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

What a match we have in store this week!

In the unofficial USCL power rankings, Seattle sits at #2 and Arizona sits at #3 in the league. Clearly, this match is going to be a battle between teams that have proven to be heavyweights in 2009.

Board 1 pits two young phenoms against each other. In the red corner, GM Hikaru Nakamura, the current US Champion and undisputed superstar of the USCL this season. Naka weighs in with an October-supplement USCF rating of 2824 (!) and a whopping 5-0 record in the league. In the blue corner, we see the return of GM Alejandro Ramirez, weighing in with an October-supplement rating of 2623 and a solid 3-1 record this season, which includes a GOTW win over GM Joel Benjamin. It is safe to say that Naka–who leads the league in MVP points–is the favorite, but no one should ever underestimate the spaghetti-making Central American wonder that is Alejandro Tadeo Ramirez Alvarez. DO NOT MISS THIS GAME!

On Board 2, IM Levon Altounian reps the Scorpions against FM Slava Mikhailuk. Early this season, Arizona’s IM Mark Ginsburg dealt Mikhailuk his only loss of the 2009 season. Scorpions fans hope that Levon (who has drawn all 3 of his games this season) can do the same. This board could easily be the critical game for the match and looks to be a must-win for the Scorps!

On Board 3, FM Robby Adamson (2.5-1.5) will also be looking to convert a full point with black against FM Marcel Milat (0-1). Though both players weigh in with similar ratings, Robby has two advantages in this game:  (1) he has been staying much more active in recent years than Milat, who hasn’t played a USCF or FIDE tournament since 2006 and usually only gets played once a year in the USCL; and (2) he is the blitzmaster.

On Board 4, Amanda Mateer makes her debut for the Scorpions, taking on NM Joshua Sinanan. Earlier this season, Arizona’s NM Leo Martinez drew Sinanan. Weighing in with a 5-1 record this season and a USCF rating of 2248, Sinanan looks to be the favorite on this board. However, Amanda has proven her talent against much stronger players than Sinanan, so this game could easily still go either way. Besides, as Alejandro will remind us, Amanda is sooo creative!

Tune in tomorrow evening to watch this important battle between two teams leading the West! If you have been watching the Scorpions’ action-packed matches the past few weeks, I shouldn’t have to convince you that it could be epic.

Each week a panel of 5 judges from around the country review all USCL games and select the top 3 of the week. By a large margin, Alejandro’s victory over GM Joel Benjamin was selected as this week’s best.

Surprise! A sweet quiet game becomes the run-away winner of Game of the Week. No doubt a big part of the decision was the crushing endgame tactic 35. f5, making way for the h-pawn to run down the board. Bonus points for the key role of this game in Arizona’s victory and for taking down one of this season’s top performers. – Michael Aigner

Alejandro’s game got the nod this week almost solely due to the final endgame combination with 35. f5!. It also didn’t hurt that he dealt Joel Benjamin his first loss of the season and helped the Knockouts to lose their undefeated record. - Greg Shahade

First prize is $150. The previous week, David Adelberg’s victory over WFM Bayaraa Zorigt nearly missed top honors (by 1 point) to earn 2nd prize ($75). Great job to both players!!!

Sean Higgins, former member of Catalina Foothills National Chess Team, current Tulane student and Tucson native takes a break from his very busy activities and obsessions with doing 10 activities at once to examine all the action from the very exciting and highly anticipated Scorpions-Knockouts Week 6 match-up. Coming into this match New Jersey was a perfect 5-0 in league play while at 2-3 Arizona needed a win.

Scorpions win a thriller! Defeat undefeated Knockouts!

But before we get to the action, let’s take a quick look at what happened last week in the US Chess League:

For those of you who missed last week’s excitement, Arizona drew a thriller when Dallas IM John “Johnny B” Bartholomew hit resign before he could notice a rare one-rook perpetual against the Scorpions’ GM Alejandro “Reaaaaally?” Ramirez.

Meanwhile, in the East, the NJ Knockouts moved to 5-0. The NJ Jets could not pull off the same feat of staying undefeated in the NFL on Sunday, leading me to predict in a comment that Dirty Jersey would also come up short in Week 6 of the USCL. Well, the main reasons I made the prediction were an AZ edge on board 4 and a disbelief that GM Joel Benjamin would reel in a full point with black against Jandi on board 1 to lead the Knockouts to the first 6-0 start in USCL history.

The week in USCL blogging was also exciting: FM Elliot “Did I really send that text message last night?” Liu took a break from going to playboy-themed parties at Stanford to recap Arizona’s match, IM-elect Danny “Why did the Suns trade for Shaq?” Rensch proscribed a cure for the post-norm blues, and IM Mark “Fritz likes the Cordell!” Ginsburg continued his Opening of the Week Column. Meanwhile, GM Joel Benjamin wrote his mid-season thoughts on every team in the USCL. His only thoughts on Arizona were that we blog a lot.

