Havana - SEVERAL members of the national chess pre-selections will have an intense competitive agenda between April and May, with Spain and Mexico as the closest destinations.

The San Sebastian City Chess Open 2023 will start on the first day of April with the national runner-up Lelys Martinez and the former home queen, Yaniela Forgas, among its protagonists.

The event is called to nine rounds by the Swiss System and has 122 players registered, among them the Lithuanian Titas Stremavicius, one of the most successful players.

From April 5 to 10, and also in nine rounds, will be held the International Easter Chess Open of La Nucia 2023, which this time has managed to summon more than 500 contestants.

Part of that impressive number are the Cubans Omar Almeida and Aramís Álvarez, both included in the select group of 26 confirmed grandmasters.

The list is headed by Frenchman Jules Moussard, Venezuelan Eduardo Iturrizaga, Russian Maksim Chigaev and Spaniard Danill Yuffa, the only ones with more than 2,600 Elo points on their records. Almost during the same dates (April 5 to 9) will be the Cuban Carlos Daniel Albornoz in the International Chess Tournament of La Roda 2023.

The double national champion, seventh in the pre-qualification by ranking disclosed in the official website of the event, will have among his main rivals renowned players such as the Indian S. L. Narayan and Vr. Aravindh Chithambaram, the Ukrainian Vitaly Bernadskiy and the Brazilian Alexandr Fier.

On this side of the Atlantic, specifically in Mexico City, all eyes will be focused on the National and International Mexican Open Chess Championship 2023.

From April 4 to 9, at the Los Pinos Cultural Complex, the usual fervor will be experienced among boards and pieces, with tournaments by age and the main tournament for top players. The latter will feature Cuba's Luis Ernesto Quesada, Argentina's Sandro Mareco, Peru's Emilio Cordova and host Gilberto Hernandez.

At home, the chess calendar will also intensify during the fourth month of the year, as the Ajeduni 2023 Festival, scheduled from 23 to 30, will gather teams from national and Latin American universities, mainly.

This is the prelude to two major celebrations: the Capablanca in Memoriam International Chess Tournament 2023 and the Women's Continental Chess Tournament of the Americas 2023, both with simultaneous programs from May 2 to 12 at the Habana Libre Hotel.