Eight of the 18 Cubans participated on behalf of the United States, Colombia, Spain, Paraguay, Mexico, Panama and Cape Verde.
14ymedio, Havana, 13 September 2024 — There have not been too many challenges for the hitherto undefeated Cuban delegation at the Budapest Chess Olympiad. High-calibre players such as Luis Ernesto Quesada and Yniemig Hernández – who remain loyal to the regime – have triumphed in the Hungarian capital against lesser teams such as South Africa or Malaysia. This Friday, with their match against Spain, this good run is at risk of coming to an end.
On the other hand – and in a scenario similar to that of the Olympic Games – of the 18 Cubans who traveled to Budapest, eight will play representing other countries. This is the case of Leinier Domínguez, the best living Cuban chess player, who plays under the flag of the United States; Roberto Pantoja (Colombia); Neuris Delgado and Jennifer Pérez (Paraguay); Zenia Corrales and Tania Miranda (Mexico); Roberto Carlos Sánchez (Panama) and Mariano Ortega (Cape Verde).
Domínguez, as expected, is the most successful player so far as part of a delegation of great champions, such as Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So and Levon Aronian. With a 2,748 Elo rating – the score that expresses the experience of a chess player – the Cuban has beaten his rivals, the Panamanian Alex Delgado and the Singaporean Jagadeesh Siddharth.
In both the open and women’s categories, Spain – with which Cuba often has close matches in international competitions – has top-ranked chess players, such as the Iranian exile Sara Kahdem (known for playing without a hijab in 2022, in protest against the death of Mahsa Amini), and the Latvian Alexei Shirov. Spain is also one of the favorites of the event and is already among the top five places.
Cuba finished the second round in 32nd place in the open category and 29th in the women’s category
In Round 3, which will be held this Friday, Camagüeyan Carlos Daniel Albornoz will face Shirov, and Oleiny Linares will face Khadem, in what will be two of the most interesting duels of the day. Among the other members of the squad – four Cubans playing against four Spaniards – are Quesada, current national champion, Hernández and Omar Quintana, all with exemplary performances this year.
Cuba finished the second round in 32nd place in the open category and 29th in the women’s category. It is in this last category where the successes have been most notable. The Cubans beat Sudan and then Malaysia, two relentless clashes. Only Santiago’s Oleiny Linares, who is making her debut in the Olympic category, obtained half a point with a draw, after 35 moves with Malaysia’s Liting Tan, the rest of the squad achieved victories.
The Budapest Olympiad will have 11 rounds and is currently led by India, Slovenia, Georgia, the United States and China in the open category, and Poland, Spain, Armenia, Iran, Argentina and China in the women’s category. The event – as is usual in chess – has become a miniature of current geopolitics and how it affects sports.
Of the 201 countries registered with the International Federation, only 175 participated in the first round, while 23 had their visas rejected by the Hungarian government, according to El País. Among the nations without a delegation are Afghanistan — where chess is banned by order of the Taliban — and Palestine.
The migration obstacles imposed by Viktor Orbán’s administration have also prevented the refugee team, who were in Nairobi (Kenya), from reaching Budapest, although the Spanish newspaper claims that they have already been granted visas. In the case of the Afghans, who had to travel to Iran to complete the paperwork, they are still waiting for their documents.
In all cases, the Hungarian government has claimed that it was unable to verify – despite multiple endorsements – that these were “real” players. There have also been complaints about the overpriced hotels and meals for the chess players. Hungary is also the homeland of Judith Polgar, a true chess prodigy and the only woman in history to have been among the world’s top ten players.
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