Baltimore Kingfishers' 2014 Week 1 Preview
St. Louis Arch Bishops vs. Baltimore Kingfishers
GM Le Quang Liem (2785) - GM Niclas Huschenbeth (2603)
GM Varuzhan Akobian (2758) - IM Levan Bregadze (2530)
WGM Anna Sharevich (2367) - NM Jared Defibaugh (2325)
Jacob Wilkins (1909) - NM Andrew Zheng (2208)
Wednesday, 8:00 PM EDT
Time Control: 75 min. with 30 sec. increment
Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.
The Baltimore Kingfishers and the St. Louis Arch Bishops begin their seasons in the newly-minted Southern Division of the US Chess League. Baltimore, having been in the USCL since its inaugural season, will be starting their 10th season while St. Louis will begin their 5th season. St. Louis leads the all-time series against Baltimore with a 1-0 match score. These two teams last played in Week 2, 2012 when St. Louis completed a rare 4-0 sweep. There are two returning players, GM Niclas Huschenbeth and IM Levan Bregadze, from that last match but with a twist as IM Bregadze has switched teams from St. Louis to Baltimore.
Board 1: GM Le Quang Liem vs. GM Niclas Huschenbeth. GM Le Quang Liem makes his USCL debut for the St. Louis Arch Bishops. He is currently the 2nd highest FIDE-rated player in the USCL. Challenging him will be GM Niclas Huschenbeth, who is playing in his 3rd USCL season. He went (+1 =1 -2) last season.
Board 2: IM Levan Bregadze vs. GM Varuzhan Akobian. IM Levan Bregadze faces off against his former team for the first time. He scored (+1 =4 -1) for the Baltimore Kingfishers last year and he will also be playing in his 3rd season. Meanwhile his opponent, GM Varuzhan Akobian, went (+3 =2 -2) in the previous season. He will start his 5th year in the USCL and 2nd year with St. Louis.
Board 3: WGM Anna Sharevich vs. NM Jared Defibaugh. WGM Anna Sharevich is another St. Louis player who will be making her USCL debut in this match. This debut is a long time coming as she was named to St. Louis' 2012 roster, but never played. Her opponent, NM Jared Defibaugh, will begin his 5th season with Baltimore. He managed a (+2 =3 -4) score last season.
Board 4: NM Andrew Zheng vs. Jacob Wilkins. NM Andrew Zheng will be playing in his 2nd USCL season. NM Zheng is the 8th-highest-rated 12-year-old in the United States as of the August rating list. He drew his only USCL game last year. Facing him will be Jacob Wilkins, who scored (+1 =3 -2) for a performance rating 200+ points above his current rating in his first season last year.
Let us know your predictions in the 5 polls linked below!
Board 1 Result? | Board 2 Result? | Board 3 Result? | Board 4 Result? | Match Result?
Check out all the US Chess League action at: http://www.uschessleague.com/
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