CHESS-Cuba upset by El Salvador, mixed results for other Caribbean teams.

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, CMC – El Salvador delivered the biggest upset so far at the 46th FIDE Chess Olympiad, shocking Cuba as play continued at the Silk Road International Exhibition Center here on Thursday.

The 94th-seeded El Salvador produced an impressive performance to overcome the 44th-ranked Cubans 2.5 – 1.5 to remain unbeaten after two rounds.

El Salvador’s FIDE master Carlos Morales, rated 2244, defeated Cuban Grandmaster José Roberto Elías Reyes (2505) with the white pieces, while fellow FIDE master Santiago Guevara (2160) also pulled off a huge surprise, emerging victorious over 2440-rated Grandmaster Lelys Stanley Martínez Duany.

Marvin Andrés Guevara (2029) drew with Grandmaster Ermes Espinosa Veloz (2460) to seal the victory for his side after Grandmaster Dylan Isidro Berdayes Ason defeated Daniel Arias.

The result adds to a strong start for El Salvador, following a 4–0 victory over the British Virgin Islands in the opening round.

Meanwhile, Jamaica, Haiti, Cuba, Aruba, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Curacao, Guyana and Barbados are all in joint 54th position with similar 1-1 records.

However, Belize, The Bahamas, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts & Nevis, Grenada, Dominica, Bermuda, Saint Lucia, Antigua & Barbuda and the Cayman Islands are still searching for their first victory.