The 64 - King In The Castle, King In The Castle - 9/19/21 - 10/3/21 Recap
Sometimes the jokes just write themselves. Two weeks ago when the US Chess Club took on team Kazakstan in what was believed to be the first leg of two in a Rapid & Blitz contest, the second half of the doubler-header came to an abrupt end before the match even started. The Rapid portion was a hard fought battle though, in which the Americans came out on top by the narrow margin of 33-31. It was one of our strongest lineups we've produced in some time, anchored by a total of six (!) masters heading the top boards.
But the game of note in this contest wasn't by one of those titled players. It's from @boocoolpro and his game with the Black pieces, where boocoolpro proved to be as cool as a cucumber. Let's have a look.
It's time for the percolator with the Pirc Defense. 28 moves later, the Kazakh looked to double up on the g-file with Rg1 but then the COOL, calm and collected...
Ng4+ coming with check. Like a pair of shoes tied too tight, it cuts off the circulation, in this instance between the White Rook and Queen. Forced to sack the exchange was the best move, but then so was the COOL 43...Rxf3+, guaranteeing promotion and the victory. Obviously, I award boocoolpro a "You're Cool" badge for you're unbelievably chill play on that Sunday. You were as cool as ice.
I'm sure you've all also noticed the bubblegum-flavored chess board. Just like the NFL, who during the month of October always display solidarity by highlighting Breast Cancer Awareness Month by decking out the stadium and player accessories with the color pink.
I think chess and chess.com should do the same. So for the month of October, I implore everybody, most importantly all those famous streamers on Twitch and Youtube, to go to their settings and change their board color to pink and help raise awareness to thwart this terrible disease. And if you don't like football, well then maybe Deadpool can persuade you instead...
So let's not bury the lead any further. Right after the Rapid section, and right before the Blitz segment, it turns out the Kazakstan administrator accidentally hit the "cancel" match instead of the "exit" match tab. It's not a totally uncommon mishap in the world of club matches. Accidents do happen (chalk it up as a mouse-slip) but some speculation has stockpiled regarding the intentions of this unfortunate slip of the finger, mainly because of the robust lineup the Americans posed that day. Whatever your opinion on the matter is, there was still more chess to be played.
At Wimbledon in 2010, John Isner and Nicolas Mahut played a tennis match that lasted eleven hours and five minutes. It was played over the course of three whole days. It looks like the US Chess Club and Team Kazakhstan have obliterated that record because two weeks later, the two countries wrap up their respected matches by completing the Blitz portion.
Scheduling is everything and down five titled players from the first leg nearly two weeks ago, Kazakhstan took down the US Chess Club in Blitz, swindling half a point, or as Team Kazakhstan would put it...
I promised myself I would not make a Borat reference when writing this recap...but it's just such tantalizing low hanging fruit and I'm a weak-willed little boy.
The US didn't even reach the minimum requirement to qualify for the contest, therefor forfeiting the victory. The match was still played out however, and Kazakstan still won on the board as well, 28-16.
But in the weeks betwixt, there was still chess to be played in-between these elongated chess matches. America was also pitted against an always formidable Mexican squad, in what is a usually referred to as a derby match (in international soccer at least). The Americans held their own but were ultimately downed by Mexico Live Chess, 33.5-28.5 in Rapid and 37-35 in Blitz.
With all that being said, here are the Live Chess World League Season 8 Division 2 standings after four rounds of play -
Data doesn't lie and the tables indicate that the US Chess Club has only mustered up two points, placing them near the bottom of the standings. Unfortunately, it will be an incredibly tough hill to climb for the Americans just to salvage what seems like a lost season.
But that won't diminish our efforts, as there's still plenty of chess, as there always is, moving forward. There's even been U1600 matches (under a 1600 rating), the JV squad, where we play 5/2 Blitz. The results haven't been there either for the US, where the Americans fell to Srbija Tim 18.5-11.5 and lost to Team Colombia 19.5-8.5. But like in pre-season football or Junior Varsity/Freshman contests, the results aren't as prudent. What is important is participation, development and just playing competitive chess.
And if you too are interested in playing in competitive chess, here's a link to the US Chess Club main page -
https://www.chess.com/club/uschess
- where you can find all the information on how to link up as well as all upcoming events. The club and matches are FREE to join and open to ANYONE who wishes to participate. You do not need a USCF rating! Just join the club and registration for Match Play opens one hour before the scheduled time, just like all other tournaments in the Live Chess tab. It's as simple as that!
The poor results won't hinder the schedule however. Sunday continues the LCWL campaign against a menacing Romanian club and when one season appears to be dead, there's another that has been birthed. Even though it's 64 squares played on one big square, well...that's just the circle of chess I suppose.
The LCPAL goes head to head with Monday Night Football, when they kick off their Rapid Cup season next Monday night. So if these dairy filled quicker time controls don't agree with your lactose intolerant tummies, be sure to sign up for Rapid Cup play.
But until then. we'll continue to put the word out and hopefully, sooner than later, the US Chess Club can ascend to a chess.com powerhouse, making US Chess...
