Week 10 Report

10/28/2005

US Chess League Report - Week 10
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by IM Greg Shahade
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Home Standings

Games

Schedule

Players

Rules

Stats

League Leaders

History

Miami vs San Francisco

1. GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs IM Vince McCambridge (SF) 0-1
2. IM Dmitry Zilberstein (SF) vs FM Marcel Martinez (MIA) 1/2-1/2
3. IM Blas Lugo (MIA) vs FM David Pruess (SF) 1/2-1/2
4. NM Mark Pinto (SF) vs Jose Cabrera (MIA) 1-0

The match on everyone's mind in the final week of the season was between Miami and San Francisco, as it would determine the champion of the West Division. San Francisco came into this match with a three match winning streak, but the Miami Sharks had never lost while fielding a lineup including Becerra, Martinez and Lugo. In fact, amongst those three players combined, the Sharks had only one loss all season, when Marcel was forced to play board 1 against New York and was ground down by GM Alex Stripunsky. To make matters more difficult for the Mechanics, they were forced to win the match to win the division, as a draw would maintain Miami's half point lead in the standings.

San Francisco started things off with a bang, as Mark Pinto caught Jose Cabrera sleeping in a sharp Sicilian, and won the game very quickly. Marcel Martinez and Dmitry Zilberstein fought to a tough draw, and now the Mechanics needed just one point in their final two games to clinch the division. Their savior was a player whom had a terrible start to the US Chess League but turned it around bigtime this week:

Becerra - McCambridge: Black to Move

It's clear that black has achieved success in the opening stage of the game. McCambridge has centralized pieces, whereas Becerra's pieces seem to be placed very awkwardly. It's not so clear immediately how to increase the pressure, but McCambridge found the best method with 20....Bb5! and he was able to infiltrate the white position after 21. Bxb5 Qxd2. A few moves later the following position was reached:

Becerra - McCambridge: White to Move

Black's pieces are very well placed and Becerra felt that it was time to attempt to muddy the waters. The undefeated GM lunged out with 33.Bxb7! and although it looks dangerous, McCambridge found the efficient defensive tactic 33....Qxa5! 34.Rxa5 Rd1 35.Bxa6 Rxf1 36. Bxf1 Rd1. The position may seem equal, but black has some clear edge. The knight has a very nice square on d5 and the pawn on e5 can become weak. Many spectators expected a draw at this point, but McCambridge dismantled Becerra's position quite quickly and was able to win the game and the division for San Francisco. Even more painful for the Sharks was that if Becerra won this game, he would have been awarded the league MVP title. However the loss allowed other contenders to jump ahead of him.

Although the match and the division was decided, there was an exciting duel on board 3 between two of the league's greatest fighters. Both of these guys won't give their opponent a draw until the last ounce of winning possibilities have vanished. IM Blas Lugo pushed Richard Costigan to the limit in a 110 move game from Week 5, and was forced to defend in turn this week, as FM David Pruess played till move 98 in an attempt to win the game. The draw was only agreed once both kings were all that remained on the board. Fans can only hope that San Fran and Miami will place Pruess and Lugo on board 3 again in the playoffs next week, so we can see another fierce, no holds barred battle between these two.

As mentioned above, these are the two teams that qualified for the playoffs from the West. The Mechanics earned draw odds with their impressive play this week, but they will have to repeat this performance next week in the playoffs. You can be sure that Becerra will want revenge and that Miami will give their all, knowing that they must WIN the match to proceed to the league finals. Both of these teams have had a fine season. Miami has held tough amidst hurricanes and modem problems from earlier in the season, to achieve a winning record. Now with all of these distractions aside, they hope to knock off the Mechanics for the first time this season. San Francisco on the other hand, has been the hottest team in the league with four straight victories. The Mechanics have beaten the Sharks in both matches this season, and hope to make it three in the playoffs.

Ever since the US Chess League was announced, San Francisco's FM David Pruess said that it was his dream to beat New York in front of the whole world. San Fran lost to New York earlier in the season, but if they can get past the dangerous Sharks, and New York can hold off the Baltimore Kingfishers, David just may get his chance.

