Yusnel Bacallao Alonso

Overview

Yusnel Bacallao Alonso (born June 21, 1988, in Colón, Matanzas, Cuba) is a Cuban chess Grandmaster representing the Cuban Chess Federation. He was awarded the FIDE Master title in 2005, followed by the International Master title in 2010 and the Grandmaster title in September 2012. Bacallao Alonso achieved his career-high classical FIDE rating of 2605 in January 2018. He has established himself as a prominent tournament player, a regular national team representative at the Chess Olympiads, and a professional chess trainer.

Biography & Major Career Milestones

Yusnel Bacallao Alonso advanced through the Cuban youth chess system in Matanzas. He secured his three necessary Grandmaster norms in Spanish and Cuban events:

• His first norm was achieved at the XVII Montcada Open in Spain in 2009 with a score of 7/9.
• His second norm was earned at the 39th Torneo Internacional de Ajedrez de La Roda in Spain in April 2012, where he won first place on tiebreaks with a score of 7.5/9 ahead of GMs Sergey Fedorchuk and Julio Granda Zúñiga.
• His third norm was completed at the Cuban Championship.

His GM title was officially approved at the 83rd FIDE Congress in September 2012.

In late 2012, Bacallao Alonso tied for second place at the 7th American Continental Championship in Mar del Plata, Argentina, scoring 7.5/11. He shared first place at the 2014 Capablanca Memorial (Premier Group) with Emilio Córdova, Sebastian Bogner, and Isan Reynaldo Ortiz Suárez, posting a score of 6/9. In 2016, he won the stage-one classical round-robin phase of the Cuban Championship.

At the 2017 American Continental Championship, Bacallao Alonso secured qualification for the FIDE World Cup 2017 in Tbilisi, Georgia. In the opening round, he was paired against the higher-rated Russian Grandmaster Vladimir Fedoseev. He scored a notable victory with the White pieces in the first classical game but was ultimately eliminated after losing the second game and the subsequent rapid tiebreaks.

After achieving his peak rating of 2605 in early 2018, Bacallao Alonso continued to compete in European open circuits, particularly in Spain and Portugal. He subsequently transitioned into professional chess coaching, operating from Madrid, Spain.

Elite Team & Event Performance

• 40th Chess Olympiad (2012 – Istanbul, Turkey): Represented Cuba on board four, scoring 5.5/10 (+3 =5 -2).
• 43rd Chess Olympiad (2018 – Batumi, Georgia): Competed on board three, scoring 4.5/9 (+2 =5 -2). He also stepped up to board one in individual rounds, securing a draw against Zimbabwe's IM Rodwell Makoto.
• 45th Chess Olympiad (2024 – Budapest, Hungary): Represented the Cuban national team in the open section.
• FIDE World Cup (2017 – Tbilisi, Georgia): Competed as a qualified representative of Cuba, defeating Vladimir Fedoseev (2731) in game one of the first round before exiting in the rapid tiebreak stage.

Playing Style, Material Tendencies & Endgame Profiling

Yusnel Bacallao Alonso plays in a classical, universal style, combining positional solidity with sharp concrete calculation when required. He maintains a pragmatic approach to structural compromises, often prioritizing active piece play and harmonious development over rigid pawn structures.

He demonstrates high proficiency in handling spatial advantages, particularly when steering central majorities. Bacallao Alonso shows a strong affinity for bishop-pair activity in open positions and is comfortable navigating asymmetrical structures where dynamic counterplay compensates for structural weaknesses.

His defensive identity is characterized by resilience and resourceful coordination in worse middlegames. In the technical phase, he exhibits excellent endgame conversion capabilities, particularly in active rook endings, knight-versus-bishop endings, and technical conversions of minor positional advantages.

Opening Repertoire & Theoretical Move Orders

1. As White

Bacallao Alonso’s White repertoire is structurally diverse. He primarily utilizes flank openings like the Réti and English, alongside classical queen's pawn and king's pawn setups.

• Réti Opening & King's Indian Attack: He frequently opens with the flexible move 1.Nf3, often steering into double-fianchetto setups or transpositional lines.

• Sicilian Defense (Rossolimo Attack): Against 1...c5, he frequently employs the Rossolimo variation to establish rapid development and avoid dense theoretical mainlines.

• Queen's Gambit Declined (Ragozin Defense): In queen's pawn systems, he shows deep theoretical preparation in Catalan and Ragozin setups.

2. As Black

As Black, Bacallao Alonso aims for asymmetrical, solid counter-punching structures, particularly favoring the Caro-Kann Defense and active Indian defenses.

• Caro-Kann Defense (Advance and Classical variations): Against 1.e4, the Caro-Kann is a primary defense. He utilizes both classical mainlines and the sharp Botvinnik-Carls system.

• English Opening Responses: Against 1.c4, he often challenges White's space with active central setups.

• Grünfeld Defense: Against 1.d4, he occasionally deploys the Grünfeld, welcoming concrete theoretical skirmishes in the Exchange Variation.

Links

• FIDE: https://ratings.fide.com/profile/3507416
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusnel_Bacallao_Alonso