Historic Win: Grenada’s 17-Year-Old Renniel Gilbert becomes FIDE Master at Budapest Chess Olympiad

Grenada: The star player from Grenada, 17 year old Renniel Gilbert, has created history after he was accorded the prestigious title of “FIDE Master” (FM). The teenager acquired this coveted title at the 45th Budapest Chess Olympiad.

This title is the third highest in the game of Chess, ranking behind International Master and Grandmaster, and above Candidate Master (CM).

FIDE Master (FM) is one of the four major official titles - plus the other three mentioned above - bestowed on Chess players by the International Chess Federation (FIDE).

FIDE, the world’s governing body for Chess, published the names of 23 players accorded the title “FIDE Master” and the name “Renniel Gilbert”, stood out on the published list.

Apart from the FIDE Master Titles, a combined 13 players were awarded new titles of International Master and Grandmaster.

FM Gilbert’s elevation came about due to his outstanding performance in the Olympiad. Out of ten (10) games played up to September 21, he won seven (7), drew one (1), and lost two (2), earning him 7.5 points, and enough to catapult him to his new rank of FIDE Master.

A full point (1) is given for a win and half point (.5) for a draw. Among his casualties were two FIDE Masters and one Candidate Master.

FIDE uses a rating system to determine the strength of a player, judged by his performance against other players. To carry the titles of FIDE Master, International Master, and Grandmaster one must achieve minimum ratings of 2300, 2400, and 2500 respectively.

A Candidate Master carries a minimum rating of 2200. Notably, FIDE’s lowest rating is 1001. Below that a player is considered unrated.

It is said that the 17 year old National Chess Champion, a student of TAMCC, left Grenada on Sep.8th as a wholly unrated player. He will be returning tomorrow as FM Gilbert, a FIDE Master. His performance qualified him to skip the rank of Candidate Master.

Over 2000 players from 197 countries participated in the Budapest Olympiad, which ended on September 22 with an official closing ceremony. The current 10 member Grenada team in Budapest – 5 males/5 females - is the first ever to participate in an Olympiad.