The Bare Bones

Here’s the tale of the tape from the US Chess League web site in this inter-divisional Week 6 matchup:

Arizona Scorpions (4.0 – 1.0) vs Baltimore Kingfishers (2.5 – 2.5)

All Time Series Record:  (Baltimore leads 1 – 0)

Starts at 9:00 PM ET       Time Control – Game in 60 with 30 second increment

What will occur?

Read the rest of this entry »

Before I go on my rant about the match I want to thank some people that have basically kept the Scorpions functioning this season and don’t get any credit at all. In no order at all Jon Shacter, John LaLonde, Amanda Mateer, Ben Marmont, Satheesh Aradhyula, and Alan Anderson. I can’t really thanks these people enough as they help the team tremendously and never complain about it. Without these people there would not be a team from AZ.

Anyways on to the match.

Unfortunately the Arizona Scorpions lost their last match against the Baltimore Kingfishers. This was a very close match. Just like the Seattle match versus Arizona a couple breaks here or there and this could have easily been our victory. But we will have to go ahead and learn from it instead. This was our “weakest” lineup that we have had all year however we felt that we were at least solid on every board. When we saw the Baltimore lineup we were confident that this was going to be a very close match up. However, our team is fully confident that the remainder of the season is going to see a rise of the Scorpions! Stay tuned for new lineups and new players added to play to the team in the weeks ahead!

IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat (BAL) vs IM Levon Altounian (ARZ)  1/2-1/2

This game was probably the most boring of the group so I will deal with it first! Levon prepared some for Enkhbat since he almost exclusively plays 1. d4 in the league. He had told me that he was going to play a Slav and a very solid line occurred where Black had a very solid structure while White had the big center. However, Black was ready to hit the center at any moment and after 10…Bh5 he is getting ready to play …Bg6 and attack e4 again. The game started to get a little more exciting after 13. d5 c5 14. de6 Qe6 15. Ng5 Qc6 16. Nd5!?. Although this doesn’t seem like it works as an aggressive attempt it did seem to exchange a lot of the pieces that were left on the board with two sets of minor pieces coming off. After 22…c4 it seemed that Black could not be worse but it is tough to convert that to a victory. Although Black has a more mobile pawn majority White has his counter chances as well.  In the end, although Levon fought it out until he could not anymore the position just petered out to a draw.

IM Mark Ginsburg (ARZ) vs GM Larry Kaufman (BAL)  1/2-1/2

This was the second game done of the match. This was one game that affected the rest of the match I thought as Mark seemed to be in trouble the entire game.  When one board is in trouble and down a pawn (although I guess he got some play out of it at some point) the other boards of course usually look at that and decide if they have to be more aggressive or not on their board. However, Mark did very well after he lost a pawn and immediately got at least some play for his pieces. This saying is mentioned a lot but I will say it again. A lot of times when you are in a cramped position and your pieces are not functioning, when you lose a pawn your pieces open up and you have more room for your pieces. That is what happened to Mark’s game. He lost a pawn but all of a sudden he got the a-file, he got holes for his knight on e5 and c5 and he was able to attack with his bishop on g4. This maybe was not enough but it definitely made the game more dynamic and interesting.

IM Ray Kaufman (BAL) vs FM Robby Adamson (ARZ)  1/2-1/2

This game was crazy the whole way through. At one point Robby said he was +5 ahead if he played the right move. The game started with a long theoretical line of the Sozin Sicilian. I thought that 18. Bc5 was kind of suspect and after that White was just going for broke on the kingside sacrificing the exchange for play. He did have some play and for most of the game I had no idea what was going on. However, if you look at it for more time than I had (because I was still playing) you had to see that White’s rook was definitely misplaced on h4 and unless White mates his king can become weak as well. One top of this, I think one of Robby’s better chess qualities is defending tough positions and this was the case here as well. However, Robby was unable to find the wins for him in this case and instead chose to trade down into a opposite colored bishops ending where he was up material but could not break through.

