09/07/2006
Blitz Take Care of Business
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by Boston Blitz Correspondent, David Glickman
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Check out the Boylston Chess Club
Blog for more updates on the Boston Blitz.
With a very strong line-up in
comparison to many of their competitors, the US Chess League's Boston Blitz
could go very far this season if they just win the matches they are
supposed to win. That's exactly what happened last night in Week 2
action against a Philadelphia
Masterminds team they out-rated
by an average of 120 points per board.
The
Masterminds never roll over in the face of strong competition and this
match was no exception. Nevertheless, while some Boston fans may have
had flashbacks to last season when Philadelphia jumped out to an early
1.5-0.5 lead, in retrospect, the Blitz were never in serious danger. It
just took some time for Boston's top two boards to grind down their
lower rated opponents (both ultimately in rook and pawn endings) and
secure a 2.5-1.5 victory.
The scoring began on Board 3 with a relatively quick draw
between FM Shahade and FM Kelleher.
Early on the game transposed into a fairly innocuous line of the
Caro-Kann (1.e4 c6 2.c4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.cxd5 Nf6) -- White temporarily
wins a doubled isolated queen pawn and hopes to build up some
initiative while Black gathers up the extra material. 8.Bxa6 was a new,
though not particularly promising, move in this rather rare line. Four
previous encounters had continued 8.Bc4 Rc8. After
the exchange of Queens on move 11, Black had a lead in development and
some initiative though White retained the extra pawn. Kelleher's
combination which netted him the pawn resulted in a series of exchanges
which left the players in an ending with few prospects for either side.
(M.Shahade vs Kelleher - White to move after 22...Kf8)
The players agreed to a draw in this relatively lifeless
position.
On Board 4, NM Krasik was looking to avenge his loss to
NM Wilson in Week 2 of the 2005 season. Unfortunately, it was not
to be. The
combatants left theory in the Old Benoni behind
by move 6. White proceeded to build up what appeared to be a promising
attacking position while Black developed defensively. Krasik then
sought to break open the position by sacrificing his e-pawn with 16.e5
and following up with the thrust 17.f5 [This maneuver reminded me
of a similar idea Ilya
played as Black last season against Dallas' Suarez
(12...e4 13.fxe4 f4)].
Wilson was ready for it and after 17...Nf6, 18.Qxe5 allowed Black to
uncover his fianchettoed bishop with great effect. Through several
creative moves, Krasik managed to limit the initial material damage to
one pawn, but by then his exposed King was no match for Wilson's active
Queen and Knight. Krasik fought on valiantly for quite awhile with only
a minute or two left on his clock, but this time no swindle was to be
found.
One kibitzer on the ICC noted that Wilson did not move
his Bishop on c8 until the 42nd move of the game. Perhaps he has
experience on the Black side of the French Defense?!
The news was better for the Blitz on the top boards. On Board 2, FM Winer
faced FM Roger's King's Indian. Steven
secured the two bishops (16.Nxc8) and an extra pawn (20.Qxf5) without
allowing Black any real counterplay. He then proceeded to trade off
pieces into a won ending. After that it was, as they say, just a matter
of technique -- nothing flashy, just a solid workman-like effort to
secure a win for Boston.
(Winer - Rogers after 13. Nc4)
White already has a dominating position with
weak squares to attack on b6+d6. Winer made use of
these weaknesses to win after a long struggle.
Over on Board 1, IM Foygel did what he
does almost every week at the local clubs -- grind down a lower rated
opponent and score a full point. It was certainly nice to see the "old"
Igor after the difficulties he had last week.
As Black, Foygel
essayed the Pirc Defense
against IM Costigan and to this patzer's eye not much happened over the
first nineteen moves. The position reached a critical point with Igor's
20...c5 and after Richard's 22.e5 a series of exchanges left Black up a
pawn and in control of the open e-file. Foygel used the open file to
good effect with 25.Re2 and after White parried the threat to his
f-pawn with 26.Qf4, Foygel proceeded to destroy his opponent's pawn
structure through a couple of exchanges. Still up a pawn, the resulting
ending was clearly winning for Black. While it had no impact on the
outcome, I did like Costigan's 39.Re3 to remove the dangerous passed
a-pawn. Unfortunately for him, it just traded one lost rook and pawn
ending for another.
With the win, the Blitz are off to a 2-0 start this season, tied for
first in the Eastern
Division with the 2005 Champion Baltimore
Kingfishers. Up next for Boston is a Monday night match with their
division rivals from New York --
another Christiansen-Charbonneau
clash, perhaps?
Philadelphia vs Boston
1. IM Richard Costigan (PHI) vs IM Igor Foygel (BOS) 0-1
2. FM
Steven Winer (BOS) vs FM Norman
Rogers (PHI) 1-0
3.
FM Michael Shahade (PHI) vs FM
William Kelleher (BOS) 1/2-1/2
4. NM
Ilya Krasik (BOS) vs NM Elvin
Wilson (PHI) 0-1
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