tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89852043941809490602024-03-04T20:22:13.237-08:00Seattle SluggersSeattle SluggersEddie Changhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584393261976136162noreply@blogger.comBlogger117125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-39344139771336384992016-12-19T01:09:00.003-08:002016-12-19T01:22:31.101-08:00Meet the 2017 Seattle Sluggers<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2LRde7ezNFKW_E4sbqgvV8IjOtzX8AZWH_B6RiwVC8cQznb9ce2Sygd_nzrDTLSYk4AZ9-WJiRaUf0C60TdlJmtfjWMPoTak6JeHzRVuYc83cHQezJOC8-2C4yx2fNCJin7jb_dogm35U/s1600/Sargissian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2LRde7ezNFKW_E4sbqgvV8IjOtzX8AZWH_B6RiwVC8cQznb9ce2Sygd_nzrDTLSYk4AZ9-WJiRaUf0C60TdlJmtfjWMPoTak6JeHzRVuYc83cHQezJOC8-2C4yx2fNCJin7jb_dogm35U/s400/Sargissian.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<b>GM Gabriel Sargissian 2667</b></h2>
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<b>GM Tigran Petrosian 2592</b></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_tCkogA5AfOOV1jR1S33Kw4z8JRg5wCT_JT97XR-XhgbxVOeOK14QDQPbVuF1z0EyZ8yWTMPv4pjTUuvDrCNbbhmbFNSqzMzTSmnOi6FMV1PBeF8CovgBTXqgdygcwCMcmIn819kFz-M/s1600/Marg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="385" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh_tCkogA5AfOOV1jR1S33Kw4z8JRg5wCT_JT97XR-XhgbxVOeOK14QDQPbVuF1z0EyZ8yWTMPv4pjTUuvDrCNbbhmbFNSqzMzTSmnOi6FMV1PBeF8CovgBTXqgdygcwCMcmIn819kFz-M/s400/Marg.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<b>GM Giorgi Margvelashvili 2530</b></h2>
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<b>GM Victor Mikhalevski 2508</b></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqEnN8Ydx6tTm_cCJ-AOMORPaY64L5_x26TtLw3EfvbVo6QqXW0dw8_KeltUCEYhgBW0nkAL3phFTIGtwMXs24j0p7aP9w_-WacwFC_hPoBLuRCo_gtx5BTWr3BWaeijpdAYEreh5d2inC/s1600/Orlov.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqEnN8Ydx6tTm_cCJ-AOMORPaY64L5_x26TtLw3EfvbVo6QqXW0dw8_KeltUCEYhgBW0nkAL3phFTIGtwMXs24j0p7aP9w_-WacwFC_hPoBLuRCo_gtx5BTWr3BWaeijpdAYEreh5d2inC/s400/Orlov.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<b>IM Georgi Orlov 2475</b></h2>
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<b>FM Roland Feng 2340</b></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoMITA6NYIql7k10sa4awKjSKwH3v-Y58f0HiV8Uq_q8MjJ7ZJ1DxyXJ3F5UIOzFWDUJinpDNJjwwcfEGBJGgDa7elEcgiz-2BiKxTU9Xhn5hvZLvcD7cqkfaYn0d56z_LHUYJsxDFhwn9/s1600/Tiglon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoMITA6NYIql7k10sa4awKjSKwH3v-Y58f0HiV8Uq_q8MjJ7ZJ1DxyXJ3F5UIOzFWDUJinpDNJjwwcfEGBJGgDa7elEcgiz-2BiKxTU9Xhn5hvZLvcD7cqkfaYn0d56z_LHUYJsxDFhwn9/s400/Tiglon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h2>
<b>FM Bryce Tiglon 2313</b></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZ9N3m4D6XyPGf09KHP8Dj-0hF0s_SIDnFEBKhdGKBYfkLYushCXhf9QEPETEcwZdIO1tAaXMzhtSZz7_hvoHH4qxANDNAwXI3KlkcoPdf70mZJI74B4M58oMXNsagvPKZ3pcy62LTTDO/s1600/Haining.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMZ9N3m4D6XyPGf09KHP8Dj-0hF0s_SIDnFEBKhdGKBYfkLYushCXhf9QEPETEcwZdIO1tAaXMzhtSZz7_hvoHH4qxANDNAwXI3KlkcoPdf70mZJI74B4M58oMXNsagvPKZ3pcy62LTTDO/s400/Haining.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h2>
<b>NM Kyle Haining 2216</b></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTS-L9uO7K7t39ckCKATq-0nHRF4fPF7N9V6hBwe_TT2DuQztlR-MccbVsQC-9xaxZEt5K__Oi-zxESDCk35rNWHFZTpBw2U1FwLxiOOkv6eN6HCPW_EEHJjgfAA-t5krfM4MRJOQ5yc7h/s1600/Ferguson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTS-L9uO7K7t39ckCKATq-0nHRF4fPF7N9V6hBwe_TT2DuQztlR-MccbVsQC-9xaxZEt5K__Oi-zxESDCk35rNWHFZTpBw2U1FwLxiOOkv6eN6HCPW_EEHJjgfAA-t5krfM4MRJOQ5yc7h/s400/Ferguson.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h2>
<b>NM Bob Ferguson 2232</b></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRaIgfAyQgNPIwvzAtkeWd3JJi3kejw02tWkwF0AJ2LL3J8sg9wtU0a9KHanFf1_OvrwVgElUB4x5frLJ2JL3HuT-WvyQH7_CCVr4yXBJc3xKgt2dekHIpz-g2kzAhcMC8DL5b8UR4Wez-/s1600/Daniel+He.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRaIgfAyQgNPIwvzAtkeWd3JJi3kejw02tWkwF0AJ2LL3J8sg9wtU0a9KHanFf1_OvrwVgElUB4x5frLJ2JL3HuT-WvyQH7_CCVr4yXBJc3xKgt2dekHIpz-g2kzAhcMC8DL5b8UR4Wez-/s400/Daniel+He.jpg" width="250" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h2>
<b>NM Daniel He 2208</b></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOY7xnrYXew5-KL05pn_YgvJCHLQ5VoF7fhiOeaOLyW0rlodvKzvEKVFgYLL_PfmQUe38MMQYElBSJDhao2M1vPjXyHipLHf3BPrIRygDmy_GC2MY77hxJLrkR6GyorkaFIpLGe0DB0Mo/s1600/AnthonyHe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbOY7xnrYXew5-KL05pn_YgvJCHLQ5VoF7fhiOeaOLyW0rlodvKzvEKVFgYLL_PfmQUe38MMQYElBSJDhao2M1vPjXyHipLHf3BPrIRygDmy_GC2MY77hxJLrkR6GyorkaFIpLGe0DB0Mo/s400/AnthonyHe.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<b>NM Anthony He 2140</b></h2>
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Josh Sinananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06996832686935819946noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-16519379118195985852012-11-28T21:33:00.001-08:002012-11-28T21:33:34.821-08:00Midnight Rider“I’ll do it!”
Truly the decision was not momentous, but also not easy. My word has to be worth something. Still, times that your team makes an initial appearance in the finals are extremely sporadic. Usually, only once per team does that happen. So, it is now or never. Please dear readers forgive me for my transgression. <br>
