Memories of the Chess Academy in Matanzas, Cuba
By Lien Estrada
HAVANA TIMES – When I was studying at the Evangelical Seminary of Theology in Matanzas, from time to time I would go to the address of the Chess Academy located on Medio Street very close to its cathedral. It was almost always open, almost always the same people were there. Quite a few, and many more men than women, of course. They were very kind, and they would teach you with that cordial smile how to live through games in that unique sport.
They had to remind me about touching your clock with the same hand you move the pieces with because with my absent-mindedness, I didn’t realize, and they allowed me to even have a master who would suggest moves with my playing partners. Over time, I got to know them little by little, and I don’t know why it surprised me that most of them were waiting to leave the country. Those who didn’t expect it due to family reunification were hoping for the lottery, or an invitation, or any other means. The truth was that it seemed to me like a line to say goodbye or see you later.
And I say it surprised me because while it is true that emigration from this country was not as compulsive as it is nowadays, frankly, it is not a reality alien to the daily lives of people who are born, live, and die in Cuba. But perhaps seeing it like this in such a closed place with its large glass doors, so accessible to anyone who wanted to think and have fun with someone else in front of the board… Of course, it surprised me. Possibly I would be surprised again if I had to live through it again.
I think about this every time I pass by the Chess Academy now in my home town of Holguín. I remember those years with those experiences in Matanzas. Most likely, none of those I knew are still there. I’m sure it hasn’t closed either. Other players gather in their mornings or afternoons for their matches. Perhaps they are also somehow waiting for their departures any day now. I don’t know.
The truth is that I feel like the Cuba of those years, in that aspect, hasn’t changed much. As has widely been said, it has worsened. And obviously, that has to worry us. Because with so many absences, I don’t think it’s possible to win any game, and because residing where everyone wants to leave is not good news. Apart from what has been said, I am very grateful that these Academies exist. They are fortunes that we come across on the way, undoubtedly.