The international chess tournament Capablanca in Memoriamwhich will begin its actions in Havana this Tuesday, will be “attractive” despite the absence of figures of the highest level such as the Ukrainian Grand Master Vassily Ivanchuk, in the opinion of specialists.
“It is true that Ivanchuk will be missed. However, those who are involved this time are also high-level players.” said the coach of the Cuban national team, Rodney Pérez, to the specialized site Hithours before the opening of the tournament that will be played in the halls of the Cuban National Hotel.
The event will have five sections and opens this Monday at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba with players from 24 countries.https://t.co/D3grtAyQSL
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Ivanchuk has been the figure that has captured the spotlight in the most recent editions of the most important tournament in Chess de la Isla, in which he has conquered the crown of the main group eight times, recalls the digital medium.
«The Elite group will be luxurious with five players with more than 2600 ELO points and I trust that the Cubans will offer a good fight. They are in very good shape, especially Yasser Quesada and Carlos Daniel Albornoz,” Rodney said.
The source specifies that in the main section of the 55th edition of the contest there will be, in addition to Yasser (2,579 Elo points and current national monarch) and Albornoz (2,574), the also hosts Isán Ortiz (2,533), Omar Almeida (2,536) and Luis Ernesto Quesada (2519), all with options to be included in the Antillean cast that will participate in the next Chess Olympiad, in the Indian city of Chennai.
As for the visitors, the presence of the Argentine Sandro Mareco (2652) stands out, winner of the recent Ibero-American tournament and possessor of an aggressive style with which he could give away attractive games, he points out Hit.
The American Hans Niemann (2637) will be the youngest of the group, since he participates with just 18 years of age and little more than a year after graduating as Grand Master, although he already has important triumphs in his career, limits the media.
Also included in the top-level draw is India’s Surya Ganguly (2609), winner of more than 40 national and international tournaments and a member of former world champion Viswanathan Anand’s team.
The information adds that the Turk and twice monarch of his country, Mustafa Yilmaz (2624), and the Azeri Vasif Durarbayli (2628) complete the most prestigious section of the fair. With them, the number of chess players with ELO higher than 2600, all foreigners, is rounded off.
The Cuban tournament, considered one of the main chess classics in Latin America, also convened the Premier groups (only for women), Senior (players over 60), Open (with more than 120 registered) and Looking for a Capablanca (under 16 years).