As I spied the scores my mind went blank. Not that blankness that writers use in literature to suggest a loss of moral compass, nor that painful blankness that comes when you can’t remember your ATM pin. Not hardly. This was the blankness of easy acceptance that something so totally improbable had happened. Yup, seeing the score of Seattle’s victory over Arizona seemed to defy the past and at the same time define that matters had worked themselves out. I was not able to watch the Arizona match, a night time job can do that to you, so I didn’t find the excitement of going to the final that should naturally accompany this result. Yet, it is because they are in the final that I am once again in your company. <br> <br>
I want to say that the “easy acceptance” part of that was the result of the previous weeks match with Dallas. I feel compelled to start out by saying that I don’t understand why this match didn’t get more recognition. To start with, Dallas is a star studed (pardon the pun) lineup with plenty of history. Remember though, part of that history was a tied match in the wildcard round of the Sluggers first season of 2006 that sent the Sluggers to the conference finals. You may remember that the match was at 2-1 for Dallas when Seattle’s Slava Mikhailuk was able to create a path to victory which tied the match. Dallas won the USCL the 2 seasons following that, so maybe this preempted a three peat? Anyway, events in the 2012 match could only be matched by a batch of Hollywood script writers, that is if they had the propensity to see the beauty and greatness of team chess. Seattle’s star first board had fallen dramatically and cast immediate doubt on the Slugger’s chances. This was certainly not a new scenario for Slugger’s fans to witness. This was offset by a fourth board effort from the Slugger’s Lessler which would even the match. Matters would be decided in the middle. There was a sort of weird relationship between the games. As Orlov slowly found a bit to play with on second board, Sinanan was sliding into passivity on third board. With draw odds it looked as if Dallas had matters well in hand with advantage on third board. Seemingly Dallas went into a holding pattern to see if events on second board could be swung around. I have no clue what was going on in the Dallas player’s heads… winning on third board was enough to advance. Yet, events on second board did seem to evolve towards Dallas and at the same time the third board flipped almost completely. Now, with Seattle having a winning position on third board we all considered how to get a positive result on second. Literally, the result of either game and consequently the match changed with every move. On second board the Holt went into “last ditch” mode and fell into a lost position. As if the fog totally was gone Josh drew on third board and Seattle had pulled one out. These kinds of things are produced in major sports and offer a glimpse of how exciting team chess can be. I do not know how all of this excitement was able to escape more attention, but it did. Note to Eddie and Dean Wormer: find some more excitement in this thing. <br> <br>
So, to the final. My initial feeling is that these teams are very similar. Neither rely on under rated kids or college students. Traditionally both rely on grit over flash. In the current season though, Philadelphia has defined themselves as a power team that looks to roll over opponents. Seattle surprised by making the playoffs in what looked to be a heavily stacked western division. We have in the final what could be the start of a dynasty in Philadelphia and a “Rocky” like underdog in the Sluggers. Yeah, I wanted to get that one in to annoy our Philly friends! Each of the 4 matchups presents a unique perspective on team chess. Here’s what I see. <br> <br><br>
First board will be a matchup of superstars. Both are around the 2700 mark and have plenty on their resumes to talk about. Neither of them is an easy out and will come well prepared. Such is the world of professional chess. I guess giving White an advantage is about as good a marker as any, but I doubt it is enough to expect either to win. <br> <br>
Fourth board is the “classic” in the group. Philadelphia has IM Richard Costigan, one of the few in the league who can remember first hand the “Telephone League”. Seattle brings Roland Feng who was still in knee pants when the USCL started. This is one of those “fast or slow” things. The longer the game goes, the more likely it is for Costigan to have an advantage. What we always have to think about is how much of a surprise will the kid be for the IM? <br> <br>
Each team finds its “non-star” star player on third board. I don’t know much of anything about Dov Gormon, but he seems to have pulled plenty of weight for the Inventors this season. Josh Sinanan has done more than what could be expected of him this season and did so last season as well. I think that this could be decided stylistically. With Black Josh is going to play pretty solidly, well he plays solidly with any color, and will have to be careful not to go too passive. My intuition is that Gorman has an advantage here, but Sinanan has been beating the odds all season. <br> <br>
