Havana, December 22 (RHC) – A team comprising four men and one woman will represent Cuba at the Intellectual Academy Cup 2026 chess festival, which will be held in the Russian city of Novokuznetsk for the second consecutive year.
The tournament is scheduled for February 16-22 of the upcoming year, and according to Carlos Rivero, president of the Cuban Chess Federation, the Cuban team is comprised of children in the under-13 to under-9 age categories.
Mya Valdés will be the only girl on the team, which also includes Esteban David O’Farrill, Alberto García, Daniel Pernas, and Ángel González, and will be coached by the experienced Danilo Buela.
Of all the players, Mya is the only one returning from the previous edition, when the Cuban squad won the bronze medal with 68.5 points, finishing behind Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, who scored 103 and 87.5 points, respectively.
Rivero mentioned that the selection of players was based on results in national and international events, as well as the change in age range proposed by the tournament organizers.
In the 2025 edition, players under 16 years old could compete, and it was precisely the representative of that category, Felipe Herrera from Camagüey, who took center stage.
On that occasion, he achieved 8.5 points out of a possible nine and was named the best player of the entire tournament. Mya scored five points in as many games.
A total of 45 teams from 18 countries participated in the previous competition, which, in addition to chess, included cultural exchange and other activities to promote the intellectual development of children in these age groups.
