The US Chess League has come to the halfway point.  The San Francisco Mechanics and the Arizona Scorpions lead the West Division with a 4-1 record, with the Chicago Blaze a half-point behind in the standings. Meanwhile in the East Division, the New England Nor’ easterns are in sole possession of first place, sporting a USCL-best record of 4.5-.5, with New York Knights just a half-game back at 4-1 . Many of the teams that have underperformed thus far are fully capable of getting back into playoff position by stringing together a few wins in a row.  Let’s take a look at both the Monday and Wednesday Matches – all of which are inter-league contests.

Monday Matches -

New York Knights vs  Miami Sharks                                 

Not often that you get two GM vs. GM matchupsin a match, but this match has just that. Alex Lenderman gets the board 1 assignment for NY against Miami’s Julio Becerra, while Renier Gonzalez looks to bounce back from an unfortunate loss last week to take on NY’s Pascal Charbonneau. Miami needs to split on boards 1 and 2 at a minimum to prevail. The higher rated FM Marcel Martinez needs to take advantage of his 100 point rating advantage, albeit with black, against NY’s Matt Herman. NY has a nice rating edge on board 4 over USCL-newcomer Nicolas Rosenthal, who does have white, which should balance things somewhat. Miami always is very capable of doing damage, and while I sort of expect a tie match, somehow I think NY will get it done, but barely. NY wins 2.5-1.5.

Dallas Destiny vs Carolina Cobras                                        

Dallas looks to bounce back from a disappointing first half of the season when they face the Carolina Panthers. Carolina will look to ride the hot hand of NM Craig Jones and FM Ron ”I have 200 pieces of  Endgame Clothing shirts” Simpson. I expect another close match here – but Dallas’s rating edge on boards 1 and 2 should carry the day. Dallas wins 2.5-1.5.

Philadelphia Inventors vs Chicago Blaze

Hard to figure out this next match – both teams are fielding identical teams. I am going to guess that the GM board 1 encounter between Magesh Panchanathan and Dmitry Gurevich will end in a draw. Board 2, between FM Tom Bartell and IM Angelo Young could decide the match but also will end in a draw. This means the match comes down to board 3 and 4. IM Angelo Young complained to me that I never pick Chicago to win – Ok, Chicago wins 2.5-1.5.

Los Angeles Vibe vs Manhattan Applesauce

Both teams need to win this match – so expect excellent efforts from both teams. Boards 3 and 4 should decide the match – and I think the Vibe are a little better on these boards. The key for Manhattan is to get a win on board 2, with Eli Vovsha having white and a nice rating advantage. LA wins 2.5-1.5.

Wednesday Matches -

New England Nor’easters vs St. Louis Arch Bishops            

New England puts its USCL best record on the line vs. St Louis, who must be anxious to get their second win of the season. Provided GM Ben Finegold doesnt win, New England should coast to a victory. St Louis, given their rating disadvantage on board 3 and 4, will probably be ecstatic about a tie match here, so they need to get 1.5/2 on the top boards and hope for something positive on board 3 and 4. New England coasts to victory 3-1.

Boston Blitz vs San Francisco Mechanics                           

Another close match – highlighted by another GM matchup between Boston’s LarryC and SF’s Jesse Kraai. Overall, Boston seems to be a slight favorite here. The key for SF is probably SF’s board 4, NM Yian Liou vs. Boston’s NM Ilya Krasik. The key for Boston is LarryC coming through on board 1. I will take a suggestion/technique out of Seattle’s Alex Guo playbook here and flip a coin – Boston wins 2.5-1.5. (It came up tails)

Seattle Sluggers vs New Jersey Knockouts                          

The average ratings of the teams are close, but somehow it seems NJ is a favorite. The key for Seattle is to hold on boards 1 and 2 and come through with FM Michael Lee and Alex Guo on boards 3 and 4, respectively. If NJ splits on boards 3 and 4, they win going away, especially if Mackenzie Molner comes up with some cool moves. NJ wins 3-1.

Arizona Scorpions vs Baltimore Kingfishers     

The final match of the night features two improved teams. Baltimore shows they are serious about improving their record by putting forth the highest rated lineup of the year. GM Sergey Erenberg has played almost every week, and features 2 GMs and an IM, with a very experienced master on board 4. Arizona counters with their 6th different lineup of the year. Looking at all four boards, it is hard to see where either team has an appreciable advantage. The colors for each team compensate for whatever rating deficiency they might have on that board. As always, I pick objectively, except when it concerns AZ. AZ Scorpions win 2.5-1.5.

I’m having a déjà vu moment.  Last year, if I remember correctly, I think I actually previewed the opening match of the 2009 season for the Scorpions…which…they happened to win against Chicago?!  Go figure.  Well this year, instead of previewing the Scorpions vs. Blaze match-up, I’m recapping it.  Unfortunately, writing this piece is a bit of a downer, as the Scorpions got arson poured on their tails and were then promptly lit on fiiyyyaaaahhhhh!

            World-renowned authority Sir Senior Partner Larry Adamson Jr. the VIIth wrote at 11:06 AM one day: “I expect another close match – AZ wins 2.5-1.5.”  He was right—sans the “A” + the “Z.”  To the dismay of Arizona, the opposite happened, and their perfect record became tarnished just like Eldrick Woods’ black car’s rear window.  I must admit, it is kind of disheartening writing a recap for a team that lost, but c’est la vie. 

Board 1 – GM Dmitry “I am Legend” Gurevich vs. IM Rogelio Barcenilla

This pairing was bound to be tough for Barcenilla.  As Robby knowingly pointed out in his preview, the opening in this game was pretty much a foregone conclusion: it was destined to be a King’s Indian.  Because this was the case, before the match, I gave Gurevich a major edge in my head due to his immense experience and overall knowledge on the white side of the KID.  I myself had the unpleasant experience of facing Dmitry on the Black side of a KID four years ago, and it was not so much fun.  I was even able to prepare our game to like move 20 or something—following a game he played against super GM Peter Svidler—but still to no avail despite getting a good position out of the opening.  Ironically, this sounds like what actually transpired against Rogelio…except the tables were turned.  This time, Dima was the one who did all of the preparation to move 20 (see his analysis on the Blaze’s website), and it was the opponent who withstood the home prep and ended up with a good position after the smoke cleared.  To this effect, credit must be given to Barcenilla for his effort as he certainly got a typical, playable, razor-sharp KID game against an opponent who understands these positions inside out.  Unfortunately, after a valiant fight, Rogelio lost the thread, and his position quickly deteriorated—a common consequence of these types of positions.  Quick, amusing, personal anecodote…I laughed when Gurevich cited GM Korchnoi in his analysis.  I had to face Viktor “The Terrible” four years ago (why did I play all these people four years ago??) on the black side of a King’s Indian (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=746053&id=820100264&ref=fbx_album).  Needless to say, I was continuously popping Advil for the next few days to relieve the soreness throughout my broken body and had to undergo surgery to repair a severed ego.  I have since made a somewhat full recovery from this trauma.  Anyway, moving on…

Board 2 – IM Dionisio Aldama vs. IM Florin “My Name Has Great Diction” Felecan

Continuing his perfect streak, “the Wavemaster” wrote on September 20 at 12:17 PM: “This will be another decisive game.”  To be fair though, I thought this would be a decisive game as well.  As hinted by Robby in his preview, the game sure was entertaining.  I guess it is fitting, however, to have fire on the board if the Blaze are playing.  This game was very interesting in how it resolved itself.  Normally, logical thought processes would assume that fire can only be extinguished with something like water…fire + water = sad face right?  Strangely enough, a new result emerged from this volatile combination of opponents—a result that is quite perplexing.  Observe: let’s take propane, for example.  Now normally the reactants (propane is representing Aldama + Felecan) yield somethin’ like this:

However, to my astonishment, a brand new chemical element was born out of Aldama + Felecan:

C3H8 + 5O2 + 18.8N2 →  .5LEKO(aq)

From observing this revolutionary product, it is safe to say that it is of extremely dormant and boring nature.  It will only occasionally react with specific reactants from Armenia.