Second board might be the most interesting. At first glance it appears critical for Phily as NM Miller has a lower rating than IM Orlov as well as much less experience. The thing is that Miller has been holding draws with Black against higher rated opponents this season. His solid play has been a real bonus for the Inventors and could be a key to the final. This will be very interesting, to me at least, because Orlov is well trained and extremely crafty. It is very possible that he will arrive with something unexpected in his pocket and will get a small opening advantage with a large time and psychological advantage. Both sides fans will be well advised to use this game as an initial barometer for what result might be at hand. <br> <br>
Ok, lets just suppose that everybody plays way beyond what we expect and all 4 games end in draws, what to expect then? All them boys on the East Coast think they are really great blitz players and some of them are right. What they might not expect is that we have chess clocks up here in the northwest and we have been practicing. My suspicion is that if it comes to that Seattle has a tiny edge. Not anything against you boys on the other coast, its just that these kinds of things tend to work out for the underdog. At least I hope so. <br> <br>
That’s it for me. The next time you see me will be… don’t know. After this the Sluggers won't have any "firsts" to look forward to, so my motiviation is gone. Oh well. <br> <br>
Good Luck to all the players and lets hope for a fun match. Out
HA81http://www.blogger.com/profile/07089044510752646732noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-44299269408226445552012-11-23T08:48:00.004-08:002012-11-23T08:58:35.967-08:00Sluggers advance to Championship!<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: white;">The Sluggers have advanced to the Championship match after
clinching an important victory the Arizona Scorpions! As with so many other
matches this season the result was anything but clear for the whole duration of
the match. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: white;">On board one, the Sluggers unleashed GM Varuzhan Akobian(2697)
on IM Mackenzie Molner (2511). GM Akobian’s 4.Bg5 reply to the Grunfeld and IM Molner’s
replies quickly gave the game an improvisational tone. At move 12 White
appeared to have the initiative as Black’s king had been forced to move to f8
in awkward fashion and the c4- and c5- pawns gave a loose impression. But as
play continued it became clear that White’s own army was not sufficiently
coordinated to exploit these factors.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: white;">Play continued in an unfavorable direction for the GM Akobian
when IM Molner struck with 17…Nb6 18.Qb3 c4! Forcing White to continue 19.Bxb6
(19.Bxc4? Nxc4 20.Qxc4 Ba6 -/+) 19…axb6 20.Bxc4 when after 20…Bd7! Black had
acquired the bishop pair tremendous pressure on the weakened queenside pawns at
the cost of a pawn. Yielding him more than enough compensation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: white;">Around this moment, the situation on board one was not favoring
the Slugger’s and it appeared that Black could be holding the initiative. But
the Sluggers were to receive excellent news as NM Josh Sinanan (2263) had just
won yet another game this season on board three where he was paired significantly
up against IM Shahin Mohandesi (2399). In this game, Josh succeeded at
building a substantial advantage on the clock and acquired a somewhat easier to play
position in the middlegame thanks to his queenside pawn majority. After a maneuvering phase, no side had succeeded at gaining anything
substantial but a couple of errant King move’s by Black (25…Ke8?!, 26…Kd8?)
gave White the time he needed to reposition successfully and advance the queenside
pawns. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: white;">An important improvement would have been 26…Nc3! Forcing White
to react to the threat to the b-pawn with 27.b6 (27.Na3? Nxe2+ 28.Kg2 Nc3 =+) 27…axb6
with the idea of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>28.Qxb6 Qb5 = or 28.Qa8
Qa7! 29.Qc6 Qd7 30.Qxb6 Qb5 … here too however, White could have gained an
advantage after 28.axb6! Nxe2+ 29.Kf1 Nc3 30.Qa8 Qd8 31.Qb7 += Instead, Black
blundered with 26…Kd8 overlooking a strong reply by White. Josh correctly
played 27.b6! axb6 28.Qa8! when Black clearly had to concede material. Soon
after, Black resigned. A marvelous upset!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Calibri;">On board two, IM Georgi Orlov’s (2523) game seemed
predictably headed towards a draw as IM Levon Altounian (2493), handling the
White pieces, had not managed to create anything serious with the c3-Sicilian. Early
on, IM Orlov improvised with 9…Nb6!? After a long think, IM Altounian replied
10.Bd3?!(perhaps 10.Bb3 +=) allowing Black to play enterprisingly with 10…Nb4! harassing
the bishop and eventually capturing it. Though White tried hard to encircle around
the e6-pawn, his own d4-pawn was far too weak. Finally, several moves later,
Black crashed through on d4 only long enough for White to simultaneously crash
through on e6 keeping the material balance, and further reducing material. Soon
a draw was agreed and the Sluggers were ahead 1.5-0.5. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Calibri;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: white;">A win on either board
one (GM Akobian – IM Molner) or board four would secure the match as would
draws on both boards. But by now, GM Akobian’s position had further deteriorated.