So back to this week:

GM Ramirez – GM Benjamin http://www.uschessleague.com/games/ramirezbenjamin09.htm

The critical point in the match was a GOTW worthy win from Alejandro “Roses are a great way to tell a girl that you like her” Ramirez, who wasn’t handing out any roses today. From a sliiiight edge in the ending he was able to convert with

34.Rxg6!! hxg6 35. f5! gxf5 36.h4! If you don’t see why this combo would have won after 36…Kd7 37. h5 Ke7 headed to f7, ask Leo, who was the first person to whisper the winning move 34.Rxg6 on ICC. (To quote Alejandro, “the idea is that after 37…Ke7 White has

38. Bd4! cutting off all the squares from the knight and if 38…c5 then 39. h6 queens the pawn. If 38…Kf7 then White can trap the knight with 39. b3! and the pawn endgame is lost after 39…c5 40. ba4 cd4 41. ab5 where White queens his b-pawn while the White king is able to stop the Black pawns in time.” Of course Alejandro had to see all of this ahead of time on move 34 with very little time on the clock! –LM)

IM Dean Ippolito – GM-Elect Rogelio Barcenilla http://www.uschessleague.com/games/ippolitobarcenilla09.htm

Board 2 was the cleanest game of the match, with Rogelio “RoBa” Barcenilla reminding us all why he just earned his 3rd GM norm and controlling the game against IM Dean Ippolito from about move 12 on. After 14.Nxe6 by white, Black was all too active. 22…dxe5 gives black a clear edge,

where 26.b4 later would have been met by 26…exf4! And while RoBa certainly played with precision, this game is not quite as GOTW worthy as Jandi’s board 1 victory if we take into account Joel Benjamin’s recent suggestion that GOTW judges take into account a “difficulty factor”; Dean Ippolito didn’t put up too much of a fight against RoBa’s outstanding play.

IM-Elect Danny Rensch – SM Mackenize Molner http://www.uschessleague.com/games/renschmolner09.htm

But the match can’t be won just by two stellar performances on the top boards! IM-Elect Danny “There is no Spoon” Rensch weaseled his way out of some potential trouble on Board 3 to hold the draw against FM Mackenzie “I don’t need to sleep the night before to beat you” Molner. (True story…I’ve seen Mac play as well as ever on close to zero hours of sleep). Rensch’s king was stuck in the center and his a-pawn was a definite target, but after 22.Qxa6 Rxa6 23.Bc4 Ra5 24.Bxd6 he seemed to be slowly but surely clarifying things.

After 38. Re1! (threatening to invade with the rook and attack the Black King) Rhe2 39. Re2 Re2 40.Bxc5 a draw looked likely, and once the bishops came off the board we had a textbook drawn rook ending.

Sean ”I want the record to show I paid Matan” Finn – David Adelberg. http://www.uschessleague.com/games/finnadelberg09.htm

David “Talented Tween” Adelberg also got himself out of trouble to draw on board 4. After 17.Na4!,

Jersey’s Sean “Why’d you cut your hair man?” Finn looked like he had established a significant advantage that he continued to solidify in the upcoming moves.

After the interesting 22.Rc4!? (maybe actually ?! — I liked 22.Nxd7+ Rxd7 23.Rh3, hunting the h-pawn and giving white a slight edge), the talented tween played accurately by giving the exchange back with 22…dxc4 23.Nxd7+ Rxd7, leading to an approximately equal position.

The most important factor for Arizona in taking down the 5-0 Knockouts this week, in my opinion, was controlling the clock. Arizona controlled the clock on every board, and this can be especially important in faster time controls. I don’t think Arizona has ever controlled the clock on every board before like they did this week. This became an important factor: when Ramirez needed time to find 34.Rxg6 winning, he had that time; when Rensch-Molner got messy, Danny had time to find accurate clarifications and dig himself out of a little bit of a hole; and when pawns started to bleed on both sides in Finn-Adelberg, David had the time he needed to stay calm and calculate.

After such a successful week, I only have one suggestion for the Scorpions. We should start doing play-by-play updates like NJ has been doing! For example, at 10:06 pm the Knockouts tweeted (and posted on their blog, because let’s be honest I don’t have a Twitter account): “The room has more tension tonight than usual. Perhaps it is the fast time control. Perhaps it is the chance to make USCL history and go 6-0. Perhaps it is the fact that there are NO DONUTS.”