Miami Sharks			San Francisco Mechanics
GM Julio Becerra - 2622	0.0	1.0	IM Vince McCambridge - 2502
FM Marcel Martinez - 2469	0.5	0.5	FM Dmitry Zilberstein - 2435
IM Blas Lugo - 2426	0.5	0.5	FM David Pruess - 2432
Jose Cabrera - 2093	0.0	1.0	NM Mark Pinto - 2200
Avg Rating - 2401			Avg Rating - 2392
Miami Total -------	1.0	3.0	------- San Francisco Total

Philadelphia vs New York

1. FM Norman Rogers (PHI) vs IM Irina Krush (NY) 0-1
2. IM Jay Bonin (NY) vs IM Richard Costigan (PHI) 1-0
3. NM Matt Bengtson (PHI) vs NM Gregory Braylovsky (NY) 1-0
4. Evan Rosenberg (NY) vs FM Michael Shahade (PHI) 1-0

With nothing on the line but pride, the Philadelphia Masterminds hoped to make a statement against the powerful New York Knights. It's no secret that Philadelphia loves nothing more than beating New York in any type of competition, and it would be a nice way to finish off the season. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, the Knights were just too strong.

IM Irina Krush defeated FM Norman Rogers on board 1 and "the Bone", IM Jay Bonin, did a number on Philadelphia IM Richard Costigan. However the true nail in the coffin came from board 4, as Evan Rosenberg knocked off the higher rated FM Michael Shahade (in his regular season debut) in fine attacking style.

Rosenberg vs M.Shahade white to move

Rosenberg found the crushing blow 19. Rxf6! gxf6 20. Ne4 Qd8 21. Rf1 and despite being down a pawn, black's ruined pawn structure and extremely weak king give more than enough compensation to the white pieces. Rosenberg finished the game efficiently and never gave papa Shahade any real counterplay. A bright note for Philadelphia was that they ruined NM Gregory Braylovsky's bid for the MVP award. Matthew Bengtson beat Braylovsky in a nice bishop endgame, and if Braylovsky would have won the game, he would have ended up winning the MVP title.

This match has to be a nice confidence builder for the New York Knights, who finished the season with an impressive 8-2 record. New York felt the bitter sting of defeat in week 9 against the Baltimore Kingfishers and unfortunately has to face Baltimore again in the playoffs. The Knights will receive draw odds due to winning the Eastern Division, but I'm sure they would prefer to not play the one team they have a losing record against. If they can get through this match, they will have a great shot in the finals, as they are 4-0 against Western Division foes. New York has to be jubilant with their outstanding regular season success, but the harsh reality in the playoffs is that if they lose next week to the extremely dangerous Baltimore squad, all of their regular season achievements will be for naught.

Despite finishing in 4th place in the East, the Philadelphia Masterminds have to be happy with their achievement this season. Up until a painful 0-3 finish, the Masterminds were at 50%, an amazing achievement for a team that was outrated by about 100+ points every single match. Before the season some people seriously thought that Philadelphia could lose every single match! In any case they showed a lot of will and determination, and created quite the buzz when NM Elvin Wilson started the season with an incredible 6 straight wins, all with the black pieces! It should be interesting to see if Philadelphia tries to get some help next year, and perhaps recruit a marquee player on first board.

Philadelphia Masterminds			New York Knights
FM Norman Rogers - 2307	0.0	1.0	IM Irina Krush - 2445
IM Richard Costigan - 2295	0.0	1.0	IM Jay Bonin - 2379
NM Matthew Bengtson - 2264	1.0	0.0	NM Gregory Braylovsky - 2376
FM Michael Shahade - 2242	0.0	1.0	Evan Rosenberg - 2131
Avg Rating - 2277			Avg Rating - 2333
Philadelphia Total -------	1.0	3.0	------- New York Total

Baltimore vs Boston

1. IM Pascal Charbonneau (BAL) vs IM Josh Friedel (BOS) 1-0
2. FM Steven Winer (BOS) vs FM Enkhbat Tegshsuren (BAL) 0-1
3. IM Larry Kaufman (BAL) vs FM Paul MacIntyre (BOS) 0-1
4. NM Charles Riordan (BOS) vs NM Ray Kaufman (BAL) 1/2-1/2

Baltimore will go into the playoffs in style, as they finished the season with a 2.5-1.5 win over the Boston Blitz. Also important for the Kingfishers was the return of Larry and Ray Kaufman, whom had been in Japan for quite some time and should make useful additions if called upon during the playoffs.