After 30…f4! by IM Molner, Black was dangerously close to cashing in on his
opportunity to play …Bf5 and roll the b-pawn forward winning material. Attempts
to capture the pawn on b3, such as 31.Rxb3, were doomed to failure. Example:
31.Rxb3 Rxb3 32.Bxb3 Ra1 + 33.Kg2 Qe7! -+ (with the idea of 34…Qe1). However,
with the clocks dwindling down and Akobian having a small but significant clock
advantage (7 minutes to 2) it was still possible to cross one’s fingers and
hope for the best while on board four, events were also unfolding in an
unexpected manner.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: white;">On board four the young Peter Lessler (2177) was valiantly holding
on with the Black pieces against Arizona’s NM Dipro Chakraborty (2306). Right
away, Peter was able to deploy his pieces sensibly in the face of a King’s
Indian Attack setup. But with White slowly creeping up the kingside and Black
facing the usual issues of how to achieve an active plan, it seemed that Peter
was in real danger of being eventually outclassed. Throughout a protracted
maneuvering face, the game at times seemed to favor White (NM Chakraborty) and other times appeared to be balanced. Despite sorties such as 22.Nf6!? and a spirited effort on White’s
part, Peter always seemed to be holding on just enough to begin generating
queenside play and not suffer any real damage to his position. After an important knight exchange and the move 27…Rb2! it was clear Peter
was standing up to the master after all and any result still seemed possible. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: white;">Nevertheless, the situation still looked quite dangerous for the Sluggers -
hoping for two draws or a victory on some board still seemed like a miracle.
On board one, it still seemed that if GM Akobian would somehow avoid losing material
his winning chances may not be significant. But then, a reversal of fortune
took place! After GM Akobian’s 33.Rc6, IM Molner, who had less than two minutes on
the clock, played 33…Qe7? Overlooking that after 34.Qxf4 b2? (as played in the game)
White simply had 35.Qxb8! capturing the rook for free! All of this occurred in
the game. Amazingly, Akobian was now up a full rook and wasted no time
whatsoever in giving back some of the material in order to acquire an easily
won position. Instead Black was very close to winning the game with 33…Qb4 intending …b2,
when White cannot complicate the game for long. IM Molner’s mistake was no doubt prompted partially by GM Akobian’s tenacity and the pressure of the unusual opening and match circumstances. The complicated position had
paid off and suddenly the Sluggers had qualified for the Championship!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: white;">And what of board 4? Did Peter Lessler pull it off? After a
missed win by White at 54.Qf4? (54.Bxg6! fxg6 55.Qxg6+ Kh8 56.Qf7! +-) Peter’s
infiltration broke through and within a short handful of moves Black was up a
pawn (after 58…Nxc4) with a winning position. Peter had nearly finished off his
game in victory when he made an important mistake 76…Nxa5? Grabbing a second
pawn, but giving White enough time to organize a defense with 77.Ba4! Instead
Black could have won with 76…Nd4+ 77.Kd1 Kb7! White cannot play 78.Bxf7 due to 78…Nf5,
with the idea of 79…Ne3+ (and there is no Ba4) He is therefore helpless to find
a useful move. The game could continue 78.Ba4 Ka6 79.Be8 kxa5 80.Bd7 Nf5 and
there is no Ba4. Instead after 76…Nxa5? 77.Ba4! Black lost his two pawn
advantage. Still the game should have been easily drawn but a last-minute
oversight by Peter (83…Ke7? Instead of 83…Nxg5 =) gave White an opportunity to transpose
to a winning king and pawn ending. As soon as the point was revealed (87.Kh5!
gaining opposition), sadly Peter’s magnificent efforts were revealed to be not enough
and he had to resign.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Sluggers’ play, as a whole, left a strong impression during
this match. All boards refused to be budged. Helped by a bit of good luck, the players
pounced on opportunities and never gave Arizona an opportunity to think they
had it in the bag. This continuous pressure, no doubt, contributed very nicely
to the Slugger’s victory. Congratulations Sluggers and good luck in the Finals!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span>Dereque Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05080527753821618873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-76262780001149731562012-11-08T20:21:00.001-08:002012-11-08T20:21:33.888-08:00Sluggers Lose Round 10 Match
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: white;">Monday night’s match ended in defeat for the Sluggers: 2.5 –
1.5. Despite a substantial deficit in ELO Average (almost 80 points) the
Sluggers appeared to be teetering close to a drawn or even won match at various
points during the match.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: white;">The most important game of the match turned out to be on
board two where the Slugger’s FM Marcel Milat had White against IM Keaton
Kiewra. Marcel was able to establish quite a nice position in the King’s Indian
using the older <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>continuation of 10.g3 in
the Bayonet Attack. This choice paid off nicely since by move 15 (15.Bxe4!)
