Bermuda has returned from the world's biggest team chess event with new international title achievements and a series of strong performances across both national teams.

The two-week 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, was the largest in history, with a record 394 teams competing — 205 in the open section and 189 in the women's event — and more than 3,000 players, captains and officials gathering.

Two of Bermuda’s biggest successes came from Nathan Dennis and 13-year-old Dylan Flanagan, who both achieved the performance requirements for the FIDE Candidate Master title.

Mr Dennis finished with 4.5 points from 11 games, while Mr Flanagan scored 4.5 from 10, including victories over opponents from Saint Kitts & Nevis, Senegal, Brunei and Namibia.

On the women's team, Yasmin Flanagan produced a superb tournament, scoring seven points from nine games and achieving the performance requirement for the Woman FIDE Master title.

Her title becomes effective once she meets FIDE's required rating threshold.

It also created a memorable family story, with mother and son Yasmin and Dylan Flanagan both achieving international title results at the same Olympiad.

The Bermuda Open team of Christian Guanzon, candidate master Don Dacres, Nathan Dennis, Dylan Flanagan and Wolde Place, captained by international master Mihnea Costachi, finished with seven match points.

Among the highlights was Mr Guanzon’s victory over 2071-rated FIDE master semplice Armel De Gondo, while Mr Dennis and Mr Flanagan both produced important results against higher-rated opposition.

A spokesman for Bermuda Chess said: “The players showed tremendous resilience through 11 demanding rounds. They kept fighting, kept learning and represented Bermuda with real pride.

“To leave the world's biggest chess event with two new candidate master performances is a tremendous achievement.”

The Bermuda women's team of Kaelyn Fleming, Yasmin Flanagan, Sophia Burch, Kelly Massa and Francesca Cressall-Haycock, captained by candidate master Sami Lill, finished with six match points, recording victories over Djibouti, Dominica and Chad.

Every member of the team contributed points, while three players were competing in their first Olympiad.

Cressall-Haycock, 13, also celebrated her first victory at Olympiad level.

A spokeswoman for the teams said that the results marked an important step forward for Bermuda chess and underlined the progress being made by both the open and women’s teams on the international stage.