Page 4 … Jamaica at Olympiad 2002 (Ian Wilkinson)

Memorable Moments

I could not end this article without highlighting what were, for me, some of the positive events at the Olympiad. There are many outstanding memories from the Olympiad. I will just list a few here.

• Jamaica's board three Vanessa Thomas' win with the white pieces over Slovenia B's WFM Ksenija Novak in round one. This was a Jamaican female player's first victory over a woman FIDE Master.
  
• Jamaica's board one Maria Palmer's unbeaten performance in her last six matches. Palmer, after starting with several consecutive defeats, played thereafter with assurance and finished with a creditable fifty percent score thereby earning a FIDE rating of 2050! Her demolition of New Zealand's Vivian Smith's Pirc in round six involved a queen and two rook sacrifices!! (see position)
  
• Jamaica's board two/three female player Hui Zhu's mating Botswana's Tshepiso Lopang in 23 moves in round four after sacking three pawns consecutively to deliver the coup de grace (23. Nf6#) with most of the pieces still on the board. Zhu also finished with a fifty percent score and earned a FIDE rating of 2050.
  

In Palmer-Smith, black lost a piece early and white ended all hopes of a swindle with the pretty, 24.Qxb8+! Rxb8 25.Rxg6+ hxg6 26.Bxe7.

• My impromptu hugging, lifting and spinning Jamaica's Vanessa Thomas after she managed a miraculous draw against Puerto Rico's Miriam Basem-Hassan in the board three encounter in round eight. This result enabled Jamaica to draw the match. This "quiet" celebration and display of emotion was met with numerous smiles and curious stares by security personnel, arbiters, players and spectators.
  
• The Jamaican women's 2-1 victory over European team Luxembourg in round ten. I recall Luxembourg GM Alberto David (board one for the men's team) visiting the match on several occasions to look at the games and could not believe what he was seeing. David went on to win a silver medal for his 85% performance on board one.
  
• National champion Deborah Richards' fighting loss (almost 80 moves) to the seasoned Luxembourg WFM Grazyna Bakalarz on board one in their round ten encounter. Richards learnt the game/moves less than one year ago!!
  
• The raucous welcome given to Jamaican NM Shane Matthews on his arrival at the Hotel Krim on Sunday 27^th October, 2002. Jamaica's highest rated player is to be commended for making the trip and representing his country although he lost his mother only a few days before the Olympiad started.
  

• Jamaica's board four candidate master's Mark Smith's victory over the Dominican Republic's Marcelo Carrion in round three.
  
• Jamaican NM Duane Rowe's win over Malta's Joseph Grech in round 9, which enabled Jamaica to win the match.
  
• Jamaica's NM Jomo Pitterson's efficient victory over Aruba's Leonardo Carter's King's Indian Defence on Pitterson's birthday in round 12.
  

• Trinidad & Tobago's Christo Cave's spontaneous utterance of a colourful expression (not fit for airplay!!) upon blundering and dropping a piece in time trouble when he had at least a drawn position (up a passed pawn) against Moldova's IM Alexey Khruschiov in first round action.
  
• Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago's bloody West Indian war in the men's competition in round three. This match was drawn after each nation won two games.
  
• Seeing and listening to the debonair International Arbiter Jerry Bibuld as he worked, took pictures and/or reached for his Slovenian dictionary to fortify himself before attempting to converse with the Slovenes.
  

• Hungarian GM Judit Polgar's Ruy Lopez defeat of Azerbaijani GM Shakhriyaz Mamedyarov in round four. Polgar unleashed the spectacle 12.Nxf7!! sacrifice of her steed and the rest was history.
  
• The ageless wonder, septuagenarian Russian-born Swiss GM Victor Korchnoi's victory over the strong Israeli board one GM Ilya Smirin in round two play as both countries drew 2-2. This game attracted a bumper crowd.
  
• 1999 FIDE World champion Russian GM Alexander Khalifman's military strolling between moves, punctuated by profound concentration on his face.
  
• Watching Zimbabwean board one IM Robert Gwaze play, especially his last two games where he decimated Hong Kong's Edwin Borigas (round 11) and Bahrain's Ibrahim Dafi Almannai (round 12). Gwaze's play epitomized the exciting nature of chess when it is played in positive and/or uncompromising fashion.