White already had the initiative and a pleasant light-squared bind. For a long
time, Marcel possessed the bishop pair and a potentially devastating dominance
on the light-squares while IM Kiewra appeared to only be looking for some
counterplay. But with very resourceful and accurate play (27….Rxb7! 28.Qxb7
e4!) the game once again looked very unclear and dangerous for both sides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The players continued to trade accurate moves
back and forth (29.Rg3!, 30…Be5!) when finally Marcel made a decisive misstep
in the form of 33.Kh3 whereupon 33…e3! Was lights out as would have been 33…Rf5!.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: white;">Instead, had Marcel played 33.Kh1!, analysis shows that it
is Black who must play accurately to compensate for his material deficit. Note
that the bishop on e5 can not capture on g3 because of Qg7 mate. The move 33…e3
could, in this case, be dealt with effectively via 34.Rg2 Qf3 35.Qc6 as 34…Qf3
is not check. Instead Black would carefully need to play 33…Qb2! Followed by 34.Rd1
Bxg3 35.hxg3 Rf2 36.Qg7+ Qxg7 37.hxg7+ Kxg7 with an equalized ending. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: white;">With this slight misstep, a game which appeared to even
having winning chances for the Sluggers ended in defeat and the remaining
boards were under pressure to produce a +1 result in order to tie the match, or
+2 result (of 3 games) to win the match. But this did not seem like too
terribly unlikely. On board one, IM Slava Mikhailuk was defending the Black side
of a dangerous looking attack on his kingside arising from the Sicilian. IM
Zhanibek Amanov wielded the White pieces and was proceeding down the board, but
Slava was remaining alert and gradually finding decent activity for his pieces.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: white;">After some back-and-forth mistakes (18…Bb7? Was mistaken and
should have been met with 19.Qf2! rather than 19.Rf2? for example) Black had
just about equalized when he made a critical oversight and played 26…Bxg7?
27.Rxf7 Qe2? Aiming to tie the queen down to e3 so she could not capture on g6.
But Amanov quickly revealed a combination which Slava had overlooked: 28.Rxg7+!
Kxg7 29.Qe5+ Kg8 30.Bd4 and the mate threats on g7 and h8 were far too much to
cope with. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, Slava could have
played 26…Bd6! Whereupon 27.Qh3 (or 27.Qh4) can be met with 27…f5! amazingly
solving Black’s defensive problems. Thus here too, equality was close at hand
just before a tactical mistake spelled defeat for the Sluggers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: white;">This game wrapped up not too long after Marcel’s and thus
the Sluggers had scored 0/2 where 1/2 or even 1.5/2 had moments ago seemed
feasible. But the Sluggers were not to be counted out! NM Josh Sinanan played
quite smoothly and cashed in on a couple of inaccuracies (20…c5? in particular)
by FM Eugene Yanayt to gain a healthy extra pawn with big winning chances. Still
after some back and forth inaccuracies for both sides, FM Yanayt missed an
opportunity to nearly equalize the ending with 35…Nh5+ when the check buys just
enough tiem to coordinate the Black forces and avoid conceding any extra
material. Instead after 35…Nf5 36.Rd7 White was back on a healthy path to
victory and before long had regained his extra pawn, thereby obtaining a pair
of protected passed pawns on the queenside. The game ended in checkmate and the
Sluggers still had a chance to equalize the match.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: white;">It looked like this just might happen as on board three the
Slugger’s FM Curt Collyer had gained an extra pawn against FM Konstantin
Kavutskiy and appeared to have winning chances though it never quite looked
like he would be able to break White’s resistance. Curt Collyer again sprung
his 1…b6 defense and managed to, again, acquire quite a decent position! By
move 15 (15…Nb4) it was already clear that White had not managed to gain much
of anything out of the opening. The long maneuvering struggle which ensued
remained mostly balanced though for a while it appeared that White had modestly
better chances. At one point in the game, both players faltered severely, and
Black should have ended up down a piece. This occurred after 30…Bb3? When White
missed the opportunity to play 31.Qd3! threatening Qb5 and simply planning to
meet 31…Bxa4 with 32.Qc4 b5 33.Qxc6. There is no adequate solution to this move
and Black could have lost the game. Instead, FM Kavutskiy played the more meek
31.Bc2? and Black had attained full equality. A further serious mistake by
Kavutskiy (36.f4?) simply blundered away a pawn and gave Black substantial
winning chances. Tragically, Curt missed his chance when he played the quite
natural recapture 63…Nxb5 instead of cleverly using the king to capture the pawn
with 63…Kb6! 64.Kf2 a3! 65.Nc1 Kxb5 66.Ke3 Kc4 67.Kd2 Nf5 68.Kc2 Nxd4 69.Kb1
Kc3! -+ With the idea of 70.Ka2 Kc2 -+. Instead after 63…Nxb5, the slight loss
of time for the king’s penetration was enough to allow White to hold the draw.
