Hello Everyone !

Back to the US Chess League but this time as a spectator! The only two seasons the Scorpions have played in the league I have been both manager and player but due to graduate school I have been forced to hand my title over. (EJ: I get your NM title too! Sweet!) Now I am confined to watching the games from my 200 square foot apartment in New Orleans!  Despite my move I can’t miss any games in the league so I will be predicting the results of the Arizona matches for hopefully the whole season.

The addition of the LA Vibe and the St. Louis Archbishops and the farewell of Tennessee really shakes things up in our division and makes things a lot more challenging. LA seems like a solid team for sure and St. Louis will be really top heavy so I don’t know if both teams will make it to the playoffs but I would guess at least one of them does. I’ve always thought the Western division was stronger than the Eastern but now I think it’s true even more than before. We’ll see. It should be a fun season!

Anyways, on to the match. Arizona has a really solid team this year and although we have lost GM Alejandro we should be able to fight it out in every match.  Miami has been a tough team for us to beat and is never really weak on any board. And nothing changes for this season.

All the Arizona players are on the right hand side and all the Miami players are on the left.

Board 1

These two players played against each other with opposite colors two years ago and this should be a tough match-up. Both players play pretty predictably and will probably play a Ruy Lopez. Both players are experienced in the league and obviously Becerra has a long record of good seasons. However, Rogelio is known for being very solid and can easily turn the tables if Becerra decides he needs to push hard. I’m going to predict a draw here.

Board 2

This should be a very interesting match-up! Both players are very wild and not only are not afraid of complications but really go after them. These two players also know each other pretty well. This is only the third game Dionisio has played, having a fairly good but short year last season with 1.5/2 games beating IM Felecan of Chicago and drawing IM Donaldson of San Francisco with Black. Dionisio will have White this game and I’m going to predict that he pulls this one out. If there is one game I would not miss it would be this game. Bring your popcorn and look for fireworks!

Board 3

Two more interesting and dynamic players on board 3. Danny rebounded from his horrible first season to have a solid year last season. However, from talking to him he is ready to show his true colors. Having a near 2500 IM on board 3 is always a nice feeling to have. I’m not sure but I think this is a rematch of a US Open game in Phoenix a while back. I think Danny won that one in 6 hours. That was a different time though for both players.

Eric has had a lot of experience in the league and overall has a great record. That, with the addition of being White, should make this an interesting match-up. I’m going to go with the rating advantage here and pick Danny.

Board 4

Man when you look at FM Charles Galofre on board 4 you got to be a little impressed. He is a very strong board 4 and actually played pretty well for Miami on Board 3 (!) two seasons ago. He is playing against one of our newcomers to the team in John Gurczak.  John has wanted to be on the team since we started the league two years ago and now he gets a chance. One thing going for him in this game is that he is White. Hopefully he can use some of this excitement and win this one out but I am going to predict a Galofre win here.

So overall a very tight match-up. I am predicting a 2.5-1.5 victory for my Scorpions! Stay tune on Wednesday at 9:00 PM ET, 6:00 PM Arizona time. It should be a good one!

The Year 2010 in the US Chess League looks to be a rather balanced league. It will be interesting to see whether improved teams such as Chicago can qualify for the playoffs, and whether new teams like St Louis and Los Angeles will handle their respective first year in the league. Somehow I think there will be a few new teams to the playoffs.

Just like last year, I will try my best to predict the matches. I really hope I can pick better than I did last year because last year was worse than the fall of a certain political parties (insert your favorite punch-bag here).  Without further ado, here are the Week 1 predictions:

Monday Matches –

New York Knights vs. Boston Blitz

The first match of the 2010 campaign is again a great match-up between 2 rivalries. I really like New York’s team this year with the use of the 3 underrated juniors (underrated meaning current USCF ratings are much higher than 2009 rating supplement being used) Alec Getz, Alex Ostrovskiy and Justus Williams, as well as heavy-weight GM Giorgi Kacheishvili on board 1. Getz has played well this year, Ostrovskiy is almost 2300, and Justus Williams has improved a lot in the last year. Boston always will be strong when you have GM Larry “Can I please get an ice coffee” Christiansen leading the team, but I think Boston is lacking that underrated player element that always seems to help teams. So who wins this one? I think Larry needs to score the full point against GM Alex Lenderman for Boston to be successful because I think NY is stronger overall. NY wins 2.5-1.5

