At 18 years old, Manuel Meléndez became the captain of the LaTribuAlpha team, which this weekend closed its participation in the 2023 National Team Championship, organized by the Salvadoran Chess Federation (FSA). Meléndez and his teammates placed second in the classic modality.
In the blitz mode, LaTribuAlpha also took the second place trophy, while in the individual count, Manuel won first place on his board
The young chess player has been practicing sports science for more than 10 years and his greatest inspiration and mentor has been his father José Armando Meléndez, a chess fan who enjoys facing his children on a board.
“I learned about chess when I was seven years old when I saw my dad playing with my sister. It is a memory that was repeated for a long time, which led me to be curious and start playing with them. Upon entering the Externado San José school, where they taught chess classes and held tournaments; There, the daughter of a friend of his (father) was a member and she was the one who brought me to the FSA,” explained the chess player.
With just over a decade, Manuel has achieved positive results for the FSA and El Salvador, but one of the most relevant was the third place he achieved in the 2019 Central American and Caribbean Youth Festival, as he considers that it marked a turning point. an after for him.
“I have had important results in these years of my sports career, results that have meant a lot to me, but what represented a significant change was the third place I won at the 2019 Central American and Caribbean Youth Festival, in the U14 category. It is worth a lot to me and it was a boost,” Manuel said.
The captain of the LaTribuAlpha team assured that chess helped him be closer to his family, friends and colleagues, since now he always has their support.
“My family has always been there for me, but practicing this sport has given me the experience of feeling close to the total support of my family, it has created in me an instinct for discipline and the dedication to be constant in training. And, above all, it has given me the friendships that have been forged with various people along this path,” said Manuel.
The athlete, who in 2021 obtained a sixth place in the Pan American U18 Championship and a third place in the national championship in 2023, as well as two gold medals and two silver trophies in the Central American Senior Team Championship, stated that by 2024 Have specific goals you hope to accomplish.
“This year I have several goals. The first is to qualify the senior team again to compete in the Chess Olympics that will take place from September 10 to 23; I would also like to win the title of Fide Master, as well as fight to reach 2300 international ratings and be the National Champion,” Meléndez explained.
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