead of them in their category.
Three Saint Lucian players earned individual honours. Justin James and Daniel Nunez both officially received their Candidate Master titles, while Chelsea Wahid sealed her Woman FIDE Master norm after scoring six points from nine games, including a victory over Haiti's WCM Merisina Cadeau.
The women's team also made progress, posting a 4-0 shutout of Guinea in Round 5 and recording decisive wins over Chad and Djibouti.
The tournament drew players from over 200 countries to the Silk Road International Exhibition Centre, where Saint Lucia competed after being placed in Category E based on their starting ranking.
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