Philadelphia has a slight rating edge here – but Philly will need a strong outing from IM Bryan Smith who had a superb  Philadelphia International this summer. I think Bryan needs to come after GM Joel Benjamin because NJ has a huge edge on board 2. GM Boris Gulko receives his obligatory white vs. FM Tom Bartell and should bring that point home. For that reason, I think NJ wins this one 2.5-1.5.

I remember the nervous feeling I had two years ago when I played for the Arizona Scorpions and I am sure there will be a little bit of nervous feelings from both of these expansion teams. But don’t feel too bad for St Louis who has 3 GMs (Naka, Shulman, and Finegold) or LA which has the very experienced GM Melik Khachiyan and some other very talented players. I think its pretty clear that if St Louis survives on boards 3 and 4 this year, they will be very difficult to beat. Even though this match is going to be close, in large part due to the huge rating advantage LA has on board 4, St Louis wins this one 2.5-1.5.

Seattle Sluggers vs. Chicago Blaze

Chicago has a rating edge this match and really looks to be significantly improved. GM Amanov on board 2 (or potentially 3^rd!) for future matches is slightly obnoxious. I expect Gurevich to do well on board 1 this year which should help Chicago contend for the playoffs. Seattle on the other hand has replaced Naka with Akobian, but Varuzhan is not playing this week. Chicago wins 3-1.

Wednesday Matches –

Manhattan Applesauce vs. Carolina Cobras

Do Cobras eat apple sauce? If they did, that would give Carolina at least one edge to speak of. Manhattan wins this one, though it will be closer than people will expect. MA wins 2.5-1.5.

The other expansion team, New England, has a lot of familiar faces with IM’s Hungaski, Vigorito, and strong FM’s Braden Bournival and Chris Chase. NE also has a huge rating edge. Baltimore is not playing their strongest possible lineup and is an underdog on all boards. That spells disaster for Baltimore.
New England wins 3-1.

San Francisco busts out the usual obnoxious rating average (2462 – highest of the week) and features the usual cast of underrated juniors, with both Daniel Naroditsky and Steven Zierk each recently picking up IM Norms. Dallas has a strong team as well and really needs a strong performance from Sal “Can we have split (not separate) checks” Bercys.  Sal really will need to “Do it Live” for Dallas to hang in there – you know its gonna be an interesting Kings Indian Defense. Overall, I give SF the nod here as youth is served.  SF wins by a hair, 2.5-1.5.

Miami Sharks vs. Arizona Scorpions

Last year was a great year to be a fan of the Scorpions. We won the blog award , made the playoffs, and had a great time.  Unfortunately we lost in the playoffs – but still a successful year.

This year we see two new strong juniors (NM Nick Thompson and Expert John Gurczak) who will man board 4, as well our most successful board 4 from last year, David Adelberg.

Now onto the match. We will need Rogelio to hold down USCL stalwart, GM Julio Becerra while our other IM’s Dionisio Aldama and Danny Rensch will need to score against fellow IM Blas Lugo and NM Eric Rodriguez. Miami has a 200 point rating edge on board 4 with Charles Galofre against John Gurczak, though John is white. This will be a tough match as it always is when you play Miami.  I predict the olive branch here, 2-2 tie.

Sharks, Cars, and Suicide

First of all, I want to preface this preview with an apology: this will be my worst write-up for the Scorpions that I have done.  My liver is reeling from this weekend, I can’t breathe out of my nose, I’m sleep deprived, and I just got back from a class where my world famous professor rambled on about Hardy-Weinberg Principle Chi-squared testing for two hours—YAY!  Okay Elliott, stop whining.  Anyway…

both teams will make the playoffs, so not as much to play for other than seeding, but Arizona can actually tie for first in the West with Seattle if the Scorpions win and the rainy city inhabitants lose.

