Saco Oliveros de Lince Takes Gold as San José Closes with Emotion and a Tribute to Mothers
The American Continental Stage of the FIDE ISCF World Schools Team Championship 2026 closed at the DoubleTree by Hilton Cariari in San José with the team that led it home from Wednesday still in front. Saco Oliveros de Lince of Peru won the title without losing a match all week, finishing on 15 match points from a possible 16. Harvest Park Middle School of the United States took second and Crescent Heights Academy of Canada third, and all three now go through to the Grand Final in December.
Round 7
Saco Oliveros began the final day the way they had ended the previous one. Having beaten both of their nearest rivals on Thursday, they opened with a 4-0 sweep of Chile's Saint Gabriel's School, and from that point the title was theirs to lose.
The tension was further down the hall, where the teams behind them were playing for the two remaining qualifying places.
Colegio Madre del Divino Pastor 1½-2½ Harvest Park Middle School
On board one, Zhuoyuan Wu (pictured below) was 199 points the lower rated player against Jasmany Shallom Castillo Romero, and he came out of it with a draw that should have been a win. His opponent erred in a same-coloured bishop endgame and left Wu winning, but endgames are unforgiving with under a minute on the clock, and one error in a critical position turned it into a dead draw.
Harvest Park won boards two and three, and then board four produced the hardest moment of the day. Ruyi Hu, with White, played an excellent game at 96 per cent accuracy. Her opponent blundered and she punished it, winning the queen for a couple of pieces, and by move 33 she was comfortable, up material and completely winning. Her clock was not. Her flag fell in a position she was winning, which is a thing that has happened to every chess player who has ever played with a clock, Magnus Carlsen included. Harvest Park won the match 2½-1½ regardless.
Crescent Heights Academy 2½-1½ Colegio Celta Internacional
Board one brought two closely rated titled players together, FM Lucas Mason Pin Qian Yao against CM Fernando Cortes Medina, and produced no fireworks at all: a balanced game and a peaceful draw. The fireworks were on board two, where Colegio Celta Internacional’s Sophia Itzayana Mote Amasifuen (pictured above), with White, launched a kingside attack and finished it with a sacrifice.
Position of the round
2qbrr2/pp1b1pkp/1np3p1/3pPpNP/3P1B2/2P4R/PP2QPPN/4R1K1 w - - 3 24
White played 24.Nxh7!, drawing the black king onto the h-file, because after 24…Kxh7 25.hxg6+ there is no defence. The game finished 25…Kg8 26.Qh5 fxg6 27.Qh7#.
On boards three and four, Aiden Yin and CM Andrew Yin both outplayed their opponents comfortably and took the match for Canada.
Round 8
Saco Oliveros de Lince 4-0 Martin Klein Schiller
The champions finished as they had started the day, with another clean sweep.
Marcos Beltrán Meneses Morales won comfortably on board one. On board two, Dante Iván Vilca Contreras was better for most of the game, simplified into an endgame up in material and
converted without difficulty. Board three was the awkward one. WCM Fabiana Jiménez Salas had a shaky opening and found herself in trouble in yet another opposite-side castling game, the shape that has recurred on the top boards all week, with her opponent's pieces the better placed. What followed was volatile enough that the advantage changed hands with almost every move, and it came down to the oldest rule in chess: the winner is whoever does not make the last mistake. Jiménez Salas broke through and set up a mate that could not be stopped.
On board four, Rihanna Irina Rojas Salas was the first player in the hall to finish, and she finished on a perfect score.
Crescent Heights Academy 2-2 Colegio Madre del Divino Pastor
Second place was still live when this match began, and it was decided here. The two Yins won their games quickly, but board one went the other way. Both players, Yao, Lucas Mason Pin Qian as White, and Castillo Romero, Jasmany Shallom (pictured above) as Black, misplayed the opening, and then White committed a positional error that handed Black a sizeable advantage. An incorrect breakthrough on the queenside produced a passed pawn that Black had no trouble containing, White began dropping pawns, and the position fell apart. The 2-2 draw left Crescent Heights third rather than second.
Harvest Park Middle School 3-1 Harrison College School
On board one, Zhuoyuan Wu drew with the higher rated AIM Jeremiah Farley, having had chances. On board two, FM Patrick Liu outrated Charis Stuart by 640 points, built an
advantage that only grew, and had no trouble converting it. Ethan Sun played a clean positional game on board three; his opponent eventually dropped a pawn, and with the extra material, the more active position and far more time on the clock, Sun converted.
And on board four, Ruyi Hu's (pictured above) luck turned. Her opponent missed a moment to take a free piece, and the draw was agreed immediately afterwards.
Saco Oliveros finished with seven wins and a draw and did not lose a match all week. The only match points they dropped in eight rounds came in round two, against Colombus American School.
Three perfect scores
Nine players were still unbeaten after four rounds. Three finished the championship having won every game they played:
- Rihanna Irina Rojas Salas, Saco Oliveros de Lince, Peru, board four
- Aiden Yin, Crescent Heights Academy, Canada, board three
- William Nicolás Rodríguez, Colombus American School, Colombia, board one
Two of the three are on teams heading to the Grand Final. Rodríguez is not: Colombus American School finished twelfth. He played board one in all eight rounds, against the strongest opposition each team could put in front of him, and won all eight.
