Dear VI Chess Community,
I recently submitted a formal request to our FIDE Reverse Delegate for the USVI, Dr. Mario A. Ramírez Barajas, for a FIDE-rated tournament in St. Croix. Yesterday I received confirmation that a FIDE-rated tournament in St. Croix on December 6 and 7, 2025, under the direction and supervision of FIDE has been authorized.
The venue will be Good Hope Country Day School Pavilion. The arbiter will be Jon Haskel, licensed USCF National TD & FIDE International Arbiter. A registration form is attached. This email is going out to 70 VI chess players. Please pass the word to others I may have inadvertently excluded.
Registration applications must be received by November 14 at the latest. A list of participants must be emailed to Dr. Ramirez Barajas on November 15. He will assist with the issuance of FIDE IDs. Exact details of the tournament are shared in the accompanying flyer. Participation in this tournament is essential for those of you even remotely interested in qualifying for either the Open or Women’s Olympic teams that will represent the VI in the upcoming World Chess Olympiad scheduled for September 2026 in the ancient city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
Thank you all so much for your continued involvement in VI chess! I hope you feel as I do that the friendships that have emerged from our collective commitment to this extraordinary historic game are worth more than words can say.
Kind regards,
Gail Widmer
