In the last list of the top Chess players we published, we went over the best Bulgarian Chess players. Now in this article, we’re ranking the best Cuban Chess players from Cuba, starting with the number ten spot in FIDE.
10. Henry Soto Hernandez
Full name: Henry Soto Hernandez
Title: International Master
Born: 1987
Federation: Cuba
Ratings
World ranking: 720
Rapid: 2407
Blitz: 2477
Classical (std): 2496
Henry Soto Hernandez holds the International Master title awarded to him by FIDE. His best achievement of 2496, a Blitz rating of 2477, and a Rapid rating of 2407 in chess games rank him among the best chess players in both his country and globally. His most significant win was against Stanley Martinez Duany, in which he won 1-0.
9. Arnaldo Fernandez De La Vara
Full name: Arnaldo Fernandez De La Vara
Title: International Master
Born: 1999
Federation: Cuba
Ratings
World ranking: 719
Rapid: N/A
Blitz: 2387
Classical: 2496
Arnaldo Fernandez was presented with the International Master title in 2018 and the FIDE Master title in 2014 by FIDE. He has a standard rating of 2496 and a blitz rating of 2387, and his rapid rating is yet to be announced.
8. Lelys Stanley Martinez Duany
Full name: Lelys Stanley Martinez Duany
Title: Grandmaster
Born: 1985
Federation: Cuba
Ratings
World ranking: 713
Rapid: 2548
Blitz: 2435
Classical: 2497
Martinez Stanley was accorded both the FIDE Grandmaster title, the International Master, and the FIDE Master in 2009. His recent FIDE Rating is 2524, while the highest rating he has achieved is 2528. Stanley’s momentous tournaments include; the 2015 European Club Cup and the 2020 COL Tierra de Atletas-A tournament.
7. Omar Almeida Quintana
Full name: Omar Almeida Quintana
Title: Grandmaster
Born: 1981
Federation: Cuba
Ratings
World ranking: 540
Rapid: 2489
Blitz: 2537
Classical (std): 2523
Quintana Omar was honored with the FIDE Grandmaster title in 2006. His most recent FIDE rating is 2523, with his most excellent FIDE rating being 2593. He shared the first position with Mirzoev Azer in the 18th Torneo International tournament in Albacete.
6. Roberto Garcia Pantoja
Full name: Roberto Garcia Pantoja
Title: Grandmaster
Born: 1992
Federation: Cuba
Ratings
World ranking: 524
Rapid: 2491
Blitz: 2522
Classical: 2525
Garcia Roberto was awarded the FIDE Grandmaster title in 2019, the International Master in 2013, and the FIDE master in 2009. He was also recognized as a FIDE Trainer in 2017. Roberto has played 99 games -26 wins, 55 draws, and 18 losses, placing him at 54.04%. Major tournaments Garcia has played include; the Copa Boliver (2019), the 56th ch-CUB (2019), the 50th the Capablanca Mem Open, and the 53rd Capablanca Mem Open (2018).
5. Yuri Gonzalez Vidal
Full name: Yuri Gonzalez Vidal
Title: Grandmaster
Born: 1981
Federation: Cuba
Ratings
World ranking: 522
Rapid: 2556
Blitz: 2418
Classical (std): 2525
Gonzalez Yuri was awarded the FIDE Grandmaster title in 2015. He attained a peak rating of 2567 in 2019. He was a participant at the FIDE World Cup in 2017. Moreover, in 2014, he played for his country in the Chess Olympiad and the World Chess Tournament in 2015. Of the 189 games, he has an overall record of 51.6%. Among other notable tournaments he has participated in include; the Capablanca Memorial in 2004 and 2016, the 9th Guillermo Garcia Memorial in 2001, the Cuban Championship in 2001, Tromso Olympiad in 2014, Baku Olympiad in 2016, Batumi Olympiad in 2018, and Isle of Man Grand Swiss in 2019.
