Baseball

The 2nd match between Pinar del Rio and Matanzas for the Crown of the 53rd National Baseball Series was postponed on Wednesday due to rain, which forced the suspension of the cap when Pinar del Rio was winning by 1-0 on the top of the 3rd inning.

The right-handed pitchers Joel Suárez (MTZ) and Vladimir Baños (PRI) could be ratified again by their mentors to open the clash, which is enjoyed at the Matanzas' Victoria de Giron stadium.

A total of 20 throws had Baños and 38 Suárez, respectively, when the game was suspended which allows them to return to the mound. Matanzas leads the series by 1-0 after a 5-3 victory in the opening game.

Boxing

The Cuban Yasiel Despaigne will replace Ramón Luis in the 2nd phase of the 4th edition of the World Series of Boxing to face Cuba's Los Domadores to the USA Knockouts next Saturday in the U.S. city of Salem, it was reported today in Havana.

The Cuban Boxing Federation explained that the change is because Ramón Luis had to undergo several tests to be properly prepared in the 75 kilograms for the championship finals while recovering his best form, the Federation said.

The Cuban team is completed by Yosbany Veitía (49 kilos), Marcos Forestal (56), Yasnier Toledo (64) and Erislandy Savón (91), while the USA Knockouts has appointed Chinese Lu Bin (49), Dominican Carlos Adames (64) and Americans Stephen Fulton (56), Caleb Plant (75) and Joshua Temple (91).

The Cuban team swept the USA Knockouts by 5-0 in the programming round held on Friday at the Sports City Coliseum in Havana.

Golf

The Grand Cuba Golf Tournament 2014 begins this Thursday at the resort town of Varadero, the main tourist destination in the Caribbean nation.

Until next Saturday the Varadero Golf Club will host professional players and amateurs aged 18 years with records equal to or less than 24 touches under the field par for men, and equal to or less than 30 for women.

Participants will take 1 round of practice and 2 of competition to fight for 2 awards per category; and according to the organizers, these results will lead the official rules of the event.

The Varadero Golf Club has an 18-hole field, par 72, and features challenging difficulties for any category of competitors, as demonstrated by the 5 previous editions of the Montecristo Cup, antecedent of this Grand Cuba Golf Tournament.

The facility achieved international renown from 1999, when it hosted the Grand Final European Challenge Tour, one of the major tournaments held in the world.

Chess

Cuban GM Leinier Dominguez split the point today before his Hungarian counterpart Peter Leko in the 3rd round of the Russian Team Chess League, which takes place until next Sunday in Krasnodar, Russia.

Dominguez, Elo 2757, defended the St. Petersburg's 3rd board, after serving as a 2nd player in the first 2 rounds and split the point after 40 moves.

Hungarian GM Peter Leko, who plays for the Malaquita team, has an Elo rating of 2730 points, which ranks him 23rd in the world ranking.

Leinier, currently ranked 12th in the world rankings, began his involvement in the Russian league with tables against Russian GM Artem Shimoev, and also on Tuesday defeated Russian GM Alexey Dreev.