GM Julio “¿Hablo Inglès?” Becerra vs. GM Alejandro “I Don’t Know How To Drive” Ramirez

(Disclaimer: I have no knowledge about Alejandro’s actual driving ability, but I know it’s at least better than Robby’s and Amanda’s)

This game will be exciting, obviously because both players are Latino (although Handi somehow didn’t acquire the dominant “I love to attack crazily” allele).  Becerra will of course go for the jugular and come out with guns blazing.  These two last played with the current colors over the board at the 2008 UTD GM Invitational where the game ended in a hard-fought draw after 44 moves.  Julio will open with 1.e4 as always (once again because nearly every Latino player plays 1.e4), but the question is what will Ramirez respond with on his first move (he played Alekhine’s 1…Nf6 in the 2008 game—maybe a good choice again)?  He has many flexible choices at his disposal (i.e. Sicilian and French along with Alekhine’s), so it’s really up to Alejandro to determine what type of game he’d like to steer the position towards.  This stylistic direction will most likely determine the outcome of the game.  I recommend Alejandro plays something solid like he did last time because I think complications would favor Julio.  If Handi can successfully equalize, I think he can hold a very dangerous opponent to a solid draw.

IM Levon “I Am Going To Go For a Win This Time!” Altounian vs. IM Blas “I Have The Coolest First Name” Lugo

Levon is white, the rating favorite, and really needs to try to win this game for his team, mainly based on the fact that board 4 is a problem (sorry Amanda, love you!).  No matter how he goes for it—either via slow, methodical, python squeeze or busting out of his solid cocoon for an attempted blitzkrieg—Mr. Reliable Consistency has to try to push, force the issue, and win this game at all costs.  However, everyone knows Blas will be ready for a fight, and for those who aren’t familiar with him, he is a capable player whose strength is much greater (at least 100 points) than the meaningless four-digit number that follows his name (Lugo has also whooped me twice a few years ago).  I know Blas plays Slav as Black, which is obviously way too exciting for Levon to even come close to challenging, so maybe Altounian will open with the flexible 1.Nf3 to see how Lugo responds or maybe Levon should play English with 1.c4, which would most likely result in a reversed closed Dragon such as: 1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.g3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Bg2 Nb6 6.Nf3 Nc6 7.0-0 Be7 8.d3 0-0 9.a3 etc. because I think Blas plays something along these lines (although I could obviously be wrong).  Of course, Levon should really play the Botvinnik variation of the Slav or one of those crazy Meran lines or something like that.  *[Wishful thinking by me]*.  Regardless of what the opening is, I believe Altounian will come through in the clutch again for his team and ultimately prevail in this intriguing match-up.

IM Alejandro Moreno “No, I Don’t Have As Many Middle Names as Handi” Roman vs. Robby “Yesterday, I Became Eligible For Senior Benefits” Adamson

Happy Birthday Robby (to the readers: it actually was his birthday)!  Congratulations, you’re old!  You also suck at driving.  Now, just don’t lose this game.  Nothing would make Robby and the Scorpions happier than a big win on Board 3.  I think this may be the most pivotal game of the match.  The winner here will most likely lead his team to victory.  Moreno Roman will actually not play 1.e4 (I will be very surprised if he does) because he clearly favors Queen-pawn systems.  What remains to be seen is if Adamson chooses to repeat his Two Knights Tango or if he tries to go into some sort of Benko or Benoni.  I will predict a toss-up: will the veteran IM secure a victory for his team or will Birthday Baby-face deliver a present with a masterful performance?

