Havana, Sept 20 (RHC) - The Cuban men's chess team climbed to 18th place in the open section of the World Olympiad in Budapest (Hungary), after beating the team of Israel 2.5 points to 1.5.

With three rounds to go, the Cuban team is in the top 20 of the competition with 12 points and this Friday will face the Serbian team.

Luis Ernesto Quesada and Elier Miranda were decisive in Cuba's success, with wins, although it is also worth mentioning the draw achieved on the first board by Carlos Daniel Albornoz. Omar Almeida suffered the only setback.

The Indian team continued to shine and this time subdued the Iranian team with a 3.5-0.5 points slate, to remain as the only team that has reached the final stretch of the tournament with a perfect performance.

In the women's competition, the Cubans sealed their battle with the Irish team with a 2-2 draw. The performance took on greater relevance due to Maritza Arribas' new success, the 67th she has achieved in these competitions, according to Osmani Pedraza's statistics.

The experienced Cuban player now surpassed Dina Mirza, her fourth victim so far in the tournament.

The draw against Ireland left Cuba's squad with nine points in 51st place. This Friday they must improve when they face Portugal.

In Thursday's round, the Poles beat the Indians 2.5-1.5 points, and the Kazakhs beat the French with the same score. After these results, the momentary podium was defined, with India, Poland and Kazakhstan, all with 14 points.

Source: www.jit.cu