Board 3 – IM Angelo Young vs. I “Wannabe Kobe” M Danny Rensch

This was another exciting game.  However, as it is accurately noted on the Blaze’s website, the outcome of this game was a moot point as Chicago had already clinched the victory in the overall match.  Thus, later in the game, Young wanted to have some fun, Danny said “yay,” Young said “I want to have more fun,” and Danny said “OH NNAAAHHHH!” and preceded to take poor Angelo to his favorite hood: “Ouchtown.”  *It should probably be noted that this town is also where I briefly resided after my encounter with Korchnoi.  I would not recommend visiting any time soon because I’ve never had a good time staying there.  This message has been paid for by Arnold Schwarzenegger.*

Board 4 – Nick Thompson vs. NM Eric Rosen

What is it with pain and these games?  The reason why I say that is because I myself have struggled over the years with the white pieces in this specific opening to find a tangible advantage.  As a result, I have lately employed the opening from the dark side of things with pretty good results.  Both of these talented, young guns played the position well in a straightforward manner.  I feel for Nick in this case because I know how annoying it is to play against this solid defense and successfully achieve a significant advantage.  Yes, he may have made a few inaccuracies here and there (once again, see the analysis on Chicago’s site), but nothing catastrophic.  Slowly but surely, Eric gained the initiative in the position and nicely capitalized on white’s crumbling position, so kudos to him.

In conclusion, it is pretty obvious how Arizona can rebound from this loss: put Amanda on Board 1.  She slays.  Until next time, it’s been a pleasure as always darling.

Yours truly,

Elliott “Always 7777777” Liu

Opening of the Week – Week 5

Pascal Charbonneau (NY) – Larry Kaufman (BAL) USCL Round 5  Caro Kann Advance - b2 Pawn Grab Variation

Week 5′s pick sees a topical Caro gambit where black essentially handed over his head early.  Still, there wee interesting moments, especially since earlier in the season Bryan Smith had reached a promising game vs Joel Benjamin in a related line.

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5

In Round 1 USCL action Joel Benjamin shocked Bryan Smith with the disreputable 3…c5?!.   Joel later wrote that this was old Deep Blue prep stemming back a few decades.  Nevertheless, white should be better now.

That game continued 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.dxc5 Nc6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.Bb5 Qa5+ 7.Nc3 e6 8.Be3? This was the key misstep.  Smith missed the very nasty 8. Bd2! with a white edge.

To give you an idea how strong the move is, after 8. Be3 in the game 8…Nge7 was played, and now on move 9, the computer’s #1 recommendation for white is…
9. Be3-d2! amazingly enough.   After 8. Bd2!, white obviously threatens Nc3xd5.  A plausible continuation is 8…Qc7 9. b4! guarding c5.  Now, black should regain the pawn with 9…Bxf3 10. Qxf3 Qxe5+ 11. Qe2 Qxe2+ 12. Nxe2 and the smoke has cleared with white nursing a small but nagging edge.

4. Nf3

You can’t accuse Charbonneau of not learning.  Last year in Week 9 he played the incredible lemon 4. g4?. Needless to say, his opponent “The Inkblot” Enkbhat was so flummoxed by this astounding self-weakening he replied with 4….Bd7?? (missing 4…Be4! with a big edge) and white won that game as well!

e6 5. Be2 c5 6. Be3 Qb6 7. c4 Qxb2! There is no turning back now.  Weak is 7…dxc4 8. Nbd2 Bd3 9. O-O!  with a simple white edge.)

8. Nbd2

A key position in the gambit.

8….Nc6?!

The first of a couple of inaccuracies from the usually well-prepared Kaufman.  As GM Macieja has proven a couple of times, black needs to play 8…Ng8-e7! here.  He twice held the dangerous Andrey Volokitin to a draw.  It’s important to support the d5 point.

8… Ne7! 9. O-O Nbc6 10. Nb3 O-O-O 11. Nxc5 dxc4 12. Bxc4 Nd5 13. Nd3 Qa3 14. Rc1 Be7 (14… h6 15. Bxd5 exd5 16. Nc5 Bxc5 17. Rxc5 Kb8 18. Nd2 Qxa2 19. Qc1 Nb4 20. Qc3 Nd3 21. Ra1 Qb2 22. Qa5 Nxc5
23. Qxa7+ Kc7 24. Qxc5+ Kd7 25. Qxd5+ Ke8 26. Qa5 b6 27. Qa4+ b5 28. Qa7 Rd7 29. Qa5 Ke7 30. Ra2 Qc1+ 31. Nf1 Qc4 32. Nd2 Qc1+ 33. Nf1 Qc4 34. Nd2 Qc1+ 35. Nf1 Qc4 {1/2-1/2 Volokitin,A (2572)-Macieja,B (2634)/Istanbul 2003/CBM 096}) 15. Bxd5 Qxd3 16. Bxc6 Qxd1 17. Rfxd1 bxc6 18. d5 Rxd5 19. Rxd5 exd5 20. Nd4 Bd7 21. Nxc6 Bxc6 22. Rxc6+ Kb7 23. Rc2 Rd8 24. Bd4 Rd7 25. f4 g6 26. g4 Bd8 27. Kf2 Rc7 28. Rb2+ Kc8 29. Ke3 Rc4 30. Rb5 Ra4 31. Rc5+ Kd7 32. Rxd5+ Ke8 33. Rb5 Rxa2 34. Rb8 Kd7 35. Rb7+ Ke6 36. Ke4 Re2+ 37. Be3 f5+ 38. gxf5+ gxf5+ 39. Kd3 Rxh2 40. Rxa7 Be7 41. Ra6+ Kd5 42. Ra5+ Ke6 43. Kd4 Rb2 44. Ra6+ Kf7 45. Kc3 Re2 46. Kd3 Re1 47. e6+ Kg6 48. Bd4 h5 49. Be5 h4 50. Ra8 h3 51. Rh8 Bf6 52. Bxf6 {1/2-1/2 Volokitin,A (2493)-Macieja,B (2608)/Ohrid 2001/CBM 084})

9. cxd5

Now white is comfortable and black is left with one narrow path – see next note.

9…cxd4??

Another lemon and this one is simply losing.  Correct is 9… exd5 10. dxc5  and here black has a narrow path to live:  10…Nge7! (N)  11. O-O g6! 12. Nb3 Bg7 and, since his pieces are developed and his king is not in danger, he is all right.

10. Nc4! Did black simply forget about this elementary knight move (one of white’s only ideas in the variation?)  Now white is completely winning.  Black had a massive short-circuit.

10…Qc2 11. dxc6?

The best way to show the magnitude of black’s blunder on move 9 is the far simpler win for white here:  11. Qxc2 Bxc2 12. dxc6 dxe3 (12… Bb4+ 13. Bd2 wins) 13. cxb7 Rb8 14.
Rc1 Be4  (14…Ba4 is also met by Nd6+ and Rc8+ winning immediately) 15. Nd6+ Bxd6 16. Rc8+ Kd7 17. Bb5+ and black must resign.   The text move is far weaker and white converts a prosaic material advantage.

11… Qxd1+ 12. Rxd1 dxe3 13. Nd6+ Bxd6 14. exd6 bxc6 15. d7+ Kd8 16. Ne5 Nh6 17. Nxc6+ Kc7 18. d8=Q+ Rhxd8 19. Nxd8 Rxd8 20. Rxd8 exf2+ 21. Kxf2 Kxd8 22. Rc1 Ng8 23. Rc4 Ne7 24. Bf3 Nc8 25. Rb4 Nb6 26. a4 Kc7 27. a5 Nd5 28. Bxd5 exd5 29. Ke3 Bc8 30. Kd4 Kc6 31. Rb8 Kc7 32. Rb3 Be6 33. Kc5 g6 34. Rb4 h5 35. g3 d4 36. Rxd4 Bd7 37. Rf4 Be6 38. Rb4 Bc8 39. Kd5 Be6+ 40. Ke5 Kc6 41. a6 Kc5 42. Rb7 Bc4 43. Rxa7 Kb6 44. Re7 Kxa6 45. Kf6 Kb6 46. Rxf7 Bxf7 47. Kxf7 g5 48. Kg6 h4 49. g4 1-0

No time for words – just results this week.

Boston vs. New Jersey -  Boston wins 2.5-1.5.

New York vs. Baltimore – NY wins 2.5-1.5.

Miami vs. Seattle - Miami gets their first win 2.5-1.5

LA vs. San Francisco. SF Giants, I mean Mechanics wins 3-1.

Another tough match is in store for the AZ Scorpions as they take on the much improved Chicago Blaze. The Scorpions are 4-0 on the young season, while Chicago sits alone in 3rd place of the West division with a record of 2.5-1.5. The Scorpions are coming off a very close victory against the Dallas Destiny while Chicago dropped their first match of the season against the LA Vibe. Chicago is using a lineup they used earlier in the season. Arizona is using their 5th different lineup of the year. Lets look at the matches. 

