Regina Riberio to lead Brazil to Pan-Am Youth
The Renaissance Knights Chess Foundation, the International Chess School, the Confederation of Chess for America (CCA), and the US Chess Federation, are pleased to invite all National Chess Federations of the Americas to the XXXIII Pan-American Youth Chess Festival Open and Girls, from August 11 – 18, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
It’s that time of year again when junior chess players from the western hemisphere will assemble to vie for age honors, titles, and perhaps a ticket to future success. The Pan-Am Youth tournament has been an opportunity for national age champions to test themselves against the best of the region. Of course, the host U.S. team has already been announced here. However, there will be budding stars from North, South, and Central America along with the Caribbean coming to the “Windy City” for the summer festival.
Brazil will be one of the teams traveling to Chicago and its federation names long-time national player Regina Riberio as head of the delegation of ten players. Ribeiro played in her first Brazilian championship in 1980. Since then she has won a total of eight times (1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1992, 2003, 2006) and represented Brazil’s Olympiad team ten times. Riberio holds the title of Women International Master (WIM). She was featured in The Chess Drum’s “Chess Crackers” segment in 2006 and in an interview at Tromso Olympiad in 2014.
Regina Riberio at the 2006 Olympiad in Turin, Italy
Photo by Daaim Shabazz/The Chess Drum
Interview with Regina Riberio at the 2014 Chess Olympiad (11:40 minutes)
Riberio brings her experience in international competitions as a way of preparing her students for the rigors of competition. So far there are 21 nations registered for the event with 613 players. The U.S. has 357 registered followed by Canada with 43, Mexico with 37, Peru with 25, and Colombia with 23. Jamaica is the largest English-speaking Caribbean nation sending a delegation of 12 players. Removing U.S. entries, Spanish-speaking countries (16) represent the largest contingent. Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking country.
