14-year-old Thalia Cervantes’ extraordinary talent for chess manifested itself when she was just a small child living in Havana. This did not go unnoticed by the Castro dictatorship who made the preparations to exploit and abuse her skills and talent. Her parents decided the best thing for their little girl was to defect to the U.S. with her and her sister. Here in the U.S., Thalia’s talent belongs to her, not to the Castro dictatorship.

Johanna Alvarez in The Miami Herald:

She learned how to play chess in Havana and is now a top U.S. player

Thalía Cervantes may look like any other teenager, but don’t let her innocent smile fool you. The 14-year-old is considered one of the most brilliant young chess players.

Thalía was selected as one of the 10 best female U.S. chess players under the age of 21 and is now competing in one of the most prestigious national tournaments, the U.S. Girls Junior Championship. The top prize is $10,300, plus an invitation to the U.S. Women’s Championship.

[…]

When Thalía and her family left Cuba for the Panamerican Youth Chess tournament in Mexico in 2014, she had no idea that her parents had other plans in mind. She had represented Cuba in several chess tournaments abroad, so everyone in the family had passports and visas.

Once in Mexico, her parents revealed their secret: They wanted to get to the United States, specifically to St. Louis, Missouri, considered to be the capital of the U.S. chess scene.

Once the Mexico tournament ended, Thalía, her parents and her older sister headed to the U.S. border and the “American dream.” At the time, Cuban migrants who set foot on U.S. territory were allowed to remain and obtain residency one year later under the Cuban Adjustment Act.

Thalía said of leaving Cuba: “That was the best decision.”