Board 1 – GM Dmitry Gurevich vs. IM Rogelio Barcenilla

This will be a tough match-up. I expect Rogelio to play his usual Kings Indian Defense, whereas I expect Dmitry Gurevich to play a main line KID. I am not sure if they have played before. I dont expect this game to end in a draw – it will be decisive- just not sure it will be 1-0 or 0-1.

Board 2 – IM Dionisio Aldama vs. IM Florin Felecan

This will be another decisive game. I know for sure Dionisio doesn’t like to draw and Florin doesn’t either. Dionisio got the best of him last year in a wild game (http://www.uschessleague.com/games/aldamafelecan09.htm). I expect Florin to bust out his trusted Modern/Pirc Defense. Should be an entertaining game.

Board 3 – IM Angelo Young vs. IM Danny Rensch

Not to repeat myself but this will be another slugfest. Both Angelo and Danny have uncompromising styles. Angelo can and has played everything – including 1.Nc3; 1.Nf3; 1.d4 and 1.e4. Angelo probably will decide 1 minute after the game has started to make his first move. I dont expect this to be a theoretical battle – both sides will try to make the other play something they are not comfortable with.

Board 4 – Nick Thompson vs. NM Eric Rosen

Two relatively young players square off in the all-important board 4 encounter. Eric is the more experienced player having a successful 2010 US Junior Closed. Nick has improved a lot recently making master and had a successful debut for the Scorpions in Week 2.

This match will be held in Mesa, once again at Abstrax. If you are in the Phoenix/Mesa area, come root our Scorpions on.

Time for Week 5 – very quick picks today. My record for predictions now stands at 19-13 – going 5-3 last week. Exciting matches again this week!

New England Nor’easters (3.5-.5) vs Philadelphia Inventors (1.5-2.5)

New England sports a fifty point average rating advantage – and should win this match handily. Key for Philly is probably to score on board 2 with Jay Bonin having the white pieces. New England wins 3-1. 

 Carolina Cobras (.5-3.5) vs Manhattan Applesauce (1-3)        

Interesting plot line here with IM Lev Milman  playing against his former team, Carolina. Doesnt happen too often I dont think (GM Alejandro Ramirez and GM Alex Lenderman come to mind) – can anyone think of others? In any event, Carolina has a good chance to win given their “inside information” knowing how Lev plays. Not sure its gonna be enough – I predict a tie, 2-2. 

            
 St. Louis Arch Bishops (2-2) vs Dallas Destiny (1-3)             

This match is critical for both teams. Dallas has a very balanced lineup while St Louis “only” fields 1 GM this week. With no Naka or Yuri (good luck at the Olympaid!!), St Louis can put a higher rated player on board 4. The key game for St. Louis has to be board 1 – where GM Ben Finegold is white and will be itching to win his 2nd game of the USCL season. The key for Dallas is for IM Sadorra to defeat IM Michael Brooks. Dallas has a slight rating edge on 3rd and 4th but overall its pretty close. I predict Dallas by a hair, 2.5-1.5.

                
Chicago Blaze (2.5-1.5) vs Arizona Scorpions (4-0)      

 Two of the top teams in the West battle it out this week. As everyone knows, AZ has a perfect 4-0 lifetime record against Chicago, and in fact is 4-0 this year. However, Chicago is much improved this year as their record shows. I expect another close match – AZ wins 2.5-1.5.

Week 4 produced another exciting week in the U.S. Chess League.  There were tons of exclams, blunders, and game changing performances.

Brief Summary of Week 4 -

In the Monday matches, Arizona moved to 4-0 with a close victory over the Dallas Destiny. Arguably the strongest team in the East, the New York Knights, won decisively despite some claims that the match was much closer than the 3.5-.5 score indicated. Philadelphia and Baltimore tied, literally, with all 4 games ending in draws! How often does that happen? I do not know, but not too often! [UPDATE: Per USCL Commissioner, Greg Shahade, this has occurred three times, but only 2 of those really count because one was the product of weather issues].  The surprise of the night to my eyes was St Louis failing to beat the struggling Miami Sharks.

In the Wednesday matches, New England managed to barely hang on against Boston, and tie the match 2-2. The surprise among the Wednesday matches was Carolina’s tie with the significantly favored New Jersey Knockouts, and more particularly, FM Ron Simpson’s huge upset win over GM Boris Gulko. The LA Vibe managed to defeat Chicago Blaze 3-1 in fairly decisive manner. The final match of the night saw San Francisco defeat Seattle in a very tough match that almost swung the direction of Seattle.

Monday Results -

Manhattan Applesauce vs. New York Knights    NY Knights win 3.5-.5.

Philadelphia Inventors vs. Baltimore Kingfishers  Tied, 2-2.

St. Louis Arch Bishops vs. Miami Sharks      Tied, 2-2.

Dallas Destiny vs. Arizona Scorpions            AZ wins 2.5-1.5.

Wednesday Results -

Boston Blitz vs. New England Nor’easters  Tied, 2-2.

New Jersey Knockouts vs. Carolina Cobras   Tied, 2-2.

Los Angeles Vibe vs. Chicago Blaze  LA wins 2.5-1.5

San Francisco Mechanics vs. Seattle Sluggers   SF wins 2.5-1.5

Let’s take a look at all the action from Week 4.

Manhattan Applesauce (1-2) vs. NY Knights (2-1).

GM Giorgi Kacheisvili is one of the more prepared GM’s out there, and he showed that in his game with Stripunsky, who always seems to avoid main line theory, especially with white. GM Stripunsky played 2.Nc3 and 3.Bb5 Anti-Sicilian, which can contain some serious venom if you are not prepared. Giorgi however equalized easily and immediately had a nagging pull the entire game  (http://www.uschessleague.com/games/stripunskykacheishvili10.htm). I will let you refer to New York’s Matthew Herman’s excellent recap of the entire Manhattan Applesauce vs. NY Knights match (http://newyorkknights.blogspot.com/2010/09/week-4-lucky.html).

On board 2, GM Pascal Charbonneau vs. IM Dmitry Schneider (http://www.uschessleague.com/games/charbonneaudschneider10.htm) started out as a 4 Knights – black did not play the more common 4….Nd4 and chose instead 4…Bd6, turned into an Italian type of game where black basically seemed to be up some tempos in the position and equalized easily after 18…d5.

After defending well for a long time and probably due to time pressure, black erred with 35…Re2? allowing a sexy knight fork with 36.Ne7 Kh7 37.Nxg6!

and white was able to convert his extra pawn.  New York was able to win on boards 3 and 4 where GM Fedorowicz defeated SM Gregory Braylovsky in a crazy game and Alexander Katz swindled James Black.

Philadelphia Inventors (1-2) vs. Baltimore Kingfishers (2-1).

The second match of the night featured Baltimore fielding a nice 2450 average rated team against Philly’s 2390 team.  Baltimore has to feel like they let one get away. GM Magesh Panchanthan and GM Sergey Erenberg played a very straightforward equal game where neither side was able to even sniff an advantage. Board 3 had less action than board 1 - FM Karl Dehmelt vs. IM Ray Kaufman started as a Panov Botvinnik Caro-Kann and quickly turned into a well-known drawish ending. Quite simply, it is just equal with little chance to win. Also, before looking at the board 2 encounter, on board 4 NM Ricky Seltzer pushed for a win but the cagey veteran IM Richard Costigan was able to defend a slightly worse position without too much difficulty. However, Board 2 featuring GM Larry Kaufman (BAL) vs. FM Tom Bartell (PHL), is the one that got away from Baltimore. Larry Kaufman immediately got the usual slight edge that white gets in the Kings Indian, and dominated for much of the game before succumbing to perhaps fatigue and the usual USCL randomness. Let’s take a look.

Kaufman,Larry (2452) – Bartell,Tom (2429)

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 0–0 5.Nf3 d6 6.Be2 Na6 7.0–0 e5 8.Be3 Ng4 9.Bg5 Qe8 10.Re1 h6 11.Bc1 c6 12.h3 Nf6 13.Bf1 Nh7?!

