Panama Gold Medal Winner – Ashley Castillo of Bocas Del Toro

Ashley Castillo gave Panama joy by winning the gold medal in the Under-18 Open category of the Pan American Youth Chess Championship taking place in Orlando, Florida (United States).  Castillo was the best of a total of 36 participants. She was also the only lady, and representative of Panama, who competed in that division, in which chess players from countries such as the United States, Canada, Mexico, Canada, Guatemala, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Brazil, Venezuela, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Aruba and the Dominican Republic participated. The native of the province of Bocas del Toro holds the title of FIDE Master, which is the third highest award given by the International Chess Federation to women. In addition to her, there were 11 other participants with the title of masters; eight FIDE Masters and three Candidate Masters. Currently, Ashley has a standard rating of 2028. The event finishes up today Saturday July 20.