Omar Almeida, undefeated champion of the Excelsior International Chess Tournament in Toronto 2023

September 13, 2023

Omar Almeida, a prominent Cuban chess player, was crowned undefeated champion of the Excelsior International Chess Tournament in Toronto 2023, an event that came to an end last Sunday in Canada.

The Grand Master from Havana had an impeccable farewell in northern lands by achieving consecutive victories over host Aaron Mendes and South Korean player Haneul Park, which earned him a total of 7.5 points out of a possible nine.

During the tournament, Almeida accumulated six victories and three draws, which was enough to place him at the top of the standings thanks to a better tiebreak compared to Razvan Preotu of Canada (7.5) and Victor Mikhalevski of Israel (7).

The victory over Preotu in the fifth round proved to be decisive for Almeida, who acknowledged that match as the most difficult of the entire tournament.

"The game against Preotu was very complex. At one point I sacrificed a piece and we found ourselves in a very complicated position under time pressure, but he made an error and I managed to take advantage of it to win," Almeida commented to JIT, a Cuban sports publication.

"Furthermore, I was able to recover Elo points, one of my most important objectives. I had not done well in a recent tournament in Andorra," he added, referring to his gain of 7.7 rating points.

Currently, Almeida holds an Elo rating of 2,504. His priorities include staying above the 2,500 points mark in order to participate in higher-level events and secure his place in the national preselection.

"Now I will take a break, since I have been participating in tournaments almost continuously since June. I will also prepare for other events scheduled for November and December," Almeida said about his immediate plans.

Furthermore, he has the goal of participating in the IX Ibero-American Absolute Chess Championship in Panama 2023 and in the 33rd Carlos Torre Repetto International Tournament in Mérida 2023, Mexico, both scheduled for late November and the first half of December, before the year ends.