The Arizona Scorpions (2-3) face their toughest challenge yet in their Week 6 encounter with the New Jersey Knockouts. Lead by GM Joel Benjamin, the Knockouts are 5-0 in the league, and look to become the first team in U.S. Chess League history to start the season 6-0.  New Jersey experienced heartache their first two years in the league when they failed to make the playoffs, but this year have established themselves as the team to beat in the East and perhaps in the U.S. Chess League.

The Scorpions are currently tied for 4th with the Tennessee Tempo in the extremely competitive Western Division. The Dallas Destiny, who we were fortunate to draw with in our last match after a memorable ending, is only half match point behind. The last 5 weeks will play an instrumental role in who makes the playoffs.

Let’s look at the matchups.

Board 1 – GM Alejandro “I am Not Always Distracted” Ramirez (2623) vs. GM Joel “I am not stuck in the 1980′s like Mark Ginsburg” Benjamin (2621)

Every GM vs. GM matchup is intriguing, but this should be a great one.  Alejandro “She was not even at the latest match” Ramirez plays both 1.d4 and 1.e4, and is a solid player, while Joel “I do not look like Glenn Panner” Benjamin is known for playing unorthodox lines but lines where he has a lot of experience with – something that makes him difficult to prepare for.  Alejandro has fared well thus far, scoring 2/3 (2 wins, 1 loss), while Joel is an outstanding 4/5 (3 wins, 2 draws), and he really should be 4.5/5 if he had converted against GM Giorgi Kacheisvili. Given the closeness in rating and strength between the 2 players, I would call this game a toss-up.

Board 2 – IM Dean Ippolito (2537) – GM-Elect Rogelio “GM-Blues Are Over” Barcenilla (2583)

Dean Ippolito has been playing a lot recently and for the most part has had great results. I believe that in the pursuit of GM norms and the GM title, Dean has begun playing much sharper lines. On the other side of the board, it seems that ever since the GM-Blues have hit GM-Elect Rogelio Barcenilla, Rogelio has not played like his true self.  The Scorpions hope Rogelio snaps out of his funk and plays with the skill and energy that gave him the GM title.  I fully expect another toss-up. Yes, that’s 2 toss-ups so far, out of 2 games.

Board 3 – IM-Elect Danny “AZ Obsessions” Rensch (2414)- SM Mackenzie”Mac” Molner (2428)

Now that Danny has made IM and got that monkey  off his back (though there are others beyond the scope of this article, such as obsessions with Steve Nash and Kurt Warner– thus his son’s name “Nash” and “Warner”), Scorpion fans hope Danny can get on track and win his first game in the USCL.  Danny faces my good friend Mackenzie Molner, who, rumor had it – ok not rumor – he actually called me and begged me to play because it would be “cool”.

In any event, knowing both of these players, I expect a mess. While Danny probably will not intentionally try to create a mess, Mackenzie can’t help but create one – it’s his nature. When analyzing with Mac recently, I honestly could not predict any of his moves, as he defeated his higher rated opponent.  Mac looked incredulously at me, puzzled at why I would not have converted his winning advantage in the same, completely unsound and reckless way. Truth be told, I have no idea what will happen here – another toss-up!!

Board 4 – Sean “Next year at the camp, can we have a Texas Holdem Tournament” Finn (2133) vs. David “Don’t Mess with My Najdorf” Adelberg (2191)

Ok – a great story about Sean (I still play the Goring Gambit) Finn and another USCL member to be named later.  Sean was one of the original 10 students who attended my chess camp in 2004. Apparently Sean became obsessed with poker before the camp that during his plane trip to Arizona, he had to change planes in Dallas, where he happened to not only meet during his layover another camp participant, Miami’s Matan Prilleltensky, but managed to drop $60-$80 while playing poker against Matan (apparently they were so obsessed with poker that they both almost missed their flight). So at the end of the camp, one of the improvements suggested by Sean was whether we could have a poker tournament the following year – thus the quote above. Fortunately, I didn’t take him up on the offer. No word on whether Sean ever paid Matan.

Now onto the game – This game will feature a battle of styles. Sean is a wild, tactical, and imaginative player who could not name a single positional concept even if he was spotted a few key words. David on the other hand is a very solid player who has done well for the Scorpions thus far (2.5/3). Congratulations are in order for David who finished 2nd in Game of the Week voting http://usclnews.blogspot.com/2009/10/week-5-game-of-week.html for his win last week on board 4.  http://www.uschessleague.com/games/zorigtadelberg09.htm.

Whoever wins the battle of styles wins this game. Yep, you guessed it, another toss-up!

With 4 toss-ups, log into ICC Monday night at 6 pm Arizona time to watch another exciting match against the NJ Knockouts!