Though he fought to the very last, Curt was unable to finally make anything of
his extra pawn and the game was finally drawn.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="color: white;">A disappointing loss for the Sluggers but as the playoff
seat had already been secured – the Sluggers will play on next week! Best of
luck Sluggers!</span></span></div>
Dereque Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05080527753821618873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-18585718636401439942012-10-06T10:43:00.000-07:002012-10-06T10:43:39.660-07:00Sluggers defeated 1-3
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A tough loss for the Sluggers against St. Louis this week!
Sadly, Seattle never managed to get into a groove and had clearly lost
positions before the 20<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup> move had been reached on both of the
boards where Seattle wielded the Black pieces. The first of these was board
one. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’ve heard it said that the result of board one is disproportionately
a good predictor of the entire result of the match, possibly because of its
effect on team morale. If this is true, then players in St. Louis must have
doubled their resolve when GM Ben Finegold accumulated a nice advantage in the
opening and then profited from an early but quite understandable mistake by FM
Costin Cozianu (16…Ne8?) to immediately gain a winning advantage on the
queenside in the form of an extra pawn which was passed and already threatening
to march down the board. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Instead Black’s best chance may have been able to keep the
balance through grabbing the pawn 16…Qxb4!? While it would seem that White
would be able to gain much from attacking the queen, in fact after 17.Rab1 Qa3!
Black is able to get away with capturing on a2, and aiming to trade heavy
pieces as quickly as possible. The alternative 17.Rcb1 Rac8! Forces 18.Qxc8
Qxb1+ 19.Rxb1 Rxc8 20.Rxb7 and Black can achieve a holding ending after 20…Rc1+
21.Bf1 Bxf3 22.Nxf3 Nb6! With adequate counterplay threatened in the form of …Nc4,
…Ne4, and then a knight coming to d2. But all of these lines look extremely difficult
to see at the board, and it’s understandable that Costin tried to hold the 7<sup><span style="font-size: x-small;">th</span></sup>
rank and harass White’s queen instead beginning with 16…Ne8 – but White was able
to capture two pawns and was able to consolidate one of the extra pawns too
easily. A rapid loss for the team Seattle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">On board three, FM Curt Collyer also suffered very early on
against IM Levan Bregadze. Curt used his system of an early ....b6, provoking
the opponent to take space in the center. White fully ouccpied the center with
e4, d4, and c4 pawns, but with the strong play 7…Bxc3+ 8.bxc3 d6 Curt managed
to keep White’s strategic plus down to its bare minimum. Strangely, White gave
up most of his space advantage when he played 12.dxe6?! which is probably just
an anti-positional mistake. No doubt, White was counting on generating
sufficient active play with his bishop pair but had Curt simply replied 12…fxe6
13.Ng5 (this was the move Curt feared) 13…Qd7 – it’s not too clear what White
will have and left to his own devices Black will play …e5 with a fine position.
Perhaps White would have tried 14.f4 but Black has many ways to hold the
balance. An attractive one is 14…h6 15.Nf3 Rae8, with the intent of playing a
sharp thrust …e5 on the next move.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Instead, Curt, fearing Ng5, played<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>12…f6? Intending to recover the pawn on e6 at
a later time. But White accurately burst through the position before Black had
time to bring about a reasonable turn of events and by move 15 it was clear
that White would be pressing home a winning kingside attack. The game was
abandoned on move 22 when Black had the unhappy choice of surrendering his
queen or being checkmated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">These two early losses could not be fully atoned for on the
boards where Seattle had White. NM Josh Sinanan’s game against Matthew Larson
was well-played by White who coped with a barrage of rapid moves fired off by a
well-prepared opponent. Larson (rated around 1918) fired off the first 22 moves
of the game (!) a full eight moves after Josh appeared to be aware of the “theoretical”
moves. Josh remained calm and found one good move after another until finally
Larson began to slow down around move 23. The fruits of Black’s preparation
were a significant advantage on the clock and an opponent who had already
expended much more nervous energy on the game, but finally the difference in
playing strength made itself known and just four short moves after the storm of
preparation had ended White had already achieved a winning position (27.Rd3 +-).
It also appears that White had a chance to gain a decisive advantage a couple
moves earlier with 25.e5! Qf8 (only move) 26.Bf1! and Black is losing by force -
all variations end in winning attacks or in material losses for Black which
lead straight into easily winnable endgames. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">FM Slava Mikhailuk’s game on board three with White against 19
year-old IM Priyadharshan Kannappan did not go as well. Rating’s wise this was
the closet game of the match with Slava holding slightly fewer ELO points. Here
too, Black appeared to be very well prepared and a striking feature of this
game is how intimidatingly fast IM Kannappan was moving. By the end of the
game, Black’s clock appeared to almost never have been utilized, meaning that
the 30-second increment was enough for Black to make all of his moves. Slava’s
English fell into some troubles, but with accurate play Slava had just about
managed to stabilize the situation. But, uncharacteristically, Slava lashed out
with a risky pawn jump 19.d4? which I believe must have contained a
miscalculating on Slava’s part. If I had to take a guess I would say that after
19…cxd3 20.Bb2 Nec4 21.Bd4 Nd2 (all of which occurred in the game) White may
have believed he had 22.Rfc1+ Kb8 23.Bxd3 but later discovered that Black would
have 23…Nb3 in the final position. Instead 19.Nf3 !?, for example, would have
been enough for White to eventually exchange pieces and complete his
development (Ra2-c2, Bb2). Ultimately 19.d4? ended up being a mistake so grave
that it cost Slava an exchange. Slava fought hard to salvage the position but a
lost exchange was just too much. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The match ended 1-3 for the Sluggers. A tough match indeed!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Dereque Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05080527753821618873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-44258296075479601342012-09-13T09:32:00.000-07:002012-09-13T09:40:47.951-07:00Sluggers Defeat New Jersey!<span style="color: #783f04;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">The Sluggers win! This was an exceptionally
close match in which the advantage ebbed and flowed – from looking about equal,
to sharply worse for the Sluggers, to nearly winning for the Sluggers, to
sharply worse for the Sluggers, to suddenly winning and won for the Sluggers.
