Belize Makes Chess History at International Olympiad

Belizean chess players have reached new milestones on the international stage, with national champion Alfred Awe becoming Belize’s first FIDE Master and Kenet Perez earning the Candidate Master title.

FIDE, the International Chess Federation, awards titles to advanced chess players. FIDE Master is the third-highest title, while Candidate Master is the fourth-highest.

The achievements came during the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, which brought together more than 200 teams from around the world.

Awe, a former president of the Belize Chess Federation, said master titles once seemed beyond the reach of Belizean players. “We used to hear about these candidate masters, FIDE masters, and they were like these mythical chess players,” Awe said.

Awe said the development of chess in Belize has given local players opportunities to compete at a higher international level.

“We’ve grown the federation to the point where we can compete in these international events and we’ve, me and my fellow teammate, we’ve shown that it’s possible for us,” he said.

Perez earned the Candidate Master title in the penultimate round, while Awe reached the required threshold for the higher FIDE Master title in the final round.

The two achievements mark a new chapter for Belizean chess, with Belizean players now holding international master titles for the first time.