10/20/2006
Week 8 Game of the Week
--------------------------------------------
by NM Arun Sharma
--------------------------------------------
This
was a very exciting game for the spectators with the main fireworks
beginning around 23... g6! as the first thought was that Black would
play h6 instead to avoid the sac on g6 but, if safe, the text really is
a far superior move as it prepares Bf5 whereas in the
alternative, Black's light squared Bishop really has no good
square.
When 23... g6 was played the consensus then became that GM Panchanathan
would simply recapture after the sac and be willing to take the draw
(which, given he had the Black pieces, and the way his teammates' were
dominating at the time would definitely not have been a bad result),
but after 24. Bg6 he played the shocking 24... Rxf3!! which I don't
think anyone else had even thought of essentially saccing the
exchange
for a huge attack on the White King. After 29... Kg8,
White despite
his material edge, is really helpless to defend the threat of Black
getting his Rook to the g-file and was soon forced to give up his
Queen. GM Blehm's effort should not be overlooked either though,
as
despite appearing to have a hopeless position after losing his Queen,
and his team being down 2-0, he fought on and nearly managed to create
serious complications for Black. After 63. g7!, Black must be
very
careful as it is very easy without accurate play for him to draw or
lose. However, Panchanathan wasn't going to let this one slip
away and
found the correct idea to win with 63... Qg8! 64. Rg2 Qh7+ (b2 here
also works) and soon brought the win home. This was GM
Panchanathan's
first win of the USCL and though it didn't have an overall effect on
the match result, I'm sure it should be a big confidence boost for him,
and in addition it helped give the Dallas team a huge tiebreak lead
over the Miami Sharks thus allowing themselves to control their destiny
(i.e. with wins in the last two weeks Dallas will receive the final
playoff spot over Miami in the West barring near consecutive sweeps by
the Sharks). To get those two victories though will be
anything but
easy for the Dallas team as they first face the GM Ehlvest led
Philadelphia Masterminds who like the Destiny are fighting hard for
their playoff lives and then the Seattle Sluggers who are fighting for
the division crown, therefore facing two teams who will want the
win
probably just as bad as the Destiny. It should be a
very intersting
final two weeks to see which teams can pull through in the clutch
and
get into the postseason.
Blehm - Panchanathan: Black to move after 24. Bxg6
Everyone expected Panchanathan to simply allow a
draw after 24...hxg6, especially as Dallas looked to be
dominating the match. However Magesh surprised
everyone with the fantastic 24....Rxf3! Within a few moves
black had a crushing attack, and although his technique
seemed far from perfect, black's position was too powerful.
Honourable Mentions:
I
almost awarded the prize to this game instead of the above one as I
felt it was a very impressive display by GM Charbonneau, really
dominating the strong GM Perelshteyn who had not lost a game in two
seasons of the USCL until this week. It really began with 14. g4!
with
Charbonneau launching a full scale attack on the Kingside while
Perelshteyn was unable to get his action on the Queenside
going. One
very nice idea in the attack was 37. Bd2! followed by 39. Re3!
ending
Black's hopes of running his King to the Queenside and forcing a fatal
loss of material. A good win for Charbonneau, but I'm sure he
would
have wanted his victory to be a springboard to a victory for the
entire
team, but unfortunately for New York, despite taking a 2-0 lead were
unable to come through with the win which would have put them
in
command for claiming one of the two remaining playoff spots in the
East. An impressive show from Boston also, as many were counting
them
out of the match after being down 2-0, but they showed why they are
going to be the Eastern Division Champions, and I don't envy the
team
which will have to face them in the division finals (especially should
Boston choose to use the double GM lineup).
GM Jaan Ehlvest (PHI) vs IM Lev
Milman (CAR) 1-0
A
solid win from GM Ehlvest to put the Philadelphia team over the top and
claim the victory. 29. b4! was a very good move immortalizing his
powerful Knight and keeping Black rather tied up. 32. f4! was
also
nice as blasting open the f-file along with potential threats against
the g6 pawn forced Black to relinquish material and then 42. Qxf7+!
liquidated the game into a simple ending to bring the win home for
White and the Philly team. A giant victory for the Philadelphia
team
as they now sit only a half game out of a playoff spot (especially
impressive considering their 0-4 start) and with the two foes who
currently lie ahead of them, Baltimore and New York, facing off in Week
9 as well themselves facing New York in the final week, they have a
very realistic chance of making it with appopriate results.
They do
however have to face Dallas and New York, who both, as mentionned
earlier, need the win just as badly as the Masterminds so once again
should be a very entertaining end to the regular season.
Click here to go back to
the US Chess League
homepage