Week 9 Report

10/28/2005

US Chess League Report - Week 9
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by IM Greg Shahade
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Games

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The New York Knights finally lost a match in the US Chess League. Meanwhile San Francisco has started an impressive streak of their own, and another match was agreed drawn without a move, as Hurricane Wilma caused havoc in the Miami area. Read below for detailed match reports!

New York vs Baltimore

1. GM Alex Stripunsky (NY) vs IM Pascal Charbonnaeu (BAL) 1/2-1/2
2. FM Tegshsuren Enkhbat (BAL) vs NM Gregory Braylovsky (NY) 0-1
3. WGM-elect Jennifer Shahade (NY) vs WGM Katerina Rohonyan (BAL) 0-1
4. NM Jon Rouleau (BAL) vs FM Lewis Eisen (NY) 1-0

Baltimore finally recovered the form they showed with the four match winning streak that they had earlier in the year as the Kingfishers downed the league leading New York Knights in impressive style. Jon Rouleau started the assault with an impressive attacking victory over FM Lewis Eisen:

White to Move: Rouleau - Eisen

Rouleau found the entertaining sacrifice 15.Bxf7!? and after 15...Kxf7 16.Qh7 Ng7 17.Qxh6 white has a vicious attack for the piece (although black has some great defensive possibilities). Lewis was unable to sift through the complications, and after some mistakes by black, Rouleau acheived a decisive advantage in just a few moves.

WGM Katerina Rohonyan defeated WGM-elect Jennifer Shahade right out of the opening in a Dragon Sicilian type of opening, and suddenly Baltimore was up 2-0 and needed just a half point on the top two boards. Gregory Braylovsky continued to be one of the most impressive players in the US Chess League with a win over Tegshsuren Enkhbat. Fortunately for the Kingfishers, their top board, IM Charbonneau was up a pawn against GM Stripunsky, and instead of making every attempt to win, Pascal just took a quick draw to clinch the match.

This had to be a huge moral boost for the Kingfishers, as it's now clear they will play New York in the first round of the playoffs. New York will receive draw odds as they have clinched the division title, but Baltimore has shown that they are capable of beating the previously unbeaten New York Knights. New York has dominated the league for most of the season, but has lost the season series to Baltimore 1.5-0.5. Their playoff battle in 2 weeks should be an exciting one..

New York Knights			Baltimore Kingfishers
GM Alex Stripunsky - 2663	0.5	0.5	IM Pascal Charbonneau - 2506
NM Gregory Braylovsky - 2376	1.0	0.0	FM Tegshsuren Enkhbat - 2453
WGM elect Jenn Shahade - 2318	0.0	1.0	WGM Katerina Rohonyan - 2309
FM Dr. Lewis Eisen - 2325	0.0	1.0	NM John Rouleau - 2302
Avg Rating - 2420			Avg Rating - 2392
New York Total -------	1.5	2.5	------- Baltimore Total

Miami vs Carolina (Agreed Drawn due to the effects of Hurricane Wilma)

The match between Miami and Carolina was agreed drawn, as Miami was unable to play on Wednesday due to the damage caused by the recent hurricane. It was originally planned that the match would be rescheduled, however as Miami and San Francisco have both clinched the only two playoff spots in the division, the teams agreed to just call it a drawn match, instead of attempting to reschedule amid the chaos in Miami.

This leaves Miami with a half point edge over the San Francisco Mechanics going into the final week. As luck would have it, these two teams are paired with each other in Week 10, and if San Francisco can pull it out, they will win the division and receive draw odds in the playoffs.

Dallas vs San Francisco

1. GM Alejandro Ramirez (DAL) vs IM Vinay Bhat (SF) 1/2-1/2
2. FM Dmitry Zilberstein (SF) vs IM Peter Vavrak (DAL) 0-1
3. IM-elect Daniel Fernandez (DAL) vs FM David Pruess (SF) 0-1
4. NM Andy Lee (SF) vs Andres Suarez (DAL) 1-0

San Francisco needed a win over Dallas to extend their streak to three consecutive victories, clinch a playoff berth and to stay in contention for the division championship. With another pair of clutch performances from their bottom boards, the Mechanics did just that. David Pruess has been lightning hot the past few weeks, and he showed why with a tactical victory over IM Daniel Fernandez. Andy Lee continued to play well on board 4, as he defeated Andres Suarez for the second time this season. It's interesting to note that Suarez has lost only to Lee this season.

With two points on the bottom boards, San Fran just needed a little help up top, and IM Vinay Bhat was able to provide his assistance, as he was able to hold Ramirez off with a quick draw after finding a perpetual attack on the young Grandmasters rook. Zilberstein lost his game, however it didn't matter, as San Francisco wrapped up the match 2.5-1.5. The Mechanics look to make it four in a row next week with a win over the division leading Miami Sharks. A victory in this match would give San Francisco the division title and draw odds in the playoffs.

