PASSIONATE about chess because he believed it to be a discipline that develops intellectual capacity and strategic thinking, Ernesto Che Guevara was registered as one of the island’s Grand Masters.

During a series of simultaneous games, Cuba’s top ten players commemorated the death of the Argentine-Cuban guerrilla, who was captured and assassinated in Bolivia on October 8-9, 1967.

"This is the best way to pay tribute to the person who promoted chess in our country," commented Cuban Leinier Domínguez, who led the games involving 150 members of the Central Organization Cuban Workers, the venue for the event symbolically titled "Che Lives".

The 21-year-old – who finished in fifth place at the last world championship in Tripoli, Libya – stated that "ever since I was a child, I have been told how much Che loved to play chess and attend tournaments."

Danilo Bueta, director of the Latin American Higher Institute of Chess in Havana, explained that Che praised the game because it "develops one’s ability to concentrate, imposes a standard of conduct, and provides strategic stability and thinking," as well as encouraging children "to make decisions through play."

The official said that as well as a tournament at the heroic guerrilla’s mausoleum in the city of Santa Clara – some 200 kilometers east of the capital - the Cuban team is also scheduled to take part in the International Olympiad in Mallorca, Spain.