Oceania at the Olympiad

 While keeping a close eye on the performance of the PNG team, I was also watching how the rest of Oceania was going. Importantly, every Oceania federation sent a team in the Open category (for the 1st time) while there were 7 federations in the Women's section (a little over 50%). 

A number of teams made their debut this year, and I should single out the performance of the Tongan team. For a Federation that has only been around for a couple of years, to finish with 6 match points, and 14.5 game points, at their first Olympiad , is quite the achievement. 

There is also the 'unofficial' Pacific championship ( ie without the big 2 of Australia and NZ), which Guam won in both sections. But even in the overall standings, NZ ran very close to Australia in the Open, and finished with more game points that the 'West Island' in the Women's section.

A number of direct titles were earned from the event as well, which I have listed below 

 

Open

Place	Name	Points	Game Points	W/D/L
56	Australia	13	25.5	+5=3-3
59	New Zealand	13	25	+6=1-4
125	Guam	10	21	+5=0-6
150	Papua New Guinea	9	19.5	+4=1-6
181	New Caledonia	8	18	+4=0-7
187	Fiji	7	16.5	+2=3-6
191	Kiribati	7	16.5	+2=3-6
192	Palau	7	16.5	+2=3-6
195	Solomon Islands	6	14.5	+3=0-8
200	Vanuatu	6	15.5	+2=2-7
201	Tonga	6	14.5	+3=0-8
202	Naoero	5	14.5	+1=3-7
205	Marshall Islands	0	1.5	+0=0-8

Women’s

Place	Federation	Points	Game Points	W/D/L
51	Australia	13	23	+6=1-4
86	New Zealand	11	23.5	+5=1-5
132	Guam	9	21	+3=3-5
143	Fiji	9	17	+4=1-6
159	Papua New Guinea	8	17.5	+3=2-6
167	Palau	7	16.5	+3=1-7
171	Vanuatu	7	13.5	+3=1-7

There were a number of personal achievements , in the form of FIDE titles

Open

FM title (conditional on having a rating above 2100 after 30 FIDE rated games)

Amnol, Ishmael Papua New Guinea

Galois, Mathieu New Caledonia

Maharaj, Yash Krishen Fiji

Tenezaca, Cristian Guam

CM title (awarded upon confirmation by FIDE Titles Office, and acceptance by Federation)

Amnol, Ishmael Papua New Guinea

Buccat, Benchly Cabanayan Guam

Delrieu, Pierre Vanuatu

Gadeanang, Andrew Naoero

Galois, Mathieu New Caledonia

Justo, James Marcus Guam

Maharaj, Yash Krishen Fiji

Mailangi, Sosefo Tonga

Martin, Ataake Kiribati

Tan, Santiago Jr Palau

Tenezaca, Cristian Guam

WFM title (conditional on having a rating above 1900 after 30 FIDE rated games)

Benzon, Tiffany Guam

Delrieu, Lou-Anne Vanuatu

WCM title (awarded upon confirmation by FIDE Titles Office, and acceptance by Federation)

Delrieu, Lou-Anne Vanuatu

Justo, Alexis Rian Guam

Masau, Latileta Fiji

Mimino, Natasha Papua New Guinea

 

 

 

 

2026 Olympiad - Day 12

 A nice surprise pairing for the Open team in the final round of the 2026 Olympiad. San Marino! As I noted previously, they are a regular opponent for PNG, including in 2002 where we also played them in the final round (It was 2-2, but the draw in my game earned me an eventual FM title).

For this match PNG scored a narrow 2.5-1.5 win, which was enough to move us up to 9 match points (+4=1-6). Stuart Fancy won on board 1, while Bing Barredo won again on bd 2, completing an event that started with 5 straight losses, but then ended with 4 straight wins! A draw on the bottom board to Kavaea Evara was enough to ensure the match win. 

The Women's team was up against Cape Verde seeded about 50 places higher. Nonetheless the team fought well, losing 1.5-2.5 ( 3 draws) and finishing the event on 8 points (+3=2-6). For a team without FIDE ratings, and taking part in the Olympiad for the 1st time, this was a fantastic achievement. Like the Open team, they really found their feet in the 2nd half of the event , once initial nerves an inexperience was overcome.

Both teams exceeded my initial expectations, with the Open team finishing 44 places above their starting rank (the best of all teams in the Open Olympiad). The team is also going home with a number of players earning their first FIDE ratings (and 2 titles), which will enable the federation to begin organising more FIDE rated events in the country.