Lázaro Bruzón, sailing smoothly at the Iberoamericano

June 20, 2020

The Cuban Grandmaster Lázaro Bruzón authoritatively settled his second commitment in the Iberoamerican Online Chess Championship and confirmed himself among the favorites to win the tournament.

The player from Tunas residing in the United States (ELO 2644) defeated his Spanish counterpart Daniel Forcén (2552) 4.5-0.5, becoming the only native of the Greater Antilles who has so far qualified for round 3.

"So far I've played quite well," he said in conversation with CiberCuba. "I'm surprised, even, because online chess doesn't motivate me much. The Spaniard is a good blitz player, and although I thought I would win I didn't expect to do it by that margin."

When asked about the strongest candidates to seize the throne, he pointed to Spaniards Alexei Shirov (2647) and David Antón (2703), as well as Venezuelan Eduardo Iturrizaga (2607).

"But that's in theory," he noted. "At this time control the distances between levels narrow and there are people with very good skills. The tournament is strong and there are many good players, some of whom are more dangerous in online play than in over-the-board chess."

Bruzón, who has won the Iberoamerican Championship twice, also assured that "I'm taking it match by match and without putting too much pressure on myself; I want to fight for a good result but being elimination you know you can't fail."

In his first encounter in this competition, the Cuban had beaten (3.5-0.5) Venezuelan IM Félix Ynojosa (2393).

This Friday, his compatriots Yasser Quesada (2565), Yusnel Bacallao (2590) and Neuris Delgado (2621) were seeking their tickets to the third round. By the way, the latter has competed for years under the Paraguayan flag.