Hello members of team WoLC One

This is your captain writing,a final review of the tournament

In the Eve of our participation into the Not So Pro Blitz Chess League, I would like to make a review of our overall performance into this league.

When we,the SAs of WoLC decided to declare interest into the NSPBCL, we didn't know what to expect,in terms of who would like to join us,into WoLC,nor did we know what to expect in terms of organization, as the team of NSPBCL's SAs are new to this,as a key SA,has decided to stop,for his own personal reasons.

Having all that in mind,we decided to leave a comment into our club,(WoLC) and recruit players from the official club of NSPBCL too. We eventually,formed 3 teams. Not bad for a club which was taking part for the first time. As a club,we also had the biggest participation,as no other one had more than one team representation.

We had a rough start into round one,against team Chess Atackers 1, which is something that can happen,especially if we consider the fact that most,if not all our players,but me,had no other experience into playing in this league. We were quite beaten by our opponents,but it turned out to be a good lesson,which did more good than bad. We remained strong,we got our pieces together,and we played quite well from then on.

In round 2,we faced team Immortal Wizards and we beat them,thus earning our first point and taking a boost of confidence for the next rounds.

In round 3, we played against team MARICHESS and we won with an emphatic 18-6 score, showing that we were a strong and solid team.

Round 4, brought us another huge victory of 17-7,against the Scouting Legion, proving us,that we can beat anyone,if we played with full strength and concentration.

Round 5 brought us into a fight against our fellow team WoLC Two,which ended into a draw and Round 6, we were matched with team Christian Homeschool Chess,from which we lost,because our board 2,never showed up,thus losing 4-0, giving an upset to our team,since our opponents were not better than us by any means.

Nevertheless,we were placed 7th and we moved into the quarterfinals,where we had to play our friends,WoLC Two,once again. After a close fight,we managed to win 13-11,which was a close result. We moved to the Semi finals,against Chess Attackers 1 again,but this time,we were determined to give them a fight... And we would have made it to overrun them, if it wasn't for the permanent problem of forfeits... Unfortunately, we had two of them,on board 2 and 3, so we lost. Had it been different, we could have made it to the finals against dirty flaggers, but unfortunately, we moved into the losers bracket...

Here in the,as it turns out,final appearance of our team, we started with a deficit 0-8,as boards 2 and 3 were not expected to play. I tried to contact some players to substitute one of the others who left,but unfortunately nobody came in,so we had to play 4 players,against their six... We tried to put up a fight,but we all had to win 4-0,in order to have chances of advancing to the next round,which is almost impossible to happen. Furthermore, we were not able.to make more than one substitution, because we had reached the maximum number we were allowed to do.

Overall, our team's performance, left me with a bittersweet taste. Sweet,because we made it to the playoffs and managing to advance a couple of rounds, but a bitter taste,because we are not losing to an inferior opponent,but because, a lot of our players stepped out. Especially,the majority of them,left no notice to me. They just decided to leave. We were supposed to be a team, but it seems that this doesn't work the same way to some players....

As a team,we made 5 substitutions... The maximum, is 6. So into the final round,we could substitute only one board. Unfortunately,we didn't make it to substiute none...

As a captain,I would like to thank @ninjaswat for his effort on board 1, but also, for his straightforwardness too. He had told me that he could play only for a few rounds and when he was not able,he even proposed me of a substitution, @little_guinea_pig. I would also like to thank him as well,because he gladly entered our team and played at board 1,giving his best.

Special thanks to @WallyRenfield and to @sirwriter2004,for remaining to the team,throughout the entire season. You guys, are real gems

To all these four,@ninjaswat, @little_guinea_pig, @WallyRenfield and @sirwriter2004, you hold a place into my heart for helping WoLC One.

Concerning @Aukenov_Timur, I have no complains,but just one. He could have waited a bit,or even,he could have negotiated a bit,in order not to lose on forfeit,but at least,he contacted me beforehand, telling me that he wanted to leave,due to workload. I can understand him and I wish him good luck with his work. We may play side by side again, taken the fact that he played in all the matches he could.

To the others, I am sorry guys,but choosing not to rspond to your captain's messages, is unacceptable. Not negotiating too. In some cases,especially to those who contacted me to join the team, I just wonder why you even did it, as you were not planning to play in the first place. Even if I was the one who contacted first,you could simply reply that you were not interested. Disappearing for no reason left me wondering why you did it, not to mention that it is disrespect to the efforts of the other players... I really do not know why you took this choice...

Finally, as of now, team WoLC Blitz One, has finished its participation into Not So Pro Blitz Chess League. We shall see, when the next league starts and if we will form a team or not. It depends on who will wish to do so and whether some things in terms of organization change or not.

Nikos8109

SA of WoLC

Team captain of WoLC One

WoLC Blitz Team One

Super Admins