All the Elite Group’s entertainers are already on Cuban soil, led by Russian GM Volodar Murzin.
The successful closing of the Ajeduni 2025 University Chess Festival and the announcement of details related to the imminent start of a new edition of the International Capablanca in Memoriam Tournament stand out today in the information field of the Game of Science in Cuba.
The organisers spoke to the press about both events and other activities that will take place from Friday in Varadero, at a meeting held at the Convent of Belen, in Old Havana.
Regarding the Capablanca in Memoriam – for the fourth time with headquarters in the famous resort – and the Central American Championship of the U-20 category, the president of the Cuban Chess Federation (FCA), Carlos Rivero, confirmed that everything is ready to host intense days for the benefit of contestants and fans.
The Meliá Internacional de Varadero and Barceló Solymar-Arenas Blancas hotels will host the actions of the almost 500 participants who will animate the different groups and the infant-juvenile training camp, which will coincide with the competitions.
In the Elite section, the main attraction of the Capablanca, it has been confirmed that all the players have already arrived in the country. Of the five registered GMs, four will play as visitors, headed by the current world rapid world champion, Volodar Murzin (2658 Elo points).
The others will be Denmark’s Jonas Bulh-Bjorre (2641), Macedonia’s Evgeny Romanov (2599) and Russia’s Arseniy Nesterov (2587). Carlos Daniel Albornoz (2548) is the only Cuban in the group with an average Elo of 2607.
The presence of other players with international ranking was also ratified in the Open group, in which the remaining players of the national pre-selections will move pieces together with foreign experts, such as the Canadian Alexandre Lesige (2500) and the Spaniard José Fernando Cuenca (2495).
The Veterans and Seniors, as well as the Children’s U-8, U-12 and U-16 age groups, round off the extensive programme of the chess festival, which will be attended by representatives of 30 national federations.
Of the Central American Under-20 – scheduled to take place between the 12th and 17th – it was announced that 41 players will take part in the Open competition and 21 in the women’s segment.
Players from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia, Honduras, Panama and Cuba are already on the list, which could increase in the coming hours.
TIGHT CLOSURE IN AJEDUNI
In the old Havana religious institution known as the Convent of Bethlehem, the curtains came down the day before with the crowning of the Sahovsky Pushkin THL team, after nine rounds, in which they accumulated 20 points out of a possible 27.
To define the winner of the title it was necessary to apply the tie-break formula, which sent the surprising team Ajedrez Luego Existo, made up of children and young talents from the Soñando a Capablanca project, to second place.
The Full Genius team, with 19 points, completed the podium of the tournament which, beyond the competitive aspect, provided the usual scientific and improvement exchanges for the referees, which were very well received by the participants.
«We are proud that all generations come together here. There are no age limits, it is a party that develops team spirit and is the greatest success of this tournament,» said GM Vivian Ramón, one of the main promoters of this project that began in the 1990s.
As part of the farewell, Master Cuenca offered a simultaneous, after sharing with Professor Roberto Mayor Gutiérrez a master conference entitled Chess giants in Havana.
