Golden performance for Smith in chess

Tue, Dec 24th 2013, 11:57 AM

Nathan Smith, a young Bahamian chess phenom, won the gold medal in the under-8 category of the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Youth Festival. Recently held in Costa Rica, the tournament played host to more than 230 players from 16 countries in the CAC region.
The Bahamas fielded a team of two players to compete for the first time in this premier regional event. Alongside Smith was Daijah Johnson, who entered the Under-10 Girls section.
The grueling nine-round tournament grouped competitors in six different age groups - under-8, under-10, under-12, under-14, under-16 and under-18 categories, with play stretched over five days. With each game lasting hours, physical stamina and mental toughness were equally as important as chess skills.
Indeed after the final round, no player in this event had a perfect 9.0 score, which speaks to the competitiveness of the field and to the pressure that all had to endure.
Smith finished in a three-way tie for first with 7.0 points, and won on tie-breaks having beaten both of his nearest rivals.
Meanwhile, Johnson tallied a total of 4.0 points - good enough to tie for fifth place in her section.
With his victory, Smith will receive an official invitation to the Pan American Youth Festival in Mexico City in July 2014. He has also met the requirements for the Candidate Master (CM) title, which must first be approved by the World Chess Federation (WCF). No Bahamian has ever been awarded such a prestigious title in chess.

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