Four Cuban players led by Yerisbel Miranda from Pinar del Río set the pace in the 2024 Central American Women’s Chess Championship, based in Villa Clara.
The bronze medalist in the most recent national competition has 2.5 points out of three possible and a better tiebreaker than Yoana González, Leannet Boch and the experienced Maritza Arribas.
Of that group, only Leannet, Cuban runner-up, achieved victory in the third round, when she was tied with fellow local Karen Gutiérrez. Her next rival will be precisely Yerisbel, who has just agreed to a draw with Yoana.
Maritza shared honors with her countryman Yaniela Forgas this Wednesday and for the fourth round she will have the aforementioned Yoana as her opponent.
In the regional tournament, which is held at the same time as the Guillermo García in Memóriam 2024 International Chess Tournament, 29 players compete and, in addition to Cuba, Costa Rica, Guyana and Honduras are represented.
For the members of the women’s national preselection, the competition has additional importance, since its results will be taken into account to form in the first days of June the team that will participate in the Budapest Chess Olympiad 2024.
In that selection, the national queen, Lisandra Ordaz from Pinar del Río, has a guaranteed place, who does not participate in the current Central American competition.
Yerisbel continues to prepare with the purpose of maintaining the good level with which she emerged as the one with the best result in the open group of the recent Capablanca in Memoriam, which closed in Havana last Sunday.