U.S. in Clear First after 4 Rounds at Pan-Ams

GM Alex Lenderman has scored 2.5/3 to help bring the U.S. into clear first after four rounds.

The U.S. team earned a decisive victory (4-0) over an overmatched Uruguay team in round 3 and a draw against pre-event favorite Cuba in round 4. A stumble by Cuba against Brazil in round 3 has left the Americans in clear first place after four rounds.

Round 3 on 2013/01/26 at 16:00
Bo.	2	CUB	Rtg	–	4	BRA	Rtg	1½:2½
1.1	GM	Dominguez Perez, Leinier	2723	–	GM	Mecking, Henrique	2604	½ – ½
1.2	GM	Bruzon Batista, Lazaro	2701	–	GM	Milos, Gilberto	2580	½ – ½
1.3	GM	Quesada Perez, Yuniesky	2595	–	GM	El Debs, Felipe De Cresce	2525	½ – ½
1.4	GM	Ortiz Suarez, Isan Reynaldo	2595	–	GM	Matsuura, Everaldo	2475	0 – 1
Bo.	3	USA	Rtg	–	1	URU	Rtg	4 : 0
2.1	GM	Onischuk, Alexander	2660	–	GM	Rodriguez Vila, Andres	2508	1 – 0
2.2	GM	Akobian, Varuzhan	2615	–	IM	Roselli Mailhe, Bernardo	2449	1 – 0
2.3	GM	Robson, Ray	2615	–	FM	Larrea, Manuel	2261	1 – 0
2.4	GM	Lenderman, Aleksandr	2619	–	FM	Izquierdo, Daniel	2247	1 – 0

Heading into play on Friday, GM Alex Onishcuk stated that although the Cuban team had just a slightly higher average rating than the Americans, the presence of two 2700+ GMs gave the appearance of a more difficult challenge.

“Generally, 27 points is an insignificant difference,” Onishcuk said. “However, the Cuban team with two 2700-plus players seems a bit stronger. The title, most probably, will be decided in our matches with Cuba.”

Bo.	3	USA	Rtg	–	2	CUB	Rtg	2 : 2
2.1	GM	Onischuk, Alexander	2660	–	GM	Dominguez Perez, Leinier	2723	½ – ½
2.2	GM	Robson, Ray	2615	–	GM	Bruzon Batista, Lazaro	2701	½ – ½
2.3	GM	Lenderman, Aleksandr	2619	–	GM	Quesada Perez, Yuniesky	2595	½ – ½
2.4	GM	Shankland, Samuel L	2595	–	GM	Ortiz Suarez, Isan Reynaldo	2595	½ – ½

Onischuk’s prediciton seems prescient, but the U.S. still has to fend off the host country, Brazil, which followed an upset victory over Cuba in round 3 with a disappointing draw against Uruguay.

The U.S. can secure guaranteed first place and a ticket to the World Team Championship with a victory over Brazil in round 5.*

*Update: Event organizers switched pairings for rounds 5 and 6 in order to prevent some teams from getting three whites/blacks in a row. So the U.S. will take on Uruguay in round 5 and Brazil in round 6.

UPDATED: Round 6 on 2013/01/29 at 16:00
No.	Team	Team	Res.	:	Res.
1	USA	BRA		:
2	CUB	URU		:
UPDATED: Round 5 on 2013/01/28 at 16:00
No.	Team	Team	Res.	:	Res.
1	BRA	CUB		:
2	URU	USA		:

U.S. in Clear First after 4 Rounds at Pan-Ams

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