Category: Jorge Luis León

The Nobility of the Chess Player

La patria, homeland, that word that for some is barely an echo—is the largest chessboard that life gives us. And on it, each person must decide whether to play like a knight or to crawl like a pawn.

Capablanca knew that true glory in the game of chess couldn’t be sullied by dirty politics or by a despot’s ambitions. / CC

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Jorge Luis León, Houston, 30 June 2025 – It was Savielly Tartakower who, with an acuity that distinguished him as much off as on the chessboard, uttered the following sentence which still resonates today with some force:

“Chess is only a game; any nobility attributed to it is owing, without a doubt, to any nobility in those who play it.”

This sentence contains a deep truth. Chess, in itself, is just a mixture of rules, pieces and movements. But when honest men take up the game and when they turn it into a way of life, those of them who don’t compromise themselves through lying then ennoble the game; it becomes dignified and reaches an ethical dimension that goes beyond any art or sport.

Capablanca: honour versus power

Cuba, cradle of one of the most immortal geniuses of chess, found in José Raúl Capablanca not just a world champion, but a man of principle. Few people know or remember that during Gerardo Machado’s dictatorship there were attempts at using him as a propaganda tool for the regime. Capablanca refused, with elegance but also with firmness. He knew that true glory in the game of chess couldn’t be sullied by dirty politics or by a despot’s ambitions. He was an example of that nobility that Tartakower had revered. He never betrayed his dignity, even when silence could have been easier.

Cuba, cradle of one of the most immortal geniuses of chess, found in José Raúl Capablanca not just a world champion, but a man of principle

Miguel Alemán: voice of the people and of conscience

In more recent times another name shone out in my memory as a symbol of courage: Miguel Alemán, ex national champion of Cuba, a modest gentleman, he stayed away from public focus but remained immense in his truth. I listened to him speaking when I was barely an adolescent in a small chess club:

“Living under dictatorship is unbearable.”

He said it without embellishment, without fear, and with the simple clarity of a pawn who sacrifices himself for the greater good. Years later, ill and continue reading

lying in a hospital bed, he reaffirmed to me the same thing: “The revolution is a swindle.” And with these words his consistency was confirmed. He was never recompensed for his talent, never exalted by the system, but today he figures as a giant in the face of many others’ cowardly silence.

Dignity on the chessboard

What has become of Cuban chess players in these our tragic times? Where is their nobility? Why are they so full only of analysis, of replayed matches, of calculated movements and detail, whilst Cuba is being pushed into the abyss of desperation?

Perhaps it’s simply enough for them to adjust their player’s seat and set the timer while the nation bleeds and dies beyond the edges of their chessboard? No need to defend anything more than a well-plotted chess move? Where are their voices whilst the fatherland is trapped, whilst the people – the same ones that applaud them during their tournaments – are drowning in misery?

Many of these chess players, some of them with enviable academic titles – lawyers, historians, sociologists – have preferred to stay silent. Or even worse, they’ve decided to repeat empty slogans about the “blockade”, joining in with the con like docile pieces in a match that lacks any dignity. In their social networks they show brilliant chess moves, digital chessboards, victories which save nobody. And not a word about the repression, not a single gesture in the face of all the people’s pain. They settle for a few crumbs here and there, a bit of travel, a medal. Some even openly declare “fidelity” to Cuba’s tormentor.

Other examples, same shame

In other parts of the world there’ve been chess players who raised their voices. Gary Kasparov, for example, openly confronted Putin’s regime, knowing he was putting his own safety at risk. He chose the truth. He chose to be a man over being a champion. He didn’t sell his voice for a title or for a chair on some committee.

In Iran, champion player Dorsa Derakhshani was expelled from the national team for not wearing the veil in one tournament. She refused to give in, refused to pretend

In Iran, champion player Dorsa Derakhshani was expelled from the national team for not wearing the veil in one tournament. She refused to give in, refused to pretend. Today she represents the United States and continues to speak up for the oppressed. What does this tell us about force of character?

Silences that are betrayals

I have put questions to a few Cuban chess players. I’ve spoken to them with respect, called on them to join the debate, to bare their souls. The majority told me I should just keep silent. Others, more cowardly, simply blocked me. Is that the fortitude of a chess master? Is that the spirit of Caïssa? No. It’s just the alternative sham for which they have preferred to bend the knee.

I say this to them, out of a passion I’ve had for the game since infancy:

Your dignity is worth so much more than any medal, than any trophy, than any foreign trip.

The fatherland – a word that for some is merely an echo – is the biggest chessboard that life has given us. And on it, each one of us must decide whether to play like a gentleman, or whether to be sold, as a pawn, and swept away.

The nobility of a chess player isn’t measured by their titles, but rather by their commitment to the truth. It’s in their refusal to be complicit.

Today more than ever, Cuba needs chess players to play the hardest match of all: that of dignity against oppression. And in that match there is no possibility of a draw.

Either you win with honour, or you lose forever.

Translated by Ricardo Recluso

Chile Faces the Danger of Following in Cuba’s Footsteps

Although they were all fair demands, the way of expressing them through citizen “revolts,” in which the current president Gabriel Boric also participated, left much to be desired / Twitter/Archivo

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Houston, Jorge Luis León, 15 March 2024 — Chile is a beautiful and vigorous country – I saw this when I visited my Chilean family in 1996 – but the political instability and constant protests that shook the country distorted that beauty. The Estallido Social, a social outburst that lasted from October 2019 to March 2021, has been one of the most violent in recent years. Many say this was the moment of the “awakening of Chile”; others describe the protests as a “big mistake” that weakened the country enormously. For me, the outburst exceeded the limits that Chilean democracy could endure.

The trigger was the increase in public transport rates, later joined by demands for reform in the health and education sectors, as well as with pensions. Although they were all fair claims, the way of expressing them through citizen “revolts,” in which the current President Gabriel Boric also participated, left much to be desired.

The violence covered Santiago and quickly spread to other regions of the country. The “awakening” left about 34 dead, in addition to thousands wounded and arrested. On the economic front, the losses amounted to 3.3 billion dollars, between 100,000 and 300,000 jobs, the devaluation of the Chilean peso and a decline in the country’s economic growth. continue reading

The “awakening” left about 34 dead, in addition to thousands wounded and arrested   

This was the situation when Boric came to the presidency in 2022. His program promised everything that citizens had demanded during the demonstrations: justice, order, increase in the minimum wage, improvements in education and health, and, as a highlight, a new Constitution for the country. So far, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, although the inclusion of several communist politicians in his cabinet raised suspicions.

In the long run, the Administration demonstrated its inability and clumsiness in governing, to the point that 65% of the population disapproves of its management. Nothing has been resolved. On the contrary, new problems have arisen with few solutions, and the Government “advances” blindly in the face of many possible missteps.

One of the scenarios where Boric’s poor political judgment was clearly perceived was the creation of a preliminary draft of a new constitution for Chile, with which he intended to divide the country into multiple nations. Naturally, the proposal was rejected by the Chileans. Weren’t there enough elements to suggest that such clumsiness would not pass the scrutiny of the people? Yes, there were, but a myopic president and an unprepared government team could not perceive them.

This is how things continue in a country that was called at some point, with good reason, the “locomotive of South America.” If this Government does not rectify its course, if it persists in blindly following the continent’s far left, the consequences are predictable: stagnation, poverty and, what is worse, hopelessness.

Let’s look in our own mirror: Cuba, one of the most prosperous nations in Latin America, became one of the poorest. I hope history doesn’t leave the Chileans, like us, mortally wounded.

Translated by Regina Anavy    

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