At the 37th Chess Olympiad several players received FIDE titles. It includes some firsts. Deborah Richards (right) is used to being the first in her nation and will now become the first Jamaican woman to earn a FIDE title. Her 6-3 score earned her the Women's FIDE Master title or WFM. She was the only female player of African descent to earn a title in this Olympiad.

For the men, several players from African and the Caribbean bagged FIDE Master titles. Perhaps the most well-known figure is that of Christo Cave, a 13-time Trinidadian champion and victor over Sweden's GM Tiger Hillarp-Person in the Olympiad. He joins four other players from Trinidad and Tobago as holders of the title. Joslin Bazil became Haiti's first titled player after scoring  7½-3½.

Africa had four winners of the FM title: Martin Mwangi Gateri (Kenya), Mateus Felizardo Viageiro Alice (Mozambique), Ralph Kimende (Seychelles) and Moses Kawuma (Uganda). These titles were earned in getting the requisite percentage per rounds played. There were a number of African and Caribbean players who earned the newly-created Candidate Master's title.

Posted by The Chess Drum: 27 June 2006