3-1! (In more ways than one!)

Eddie has already mentioned a lot about the games (more than what I could input). But it was fun to stop by and watch the games. I'd only been there for the opening week heartbreaking loss to Boston, but it was evident that outside of the Boston match, Seattle hadn't really been tested. Eddie was telling me about being there for this match, and being the next real test for the Sluggers, I obliged.

Upon reaching the center a little into the match, my general (and I do mean general) thoughts were the following:


1) Wow. Serper's game has simplified REAL quickly.
2) Orlov's game seems standard and he looks to be holding his own.
3) Readey's game is a bit of a mess. He's got the pawn but almost crammed in there like a sardine,
4) Josh position looks good. I can't place my finger on it, but it seems like Naroditsky isn't able to generate any kind of momentum.

After a bit of looking at the boards, Eddie and I talk about other things for a bit. The next time we look at the position, the most notable thing was that on Orlov's game, he was ahead 58-1 on time and pretty much had Pruess. While it was a little amusing that after the comment was made that Pruess doesn't really resign and 30 seconds later he did, finding out that he had returned from the hospital recently I hope all is well with Pruess.

Back in another room analysis turned to Serper's and Readey's game. Serper played his game well and we could see the ending on the horizon. Meanwhile, we were shocked to see Readey give back his hard fought pawn and after seeing his break on e4, we still weren't sure he was getting enough counterplay. Regardless, things were looking good after Serper concluded his game and Josh (whose game we really didn't analyze at all) we suddenly found was up the exchange and winning his game.

With the victory already in hand, the question was whether or not we could achieve the sweep. But we realized the counterplay he received wasn't enough to gain an advantage. And after Bxf5, the game was pretty much over. While we could see drawing variations for him, it was Donaldson's suggestion right afterwards of 20. Nxa4 that might have been the best play.

So a 3-1 victory gives us a 3-1 record going into next week's match against Carolina. Certainly Carolina's record is well earned given it's early schedule. But we'll see if we can extend ourselves to a 4-1 next week.