Dominguez Perez, Leinier Age 41
Source: zimbio.com
- Title
- Grandmaster
- Live Rating
- 2741.0
- Live Rank
- #13
- FIDE Rating
- 2741
- World Rank
- #13
- United States of America Rank
- #4
- FIDE Peak Rating
- 2768 - May 2014 (Age 30)
- FIDE Peak Rank
- #8 (2752) - Jan 2024 (Age 40)
- Rapid
- 2699 World #22, Peak 2826 (Dec 2017)
- Blitz
- 2656 World #51, Peak 2796 (Jan 2017)
- Active Years:
- 1996 - 2024
- Total Games:
- 2251
- Wins:
- 730 (32%)
- Losses:
- 407 (19%)
- Draws:
- 1114 (49%)
- Total score:
- 57%
- Performance :
- Performance for the last active 12 months:
- 2691
C67 Ruy Lopez (68 games)
B90 Sicilian Defense (61 games)
C54 Italian Game (51 games)
Black:
B90 Sicilian Defense (60 games)
D27 Queen's Gambit Accepted (43 games)
C42 Russian Game (39 games)
Is it possible to imagine a top-10 player who has never won a major event, never seriously competed for the World Crown, sometimes didn't even play for years, yet is still respected and valued by everyone? His name is Leinier Dominguez and in 2008 he even became a world champion, but... in blitz only.
Dominguez was born on September 23, 1983 in Havana. He learned to play chess at the age of 7, but due to the lack of a strong chess tradition in Cuba, he didn't have the opportunity to make a serious name for himself for quite some time. Considered the top young talent, he achieved his first grandmaster norm at 15 and received the GM title at 17. Just a year later, Leinier won the Cuban Championship (he has five such victories in total) and a major open tournament in Esbjerg. His first notable success came when he reached the quarterfinals of the 2004 World Knockout Championship, where he lost to Radjabov in the tie-break.
In the following years, the Cuban marked his presence with rare but impressive victories – in Havana, Barcelona, and Biel until he made headlines by winning the 2008 World Blitz Championship in Almaty. Dominguez only managed to qualify at the last moment but scored 11.5/15 and outperformed Ivanchuk, Svidler and Grischuk. He never achieved such heights again, although he continued to play strongly in rapid, once reaching the 3rd position in the world.
Dominguez's next major success came in 2013 when he won the FIDE Grand Prix stage in Thessaloniki, and in 2016, he shared 2nd-4th places in Dortmund. At the 2016 Chess Olympiad in Baku, representing the Cuban team, he achieved the 2nd best result on the first board. In total, Leinier led his national team eight times before switching to representing the USA in 2018. He made this decision after becoming Caruana's second in the World Championship match against Carlsen. In 2007, he was Leko's second and informally he has provided analytical support to many of the world's top chess players. Additionally, he authored several popular books and, for a time, recorded lectures for an educational channel.
Dominguez came close to winning the U.S. Championship twice, finishing 2nd in 2019 and 3rd in 2022. And in 2023, stepping in at the last moment to replace Ding Liren, who had withdrawn, he managed to secure second place at the Sinquefield Cup without any preparation.
Every chart point has info (FIDE Rating, Date, Rank, Age). Click on the chart to compare the player with any other top player.
Games
| # | White Player | Rating | Black Player | Rating | Result | Moves | Site | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yu, Yangyi | 2703 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | 1/2-1/2 | 48 | Budapest | 22 Sep 2024 |  |
| 2 | Erigaisi, Arjun Kumar | 2778 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | 1-0 | 60 | Budapest | 21 Sep 2024 | |
| 3 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | Sjugirov, Sanan | 2644 | 1-0 | 50 | Budapest | 20 Sep 2024 | |
| 4 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | Maurizzi, Marc Andria | 2595 | 1/2-1/2 | 52 | Budapest | 19 Sep 2024 | |
| 5 | Mastrovasilis, Dimitrios | 2550 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | 0-1 | 31 | Budapest | 18 Sep 2024 | |
| 6 | Flores, Diego | 2546 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | 1-0 | 35 | Budapest | 15 Sep 2024 | |
| 7 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | Ponomariov, Ruslan | 2654 | 1/2-1/2 | 30 | Budapest | 14 Sep 2024 | |
| 8 | Siddharth, Jagadeesh | 2514 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | 0-1 | 57 | Budapest | 12 Sep 2024 | |
| 9 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | Delgado Rosas, Alex Antonio | 2157 | 1-0 | 33 | Budapest | 11 Sep 2024 | |
| 10 | Caruana, Fabiano | 2793 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | 1/2-1/2 | 90 | Saint Louis | 16 Aug 2024 | |
| 11 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | 2767 | 0-1 | 69 | Saint Louis | 16 Aug 2024 | |
| 12 | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 2762 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | 1/2-1/2 | 52 | Saint Louis | 16 Aug 2024 | |
