New York vs Baltimore preview

11/08/2005

New York vs Baltimore Preview
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by IM Greg Shahade
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New York and Baltimore are slated to face off at 7:00 PM ET in what should be an exciting matchup. These teams have been on top of the Eastern Division all year and now will go head to head in the most important match of the season. New York is receiving draw odds due to their first place finish and incredible 8-2 record. However 1.5 off their points in the loss column came at the hands of the Baltimore Kingfishers, who scored a 1.5-0.5 record against the Knights this season. The Kingfishers have a history of beating New York and need to repeat this feat on Wednesday if they want to reaach the finals of the US Chess League. Let's take a look at the matchups:

BOARD 1

GM Alex Stripunsky
vs

IM Pascal Charbonneau

     This heavyweight matchup is the one the fans are tuning in to see. Alex Stripunsky is the highest rated member of the league and the current runner up in the US Championship. Baltimore's Pascal Charbonneau is the league MVP however, and has been faring extremely well versus other GM's in the USCL. Pascal and Stripunsky have faced off twice this season, and both games ended as draws. Click below to play over them:

Week 2 - Charbonneau vs Stripunsky   1/2-1/2
Week 9 - Stripunsky vs Charbonneau   1/2-1/2

In the first matchup between these two, Stripunsky was pushing hard for the win, but Charbonnaeu defended like a champion to draw the match. In the second matchup, Charbonneau simplified to a forced draw in what may have been a winning position, as a draw clinched the match for his team. Aside from the USCL games between these two, Charbonneau has always scored quite well against Stripunsky and picked up some key victories over the GM in the New York Masters tournament series. Stripunsky is one of the strongest players in the country and is probably not happy to have such trouble breaking down the young Canadian IM. Meanwhile despite the IM title before Charbonneau's name, he is considered by most strong players to be at the GM level. Pascal proved this with his impressive performance in the USCL.

This week we will see if Charbonneau's can play as well as his MVP title suggests, or will Stripunsky show his strong form and finally teach the MVP a lesson. Both New York and Baltimore are putting all their faith in these players, and the result of this game could easily determine the match. If Stripunsky can win, then NY will need only one point out of the other three boards to advance to the finals. If Charbonneau can hold the draw or even win, then the match is up in the air and Baltimore will have fine chances with 2 whites on the bottom 3 boards.

Stripunsky vs Charbonneau	Stripunsky	Charbonneau
Rating	2663	2506
2005 USCL Record	4.5/7	6/9
2005 USCL Performance Rating	2618	2661

BOARD 2

FM Tegshsuren Enkhbat
vs

IM Jay Bonin

Jay Bonin has been the heart and soul of New York chess for the past decade, and has been playing quite well in the USCL as of late, however Baltimore's Tegshsuren Enkhbat has also been performing well in the league and is listed at number 4 in the MVP rankings. This is another key game in this match. With the black pieces, Jay will be counted on to get a draw, whereas Baltimore will be counting heavily on Enkhbat to win the match.

So far this season Enkhbat has played NY twice and scored only .5/2. Enkhbat has yet to face Bonin however, as he drew with Krush in week 2 and lost to Braylovsky in week 9. Bonin has played only one game against the Kingfishers and in this match he lost to IM Larry Kaufman on board 3. At the time this was a devistating loss, as Bonin had a good position and it turned out that all the Knights needed to win the match was a draw. Jay hopes to come through in the clutch this time.

Enkhbat prefers to play d4 openings with white and Jay is adept at many defenses, so the opening is difficult to predict. These guys have both been playing well all year, but something has gotta give this week. Will Bonin cement his status as a New York legend, or will Enkhbat come through for the dangerous Kingfisher squad?

Enkhbat vs Bonin	Enkhbat	Bonin
Rating	2453	2379
2005 USCL Record	6.5/10	5/8
2005 USCL Performance Rating	2529	2449

BOARD 3

WGM Jenn Shahade
vs

IM Larry Kaufman

The Baltimore Kingfishers have owned the Knights on board 3 this season, as they have won both Board 3 games in their matches so far. Jenn Shahade was the victim in one of these games, as she lost to WGM Katerina Rohonyan in Week 3. Meanwhile IM Kaufman defeated IM Jay Bonin earlier in the season. The Knights will be counting on the 2 time US Womens Champion to reverse this trend immediately. She faces a tough test in Kaufman, as despite his 2330 rating, he has been above the 2500 mark many times in his career.

Jenn has played e4 exclusively for her entire career and Kaufman tends to play the Petroff Defense. Will he still play such a drawish opening in a must win match, or will Baltimore's manager convince him otherwise.

Kaufman has already been the source of heartbreak for the Knights, as he stunned Jay Bonin earlier in the season, to help draw a match that should have gone New York's way. Baltimore is hoping that Kaufman can have the same affect on the Knights in the postseason. On the other hand, Shahade has had experience in team competitions and in very important matches. She has competed and scored well in numerous Olympiad's and came through in clutch situations in previous US Championships. This match may have a bit more pressure than Olympiad matches however. In the Olympiad, if you lose your match, you generally get to come back the next day and try to regain the points you lost. If you lose this week in the USCL and cost your team the match, it will mean the season is over.

J.Shahade vs Kaufman	J. Shahade	L.Kaufman
Rating	2318	2331
2005 USCL Record	1/3	3/5
2005 USCL Performance Rating	2260	2395

BOARD 4

NM Ray Kaufman
vs

FM Lewis Eisen

Ray Kaufman has played in only 2 USCL matches for the Kingfishers, but the son of Baltimore's 3rd board is clearly a dangerous opponent. Kaufman scored 0.5/2 in his matches, but lost one of these games due to an unfortunate mouseslip that cost him a queen in an unclear position. Eisen is coming off a crushing loss to Baltimore's Jon Roulaeu and needs to play more solidly in this match, as New York only needs to draw the match to advance. These two players both have nice attacking instincts and one should expect an exciting and uncompromising game.

R.Kaufman vs Eisen	R.Kaufman	Eisen
Rating	2231	2325
2005 USCL Record	0.5/2	1.5/3
2005 USCL Performance Rating	2064	2234

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