A fourth player finished on 100 per cent: Sayel Sebastián Vega Portilla of Don Bosco Macas won all six games on the reserve board.
The three qualifying teams took a board prize each on boards one to four, and Costa Rica took second and third on the reserve board.
A final afternoon for the players
Before the closing ceremony, the last afternoon still belonged to the players. A Dance Workshop filled the activity area, before a Kahoot Chess Quiz rounded off the side programme from a lively, competitive finish that kept the energy high right to the end.
A farewell to San José
The championship ended as it had begun: with players, coaches, parents and officials gathered together. The official closing ceremony opened with gratitude to those who made the week possible, chief among them Freedom Holding Corp., the main sponsor of the American Continental Stage and General Partner of the International School Chess Federation, together with the Costa Rican Institute of Sport and Recreation (ICODER) and the Costa Rican Chess Federation.
The Costa Rican national anthem and the FIDE anthem opened the evening. A highlights film then looked back on the week in San José, and as familiar faces flashed across the screen the children were invited to cheer whenever they spotted themselves. They did so loudly and without hesitation, the hall filling with shouts of recognition and bursts of laughter that turned the recap into one of the warmest, most emotional moments of the night.
The evening also carried a special significance: 15 August is Mother's Day in Costa Rica. In the days before, each child had prepared a card and a few words for their mother, and during the ceremony these heartfelt greetings were shared with the hall; a wave of thank-yous, drawings and tender little messages, as the young players sent their love to the mothers who had cheered them on from home. Rather than deliver a formal speech, ISCF Chief Operating Officer Andrei Vodianov dedicated his remarks to the occasion, offering a heartfelt tribute to the mothers who make every young player's journey possible.
Turning to the players, Vodianov put it simply: "Today, no formal speeches — I want to speak to you from the heart… So for just a moment, let's forget about the standings and thank our mothers, wives, sisters and colleagues. Happy Mother's Day to all!"
Representatives of the participating federations then presented the individual board awards and the team medals.
To close, José Antonio Carrillo Pujol (President, FIDE Americas – CCA) and Timur Turlov (President of the ISCF and CEO of Freedom Holding) declared the American Continental Stage officially closed in a video message shown as part of the highlights film, before the evening ended amid applause and emotion.
What's next
The World Schools Team Championship 2026 cycle now moves to its final continental stage; Europe, in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia (28 September – 3 October), before the leading teams from all four continental stages meet at the Grand Final in December.
Written by Aruzhan Aldasheva and Charlize van Zyl
Photos: Arlan Olzhabay
Round 7
Saco Oliveros began the final day the way they had ended the previous one. Having beaten both of their nearest rivals on Thursday, they opened with a 4-0 sweep of Chile's Saint Gabriel's School, and from that point the title was theirs to lose.
The tension was further down the hall, where the teams behind them were playing for the two remaining qualifying places.
Colegio Madre del Divino Pastor 1½-2½ Harvest Park Middle School
On board one, Zhuoyuan Wu (pictured below) was 199 points the lower rated player against Jasmany Shallom Castillo Romero, and he came out of it with a draw that should have been a win. His opponent erred in a same-coloured bishop endgame and left Wu winning, but endgames are unforgiving with under a minute on the clock, and one error in a critical position turned it into a dead draw.
Harvest Park won boards two and three, and then board four produced the hardest moment of the day. Ruyi Hu, with White, played an excellent game at 96 per cent accuracy. Her opponent blundered and she punished it, winning the queen for a couple of pieces, and by move 33 she was comfortable, up material and completely winning. Her clock was not. Her flag fell in a position she was winning, which is a thing that has happened to every chess player who has ever played with a clock, Magnus Carlsen included. Harvest Park won the match 2½-1½ regardless.
Crescent Heights Academy 2½-1½ Colegio Celta Internacional
Board one brought two closely rated titled players together, FM Lucas Mason Pin Qian Yao against CM Fernando Cortes Medina, and produced no fireworks at all: a balanced game and a peaceful draw. The fireworks were on board two, where Colegio Celta Internacional’s Sophia Itzayana Mote Amasifuen (pictured above), with White, launched a kingside attack and finished it with a sacrifice.
Position of the round
2qbrr2/pp1b1pkp/1np3p1/3pPpNP/3P1B2/2P4R/PP2QPPN/4R1K1 w - - 3 24
White played 24.Nxh7!, drawing the black king onto the h-file, because after 24…Kxh7 25.hxg6+ there is no defence. The game finished 25…Kg8 26.Qh5 fxg6 27.Qh7#.
On boards three and four, Aiden Yin and CM Andrew Yin both outplayed their opponents comfortably and took the match for Canada.
Round 8
Saco Oliveros de Lince 4-0 Martin Klein Schiller
The champions finished as they had started the day, with another clean sweep.