NM Leo Martinez (ARZ) vs FM Shinsaku Uesugi (BAL)  0-1

So this was a pretty tough game for me as I had a very tough decision to make on move 24 where Black basically offered a draw by repeating. Black had no other choices there as he had to repeat the position or his position would be lost. So the game was pretty early and I didn’t know what to do. I could take the draw or go into some crazy complications where the position is not clear at all. If this was some normal tournament I think this would have been a much easier decision but in this team setting you have to look at how you’re going to help win as a team rather than think about your own game. I thought that Mark’s game looked very bad as he lost a pawn with White in about 20 moves. Robby’s position looked crazy and unless I analyzed it for awhile there was no way I was going to be able to make a definitive decision. And Levon’s game was not at all clear either. I honestly thought it could be any result. Therefore based on the fact that Mark was losing and the other boards were completely unclear I thought I had to go for a win here. However, perhaps I should have just decided on this by spending a couple of minutes rather than spending like 10-15 like I did in the game. It is impossible to calculate everything in that position so better would have been just to decide quickly. Anyways on to the game!

I can’t really agree with some of Mark’s analysis that he has in his column. I mean some of the Bg6 lines look good at first but Black has a lot of resources and can play …Ra7 after Bg6 in many lines. For example at one point he suggested instead of 19 Bf5 to play 19 Bg6 Black can play 19…fe3 20. fe3 Ra7 there is still some play in the position. To look at a computer and spit out what it says is pretty easy…to actually play and analyze it during a game is another thing.

According to Alejandro 24. a4! was winning after 24…fe3 25 fe3 and due to the threats of 26 ab5 and 26 Qd7 it is tough to hold Black’s position. In this case moves such as …Ra7 can just get met by axb5 with Black having to defend both the King side and the Queen side. I saw these types of lines but didn’t see the 24. a4! move. So I had to pick something else and I decided to play 24. Nb6? which in the end looks bad if Black played the correct continuation.  After 29…Qg6! 30. Qc6 f3 31. g3 Qe6! 32. Kh1 and now 32…Kf7!, also given by Alejandro, Black wins.  However, neither one of us saw this continuation and after 32. Qc8+ the position was not at clear. Of course after 33…Qh3 34. Rg1 Qxh2 doesn’t work as my queen can interpose the checkmate at h3. After 34…e3 35. fe3 Qc2 36 Rg1 the position was still completely unclear even though the computer is still loving it for White. However one move later I am just lost. After 36…Rh6 I can either play 37. h4 or 37. h3 and only one really works. After 37. h4? was played in the game I am just losing after 37…f2 38. Rgf1 Qe4 39 Kh2 Rxh4+! followed by …Be5 with mate coming. Of course if 37. h3 there is no …Rxh4 trick and the game continues with White having an advantage. This still would have been difficult to defend but this would definitely have given me chances to win. After the game continuation the game is just over and the rest was just easy technique.

A really tough match as I thought boards 3 and 4 were definitely better if not winning at certain points and somehow we didn’t even get a full point out of these two games. In the end,  you have to give credit to Baltimore for fighting hard. However the Scorpions will continue to fight in the remaining matches and we fully expect to do well! With 6 matches to go until the season’s end there are still a lot more fighting chess left!

This is the weekly featured article by FM Robby Adamson, who is a member of the Arizona Scorpions.

Highlights of Week 3 included a Boston sweep of Dallas, err, I mean a Dallas sweep of Boston; New Jersey moved to 3-0 with an easy win against Carolina, and SF moving into first place with a victory over Miami. I did a little better in my picks this week, but still, room for improvement!

Before looking at the matches, a few thoughts. First, when someone predicts Person A is going to beat Person B, teams/individually should not take it personally. If someone says Person A made a bad choice in the opening, it’s one person’s opinion, and I think its perfectly acceptable to comment.  Second, if no opinions were ever offered on things, this would be a boring endeavor. People write funny things like Boston’s manager picking a 4-0 sweep (obviously he didn’t really believe that) or Alejandro Ramirez picking AZ to win based on “science.” Its all fun so people need to relax and just enjoy a really cool US Chess League. I enjoy the USCL a lot and I know it serves as entertainment for the players, spectators, fans, etc.

UPDATE – One More Rant. I see that Fox has decided to schedule the show House on the day I am playing. This should be avoided in the future since Dr. House is my hero. Perhaps our Commish can take that into future consideration.

Now that my brief rants are over, lets take a very quick look at Week 4 matches.

Miami Sharks vs. Tennessee Tempo

Board 1 features the best match of the week with two USCL studs facing off in Becerra and Ehlvest. No result in this game would surprise me, though based on Miami’s rating advantages on boards 2-4, I would say Ehlvest needs to play for a win. The colors and match-ups seem to favor Miami, and therefore I pick them to win 2.5-1.5.

