Followers of the Cuban-American Grandmaster (GM) Leinier Domínguez experienced a moment of euphoria when he astonished the world's number two, American-born Japanese Hikaru Nakamura, at the San Luis 2024 Rapid and Blitz Chess Tournament.
The idol of Güines, ranked 13th in the world, left his opponent stunned, who jumped out of his chair upon seeing how he had lost his queen and thus the game.
In an attitude that was heavily criticized, Nakamura, without acknowledging what had happened, reluctantly extended his hand to Leinier, not even looking at him.
At the event, which concluded on August 16, the Cuban finished in ninth place, with a prize of $8,000, while his opponent came in third ($25,000).
This week, with the American team, Leinier Domínguez (2748) became the first native of the Island to win a collective medal at the Chess Olympiad.
The milestone occurred in Budapest, Hungary, at the 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad. The Indian team won the gold medal (21 points), four points ahead of the United States (17 points).
In October 2023, he secured second place in the United States Chess Championship after drawing with GM Hans Moke Niemann. Placing on the podium at the event earned him a prize of $35,000.
At the end of that year, he was ranked among the top 10 chess players in the world, a list topped by the Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, followed by Americans Fabiano Caruana and Hikaru Nakamura.
Domínguez obtained U.S. citizenship in 2022. In December 2018, he became a member of the chess federation of that country.
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