[13...Nh5 this is better as the knight nerves no purpose on h7 - on h5, black can at least play Nf4 in some positions.] 14.Be3 Qe7 15.Qd2 exd4 16.Bxd4 Rd8 17.Bxg7 Kxg7 18.Rad1 Be6 19.Nd4 Qg5 20.f4 Qc5 21.f5

[The move 21.f5 is not bad but he misses a chance to end things quickly. 21.e5!

this is a crusher - the pin on  the d-file looks dangerous initially but white has the resource Na4 at the right moment  as the following shows. 21...d5 (21...dxe5 22.Rxe5 Qb6 23.Na4 Qc7 24.Rxe6) 22.cxd5 Bxd5 23.Bxa6 and white is doing well ) 21...Bd7 22.Kh1 Nf6 23.Nb3 Qe5 24.fxg6 fxg6 25.Qxd6 white is a clean pawn up and should not have too many difficulties converting 25...Re8 26.c5 Nc7 27.Na5 Re6 28.Qxe5 Rxe5 29.b4 Rae8 30.a3 [30.Nxb7 Rb8 31.Na5 Rxb4 even here whte is better after 32.Rd6 - black's bishop is tied down and has no activity 32.Rd6 whte is clearly better here and mayne just winning; however, what Larry played is practically good because white is not in a hurry] 30…Ncd5 31.Nxd5 Nxd5 32.Nxb7 Rxe4 33.Rxe4 Rxe4 34.b5! obvious but best – white is active here and black’s minor pieces are not coordinated 34…Rf4 35.Kg1 Kf6 36.bxc6 Bxc6 37.Na5

[37.Nd8! the evil computer finds this stronger. Why? Because after 37...Ba8 38.c6 Rf5 39.Rb7. The game continuation gives white an opportunistic check with g4+ as follows -  37...Ne3 38.Rd6+ Kf5 39.g4+! Ke4 40.Bd3+! Kf3 41.Nxc6 winning] 37…Ne3 38.Re1 [38.Rd6+ Kf7 39.Nxc6 Rxf1+ 40.Kh2 Rf2 41.Ne5+ Ke8 42.Rxg6! winning] 38…Nc2 39.Rc1 Nd4 40.Nxc6 Nxc6 41.Bb5 Nd4 42.Ba6 Ne6 43.c6 Nc7 44.Bb7 Rf5 45.Rc4 a5 46.Bc8 Re5 47.Bd7 Ke7 48.Rc3 Kd6 49.Rf3 Nd5 50.Rf8 Re3 51.a4 Ra3 52.Rh8 h5 53.Be8 Nf4 54.Rh7 Rc3 55.Rd7+ Ke6 56.Ra7 Rc2 57.c7 Kd6 58.Kf1 h4 59.Rxa5 Rxc7 60.Ra6+ Ke5 61.Bxg6 Rg7 62.Ra5+ Kd4 63.Be8 Nxg2 white has managed to squander his edge and now the game is drawn 64.Rh5 Ke3 65.Bc6 Nf4 66.Re5+ Kd3 67.Rf5 Ke3 68.Re5+ Kd3 69.Rf5 Ke3 70.Re5+ Game drawn by repetition ½–½

St. Louis Arch Bishops (1.5-1.5) vs. Miami Sharks (0-3)

St Louis “only” fielded 2 GMs this week, with Hikaru Nakamura and Ben Finegold leading the charge.  Miami has been disappointing thus far but you can always count on GM Julio Becerra to play well – and he needed to as he had the unenviable task of playing GM Hikaru Nakamura (http://www.uschessleague.com/games/nakamurabecerra10.htm).

This game started with a typical Hikaru first move 1.b3 and was played at a very rapid pace by Hikaru. The pawn structure reminded me of a delayed Exchange Ruy (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Bxc6 dc 7.d3, which is considered equal.

However, black had his queen on h6 with the ability to rook lift with Re6, Rg6. Then Becerra decided to sacrifice the exchange with 14…Rxg4! which is not intuitive at first glance. However, Becerra’s vision paid dividends here.

After 14…Rxg4! 15.hg Nf6 16.g5 Qxg5 Hikaru strangely played 17.f4? immediately sacrificing his king position. It sure seemed like 17.Nf3 or 17.Nc4 was better.

After 19.fxe5, black has a perpetual, so I am guessing Hikaru, sensing his team needed a win from him, avoided the potential perpetual and rolled the dice with 19.Re1 – unfortunately black now is clearly better after 19…exf4, with the idea of playing g5 at the correct moment. Team events make you do things you would not normally do!

The game proceeded with some nice play by Becerra – however Becerra missed a knockout blow with 28…Rxe5!

After which 29.Nxe5 Qh2+ 30.Kf1 Qh1+ 31.Ke2 Ne3!! and white cant stop mate without giving up his queen – such potential for GOTW!!

Hikaru, to his credit, hung in there and was able to salvage the draw in a rook ending though Becerra still had multiple opportunities to cash in.

Board 2 had the strong smell of preparation as GM Renier Gonzalez, making his season debut for Miami, blitzed out a lot of theory in a Grand Prix, and GM Ben Finegold walked right into his preparation. The following position apparently is in some book (maybe a reader can supply the source)- and black is just dead.

A very dirty move indeed!! Black had no defense and Ben had to concede a few moves later.

Perhaps the strangest part of the match was Spencer Finegold giving NM Andres Santalla a draw in a clearly winning position. Perhaps Spencer thought a draw was all that was needed or expected of him?

The last match of the night involved my Arizona Scorpions vs. Dallas Destiny. John Gurczak has posted an excellent review of the match on the Scorpions blog  -(http://arizonascorpionchess.com/2010/09/scorpions-improve-to-4-0-maintain-1st-in-the-west-by-john-gurczak/). 

Below are my annotations of my win over FM Keaton Kiewra of Dallas (http://www.uschessleague.com/games/kiewraadamson10.htm).

1.e4 c5 2.a3

 Ok. I definitely did not expect this move. Keaton is well booked but I never saw this coming -not in a million years! Not gonna lie here – I started laughing as I saw the move 2.a3 come across the screen. 2…g6 I played this move with the intention of transposing into a Panov Botvinnik Caro Kann, up a tempo of sorts with white having wasted a move with a3. I also considered playing 2…e6 or 2…Nc6 with the idea of reaching some sort of Wing Gambit or French Wing Gambit. In the end, I decided not to reward white’s play with aiming for a gambit type of position.

3.d4 I also did not expect this either – I was half-way expecting 3.b4 Bg7 4.Nc3 3…cxd4 4.c3 ah ha – a Smith Morra Gambit with a3 and g6 thrown in! I only can explain not taking the gambit pawn with my plan of heading for a Panov Botvinnik 4…Bg7 5.cxd4 d5 6.exd5 the other way of playing the position is to play 6.e5 which again transposes to a c3 Sicilian with 1.e4 c5 2.c3 g6 4.d4 cd 5.cd d5 6.e5 – except again, its debatable whether white can make use of a3. 6…Nf6 7.Bc4 0–0 [7...Nxd5 I probably should have taken here - because the usual response to this is Qb3 - the problem is black can play e6, 0-0 and play Nc6 with the idea of Na5, and black is much better] 8.Nc3 Nbd7 9.Ba2 Nb6 10.Qf3 consistent – hard to find fault with this move since white has gone this far 10…Bg4 11.Qg3 Bf5 12.Nf3

12…Ne4?!  I thought this was a good move at the time but now I am not so sure. I think better would have been 12…Nfxd5 or 12…Nbxd5 with the idea of taking on c3, and playing Rc8 attacking the hanging pawns 13.Qh4! this is a good move because it keeps the pressure on black due to some possible Bh6, Ng5 ideas – and maybe even Bg5 13…Nxc3 14.bxc3 Nxd5 15.Bxd5?! I was shocked Keaton played this move – it seemed so anti-positional. I expected 15.Bh6 where I have to find [15.Bh6 Nxc3 16.Ng5 Nxa2 (16...Qxd4) ; 15.Bd2 Rc8 this seems better because white doesnt have to give up his a2-bishop immediately] 15…Qxd5 16.0–0 Rfe8?! this is dubious at best – I had delusions of playing e5 and using my 2 bishop edge to hit the weak pawns on the queenside [16...Rac8 this is better 17.Bd2 Rfe8 the insertion of these moves now ties down white's bishop to guarding c3]

17.Bh6 Rac8 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.Rfe1 Qd6 [19...Rxc3 of course I wanted to play this but I decided to go for more, thinking that my long term positional advantage would play itself out once I consolidated. I was concerned that after 20.Rxe7 Rxe7 21.Qxe7 Be4 22.Ne5 Bxg2 23.Nxf7 I was not sure whether this was sufficient to win - but as I look at it now, I think black has excellent chances to win] 20.Re3 Rc7 21.g4!? wow. As my friend IM Mac Molner would say, “if that move doesn’t lose, its a good move” (more words than he usually utters). I think despite its apparent ugliness, Keaton makes a good practical choice though I am sure the positional players out there were probably screaming and sending rampant and spam-like tells on ICC.