Marcos Beltrán Meneses Morales won comfortably on board one. On board two, Dante Iván Vilca Contreras was better for most of the game, simplified into an endgame up in material and
converted without difficulty. Board three was the awkward one. WCM Fabiana Jiménez Salas had a shaky opening and found herself in trouble in yet another opposite-side castling game, the shape that has recurred on the top boards all week, with her opponent's pieces the better placed. What followed was volatile enough that the advantage changed hands with almost every move, and it came down to the oldest rule in chess: the winner is whoever does not make the last mistake. Jiménez Salas broke through and set up a mate that could not be stopped.
On board four, Rihanna Irina Rojas Salas was the first player in the hall to finish, and she finished on a perfect score.
Crescent Heights Academy 2-2 Colegio Madre del Divino Pastor
Second place was still live when this match began, and it was decided here. The two Yins won their games quickly, but board one went the other way. Both players, Yao, Lucas Mason Pin Qian as White, and Castillo Romero, Jasmany Shallom (pictured above) as Black, misplayed the opening, and then White committed a positional error that handed Black a sizeable advantage. An incorrect breakthrough on the queenside produced a passed pawn that Black had no trouble containing, White began dropping pawns, and the position fell apart. The 2-2 draw left Crescent Heights third rather than second.
Harvest Park Middle School 3-1 Harrison College School
On board one, Zhuoyuan Wu drew with the higher rated AIM Jeremiah Farley, having had chances. On board two, FM Patrick Liu outrated Charis Stuart by 640 points, built an
advantage that only grew, and had no trouble converting it. Ethan Sun played a clean positional game on board three; his opponent eventually dropped a pawn, and with the extra material, the more active position and far more time on the clock, Sun converted.
And on board four, Ruyi Hu's (pictured above) luck turned. Her opponent missed a moment to take a free piece, and the draw was agreed immediately afterwards.
Saco Oliveros finished with seven wins and a draw and did not lose a match all week. The only match points they dropped in eight rounds came in round two, against Colombus American School.
Three perfect scores
Nine players were still unbeaten after four rounds. Three finished the championship having won every game they played:
- Rihanna Irina Rojas Salas, Saco Oliveros de Lince, Peru, board four
- Aiden Yin, Crescent Heights Academy, Canada, board three
- William Nicolás Rodríguez, Colombus American School, Colombia, board one
Two of the three are on teams heading to the Grand Final. Rodríguez is not: Colombus American School finished twelfth. He played board one in all eight rounds, against the strongest opposition each team could put in front of him, and won all eight.
A fourth player finished on 100 per cent: Sayel Sebastián Vega Portilla of Don Bosco Macas won all six games on the reserve board.
The three qualifying teams took a board prize each on boards one to four, and Costa Rica took second and third on the reserve board.
A final afternoon for the players
Before the closing ceremony, the last afternoon still belonged to the players. A Dance Workshop filled the activity area, before a Kahoot Chess Quiz rounded off the side programme from a lively, competitive finish that kept the energy high right to the end.
A farewell to San José
The championship ended as it had begun: with players, coaches, parents and officials gathered together. The official closing ceremony opened with gratitude to those who made the week possible, chief among them Freedom Holding Corp., the main sponsor of the American Continental Stage and General Partner of the International School Chess Federation, together with the Costa Rican Institute of Sport and Recreation (ICODER) and the Costa Rican Chess Federation.
The Costa Rican national anthem and the FIDE anthem opened the evening. A highlights film then looked back on the week in San José, and as familiar faces flashed across the screen the children were invited to cheer whenever they spotted themselves. They did so loudly and without hesitation, the hall filling with shouts of recognition and bursts of laughter that turned the recap into one of the warmest, most emotional moments of the night.
The evening also carried a special significance: 15 August is Mother's Day in Costa Rica. In the days before, each child had prepared a card and a few words for their mother, and during the ceremony these heartfelt greetings were shared with the hall; a wave of thank-yous, drawings and tender little messages, as the young players sent their love to the mothers who had cheered them on from home. Rather than deliver a formal speech, ISCF Chief Operating Officer Andrei Vodianov dedicated his remarks to the occasion, offering a heartfelt tribute to the mothers who make every young player's journey possible.
Turning to the players, Vodianov put it simply: "Today, no formal speeches — I want to speak to you from the heart… So for just a moment, let's forget about the standings and thank our mothers, wives, sisters and colleagues. Happy Mother's Day to all!"
Representatives of the participating federations then presented the individual board awards and the team medals.
To close, José Antonio Carrillo Pujol (President, FIDE Americas – CCA) and Timur Turlov (President of the ISCF and CEO of Freedom Holding) declared the American Continental Stage officially closed in a video message shown as part of the highlights film, before the evening ended amid applause and emotion.
What's next
The World Schools Team Championship 2026 cycle now moves to its final continental stage; Europe, in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia (28 September – 3 October), before the leading teams from all four continental stages meet at the Grand Final in December.
Written by Aruzhan Aldasheva and Charlize van Zyl
Photos: Arlan Olzhabay
