Photo: Calixto N. Llanes

Havana, May 7 (JIT) -- Carlos Daniel Albornoz today submitted Luis Ernesto Quesada in a duel between Cubans and rose to third position in the elite group of the 57 Capablanca in Memoriam 2024 International Chess Tournament, held at the Habana Libre Hotel.

In the fourth of the 10 agreed rounds, the leader of the ranking on the Island successfully led the white pieces during 44 moves of a Ruy López opening, to score his first victory in the competition.

Albornoz attacked his opponent's weaknesses on the kingside, in the middle of a position of opposing castling. He sacrificed quality to enhance the advance of a passed pawn in the center and reached the rooks' end with a destabilizing advantage.

The outcome allowed the player from Camagüey to add a couple of units, a figure with which he shares the seat with the Dane Mads Andersen, executioner of the Norwegian Evgeny Romanov after 49 touches of a Queen's Pawn opening.

From the other table, the Ukrainian Ruslan Ponomariov extended his solo lead by agreeing to peace with the Indian Aryan Chopra, after 39 moves of a Two Knights defense.

The former world champion now displays three stripes, half more than his current opponent. Luis Ernesto has 1.5 scores to place himself fifth and with half less he closes the Romanov classification.

This Tuesday, half of the calendar will be completed with duels Romanov-Albornoz, Ponomariov-Andersen and Luis Ernesto-Chopra. A day later the repetition of the celebrated pulses will begin, but with the color of the pieces inverted.

TWO RULE IN THE OPEN

Cubans Dylan Berdayes and Ermes Espinosa now appear as the only ones with a perfect pace in the open segment of Capablanca 2024, thanks to their victories this Monday over Liván Guevara and Joshua Johnson, respectively.

In the host dispute, Dylan defeated Guevara and took first place by tiebreaker. In his turn duel Ermes had the Trinidadian Johnson to also file four units.

Behind the leaders are 13 players in power of 3.5 stripes, among them other candidates to occupy the throne of the group, such as the hosts Omar Almeida and Lelys Martínez, the Frenchman Gabriel Flom and the Spanish José Fernando Cuenca.

Michel Alejandro Díaz from Las Tunas also advances in the escort platoon with the declared purpose of successfully defending the crown won in the last edition of the fair.