Mincemeat for Supper?
(Beat Reporter: Mark LaRocca)
Who would’a thought… the path to the playoffs lay through a pile of Applesauce… as in Manhattan Applesauce. Well… in the words of Michael Jackson… This is It! I may have called previous matches a must win… but, this one is a MUST win… as the Manhattan Applesauce vs the Boston Blitz death match will occur this Monday, 7:10pm at Harvard SOCH Hall, 59 Shepherd st., Cambridge, MA. Need I say more… Yes, I think I will.
Usually, it’s the Blitz who are down time for a match… technical issues… and just some down right SNAFUs… And they have paid dearly for these mistakes. I can think of at least two match losses that I blame on time issues. However, turn around is fair play… and it is the Applesauce that have screwed up by turning in late lineups… And, it is the Blitz that will benefit as they will have 101 minutes per game to the Applesauce 79 minutes… a 22 minute advantage… for those of you who went to grade school under the new math rules… or after the 1960’s.
Anyway, it’s up to the Blitz to show that 22 is a bad number… bad for Manhattan fans and team members, that is… and make Mincemeat out of Applesauce if that is possible. I think it is… Mincemeat, in it’s modern incarnation, is a mixture of chopped, dried fruit (apples should qualify) with some added alcohol (I think we have some beer around) and spices… no problem… Mincemeat it is.!
But it all starts with the lineup…
White Black
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IM Vovsha (MAN) GM Perelshteyn (BOS)
FM Gulamali (BOS) IM Schneider (MAN)
NM Shvartsman (MAN) NM Vilenchuk (BOS)
NM Krasik (BOS) NM Ryba (MAN)
Avverage rating: MAN 2395 vs BOS 2394
This will be a barn burner! Here are my thoughts on our Road to Victory…
IM Eli Vovsha (MAN) vs GM Eugene Perelshteyn (BOS) – Board 1
It occurred to me that these two may have played before. So, I had our crack staff do some crack research and sure enough… USCL 2008, Week 10… Eugene won a tense Accelerated Dragon as Black against the Marooczy Bind. But, that was when he was promoting his, then soon to be published, new book, Chess Openings for Black, Explained. Ok, so why not again?...
Boston (1 – 0)
FM Kazim Gulamali (BOS) vs IM Dimitry Schneider (MAN) – Board 2
Kazim is faced with another tough matchup. Last week he was a big underdog to GM Benjamin and this week, I call this the game to watch. The match may swing right here. Look for 1.e4 e5 and probably a Four Knights… but, who knows, maybe, just maybe, Kazim will dust off the King’s Gambit. A draw here would be good.
Boston (1.5 – 0.5)
NM Andrew Shvartsman (MAN) vs NM Michael Vilenchuk (BOS) – Board 3
Obviously, the “Schvartz” is against us in this one… Ok, I’m sorry… I couldn’t help myself… Like he’s never heard that before… Anyway, a draw is a good result with Black… But, Michael is not the drawing kind. And being clueless on the opening here… I am going with a big draw… after a tense struggle that keeps us all in suspenders.
Boston (2 – 1)
NM Ilya Krasik (BOS) vs NM Andrew Ryba (MAN)
Of course, 1.d4… and a good old fashioned Queen’s Gambit declined. If NM Ryba goes for this, he will be lost in 22 moves… Ilya in under 30 moves.
Boston (3 – 1)
Once again I have picked the Blitz as an overwhelming favorite. Call me a homer… or call me crazy… but, don’t call me late for supper… not when we’re having Mincemeat.