The biggest news that came out of this match was that IM Pascal Charbonneau's win over IM Josh Friedel was enough to make him league MVP. This came as quite a surprise as Charbonneau was only in 5th place in the MVP race going into this final round, however 3 of the 4 players above him lost, and one was unable to play, thus opening the path to the MVP for Pascal.

Charbonneau - Friedel: White to Move

Charbonneau has been outplaying Friedel all game, and now put on the final touch with 32.e6!. After 32...fxe6 33. Rxb5! cxb5 34. Qe7 white had a winning attack. The game finished 35. Qe8 Rf7 36. Qxe6 Rf7 37. Qe5 Kf8 38. Bc5 Kg8 39. Qe8 Kg7 40. Bd4 1-0

Charbonneau has played spirited chess and finishes the season with a plus four score against a field that included 5 GM's. Pascal hopes to continue his fine play next week as the Kingfishers face off against the New York Knights in the Eastern Division Championship. Baltimore will be eliminated if the match is drawn, however the Kingfishers are confident after a victory over the Knights just last week.

Boston on the other hand, is likely disappointed with their result this season. Hopes were high as Boston had quite a few highly ranked players on their roster, yet things just never seemed to break right for the Blitz, as they lost and drew many matches that they should have won. With the talent they have in the New England area, you can be sure that the Blitz will be back strong next season.

Baltimore Kingfishers			Boston Blitz
IM Pascal Charbonneau - 2506	1.0	0.0	IM Josh Friedel - 2477
FM Tegshsuren Enkhbat - 2453	1.0	0.0	FM Steven Winer - 2389
IM Larry Kaufman - 2331	0.0	1.0	FM Paul MacIntyre - 2316
NM Ray Kaufman - 2231	0.5	0.5	NM Charles Riordan - 2272
Avg Rating - 2380			Avg Rating - 2364
Baltimore Total -------	2.5	1.5	----- Boston Total

Carolina vs Dallas

1. GM Marcin Kaminski (CAR) vs GM-elect Magesh Panchanathan (DAL) 1/2-1/2
2. IM Dmitry Shneider (DAL) vs IM-elect Lev Milman (CAR) 1-0
3. FM Matthew Hoekstra (CAR) vs FM Andrei Zaremba (DAL) 0-1
4. Sam Copeland (DAL) vs David Pecora (CAR) 1/2-1/2

Both of these teams weren't doing so well in the standings and were eliminated from the playoffs, however there is an old saying that "you are only as good as your last game". In this case Dallas ended the season on a high note, as they played spirited chess to defeat the Carolina Cobras. Both Shneider and Zaremba picked up their first wins of the season in impressive attacking style.

With this victory, Dallas finishes in 3rd place in the Western Division, while Carolina sits in 4th place. Next season Dallas will have to find a way to focus their talent better. With so many young and rising stars, they were predicted to be the favorite to win the USCL, however their final result was clearly disappointing. In any case it was nice to end the season with some nice chess, and we will see if Dallas is determined to improve on their result next season. With a plethora of talented chessplayers at the University of Dallas, Texas, there are decent chances that there will be a roster shakeup next year.

The Carolina Cobras also seemed to have a great nucleus, with GM Kaminski, IM Milman and FM Hoekstra playing at the top of the lineup. These three young stars were expected to shine in the USCL. Milman played quite well, as did Kaminski, but Hoekstra struggled all year. The bane of the Carolina team was their performance on 4th board, as they scored only 2/10 for the season. Team Manager Craig Jones says that he has learned a lot about recruiting and what types of players and ratings to include on the team. There is also a rumor that there will be many talented young chessplayers going to Duke University next year, which is where the Cobras play their matches. With such a young nucleus, the Cobras can only go up from here, as who knows how much someone like Lev Milman can improve in another year.

Carolina Cobras			Dallas Destiny
GM Marcin Kaminski - 2473	0.5	0.5	GM Magesh Panchanathan - 2487
FM Lev Milman - 2474	0.0	1.0	IM Dmitry Shneider - 2488
FM Matt Hoekstra - 2407	0.0	1.0	FM Andrei Zaremba - 2355
David Pecora - 2097	0.5	0.5	Sam Copeland - 1960
Avg Rating - 2363			Avg Rating - 2323
Carolina Total -------	1.0	3.0	----- Dallas Total

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