GAME NIGHT: Before I start the review, I just want to apologize to Scorpion Nation for skipping my Recap of Week 4 (as if anybody even cares, be honest). Anyway, onto what my experience of the match was… Delicious chicken salad!!! Seriously, Abstrax, Inc. continues to out due itself by making an incredibly comfortable environment for the players and TD (no wonder we can’t win a freaking’ match). In fact, I think people are even coming through the doors off the street just to take advantage of the refreshments. I mean really, have you ever had anything better then the combination of that croissant bread and chicken salad we had during the match? Oh yeah, back to chess. Can anything get better then Elliot’s review? I don’t think so, but I will do my best.

Yo, Yo, Yo... Something funny!

I will also review the games in reverse order, starting with board 4, and then I will “Back that Thang Up” like Juvenile, and get to Jandi’s incredibly awesome finish. David played like a G! Simple as that. Whoever was playing white in that game (I really didn’t even notice) decided it would be a good idea to play an English Attack structure with the Bishop on g5. I don’t think David made a single mistake, sacked like Kaspy, and unless Zorigt finds 18.Kb1 instead of 18.Rdg1, the game is over. She didn’t: lights out.

For lack of a better way to say it: Robby really “#&*^%#@ the Pooch” on that one! Unlike Elliot, I actually liked Robby’s choice of line (yes Elliot, he is getting old but don’t remind him) the only problem was a series of inaccurate moves after that. First off, I also play this line for white, and in my experience white does much better when he leads with the g-pawn instead of the h-pawn: 16.g4 is good, and follows the game 1-0 Renteria,J-Bermudez Adams,W/Istanbul 2000 (maybe others like it, but that is what I have). Playing 18.Bh3 as Elliot recommended was also a clear improvement over helping black on the King-side with 18.gxh5. Anyway, not to “Beat the Dead Robby” but this game could have been better. He will forget about it and move on though (perhaps a therapy session of 4-8 hours of bullet chess will be required, but nonetheless, move on he will).

Remember who you are Simba, you are the one and true king! So go get some, yo!!

Uuummm. This game stunk. GM-Elect Rogelio Barcenilla is suffering from a simple case of the “Post Norms”. This is a very common affliction, with a very simple cure. Diagnosis: “A player earns his final Norm, and proceeds to play like poopy for a couple of tournaments” (I think that is the literal scientific term, no joke). He has miscalculated in his last two losses (Nakamura and Bercys) like I have never seen him do before. Cure: “Remember who you are”! Much like Mufasa demands of his son Simba in the Lion King, Rogelio needs to stop trying new stuff (Nakamura Game 1.Nf3 = New Stuff = loss, Bercys Game, Benoni instead of KID = New Stuff = loss) and play like the player who became a GM! Go get em’ Simba (or else the monkey, I think my name is Rafiki, will smack you in the head with a wooden stick). Man I watch too many Disney movies…Or maybe the Disney movies are the key!!! Maybe I can avoid my own “Post Norm Poopiness” by realizing the truth: There is no Spoon!

"Do not try and bend the spoon, that's impossible... Instead, only try and realize the truth: There is no spoon! Then you will realize that it is not the spoon that bends, but only yourself..." I LOVE THAT LINE!!! GO NEO!!!

I have a good theory as to why Alejandro was able to trick Bart into resigning in a drawn position: Zagavory! If you don’t know what that means, look up the Russian word for conspiracy. Okay, I just told you what it means! First we took Jandi, and now UTD is upset. So why would Bart sabotage his own team for Jandi “the trader”? Because he is upset that Jandi LEFT HIM BEHIND! Mark my words (really, I am just trying to create as much controversy as possible) Bart will play for the Scorpions at some point in the future… Anyway great game by Jandi, resourceful game by Bart, should have been a draw, but Jandi, Bart, and just about every player on ICC not using a computer analysis engine, thought the game was over. So we win!

And that brings up a good point: All you people out there who argue with the “Is and Gs” during the games, when all you’re doing is quoting Rybka, you are polluting the internet with your nonsense!!! Stop it!! Do you know that all those “evaluations” you’re getting from your analysis engine are making your calculation worse when you play your own games? Yes, that’s right! Solve the position yourself, and your games will get better.

Sorry about that. I wasn’t trying to be mean. I need some coffee.

Until next time…

Yo yo ELiu’s back in action, recapping Week 5’s ridiculous draw between Arizona and Dallas.

*The USCL should institute instant replay, just saying…you’ll see why in a bit.*

Normally the phrase “exciting draw” is an oxymoron (well, it probably is).  “Exciting draw” is like a book reviewer’s commentary summarizing the Narcolepsy-inducing Vladimir “Did I Just Take Nyquil?” Kramnik: My Greatest Games.  For example, [Kramnik writes on game 59]: “And here, on move 84, with 2 kings left on the board, I offered a draw!  This game was a brilliancy!”  Or, [Kramnik writes]: “In this game I employed the Petroff for the 5000^th time and offered my opponent a draw after 2…Nf6.  He accepted after calculating 40 moves deep and saw no foreseeable progress.”  The same goes for Edmar Mednis…or Levon Altounian sans the “exciting” prefix.  Speaking of Levon—Arizona, you needed a draw this week on board 2.  WHAT WERE YOU THINKING??  Even Bercys wouldn’t be able to…ok never mind.

