Cuban chess player Carlos Daniel Albornoz returns today to compete in Portugal in search of increasing his virtual ELO of 2600 points.
The Antillean, who served on the second board of the Cuban national team in the recently concluded World Olympiad held in India, sees better prospects in this modality thanks to competitions of this type.
“From this day I participate in another tournament here in Portugal”, he said via WhatsApp waiting to see each other from September 1, among the men with more than 2600 ELO points, one of his great goals in his continuous career of rise in the Kingdom of Caissa.
He gave his opinion on the top elite tournament for teams between nations, which ended with the victory of Usbekistan in the men’s and the Ukraine team in the women’s.
“He did a great tournament in the Olympiad like the rest of the teammates. I only got really confused in the last game, it went wrong in the opening and I lost. I earned 10 ELO points. We finished in the top 2O and that was the goal”, he specified.
For the 2019 National Champion, the youngest to achieve it after he did it at the age of 13, José Raúl Capablanca, the previous preparation was crucial to iron out differences with aspects of the game, including time zones.
“In the men’s case, we arrived very well at the Olympiad. We were in Spain before and we played an open tournament and it gave us a very good feeling, he said.
“The environment of Europe acclimatizes you towards Asia, so things went well for all of us,” he said via WhatsApp.
After the Olympiad held in the city of Chennai, Albornoz was crowned in the open chess tournament in Mirandela, Portugal.
“It gave me a lot of strength and motivation to be in India, and by gaining 10 ELO points I stimulated myself even more. The only difficult thing was overcoming the last game in the Olympiad. It never leaves a good taste in your mouth to lose”, he expressed.
Competing continuously has allowed him to consolidate himself in the elite of Latin America, with titles in various regional tournaments.
“My game has matured a lot. I didn’t have the experience of playing so much in Europe. Despite the fact that the ELO was almost the same as in 2019, the pandemic that interrupted me a lot in terms of development had not arrived, and that experience has been key, ”he pointed out.
Humility and work define the career of Carlos Albornoz at 21 years of age, also backed by a resume that includes the title of University Pan American Champion, in addition to the Carlos Torres Repeto tournament in Mexico.
In the Olympiad, he said, we face players with more than 2,600, one fights hard and that raises the ego.
“After playing with them you face lower level players and you even feel more comfortable”, he concluded.
The last competitive trances have ensured 26.8 units to Albornoz’s ELO to overcome the barrier of 2600.
(With information from Prensa Latina)