Ten of Grenada’s top Chess players, accompanied by team officials, leave Grenada on Saturday, 12 September, to participate in the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
This is the second time Grenada is fielding a team at a Chess Olympiad, having done so for the first time at the 45th Olympiad in Budapest, Hungary, in September 2024. The Uzbekistan Olympiad runs from 15-27 September 2026.
Team Grenada, presented at a media launch at the Tropicana Conference Room on 10 September, comprises 5 male and 5 female players: FIDE Master Renniel Gilbert, Gennard Roberts, Omario Pope, Jaedyn Pierre and Vladimir Mendez on the male/open team; and Rhonda Lambert, Achazia Lewis, Naziyah James, Abirami Senthilkumar and Kanishka Tehalyani on the female team.
Team Grenada has the benefit of 2 former top South African players, experienced in Chess Olympiads. Dr Lyndon Bouah, a former South African Chess Captain at 5 of the 8 Olympiads he attended between 2002 and 2018, coaches the male team, while his wife, Dr Denise Bouah, a former 3-time South Africa Chess Champion, coaches the female team.
Coach Denise also served as coach of Grenada’s female team at the Budapest Olympiad in 2024. Between 2000 and 2008, she represented South Africa in 8 Olympiads.
Shot to fame
FIDE Master (FM) Renniel Gilbert, Gennard Roberts, Vladimir Mendez, Achazia Lewis and Naziyah James were all part of the historic Grenada team attending the Budapest Olympiad in 2024. It was at the Budapest Olympiad that FM Gilbert, then an unrated player, shot to fame when, out of 10 games, he won 7), drew one and lost 2 earning him the title of FIDE Master. For that outstanding performance, he earned a Chess scholarship from the Government of Grenada and has now entered his second year at the Faculty of Law, The University of the West Indies, pursuing a Bachelor of Laws degree.
Roberts is the current National Open Chess Champion, while Pierre won the National Under-16 Championship in September 2025. In August 2025, Pierre, along with 4 others, attended the FIDE World Youth (Under-16) Chess Olympiad in Colombia.
On the female team are 2 secondary school students: Naziyah James, a Form 3 student at St Joseph’s Convent, St George’s, and Kanishka Tehalyani, a Form 2 student at Westmoreland Secondary School. Achazia Lewis is a second-year student of the T A Marryshow Community College (TAMCC).
Vice President of the GCF Carlyle Glean Jr. heads the delegation to the Olympiad, while, from 19-28 September, President Ruggles Ferguson will be attending the FIDE Congress and related commission meetings focusing on the development of chess. This includes a Chess in Education Summit on 24 September.
FIDE (International Chess Federation) and the International School Chess Federation officially declared 2026 as the Year of Chess in Education, a concept which focuses on using chess as an educational tool to teach the various subjects taught at schools.
Well over 3,000 chess players from over 192 countries are expected at the Uzbekistan Olympiad.
GCF
NOW Grenada is not responsible for the opinions, statements or media content presented by contributors. In case of abuse, click here to report.
