Week 10 Results
I can't believe I'm writing the results for week 10 of season 1 already. Big thanks to those of you who've been with me for the whole time. If you guys don't know already, season 2 signups are open on the website: http://greatlakeschessleague.com/index.php/season-2-sign-up/
So sign up if you haven't already!
Season 1 isn't over just yet though, we still have to decide Gold, Silver and Bronze, and award the appropriate Grand Prix points to the winners. Week 10 will decide who makes the playoffs, with Team Lake Superior taking on Team Lake Erie, with the winner going to the gold medal match to face Team Lake Michigan, who has a bye this week. Similarly, in our second match, Team Lake Huron takes on Team Lake Ontario to decide who will play the loser of the first match for bronze. As mentioned, Grand Prix points will be awarded to each playing member of teams that win a medal, with 5 points to gold, 4 to silver and 3 to bronze. If you are unsure of what the Grand Prix is, check it out on the website: http://greatlakeschessleague.com/index.php/grand-prix/
but put simply, if you have been playing in any Great Lakes Chess League event, you are a part of it!
Team Lake Superior vs Team Lake Erie
Board 1: @houghton24 vs @Practicality 1- 0
@houghton24 channeled his inner Tal yet again in this match, gambitting a pawn early on, and using the resulting open position to force some really awkward concessions by @Practicality, like the move 18...f5. This awkward position ended up resulting in @houghton24 being up a piece with all of the initiative, chasing @Practicality's king around the board until he resigned in a mate in 4 position with his king trapped alone on the second rank. I've enjoyed analyzing @houghton24's games quite a lot this season, most of his wins tend to have this sack sack mate kind of quality to them that is always a lot of fun to witness. Well done, @houghton24.
Board 2: @Gorgonops 0 - 1 @Mhm_Ham https://www.chess.com/game/live/38878146987
Board 3: @MinnesotaDude vs @KidCharlemagne420 0 - 1
This Sicilian game was played extremely well by one of the breakout stars of season 1, @KidCharlemagne420. Everything started off normally, with @MinnesotaDude expanding on the kingside and @KidCharlemagne420 expanding on the queenside, but, one minor misstep by white and @KidCharlemagne420 poured on the pressure with moves like Qa5 and Ba6, eventually winning a bunch of material before delivering mate on move 35. This was another stellar performance according to the engine evaluation, with a 95% move accuracy by the winner, @KidCharlemagne420. This one feels MVPish.
Board 4: @nd23903 1 - 0 @bspencer1967 https://www.chess.com/analysis/game/live/38881222219
Board 5: @Srobocop0615 vs @Mathyou86 1 - 0
This London game was played extremely well by @Srobocop0615, from start to finish with no mistakes and only one blunder. From the very start this one looked good for white, by move 16 he was up a full rook and a pawn. From that point on it was systematic simplification, until black had nothing but a couple of pawns and a king that was unable to stop a passer. We featured this one for two reasons: #1 it was a clean, dominant win and #2, @Srobocop0615 was a 60 point underdog in this match.
Board 7: @kmeier45239 vs @Mattlicious1 1 - 0
@Kmeier45239 played this game wonderfully. Much like the last one we looked at this one was played at such a high level of accuracy I feel we have to spotlight it, but to add to that, @kmeier45239 was 56 points lower ranked than his opponent. This game started off in a unique way, with @Mattlicious1 wanting to play a normal Caro Kann, but @kmeier45239 bringing it into a weird, tense central battle with a pawn structure that sort of resembles a reverse advanced Caro Kann. This weird structure was all @kmeier45239 needed to start grabbing material, winning a pawn and a minor piece in the first 12 moves. From that point, @kmeier45239 poured on the pressure, winning more material and ending the game with the threat of a couple of unstoppable passers. 40 moves, no blunders, one mistake, an exceptional game, well done, @kmeier45239.
