Sharp Teeth, or Shark Soup?
(Beat Reporter: Mark LaRocca)
I Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but, the new Blitz logo is specifically made to be “un-swallowable” by large ocean creatures… what with all the jagged edges, most fish would choke. That’s Ilya (I love the Blitz logo) Krasik for ya’… always thinking ahead. That said, I think the Blitz may be in danger of being batted by a Shark’s tail in their week 4 matchup with the Miami Sharks.
Now, if we still had the old “B” logo… we might have the pitching to stop this type of attack. Oh well, let’s hope the guys duck and move as Miami is cruising with a match record of (3 – 0) while the Blitz have struggled to (2 – 1). Both teams are undefeated… but a quick glance at this week’s lineup clearly shows advantage Miami. (avg. rating 2428 – 2390)… Hey, they didn’t make the weight class… what’s up?… just kidding Greg… I understand. But, maybe the fans want to write complaining emails anyway.
Miami Boston
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GM Quesada (MIA), 2686 IM Esserman (BOS), 2569
IM (elect) Sevian (BOS),2486 GM Becerra (MIA), 2619
FM Rodriguez (MIA), 2348 SM Shmelov (BOS), 2465
Mahoney (BOS), 2040 Mederos (MIA), 2058
Ok… so, it looks like problems on board 1 and 2… but, I am not crying… rules are rules… and we all know about the unpredictability of Marc’s Tal-like ability and Sam’s prodigy-like genius. Thus, I will depart from my usual silly predictions (last week’s 2.5 – 1.5 prediction was right on the nose) and go to a tag team sort of style… and cleverly avoid predicting any loss… thereby, dodging the wrath of our home town players… hopefully.
I predict a match draw… there, I said it… and this is how it will happen.
Marc-Sam (BOS) vs Quesada-Becerra (MIA)
Outrated by 100+ points on each board, this will not be an easy matchup. Marc will throw the first blow with a hybrid Najdorf of some sort against 1.e4… Sam will counter with (1.e4…) a mainline against Bacerra’s Najdorf. After a tough fight on both boards, I expect a tag team draw (0.5 – 0.5)…. Clever huh?...
Denys-Michael (BOS) vs Rodriguez-Mederos (MIA)
This tag team is the critical matchup… we need a win here and we will get it as Denys will counter his opponents 1.e4… with some obscure version of the French. Michael will open 1.e4… and face the unknown bravely. This is a close your eyes and hold your breath tag match… (1 – 0)
Final Match Score: Boston (2 – 2)
All kidding aside… what does an undefeated… untied… Miami record really mean… what? They were lucky?... they were good?... they wasted all their good moves in the first three matches?... Probably a little of each… but, mostly, it means they are due for a bad game or two!
Watch out Sharks… those teeth can crack easily on those jagged Blitz edges… and don’t let us win on either of the top two boards… or, maybe… just maybe… Shark soup is on the menu! GO BLITZ!
Site: Harvard SOCH building, 59 Shepard st, Cambridge, MA – start time 7:30pm, Weds.
