Cuban-American chess player Leinier Domínguez among the 10 best in the world
The Cuban-American Grandmaster Leinier Domínguez ranked among the 10 best chess players in the world, a list headed by the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, followed by the Americans Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura.
“Something to celebrate with my followers. Thank you all for your messages of support,” said the Cuban Grandmaster on his social networks, sharing an image with the table of the first 20 chess players worldwide.
With an Elo of 2756.2 points, Domínguez appears in seventh position in the table, a more than creditable place if one takes into account that the fourth place is the current world champion, the Chinese Ding Liren.
The Cuban-American chess player came second in the recently concluded 2023 Sinquefield Cup, which Caruana won. The son of Italian parents and born in Miami won the prize of $100,000, while Domínguez won the prize of $65,000 destined for second place.
Domínguez drew in his last game against Levon Aronian in a 33-move game, according to the chessbase.com site.
In a Berlin with 4.d3 Aronian didn't get much out of the opening, apart from a bit of central pressure. Domínguez played solidly and achieved the key break of the d5 pawn, leveling the situation. From there the pieces were exchanged quite quickly, as the players entered a completely even rook ending.
Despite being one of the leaders of the Sinquefield Cup, the American of Cuban origin has seen his aspirations to participate in the next Candidates tournament, the big event of 2024, become complicated, all due to a rule change introduced at the last minute by the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
Beyond the result of the complex and controversial regulatory problem, the Sinquefield Cup is not shining as a spectacle, according to specialized media. Despite its impressive list of participants or precisely because of it, the percentage of draws is overwhelming, close to 80%.
Of the 32 games played, only seven did not end in a draw: Domínguez is one of those who have achieved two victories. In the opinion of the specialized media, closed tournaments in which there are only super grandmasters are becoming less and less convincing, since the fear of losing points or losing is exaggerated, and with the equality that exists between them, almost no one takes a risk.
This fear of lowering the points drives Grandmasters to sign ties after a few moves, something that goes against the brilliance of the show.
At the moment, six of the eight places for the Candidates tournament are filled. The tournament will be played in April 2024, in Toronto, and lan Nepomniachtchi, Hikaru Nakamura, Vidit Gujrathi, Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu and Fabiano Caruana have already qualified. Another who is more in than out is Nijat Abasov, although according to damasyreyes.es, it depends on Magnus Carlsen keeping his word and not regretting having said that he would not fight for the title again.
Of the two remaining places, one is decided by the FIDE Circuit classification, led by Caruana (does not count), Anish Giri and Gukesh Dommaraju, and in which there are still tournaments to be held, such as the one that began this Thursday in Llobregat , Spain. Four other competitions may provide or subtract points from players.
The last place is achieved through the Elo list that is published in January 2024. Firouzja had quite an advantage, which he has surprisingly squandered in San Luis. Now Domínguez's great enemy is his compatriot Wesley So. The top ten of the Elo list, which changes every day. Domínguez has risen six places
The winner in Toronto, as he is known, will receive a good amount of money, but above all he will have the opportunity to challenge the current world champion, Ding Liren.