Anyway, this battle was actually exciting this week, mainly because all four games were interesting and decisive—obviously because Levon wasn’t playing and because Bart clicked the resign button a move too early.  As a result, plenty of blood was shed and the tense match ended in a 2-2 tie (another contradiction?), with the result hanging in the balance up to the last second.  To change things up a little bit, I will recap each game in the order that they finished (interestingly, the games finished linearly from fourth board first to first board last hehe).

WFM Bayaraa Zorigt vs. David “I don’t have a nickname for you yet because you’re too young” Adelberg

http://www.uschessleague.com/games/zorigtadelberg09.htm

David should be very proud of this game, enough said.  Very well played.  Systematically exploited Zorigt’s inaccuracies in a sharp (and weird) Najdorf with thematic play and sacrifices.  (And yes, for some reason I have decided to write in fragments because I am too lazy).  In these types of positions, moves that aren’t precise (like Zorigt’s in this game) are suicidal.  The opposing attack comes too fast.  This game was kind of like the Colts-Cardinals Sunday night game where some Quarterback picked apart the hapless Arizona defense.  Oh wait, here we go, David “Manning” Adelberg.  Even though I despise Peyton Manning (Eli’s even worse) as a diehard Charger’s fan, I still like the nickname (it actually could be a legitimate middle name) in this case.  From the typical rook exchange sacrifice on move 15 onwards, David’s play was impressive and straightforward, and he wrapped up the game nicely.  Zorigt certainly could have put up more resistance as moves 18, 21, and 23 were all critical mistakes, but even with finding the absolute best moves, David’s pressure would most likely have given him the full point in the end anyway.

FM Robby “Aaauuuhhh, BRRRENDAA!  It’s Not Printing Right!” Adamson vs. Keaton Kiewra

http://www.uschessleague.com/games/adamsonkiewra09.htm

Things that could happen as I am writing this recap: 1.) Robby calls Elliott and commences a 15-minute, profanity-laced venting.  2.) The building where the Scorpions play either has a broken door, window, or both now.  3.) “!@#$” is screamed and yelled in the parking lot approximately 40 times.  4.) Robby gets a ticket for going 85 in a 30 mph zone.  Still cursing to Elliott, the cop busts him for talking on the phone while driving, too.  5.) Robby shows the cop his bleeding hand and says the reason why he was going so fast was because he was trying to get to the ER ASAP.  6.) Asked why his hand is so mangled, the honest attorney replies that he lost a game of chess—priceless.  7.) Robby quits chess…only to log on to ICC 4 hours later and play 1-minute for 7 hours straight.  8.) The sun continues to rise in the East and the Earth’s axis and overall orbit are realigned.

Trust me, when I saw Robby was going to lose, I was mentally preparing myself for the Apocalypse: kind of like how Vaden Health Center at Stanford is preparing itself for the inevitable massive outbreak of swine flu (I cannot wait for that freakin vaccine!); how Danny Rensch is preparing himself for Steve Nash to retire, only to pull a Brett Favre, unretire, and play for the Lakers; and/or how we Californians are preparing ourselves for the next big earthquake (any day now, just get it over with Mr. San Andreas when I’m on a plane please).

There’s really not much to say about this game.  The opening was the mainline Dragon…until Robby decided to employ the “I think I’m Levon Altounian” variation with 12.Nd5 (it’s actually a good line, which I’ve played once or twice before too).  The only problem with this choice is Robby Adamson does not = Levon Altounian.  It’s THE DRAGON Robby!  Go for his jugular!  Are you getting old or something?  I think Keaton’s 14…Nd7 is actually an inaccuracy in that position.  14…a6 and 14…Qd7 are much more common there.  I didn’t particularly care for Robby’s 18.gxh5 either.  The capture may be too premature.  Why not leave the tension with something like 18.Bh3!?  The game was more or less equal until Robby forgot what a “pin” was on move 23.  He understandably will hate me for pointing out the obvious, but that’s my job.  23.Rxe7 was much better than 23.Qc7.  It wins a pawn, and although White is certainly not “won” by any means, he has a comfortable advantage and has all the winning chances in the endgame after 23…Qxc3 24.bxc3, but I know it’s not easy or anything.  After 23.Qc7 however, the edge began to shift to Black and after Keaton’s 24…Rae8, Robby had to either play 25.Qxf6+ or 25.Qxe8 getting 2 rooks for the queen, but certainly not 25.Qc7 allowing what happened in the game or even 25…Nxd5.  After 27.Rxh8, 27…Qxc3 has to be considered as a potential alternative to 27…Rxe1+.  After the rooks came off, although Black has all the play and the position is indeed tough for White, he might be able to hold as long as the queens stay on the board!  That did not happen, and it was only a matter of time before Black’s superior king position, good knight vs. bad bishop, and outside pawn majority of 2 vs. 1 (instead of Black’s 3 pawns holding White’s 4 at bay) became decisive.  Not to mention the “Blitzmaster” was very low on time too.