Chicago Blaze vs. San Francisco Mechanics

San Francisco looks to continue their early season success against the Blaze, who won their first match last week. Something tells me that Chicago will be in this match until the end though it is hard to ignore their obnoxious rating advantages on board 1-3 – a 2564 on board 3? Oh my! However Chicago does have the experienced IM Angelo Young on board 3 and he will have white. Chicago has to win on board 4 to have a chance. I think this will be closer than most people think, but SF will come through 2.5-1.5.

Baltimore Kingfishers vs. Arizona Scorpions

Both teams have a balanced lineup and I think there are no real favorites on any of the boards.  I would not be shocked by any result on any of the boards. Of course I am picking my team to win 2.5-1.5.

New Jersey Knockouts vs. New York Knights

NJ is undefeated and won Round 1 against NY, will they win round 2? This is a very interesting match in that NJ is severely outrated on board 4, while board 1-3 they have a slight advantage. I think this match will be a tie, but I think NY has the better chances to win.

Carolina Cobras vs. Queens Pioneers

The balanced lineup of Carolina vs. the stacked three 2500’s lineup. It would be interesting for someone to write an article on that sometime – which is better? I am going to pick Carolina in the upset over Queens. If IM Jonathan Schroer holds on board 1 against IM Eli Vovsha, Carolina has an excellent chance to pick up 1.5-2 points on boards 2-4. If not, the balance switches to Queens.

Boston Blitz vs. Philadelphia Inventors

I changed my mind on this match several times. I can not seem to decide who I  like on the top boards. GM Kudrin has struggled so far against admittedly tough competition, while Sammour has not quite found his form. Board 2 and 3 will probably decide the match since I think Boston has a nice advantage on board 4.  Boston wins in a close one 2.5-1.5.

Dallas Destiny vs. Seattle Sluggers

An intriguing lineup by Dallas. If IM Bartholomew can somehow score against GM Nakamura, Dallas wins the match. If not, I think the match is really close anyway. IM Daniel Ludwig is more booked up than Kasparov so it will be interesting to see how his match works out against FM Mikhailuk. I predict Slava will play a slow opening, and it will be a matter of who plays better under pressure. FM Kiewra is dangerous if he gets you in his preparation. This will be an interesting sluggest, and probably a Najdorf. The match could come down to Board 4 where Dallas’s secret weapon and USCL stud NM Bayaraa Zorigt faces very solid (though not as solid as Levon the Stable) NM Josh Sinanan. Overall, I think Dallas has the edge here, but somehow I think the match ends in a tie.

Last Week: 3-4.

Season: 8-14.

Hey everybody! This week, the Scorpions take on a team they’ve never faced before – the Baltimore Kingfishers. Since both share a record at 50% (1.5-1.5), this match is crucial – especially for the Scorpions, looking to make a comeback after a disappointing Week 3 loss.

I’m not going to lie – I’m probably not the best person to be previewing this match, seeing as I know literally nothing about a single one of the players for Baltimore except Shinsaku, who I remember sitting next to at Nationals and praying over and over again NOT to get paired against as he smashed some 2000. And my record against the Scorpions players playing this week? A dazzling 0-9. Not even ONE draw. And 3 of those games were against Leo…

But anyway, I’ll give it my best shot. Here it goes…

Board 1: IM Tegshshuren Enkhbat (2430) vs. Levon Altounian (2538)

I really hope I spelled all of that right. I saw Lev today, and he mentioned briefly to me that Enkhbat was pretty solid when the match came up. If this is true, then this match is in theory going to be disturbingly, sleep-inducing solid. But I am going to be bold and predict this to be the CRAZZZZIEST game of the match. Maybe even the craziest game of the night. 2 solids doesn’t equal 1 super solid, it equals something totally nuts. Or, at least, I hope. Lev’s probably tired of hearing about how Lev-like and boring his first game was, or about the small Week 2 mishap, and will come out like never before. Seriously – WE HOPE. Plus, something needs to keep the other boards on their toes. I do, however, predict that out of the fire there will emerge some peace. Draw on board 1!