21…Bc8 22.g5 I was in bad time pressure here (What’s new?) and realized this isnt so easy for black 22…b6 [The purpose of this move is to re-position the bishop onto a better diagonal, hoping for long-term pressure. Note that 22...Qd7 this fails to 23.Ne5 Qf5 24.Rf3!]

23.Qh6+ Kg8 24.Re4 I felt here that black had the long term advantage of having a strong bishop – if I could consolidate I was sure black would be better 24…f6! [24...f5 this is favored by the computer but I really dont believe it is best to allow 25.Re3, Ne5, f3 idea; I figured I needed a little more tension in the position, rather than fixing my pawns on light squares]

25.Rh4 e5! All of the sudden, he position begins to open up and white’s king looks rather exposed. White’s queen is stuck on the h-file, hemmed in by the rook on h4.

26.gxf6 Qxf6 [I spent a lot of time looking at 26...Bb7!? 27.dxe5 Qc6 28.Rf4 but I didnt see 28...Qxc3 so I decided to play it safe and follow my original plan of consolidating; apparently 26...exd4 was even stronger] 27.Nxe5 Rf8! this makes white make a decisionwith regard to guarding the f2-pawn and fortunately Keaton makes the wrong one 28.f4? [28.f3 this makes more sense in that it doesnt give black unfettered access on the b7-h1 diagonal - I am sure black has adequate compensation] 28…Bb7 29.Re1 Rg7! this is a great move in that it consolidates the position and possibly threatens g5 ideas! 30.c4 the point is to play d5 and kill the bishop – the problem is white’s position starts to fall apart because he cant improve his position anymore while black can 30…Qd6! 31.Rd1  Qxa3 the evil computer likes 31…Rf5 with the idea of Rh5!! – I saw this but wanted to activate my queen, and get my pawn back 32.Rh3 Qb2 33.d5 Qe2 [33...Rf5!] 34.Rdd3 Qe1+ 35.Kg2 Qe2+ I played this to gain a little time on the clock as I was living on the 30 second increment 36.Kg1 Qe1+ 37.Kg2 Qe4+ 38.Rdf3

38…b5! I had seen this idea a long time ago and was itching to play it – now it makes perfect sense as the center collapses and my bishop rules the day. The rest is easy. 39.Qg5 bxc4 40.Ng4 Bxd5 41.Nf6+ Rxf6 42.Qxf6 Rf7 43.Qb2 Qxf4! White resigns 0–1.

My win, along with a beastly effort from NM David Adelberg and nice save from Levon “The Solid” allowed us to defeat Dallas 2.5-1.5.

Now onto the Wednesday matches -

Boston (2-1) vs. New England (3-0) - 

Boston appeared to be in good shape when GM Larry Christiansen played a novelty 11.Ng5 – something he later claimed was not a good novelty, and quickly defeated IM Sam Shankland (http://www.uschessleague.com/games/larrycshankland10.htm).

(17) Christiansen,Larry (2665) – Shankland,Sam (2567) [B12]

USCL Boston vs New England Internet Chess Club (4), 15.09.2010

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 c5 6.Be3 cxd4 7.Nxd4 Ne7 8.Nd2 Nbc6 9.N2f3 Be4 10.0–0 Ng6 11.Ng5 this move is a novelty – and one where Larry later said was not a promisong one.  However, Shankland is very well prepared so it must have surprised him. Previously seen were 11.Nxc6 bxc6 12.Nd4 Nxe5 13. f3 Bg6 14.f4 Nd7 15. Nxc6 Qc7 16.Nd4 Bc5 in the game Hracek – Postny, Sibenik 2008, and 11.c4 Be7 12.Nxc6 bxc6 13. cxd5 Bxd5 in the game Karjakin vs. Anand, Nice 2009. Sam failed to find the best continuation and soon Larry capitalized.

11….Ngxe5 12.f4 Nxd4 13.fxe5 Nxe2+ 14.Qxe2 Bg6 15.Nxf7 Bxf7 16.Qb5+ Qd7 17.Qxd7+ Kxd7 18.Rxf7+ Kc6 19.c3 Re8 20.Raf1 a6 21.a4 Rg8 22.b4! Not that this is the best move of the game but it just shows that white can be patient, taking away all of black’s options and does not need to hurry things.  Black really doesnt have much he can do.

Be7 23.g4 Kd7 24.Kg2 Kc8 25.b5 axb5 26.axb5 Kd8 27.Bb6+ Kd7 28.Bc5 Kd8 29.Ra1 Black resigns 1–0.

Unfortunately for Boston, Shmelov was unable to hold what appeared to be a slightly worse position vs. IM Robert Hungaski, who, to his credit, kept the game going a long time, knowing he had to win in order for New England to tie the match.

New Jersey (1-2) - Carolina (0-3)

New Jersey slipped up against the underdog Carolina Cobras, when Craig Jones, needing a win to salvage a tie match, was finally able to defeat a game effort from New Jersey’s Anna Matlin (http://www.uschessleague.com/games/cjonesmatlin10.htm). However, the moment of the night for Carolina, and probably the entire week 4, was FM Ron Simpson’s defeat of USCL-stud, GM Boris Gulko. The game ended abruptly when Gulko (playing a rare game with the black pieces) inexpliably played 33…h5??, allowing an immediate decisive shot 34.Qg5!

(22) Simpson,Ron (2330) – Gulko,Boris (2587) [B42]

USCL New Jersey vs Carolina Internet Chess Club (4), 15.09.2010

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 a6 5.Bd3 Bc5 6.Nb3 Be7 7.Nc3 d6 8.a4 b6 9.Be3 Bb7 10.Qg4 Bf6 11.Rd1 Nd7 12.Qg3 Qc7 13.0–0 Ne7 14.Bf4 Ne5 15.Bb5+ N7c6 16.Be2 0–0 17.Rd2 Rac8 18.Rfd1 Rfd8 19.Be3 Nb4 20.f4 Nd7 21.Rxd6 Nxc2 22.Bf2 Nb4 23.e5 Be7 24.R6d2 Nc5 25.Nd4 Ne4 26.Nxe4 Bxe4 27.Qe3 Bb7 28.f5 Bd5 29.Qg3 Kh8 30.Bg4 Bg5 31.Be3 Bxe3+ 32.Qxe3 exf5 33.Nxf5 h5? [33...Be6 was better, though white is still better even here].

34.Qg5! black cant stop mate or Qxh5+ 34…Qxe5 35.Qxh5+ Kg8 36.Nh6+ wins the queen and caused Gulko to resign 1–0.  A shocking end to the game – will this tied match with Carolina cost NJ a playoff spot? Time will tell.

LA Vibe (1-2) - Chicago Blaze (2.5-.5).

The LA Vibe played a very solid match defeating the Chicago Blaze 3-1. GM Melik Khachiyan outplayed Dmitry Gurevich on board 1: http://www.uschessleague.com/games/khachiyangurevich10.htm

Meanwhile IM Andranik Matigozian seemed to be in control for most of the game in his win over Shulman-killer Florin Felecan. http://www.uschessleague.com/games/felecanmatikozyan10.htm

 LA was able to clinch the match when LA’s Tatev Abrahamyan defeated Chicago’s USCL stud, IM Angelo Young (http://www.uschessleague.com/games/abrahamyanyoung10.htm).  Angelo never seemed to coordinate his pieces and Tatev netted the full point with some nice attacking moves and patience.

(28) Abrahamyan,Tatev (2385) – Young,Angelo (2415) [B56]

USCL Los Angeles vs Chicago Internet Chess Club (4), 15.09.2010

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Bd7 6.f3 a6 7.Be3 e6 8.Qd2 Qc7 9.0–0–0 Nc6 10.g4 Ne5 11.g5 Ng8 12.f4 Nc4 13.Bxc4 Qxc4 14.f5 Ne7 15.fxe6 fxe6 16.Rhf1 Ng6 17.Nb3 Be7 18.Bc5 Rd8 19.Bb6 Rc8 20.Qe3 Bb5 21.Rf2 Qc6 22.Na5 Qd7 23.Qg3 Rf8 24.Rfd2 Kf7 25.Nb3 Bc4 26.h4 Kg8 27.e5 d5 28.h5 Nf4 29.Be3 Nxh5 30.Qh3 Bxb3 31.axb3 Rxc3 32.bxc3 g6 33.Rxd5 Qc6 34.Rd6 Qxc3 35.Qxe6+ Rf7 36.Bd4 Qf3 37.Bb2 Nf4 38.Qc8+ Rf8 39.Qc4+ Rf7 40.Rd8+ Bf8 41.Rxf8+ Kxf8 42.Qc8+ Black resigns 1–0.

