Hail, Leinier, those who love chess salute you

There are those who think that being part of a strong roster (alongside Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So, Levon Aronian…) simplifies things, but I am sorry to say that they are wrong. The reason is simple: these tournaments are governed by the Swiss System, which forces the powerful teams to face practically all the big candidates to win. In other words, there is hardly any respite, and every day you are faced with a player capable of punishing any slip-up.

In the particular case of the former first Antillean board, among his adversaries were a former world champion (Ruslan Ponomariov), a dangerous Hungarian of Russian origin (Sanan Sjugirov), the number four in the world ranking (Arjun Erigaisi) and an Olympic and world team champion (Yangyi Yu).

Overall, Leinier collected 5.5 points out of a possible nine (four wins, two losses and three draws), played for a Performance Rating of 2651 and was instrumental in the ninth round victory over the Magyars. Thus, although he dropped seven points from his Elo rating of 2748, the silver medal he won added another page to a record already full of exploits.

It is worth remembering that the 41-year-old Cuban-American has not stopped appearing in the Top 20 of players with the highest coefficient since May 2019, and who from July 2008 to date has never been below the 2700 point barrier. Beyond the talent he brought to life, his strength has been the consistency in work and stability in results.

A true Cuban pride, Leinier was the spearhead of a Caribbean squad that certainly did not achieve outstanding results. Neither the members of the two national teams, nor the other seven chess players who competed under other flags, were able to achieve them.

As for the island teams, the men started in 35th place before the competition and finished in 46th, while the girls fared even worse (they had an average coefficient of 29 and ended in 55th place). On a personal level, the only things worth mentioning are the performances of the debutant Elier Miranda and the veteran Maritza Arribas.

Meanwhile, among the ‘legionaries’ the best was provided by the experienced Neuris Delgado at the second Paraguayan table, and Roberto Carlos Sánchez, at the forefront of the Panamanian quartet.

The Budapest Olympics are over. In September 2026, with the Uzbek city of Tashkent as the venue, the event will return. Will Leinier remain in the very strong American squad? Will the national representation climb positions? Will there be more Cubans competing for other countries? Time will tell.