Board 2: IM Mark Ginsburg (2427) vs. GM Larry Kaufman (2444)

A week ago, I would have told you that this result was completely unpredictable, because I never know if “I love the Eingorn sooooo sooooooooo much” Mark is going to show up or not. But last week’s Mark was pretty amazing, start to finish. And because Mark is an alternate (and therefore, this is the only other match he can play in), I know he’ll want to keep his mini hot streak up before he goes back to making ridiculously strange comments on other people’s handles during the games he’s observing (example: telling some GM to stop asking questions and merely watch the game, or they’re not getting a card come Christmas time.) Poor Leo, at least 6 titled players he doesn’t even know censored him that night. But anyway, I predict that this Larry won’t be the one to shine this match – and that Mark will come away with the full point and say something utterly ridiculous afterwards. 1-0

Board 3: IM Ray Kaufman (2297) vs. FM Robby Adamson (2354)

Now, THIS Larry, on the other hand – he’s got this. And I’m not saying this just because I tell Robby every week he’s going to be MVP, or even because I really love his scary driving or his hugs. But Kaufman’s record in the league is subpar and Robby’s start has been fantastic – and I can’t help but think he’s not slowing down here. Even with the black pieces, I think the rating difference and the histories in the league heavily favor Robby. I do predict that of the 4 games, this one will be the quietest – but still a strong showing for the Scorpions. Robby will come away with the full point. 0-1

Board 4: NM Leo Martinez (2230) vs. FM Shinsaku Uesugi (2354)

Like I mentioned before, Shinsaku sort of scares me a lot. And though I do think he is ridiculously good, I also know that Leo can be pretty dangerous himself. This is the match that one would probably expect to be a bit of a bloodbath; neither player seems to shy away from complications, but given that the time control is only 60 minutes as opposed to 75 or 90, I feel like the game won’t even be able to get too far along before it faces time troubles. I don’t know why I keep predicting that all the craziness will end peacefully, but somehow I’m getting that vibe from this week’s match. I think that Leo might fall into a pretty scary position, but that he’ll find a way to hold it – and the end result will be a draw.

So my final prediction is that the Scorpions will win this match 3-1. I feel like they’ve proven they can win big (Week 1 vs. Chicago), and I know all 4 of them are prettttttttttty fiery after a loss. And I REALLY love Applebee’s, but we can only go there when we win. So even though it’s a pretty ambitious prediction, I’m confident the Scorpions have got this!

The third week of Predictions between the Managers is below! The scores after the first week were tied 19-19 but after the second week’s disastrous result from myself (Leo) the score is now Leo 36 – Craig 42.  Good luck trying to criticize these predictions!

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Welcome to the 2009 United States Chess League!  I will be providing predictions on all of the matches each week (though I may duck predicting for the Arizona Scorpions some weeks, since I might be biased).  Please note in my predictions that I do not mean to be too critical of any team or player on a particular match – just one person’s thoughts. Without further ado, here are the predictions for Week 1.

Queens Pioneers v. Boston Blitz

Boston has a nice average rating advantage in this match (2461 to 2401). A nice GM match-up on board 1 with Alexander Stripunsky vs. Larry Christiansen. As happens so often in a game between 2 strong GM’s, the game can be a push. I think Queens needs a victory from Stripunsky in order to win the match. GM Perelshteyn with white against IM Eli Vovsha gives Boston the upper hand. On Board 3, IM Marc Esserman has a rating edge against FM Andrei Zaremba, but Andrei has white, so this is probably a push. Board 4 features expert Shaun Smith and youngster, Andrew Wang – this game might well decide the match. Boston wins 2.5-1.5

Miami Sharks v. Dallas Destiny

Miami has a big advantage both in strength (GM vs. IM), and color (Julio has white). I am looking forward to seeing what GM Julio Becerra plays against IM John Bartholomew’s world-famous Scandinavian Defense (1.e4 d5 2.ed Qd5). Board 2 features new UTD student and USCL rookie, Daniel Ludwig against  FM Bruci Lopez. White has a strength advantage and has white, so I give Ludwig the edge. Comparing just boards 1 and 2, I think Miami has a small edge. With board 3, Eric Rodriguez has white against FM Keaton Kiewra, who has not played in a while. Keaton is known for good preparation, so it will be interesting to see how this game goes. Finally, Nelson Lopez has color and slight rating advantage over Miguel Recio, someone I know nothing about. Overall, I think Miami has a very small edge here, though a tie would not surprise me. I predict a tie.

