Jamaicans @ Baku 2016!

The tournament begin with the Opening Ceremony which was said to be the best in Olympiad history. The presentation was a sensory buffet of energetic performances and colorful expressions. All countries were introduced to the cries of their participants. The powerful display by Azeri performers was enough to set a positive tone for the next two weeks.

In most cases the first round will feature a heavyweight team versus a flyweight. The Bulgarian women scored a clean sheet against the Jamaican women, 4-0. The Jamaican men also went down in their first match against Argentina, a team full of Grandmasters. However, FM Damion Davy squandered away a half-point to GM Federico Perez after getting a completely winning position.

Open: Argentina 3½-½ Jamaica
Women: Bulgaria 4-0 Jamaica

Report from Wilkinson, “Let the Games Begin” (PDF)

As fate would have it in chess, one day you’re riding high and the next day you hit a low. Wilkinson described the phenomenon this way:

The World Chess Olympiad is arguably the most fascinating of sporting contests where the maxim “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” is consistently witnessed. This tournament is often a veritable roller-coaster ride with fortunes swaying from one round to the next. Victories for teams such as Jamaica usually result in much tougher opponents the next round. Indeed, I had a brief discussion in the Press centre in Baku with the celebrated Spanish journalist Leontxo Garcia and mentioned the expression – “hoy por mi manana por ti – today for you tomorrow for me”!

Jamaica went down to Austria 4-nil.

Richards was on the verge of scoring the win against
IM Nomin-Erdene Davaademberel of Mongolia.

After resounding victories in the previous match, both teams got a thorough washing… 4-0 by Austria in the open and 3½-½ account by the Mongolian women (with the powerful sounding names). Deborah Richards-Porter was able to salvage a draw in her game with International Master Nomin-Erdene Davaademberel. In fact, in this Sveshnikov, it appears that Richards had the initiative as was on the verge of winning after 33…Qxb2! and launched a full-scale attack. The move 39…Rd1+ would have claimed victory, but what a nice game by the 10-time Jamaican champion!

Open: Austria 4-0 Jamaica
Women: Mongolia 3½-½ Jamaica

Report from Wilkinson, “Deborah Saves Face” (PDF)

Today would be a disaster for the men as they were crushed by regional power Uruguay with who is lead by GM Andres Rodriguez. FM Warren Elliott actually held him salvaging dignity for the side. The game went 81 moves and the Jamaica showed technique in the textbook rook ending.

On the women’s side an epic matchup between WIM Deborah Richards-Porter and WFM Lorita Mwango, a rising star from Zambia. Mwango is from Ndola, the same hometown as GM Amon Simutowe.

Lorita Mwango featured in special promotion.

She also has quite a high profile back home… as does Deborah, a 10-time women’s champion. So, we have two of the strongest women in the African Diaspora facing off in a fierce battle. They did not disappoint! In the tactical battle, white’s king was stuck in the middle and was ensnared in a crossfire.

Open: Uruguay 3½-½ Jamaica
Women: Zambia 1½-2½ Jamaica

Report from Wilkinson, “A Thing of Beauty – Jamaica Women outclass Zambia” (PDF)

?????? ???? ???????? ???????? #bakuchess pic.twitter.com/Vehraj30Mx

— Evgeny Surov (@surovlive) September 9, 2016

Jamaican teams are trying to gain some consistency in match play. The idea of winning one match and losing the next is certainly not an appealing proposition. In today’s matches, both teams got back on track after losing badly in round 6. The Jamaica women beat the lower-ranked Malta team 3-1 For the women, they had an easier time as Deborah Richards-Porter led the team to victory with a crushing blow to Oana Caruana-Pulpan.