| 13 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | Nakamura, Hikaru | 2802 | 1-0 | 60 | Saint Louis | 16 Aug 2024 | |
| 14 | Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu | 2749 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | 1-0 | 40 | Saint Louis | 16 Aug 2024 | |
| 15 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | So, Wesley | 2751 | 1/2-1/2 | 25 | Saint Louis | 16 Aug 2024 | |
| 16 | Aronian, Levon | 2729 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | 1-0 | 44 | Saint Louis | 16 Aug 2024 | |
| 17 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | Vachier Lagrave, Maxime | 2721 | 1-0 | 39 | Saint Louis | 16 Aug 2024 | |
| 18 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | Firouzja, Alireza | 2751 | 0-1 | 54 | Saint Louis | 16 Aug 2024 | |
| 19 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | Caruana, Fabiano | 2793 | 1-0 | 48 | Saint Louis | 15 Aug 2024 | |
| 20 | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | 2767 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | 1/2-1/2 | 71 | Saint Louis | 15 Aug 2024 | |
| 21 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 2762 | 0-1 | 52 | Saint Louis | 15 Aug 2024 | |
| 22 | Nakamura, Hikaru | 2802 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | 1-0 | 37 | Saint Louis | 15 Aug 2024 | |
| 23 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu | 2749 | 1-0 | 49 | Saint Louis | 15 Aug 2024 | |
| 24 | So, Wesley | 2751 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | 1-0 | 48 | Saint Louis | 15 Aug 2024 | |
| 25 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | Aronian, Levon | 2729 | 0-1 | 51 | Saint Louis | 15 Aug 2024 | |
| 26 | Vachier Lagrave, Maxime | 2721 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | 1/2-1/2 | 43 | Saint Louis | 15 Aug 2024 | |
| 27 | Firouzja, Alireza | 2751 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | 1-0 | 54 | Saint Louis | 15 Aug 2024 | |
| 28 | Vachier Lagrave, Maxime | 2721 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | 1-0 | 47 | Saint Louis | 14 Aug 2024 | |
| 29 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | Nakamura, Hikaru | 2802 | 1/2-1/2 | 37 | Saint Louis | 14 Aug 2024 | |
| 30 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | Praggnanandhaa, Rameshbabu | 2749 | 1-0 | 79 | Saint Louis | 14 Aug 2024 | |
| 31 | So, Wesley | 2751 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | 1/2-1/2 | 65 | Saint Louis | 13 Aug 2024 | |
| 32 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | Nepomniachtchi, Ian | 2767 | 0-1 | 41 | Saint Louis | 13 Aug 2024 | |
| 33 | Aronian, Levon | 2729 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | 1/2-1/2 | 47 | Saint Louis | 13 Aug 2024 | |
| 34 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | Firouzja, Alireza | 2751 | 1/2-1/2 | 57 | Saint Louis | 12 Aug 2024 | |
| 35 | Caruana, Fabiano | 2793 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | 0-1 | 38 | Saint Louis | 12 Aug 2024 | |
| 36 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2748 | Abdusattorov, Nodirbek | 2762 | 1/2-1/2 | 29 | Saint Louis | 12 Aug 2024 | |
| 37 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2749 | Durarbayli, Vasif | 2627 | 0-1 | 37 | Saint Louis | 21 Mar 2024 | |
| 38 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2749 | Bok, Benjamin | 2620 | 1-0 | 44 | Saint Louis | 21 Mar 2024 | |
| 39 | Harsha, Bharathakoti | 2567 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2749 | 1/2-1/2 | 55 | Saint Louis | 21 Mar 2024 | |
| 40 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2749 | Kevlishvili, Robby | 2524 | 1/2-1/2 | 94 | Saint Louis | 21 Mar 2024 | |
| 41 | Hakobyan, Aram | 2619 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2749 | 0-1 | 27 | Saint Louis | 21 Mar 2024 | |
| 42 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2749 | Quesada Perez, Yuniesky | 2591 | 1/2-1/2 | 58 | Saint Louis | 21 Mar 2024 | |
| 43 | Abrahamyan, Tatev | 2308 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2749 | 0-1 | 31 | Saint Louis | 21 Mar 2024 | |
| 44 | Robson, Ray | 2696 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2749 | 1-0 | 50 | Saint Louis | 13 Mar 2024 | |
| 45 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2749 | Robson, Ray | 2696 | 1-0 | 47 | Saint Louis | 12 Mar 2024 | |
| 46 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2745 | Pranav, Anand | 2520 | 1/2-1/2 | 43 | Sitges | 16 Dec 2023 | |
| 47 | Golubka, Petr | 2440 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2745 | 0-1 | 50 | Sitges | 15 Dec 2023 | |
| 48 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2745 | Pranav, KP. | 1859 | 1-0 | 34 | Sitges | 14 Dec 2023 | |
| 49 | Laddha, Shubh Jayesh | 2337 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2745 | 1/2-1/2 | 41 | Sitges | 13 Dec 2023 | |
| 50 | Dominguez Perez, Leinier | 2745 | Kocsmar, Akos | 2115 | 1-0 | 18 | Sitges | 12 Dec 2023 | |