Cuban chess players Leinier Domínguez and Thalía Cervantes proved their worth in the US Chess Championship. Domínguez took third place, while Cervantes obtained the same result in the women’s league of the competition.
Cervantes, only 19 years old, lived up to his title of Grand Master and won five games in a row and achieved six draws against rivals who, for the most part, exceeded his Elo rating, the system that measures the experience of a chess player. The young woman has accumulated 8 Elo points so far, according to Full Swing.
Jennifer Yu defeated Cervantes in the US Chess Championship in 57 moves. In the event, the Grand Master defeated Tatev Abrahamyan (2,308 Elo), Sabina Foisor (2,203), Megan Lee (2,226), Ashritha Eswaran (2,365) and Gulrukhbegim Tokhirjonova (2,336). For the third place she was awarded a prize of 20,000 dollars
Cervantes, who grew up playing chess in his Havana neighborhood, left the island with his family at the age of 11. The Saint Louis Chess Club, in Missouri, the same city where the Championship is held, served the young woman to perfect her technique after eight hours of daily practice.
Thalía Cervantes, who grew up playing chess in her Havana neighborhood, left the island with her family at the age of 11
Her talent led her to be accepted as a junior member of Webster University’s Chess Excellence program. In that study center, Cervantes continued her apprenticeship with its most veteran members, whom she managed to easily defeat.
Cervantes’ rise has been unstoppable since July, when he won second place, by a tie, in the Junior Women’s Chess Championship, an award that came with $3,500.
For his part, Leinier Domínguez, considered the best Cuban chess player since the world champion of the 1920s, José Raúl Capablanca, concluded the contest with a quick draw against his counterpart Sam Shankland (2,712 Elo), after a game in ten moves, with defense Sicilian in round 13, according to the official website of the event.
The Idol of Güines, as he is known, closed his participation with 7.5 Elo, the same score that the 19-year-old American converter Awonder Liang achieved (2,608). Domínguez added two wins and 11 draws. The Grand Master was not defeated in any confrontation and managed to obtain a reward of 30,000 dollars. In second place was the American Ray Robson and the winner was the Italian-American Fabiano Caruana.
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