Surinamese chess players Avantika Poetoe and Ravish Ramesar delivered strong performances at the Central American and Caribbean Youth Chess Championship (CAC 2026) in Costa Rica.
Poetoe finished fourth in the girls’ under-14 category, while Ramesar secured second place in the blitz tournament in the boys’ under-16 category. Around 420 chess players from 19 countries took part in the championship, regarded as one of the largest youth chess tournaments in Central America and the Caribbean. Participants competed in various age categories, from under 8 (U-8) through under 18 (U-18), for top honours.
Poetoe narrowly misses chess title
In the girls’ U-14 category, Avantika Poetoe delivered a strong performance. The Surinamese chess player scored six points from nine games, good for a score of 66.7 percent. This placed her fourth, just half a point short of a conditional Woman Candidate Master title (WCM).
The top three places in this category were taken by chess players from host country Costa Rica. Poetoe received a medal for her fourth-place finish. In addition, she improved her chess rating by as many as 60 points.
Ramesar wins silver at blitz tournament
Ravish Ramesar also brought success for Suriname. The chess player, who holds the conditional Candidate Master title (CM), finished second in the blitz tournament in the boys’ U-16 category.
The blitz tournament was organised as a supplementary event during the CAC championship. Ramesar collected 7.5 points from nine games, securing second place.
Cuban player Ronald Espinosa was crowned champion with eight points. Ramesar was therefore just half a point short of first place.
Costa Rica wins country standings
In the country standings, host country Costa Rica finished convincingly in first place with 104 points. Panama followed with 58 points, while Jamaica occupied third place with 40 points.
With the performances of Poetoe and Ramesar, Suriname once again distinguished itself positively at the regional youth chess championship.
