The Bahamas had two competitors at the FIDE (International Chess Federation) America Sub-Zonal 2.3.5. Tournament that wrapped up at the Hodelpa Garden Suites Hotel in Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic, yesterday. In the tournament, that got underway on Sunday, November 7, Karelina Polina earned a FIDE Woman Master (WFM) title, scoring six points at the tournament.
Polina is the first Bahamian woman to achieve that honor. She placed fourth out of 14 women after nine grueling rounds. Polina was previously a Woman Candidate Master (WCM) and her next step on the ladder is Woman International Master (WIM) status. The highest title is Woman Grandmaster (WGM).
“I am extremely happy and relieved,” Polina said about earning the title. “I am very thankful to the federation and BCF (Bahamas Chess Federation) President Joseph Ferguson for sending myself and Candidate Master Kendrick Knowles to represent The Bahamas in this tournament. Kendrick had an excellent performance in an incredibly challenging field.”
Ferguson said he was elated for Polina’s accomplishment.
“Well, it’s an amazing feeling for the federation with everything that we have been dealing with over the last two years with COVID-19. It is good to know that our players have been training and preparing and it shows that even though we are a small federation, we are capable of standing on the international stage and doing well,” Ferguson said.
Playing on the men’s side was Knowles. He played in a pool of 73 players. Knowles finished 50th overall with four points. He finished the tournament with three wins, two draws and four losses after nine rounds.
Polina walked away with five wins, two draws and two losses. She played WFM Rinelly Comas Colon from Puerto Rico in the seventh round, which she said was her favorite game.
“I started the tournament strong, winning two games in a row. Then it got more challenging. My favorite game from this tournament would be my win against WFM Rinelly Comas Colon. I got a really good attack from the beginning of the game to the end,” Polina said.
Ferguson said he was proud of the performances of both athletes, especially with the BCF not having face-to-face competitions.
Polina, 20, has been playing chess since she was four years old but took a break for three years when she was 11 because of a medical issue. She made a return to the sport at 14, and continued to this day. As with any other competitor, she wants to earn a WGM title, and the only way to do that is to appear in more tournaments.
Chess is a face-to-face sport and the COVID-19 pandemic presented a hurdle as players were not able to play face to face locally. However, Polina attends school in Austria and was able to play in a few tournaments there when restrictions were relaxed.
“The pandemic has made it difficult to have over-the-board tournaments, which is unfortunate because it is critical to have practice to remain in good form. However, a lot of training happens online with solving tactics and playing chess online. I’m currently studying business and computer science in Austria and, fortunately, I was able to participate in a couple open tournaments this summer, in one of which I finished second place. These tournaments were an excellent warm-up before the sub-zonal,” Polina stated.
Her advice to those who are looking to move up is to have confidence and analyze each one of their games to see where mistakes were made.
With her results, Polina has qualified for the upcoming zonal tournament. She will be competing for a shot to get into the FIDE Chess World Cup 2023.
The just-concluded sub-zonal event had competitors from the host nation Dominican Republic, The Bahamas, Barbados, the Cayman Islands, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname and Venezuela.
The post Polina earns FIDE Woman Master title at sub-zonal tournament appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/polina-earns-fide-woman-master-title-at-sub-zonal-tournament/
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