Manuel León Hoyos (born February 10, 1989) is a Mexican chess Grandmaster. He is the first Mexican chess player to break 2600 Elo in the official FIDE rating list with 2603 in October 2012.

Manuel León Hoyos
Manuel Leon Hoyos at the World Junior Championship in Gaziantep, Turkey in 2008
Country Mexico
Born (1989-02-10) February 10, 1989 (age 35)
Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico
TitleGrandmaster (2008)
FIDE rating2465 (December 2024)
Peak rating2603 (October 2012)

Chess career

edit

León Hoyos achieved the Grandmaster title at the age of 18.[1] He has been Mexican champion and has won numerous international tournaments including the 2012 U.S. Open.[2]

León Hoyos has represented Mexico in three Olympiads: Russia (2010),[3] Turkey (2012),[4] and Norway (2014).[5] And at the World Mind Sports Games in China (2008). He took part in the Chess World Cup 2011 in Russia and was eliminated by Grandmaster Alexei Shirov.[6] León Hoyos placed 5th in the 2012 Ibero-American Championship in Ecuador,[7] 7th in the 2007 American Continental Championship in Colombia[8][9] and 5th in the 2008 Pan-American Championship in the United States.[10] He also placed 7th in the under-18 World Championship in 2007 held in Turkey.[11]

León Hoyos tied for 1st place in the 2010 Arctic Chess Challenge in Norway with Grandmaster Mikhail Kobalia.[12] He tied for 1st place at the 2013 Las Vegas Chess Festival together with Grandmaster Wesley So.[13] León Hoyos won the 2012 Mexican Open.[14][15] He placed 3th place in the 2012 UNAM Chess Festival, a rapid and blindfold invitational tournament won by World's No. 1 Magnus Carlsen.[16]

León Hoyos has worked with Grandmaster Vassily Ivanchuk, former World's No. 2, World Blitz Championship in 2007 and World Rapid Championship in 2016. He has served him as a second in several tournaments.[17][18]

Notable games

edit

Education

edit

In 2012, he received a scholarship to attend Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri and became part of the Webster University chess team,[19][20] coached by former Women's World Champion and Grandmaster Susan Polgar.[21] Between 2012 and 2017, Webster University was the ranked No. 1 chess team in the U.S. and 5-time collegiate national champion.[22] In 2017, he graduated from Webster University with honors, receiving a bachelor's degrees in Economics and International Relations and a Masters in International Relations.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Manuel Leon Hoyos becomes Grandmaster". Chessdom. Archived from the original on 6 November 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
  2. ^ "Leon Hoyos Wins U.S. Open Title in Armageddon Playoff". U.S. Chess Federation. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  3. ^ "39th Olympiad Khanty-Mansiysk 2010". Chess-Results.com.
  4. ^ "40th Olympiad Istanbul 2012". Chess-Results.com.
  5. ^ "41st Olympiad Tromso 2014". Chess-Results.com.
  6. ^ "FIDE World Cup Khanty-Mansiysk 2011". The Week in Chess. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  7. ^ "Iván Salgado se corona Campeón Iberoamericano 2012 (in Spanish)". ChessBase. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  8. ^ "Campeonato Continental Absoluto 2007". Chess-Results.com. Retrieved 28 July 2007.
  9. ^ "IV Campeonato Continental de las Americas 2007". Retrieved 28 July 2007.
  10. ^ "14th Pan-American Championship, Boca Raton, FL 2008". Retrieved 20 January 2009.
  11. ^ "World Championship 2007 (18)". Chess-Results.com. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  12. ^ "Arctic Chess Challenge 2010 in Norway". The Week in Chess. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  13. ^ "Las Vegas International Chess Festival 2013" (PDF). Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  14. ^ "Campeonato Nacional e Internacional Abierto Mexicano de Ajedrez 2012 (in Spanish)". Retrieved 11 May 2012.
  15. ^ "Manuel Leon Hoyos wins the 2012 Mexican Open". Chessdom. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  16. ^ "2nd UNAM won by Magnus Carlsen". 26 November 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  17. ^ "Exclusive interview with GM Vassily Ivanchuk". FIDE. Retrieved 22 March 2010.
  18. ^ "Vassily Ivanchuk: "Flawed games are the most beautiful"". Chess in Transition. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
  19. ^ "The Yucatán Chess Legend". Chess Daily News with Susan Polgar. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  20. ^ "Thanksgiving Tournament Success for Webster's Chess Team". Webster Today. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  21. ^ "Susan Polgar Institute for Chess Excellence (SPICE)". Webster University. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  22. ^ "Webster Chess Team Accomplishments". Webster University. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
edit