10/20/2005

  US Chess League Report - Week 8
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by IM Greg Shahade                   
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 In the third and final week in which all of the teams played opponents from the opposite division, the West finally had it's day, with a 2.5-1.5 match score victory. Let's take a look at the action:

New York vs Miami

1. GM Alex Stripunsky (NY) vs FM Marcel Martinez (MIA)  1-0
2. NM Miguel Espino (MIA) vs IM Irina Krush (NY)  1/2-1/2
3. IM Jay Bonin (NY) vs NM Andres Santalla (MIA)  1-0
4. Dr. Eric Moskow (MIA) vs John Fernandez (NY)  0-1



 This was a long awaited match up between division leaders, but it lost a lot of luster when it was found out that two of Miami's star players, GM Julio Becerra (2nd place in league MVP race) and IM Blas Lugo, would be away in Puerto Rico. New York didn't take it easy on the Sharks weaker lineup, and smashed them by the score of 3.5-0.5. Knights 4th board, John Fernandez scored a nice victory over Eric Moskow in John's favorite Dutch Defense. John had sacrificed a pawn for an attack, and despite it likely being a dubious sacrifice, he reached the following position:


White to move after 35...gxh5   Moskow-Fernandez

   Black is down a pawn but has a vicious attack on the king, with every intention of ramming the h-pawn down white's throat. Moskow tried to escape the pin on the g-file with 36.Kh1? but was met by a cute tactical blow as John found 36...Ng4!, threatening the rook on f2, mate on h2 and immune from capture as the f3 pawn is now pinned. Eric resigned and this clinched the match for the Knights.

 With this win (New Yorks 6th in a row) the Knights clinch first place in the East Division and draw odds in the first round of the playoffs. New York can now use the final two weeks as a warmup for the playoffs, and attempt to amass an incredible record of 9-1. Next week they face off against the Baltimore Kingfishers, whom despite having lost two straight matches, are still clear 2nd place in the division.

 Miami has clinched a playoff birth and remains a point ahead in the West with a 5-3 record, although San Francisco has closed the gap with a win over Philadelphia. It's quite possible that in the final week of the season, the Miami vs San Francisco match could determine the division championship.
 

New York Knights


Miami Sharks         
GM Alex Stripunsky - 2663 1.0
0.0
FM Marcel Martinez - 2469
IM Irina Krush - 2445 0.5
0.5
NM Miguel Espino - 2272
IM Jay Bonin - 2379 1.0
0.0
NM Andres Santalla - 2247
John Fernandez - 2116 1.0
0.0
Dr. Eric Moskow - 2127
Avg Rating - 2401


Avg Rating - 2279
New York Total -------
3.5
0.5
------- Miami Total

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San Francisco vs Philadelphia

1. IM Vincent McCambridge (SF) vs NM Norman Rogers (PHI)  1-0
2. IM Richard Costigan (PHI) vs IM John Donaldson (SF)  0-1
3. FM David Pruess (SF) vs NM Elvin Wilson (PHI) 1-0
4. FM Boris Baczynskyj (PHI) vs NM Nicolas Yap (SF)  1-0

 Both of these teams were coming off of emotional Week 7 victories. San Francisco had won in crushing style with a 3.5-0.5 victory over the Carolina Cobras, whereas the Philadelphia Masterminds beat the seemingly unbeatable, Baltimore Kingfishers, stopping the Kingfisher's 4 match win streak.

 It was San Francisco who continued their hot streak, as David Pruess was finally able to stop the hot streak of Elvin Wilson. Elvin had won all six of his games before this match, but the higher rated Pruess played a crisp and smooth game to end Elvin's incredible run. Despite losing this week, Elvin still remains in first place in the League MVP voting, ahead of GM Becerra by one point and IM Milman by two points.

 McCambridge vs Rogers had an action packed feel to it:


McCambridge-Rogers white to move after 22...Qh4

Down by a whole rook, Rogers has thrown everything but the kitchen sink at McCambridge and is currently threatening to play ...Rxg2 followed by ...Qg3-h3-g3-h3 with perpetual check. However McCambridge was able to stop the onslaught with 23.Ne4! Rxc4 24.Qf2. With all of white's pieces now helping in the kingside defense, Rogers' attack was stopped cold and he was forced to resign a few moves later, giving McCambridge his first win of the season. San Francisco has won just two games on board 1 all season, but they have both been in the past two weeks.

 San Francisco now has a stranglehold on 2nd place in the West, with a 1.5 point lead over their nearest competitors, the Dallas Destiny and the Carolina Cobras. The Mechanics now have greater goals, as with a 1 point deficit to division leader, the Miami Sharks, anything is possible. The last week matchup between San Francisco and Miami should be especially important. Next week San Francisco faces off against the Dallas Destiny. Dallas won in their first matchup, however if San Francisco can pull this one out, they immediately clinch a playoff birth. A draw in this match will also clinch the playoffs if the Carolina Cobras don't win against Miami.

 Philadelphia had a tremendous chance to pull to a tie for 2nd place in the East, but was unable to find the same magic that they used last week to defeat Baltimore. On the bright side, the Masterminds have been impressive all season long on board 4, as with a win by FM Boris Baczynskyj this week, they moved to a fantastic 7.5/8 on the last board. They will go up against Boston next week, whom they drew earlier in the season.