San Francisco (2-1) vs. Seattle Sluggers (1-2)

The final match of the night was close, though really San Francisco almost blew it. Overall, IM David Pruess played a solid game in defeating Seattle’s FM Cozianu (http://www.uschessleague.com/games/cozianupruess10.htm), while FM Steven Zierk seemed to have a much better position, when he blundered, playing too fast in FM Michael Lee’s time pressure. http://www.uschessleague.com/games/zierklee10.htm.

This loss opened the door for Seattle to win the match, basically coming down to the board 1 encounter between GM Josh Friedel vs. GM Varuzhan Akobian (Michael Wang (SEA) – Yian Liou  (SF) was the last game to finish but Yian could not find a way to win a pawn up rook ending).  Josh played very well throughout the game, and kept his nerves especially toward the end. Josh did not panic in time pressure, and found some precise moves to finish the game off. This game has a great chance of winning GOTW! [UPDATE: This did win GOTW!].

(31) Friedel,Josh (2575) – Akobian,Varuzhan (2698) [C06]

USCL San Francisco vs Seattle Internet Chess Club (4), 15.09.2010

1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 (Friedel usually plays 3.Nc3) Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.Bd3 c5 6.c3 Nc6 7.Ngf3 Be7 8.0–0 a5 9.Qe2!? (9.Re1 cd 10.cd Qb6 11.Nb1 Nxd4 12.Nxd4 Qxd4 13.Nc3 is more standard – white seeks to make use of the b5-square)

9…a4 10.Rd1 Qb6 11.Nf1 a3 12.bxa3 c4 You really have to have patience to play positions like this because black is forced to defend the kingside for the entire game. Black aims to defend for a long time and eventually break on the queenside.

13.Bc2 Bxa3 14.Ng5 Nf8 15.Ne3 Qc7 16.Qg4 Ne7 17.h4 Bxc1 18.Rdxc1 h6 19.Nh3 Rg8 20.a4 Bd7 21.Qd1 Ra5 22.h5 Kd8 23.f4 Kc8 24.Qf3 Kb8 25.Rf1 g6 26.Ng4 Rh8 27.Nf6 Bc6 28.g4 Nd7 29.g5 Nf8 30.gxh6 Rxh6 31.Ng5 Nf5 32.Kf2 gxh5 33.Rh1 h4 34.Ng4 Rh8 35.Bxf5 exf5 36.Ne3 Ne6 37.Nxf5 Nxg5 [37...Bxa4 hard to believe white isnt better here] 38.fxg5 Rxa4 39.Rxa4 Bxa4 40.Nd6 Qb6 41.Nxf7 (a daring move by white – but it makes sense – black does not have enough material to attack) 41…Rf8 42.Rxh4 Qb2+ 43.Kg3 Bd1 not sure if Josh saw this move but it definitely was pleasing to the ICC onlookers 44.Qxd1  forced, but this wins  44…Rxf7

45.Qe1! a nifty defensive move in time pressure – nice find by Josh. It threatens e6, guards c3 and f2 and seems to cover everything.

45…Qc2 46.e6 Qd3+ 47.Kh2 Rf1 48.Qg3+ Ka7 49.Qxd3!

49…cxd3 50.Rh3 Rf2+ 51.Kh1 d2 52.Rd3 Re2 53.Rxd2 Rxe6 54.Rg2 Rg6 55.Kh2 Kb6 56.Kh3 Kb5 57.Kg4 Kc4 58.Rg3 b5 59.Kf5 Rg8 60.g6 b4 61.cxb4 Kxd4 62.Kf6 Kc4 63.Rg4+! d4 64.g7 Rd8 65.g8Q+ Rxg8 66.Rxg8 Kxb4 67.Rd8 Kc3 68.Ke5 d3 69.Ke4 d2 70.Ke3 Black resigns 1–0.

 Dallas Destiny (1.0 – 2.0) vs Arizona Scorpions (3.0 – 0.0)

Hey everyone, this is John Gurczak, player on the Arizona Scorpions. After Week 3’s 3.5-.5 routing of the L.A. Vibe, the Scorpions had high hopes coming into the match against Dallas. This was by far the closest match we have had this year and brutal to watch from a fan perspective with so many ups and downs. The Scorpions were using their fourth different lineup in four weeks, along with the season debut of two players, Warren Harper and David Adelberg. Going into the match Dallas had led the all time series record by a score of 1.5-.5, so the Scorpions were looking to even things up and improve upon their perfect season. The board by board match ups were fairly even with Dallas having an advantage on Board 2, while Arizona had a slight rating advantage on Board 1. Boards 3 and 4 were the toss up boards which were critical for the Scorpions this match and in the end propelled them to a 2.5-1.5 victory and kept the perfect season alive. Now lets take a look at each game in greater detail…

Board 1

(450) Bercys,Salvijus (2467) – Altounian,Levon (2496) [A90]

USCL ARZ-DAL Week 4, 13.09.2010

This was a match up where I thought if the Scorpions were going to win the match, a draw was necessary. Bercys is a strong IM, who has been very active as of late playing most of the big tournaments in the U.S. Lev is also a strong IM but is not as active as he used to be, playing a tournament once every few months. In his first two season Lev scored 5.5/10 with a 2523 performance rating playing mainly on board 2 with a few board 1 appearances mixed in. Lev has proven to be a solid player who can hold a draw when needed.

1.d4 e6 A bit of a surprise considering Lev almost uniformly plays 1…d5 or d6 nowadays. With this in mind, Lev definitely had something prepped. 

 2.c4 f5?! The Dutch!!! This opening is completely an anti-Lev opening and he took everyone by surprise with this choice. The last time Lev employed this opening was back in 2003 against Armen Ambartsoumian and there are only a total of 4 times he has played this in tournament play. 

 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Bb4+ Lev chooses a much less popular continuation. More popular moves are Be7, d5 and d6.

 5.Bd2 Bxd2+ 6.Qxd2 0–0 7.Nc3 d6 8.Nf3 Qe7 9.0–0 c6 Up to this point it seems as though Lev was still in his prep as he had well over 70 minutes while Bercys was taking his time.

10.Rfe1 d5 11.Rab1N The first new move from either side. Previously b3 was played once and Qc2 has been played twice.

 11…Nbd7 12.Qc2 Anticipating Ne4 coming anytime…

 12…Ne4 13.b4 Nd6 14.c5 Nc4 15.Ra1 [An interesting try was the exchange sacrifice 15.b5!? Na3 16.Qa4 Nxb1 17.Rxb1 cxb5 18.Qxb5 where blacks pieces aren't very well coordinated and developed yet.]

 15…e5 16.Nd2 Nxd2 17.Qxd2 f4?! [Better was 17...Nf6 which doesn't lose a pawn and places the knight on a better square as well as opening up the diagonal to give the bishop some breathing room.]  

18.e4! fxe3 19.Qxe3± Re8 20.Re2 [20.b5 was interesting undermining the weak queenside pawns for example 20...Qf7 21.Rab1 Re7 22.Rb3 where black has a hard time finding a useful plan.]

 20…Qf7 21.Rae1 e4 22.f3 Nf6 23.fxe4 dxe4 24.Nxe4 Nxe4 25.Bxe4 Bg4 [25...Bf5 seems like the most obvious move in the position but white can simply play  26.Qf2 with a liquidation of the position into a pawn up rook endgame.]

 26.Rf2 Qd7 27.Qd3 Kh8 28.Ref1 Bh3 29.Rd1 Qe6

30.Bg2?! [White missed a simple win with 30.d5 cxd5 (30...Qxe4?? 31.Rf8++-) 31.Qxd5 Qxd5 32.Bxd5 and black will have difficulty saving the b7 pawn. White will soon create a passed pawn that will decide the game.]

 30…Bxg2 31.Kxg2 Rad8 32.a3 Kg8 33.Qf5 Qe4+ 34.Qxe4 Rxe4 35.Rfd2 Rd5 36.Kf3 After the liquidation of pieces it seems as though White should be easily winning, being up a pawn. It not as simple as it seems since rook endgames are always tricky.  

36…Re6 37.Re2 Kf7 38.Rxe6 Kxe6 39.Re1+ Kf6 40.Ke4 Rg5 41.Kd3 Rh5 42.h4 Rf5 43.Re3 Rf1 44.Ke4 Rd1 45.Rf3+ Ke6 46.Rf8? After this move the games becomes much more unclear as Black is able to get ¦e1+ and threaten either the a or g pawn.

