Juan Obregon Rivero and Zenia Corrales Jimenes are the new champions of Mexico. The absolute and women’s Mexico chess championships 2023 took place in Complejo Cultural de Los Pinos, Mexico City, from November 7-11. Both competitions were 9-round Swiss tournaments with classical time control.

The top seed, Juan Obregon Rivero, grabbed the sole lead with two rounds go after beating Luis Ibarra Chami and Julio Diaz Rosas, but Leonel Figueredo Losada was hard on his heels. After their clash in the penultimate round ended in a draw, Obregon Rivero came into the final round a half-point ahead of his main rival.

The leader managed only a draw against GM Juan Gonzalez Zamora, while Figueredo Losada convincingly outplayed Julio Diaz Rosas and caught up with Obregon Rivero. Both finished on 7/9 and tied for first place, but the title went to Obregon Rivero, thanks to a slightly better Buchholz. Both the champion and the runner-up completed the event unbeaten.

As many as seven players tied for the third position in the standings on 6/9, with Julio Diaz Rosas taking bronze, again by dint of superior Buchholz.

Final standings open:

The women’s event saw WIM Zenia Corrales Jimenes steamroll the competition, winning seven straight games and removing all the doubts about her winning the title. Despite losing in the penultimate round to WIM Tania Miranda Rodriguez, Zenia scored an impressive 7.5/9 and finished a full point ahead of Tania, who earned silver.

There was a four-way tie for third place, with 17-year-old Paula Hernandez Diaz winning bronze.

Final standings women:

Photos: Fenamac Ajedrez Facebook

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