Madame Amanda “I Almost Killed Elliott Liu When He Was In My Car” Mateer vs. Eric “The Last Time I Played A Girl With Initials ‘A.M.’ I Lost In 14 Moves!” Rodriguez

Alright so for those who don’t know, these two nicknames are actually TRUE!  FACT!  CORRECT!  So…first of all, Amanda, you ARE the world’s worst driver, congratulations (yes, hard to believe, but worse than Larry)!  To make a long story short, ms. Directionally Challenged made a left turn into an oncoming semi with me in the passenger seat.  Okay, I guess I am being mean.  I only say she is a bad driver because I almost died, but besides that she isn’t too bad (“too” is the key word here).  And secondly, Eric, my homeboy, remember back in the U.S. Open in 2007 when you played another “A.M.” with Black, lost in 14 moves because you forgot how to play chess, and wanted to kill yourself?  Well, in case you or anyone else did, thought I’d revive this gem: I present to you ms. Abby Marshall vs. Eric Rodriguez.

Yo, so Amanda you have the whole “A.M” thing on your side this week.  Also, you showed the world your undercover beastly strength with that previous 300 point upset, so there’s no reason why history won’t repeat itself.  Unfortunately, I have a feeling E-Rod will play more like A-Rod this week, so just pretend you’re Madonna or something (hopefully sports enthusiasts understand).  I assume Eric will try to Benoni you, so, um, good luck with that.  But seriously, make the game cool.  In a shocker, I predict Rodriguez to win this game, but ms. Mateer is no pushover…until you actually try to push her.

Verdict: So what does all this mean?  I predict an exciting 2-2 draw this week.  No, I’m being serious, I actually think 2-2 has a good chance of happening.  Both teams have two toss-up games on Boards 1 and 3 and two games where one player is more favored than the other on Boards 2 and 4.  I still think Robby’s game is the most crucial because in this specific situation I don’t see Alejandro beating Becerra with the Black pieces unless Julio has to unnecessarily push, which I’m assuming he shouldn’t considering both teams are already in the playoffs.  I will conclude by saying it has honestly been a pleasure guest-writing for the Scorpions from time to time this USCL season, and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself.  Peace!

Alright, back to Mendelian recombinant population genetics and lactose coevolution

Let’s quickly look and see what Week 9 has in store for us. NJ is going to try and clinch the East, while Seattle closes in on the West. Everyone seems to be alive in the East while the West is seed-to-be-determined, with Dallas having an outside chance. I have done much lately in picking, although of course that’s all luck.

Queens Pioneers vs. Carolina Cobras

Queens wins to keep mathematically alive. Queens wins 2.5-1.5.

Dallas Destiny vs. Chicago Blaze

A battle for Dallas to stay alive in the West – Dallas and Chicago battle to 2-2 tie.

San Francisco Mechanics vs. Tennessee Tempo

San Francisco wins 3-1 – they have more to prove than Tennessee, who has been eliminated from playoff contention.

Philadelphia Inventors vs. New Jersey Knockouts

Gulko = win for NJ – should wrap up the division and may dash the playoff hopes of Philly. NJ wins 2.5-1.5.

Baltimore Kingfishers vs. New York Knights

The biggest match of the night perhaps. NY has the edge on board 4. Erenberg probably needs a win with white for Baltimore to have a chance. NY wins 2.5-1.5.

Boston Blitz vs. Miami Sharks

A match with significance for both teams. No Becerra, no LarryC – should be a tight match. Perelshteyn gives Boston the edge and a very narrow win. Boston wins 2.5-1.5.

Seattle Sluggers vs. Arizona Scorpions

I predict my Scorpions and Seattle battle to a tie, 2-2.

Last week – 5-2! (That is 10-4 in 2 weeks!).

Lets briefly recap Week 7, (where I finally picked well (5-2). I mean I had to pick well once this year).  Seattle solidified their stranglehold on 1st place in the West Division with a hard fought win over Miami, while both New Jersey and Boston improved their record to 6-1 as they continue their dominance in the East.  Arizona, San Francisco, and Miami are all tied for 2nd in the West, with a record of 4-3. All teams in the East except Carolina are in playoff contention in the East, with only 1 match win separating 3rd from 5th place.  The results this week should clarify or confuse the division.

