Havana, Dec. — A team made up of four boys and one girl will once again represent Cuba at the chess festival in the Intellectual Academy Cup 2026, which will once again be held in the Russian city of Novokuznetsk.
The event is scheduled from February 16 to 22 of the upcoming year, and according to Carlos Rivero, president of the Cuban Chess Federation, the Cuban team consists of children in the under-13 to under-9 age categories.
Mya Valdés will be the only girl on a team also composed of Esteban David O’Farrill, Alberto García, Daniel Pernas, and Ángel González, with the experienced Danilo Buela serving as coach.
Among all, Mya is the only player returning from the previous edition, when the Cuban team earned a bronze medal after scoring 68.5 points, finishing on the podium behind Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which scored 103 and 87.5 points, respectively.
Rivero mentioned that player selection was based on results in national and international events, as well as taking into account the age range changes proposed by the organizers of the competition.
In the 2025 edition, players up to 16 years old were eligible, and it was precisely the representative from that category, Felipe Herrera from Camagüey, who stood out.
On that occasion, he scored 8.5 points out of nine possible and was the best player of the whole tournament. Mya achieved five wins in as many games.
A total of 45 teams from 18 countries participated in the previous competition, which, in addition to chess, included cultural exchanges and other activities to promote the intellectual development of children at these ages.
(Source: JIT)