 46…Re1+ 47.Kd3 Rg1 48.Rb8 Kd5 49.Rd8+ Ke6 50.Kc4 b5+! This move pretty much equalizes on the spot for black and stops White from being able to make progress.  

51.cxb6 axb6 52.Re8+ Kd6 53.Re3 b5+= 54.Kd3 Kd5 55.Re5+ Kd6 56.Rg5 g6 57.Kc3 Ra1 58.Kb2 Rg1 59.Kb3 Rb1+ 60.Ka2 Rd1 61.h5 gxh5 62.Rxh5 Rxd4 63.Rh6+ Kd5 64.Rxh7 Rd2+ 65.Kb1 Rg2 66.Rf7 ½–½

I felt pretty good about this board in the beginning since Lev seemed to know what he was doing but the tables turned after Lev played §f4 which loses a pawn. Everyone thought going after the rook endgame was achieved that it was just a matter of technique before White wins but Lev kept fighting was able to secure the draw, which was the reason this match ended up 2.5–1.5 instead of a 2-2 tie.

Board 2

(452) Harper,Warren (2408) – Sadorra,Julio (2471) [A21]

USCL ARZ-DAL Week 4, 14.09.2010

 This was the only board in which Dallas was favored. Both players have been playing well as of late; Warren in the U.S. Junior and Sadorra in the U.S. Open and recently concluded Southwest Open. In my preview I thought Warren had good chances to pull off an upset but it just wasn’t meant to be. Warren played a tough game where instead of trying to hold a worse position for a long time he opted for an exchange sacrifice but his position was pretty bad already and was not able to make anything of it.

 1.c4 e5 2.g3 d6 3.Bg2 f5 It seems like the top 2 boards were really intrigued to play an early f5 in the opening. 

 4.Nc3 Nf6 5.e3 [5.d3 is a much more common way to play this position where White is playing the black side of a closed sicilian with a tempo.]

 5…Be7 6.Nge2 0–0 7.0–0 c6 8.d4 e4 An interesting idea to close up the center and force the weakening move f3 in order to break up the center. In games where Black did not play e4 White was able to play e4 and achieve a comfortable game. [8...Na6 was played by Kogan and Sedenik where they both went on to win nice games.]

9.f3 exf3 10.Bxf3 Na6 11.d5 [Another idea could be 11.Rb1 where White tries to push b4 and get things rolling on the queenside.]

 11…Bd7 12.Nd4 Qc8 13.b3 Nc5 14.Qc2 Re8 15.dxc6?! I’m not sure if it is in White’s best interest to take and release the tension since taking is only improve Black’s position. [A better option may have been 15.Bb2 Bd8 16.Rae1]

 15…bxc6 16.Bg2 g6

17.h3 [17.b4 was necessary forcing 17...Ne6 18.b5! Nxd4 19.exd4 Rb8 20.a4 where White has a nice space advantage.]

 17…Bd8 18.Bd2 Nce4 19.Nxe4 Nxe4

20.Bxe4 [20.g4 was an interesting option where White will open up the kingside but there isn't a clear way for black to take advantage of it right away for example 20...Nxd2 21.Qxd2 fxg4 22.hxg4 Bg5 23.Rae1]

20…Rxe4 21.Rf4 Re8 22.Re1 Bg5

23.Nf3? [23.Rf2 was necessary, since giving up the exchange loses almost immediately. Although Black is still better White has better chances to defend than what was achieved in the game.]

 23…Bxf4 24.gxf4 Now it is only a matter of technique for Black.

24…c5 25.Qc3 Bc6 26.Ng5 Qd7 27.Bc1 d5 28.Qf6 d4 29.Bb2 Re7 30.Ba3 Rf8 31.Nxh7 Rxh7 32.Qg5 Rxh3 33.Qxg6+ Qg7 34.Qxg7+ Kxg7 35.Bxc5 Rg8 36.exd4 Kf6+ 37.Kf1 Rh1+ 38.Ke2 Rg2+ 39.Kd1 Bf3+ 0–1

I don’t like the way the opening turned out for White and it just seemed like White was fighting the whole time. Warren had some interesting ideas in the middlegame where he could have played b4 creating weakness for Black on the queenside. I think that was one of the only ways for White to continue and have a good game.  

Board 3

(454) Kiewra,Keaton (2361) – Adamson,Robby (2363) [B20]

USCL ARZ-DAL Week 4, 14.09.2010

Board 3 featured the dragon master versus the wave master. Both players have been playing well as of late, each earning norms at the prestigious Copper State International. This was a key board for the Scorpions that they could not afford to lose. After last years loss to Keaton, Robby was out for blood this game. I knew he would not allow for a repeat of last year. In the post game interview Robby said after this win he has “almost forgotten about his loss the previous weekend to fellow Arizonan Dipro Chakraborty” and hopes the Scorpions can extend their perfect season record.

 1.e4 c5 2.a3? *Robby screams at the top of his lungs(and even lets out a few tears) as he sees his prep go to waste* 

2…g6 3.d4 cxd4 4.c3 Bg7?! [Better was 4...dxc3 just gaining a free pawn but 4...Bg7 has been played by Carlsen, so you can't really complain.]

 5..cxd4 d5 6.exd5 [6.e5 may have been a better way for White to play since in the game White just achieved a weak IQP.]

 6…Nf6 7.Bc4 0–0 [7...Nxd5 was possible for example 8.Qb3 e6 9.Nc3 Nc6 10.Nf3 0–0³]

 8.Nc3 Nbd7 9.Ba2 Nb6 10.Qf3?! [10.Nf3 was necessary. Qf3 just allows for Black to develop the Bishop with tempo and misplaces the White's Queen.]

10…Bg4 11.Qg3 Bf5 12.Nf3 Ne4 13.Qh4 Nxc3 14.bxc3 Nxd5 15.Bxd5 Qxd5 After all the trades Black stands better. White has a weak pawn chain that can easily come under attack and White will have to passively defend. Black has a strong bishop pair and active pieces that are dominant in this position.

 16.0–0 Rfe8 17.Bh6 Rac8 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.Rfe1 Qd6 [Better was 19...Rxc3 20.Rxe7 Rxe7 21.Qxe7 Be4 22.Qe5+ Qxe5 23.Nxe5 f6 where Black is likely to win the d-pawn achieving a winning endgame.]

 20.Re3 Rc7 21.g4 Bc8 22.g5?! I really don’t like this move for White as all it does is weaken his position. Black has no worries about getting mated since he always has the resource of f6, followed by e5 protecting the seventh rank.

 22…b6 23.Qh6+ Kg8 24.Re4 f6 25.Rh4 e5 Black now stands better once again. White has gone all out for an attack that never existed and Black is easily defending and undermining Whites weak pawn chain at the same time.

26.gxf6 Qxf6 27.Nxe5 Rf8 28.f4? White simply opens up the position even more where Black’s light square bishop will dominate. White has too many light square weakness to defend against and not enough threats.

 28…Bb7 29.Re1 Rg7 30.c4 Qd6 31.Rd1 Qxa3 32.Rh3 Qb2 33.d5 Qe2 34.Rdd3 Qe1+ 35.Kg2 Qe2+ Repeating moves to gain time.

 36.Kg1 Qe1+ 37.Kg2 Qe4+ 38.Rdf3? Losing on the spot. [A better try was 38.Kg1 Rxf4 39.Rhe3 only move 39...Qf5 40.Qh3 Bc8 but in the end black is still much better.]

38…b5! 39.Qg5 bxc4 40.Ng4 Bxd5 41.Nf6+ Rxf6 42.Qxf6 Rf7 43.Qb2 Qxf40–1

  A much needed win on board 3. Robby played well throughout the game never letting White really grab control of the initiative and was able to defend the small threats Kiewra put out. Towards the end Kiewra opened up his kingside too much and severely weakened his light squares. Black’s light square bishop found a nice diagonal and Robby was able to reel in the full point.  

Board 4

(456) Adelberg,David (2275) – Zorigt,Bayaraa (2240) [E08]

USCL ARZ-DAL Week 4, 15.09.2010

In my opinion, this was the most important board for the Scorpions. They needed a win here to have strong chances to win the match. This was a rematch from a year ago, with opposite colors. Whenever David is playing, especially as a board 4, I think he is the favorite. Being one of the lower rated board 4’s last year he far exceeded expectations and his success from last year, continued into this match. This was a good match up of strong masters and it proved to be an exciting game. The game started off as a typical Catalan but turned into a tactical slugfest towards the end, where David was able to come through for the Scorpions an secure the full point.

