my journey in chess
About Me
My name is Renier Castellanos, and I was born in Matanzas, Cuba. I began playing chess at the age of seven, when my grandfather introduced me to the game. Soon after, I joined my local chess club, where I quickly fell in love with chess and started taking it more seriously by attending tournaments and classes. The Cuban chess scene was very special — highly competitive, with a strong culture of respect and admiration for Grandmasters and top players around the world. I improved quickly, winning several local tournaments, but my proudest achievement during those years was earning the silver medal at the Cuban National U-16 Championship, finishing just behind Lázaro Bruzón, who at the time was one of Cuba’s brightest stars and later became one of the world’s top 30 players.
My chess career in Cuba was short-lived. At the age of 15, my family emigrated to Chile, and I had to start a new life. Away from my club and adjusting to a new country, I stopped playing chess altogether. Two years later, during a holiday trip back to Cuba, I visited my old club and played a few casual blitz games — and the spark immediately reignited.
Back in Chile, I found a club in the heart of Santiago and returned fully to chess. I began competing in local tournaments, winning the Chilean U-20 Championship twice, and at the age of 18, I achieved my first official rating of 2270. Since representing Cuba from abroad was not possible, I was welcomed by the Chilean Chess Federation and switched federations. With steady study and practice, I rose to the level of International Master. I also had the honor of representing Chile at the Chess Olympiads, playing on third board in Calvià 2004 and first board in Torino 2006, marking key milestones in my career as an Olympiad player.
Professional Experience
as a player
I quickly achieved the necessary norms and earned the International Master title in 2004. During those years, I continued competing, winning several prestigious open tournaments in Spain, while making two Grandmaster norms and surpassing a peak rating of 2529 in 2012. However, for various reasons and the unpredictable turns of life, I only managed to finally complete the requirements and achieve the Grandmaster title in 2024, at the age of 42..
Grand Master
2024
International master
2005
as a coach
Besides playing, I also accumulated years of experience coaching others, participating in both in-person training and online sessions, with reasonable success. Some of my coaching highlights include:
- 2025 - Romanian Women’s Individual Championship (CSM București): 3rd place (Raluca Sgîrcea)
- 2025 - coach of Norway's women national team
- 2024 - Romanian Team Blitz Championship (CSM București): 2nd place
- 2023 - Romanian Women’s Blitz Championship (CSM București): 1st place (Corina Peptan), 2nd place (Raluca Sgîrcea)
- 2023 - Romanian Team Blitz Championship (CSM București): 2nd place
- 2022 - Romanian Women’s Blitz Championship (CSM București): 1st place (Corina Peptan)
- 2021 - Romanian Women’s Rapid Championship (CSM București): 1st place (Corina Peptan)
- 2018 – 43rd Chess Olympiad (Batumi, Georgia): Coach of the Barbados Women’s Team; board 3 achieved WFM title
- 2016 – 42nd Chess Olympiad: Coach of the Barbados Women’s Team, achieving the best result in the team’s history
Awards Through The Years
Prestige Award
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Next Plans
Looking forward to see you there: