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Leinier Dominguez
Biography
Leinier Domínguez Pérez was born on 23 September 1983 in Havana, Cuba, and was awarded the grandmaster title in 2001. Representing the Cuban Chess Federation for the first phase of his career, he became one of the most consistent players in Latin American chess history, winning the Cuban national championship five times — in 2002, 2003, 2006, 2012 and 2016 — and playing for Cuba at nine consecutive Chess Olympiads between 2000 and 2016, almost always on top board.
His signature individual result for Cuba came at the 2016 Chess Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he scored 7½ points from 10 games on board one — enough for the individual silver medal, behind only Georgia's Baadur Jobava. Two years earlier, in May 2014, he had reached his career-peak FIDE rating of 2768, and in November 2008 he had already won the World Blitz Championship in Almaty, Kazakhstan, scoring 11½/15 to beat a field that included Vassily Ivanchuk and Peter Svidler.
In December 2018, Domínguez Pérez transferred his FIDE federation from Cuba to the United States. Playing under the American flag he finished runner-up at the 2019 U.S. Chess Championship and took third place in 2022, made his U.S. Olympiad debut at the 2022 Chennai Olympiad, and in 2024 helped the United States win the team silver medal at the Chess Olympiad in Budapest — his first Olympiad team medal after nearly two decades of individual-only recognition with Cuba.
Key achievements
- World Blitz Champion, Almaty, 8 Nov 2008 (11½/15)
- Five-time Cuban Chess Champion: 2002, 2003, 2006, 2012, 2016
- Individual silver medalist, board one, 2016 Chess Olympiad (Baku), representing Cuba — 7½/10, performance rating 2839
- Peak FIDE rating of 2768, achieved May 2014
- Transferred federations from Cuba to the United States, December 2018
- Team silver medalist with the United States, 2024 Chess Olympiad (Budapest)
- U.S. Chess Championship runner-up (2019) and third place (2022)
Ratings
| Date | Milestone | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Awarded the grandmaster title | — |
| Nov 2008 | Won the World Blitz Championship, Almaty | 2719 |
| May 2014 | Career-peak FIDE rating | 2768 |
| Dec 2018 | Transferred federation from Cuba to the United States | — |
| Sep 2026 | Current rating — No. 17 in the world | 2732 |
Titles
| Title | Years | Count |
|---|---|---|
| GM | Grandmaster, awarded 2001 | — |
| World Blitz Ch. | Almaty, 8 Nov 2008 (11½/15) | 1× |
| Cuban Ch. | 2002, 2003, 2006, 2012, 2016 | 5× |
Classical Tournaments
| Year | Tournament | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Carlos Torre Repetto Memorial, Mérida | 1st |
| 2004 | Capablanca Memorial, Havana | 1st |
| 2006 | Magistral Ciutat de Barcelona — 8/9, ahead of Ivanchuk | 1st |
| 2008 | Capablanca Memorial, Havana | 1st |
| 2008 | Biel Chess Festival | T-1st |
| 2009 | Capablanca Memorial, Havana | 1st |
| 2013 | FIDE Grand Prix, Thessaloniki | 1st |
| 2016 | Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting | T-2nd |
| 2019 | U.S. Chess Championship | 2nd |
| 2022 | U.S. Chess Championship | 3rd |
Team Events
| Year | Event (Board) | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Chess Olympiad, Istanbul — Cuba, reserve board | 6½/10 |
| 2002 | Chess Olympiad, Bled — Cuba, board 2 | 7½/13 |
| 2004 | Chess Olympiad, Calvià — Cuba, board 1 | 7½/11 |
| 2006 | Chess Olympiad, Turin — Cuba, board 2 | 8/12 |
| 2008 | Chess Olympiad, Dresden — Cuba, board 1 | 6/10 |
| 2010 | Chess Olympiad, Khanty-Mansiysk — Cuba, board 1 | 6/10 |
| 2012 | Chess Olympiad, Istanbul — Cuba, board 1 | 7½/10 |
| 2014 | Chess Olympiad, Tromsø — Cuba, board 1 | 6½/11 |
| 2016 | Chess Olympiad, Baku — Cuba, board 1, individual silver medal | 7½/10 |
| 2022 | Chess Olympiad, Chennai — United States debut, board 4 | — |
| 2024 | Chess Olympiad, Budapest — United States, board 3, team silver medal | — |
Source: OlimpBase (olimpbase.org) individual and board-medal records, cross-checked with Wikipedia and official Olympiad game records.
Read more on Wikipedia or view his FIDE profile.