San Francisco Mechanics v. Seattle Sluggers

In the final Monday match of the night, San Francisco catches a break against the Nakamura-less Seattle Sluggers. With that being said, Seattle actually out-rates San Francisco  – something that I don’t think matters for this match. Pruess is at a ridiculously low rating of 2410, and having Donaldson on board 3 is as good as its going to get, even though he is facing FM Michael Lee. Board 4 features the debut of SF’s newest master, twelve year old, Yian Liou. Overall, I predict a 2-2 tie.

New York Knights v. New Jersey Knockouts

Upon a quick look at this first match of Wednesday, I was amazed at how stacked and high rated NY is. Kacheisvili v Benjamin is a great board 1 match-up, and Pascal Charbonneau on board 2 is quite strong, especially when Pascal has played board 1 many times. What is interesting is that Yaacov Norowitz on board 4 is now higher rated than their board 3, though of course not per the rating list used by NY. With a rating edge on boards 1 and 2, the Shen brothers are going to have to come up big for NJ. I predict NY wins 3-1.

Carolina Cobras v. Baltimore Kingfishers

Carolina by default has to resort to a balanced lineup (Boards 1-4 all within 150 pts of each other) while Baltimore sports GM Kritz, not an easy match for IM Schroer, as well IM Enkhbat, GM Larry Kaufman (Board 3!), and an expert on board 4. For out-ranked Carolina to have a chance, there will be a lot of pressure on the bottom boards (All-Star Ron Simpson and Craig Jones), and Oleg Zaikov will have to continue his incredible USCL success. I predict Carolina falls a little short in this one, and loses 2.5-1.5.

Philadelphia Inventors v. Tennessee Tempo

Philly has upgraded a lot since their disappointing season last year, with abnormally high rated players on boards 2 and 3 (GM Lenderman and IM Bryan Smith). The always dangerous GM Alexander Shabalov will have to carry the day for Tennessee since they are out-ranked on boards 2 and 3. Philly wins 2.5-1.5.

Arizona Scorpions v. Chicago Blaze

Arizona welcomes GM Alejandro Ramirez to board 1, while IM Levon Altounian moves down to board 2. Arizona welcomes the first junior and almost master, twelve year old David Adelberg to the team. Chicago features a balanced lineup lead by GM Mitkov, and 2 IM’s. Arizona wins a squeaker, 2.5-1.5.

SUMMARY OF WEEK 1 PREDICTIONS

Queens Pioneers v. Boston Blitz            Boston wins 2.5-1.5.

Miami Sharks v. Dallas Destiny               Tie 2-2.

San Francisco v. Seattle Sluggers           Tie 2-2.

NY Knights v. New Jersey Knockouts   NY Knights wins 3-1

Carolina Cobras v. Baltimore Kingfishers    Baltimore wins 2.5-1.5

Philadelphia Inventory v. TN Tempo     Philly wins 2.5-1.5

AZ Scorpions v. Chicago Blaze                  Arizona wins 2.5-1.5

A quick look at the matchups for Week 7.

Monday Matchups:

1. Boston Blitz vs New York Knights

Boston bounces back to beat NY – Boston wins 2.5-1.5.

2. Queens Pioneers vs New Jersey Knockouts

NJ hands Queens its 2nd loss in a row. Gulko on 2nd board is a bigger edge for NJ than Lenderman on 3rd vs Ippolito. NJ knocks out Queens 2.5-1.5.

3. Tennessee Tempo vs Chicago Blaze

I picked Tennessee to win 2 straight weeks, but without Ehlvest, Chicago wins 3-1.

4. San Francisco Mechanics vs Seattle Sluggers

Big match for Seattle with the G-Double Lineup. Going safe here, Seattle and San Fran battle to a tie 2-2.

Wednesday Matchups:

5. Baltimore Kingfishers vs Carolina Cobras

Carolina can put a stamp on their playoff ticket with a win – it doesnt happen this week. Yes, another tie match. Baltimore and Carolina fight to a 2-2 tie.

6. Dallas Destiny vs Philadelphia Inventors

Dallas faces a tough lineup this week against a Philly team that might creep back into playoff contention, and draws Philly 2-2. In much better and more exciting news, the Phillies beat Milwaukee!