See for yourself!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">Boards one and two were looking shaky right
from the start. On board one we had FM Costin Cozianu (2508) handling the White
pieces against GM Joel Benjamin (2646). Clearly, a draw here would be an
excellent result but Cozianu’s opening play left something to be desired right
from the get-go. Costin used the Worrall Attack, a setup against the Ruy Lopez
featuring Qe2 and Rd1. Strangely, he then followed up with 11.d3 when the
placement of the rook seemed to call for 11.d4 – but the real enigma is why
both players seemed to feel that 14.Nxe5 led to an acceptable compensation for
Black. When I raised this question (including to Cozianu!) I mostly heard
groans related to the Marshall Gambit – but this is most certainly not a
Marshall Gambit position! <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">There are several factors in White’s favor. He
will not find it necessary to play g2-g3. After the suggested 15…Bd6 (Cozianu)
White can play 16.Qh5! (on 16…g6 17.Qf3!) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– notice that unlike the Marshall Gambit White
has activated his queen very early (whereas in the Marshall White must play
Rxe5 and then Re1 in reply to …Bd6 – he then <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">struggles</i> to include his queen into the affairs on the kingside).
There is no question of Black achieving …Qh4 and this means that White does not
to weaken his king’s front with g2-g3. What’s more in the Marshall Gambit White’s
knight lives in b1 for quite some time, but here it is just a move away from
hoping to e4. All-in-all Black is forced to prove that his piece play can be
turned to account on the kingside and I just don’t see how this is going to
take place. And if you’re still not convinced, just look at the alternatives! …
White instead played 14.d4 after which he was saddled with an isolated pawn and
Black’s space and majority on the queenside was impressive. A pawn in exchange
for some pressure may have been a better compromise for White (and quite
possibly- advantageous for White).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">Fast forward a few moves and Black had achieved
an outstanding position. NM Josh Sinanan, observing the game, immediately recognized 20…Ba3! as a very
strong move which would have exploited the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>unpleasant arrangement of White’s pieces on
the queenside and creating the simple threat of …Bb2, White would have probably
found this position highly unpleasant and needs to find 21.Be4 and hope for the
best. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">Instead 20…Bd6?! was played by GM Benjamin
followed by a spirited attack – from here both players played excellently.
Black built his attack and at the same time set all kinds of dangerous traps
for Cozianu, but Cozianu was able to hold his ground and draw the game. This
was an unexpected delight to all of us who had been following the game (and
rooting for Seattle) since the opening and the strength of the opponent seemed
to indicate that this game was headed toward disaster! Not so!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">Board two was an even more hopeless cause
from the outset but miraculously ended in a draw. FM Slava Mikhailuk (2415) was
paired way up with the Black pieces against GM Boris Gulko (2590). White
coasted straight to an overwhelming advantage somewhere by move 18 or so and was playing his
moves fairly rapidly adding to the fright which we all experienced while
watching the game and which must have ruffled Slava as well. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;"> White went ahead a pawn at move 21 with
21.fxe5 giving him a 3-0 central pawn majority (!!) Black also had weaknesses on
the queenside and a knight out of play. This is the Grunfeld at its worst! By
move 35, White had a full two pawns advantage, every one of the remaining Black
pawns was seriously weakened, and the Black pieces were barely holding onto
their blockade. White also held four minutes on the clock to Black’s two (30
seconds are added every move). <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;">Black faced overwhelming odds but
continued to play the most precise moves which did not immediately lead to
disaster. Everything was in excellent shape for White and it was just about
time for Slava to resign before a very innocent mistake meant that White had to
part with the fruits of <em>all</em> of his efforts. That mistake was the seemingly
inconsequential 43.Rff2 when after 43…Qd3! White suddenly found that he could
not prevent perpetual check no matter how he tried. Had White tried 47.Be5+ Kh6
48.Rxh2+ Kg5 49.Rxh7 Black would draw with 49…Qxe4+ 50.Kg1 Qe1+ … a miracle!!
White was forced to accept a draw and this drastically altered the situation in
the match. Instead, White could have put the game away with 43.Rb8+ Kg7 44.Rfb1
with an overwhelming position. For example 44…Kf6 (trying to prevent e7) meets
45.e7! … 1-0! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A great game by GM Gulko
which was spoiled by very bad luck and a spirited resistance by Slava.
