Random Thoughts

So I looked at Bioniclime's simulations, and wow, STL and NJ have 0% of making it to the post-season. Shucks.

But then, I looked at Seattle's chances of making the post-season, and then I didn't really feel so good.

0.339%. Uh-mazing. Which means it would be hilariously funny if we did end up making the post-season. Like, what would Seattle do. Hm. Sweep STL. Sweep the Vibe. And then knock currently #4 Dallas out of the post-season. Hm. What if Dallas goes 0-4 against SF Mechanics and Miami Sharks. Oh, that would put Seattle into the post-season.

I like where this is going. We just need to sweep STL and the Vibe.

1. GM Hikaru Nakamura - FM Cozianu

HAHHAHAHAHAHAHAA. Oh shnaps. what the ****. $#!@. Actually, not all hope is lost. Apparently, Hikaru is performing like a 2163. Heck. What the crap is that? Even lil' big gun Roland Feng has a higher performance rating than that. Oh, and as a matter of fact, now that I think about it, a kid who JUST graduated from elementary school has a higher performance rating. AND, he's from Seattle!

Holy cow. I just glanced at Roland's performance rating. It's 2326. That's actually pretty good. Shnaps. Future star material right there.

Haha. But this is only Nakamura's second game of the season. As if he's been saving 'it' for Seattle. haha, maybe not...though I'm interested in knowing why he hasn't played any more games.

As for the rest of the boards, I guess the popular opinion would be that SEA loses on board 2 and wins 3+4. But if we just get a draw on either 1+2, we got the match.

And then there was that time when Seattle still made the playoffs with a 4.5-5.5 record. Maybe the chips will fall our way again. Who knows. It's called Luck.

Some more Random Thoughts

So now that I'm blogging during a not-as-fantastic season for Seattle...

I guess I've got to admit, it's not as fun blogging when not everybody's winning all the time. Actually, it sure shucks as hell when a score like 0.5-3.5 appears more than once in the season. Cuz a score like that means that nobody won a game. Nobody. Like, what are the odds of that. Oh wait, with Seattle, that's 25%. Shucks.

It gets hard, cuz then, it's like, crap, what are you supposed to talk about.

Another thing hard about blogging for Seattle, especially when you're 969 miles away, is that it's really hard to know what's going on in the team atmosphere. It's hard to write in a mood that resonates with everybody else's natural frequency. Cuz you just don't know.

The unsaid screaming emotions emanating from body language and facial expressions aren't there. A blog post isn't the same when you don't know that Akobian's head was throbbing with seizurous activity when he was crushing Friedel, even though that detail may not ultimately pop up in the post. These little things--they matter.

I guess the problem with long-distance is that everything sensed but not said just isn't there anymore, so really, you're only looking at a chess screen, a blue-highlighted digital clock, and just plain old text. Said another way, you're only looking at a one-dimensional integer array of shifting ARGB values. Can't get very far with just text.

But add the smile, the friendly voices, and perhaps a bit of funky body odor, and it's something different. Perhaps even magical.

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lololol ok time to exit sappy-writing-mode.

I know I haven't been posting as much as I would like, and part of that has been that college is actually really tough. Way more work than I expected. And though I might not have realized it at the time, I guess the inability to generate content based on what I knew what people were feeling was part of the difficulty. But I also want to make it clear that I certainly haven't stopped blogging because there weren't prizes. It's actually probably a really good thing for the USCL that those blog prizes have stopped. Discussion, not competition, please.

Which reminds me...maybe the USCL should have a discussion board.

(SEA) Roland Feng - Ben (DAL)

OK, this year's season has not been brilliant for the Sluggers, and I guess, neither was this match. But hey, then again, there's this kid who's half my height and is already playing chess at an unusually high level.

I know that there are some small writing errors, but they just highlight the fact that Roland's young and is still a kid, which is, in my opinion, a higher honor than being called an adult. So here're Roland's annotations, presented as is, as the writing of a young gun who's still got a couple good years of chess ahead of him :).

Golub - Sevian

Here are Golub's annotations to a very nice win over Sevian. Check it out!

Annotation: Orlov - Bercys

It has been suggested that I should post some more serious content...so here's an annotation that Orlov sent in about a game which won him second place in the Game of the Week contest!

Here it is: http://seattlesluggers.net/games/orlovbercys.htm

Review of the Seattle Roster

eh, it's been a while since I posted something, so I thought I'd post something that'd keep me entertained.

1. GM Varuzhan Akobian

Fun Fact: His head will throb furiously in concentration if he sees mate in 50

Hmm, part of this is actually true. It's kinda freaky when I saw his head do that, but I guess you just gotta do whatcha gotta do.

2. FM Costin Cozianu

Fun Fact: "What's the first thing that comes to your mind when I say, 'Costin Cozianu'?" "A girl."

HAHHAHAHAHA I love asking my floormates :).

3. IM Georgi Orlov

Fun Fact: "He is a cool cucumber"~Michael Lee

About time the Sluggers got some vegetables on the team.