7. Arizona Scorpions vs Miami Sharks

AZ wins 2.5-1.5. Go Scorpions!

Lets take a quick look at Week 5 – my predictions will be brief.
For Monday matches -

1. Queens vs. NY Knights

I am calling the upset here (upset because Queens is the lone 4-0 team) – NY will overcome last week’s debacle and prevail over Queens 2.5-1.5

2. Miami vs. Tennessee

Winless Tennessee, riding the Ehlvest wave, will bounce back and win their first match. 2.5-1.5

For Wednesday matches -

3. Philly – New Jersey

NJ trots out an obnoxious 2484 rating advantage, and proves its worth 3-1 (again, if Philly has any chance Kudrin has to beat Benjamin).

4. Baltimore vs. Chicago

No GM this time for Baltimore = no victory. Chicago wins this one 2.5-1.5, though 3-1would not surprise me.

5. San Francisco – Boston

Easily the best match of the night. GM-Elect Vinay Bhat against LarryC will be an exciting one. Shankland – Esserman should be a tactical slugfest between 2 of the hottest players over this past summer. I am going to predict 2-2 tie.

6. Seattle – Dallas

This loses a little bit of luster because Seattle is not using 2 GM lineup but still this looks like an interesting match. Seattle has a chance to upset the champs but I am going to wimp out here and call this a tie 2-2.

7. Arizona – Carolina

Do you even have to ask what I think? Arizona wins 2.5-1.5.

Let’s look quickly to see how I did on my predictions. I think I did pretty well overall but of course the league always has surprises.

Monday Matches -

Baltimore Kingfishers vs Queens Pioneers Queens won 3-1, I predicted 2.5-1.5

2. Seattle Sluggers vs Chicago Blaze Seattle won 2.5-1.5, I predicted the same

I was correct in predicting who won both of these matches, though I did think Baltimore would fare a little better. This easily could have been a 3.5/4 match had Vovsha accepted the draw offered or perhaps even won in a game where he was clearly pressing.

Although Tate took care of business against the youngster Michael Lee, Chicago did not fare that well on the other boards. I have not analyzed Mitkov’s interesting game against Nakamura, but it seemed to be very complex, where Hikaru excels, even if the computer analysis might beat otherwise. Remember, computer analysis is not really relevant in a lot of these games because you are dealing with humans!

3. New Jersey Knockouts vs Boston Blitz New Jersey won 3-1, I predicted a tie

I didnt see this coming at all. I thought Esserman was a lock to win given his current hot streak, but I didnt see the other 3 games ending in such disasterous fashion for Boston. LarryC may not have had his ice coffee before the game – the only possible explanation for losing a piece and having to sac his Q. Boards 2 and 3 pressed given the match situation and it just didnt work out.

4. Carolina Cobras vs New York Knights Carolina won 4-0, I predicted tie 2-2

The Surprise of the 2008 Season. If anyone saw this coming, I want to know who they are, their social security number, and their hottest stock tip. A 4-0 sweep is a very uncommon occurrence no matter who the losing team is, and completely unexpected given the usual strength of the NY team. Congrats to Carolina (our next opponent). NY should bounce back from this forgettable performance though they need to start putting wins together in the East division.

FYI: Did you know that Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals are 2-0?? Say it aint so. I fully expect AZ to lay their usual egg now that they are playing a real team (Redskins).

5. Dallas Destiny vs Miami Sharks Dallas won 2.5-1.5, I predicted a tie

The games here looked very competitive. Dallas continues to impress, this time beating USCL guru Becerra, while the other games all ended in fighting draws.

6. Philadelphia Inventors vs San Francisco Mechanics San Francisco won 3.5-0.5, I predicted SF wins 3-1

Youth was served with wins on boards 3 and 4 from Shanky and Danky. Kudrin never had a chance for any real edge against Wolff, and thus, there went Philly’s chances. On a brighter note my Phillies have a good chance to make the playoffs.

7. Tennessee Tempo vs Arizona Scorpions Arizona won 2.5-1.5, I predicted the same

Congrats to my Scorpions. We defeated a tough Tempo team by a close margin. Kudos for Joel Johnson’s excellent surprise against FM John Bick, as well as IM Rogelio Barcenilla, even though he lost, for facing 2 strong GMs back to back weeks with black, this week Jan Ehlvest (thanks for black- is it time for my root canal?).
Until next week!