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U.S. Faces Tough Test in Round 1 of Pan-Ams

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GM Alex Onischuk will helm board 1 for the U.S. team at the Pan-Am Team Championship.

By Mike Wilmering

The Pan-American Team Championship, a qualifying event for the 2013 World Team Championship, kicks off today at 1 p.m. Central (2 p.m. Eastern). The United States is one of just four teams that made the journey to Campinas, Brazil, a city with a population of 1 million that lies about 60 miles inland from Sao Paulo. This marks the first time the U.S. has participated in this event sicnce its inception in 1970.

This will be a double round-robin tournament, and the U.S. will face Cuba, the highest-rated team, in round 1.

Two of the country’s strongest players will not be present, however, with GM Hikaru Nakamura previously committed to the Tata Steel Tournament in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, and GM Gata Kamsky playing at the Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival. The U.S. team consists of:

  • GM Alex Onischuk (age 37): 2660
  • GM Varuzhan Akobian (age 29): 2622
  • GM Alex Lenderman (age 23): 2619
  • GM Ray Robson (age 18): 2615
  • GM Sam Shankland (age 21): 2595

With an average age of 25, this team is one of the youngest ever fielded by the U.S. for an international competition. Other U.S. representatives at the event include:

  • GM Yury Shulman – Coach
  • IM John Donaldosn – Captain
  • Tony Rich – Head of Delegation

The U.S. is second only to the Cuban delegation in average rating. The other teams participating are Brazil and Uruguay.

Find round-by-round pairings by clicking this link.

The official website for the event is: http://panamericanoequipes.blogspot.com/

1 – BRAZIL Rtg-Ø:2550
Bo. BRA IRtg FED
1 gm Mecking Henrique 2604 BRA
2 gm Milos Gilberto 2580 BRA
3 gm El Debs Felipe 2525 BRA
4 IM Di Berardino Diego Rafael 2490 BRA
GM Matsuura Everaldo 2487 BRA
2 – UNITED STATES Rtg-Ø:2627
Bo. USA IRtg FED
1 GM Onischuk Alexander 2660 USA
2 GM Akobian Varuzhan 2615 USA
3 GM Robson Ray 2615 USA
4 GM Lenderman Aleksandr 2619 USA
GM Shankland Samuel L 2595 USA
3 – CUBA Rtg-Ø:2654
Bo. CUB IRtg FED
1 GM Dominguez Perez Leinier 2723 CUB
2 GM Bruzon Batista Lazaro 2701 CUB
3 GM Quesada Perez Yuniesky 2595 CUB
4 GM Ortiz Suarez Isan Reynaldo 2595 CUB
GM Vera Gonzalez-Quevedo Reynaldo 2462 CUB
4 – URUGUAY Rtg-Ø:2389
Bo. URU IRtg FED
1 GM Rodriguez Vila Andres 2508 URU
2 IM Roselli Mailhe Bernardo 2449 URU
3 FM Larrea Manuel 2261 URU
4 IM Rivera Daniel 2336 URU
FM Izquierdo Daniel 2247 URU
  • Pan-American Team Championships

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