World Cup Fever: From Kingston to Tobago… This World Cup Is for the Mind

While football fans across the Caribbean count down to FIFA, another World Cup is about to put Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago on the global map — for the sharpest minds in sport.

This September 10–17, 2026, the FMJD 9-Star International 10×10 Draughts World Cup comes to Trinidad & Tobago, and the Jamaica Draughts Association (JDA) is preparing to make its boldest international statement yet. Played on the demanding 100-square board with 20 pieces per side, 10×10 draughts is the ultimate test of calculation, stamina, and long-term strategy. For Jamaica, it represents the next great frontier.

The JDA is targeting a historic three-stop international tour to build momentum. This upcoming weekend, July 13–16, the Association’s “Titan Trio” aims to touch down in Memphis, USA for the 57th Annual American Pool Checkers Association Championships.

The mission is clear: International Grandmaster Wayne Alphanso “Shine” Reid will chase a historic 3rd APCA Top Masters title and the formal designation of American Pool Checkers Grandmaster by APCA — an elite credential held by few worldwide. He will be joined by JDA President Deputy Superintendent of Police Jermaine “Titan Tiger” Delattibudiere, who arrives first to handle administrative duties, and 1st Vice President Mickoyan Robinson, JP.

From Memphis, the team’s eyes turn to Huntington, New York for the International Checkers Association of North America/USA 10×10 US Open Championships. This FMJD-rated event is critical preparation as Jamaica pushes to secure official world ratings and title norms following its attainment of provisional FMJD membership for the first time in history under Delattibudiere’s leadership.

The tour culminates in Tobago at the 9-Star World Cup, which carries the highest prize pool of all three events. The JDA intends to send a formidable five-member delegation: Delattibudiere, IGM Reid, Federation Master Jermaine Hutchinson — Jamaica’s highest-placed 10×10 player to date and 2024 National Champion, 2025 National Youth Champion Shavier Jaddo, and 2025 National Youth Championship Runner-Up Justin Angus.

The progress is already showing. Earlier this year Delattibudiere became the first Jamaican to compete in the Blitz section of the 2026 Pan-American 10×10 Championships in Suriname, finishing ahead of players from nations with generations of 10×10 experience. Last month, Delattibudiere also held Suriname’s Federation Master Marcel “Osie” Oostburg to a draw in Kingston, Jamaica.

“While Jamaica has long dominated 8×8 draughts — Jamaican, Pool Checkers, Brazilian and Russian — the 100-square board is our new challenge,” Delattibudiere said. “Memphis, New York, Tobago… this is not just about medals. It’s about building experience for our people ahead of the JDA National 10×10 Championships in November and the JDA National Draughts Championships in December 2026.”

POLICING IN PARTNERSHIP: BOARDS AS A TOOL FOR SAFETY

Beyond the board, Delattibudiere serves as a Deputy Superintendent of Police attached to the St. Mary Division, which has been seeing good reductions in major crimes such as murders and shootings.

He has utilized draughts directly within community intervention strategies, youth clubs, and schools to good effect. With most murders in St. Mary being domestic, the approach combines traditional policing with thinking skills development. Community policing, teaching persons how to think critically and strategically, building forward-thinking skills, using the game as stress relief, and teaching conflict resolution have all become part of the crime fighting toolkit. This is coupled with increased operations, improved investigative capacity, and increased intelligence gathering.

“Aligning thinking skills with strategic management is how we achieve good results,” Delattibudiere explained. “Draughts teaches young people to pause, plan several moves ahead, and consider consequences before they act. That’s policing in partnership — with communities, schools, and families.”

For the JDA, draughts is education in motion. The game builds strategic and critical thinking, problem-solving under pressure, concentration, memory, patience, and sportsmanship — skills that directly support academic performance and youth development. That is why the Association is also working on a historic first: assembling a team of draughts players with disabilities to compete at the upcoming World Championships. This would mark Jamaica’s debut in disability mindsport on the world stage for players who are deaf and physically challenged. “We believe every Jamaican mind deserves a board and a chance,” Delattibudiere stated. “We need the support of corporate Jamaica and our diaspora to make this happen.”

Representing Jamaica across Memphis, New York, and Tobago requires major investment in travel, accommodation, training, and equipment. The JDA is inviting partners in beverages, energy, telecoms, financial services, tourism, and education to align with excellence and nation-building. Sponsorship delivers brand visibility across local, regional, and international media, school and community programs, national championships, and digital platforms.

With the long-term goal of hosting a major international draughts championship on Jamaican soil in 2028, the road through Memphis, New York, and Tobago is the launchpad.
“Today we are learning. Tomorrow we will be challenging. Soon, we intend to be among the world’s best.”

Join us as Team Jamaica flies the Black, Green and Gold with pride.

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