Havana, Cuba - Cubans Yuniesky Quesada and Isam Ortiz are the the players with the highest ELO among the more than 170 athletes registered for the Alajuela Chess Open, which began yesterday in Costa Rica.

The organizers reported that the event reaches its sixth edition and will include other Grand Masters as Moldovans Vladimir Georgiev and Nikola Mitkov, and Colombians Alder Escobar and Sergio Barrientos.

Yuniesky and Isam traveled directly from the Indian city of Kolkata after having there an unsatisfactory stay.

We were not entirely at our level, but it was very good playing that tournament and the matches were not bad, Isam said via facebook, recalling they barely had time to recover from a very tiring flight to the Asian country.

In Alajuela they hope the story to be different to regain the more than 10 Elo points they both lost in Kolkata.

After this contest they will take part in the Philadelphia Open, USA, and from April 18 to 29 they will be part of the Cuban team in the Chess World Cup.