In the Spanish-speaking world, there is no one who narrates a chess game with the originality that the great master José F. Cuenca Jiménez brings to the table.

Pepe Cuenca: The Genius of Chess Commentary

Pepe Cuenca, a native of Granada, Spain, is gaining traction not only among chess followers for the unique style of his live tournament commentaries but also for his summaries of games.

Once, during a broadcast, a father wrote in the chat saying his child had attention issues, but all was solved when Pepe Cuenca was narrating.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that part of the interest chess now sparks among youth and new Spanish-speaking fans is not only due to official tournament promotions but also because of how chess is presented to a potential audience. And in this sense, Cuenca, as a commentator, is also a key figure in the popularization of the 64-square game.

This is no small feat. Attracting new followers to chess isn’t something just anyone can do. For some, watching a game unfold is a tedious, heavy, and hard-to-understand activity. What was needed was someone to bring the dead back to life, to wake up the slumbering minds. Cuenca could well be the exorcist of boredom. And it’s worth asking: how does he manage to do it?

From Creativity to the Freedom of Jose Cuenca

Part of the answer lies in the nature of the commentator and the transformation that happens the moment Cuenca grabs the microphone. When he shares the mic, he’s not quite the same person—he holds back. But when left alone or summarizing a game, he reveals his capacity and talent with that spontaneity and ease that defines him.

He connects with all ages, regardless of gender. Cuenca is creative and uninhibited, staying fresh with current trends. He takes advantage of them to craft his own style. One moment, he’s talking about reggaeton, the next about popular TV shows.

He’s inquisitive, restless, curious, and has a sharp sense of humor. The two hours (or more) a chess game can last in complete silence in a playing hall become bearable when Pepe Cuenca is narrating.

He’s both instructive and entertaining—that’s the key. He’s also a player, a grandmaster. He knows his field and can seamlessly transition from the specialized language of chess to the more accessible language of the general audience. And he does this because Cuenca never loses his footing—at least, we’ve never seen him do so. He speaks to the audience, not for himself.

José Fernando Cuenca Jiménez’s career is fascinating. Not only does he teach and commentate on chess, but he’s also a civil engineer and a doctor in applied mathematics. He’s well-read.

His career was destined to break the traditional mold of chess game presentations. He went against the status quo. If it’s possible to narrate a football game, a wrestling match, or a video game with excitement, Cuenca imagined he could do the same with chess.

But Cuenca’s creativity and freedom could only shine through language, through the emotive power of words.

The Language of Pepe Cuenca: A Love for Reinventing Chess Commentary

Everyday language is worn out from overuse. What’s repeated too often becomes boring. We overlook the changing world if we keep saying the same thing. To paraphrase Rayden, “It’s not what we say, but how we say it.” Language can also be revolutionary.

If Cuenca is the exorcist of boredom, it’s because his language revitalizes—it’s a breath of fresh air. It alerts us. It demands we make connections and understand the chess analogies and metaphors. Let’s look at an example. In one of his many stories that have immortalized Facundo, he tells us:

“Who solves problems? Who solves them? Does the Divis solve them? What’s the Divis going to solve! The Divis, at most, will give you a premium month if you behave. Does your dog solve your problems? We’ve said he shits more than a condemned man in the park. Does your math teacher solve your problems? That bastard only sends you 40 integrals to solve at home. You’re Googling them and can’t find a thing. It’s Facun who solves the problems.”

In another Facundo tale, he says:

“You know, who solves your problems? Your baker? If that guy gives you stale bread all day long. Your therapist? If he ended up sleeping with your partner, who you both went to to fix the problem. Well, Facun comes to solve your problems.”

As we know, Facun, or Facundo, is the pawn. But he can be “pawn Carlitos” or transform into a pedestrian, a dog, or perhaps a fantastic being:

“He throws it to Facun. He throws it without a muzzle. Facun starts biting. Gr!, gr!, gr!”

And so, the chess world slowly transforms into the narration of Pepe Cuenca. The king has a name: Reynaldo. The bishop is a little devil, and sometimes the Superman of the board; the knight is a donkey or a “potróculo” (from Spanish “potro”, colt, and “-culo”, which is an adapted sufix from Latin, which usually is used to indicate a diminutive).

And the fair begins; new words are born, and old words come back to life. The intermediate moves are now “interpoops.” And the king can be found “completely naked in the center.” The spectator’s imagination starts to spin. Cuenca wants to be a whirlwind of ideas and emotions. He wants to communicate another possible world.

His ideas and quips are endless: Magnus’s anaconda, “piltrafilla” (from Spanish “piltrafa” or a person of negligible physical or moral consistency, and also part of skinny meat, which has almost no more than the skin.), “I became a poodle,” the exceptional curry flavor, “the white king is cold”… In other creative moments, he tells us:

“That bishop is a totally displaced bishop, a sad bishop, a bishop whose sandwich was taken away at recess. A bishop who’s given broccoli instead of spaghetti Bolognese. That bishop from a3, no one wants him. He’s a bishop who’s good for nothing, not even for animal feed, not even to hide.”

“Here comes pawn Carlitos. And you know he gets restless when he sees the center stirring. He wants to be the king of the protest.”

After this apotheotic display of creativity, everyone eagerly awaits the catharsis of the narration and the game’s conclusion with the iconic ¡Ratatatatatatá!

If you want to take a quick trip through Wikipedia and learn more about Pepe Cuenca , read his biography, watch a small sample of Pepe Cuenca in action or his YouTube account .