Cuba’s Linares wins her 4th chess title!
Oleiny Linares Napoles won her 4th national title during the Cuban women’s championship from February 9th-20th. The event was a 12-player round-robin taking place in José Raúl Capablanca Academy in Camagüey. Linares has been a regular on The Chess Drum and was last featured after winning her 3rd championship. The Santiago de Cuba famously won a silver medal at the 2008 Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany. Her latest feat was a great challenge as the result was still in doubt in the last round.
WGM Oleiny Linares emerged as the winner of the 57th Cuban Women’s Championship, winning her third national title. ??
— International Chess Federation (@FIDE_chess) February 21, 2023
The event took place in the José Raúl Capablanca Academy in Camagüey from February 09-20.
Read more: https://t.co/DdNLyt42W1 pic.twitter.com/OKpKxUwYj1
According to the FIDE report,
In a dramatic final round, Ordaz suffered a defeat with the white pieces at the hands of Yaniela Forgas, whereas Linares drew her game with Yoana Gonzalez and clinched the title by scoring 8.5/11. The champion became the only paricipant to complete the tournament unbeaten. Lisandra Ordaz had to settle for silver.
Yerisbel Miranda finished on 7/11 and took bronze.
Linares had reached a peak of 2378, but in recent times has seen a rating decline of below-2200. However, this title shows that she is still capable of competing at a high level. The Chess Drum community would like to congratulate Ms. Linares on her latest accomplishment!
Final Standings
| 1 | WGM | Linares Napoles, Oleiny | 2179 | 8½ |
| 2 | IM | Ordaz Valdes, Lisandra | 2312 | 8 |
| 3 | WGM | Miranda Llanes, Yerisbel | 2269 | 7 |
| 4 | WGM | Forgas Moreno, Yaniela | 2304 | 6½ |
| 5 | WGM | Arribas Robaina, Maritza | 2225 | 6 |
| 6 | WFM | Muniz Guevara, Amanda | 2057 | 5½ |
| 7 | FM | Hernandez Machado, Patricia | 2143 | 5½ |
| 8 | WIM | Hernandez Gil, Ineymig | 2158 | 4½ |
| 9 | WIM | Gonzalez Ochoa, Yoana | 2104 | 4½ |
| 10 | WIM | Obregon Garcia, Roxangel | 2158 | 4 |
| 11 | WFM | Gutierrez Espinosa, Karen | 2110 | 3½ |
| 12 | WFM | Cabrera Ladron, Mayra | 1923 | 2½ |
Photo: Federación Cubana de Ajedrez
