Match 2 Miami Sharks vs St Louis Arch Bishops

The US Chess League seems extremely competitive this year. The defending champs went into this match already down 0-1 in the standings, only to face the St. Louis Arch Bishops. With a line up featuring GM Akobian on board 2, St Louis must be one of the preseason favorites to win it all. It seems that many teams in the league are getting extra funding this year. The Sharks were in doubt of getting support and our morale was low. 

We started off down 0-2 in the match with losses on boards 2 and 3. 

We put Gaston on Board 3 for the first time. Like many other chess players these days, Eric Rodriguez is focused on poker at this time. 

On Board 4 we had the rookie Carlos Hoyos Jr. A 13 year old who has rose among the elite in the Miami City Chess Club over the past two years. He was neverous about getting his first start going into the match and it showed. We all know he could play better then this. Especially, against one of the lowest rated players in the league. Down 0-2 in the match, with a worse position he took a draw.... As the manager I will take the blame on this one. I assumed he was experienced enough to know that we play as a team and winning the match is all that matters. Rookie mistake.. We expect the young talent to bounce back and redeem himself in the future. 

The last game to finish was the 1st board. In the endgame, Becerra gained a nice advantage. If Jr was still playing his game during this time it might have forced the 4th board (Who going into the match was probably told, "Draw your game and we win the match," to fear the outcome of the match. These team events can be very unpredictable and each board influences the others.