Team Lake Superior 4 - 2 Team Lake Erie
Team Lake Huron vs Team Lake Ontario
Board 1: @neatgreatfire vs @lorookie 0 - 1
In this one we have yet another tremendous performance by @lorookie. At this level, mistakes that decide games often aren't one move blunders, but something more subtle, in this one, that subtle mistake was a slightly out of place white knight that @lorookie punished perfectly. When he succeeded in winning material, he turned his sights on simplification, and ended up winning the game with a checkmate on a cramped king on move 58. That's 58 moves, no mistakes, no blunders, no missed wins, just one innacurate move. With a total of 92% accuracy this one goes into second place in terms of most accurate games so far in week 10, and being that @bluberrie_tea didn't even play this round I'm astounded at the level of accurate play by the Great Lakes Chess League players. Well done, @lorookie, an incredibly accurate performance, and a 30 point underdog, but most likely not enough for MVP or Upset of the Week.
Board 2: @TheKirbster 0.5 - 0.5 @CRUSHR https://www.chess.com/game/live/38795998201
Board 3: @ngosman vs @GoPikachu 0 - 1
This game is being highlited because of the Never Give Up attitude that @GoPikachu displayed, coming back from a material loss with an impressive victory. The considerably lower ranked @ngosman got a fairly decent advantage in the early middlegame, chasing black's king around and eventually winning an exchange on move 25 and a pawn a couple of moves later. Just being up material doesn't guarantee anything, especially against the caliber of player @GoPikachu is, and this was exampled in the sequence 30...Rh7 31.Qe3 Rxh2 32.Ke1 Rh1+ 33.Kd2 Bg5 34.Rxh1 Bxe3+, where the resulting position left black with the only queen on the board and all of the initiative. This was all it took to win this one, well done both @GoPikachu and @ngosman, this one was fun to analyze.
Board 4: @Gherkins54868 0 - 1 @brettkoz https://www.chess.com/game/live/39219660329
Board 5: @Go0setav 0 - 1 @a-blunderful-life https://www.chess.com/game/live/38885324091
Board 6: @shiverosu vs @68ChessDaddo 1 - 0
This queen's pawn game belied the adage that 1.d4 leads to slow positional games. @shiverosu won this one in 15 moves! First they set up a queen/bishop battery on the b1-h7 diagonal, then they capitalized on black's mistake of Bxg3 by taking back with their h pawn, opening up a deadly threat against h7. A few moves later and black's sole defending piece, the knight on f6, was lured away, @shiverosu didn't wait before delivering the final knockout blow, Qh7#. Knockout in 15 moves?!?! Knockout of the night? Either way, well done, @shiverosu.
Board 7: @Joey759 vs @littleshooters 0 - 1
This was a wild Sicilian game from the very start, with @littleshooters winning a pawn on move 3, and a knight on move 9. From that point both players had chances to win, the evaluation bar looks like an EKG readout. The important point is that through this chaos, @littleshooters was cunningly placing his pieces and preparing his attack. With moves like Bxf2, Rd8 and Be3, @littleshooters spun the mating web, and when @Joey759 acted to further his own attack, @littleshooters delivered the knockout blow, Rd1#! @littleshooters was 170 points lower ranked than his opponent, winning the Upset Of The Week by a decent margin. Well played, @littleshooters, congrats on the award!
Team Lake Huron 1.5 - 5.5 Team Lake Ontario
And with those results we have the playoff pairings for season 1! Team Lake Superior will play black in game 1 against Team Lake Michigan in the gold medal match, and the underdogs Team Lake Ontario will take on Team Lake Erie in the match for bronze! That will be a best of 3 matchup to take place during the first three weeks of March. Season two to start at some point in April!
If you played in season 1 and have ANY comments, suggestions, concerns, ideas, any type of feedback at all, please contact me and let me know! I'm actively trying to make this league better, smoother and more fun!
Standings After Week 10:
Team Lake Michigan: 5 - 1 - 2 : 6.0pts
Team Lake Superior: 5 - 3 - 0: 5.0pts
Team Lake Erie: 4 - 3 - 1: 4.5pts
Team Lake Ontario: 2 - 5 - 1: 2.5pts
Team Lake Huron: 2 - 6- 0: 2pts
Weekly Awards:
Checkmate Of The Week: @shiverosu
Upset Of The Week: @littleshooters
MVP For Week 10: @KidCharlemagne420
Standings After Week 10:
Team Lake Michigan: 5 - 1 - 2 : 6.0pts
Team Lake Superior: 5 - 3 - 0: 5.0pts
Team Lake Erie: 4 - 3 - 1: 4.5pts
Team Lake Ontario: 2 - 5 - 1: 2.5pts
Team Lake Huron: 2 - 6- 0: 2pts
