09/09/2006
Monday
Night Chess Predictions
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by NM Arun Sharma
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Boston Blitz (2.0-0.0) vs New York
Knights (1.0-1.0)
Starts at 7:00 PM ET
Time Control - Game 90 with 30 second increment
Boston is off to a flying 2-0 start, and by the lineup they've wielded
this week they clearly intend for that trend to continue. With two GMs
playing this match, both of whom have performed very well in the league so far,
they are going to be a very tough team to beat. Perelshteyn becomes
the highest rated player to ever play Board 2, by close to 100 points.
New York on the other hand might be reeling a bit from the 3.5-0.5 hammering
they took from their old nememsis Baltimore in the previous week.
What does all this mean for this match? Well perhaps nothing. It would be
hard to deny Boston will likely be at an advantage on the top two
boards since they have White on the top board and the rather large rating
advantage they have on the second. However, we can't forget GM
Charbonneau's performance in virtually the same situation last year,
and US Junior Champion, Robert Hess surely has it within him to give
GM Perelshteyn more than just a good fight.
New York will need some good production out of the lower two boards
if they want any chance at taking this match, and I do feel they have a bit
of an edge on both those boards. I tend to pick in favor of the younger players
when in doubt so I'm inclined to give NM Molner the nod despite having the black pieces.
However, NM Martirosov was rather impressive in his first game knocking
off a much higher rated opponent so clearly he'll come ready to play.
What does this mean overall? Since I'm too cowardly to try to make
sense of all these assumptions/theories I've made here, I'll just go with
this finishing a level 2-2.
*** Editor's note: For those keeping
score at home, FM Ron Young has chosen Boston to win this week
by a 2.5-1.5 score. I will update the
scores for the Wednesday predictions. Needless to say, both
predictors are in serious danger of being fired after their latest
showings.
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