4. FM Slava Mikhailuk

Fun Fact: He lives a double-life as a vampire

Slava's profile picture still scares the decomposed waste material outta me.

5. FM Marcel Milat

Fun Fact: He owns a private jet, a Jacuzzi, 10 cars comprising of Porsches, Mercedes, as well as other OK collectibles, and a mansion next to Bill Gates.

I like calling him M&M.

6. WGM Katerina Rohonyan

Fun Fact: "The first thing that comes to mind is the Lord of the Rings. You know, like, Rohonyan, sounds like...Rohan, from the Lord of the Rings? Right?"

Um. Yah. Idk. You should ask my roommate why he said that when I asked, "What first comes to your mind when I say, 'Katerina Rohonyan'?"

7. NM Joshua Sinanan

Fun Fact: He used to have hair down all the way to his shoulders

He actually did. It was kinda cool, but then he had to get a haircut :(

8. NM Dereque Kelley

Fun Fact: he plays better with one minute than with 90 minutes.

I remember getting roasted given 1 minute to 5 minute time odds. Maybe Kelley should be given just 5 minutes in every match he's going to play in.

9. NM David Golub

Fun Fact: when he checks your king, he will yell "LLAMA!"

And this, my friends, is why we need to get Skype in on these matches. So that we can yell LLAMAAAAA.

10. Roland Feng

Fun Fact: this kid is in fifth or sixth grade, but he looks like he's 6 years old

I'm short, but this kid is half my height. Which kinda makes me wanna punch him. But it's ok. Great to see you on the team Roland!

Preview of the 9/12 match: Sluggers vs. Sharks

After upsetting the Arizona Scorpions, the Seattle Sluggers are looking to win another match this week. Let's take a look at the Sluggers/Sharks matchup.

1. Cozianu (SEA) - Roman

Cozianu outrates Roman by roughly 200 points and furthermore, I am liking Roman's 2200 performance rating. Adding on to that, Cozianu loves the white pieces. Though I'm not going to predict an outright win for Cozianu, I'm liking Cozianu's chances on this board.

2. Rodriguez - Mikhailuk (SEA)

Both have been on All-Star teams but last season both have had relatively lackluster seasons. I don't think Rodriguez is going to keep his 2000 performance rating from last year, so the match up will be closer than one might think. Evenly matched, this board is a toss-up.

3. Rohonyan (SEA) - Hernandez

Hernandez is as yet untested under USCL team conditions and time controls. However, I don't think he'd be on the Miami Sharks for no reason. Having no knowledge of Hernandez's history and since the ratings look evenly matched, I'll just call this board a toss-up.

Oh and by the way, in his profile picture Hernandez kinda looks stoned, though I'm sure he's just being very very serious.

4. Alvarez - Kelley (SEA)

Both players have one game on their record, and thus their performance ratings are both sub-1900 (lol). But obviously, both players are obviously stronger players than simply 1900s.

Kelley had a tough first week, but I think he'll bounce back this week. And sorry to be bagging so much on profile pictures, but right now I'm kinda laughing a little because Alvarez looks like he's sleeping. Pleasant dreams, my friend.

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Be sure to watch the match today on ICC! Later,

Alex Guo

Potentially free cookies, kids

Wednesday Night, 8/31

by Michael Lee and Alex Guo

Board 1: GM Varuzhan Akobian (Seattle) vs. GM Dmitry Gurevich

Board 1 features GM Varuzhan Akobian against GM Dmitry Gurevich. Gurevich held down board 1 for Chicago last year, playing a full 10 games. However, Akobian is dangerous, especially with the white pieces. Both players are fresh off the recent 1st Metropolitan International in L.A., so should be in good form. This looks to be a game to watch.

Board 2: IM Florin Felecan vs. FM Costin Cozianu (Seattle)

Wow, I like the alliteration on these names here. I wonder whether the team managers planned it that way. Felecan rhymes with Pelican which almost sounds kinda scary while Cozianu brings me warm feelings of coziness. Additionally, I kinda like Cozianu's profile picture better than Felecan's. It's like comparing a fierce competitor with ... with someone who almost looks dazed that his picture is being taken. Aside from that, they're both strong players. Felecan is a strong tactical player while Cozianu is solid. Should be an interesting matchup.

Board 3: NM Dereque Kelley (Seattle) vs. IM Angelo Young

Kelley's got gutsss to go up against Young. Young's got a pretty dang good track record, but I wouldn't count Kelley out here. Kelley's got some pretty nice victories in his last few tournaments. And Kelley's actually smiling in his profile picture while Angelo Young's standing next to...idk, some random move center. What is up with that. You should switch profile picture.

Board 4: NM Eric Rosen vs. NM David Golub (Seattle)

On Board 4, we have two rising juniors Eric Rosen and David Golub facing off. Both have improved greatly over the last few years, Golub recently breaking National Master and Rosen almost gaining an IM norm in his last few tournaments. Interestingly enough, this will be the 3rd Seattle Board 4 player Rosen has faced with White in the last 3 years.

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Hm, and the twitter account SeattleSluggers will be tweeting during the match. Go follow us!