New Jersey Knockouts vs Boston Blitz

With firstp lace on the line in the East, except a very competitive match.  No GM Joel for NJ, and no GM Larry for Boston. The GM match-up of  Boris Gulko and Eugene Perelshteyn should be a dandy – as both are undefeated in USCL play this year. Boston seems a little stronger on the other boards and that should provide an edge. NJ has been impressive this season, so we will see if that difference matters. I think Eugene will hold Gulko to a draw and therefore the edge switches to Boston, and therefore Boston wins. 2.5-1.5.

Dallas Destiny vs Miami Sharks

Miami has a slight rating advantage, and because of  Dallas’s late substitution on board 4, Miami has the edge on most of the boards. For Dallas to be successful, they need IM John Bartholomew to hold at least a draw and perhaps have IM Daniel Ludwig exact some revenge from his previous loss to IM Bruci Lopez.  Despite the advantages for Miami, somehow I think Dallas and Miami battle to a tie, 2-2.

Chicago Blaze vs Arizona Scorpions

Go Scorpions! Arizona wins.
New York Knights vs Carolina Cobras

Rating advantage on 3 boards + Need to win to keep hold of 3rd place = Win for NY Knights, though it will be closer than people think,  NY 2.5-1.5

Philadelphia Inventors vs Baltimore Kingfishers

Philly better make their move soon if they are gonna make the playoffs, like my beloved Phillies. This match is a total toss-up. Philly seems a little stronger, though Baltimore is very close to making the playoffs if they can find a way to win. This should be an exciting match – I predict a draw, that way no one is happy.

San Francisco Mechanics vs Queens Pioneers

Queens needs this badly or their playoff hopes are over. San Francisco needs it as well to keep pace in the West. SF wins a close one, 2.5-1.5.

Tennessee Tempo vs Seattle Sluggers

It is so difficult to pick against Seattle when Nakamura is playing, no matter who the opponent. TN chose not to use either of their GM’s, its hard to pick anything but a Seattle win.  TN has to hope for production on boards 3 and 4, and a draw on boards 1 or 2. TN will put up a valiant effort, in the end, you cant get around the NAKA factor. Seattle wins 3-1.

Last Week 5-2!

Now it’s crunch time. Teams are not separated by much so the last 4 weeks are critical and almost no teams have been eliminated. Boston and NJ look to keep pace with each other in the East while Miami looks to top the Naka-led Sluggers, and SF looks to continue their West division dominance.

And of course, no comment on my picking ability please.

New York Knights vs. Philadelphia Inventors

Given the rating advantage for NY, this should be an easy one for NY – they win 3-1.
Carolina Cobras vs. Dallas Destiny

Dallas is favored on paper and needs a win, while you have to think Carolina scores one of these weeks – heck, the Panthers won this week vs. the hapless Fail to the Skins. I could take the easy way out and pick the favorite, and that’s exactly what I am going to do. Dallas wins a very close one 2.5-1.5.

Boston Blitz vs. Queens Pioneers

Boston has played well since their Ohh-fer and I don’t see them having a problem against Queens who lacks any real advantage on any of the 4 boards. Boston should coast in this one, and stay tied for first in the East. I promise not to make any further references to a certain professional baseball team who laid a huge egg against a city that has Disneyland nearby. Boston wins 3-1.

Baltimore Kingfishers vs. New Jersey Knockouts

A match that has huge playoff implications for both teams. Baltimore really can’t afford to lose this match, while NJ has to feel like Boston is nipping at their heals.  Baltimore goes with the balanced lineup, except it’s not as balanced as it has been. Meanwhile, I expect GM Joel to rebound from his tough loss last week, and GM Boris Gulko, well it’s just criminal he is on board 2, should handle fellow GM Larry Kaufman, especially with the white pieces. Boards 3 and 4 are toss-ups, so NJ should win this one 3-1.