In any case Miami and San Francisco will be playing for the next two weeks. Next week it'll be to determine the division winner, and the week after that it will be the first round of the playoffs. Miami was running away with the West and fans were just waiting to see if any of the other teams in the division could climb out of the basement. San Francisco managed to do so and has done a tremendous job of turning around their season wth a 5/9 record (4.5 from their last 6) after an ugly 0.5/3 start.

Boston vs Philadelphia

1. GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) vs FM Norman Rogers (PHI) 1-0
2. IM Richard Costigan (PHI) vs IM Josh Friedel (BOS) 1-0
3. NM Charles Riordan (BOS) vs NM Elvin Wilson (PHI) 1-0
4. FM Boris Bacyznskyj (PHI) vs Ilya Krasik (BOS) 0-1

Boston and Philadelphia was a wild match that could have gone either way. Both of these teams needed to win AND hope that Baltimore lost if they wanted any chance of remaining in the playoff hunt. Their spirits were broken when Baltimore upset the league leading New York Knights, however this didn't stop them from playing some exciting and inspired chess.

GM Larry Christiansen rejoined the Blitz to take on Philadelphia's Norman Rogers. Christiansen won in impressive style, by grabbing a pawn in the opening and never letting go. Despite this win, things were looking pretty ugly for Boston, as they were losing on board 4, down to one minute on the clock on board 3, and unclear on board 2. Suddenly there was an explosion of action on boards 3+4 that left the match firmly in Boston's hands.

Black to Move: Riordan - Wilson

Elvin Wilson has a superior position, as the black bishop is much stronger than the white bishop, especially as it heads to its new home on e4 via c2. On top of all of this, Phladelphia was ahead by about 30 minutes to 1 on the clock. Disaster struck for the Masterminds however, as Elvin made a mouseslip and mistakenly placed the bishop on b3. Riordan couldn't believe his eyes, as he took the bishop and then went on to win the game. As sad as it is to see a game determined by a finger failure, this was an ironic result, as Elvin was the beneficiary of an opponents mouseslip in Week 3 that netted him an entire queen.
Despite this loss, the Philadelphia fans won't forget Wilson's heroic performance in the early part of the season, as he notched up six consecutive victories, often acheiving these wins against higher rated opponents.

An even more incredible turnaround occured on board 4. Boris Baczynskyj, whom has been performing quite well before this week, was up an exchange for nothing against Ilya Krasik. Krasik hasn't had the results he wanted in this league, and it would have been easy for him to just give up in such a hopeless position against a higher rated player. However Krasik made Boris work as much as possible to secure the win, and when Boris went all out for checkmate, Ilya launched a deadly counterattack:

Black to Move: Baczynskyj - Krasik

Krasik found the nice 40...Rh6, which will likely lead to a draw after 41. Rxh6 Qf3 42. Rg2 Qf1 43. Rg1 Qf3 etc... Boris wasn't ready to agree to a draw however, as he had such a great position the whole game. Boris defended the rook with 41. Qc8 and Krasik uncorked the stunning queen sacrifice 41...Qf3! 42. Rf3 Rxh2 mate.

This remarkable come from behind victory clinched the match for the Blitz. Costigan won against Friedel in a creative game to keep the score close, but this loss had to really sting for Philadelphia. Philly had been exceeding expectations all season long because they were taking advantage of every oppurtunity their opponents gave them. This week they were handed the match on a silver platter, and were unable to deliver. Philadelphia will get a chance to make a huge statement next week against the New York Knights. Meanwhile the Boston Blitz will get a shot against the Baltimore Kingfishers. Boston hopes to defeat Baltimore and show the world that they too are worthy of a playoff spot. Aside from pride, there isn't much on the line next week for the Eastern Division teams, as the playoff teams and division champion have already been decided.

Boston Blitz			Philadelphia Masterminds
GM Larry Christiansen - 2596	1.0	0.0	FM Norman Rogers - 2307
IM Josh Friedel - 2477	0.0	1.0	IM Richard Costigan - 2295
NM Charles Riordan - 2272	1.0	0.0	NM Elvin Wilson - 2239
Ilya Krasik - 2123	1.0	0.0	FM Boris Baczynskyj - 2236
Avg Rating - 2367			Avg Rating - 2269
Boston Total -------	3.0	1.0	------- Philadelphia Total

So there is one week to go before the playoffs. The matchups have been decided. New York will play Baltimore with New York receiving draw odds. Meanwhile Miami will play San Francisco. Those teams will be playing for draw odds this week, so that should be the match to watch in the final week of the regular season.

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