4. Isan Reynaldo Ortiz Suarez
Full name: Isan Reynaldo Ortiz Suarez
Title: Grandmaster
Born: 1985
Federation: Cuba
Ratings
World ranking: 513
Rapid: 2568
Blitz: 2539
Classical (std): 2526
Isan Reynaldo, the three times Cuban chess hero, was awarded the Grandmaster title in 2011 by FIDE. Reynaldo triumphed greatly in the Cuban chess tournament, with the victory being in 2013, 2014, and 2015. In the 2013 American continental chess tournament, he came second best. During that same year, he took part in the Chess World Cup, and in the first round, he defeated Judith Polgar but got beaten in the second round by Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, which cut short his participation in the tournament.
In 2012 and 2014, Suarez Reynaldo represented his country with other Cuban chess players in the Chess Olympiads tournament. He clinched a silver medal in the tournament after winning five, drawing two and a loss, and a high rating performance of 2766. In 2015, he and the Cuban team participated in the World Team Chess tournament.
3. Luis Ernesto Quesada Perez
Full name: Luis Ernesto Quesada Perez
Title: Grandmaster
Born: 1999
Federation: Cuba
Ratings
World ranking: 430
Rapid: 2503
Blitz: 2469
Classical (std): 2539
Luis Ernesto is a Grandmaster titleholder with a high rating of 2498. He has been able to play over 33 games, with his recent list of games being the 8th Iberoamerican tournament in Mexico. He has three English games, two Benoni Defense games, and two in the Queen’s Pawn Game. Among the players he has played with and won include Humpus Sorensen, Bellon Lopez, and M pantzar.
2. Yasser Quesada Perez
Full name: Yasser Quesada Perez
Title: Grandmaster
Born:1992
Federation: Cuba
Ratings
World ranking: 347
Rapid: 2438
Blitz: 2420
Classical (std): 2560
Quesada Perez earned the Grandmaster title in 2017 from FIDE, becoming the 27th chess player from Cuba to be awarded the title. He has a peak rating of 2582, which he attained in 2019. Perez also clinched the Cuban Chess tournament in 2022. He will take part in the chess world cup 2021 edition.
1. Carlos Daniel Albornoz Cabrera
Full name: Carlos Daniel Albornoz Cabrera
Title: Grandmaster
Born: 2000
Federation: Cuba
Ratings
World ranking: 332
Rapid: N/A
Blitz: 2515
Classical (std): 2566
Cabrera Albornoz received the award of Grandmaster title in 2019 from FIDE. He was victorious over players like Stanley Martinez and Vidal Gonzalez; in clinching the thirtieth edition of the Carlos Torre Memorial cup after ending the competition with 7 out of 9 points in 2008.
After defeating Ibarra Fernando Luis and Mesa Miranda, he again won the thirty-first edition of the Carlos Torre Memorial cup in 2009. They were his closest competitors by scoring seven points from the possible nine. In addition, Cabrera triumphed the Zonal 2.3 championship in San Pedro in 2022 after scoring 7.5/9 points. In 2019, he participated in the chess world cup but was beaten in the first round by Peter Svidler.
That concludes the list of the best Cuban Chess players. If you like list posts like this, you may also be interested in seeing the ten best Indian Chess players or the best Canadian Chess players.
Sources
1. https://www.ecured.cu/Henry_Soto_Hern%C3%A1ndez
2. https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q27524976
3. http://chess-results.com (ed.). «XIV International Open Escacs Torredembarra» . Retrieved July 5, 2016
4. Chessgames.com (ed.). “Biographical note of Lelys Stanley Martínez Duany” (in English) . Retrieved March 8, 2016 .
5. The Week in Chess 1429″. theweekinchess.com. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
6. “Albornoz Cabrera, Carlos Daniel FIDE Chess Profile – Players Arbiters Trainers”. ratings.fide.com. Retrieved 2020-04-21.
7. “Yasser Quesada: Promise or reality?”. en.granma.cu. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
8. “The Week in Chess 1428”. theweekinchess.com. Retrieved 2022-04-14.
9. “Julio Granda convincing winner of the American Continental Championship”. Chessdom. 2013-05-17. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
10. 41st Olympiad Tromso 2014 Open – Cuba Chess-Results