Updated Thursday, March 14, 2024 – 18:32
The León Magistral is one of the great events in Spanish and world chess. The newspaper BRAND This Thursday, it hosted the presentation of the XXXVII edition (37 for those allergic to the Roman Empire), which will be held from June 27 to July 1, with an exceptional group of participants. The current champion, the lions Jaime Santosface two former world champions, Veselin Topalov and Vishy Anandand the young Indian of twenty years Arjun Erigaisiwhich is actually the favorite because it occupies tenth position in the international classification.
The most disputed position in world chess is not number one, which maintains Magnus Carlsen since 2010 with a monotony that bores him. The position that fluctuates every week as the price of cryptocurrencies is number one in India. After three decades of absolute rule, Viswanathan Anand hastens his last moments and clings to the throne that he himself built. At the time of writing these lines, in fact, he has just fallen to second place in his country.
Vishy, a five-time world champion, won the GM title in 1988; He was the first great teacher born in the Asian giant and to say that he created a school is an understatement. Since then, India is approaching sixty grandmasters and there are four or five competing for that first national place. Right now the leader is Erigaisi, but tomorrow they could be Praggnanandhaa, Gukesh, Vidit or Anand himself, who at 54 years old is a prodigy of sporting longevity. The rest of the top 20 are 40 and under.
With similar resistance to the passage of time, the Bulgarian Veselin Topalov, from Salamanca by adoption, is still 24th in the world at 48 years old. One might think that chess lends itself to old people holding on to the top positions without difficulty, after all it is played sitting down, but the average of the elite continues to drop and prodigies under 15 years of age continue to appear. Anand and Topalov are the only ones born in the 60s and 70s who remain above 2700 Elo points, the invisible border that separates the elite of good players.
The boy who won his idols
With these rivals, Jaime Santos will have a very difficult time revalidating his title at the Magistral de León. Last year he won in the final Boris Gelfandanother survivor, but who has already fallen below that 2700 bar. The case of Santos, on the other hand, is also special, as several attendees at the presentation of the tournament in Madrid highlighted.
Jaime was a ten-year-old boy who came to watch the tournament and enjoy its parallel activities. He was so fascinated by chess that it didn’t take him long to climb the ranks until he became a grandmaster and won the Masters. The Spanish chess player is a source of pride for León’s fans who have seen him grow. In 2022 he was about to surpass the famous 2700 Elo points and, after a dip that seems temporary, in the latest competitions he has once again demonstrated his potential. He is 27 years old and has room to continue growing.
Santos, who was at the presentation alongside Topalov, assured that participating for the first time as current champion “entails a great responsibility.” “Vishy, Topalov and Erigaisi are very tough. However, I will try to revalidate the title,” he promised. The Bulgarian, FIDE world champion in 2005, recorded his duel against Garry Kasparov in León, in 1998: “It was a historic moment for chess. 26 years later, I compete again in the Magistral, a very special tournament for me,” he said.
Almost four decades of tradition
The president of the Spanish Federation also participated in the presentation of the tournament in Madrid, Javier Ochoathe director of MARCA, Juan Ignacio Gallardo, and representatives of some of the companies that sponsor the Magistral, essential to its success for so many years. After the Linares tournament disappeared in 2010, which was once the best in the world, Len stands the test of time thanks above all to the good work of its main organizer, Marcelino Sin. He highlighted that the tournament “will combine youth with the veteran of the great players in the history of chess, all accompanied by a large number of parallel activities for all audiences and ages.” Maybe this year a boy or a girl also discovers their vocation and, within a while, ends up winning in León, like Jaime Santos.
The vice-rector of Sports of the University of Len, Isidoro Martinez, recalled for his part that for the ULE “it is a privilege to be part of the Magistral again.” “Without a doubt, one of the activities that always gives color to the tournament is the celebration of the simultaneous matches in the hall of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters. Great world-class chess masters have passed through there, which constitutes a true honor for we”.
2024-03-14 17:32:51
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