Hector Luis Fuentes Wins in His Chess Olympiad Debut

Holguin-born National Master Héctor Luis Fuentes de Feria contributed to Cuba’s 3-1 victory over Kazakhstan 2 in the opening round of the Chess Olympiad for People with Disabilities held in Astana on Monday.

Hector Luis, the only Cuban debutant in these events and on board three. Defeated Erlan Nurhayev with dark figures in 41 moves using a Queen’s Pawn.

The other Cuban victory was for Carlos Larduet. While Pedro Morales, on board one, and Idalis Batista, playing on board four, drew.

Some 15 teams emerged victorious in this first round. Including the International Federation’s top team, Venezuela, Uzbekistan, and India. All with victories on all four boards.

Cuba, which is in ninth place, will face a strong Indian team based on a tiebreaker system. Héctor Luis Fuentes could face Gangolli Kishan, a 2,030-rated player who occupied the third board for his team in the opening round.