Thalia Cervantes

Thalia Cervantes learned to play the game in her native Cuba, but it was only after she moved to the United States at the age of 12 that she really blossomed as a chess player. Settling with her family in St. Louis, Thalia  took advantage of the opportunities offered by living in the capital of American chess. She has progressed from being a Class A rated competitor to one of the best female chess players in the United States.

Thalia has played in the U.S. Women’s Chess Championship every year since 2020, with her best result being third place in 2022. She placed third in the 2024 Women’s Continental Championship held in the Dominican Republic, qualifying to play in the 2025 FIDE Women’s World Cup in Batumi, Georgia. There she upset a higher rated opponent in the first round and took former Women’s World Champion Mariya Muzychuk to a tiebreak before being eliminated. Thalia was a member of the 2021 US entry in the Online Chess Olympiad where the team finished second.