WIM Deborah Richards

Sudan caused a sensation after holding Bulgaria to a 2-2 and with FM Abubaker Tagelsir beating GM Momchil Nikolov. So perhaps Sudan felt they would be the slight favorite in this match against Jamaica. With Warren Elliott resting, Damion Davy took top board and drew with Samir Nadir. Tagelsir beat Malaku Lorne when he inexplicably played 12.e4? when 12…dxe4 simply wins a pawn. If 13.Ndxe4 Nxe4 14.Bxe4 Bxh2+ 15.Kxh2 Bxe4 16.Nxe4 Qh4+. So Lorne playing 13.Be2 and ended up succumbing to a blistering attack after 26…Bxh3!

Open: Sudan 2-2 Jamaica
Women: Jamaica 3-1 Malta

Report from Wilkinson, “Jamaica tames ‘The Maltese Falcon’” (PDF)

Jamaican teams faced their counterparts in the African Diaspora with the open team facing Mauritania and the women’s team facing South Africa. Both opponents represent polar opposite in terms of experience with Mauritania being a relatively new federation while the South African women often compete for honors at continental events. Therefore, the results of round 8 made sense.

Jamaica is everybody's favorite team!

photo: @davidllada #bakuchess pic.twitter.com/cIcTGPsSvi

— Baku Chess Olympiad (@bakuchessol2016) September 10, 2016

The Jamaicans bested the Mauritanians with a smooth 3-1 count with the most important point was Malaku Lorne’s win over his opponent. Perhaps Baku has been too good to the Ras King as he has been photographed taking in all that the fine city has to offer. It is good to see him get the “W”.

For the women, they where on the wrong side of the 3-1 count as Deborah Richards-Porter beat fellow WIM Anzel Laubscher. With three more rounds to play, the Jamaicans hope to end the tournament on a high note and to compete for category prizes.

Open: Jamaica 3-1 Mauritania
Women: Jamaica 1-3 South Africa

Report from Wilkinson, “Jamaica-Africa” (PDF)

Nice Showing, Now alls ya gotta do for the next event is the GENIUS WORK!!!! ULTRAMODERNIST.

The Baku Olympiad has come to a close with both Jamaican team ending on positive notes. Jamaican open team played South African as the women did in the 9th round and fared a bit better ending with a 2-2 draw. Resting their top board in GM Kenny Solomon, “Bafana Bafana” pitted IM Daniel Cawdery against FM Warren Elliott. That game ended in a draw.

IM Watu Kobese at 1998 U.S. Masters in Honolulu, Hawaii.
He had beaten Judit Polgar in Cap d’Agde that year.
Photo by Jerry Bibuld.

The most interesting match had to be FM Damion Davy taking on African legend IM Watu Kobese who has long been the iconic figure of South African struggle. Having been the one of the brightest start in Black South Africa during apartheid, his talent was stunted by racist policies and further impeded by sanctions against the country.

Jamaica vs. South Africa (open)

No one knows what could have been with this fine talent. He received training in Germany and owns several scalps, but lack of sponsorship and competition thwarted his goal of becoming a Grandmaster. He was instrumental in Solomon becoming the first. In his game with Davy with very simple play, forcing him to capitulate in 33 moves. The game is an instructive display of superior positional understanding of minor pieces.

Smith played a topsy-turvy game with Donovan van den Heever ending with a win for the Jamaican. Wilson and Klassen played to a contentious 86-move draw ending the tournament for the Jamaicans on 10 points.

The women ended with a 2½-1½ victory over Caribbean rival Trinidad & Tobago securing bragging rights until they meet again. The top scorer for Jamaica was Deborah Richards-Porter with 6/10 (TPR: 2072)

Jamaica vs. Trinidad (women)

In terms of regional comparisons, Ian Wilkinson gave the following:

Jamaica’s women ended on 10 points and in 86th position, down from the starting rank of 75 but way ahead of rival West Indian neighbours – Trinidad & Tobago (108 – 8 points); Guyana (127 – 6 points; Maria Varona-Thomas earning the WFM title with 8 points from 11 games); and Barbados (128 – 6 points).

Open: Jamaica 2-2 South Africa
Women: Jamaica 1-3 Trinidad & Tobago

Report from Wilkinson, “The Finale” (PDF)