US Chess League, Week 7: Dallas Looks to Defend Title
Now with only a few weeks left in the US Chess League all the teams are trying to make a strong run towards the QuarterFinals. Each match was played with increasing importance and filled with more tension than the previous weeks.
The first match of the week was a Monday night match featuring the Boston Blitz and the struggling New York Knights who were in desperate need of a match win. The match came down to 3 decisive games with New York taking two of the 3 on the top and bottom boards to claim victory in the match and keep any slim chances of making the QuarterFinals.
GM Pascal Charbonneau
Now let's take a look at the critical board 1 game from this match:
Board results from this match:
Board 1: GM Christiansen(BOS) - GM Charbonneau(NY) , 0-1
Board 2: GM Fedorowicz(NY) - GM Perelshteyn(BOS) , 0.5-0.5
Board 3: NM Esserman(BOS) - IM Bonin(NY) , 1-0
Board 4: NM Herman(NY) - NM Krasik(BOS) , 1-0
Overall match score: New York Knights - Boston Blitz , 2.5-1.5
The next match was also a Monday night matched played between the first place Queens Pioneers and the New Jersey Knockouts who are not too far behind. After draws on the middle boards the two teams split decisive games on the top and bottom boards to draw the match on a 2-2 score.
IM Alex Lenderman
Now let's take a look at Queens star player IM Alex Lenderman and his victory which helped Queens to secure a draw in the match:
Board results from this match:
Board 1: GM Stripunsky(QNS) - GM Benjamin(NJ) , 0.5-0.5
Board 2: GM Gulko(NJ) - IM Vovsha(QNS) , 1-0
Board 3: IM Lenderman(QNS) - IM Ippolito(NJ) , 1-0
Board 4: Ng(NJ) - Ostrovskiy(QNS) , 0.5-0.5
Overall match score: Queens Pioneers - New Jersey Knockouts , 2-2
The final Monday night match involved the Tennessee Tempo and the Chicago Blaze expansion team. In this match Tennessee had an impressive upset victory on board 1 but then lost two other games to lose the match to Chicago on a 2.5-1.5 score.
IM Jan van de Mortel
Now let's take a look at the board 2 game which secured the victory for Chicago in the match:
Board results from this match:
Board 1: IM Burnett(TEN) - GM Mitkov(CHC) , 1-0
Board 2: IM van de Mortel(CHC) - FM Andrews(TEN) , 1-0
Board 3: FM Bereolos(TEN) - FM Pasalic(CHC) , 0.5-0.5
Board 4: Meerovich(CHC) - FM Wheeler(TEN) , 1-0
Overall match score: Chicago Blaze - Tennessee Tempo , 2.5-1.5
The first match on Wednesday night was with the Baltimore Kingfishers and the Carolina Cobras. After a draw on board 1 Carolina went on a streak and won the remaining 3 games to take the match on a 3.5-0.5 score. With this win Carolina puts themselves in prime position for the QuarterFinals while Baltimore has really missed their chance for any post season play with this disappointing loss.
NM Udayan Bapat
Now let's take a look at the battle on the bottom board which helped Carolina to get a convincing match win:
Board results from this match:
Board 1: GM Erenburg(BAL) - IM Milman(CAR) , 0.5-0.5
Board 2: IM Schroer(CAR) - FM Enkhbat(BAL) , 1-0
Board 3: FM Zimmer(BAL) - FM Zaikov(CAR) , 0-1
Board 4: NM Bapat(CAR) - NM Kahn(BAL) , 1-0
Overall match score: Carolina Cobras - Baltimore Kingfishers , 3.5-0.5
The next match was between the defending champion Dallas Destiny and the Philadelphia Inventors who are in serious need of a match victory. Dallas ended up winning the match on a 2.5-1.5 score when Dallas had a nice upset win on the top board. With this victory Dallas is now in prime position to defend their championship title from last year.
IM Marko Zivanic
Now let's take a look at this key win for Dallas on the top board:
Board results from this match:
Board 1: IM Zivanic(DAL) - GM Kudrin(PHI) , 1-0
Board 2: FM Bartell(PHI) - IM Bartholomew(DAL) , 1-0
Board 3: FM Schneider(DAL) - FM Yeager(PHI) , 1-0
Board 4: IM Costigan(PHI) - WFM Zorigt(DAL) , 0.5-0.5
Overall match score: Dallas Destiny - Philadelphia Inventors , 2.5-1.5
The next match was between the Arizona Scorpions and the Miami Sharks who are playing against each other for the first time. This match saw 3 decisive games with Miami taking all 3 wins on the bottom 3 boards to win the match on a 3.5-0.5 score.
FM Charles Galofre
Now let's take a look at the board 3 game which ended up being key for Miami's success in the match:
Board results from this match:
Board 1: IM Barcenilla(ARZ) - GM Becerra(MIA) , 0.5-0.5
Board 2: FM Perea(MIA) - FM Rensch(ARZ) , 1-0
Board 3: FM Adamson(ARZ) - FM Galofre(MIA) , 0-1
Board 4: NM Rodriguez(MIA) - NM Martinez(ARZ) , 1-0
Overall match score: Miami Sharks - Arizona Scorpions , 3.5-0.5
The final match was between the San Francisco Mechanics and the Seattle Sluggers, both of whom are having good seasons. This match saw 4 decisive games with San Francisco taking 3 of the 4 games to win the match on a 3-1 score. This match also featured a key rematch from one of the best played games from the previous season.
GM Vinay Bhat
Now let's take a look at this very intriguing rematch game from the previous season:
Board results from this match:
Board 1: GM Bhat(SF) - GM Nakamura(SEA) , 1-0
Board 2: FM Mikhailuk(SEA) - IM Donaldson(SF) , 1-0
Board 3: FM Shankland(SF) - FM Readey(SEA) , 1-0
Board 4: May(SEA) - FM Naroditsky(SF) , 0-1
Overall match score: San Francisco Mechanics - Seattle Sluggers , 3-1
Eastern Division Standings:
1) Queens (5.5/7)
2-3) Carolina, New Jersey (4.5/7)
4) Boston (3/7)
5-6) Philadelphia, New York (2/7)
7) Baltimore (1.5/7)
Western Division Standings:
1) San Francisco (5.5/7)
2) Dallas (4.5/7)
3-4) Miami, Chicago (4/7)
5) Seattle (3.5/7)
6) Arizona (2.5/7)
7) Tennessee (2/7)
For more information on the US Chess League you can visit the official website at www.uschessleague.com
