Luis Ernesto Quesada is the new national chess champion

February 15, 2024

Luis Ernesto Quesada conquered this Wednesday, February 14th, the title of the 2024 Holguín Absolute National Chess Championship, after a grueling day that ended with a series of rapid games to determine the champion.

As stipulated by the regulations, the triple tie at the top between the Avilean Luis Ernesto, the Havanan Omar Almeida and the Camagüeyan Carlos Daniel Albornoz, with seven points after the ten rounds of the calendar, forced the extra segment among them.

In the round corresponding to this Wednesday, Luis Ernesto drew with the Villa Clara player Ermes Espinosa, Almeida with the Tunas player Michel Alejandro Díaz and Albornoz against the Santiago player Lelys Martínez. This set the scene for the agreed double-round playoff, raising the tension to the maximum at the Holguín Sports Museum.

Almeida took a solid step by defeating Albornoz and drawing with Luis Ernesto. Shortly after, he repeated his success against the Agramon player, but when he seemed to have the crown in his hands, he fell in the second game against the Avilean.

All eyes then turned to the table where Luis Ernesto and Albornoz sat. A draw would have opened the doors of the throne to Almeida, but it did not happen for the first one's good fortune.

The Avilean writes his name for the first time on Cuba's list of kings, six years after achieving the title of Chess Grand Master. He currently occupies the second position in the national ranking with 2,560 Elo points, which placed him among the favorites before the tournament.

Beyond the victory, he returns home with another prize: a spot on the Cuban team that in September will participate in the Budapest 2024 Chess Olympiad.

Almeida finished in second place ahead of Albornoz. They were followed by Lelys (6.5 points), the Havanan Dylan Berdayes (6) and the Spiritus player Kemel Gallo (6). The top ten was completed by Michel Alejandro (6), the Camagüeyan Jorge Roberto Elías (6), Ermes (5.5) and the local Rider Díaz (5.5), in that order.