IM Salvijus “Okay Fine, I’ll Admit I’m Russian” Bercys vs. IM Soon to be GM Rogelio “Oh Levon Where Art Thou?” Barcenilla

http://www.uschessleague.com/games/bercysbarcenilla09.htm

This game should have ended well before it did.  Sal was probably inspired by not having to face Levon as Bercys played a very nice game.  The game began with a relatively normal King’s Indian-Benoni hybrid up until move 11.  After 11.0-0, Barcenilla played 11…Bg7? directly following his 10…Bh6.  Ok…strange…free move please?  11…Bxe3 12.fxe3 and then either 12…Nbd7 or 12…Qe7 is of course the natural way of continuing, which has occurred many times in the database.  As a frequent King’s Indian Defense player myself, I can understand why Barcenilla was reluctant to trade dark-squared bishops (because a King’s Indian g7 bishop is worth like a queen), but at the cost of a full tempo?  Seems a bit questionable to me, and this loss of time hurt Black dearly as he could never really recover.  On move 14, instead of Ng5, one interesting idea I had was something like 14.Rae1 first followed by Qg5 and somehow checkmate (it’ll happen, I have faith).  This game was weird to watch as it seemed like one bad move (11…Bg7) cost Barcenilla the entire point.  Before move 20, Black was already in dire straits.

On move 24, Sal could have ended the game a lot faster with the more accurate 24.Qg5! first before fxg6 (Berycs played 24.fxg6 first).  The point being that after a move like the game’s 24…Nhg7, White can now play 25.Qe7!  If 25…Bxf5, White wins with simply 26.Bxf5 gxf5 27.Bxg7, and if 27…Nxg7 then 28.Ng5 leads to a forced mate, and if 27…Kxg7 then 28.Qxe8 d3 29.Qe1 and White wins.  Or, if 25…Qc7 then 26.Bxg7! wins.  If 26…Nxg7 then 27.Ng5 once again or if 26…Kxg7 then 27.f6+! is possible.  Now if 27…Nxf6 then 28.Ng5 wins, and if 27…Kg8 then 28.b3!!! leads to an amazingly sexy zugzwang.  THAT’S HOT!  Now with no Ba4 defense, Black’s pieces literally cannot move anywhere, and 29.Ng5 is threatened.  If 28…h6 then 29.Bxg6 wins.  If this variation played out, the game would have definitely been considered for game of the week honors in my fair opinion.  At any rate, Sal’s 24.fxg6 was good enough too.  The d4 pawn fell, and after some maneuvering by White with Barcenilla’s flag hanging, Black finally blundered in a losing position allowing Bercys to win instantly.  Oh Levon, where art thou??

GM Alejandro “Amanda, Will You Please Leave The Room (For Good)!” Ramirez vs. IM John “Trigger Happy” Bartholomew

http://www.uschessleague.com/games/ramirezbartholomew09.htm

SIGH…well, you all probably know what happened by now, but in case you missed it…

[red flag tossed on field]: “Upon further video review, the ruling on the field…”  If only J-Boy had instant replay.

The entire match result came down to this game.  Dallas was leading 2-1 at the time.  The game opened with a Slav that eventually transformed in to a Catalan-like position.  Alejandro played the rare 10.e4.  10. Ne5 (Alekseev) and 10. b3 have been played much more commonly.  John then played a novelty (whether he knew it or not) with 10…a5 (10…Rc8 was played by GM Stuart Conquest), and then nothing really happened for awhile as the position was pretty dry.  Black was happy with the result of the opening, and White had achieved a slight, nagging edge, if even that.  Bart found a nice move with 23…Nd5, which was pretty annoying, but then followed it up incorrectly with 24…Bb4?! allowing Handi to seize the initiative for the remainder of the game.  Instead, 24…Nb4 would have maintained relative equality.

For the most part, both players remained more or less even on the clock, but as the position became critical, John began to falter a little with some missteps.  The major one that gave Black serious problems was 28…Nf6? allowing the pesky Costa Rican to hop in to holes on the queenside, achieving a nasty bind on the overall position.

