10/13/2005

  New York defeats Boston for 5th Consecutive Win
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by IM Greg Shahade                       
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New York vs Boston

1. GM Alex Stripunsky (NY) vs IM Josh Friedel (BOS)  1/2-1/2
2. FM William Kelleher (BOS) vs IM Jay Bonin (NY)  0-1
3. NM Gregory Braylovsky (NY) vs NM Charles Riordan (BOS)  1-0
4. Ilya Krasik (BOS) vs Evan Rosenberg (NY)  1-0


  The New York Knights cemented their position as the number 1 team in the USCL with a workmanlike victory over the Boston Blitz. At moments during the match things seemed unclear, and during the match some fans felt that Boston had a great chance to pull off the upset. Braylovsky scored first blood for the Knights by ramming an a-pawn down Riordan's throat. Braylovsky continues to impress so far this season and is one of the main reasons that New York has scored an amazing 6 points out of 7 matches.

  Ilya Krasik showed the world what Boston was looking for when they recruiting him to the team, as he played a very efficient and smooth game to defeat the previously undefeated Evan Rosenberg.
 


 It was clear that Krasik was well versed in back rank checkmates when he found the following simple, yet cute tactic. Krasik played 33.Qd5+! and after the forced 33...Kh8 Ilya produced 34.Qf3! doubleattacking the rooks on e2+f8 and winning immediately. The f8 rook is unable to capture on f3 due to Rb8 mate. This is the first win on board 4 for the Boston Blitz, and they were hoping to take advantage of it, but unfortunately their hopes went unrealized.

New York legend IM Jay Bonin won a long and complex game against FM William Kelleher and it was all up to Boston's IM Josh Friedel to slay the mighty first board of the Knights, GM Alexander Stripunsky. Stripunsky's only loss of the season came against Boston in Week 1 (that match was drawn), and his second one almost came this week.




Friedel had just played 40...Kg5 in the above position and it seemed as if Stripunsky was dangerously close to defeat, as he's down a clear pawn in the rook endgame. As is often the case in such situations, the young and lesser experienced player was unable to convert his advantage against the technically proficient Grandmaster. Alex defended long and hard to give New York their 5th straight win. Despite only drawing, Friedel has to be given a lot of credit for pushing Stripunsky to the edge of defeat with the black pieces. Josh never let Alex get anything going and forced the Grandmaster on the defensive right out of the opening.

 New York hopes to continue their streak, however their biggest challenge of the season lies ahead next week, as they go head to head against the Western leader, the Miami Sharks. Miami has won two consecutive matches and has the second best record in the league with 5/7. With a likely matchup of GM Becerra vs GM Stripunsky on board 1, it stands to be the most exciting match of the year, and a possible preview of the League Championship.

 Boston's playoff hopes have all but evaporated after this loss. They will almost surely need to win their final three matches to stand any chance, and even if they do so, they would likely need help along the way. Let's see if Boston can salvage something out of these final three weeks. It's clear that the absence of top players GM Larry Christiansen and IM Eugene Perelshteyn, whom have been unable to play the last two weeks, is hurting their chances. They face off against the struggling Dallas Destiny in week 8.

New York Knights			Boston Blitz
GM Alex Stripunsky - 2663	0.5	0.5	IM Josh Friedel - 2477
IM Jay Bonin - 2379	1.0	0.0	FM William Kelleher - 2383
NM Gregory Braylovsky - 2376	1.0	0.0	NM Charles Riordan - 2272
Evan Rosenberg - 2131	0.0	1.0	Ilya Krasik - 2123
Avg Rating - 2387			Avg Rating - 2314
New York Total -------	2.5	1.5	------- Boston Total

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