website, the first chess games in Cuba date back to
the days of Spanish colonialism. Capitán Manuel
Rojas, supreme chief of Bayamo, one of the first
settlements established at that time, and Juan de
Escríbano, goods administrator for conquistador
Diego Velázquez used to play chess. The year was
1518. Francisco Parada, the first friar in Bayamo,
also used to play.
The "discovery" of the island by
Christopher Colombus (at the end of the 15th century)
and the subsequent conquest by Diego Velázquez (16th
century) coincided with the period when Spain was
the premiere nation for chess throughout the world.
José Martí knew the game fairly well,
occasionally he even wrote on the subject. Another
aficionado was Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, whom the
Cuban people call the father of the homeland, for
initiating the first independence war in 1868.
José Raúl Capablanca is the Cuban
figure mostly widely renowned for world championship
chess. He played during the first half of the 20th
century and the international tournament held in
Cuba every year is dedicated to this great player.
The teaching of chess came with the
triumph of the Revolution and formed a part of the
sports and games curriculum throughout the country’s
schools where, as is the case with other
disciplines, children begin learning at an early age.
The Latin American Higher Institute
of Chess (ISLA) is located in Havana. Founded in
1992, the ISLA was established to plan, organize and
integrally promote the development of chess in the
region. The center employs professionals in
technique and judges with international
accreditation from the FIDE, as well as other
qualified specialists with vast experience of the
game.
Those interested in obtaining more
information can contact the Cuban Chess Federation,
Calle 21 # 855, e/ 4 y 6, Vedado. Tel: 8326082 or
8334763. E.mail:
From the United States, Mike Fincham
tells us that he is a senior high school student who
receives Granma International by e-mail
through Radio Habana Cuba. He says that he has not
had the opportunity to read the printed version, but
comments that it is good to read the paper on the
Internet.
Joaquín Casamayor from Texas thanks
us for the article we printed on the Alejo
Carpentier International Seminar.
Ariel Montoya, editor of the general
news section of the Frontera newspaper in
Tijuana is looking for information on the
imprisonment of Mexican businessman Carlos Ahumada.
You can read the comments by Foreign Minister Felipe
Pérez Roque in a March 31 press conference on our
website, and the communiqué from the Cuban Public
prosecutor’s Office in this edition.
