Jamaica delivers strongest-ever showing at Pan American Youth Chess Festival

MEDELLÍN, Colombia — Jamaica's junior chess team has produced one of its strongest performances ever at the 2026 Pan American Youth Chess Festival, with outstanding results against the best young players from 30 countries across the Americas.

Competing against almost 1,000 players, Jamaica fielded its largest-ever delegation of 35 competitors, with several producing exceptional performances against significantly higher-rated opponents.

Rhea Gardener leads the way

Leading the Jamaican contingent was Rhea Gardener, who finished with an outstanding 6½ points from nine games in the Under-10 Girls section. Rated 1422 entering the tournament, Gardener achieved a performance rating of 1685, gaining 128.8 FIDE rating points, with victories over players from Cuba, Mexico and Venezuela and a draw against Peru. She narrowly missed being Jamaica's first Pan Am medallist by half a point, tying for fourth and placing sixth on tiebreak.

Strong results across the team

• Khalel Davy, playing up an age group, scored five points with a performance rating of 1641.
• Noelle Noble scored five points in the Under-12 Girls, a performance rating of 1660 and a gain of 49.6 rating points.
• Vaishnav Gali scored five points in the highly competitive Under-14 Open.
• Candidate Master Nathaniel Hope scored five points in the Under-18 Open with a 1994 performance rating, beating a 2216-rated FIDE master in the final round.
• Kayla Moses recovered from two opening-round defeats to score four points in the Under-16 Girls, gaining 58.4 rating points.

"The team competed bravely throughout the tournament, and there were several performances that showed what our players are capable of at this level." — WIM Deborah Richards-Porter, head of delegation