MEXICO CITY (appro).- Mexico is not a country where there is a lot of chess. However, in the last few years the number of tournaments and championships in which you can compete has increased. For example, the National Chess Federation (FENAMAC) has a high-performance center in Los Pinos, in a very well-appointed room that, when it was part of the presidential headquarters, was probably used as a meeting room for officials of the highest rank. high level of politics in the country.
The point is that an international tournament was organized in Aguascalientes, whose manager was the former president of FENAMAC, Raúl Hernández. It should be said that this is the tournament with the highest prize pool in the country’s history, and also, to make it even more important, it brought two personalities from the chess world: the journalist Leontxo García and King Enigma, a character who he disguises himself with a checkerboard mesh, and who plays with children and adults. It’s quite a social phenomenon and no one really knows who Rey Enigma is, although perhaps that’s not ultimately what’s important.
The open category had 116 competitors, about 20 grandmasters, who fought for 9 rounds side by side. The winner was the young International Master, Sion Radamantys Galaviz Medina, a boy who for a few years has shown a wonderful ability for chess. Dad Galaviz also has his other children working on chess and keeping proportions and distances, he has done a job similar to what dad Polgar did, training most of his children in this science game.
Although I do not have the official data, Sion earned a stupendous prize of 100,000 pesos but better still, he probably made a Grand Master standard, that is, he made enough merits to have already secured a third of the maximum international title. In this tournament, for example, he played with: Women’s FIDE Master Torres Hernández, Leslie Carolina (1861), from Honduras, International Women’s Master Ortiz Verdezoto, Anahí (2152), from Ecuador, and Sion won in those two rounds. Later he played International Master Torres Rosas, Luis Carlos, from Mexico, (2238), with whom he tied. The fourth round he played with FIDE Master Gracia Álvarez, Gerardo Antonio (2185), also from Mexico, whom he won. He then faced the Grand Master (Cuban by birth but who lives in the United States and plays for that federation), Bruzón Batista, Lázaro (2606), with whom he tied. In the next round he beat GM (Cuban by birth but playing for Mexico), Obregón Rivero, Juan Carlos (2475), whom he beat. He continued this terrific run by beating Peruvian GM Kevin Cori (2472). In the eighth round he drew with the Bulgarian GM Arnaudov, G. Petar (2438), with whom he drew. He finally beat the Mexican GM (Cuban by birth), Gonzalez Zamora, Juan Carlos (2479), whom he beat.
Sion gained 20.5 Elo points in his Elo rating and is close to 2464 Elo points. His performance in this tournament was 2596 Elo points, which speaks of the strength that he is already acquiring. I have no doubt that soon we will have a new great teacher in Mexico.
To all this, this is the final classification: 1 Sion Galaviz, 7.5 points. 2. Petar Arnaudov, 7.5 points but worse tiebreaker than Sion. 3. Lázaro Bruzón third, with 7 points. 4. Leonel Figueredo, 7 points but worse tiebreaker than Bruzón. 5. Juan Carlos Obregón, with 6.5 points, tied with Felipe Sánchez, Arturo Hernández and Álvaro Blanco.
Some 950 players participated in the different forces. Hopefully and that this tournament will become a tradition. It was an incredible party. The youngest were happy with the presence of the Enigma King, a fabulous character to promote chess, who jealously guards his identity. There were conferences, simultaneous with the enigmatic King, and in general a lot of chess. Congratulations, congratulations to young Zion and may this not be the last time.