Chicago Blaze vs. Tennessee Tempo

This could be an elimination match for the loser. Funny things can happen in the USCL – and any team can get hot. Because of TN’s double GM lineup, Chicago has to get production from boards 3 and 4, especially from IM Angelo Young, who has yet to lose a game in USCL team play, though John Bick has played fantastic for TN thus far . Board 4 is a toss-up. Overall, TN is favored and should win, but I think this will be a close match, where Chicago ends up on the short end of the stick. TN wins 3-1.

Seattle Sluggers vs. Miami Sharks

Miami has been playing under the radar thus far, while Seattle is having a great season. If Miami wins, they are tied for first in the West, while Seattle needs to continue winning to hold off San Francisco in the West. Nakamura vs. Becerra should be a treat – Seattle needs this one.  If Naka wins – which he should, Seattle will be tough to stop. I think Seattle wins though I think this match could swing to Miami’s favor just as easily. Call it the NAKA Factor – Seattle wins 2.5-1.5.

Arizona Scorpions vs. San Francisco Mechanics

Let’s see – I picked against them last time (though I really didnt). Lets try sort of picking them again – ok thats dumb.  AZ wins.

A quick look at Week 6 matches – every match and game point is so critical and can make the difference of making the playoffs. My percentage for picking correctly has improved since I changed the name of the column from “Predictions” to “Picks.”

New York Knights vs. Baltimore Kingfishers

The match of the Double GM lineups – Scary good GMs on boards 1 and 2 for both teams. GM Giorgi Kacheisvili will try to duplicate his outstanding performance from last week that earned him GOTW in his win over GM Josh Friedel, while GM Leonid Kritz looks to bounce back from his disappointing loss to GM Larry Christiansen where he held an edge for much of the game. Board 2 features USCL monster, Sergey Erenberg with white against NY’s GM Pascal Charbonneau. As I have said before, these GM matchups tend to split, so its all up to boards 3 and 4. It will be impossible for NY’s NM Matt Herman to play a crazier game than he did last week – unless he plays some bizarre line against Uesugi’s Sveshnikov. NY’s biggest edge lies on board 4, where NM Yaacov Norowitz, who is now rated over 2400, faces Expert Ian Harris. Given this advantage, I give NY the edge, and they win 2.5-1.5.

Chicago Blaze vs. Philadelphia Inventors

Both teams need a win desperately.  Philly is a little bit stronger on boards 1-3 collectively, and Chicago is stronger on board 4. Frankly, no result will surprise me here, but I give Philly a slight nod. 2.5-1.5, and of course the Phillies will prevail, at least in the first round of the playoffs.

Arizona Scorpions vs. New Jersey Knockouts

Another great match (see my Week 6 preview) . Scorpions need this one badly, but GM Joel thinks its bad luck for NJ when people pick them to win, so I will temporarily jump on his bandwagon and pick, sort of, NJ to win. At least I am not as bad as HA81 to never picks his own team, Seattle, to win.

Carolina Cobras vs. Boston Blitz

Boston is just too strong here though this will be closer than it looks- Boston wins 2.5-1.5, though their Red Sox will falter to the Yankees.

Tennessee Tempo vs. Dallas Destiny

This match is extremely critical for both teams – expect a fierce contest here. Even though Dallas has not performed that well this season, you can’t discount their experience and potential (see the match where they beat Boston 4-0). Tennessee is a much improved team this year, and with their double GM lineup, they have to be favored by a little. TN takes it 2.5-1.5.

San Francisco Mechanics vs. Miami Sharks

I will pick SF here simply because I can’t seem them losing 2 matches in a row, and they need to keep pace with Seattle. Also, SF is just a stronger team. If Miami is to be succesful, Eric needs to beat Daniel “silent assassin” Naroditsky. A close one but SF wins 2.5-1.5.
Queens Pioneers vs. Seattle Sluggers

Originally, I thought Seattle might win easily, but this is a close one. Without Naka for the 2nd straight week, how will this play out? For Queens to be successful, they need to come through on the top boards. I don’t think it happens – Seattle wins 2.5-1.5.

Last week 3-4.

Season 15-25.

