Chess

Havana, October 28 (ACN)-- Cuban Dylan Berdayes will need only half a point to win the elite group and complete his third and definitive Grandmaster (GM) rule in the Andres Clemente Vazquez chess tournament, held in Havana.

Berdayes will face the Salvadoran Ernesto Giron in the farewell of the event and he will do it from the tranquility of his solitary leadership thanks to the 6.5 units he exhibits after agreeing a draw the day before with his compatriot Luis Lazaro Aguero.

His closest pursuer is the also local Omar Almeida, owner of 5.5 points, so Dylan would be crowned with only a draw.

Reaching seven units would also represent for him the completion of the GM title, since he already has a couple of previous requirements and more than 2,500 Elo points in the world ranking.

The dispute for third place is less clear, with a trio of aspirants to anchor on the podium thanks to the shared accumulated 4.5 units: the Venezuelan Jorge Bobadilla and the Cubans Henry Soto and Luis Lázaro Agüero.

In the Premier section, the panorama became more complicated for Cuban Jerzy Jesús Pérez, until now co-leader of that segment, but with a defeat against Mexican Ander Iván Villalba.

That result left him out of the top and also evaporated his options to complete the International Master (IM) standard. To do so, he needed to reach seven points, an unreachable goal even if he wins in the final round against Gian Carlos Arvelo of the Dominican Republic.

Jamaican Shreyas Smith, who won his battle with Cuban Osmel Garcia to dominate the key with six points, took the lead in the key.

Smith is also aiming for a MI standard and to achieve it he will have to win this Friday against the Guatemalan Sergio Miguel Garcia, who has not been doing well and with only 2.5 points is in ninth place in the standings.