One of the greatest chess masters in Cuba of all time, former champion Jesús Nogueiras, is once again facing an extremely sad and disgraceful situation that highlights the regime's neglect of its elite athletes when they are no longer of use to them.
Last Friday, July 10, the chess player from Villa Clara reported that he is completely abandoned, to the extent that the facility where they are supposed to provide him with lunch and meals daily denied him the service due to a lack of coordination among the institutions that are supposedly taking care of him.
The complaint was recorded in an interview with content creator Jankiel Itako, published on TikTok, where the Grand Master discusses his current situation.
According to Nogueiras himself, the INDER had authorized him to dine at the restaurant La Bodeguita del Medio in Santa Clara, but no one followed up on the agreement, and the establishment decided to stop providing him with food.
Nogueiras did not hide his bitterness when recalling that during his years of glory, he voluntarily donated 30 thousand dollars to the Cuban government, and today receives nothing in return—not even the guarantee of a daily meal.
"The problem is that everything here is the same. I was authorized a lunch and a dinner at a local restaurant called La Bodeguita del Medio. But after that, they haven't followed up, and today they had no food to give me. They had no food for the person who knows the most about chess in Cuba and who delivered 30 thousand dollars," he stated.
"The people at INDER and those at the Bodeguita can't come to an agreement, and they deny me a simple meal. I voluntarily handed over 30 thousand dollars, and here I am in this town. This is the result of not leaving Cuba..." he lamented, before adding: "No one takes care of you."
The Grand Master was straightforward in pointing out those responsible and outright rejected the idea that the U.S. embargo has anything to do with his situation.
"The people at INDER and those from the Party do not take proper care of things, of their people, of those who stay here. (...) It is a complete lack to deny someone a plate of food. It’s outrageous. This is not the blockade or any aggression, it’s the shamelessness that we display," he emphasized.
Nogueiras was born in Remedios, Villa Clara, in 1959 and built an exceptional career.
In 1979, at just 19 years old, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) awarded him the title of Grandmaster, making him the youngest in the world at that time, even before Garry Kasparov.
He represented Cuba in 14 World Olympiads between 1980 and 2004, played first board in seven of them, was a five-time national champion, and competed against nine world champions, including Anatoly Karpov, with whom he drew in a nearly five-hour game that they later sat down to analyze.
The situation of the chess player is not new.
In September 2025, sports journalist Yasel Porto raised alarm about his critical personal and mental health situation, describing the images he received as "shocking and alarming."
Following the viralization of that complaint, the INDER of Villa Clara came forward to defend itself, stating that it does support the chess player, but the public controversy has not subsided.
The case of Nogueiras fits into a pattern that is repeated with dozens of Cuban sports legends.
The Cuban government denied in February 2025 that there were athletes in abandonment, but the facts contradict that statement: basketball player Margarita Skeet survived with the help of neighbors, boxer Mario Kindelán sold an Olympic medal to make ends meet, and wrestler Lisset Hechavarría went from being a Pan American champion to living on the streets.
Nogueiras' request, as summarized by Jankiel Itako in the video, is not excessive: "Simply to be treated well in terms of food."
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