Okay so before I start this preview there is one thing that I should say that I am not going to do.  I am not going to predict a 4-0 sweep by the Scorpions.  To predict something like that against the two time defending champs would be pretty foolish.

In our match against Dallas last season the two teams were evenly contested on all four boards similar to this season.

Both Dallas and Arizona teams have had very similar roster lineups the past two years since Arizona became a part of the US Chess League. Both teams prefer a more balanced lineup of players in their lineups rather than stacked lineups with many strong players on the top boards and weaker players on the bottom boards as some teams prefer to do.  Which lineup is better (stacked lineups or balanced lineups) is still up for debate and I don’t think there is necessarily a right answer.  Both seem to work depending on the teams. Dallas has obviously perfected the balanced lineup being two time defending champions. While teams like New Jersey seems to do well with a stacked lineup.    Queens is another good example that used the stacked lineup well last season.

However, due to some scheduling issues Dallas has not been dominating (other than their Boston match) this season. However, this does not suggest that the Scorpions underestimate them in the least and we are taking this match as one against the two time defending champs and as one that is crucial for both team as we look ahead towards the rest of the season. Both teams have strong lineups up for this match.

Let’s analyze the matchups:

Board 1

GM Alejandro Ramirez    2600 vs.          IM John Bartholomew   2499

These players both know each other well as they have both been playing in the Dallas area for a while.  John has been taking the board 1 duties for Dallas this season playing the likes of GM’s Hikaru Nakamura and Julio Becerra.  This should be a very tough game for both players as John has a very, very solid style that can at times frustrate strong players. However, Alejandro is undeniably a favorite here as a 2600 GM with White.

Board 2

IM Salvijus Bercys            2503        vs.            GM-Elect Rogelio Barcenilla 2583

This match pits Rogelio Barcenilla on the board 2 spot for the first time in his short career. All of last season Rogelio played board one and had a very respectable even score against five grandmasters. Since then he has achieved his final GM norm at the Copper State tournament in Phoenix, Arizona. He will be awarded the GM title fairly soon. This also is the first time that the Scorpions will have a double GM lineup with two players almost both in the 2600s. Sal Bercys has played one game this season losing a long game to Sam Shankland. However, in this game he was in a position where he had to win for team reasons and in this game Bercys pushed fairly hard, finally losing. However this matchup between 2500s should be very close and is definitely one of the games to watch.

Board 3

FM Robby Adamson 2354 vs.           FM Keaton Kiewra  2365

FM Robby Adamson has been one of the MVPs of the Scorpion team so far this season going 2.5/3 so far this season.  From his wide experience playing ICC (literally playing tens of thousands of ICC games) he has transferred some of this “experience” to his USCL games. Keaton Kiewra seems to be the the Destiny’s regular third board playing three out of their 4 matches. In past years Dallas has chosen a lineup and stayed with that lineup throughout most of the season. This season they have varied more but Keaton has been a constant third board for them.  With a 2/3 record he has done well himself and this matchup should be very close and could easily go either way.

Board 4

WFM Bayaraa Zorigt 2270                 vs.          Expert David Adelberg 2160

The fourth board brings back the twelve year old phenom David Adelberg to the Arizona lineup! David is only twelve years old and after not playing two matches he was eager to get back in the mix. Here he faces the 2008 4^th board MVP from last season in Bayaraa Zorigt. Although Bayaraa lost her last game in the USCL her +5 record from last season stands out and she is a very tough, technical player. However, David has proven himself again and again against strong players and he will have to do so again in this situation. Both of these players are very solid and positional players who are not afraid to mix it up but would rather think about pawn structures than piece sacs. With David’s rating only 5 points from reaching master (at only 12 years old!) we are likely to see many more achievements from this kid…starting with this week!

One further comment that I would like to make concerning the Scorpions is the newly crowned International Master Danny Rensch! Danny recently got his final IM norm by drawing IM Ray Robson at the SPICE Cup in Texas. Watch a video of Danny after his great tournament:

Thanks everyone and go root for the Scorpions Wednesday at 6:00 PM AZ time!