San Francisco Mechanics


Philadelphia Masterminds
IM Vince McCambridge - 2502 1.0
0.0
FM Norman Rogers - 2307
IM John Donaldson - 2442 1.0
0.0
IM Richard Costigan - 2295
FM David Pruess - 2432 1.0
0.0
NM Elvin Wilson - 2239
NM Nicolas Yap - 2209 0.0
1.0
FM Boris Baczynskyj - 2236
Avg Rating - 2396


Avg Rating - 2269
San Francisco Total -------
3.0
1.0
----- Philadelphia Total
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Baltimore vs Carolina

1. FM Enkhbat Tegshsuren (BAL) vs IM-elect Lev Milman (CAR)  0-1
2. FM Matthew Hoekstra (CAR) vs FM Bruci Lopez (BAL)  1-0
3. WGM Katerina Rohonyan (BAL) vs FM Craig Jones (CAR)  1-0
4. John Timmel (CAR) vs NM Jon Rouleau (BAL)  1/2-1/2

 This matchup had to be the most shocking one of the week. Baltimore had the match in their pocket when disaster struck on board 1:


Enkhbat-Milman: Black to move

  White has a totally winning position as the black knight has no where to go, and black's queenside pawns are not long for the chessboard. Milman played one last desperate move, 49....Kf7 to which Enkhbat made a shocking blunder with 50. Ba7?? (50.Kxa4 was winning easily). Milman unleashed his idea, 50...Nc6! and suddenly white was fighting for survival as 51. Rxc8 Nxa7 forking the king and rook. The position is probably drawn after 49.....Kf7 50. Ba7? Nc6! 51. Rxc8 Nxa7 52. Kxa4, however Enkhbat was clearly shellshocked after missing this swindle. After a series of inaccurate moves, Enkhbat was forced to resign and the Carolina Cobras snatched their first victory from the jaws of defeat. This was an especially difficult loss for Enkhbat, whom has been playing so well thus far in the league. A win would have given him the lead in the league MVP race, but now he has dropped to a tie for fourth place.

 The Carolina Cobras had to be ecstatic to win their first match, especially as things were looking so grim. They still have some slight playoff hopes, but they need a lot of help as they would likely need to win both of their final two matches and have San Francisco lose theirs.

 The Baltimore Kingfishers have floundered with 2 consecutive losses after their midseason 4 match winning streak. They still hold clear 2nd place in the East, and due to their incredible tiebreaks, can clinch a playoff birth with one more point from their next two matches. Next week is a likely playoff preview, as the Baltimore Kingfishers go up against the seemingly invincible New York Knights. When these two teams first met, they fought to a draw. It will be interesting to see whether New York's incredible streak will encourage them to keep fighting as hard as they have been, or whether they will relax, as they have already clinched first place in the East.


Baltimore Kingfishers


Carolina Cobras      
FM Tegshsuren Enkhbat - 2453 0.0
1.0
FM Lev Milman - 2474              
FM Bruci Lopez - 2409 0.0
1.0
FM Matt Hoekstra - 2407
WGM Katerina Rohonyan - 2309 1.0
0.0
NM Craig Jones - 2270
NM John Rouleau - 2302
0.5
0.5
John Timmel - 2093
Avg Rating - 2368


Avg Rating - 2311
Baltimore Total -------
1.5
2.5
------- Carolina Total

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Boston vs Dallas

1. IM Eugene Perelshteyn (BOS) vs GM Alejandro Ramirez (DAL)  1/2-1/2
2. IM Peter Vavrak (DAL) vs IM Josh Friedel (BOS)  1/2-1/2
3. FM Steven Winer (BOS) vs IM-elect Daniel Fernandez (DAL)  1-0
4. Andres Suarez (DAL) vs Ilya Krasik (BOS)  1-0


 
Both of these teams desperately needed a win this week in order to keep their faint playoff hopes alive, and they both came away unsuccessful, as the match was drawn, but not before some exciting action on all four boards. The board 1 matchup featured some very exciting chess for what turned out to be a short draw.


Perelshteyn - Ramirez: White to Move after ...Qh6

Ramirez had sacrificed the exchange earlier in the game for some central pawns and pressure against the white king. Right now black has two threats, as ...Rc1 is back rank mate and ...Ng3 picks up the queen. Perelshteyn defended by playing 24.Kg1, giving himself an escape square on f2 and stopping the ...Ng3 trick. Ramirez had a nice geometric tactic to force a draw in this position, as 24.Kg1 Rc1 25. Rxc1 Qxc1 26. Qf1 Qe3 27.Kh1 seems to be better/winning for white, however black has the fancy 27....Ng3+! 28.hxg3 Qh6 29.Kg1 Qe3, and now no matter what white does, black has perpetual check on c1, e3 and h6. The players both agreed to a draw before the above variation was completed on the board.

  IM Josh Friedel had an action packed draw with IM Peter Vavrak, in a game that also included an exchange sacrifice. Meanwhile Boston and Dallas swapped wins on boards 3+4, as Boston newcomer FM Steven Winer, scored the first Board 3 win for the Boston Blitz this year.

 Again, both of these teams need help if they want to make the playoffs. Dallas must defeat the San Francisco Mechanics to have any chance of reaching the postseason, and even then they will need to hope San Francisco doesn't win in the final week of the season. The Boston Blitz need to win next week against Philadelphia AND hope that Baltimore loses to New York to keep hope alive. However if this is the case, Boston will get a chance to go head to head against Baltimore in the final week for a playoff birth.


San Francisco Mechanics


Philadelphia Masterminds
IM Vince McCambridge - 2502 1.0
0.0
FM Norman Rogers - 2307
IM John Donaldson - 2442 1.0
0.0
IM Richard Costigan - 2295
FM David Pruess - 2432 1.0
0.0
NM Elvin Wilson - 2239
NM Nicolas Yap - 2209 0.0
1.0
FM Boris Baczynskyj - 2236
Avg Rating - 2396


Avg Rating - 2269
San Francisco Total -------
3.0
1.0
----- Philadelphia Total


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