To his credit, Bart came up with a very interesting and creative defensive resource when he played 30…Ncd5!?.   At first glance, as many ICC kibitzers obnoxiously yapped, this move looks like suicide, but losing the knight and bishop for the rook really wasn’t that bad at all.  For one, Black succeeded in relieving the immense pressure on his position by getting rid of some pieces (otherwise, he might have imploded).  This led to a weird ending, where time pressure (in my opinion) ultimately prevented John from finding the most precise defensive setup—one which would have been hard for Handi to crack and convincingly breakthrough (due to his own time constraints).  Before I continue, I would like to point out a sexy variation that could have taken place had Amanda not distracted Alejandro.

Instead of pre-move 32.Rb1 (which is automatic), 32.dxc6!! was possible.  The idea is that after a move like 32…Bg6, White then has 33.Nxe6!! threatening 34.c7!  So, 33.Nxe6 bxc6 34.Nxd8 Qxb6 35.Nxc6 Rxa4 leaves White a clear pawn up (and I guess one could say a technically winning position!?).  Is this a “clear” win?  Is this better for Ramirez than what transpired during the game?  Who knows, it’s up for debate, but it’s a sexy variation at least worth mentioning.

Nothing really happened for 20 moves or so.  Both players got low on time—Handi was trying to put the game away and Bart was trying to hold on for dear life as he was below 1 minute or so for many moves.  John’s main mistake that [should have] lost him the game was allowing Alejandro’s rook to sit pretty on the 7^th rank.  With Black’s rook on a7 White still had plenty of work to do.

AND NOW, for the legendary stuff.  After 58…Kf8, here’s what both players were thinking:

Handi: “Man, hurry up and resign already, I want to go outside to be with Amanda.  59.Rf7+ Ke8 60.Bb5 curtains.”

John: “Man, hurry up and make me resign already, I’m so bummed we’re gonna draw the match now.”

*Amanda enters the room*

59.Rf7+?  [I should mention here that 59.d5! knocks Black out because the same variation as below can take place except that now White’s king has room.  Game over]

59…Ke8

60.Bb5 1-0 right??  Right??

Handi: *rolls his eyes with boredom*

John: “Thank you, good game Handi.  I mean if Ginsburg AND Lenderman AND every stupid ICC kibitzer are all telling me to resign, I probably should.  *Click*”

DOH!

NOOO!!!  Now now, don’t conform to peer pressure.

[*Elliott throws the red challenge flag on to the field*]

60…Ra3+ actually DRAWS BY PERPETUAL!!!  The king can’t get out, and if the bishop ever retreats to block, then the c-Rook comes down to party.

SIGH…E-Liu over and out.

ARIZONA SCORPIONS VS Dallas Destiny

OPENING REVIEW:

Very interesting match where each game was very hard fought and emotionally complicated.

I guessed the approximate direction of boards 1 and 4 but not the boards 2 and 3. At the end, we ended up drawing the match trailing 1:2 and needing a win on board 1. At the end we got it when Black resigned…. In a drawn position! There is some justice after all for Scorpions.

Since I had no clue what the games were going to look like, Here are the thoughts I had.

Board 1. Alejandro gets some space edge, Bart holds it as usually he does and the game goes into a deep endgame. After it- no clue what happens but as Leo had put it “GM with white- definite favorite”

Board 2. I was curious what Barcenilla will play as Black on 1 d4.He rarely shifted from his beloved Kings Indian and I expected some Kings Indian- Main line or Side line.

Board 3. Didn’t have a chance to see what Robby’s opponent plays but I knew both will play main line of … something!

Board 4. Sharp game of a main line Sicilian or a side line by white if she decided not to get into Sicilians after Adelberg won very nicely in round 1 for the Scorpions. It showed he understands those types well.

Board 1: GM Ramirez-IM Bartholomew

General Styles: Ramirez- active in the opening as White, looks for stable edge or good plan.Likes having extra space. Bartolomew- likes solid games, doesn’t mind a bit passive versions if nothing “hangs”

