Blitz need Heart of a Highlander vs Dreadnoughts
(Beat Reporter: Mark LaRocca)
The Dreadnoughts are to be dreaded this year, no doubt. Coming off a 4-0 drubbing of the Baltimore Kingfishers in week 1, they are sailing high… to mix a metaphor. The Blitz, on the other hand, are feeling, in some ways, lucky to have drawn their week 1 match with cross-town rival New England Nor’easters. They seemed to be lost on boards 4 and 2, but scrambled to some very interesting draws. Then again, they lost on board 1, where a draw seemed assured, which would have won the match. In any case, I am not sure of the emotional state of the team… Can they pull it together to face their juggernaught opponent this week?
Emotion and Luck and even Skill aside…. Lets get on with the real thread on which this match hangs… Heart… Both teams have it… both teams have the incentive of New England bragging rights… but “There can be only one” to survive… and in my mind… Eugene most resembles a young Sean Connery… don’t you think?
GM Eugene Perelshteyn (BOS) vs GM Mikheil Kekelidze (CON)
It is very comforting, indeed, to have Eugene leading the Blitz into battle this year… and, in particular, in this match. These two have played at least once before with a draw in an exciting …e6 sicilian. In that game, Eugene gave the two Bishops as White. He won’t do that again… Blitz (1-0)
IM Jay Bonin (CON) vs SM Denys Shmelov (BOS)
Ok, I grant you, Denys has had some shaky games in his last few appearances with the Blitz… probably due to work/life interfering with chess… But, what talent he has for “grundge” chess, if you will… in the sense that it is frustrating and fearsome… and very depressing to his opponents. These two have played before in the league… and the record is about even over 5 games or so. Bonin can be expected to play the unexpected… 1.b3… was a 2007 win for him over Denys. But, the games were always a struggle between these two… Blitz (1.5 – 0.5)
NM Vadim Martirosov (BOS) vs NM Leif Pressman (CON)
Vadim was the hero of last weeks encounter with the Nor’easters… and I expect no less this week. His chess seems to improve each year…. And , you think he’s tough with Black… with White he can be an opponents worst nightmare. I could find no previous encounters here. So, just licking my finger and sticking it in the air… I pick Vadim to eke out a win. Blitz (2.5 – 0.5)
NM Kapil Chandran (CON) vs NM Jake Miller (BOS)
Again, no previous track record for these two. Jake is young and eager… but, I haven’t seen him play lately… and based on what I have seen in the past… he always plays hard fought games that keep the team shouting at the display in the side room. Since I have no knowledge here.. .let’s call this a pick’em… and the game of the match… a draw wins it for the Blitz. Blitz (3-1)
So, that’s it… Blitz win a close one. They are the last New England Highlanders standing… I’ll get some pictures when they hold their pawns in the air and the lightening flows through their bodies. It’s a dangerous job being a beat reporter…
The site: Harvard Science Center, Cambridge, MA. Tuesday, 7:20pm
Maybe Ilya can fill us in on the actual address for us GPS enabled people.
See ya there fellow Immortals! Go Blitz!
