Cuba's Ineymig Hernández Wins Silver at the Chess Olympiad, Ending a Decade Without an Individual Medal

September 28, 2026

Cuban Woman International Master Ineymig Hernández Gil closed the 46th Chess Olympiad in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, with an individual silver medal on board four, finishing 8 points from 9 games without a single loss, according to OnCubaNews and Columna Deportiva, whose accounts of the final standings match. Only Kazakhstan's Elnaz Kaliakhmet outperformed her on the board.

The Camagüey native went undefeated through the tournament with seven wins and two draws, posting a performance rating of 2443 and gaining 57.6 rating points along the way — including a win over Polish grandmaster Monika Socko in the penultimate round. Her result marks Cuba's first individual podium finish at a Chess Olympiad in a decade, Columna Deportiva reported.

Hernández's silver lifted Cuba's women's team to 31st place among 189 nations, four spots better than its seeding, with a 6-2-3 match record. Cuba's open team finished 53rd, below its 44th seeding, with players Elías and Berdayes each scoring 6.5 points across ten games.

The result caps a tournament in which Uzbekistan and China took the overall team titles, while Hernández's individual showing stood out as one of the brightest spots for the Cuban delegation, according to Cuban sports media.