Theoretical Importance:  8

Novelty: 6

Precision: 9

Opening: Slav

I honestly thought it may be 4 e3 Slav by Alejandro. Opening choice of lines and sublines was fun for me to watch. I was smiling the whole time! I didn’t expect him to play the 4 Qc2 line I often play myself and faced as Black in the last match against Baltimore! Bart plays the line…. Alejandro played against me himself when I was White. He responds to Black.. the same way I played it as White and not the way Baltimore Enkhbat played against me. Thank you guys!!Alejandro got a tiny edge, it seemed to evaporate somewhere in the early middlegame, reappear when White squeezed Black on the Queen side and almost disappear when Black correctly traded 2 Minor pieces for a Rook. I have a feeling Black could play for a central break with e5 instead of the b5.However, even then it looks like Black rooks were very strong. This is exactly when I think the small strength difference showed up. About 10 moves later White was undeniably better but it was hard to win. Good accomplishment from “unclear”. The end was very strange… It seems like in time pressure Black just committed suicide, and when White “ proved” it by Bb5- Black immediately resigned. I didn’t think of it much until watching the other games when someone shouted Black resigned in a draw position. I went back thinking maybe Black could sac the rooks and get stalemate? Nope, no Stalemate. I was about to type in the kibitz whoever is shouting that is on some unlawful medicine when I realized it is one of the most unlikely perpetual checks I have ever seen! One rook can check White’s king to the eternity without any other seemingly required help from other pieces. Would have been REALLY sad to end this game in a draw, the match in a loss and see chances of the team almost completely evaporate. Very good game by Alejandro overall.

Board 2: IM Bercys- IM Barcenilla

General Styles: Bercys- more positional opening but more tactical chess after it.Barcenilla- very deep knowledge of openings and the mixed style.

Theoretical Importance:  3

Novelty: 2

Precision: 6

Opening: Kings Indian/ Benoni

Very strange opening by Rogelio and a very weird choice of Bishop retreat (Bh6- Bg7? ). It almost was like “I’ll give you a weak pawn or may even win it, so defend it! No? Ok, you called my bluff- lets go back to normal”. White chose the “Russian” system against the Benoni, which turned out to be one of the main reasons why that move order is less played on the top level. It is true that winning the pawn ( B:e3 f3 R:e3 ) is extremely dangerous, but playing a solid style. If my memory serves me right, Kamsky himself held those as Black successfully before. For interested people I would suggest looking at games of GM Art. Minasian- he loves those as Black and plays some very interesting concepts.The rest of the game went under “ I give you 2 moves and then play chess- can I beat you then?” Unfortunately, the answer this time was “no!” Bercie pressured Barcie and won nicely. Rogelio never got to show his great blitz skills. Unfortunate opening disaster.

Board 3: FM Adamson-FM Kiewra

General Styles: Adamson- main line theoretician with active opening choices. Kiewra- more solid choices ( at least from what I saw )

Theoretical Importance:  9

Novelty: 7

Precision: 8

Opening: Sicilian Dragon+

This was a game that I both understood and not really understood. Opening choice was a regular Main line Dragon. Robby opted for the safer system and Black played the safest system on that system! Few rounds before GM Kritz won very nicely against GM Kudrin in a similar type game where Black wanted to make things complicated. In this game it seemed both knew the safest theory possible: White gets a nice looking small edge and Black gets a very nice looking…..possible defense. I would especially draw reader’s attention to how White secured the King’s safety ( Nd5!, Kb1, Rc1!? ) idea together with attacking Black’s King ( h4-g4-Bh3!-Bg4!). I am not sure I understood Robby’s choice of not trading Queens and winning the e7 important pawn however. Once he refused trading queens with me with the accompanying phrase I still remember “It is still a morning, I have not yet had breakfast, I am not trading Queens”. I am yet to discover the underlying meaning of that phrase! Maybe something like that was going on too. It seemed to me he declined it on several occasions, each time with winning a pawn. I might be wrong and I am not using a computer to help me judge those things. After things got traded, the worst was over for Black and White was the one barely keeping equality. As long as White kept queens, he would be OK, as the activity of pieces would compensate for a Bad bishop. However, queens came off and the game quickly went downhill. I had mentioned in my interview that this game was the most important game of the match, and it turned out to be exactly that. Rough game and tough choices.

Board 4: WFM Zorigt-Adelberg

General Styles: Zorigt- tough and aggressive, Adelberg- young, active and booked up.

Theoretical Importance:  7

Novelty: 6

Precision: 9

Opening: Sicilian Najdorf

Great game by Adelberg! What was interesting is that I discovered a trait in most boards 3 and 4 for this round. Each time one side would try to “improve” on theory or maybe confuse the opponent by playing not best moves. Most of the times it miserably failed, and this was a perfect example of it. While Adelberg is playing the normal theory of Sicilian, white decided to mix ideas. Playing English attack mixed with Rauzer and Polugaevsky system. Sounds complicated? It is! And usually trying to play things better than the best brains of last 100 years have collaborated and agreed on, backfires. It is not to say she tried a horrible idea- the concept of Bg5 then coming back to e3, while making Black make certain moves such as nc6 or 0-0 is known and interesting. But it didn’t work out in this game as she planned. David’s very smart and timely exchange sac on c3 gave him the initiative. It might be bad for white already or maybe she missed some chances but the end position proves why Sicilian as Black is so dangerous, fun to play and complicated. The final position deserves a diagram.

Overall, very fun and very tough and educational match I am sure everyone enjoyed and learned from. I am just glad it ended in a draw.