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 c6 6.0–0 0–0 7.Qc2 Nbd7 8.b3 c5?! Up until this point main line was followed. This is only the second time this move has been played and it seems premature. Black usually continues b6, Ba6 and will sometimes play for c5 then.

 9.Bb2 b6 10.cxd5 exd5 11.Nc3 Bb7 12.Rac1 Rc8 13.Rfd1 Qc7 14.Qb1 Qb8 15.Nh4 cxd4?! [15...g6 may have been better preventing Nf5. Black's plan here would be Rd8 and relocate the bishop to the a1–h8 diagonal, where it is stronger.]

16.Nf5! Bc5 17.Nxd4 Rfe8 18.Qa1 a6 19.Nf5 Qe5 [19...a5? was played here initially but then ruled a moueslip. A smartmove claim was made and granted.]

 20.Qb1 [20.Nxg7 was really interesting where both sides have plenty of threats. David chose not to go for the immediate complications but it may have been worth a shot considering Zorigt was low on time but I think David made the correct choice of not playing it. 20...Bxf2+ (20...Kxg7 21.Nxd5 Bxf2+ 22.Kxf2 Qxe2+ 23.Kg1 Bxd5 24.Bxd5 Ne5!÷) 21.Kh1 d4! (21...Kxg7 22.Nxd5 Rxc1 23.Qxc1 Qf5 24.Nxf6 Bxg2+ 25.Kxg2 Nxf6 26.e4 Rxe4 27.Qc2 Black is only slightly better after 27...Bxg3 28.hxg3 Qe6 29.Rd2) 22.Bxb7 Kxg7 23.Bf3 where black stands better.]

20…Qe6 21.e3 Ne5 22.Ne2 Ne4 23.Nfd4 Qh6 24.h3 Qf6 25.f3 Nd6 [Black missed her chance with 25...Bxd4 26.Nxd4 Nxg3 which just won a pawn.]

26.f4 Nd7 27.Rd3 Qe7 28.Nc3 Nf6 29.Re1 Nde4 30.Nxe4 [30.Nf5 was another option but after 30...Qe6 31.Nxe4 dxe4 32.Nd4 Black is still better.]

30…Nxe4? [30...dxe4 was the only way for Black to keep the advantage since Nxe4 just loses.]

31.Nf5! Qd7 32.Nxg7 Nxg3 hoping for complications [If Black tries to save the exchange by means of 32...Re7 White simply plays 33.Nh5 and stands much better.]

 33.Nxe8 Rxe8 34.Ba1 Re6 35.b4! taking the pin off the e pawn

 35…Be7 36.e4! breaking open the center while attacking the knight. Black’s position is hopeless.

36…Rg6 37.f5 Rg5 38.Kh2?? Throws the advantage had Black found the correct way to proceed. [38.h4! was winning on the spot after 38...Rg4 39.Bh3 and Black is losing a significant amount of material.]

38…Nh5? [38...Qc7! 39.e5 Nxf5 where all of the sudden White can potentially be almost worse.]

39.Qb2 f6 40.Qd2 Qc7+ 41.e5 Qc4 42.exf6 Bd6+ 43.Be5 Bxe5+ 44.Rxe5 Nf4 45.Rd4! netting White a piece if Black avoids the liquidation.

 45…Rxg2+ 46.Qxg2+ Nxg2 47.Rxc4 dxc4 48.Re8+ Kf7 49.Re7+ Kxf6 50.Rxb7 Ne3 51.Rxb6+ Kxf5 52.Rxa6 c3 53.Rc6 c2 54.b5 Ke5 55.b6 Kd5 56.Rxc2 1–0

David played well the whole game and kept his composure even when things got crazy. What started off as an innocent Catalan, turned into a position that had many tactical options, especially 20.Nxg7 where Black needs to find exact moves to hold. This was the second to last game to finish and was exciting to watch from start to finish.

So the Scorpions were able to pull out another win with another different lineup. Into the short season we are undefeated on the bottom boards, with each board scoring 3.5/4 and split on the top boards with 2/4. The Scorpions will need to continue to score on the bottom boards to continue their success. Next week the Scorpions will aim for 5-0, as they take on the dangerous Chicago Blaze.

Week 4 started off well with a win by the Arizona Scorpions and a 3-1 record in picking the Monday Matches.  Overall record after Week 4 Monday matches is 17-11.

 Boston Blitz vs. New England Nor’easters

A tough match-up between 2 strong teams in the East. This game means a lot to both teams, though Boston really needs to step-up.

Key Game for Boston – Larry Christiansen (BOS)  vs. Sam Shankland (NE). Larry has struggled so far but having the white pieces means he will come after Shankland, who has struggled recently as well. Boston needs to win this one to win the match.

Key Game(s) for New England – WGM Anya Corke (BOS) vs. FM Chris Chase and NM Cherniack (NE) vs. NM Krasik (BOS).  Both of these matches are toss-ups. FM Chase won a nice game vs FM Victor Shen (a game that got no love from the GOTW judges for some reason). NM Cherniack’s debut went well against little Shen,, while Krasik struggled.

Prediction: This match can go either way – and is really a hard choice given the even match-ups. I will predict New England wins 2.5-1.5.

New Jersey Knockouts vs. Carolina Cobras 

This looks like a total mismatch though this again could be closer than one would expect.

Key Game(s) for New Jersey – While boards 1 and 2 obviously need to come through given their huge rating edges, NJ needs IM Kapengut to score on board 3, as does Carolina!

Key Game for Carolina – Craig Jones (CAR) needs to take advantage of playing white and 200 rating point advantage against Anna Matlin. He also needs to rebound from his loss to me in Fantasy Football (thank you Jamal Charles). Carolina needs Schroer to hold against NJ giant Joel Benjamin.

Prediction:  Hard to pick against NJ here, given how strong their team is – even though Gulko gets a rare black. NJ wins 3-1.

Los Angeles Vibe vs. Chicago Blaze

LA puts forth their strongest lineup yet. Chicago is sitting pretty at 2.5/3. LA needs this one badly. I expect a very back and forth match. Also, IM Matigozian makes his debut for LA.

Key Game for LA –  GM Melik Khachiyan vs. GM Dmitry Gurevich. Its great to see a GM vs. GM lineup in the West division and Melik will need to win this one.

Key Game for Chicago –  IM Angelo Young vs. WFM Tatev Abrahamyan. I expect this game to go a long time and may ultimately decide the match, though all 4 boards seem to be toss-ups to me.

Prediction:  If Melik wins, and McLovin wins on board 4, LA wins. I am 51% sure of this pick – LA wins 2.5-1.5. 

San Francisco Mechanics vs. Seattle Sluggers 

Seattle shows they are serious about contending as they fly Akobian up again for this match. Fortunately for SF, they bring in Josh Friedel to counter this.

Key Game(s) for SF: FM Steven Zierk vs. FM Michael Lee. Does Steven get revenge from his loss to Michael Lee in Jr High Nationals a few years ago?

Key Game for Seattle –  In addition to board 1, Seattle really needs to score on board 2. I don’t know anything about Cozianu but with white he has to score.

Prediction: Seattle is favored on paper, but I just don’t buy it. If Friedel wins or draws on board 1 with white – something I expect him to do, SF wins 2.5-1.5.

Last week 6-2! Dont count on it to last.  If Calvin Johnson’s catch against the Bears in Week 1 of the NFL doesnt count, then nothing is safe! What a terrible rule if that really is the correct application of the rule. Very quick picks on the Monday Matches.

Manhattan Applesauce vs New York Knights

Why do the Knights look so hard to beat each week? Seems like they should never lose! NY Knights win 3-1.

                   
Philadelphia Inventors vs Baltimore Kingfishers

 Very close match here. I will predict whoever wins on board 1 GM Panchanthan   vs. GM Erenberg. Therefore, I predict a tie 2-2.      

        
St. Louis Arch Bishops vs Miami Sharks

Dang, only 2 GMs for St Louis this week – so it only seems natural that Miami should put forth 2 GMs. This is going to be close match but in the end I predict St Louis comes out on top. Board 3 could be the swing board – Eric Rodriguez needs to regain his form, and Miami really needs this win, lest they fall to 0-4. Its hard to pick against Naka and company. St Louis wins their 2nd in a row, 2.5-1.5.

Dallas Destiny vs Arizona Scorpions

Youngster and 2009 hero David Adelberg makes his debut as Arizona goes for their 4th different lineup in4 weeks!  AZ wins 2.5-1.5.