The 64 - Opening Day - February 2022 Recap
Opening Day. A day filled with such promise and anticipation. After all, you and your favorite team haven't lost a game yet, every team is tied for first and every player has a chance to be the MVP. Optimism abounds on opening day.
Although, the US Chess Club doesn't have too much more to be optimistic about these days. Participation has been as high as ever, the lineups put forward the most daunting and the last time we left off, the Americans were hoisting their shiny new 2022 LCPAL Rapid Cup.
But with Major League Baseball already shifting their opening day schedules, and the unfortunate reality that there may not even be an opening day this year, the US Chess Club and chess.com can compensate with not one, not two, but three separate competitive leagues that kicked off in the past month of February. I suppose the headline of this article is slightly mislabeled and should rather read Opening Days, plural, but that sounds more like some young adult coming of age life portrait written by John Green or something.
Sure, there's much more for the club to be bullish about and there's always more goals to be obtained, more games to win, more chips to hoist and a higher rating to surmount. We're not exactly Alexander weeping for there is no more land to conquer. Why do you think World Champion Magnus Carlsen has set his sights on a 2900 classical rating, which has never been achieved? It motivates him. It drives him, but just like Magnus, the US Chess Club must do so now with the weight of expectations on their shoulders. How would those expectations play out?
Let's kick things off where we sort of left off last month. The defending LCPAL Rapid Cup champions now must see how they do in the quicker time controls, where on February 14th the LCPAL Blitz Cup began against a stout Argentina club. The lower time controls have been a bit of an achilles heel for the US Chess Club so becoming much more well-rounded and not so dependent on only winning in Rapid is of vital importance.
The Americans took the first of many baby steps when they took down Argentina by one of the narrowest of margins.
Final score: 42-40
This was one of the odder matches in recent memory. Connection issues, a banned account and some incredible discrepancies in rating. The US had a clear advantage on the top boards:
But Argentina thwarted the threat of these titled players by compensating with an overwhelming discrepancy on the lower boards, in what proved to be a resilient Argentinian lineup that set the tone early on in the season:
Unfortunately for the Argentines, they bent the Americans mettle but did not break it. In such a close match like this, every game matters, so the game of the match goes to one of those lower boards who were able to pull a big upset and ultimately swing the score in the Americans favor.
Turtlepro went from a pro turtle to an all-pro turtle after that bonkers win in which the eval bar was doing pushups. But on that day, this amphibious reptile displayed the heart of a lion. Therfore, I award you one "Heart of a Lion" badge. I can truly say this without it coming off as hyperbole, but the US Chess Club would not have won if not for your efforts.
HEAR! HEAR!
The US followed up their round 1 victory the following week with a another hotly contested matchup with our neighbors to the north, The Chess Federation of Canada with a final tally of 26.5 to 19.5. The Americans are off to a 2-0 start in their Blitz Cup campaign.
The Canadians failed to seek vengeance in the LCPAL, as just the week prior, both teams faced off in the opening round of the 4th season of Nations League play. The difference being, each squad faces off against each other in both Rapid & Blitz, gaining a full point in the standings if they win both matchups (or go 1.5/2). The US gained the full point when they took down Canada in the Rapid portion 36.5 to 29.5 and then in the Blitz by an astounding 39.5 to 4.5.
But it was the Round 2 matchup against England which was the most dramatic. After an 18-18 draw in the Rapid leg, the full point would be up for grabs in the Blitz leg but once again, the US came up big in Blitz, doubling up the good ole mates from across the pond by a score of 20-10.
Here's a miniature from @mgraber1 , which is about one letter off and sounds a whole lot like McGruber so yep, I'm running with that joke for the rest of this recap.
Your "Taco" Award is in the mail.
The US currently sit atop the Chess.com Nations League standings with a full 3/3 points, after taking down the perennial powerhouse of Romania on the 26th. Final score:
53 to 19 Rapid
39 to 29 Blitz
Here are the current standings after three rounds of play:
Finally, we get to the third head of this opening day triumvirate. The 9th season of the Live Chess World League (LCWL). It's always interesting to note the subtle nuances between the leagues and in the LCWL, you also play both a Blitz and a Rapid leg but only each leg stands on its own. By that I mean each time control is its own designated point in the standings. So the Americans picked up a full two points when they defeated Team Italia in the opening round back on February 20th.
25.5 to 16.5 Blitz
37 to 13 Rapid
Let's take a look at @johnstipp-bethune and both of his games agains team Italia's @RevRuckus , who certainly did not bring the Ruckus.
Then after a long hard fought game, this happened with the White pieces:
It's always interesting to see how the psychology of the player plays out during these mini matches and after losing a tough battle in game 1 and hanging a piece on move 10 in game 2, the Italian club player decided to call it a day and rage resign. It's hard to imagine that the first game defeat didn't diminish the Italian's fighting spirit. Perhaps The turtlepro could have been an inspiration by proving you never resign. Never surrender!
@johnstipp-bethune , your long awaited "Taco" Award is on its way. Congratulations and keep up the good work.
With that being said, and this is the obvious commentator's jinx that will inevitably ensue, but the US Chess Club is on an unbelievable hot streak the last couple of months. They haven't lost a match or even a leg in the last 18 (!!) contests (just the one draw against England mentioned above) as well as only losing two matches in their last 25 affairs. Not since December 12th has the US Chess Club been taking down and they look to continue their success this weekend when there's a full docket of more chess on the agenda. I sure hope for my sake at least because writing these recaps are significantly easier and much more fun when the club is winning.
Here's a word from US Chess Club administrator @grymsailor noting this weekend's upcoming live matches.
https://www.chess.com/news/view/weekend-chess
And f you too are interested in playing 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!
But until then, study them lines, do your puzzles and don't forget to protect ya neck and bring da ruckus!
