11/08/2005
A Tale of 2 Moves: Miami scrapes by the Mechanics after two
missed chances.
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by IM Greg Shahade
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San Francisco vs Miami
1. IM Vinay Bhat (SF) vs GM Julio
Becerra (MIA) 1/2-1/2
2. FM Marcel Martinez (MIA)
vs FM Dmitry Zilberstein (SF) 1-0
3. FM David Pruess (SF) vs IM Blas Lugo
(MIA) 1-0
4. Jose Cabrera (MIA) vs NM Andy Lee
(SF) 1-0
San Francisco had been storming along in the past weeks
and came into the playoffs as the hottest team in the league. The
Mechanics had won four straight matches to win the division at the last
moment. On top of this, they held a 2-0 record against the Sharks and
would have draw odds in their playoff match. One would think this could
spell trouble for the Sharks, but with their 3 top boards all being
competitors in last years US Championship, you can never count them
out.
David Pruess got the Mechanics off to a fast start with a quick
win over IM Blas Lugo. Pruess got way ahead on the clock early in the
game and this cost Lugo once the position became complicated. This game
was really insane and very difficult for me to give any comments on.
Pruess vs Lugo after 24...Nxe3
As you can see the position is completely out of
control, with pieces placed in crazy positions, I mean what is the
white pawn doing on b7!. Lugo sacrificed two pieces at this point and
it seemed as if he would have enough to draw and perhaps win, but due
to his slow play earlier in the game, he was down to only one minute on
the clock and was unable to sift through the complications. Pruess
fought back the attack and scored a crucial victory for San
Francisco.
With an early 1-0 lead, it seemed as though there was simply no
chance for Miami to pull this one out, as their positions on the other
boards didn't look so great. The next game to finish was between IM
Bhat and GM Becerra. Bhat played the quiet exchange variation of the
Slav, and perhaps feeling that his team needed him to win, Becerra went
all out to create complications yet in the process played some pretty
ugly moves. Bhat is a strong and solid player and is not likely to be
easily confused by such tactics, so with a few precise moves Vinay
gained a clear advantage. If Bhat could have finished Becerra off, then
San Francisco would immediately head to the finals, however Becerra
found a nice practical defensive resource:
Bhat vs Becerra: Black to Move
Things look dreadful for Becerra. White is simply going to win
the c-pawn and crash through black's position. With Vinay Bhat very low
on time (about 1-2 minutes left, with the 30 second increment) Miami's
first board now found a nice practical chance with 30...a5!? 31. Rxa5 Rxb4!?!. Becerra
gave up the exchange but in return gained some serious activity for his
pieces. Bhat could find no effective way to simplify to a won position
and the following exchange ahead endgame was reached:
Bhat vs Becerra: White to Move
Despite the extra exchange, it's very difficult for white to
break through, as black has no weaknesses. Bhat attempted to make
something happen with 47.g4 hxg3 48.
hxg3 Rh1 49. g4 Nh4 50.R2c6 (after this white has no hope) Rh2+ 51.Kf1 Nxf3 (now the game is
drawn easily) 52.Rxe6 Rd2! (the king is in an
inescapable net) 53. Ree7 Nh2+ 54.Ke1
Nf3+ 1/2-1/2
Becerra displayed some very impressive defensive skills here as
he saved a lost position with some well timed sacrifices. Things still
looked bright for San Francisco however, as there was no reason to
suspect they would lose both of their final two games, which is
precisely what would have to happen for Miami to advance to the finals.
Unfortunately for the Mechanics they reverted to their early season
play, instead of displaying the technique that they've shown during
their 4 match winning streak.
The Mechanics had two chances to immediately draw/win the two
remaining games and missed them both. With just one accurate move at
the right moment by Zilberstein or Lee, the entire course of the league
would have been changed. Instead San Francisco will watch online, while
the Miami Sharks have a chance to become League Champion. Let's take a
look at the chances San Francisco missed:
Cabrera vs Lee: Black to Move
after 33.Qxa6
On board 4 the Mechanics were hoping that Lee would defeat his
much lower rated opponent. Lee had performed quite well in the USCL up
to this point, and Cabrera's results were not spectacular. Cabrera
showed some power in this game with an impressive exchange sacrifice
that put Andy Lee on the defensive. Cabrera is close to winning but Lee
has a chance to force an immediate draw with 33....Nf4!! 34.gxf4 Qf3!.
After this series of moves, white has absolutely no chance to stop
perpetual check, and Lee would draw the game and send the city of San
Francisco to the USCL finals. Instead Lee blundered with 33....Rd7? which loses quickly to 34. Nxc5! Nxc5 35. Qc8, regaining
the knight on c5 and forcing an endgame with a whopping 3 extra pawns!
Dmitry Zilberstein had the chance to bail out Andy Lee by
drawing with FM Marcel Martinez, but wasn't able to come through in the
clutch:
Martinez vs Zilberstein: Black
to Move after 42.Qd8
After a long and
hard fought game, both players were down to about 2 minutes on their
clock (although you still have time to search for good moves due to the
30 second increment). Marcel's last move was actually a blunder which
loses a pawn for nothing if Zilberstein had found 42....Qa1,
threatening the c3 pawn and threatening ...Bc4. Dmitry would have
almost no chance to lose such a position and a great chance to win,
either which would have been sufficient to send San Francisco to the
finals. However with his clock ticking, Dmitry opted for 42...Qc6, allowing Marcel to make a
very favorable bishop trade with 43.
Bd4!. Now suddenly white had some advantage although there were
still plenty of defensive resources for black.
Martinez vs Zilberstein: Black
to Move after 54.Kf6
Fans thought that Zilberstein had escaped the worst
when he played 54...Qxh3,
threatening Qe6 checkmate, however Martinez boldly advanced his king to
e7 and found a nice haven on the opposite side of the board. After
black ran out of checks, the queenside pawns were simply too fast. The
game continued: 54....Qxh3
55.Ke7 Qc8 56. Qd6! Qf8 57. Kd7 Qg7 58.Qd4 Qf8 59.b5 Qe8+ 60. Kc7 Qe7
61.Bd7 Be6 62.Qd6! Qxd6 63.Kxd6 Bc4 64.Be6 1-0
Suddenly Miami was headed to the USCL finals after an
improbable turn of events. A lot of credit has to be given to Marcel
Martinez for his determination to win this game, in what was a pretty
difficult position at times. Also Cabrera has to be commended for
coming back after last week's awful performance, and playing aggressive
and dynamic chess this week to send his team to the finals.
The match between Miami and Baltimore will take place in 2
weeks, as there is an International Tournament happening in Miami next
Wednesday. The Sharks and Kingfishers haven't played since Week 1, when
the Sharks won by the score of 2.5-1.5. Baltimore has become much
improved since then and most pundits believe they are now the favorite
to win the title. However anything can happen under such pressure and
Sharks have shown they have some serious bite behind them. A matchup of
GM Becerra and IM Charbonneau on Board 1 should be a tremendous matchup
and will likely occur in the finals. Will Miami and their largely Cuban
born lineup take down the first ever USCL Championship or will it go to
the Baltimore Kingfishers, led by league MVP Pascal Charbonneau? Tune
in and find out in 2 weeks!
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