Congratulations Slava!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: white;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">And a good thing that Slava pulled through,
because the situation on boards three and four where we were looking for at
least that one win couldn’t have gotten more disturbing. Board three was a</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">n interesting game full of little Catalan
motifs. White was the Slugger's FM Marcel Milat's game against FM Carsten Hansen. This game was also the closest in terms of ELO points (Marcel having a 59-ELO point advantage). Black always looked close to equality but never managed to dispell the pressure on the queenside pawns. Little by little, Marcel seemed to be guiding the Sluggers to an important victory - a victory which seemed necessary to at least equalize the match given the dire situation on board four. But just as it seemed that Marcell would go a comfortable pawn up and wrap up the effort neatly, Marcel decided to sacrifice a piece! (39.Rh1?). Instead, 39.Nb7 Nxa4 40.Rh1 is very strong. Marcel's piece sacrifice led to three pawns for a piece with still very dangerous pressure on the Black position. The maneuver 41...Nc8! followed by 42...Nd6 would have been enough to careen the game towards a simple draw for Black, but in time pressure we all quite liked Hansen's quick-thinking defense 41...Nxa4!? immediately returning the piece for two pawns and holding a rook ending down a pawn. Very quick thinking! The last touch was 52...f5+! when White had to accept that the two pawns were useless in bringing about victory. Marcel continued to do his very best but luckily it became unimportant for him to win the game because of the dramatic events on board four....</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">The decisive game proved to be board four, where </span>Black (the Slugger's FM Curt Collyer, 2294) magically found himself in a perfect
King’s Indian position after opening the game with … 1…b6! With the colossal
gap in ratings (White was Vince Klemm, 2073) and Black stretching out in the center and on the kingside, this
game had been chalked up by the gang as 0-1 almost as quickly as it had begun.
But things did not at all proceed smoothly, and unable to land a serious strategic blow,
Black found himself being ripped apart by the exact same chronic weaknesses
which tend to characterize the King’s Indian in its saddest moments – and with
nothing serious in the form of a compensating attack. White was just a move or
two away from forcing resignation but instead veered off track at the last
moment giving Black’s pseudo-attack the right to exist. What amazing fortune,
because the unexpected draw on Marcel’s board meant that Collyer’s game held
the entire result of the match. Who could have guessed that he would emerge
from this position unscathed! Congratulations must be paid because
Collyer’s position was by no means easy. Rather than fold or launch a hail-mary,
Collyer was able to get his attack close enough to success to profit from White’s
inaccuracies. Suddenly, Collyer had won the game, and with it the match was
secured in Seattle’s favor. Go Sluggers!!<o:p></o:p></span></span>Dereque Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05080527753821618873noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-32075234448187930642011-10-24T20:44:00.000-07:002011-10-24T20:44:06.277-07:00Random ThoughtsSo I looked at Bioniclime's <a href="http://bioniclime.blogspot.com/2011/10/uscl-season-simulation-2011-end-of-week.html">simulations</a>, and wow, STL and NJ have 0% of making it to the post-season. Shucks.<div><br /></div><div>But then, I looked at Seattle's chances of making the post-season, and then I didn't really feel so good.</div><div><br /></div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>I like where this is going. We just need to sweep STL and the Vibe. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>1. GM Hikaru Nakamura - FM Cozianu</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>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!</div><div><br /></div><div>Holy cow. I just glanced at Roland's performance rating. It's 2326. That's actually pretty good. Shnaps. Future star material right there.</div><div><br /></div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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.</div><div><br /></div><div>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.</div>Kasprosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543375043386491454noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-87144700991656003462011-10-24T20:12:00.001-07:002011-10-26T15:27:04.250-07:00Some more Random Thoughts<div style="text-align: justify;">So now that I'm blogging during a not-as-fantastic season for Seattle...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It gets hard, cuz then, it's like, crap, what are you supposed to talk about.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But add the smile, the friendly voices, and perhaps a bit of funky body odor, and it's something different. Perhaps even magical.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">---------------------</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">lololol ok time to exit sappy-writing-mode. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Which reminds me...maybe the USCL should have a discussion board.</div>Kasprosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543375043386491454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-34638564141043090232011-10-06T00:37:00.000-07:002011-10-06T00:58:07.003-07:00(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. <div><br /></div><div>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 <a href="http://www.seattlesluggers.net/games/rolandben.htm">Roland's annotations</a>, presented as is, as the writing of a young gun who's still got a couple good years of chess ahead of him :).</div>Kasprosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543375043386491454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-26793088411109243652011-10-04T16:10:00.000-07:002011-10-04T16:22:05.081-07:00Golub - SevianHere are Golub's annotations to a very nice win over Sevian. <a href="http://www.seattlesluggers.net/games/golubsevian.htm">Check it out!</a>Kasprosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543375043386491454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-3254501940295725852011-09-24T10:23:00.000-07:002011-09-24T10:50:45.808-07:00Annotation: Orlov - Bercys<div>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 <a href="http://usclnews.blogspot.com/2011/09/week-4-game-of-week.html">second place in the Game of the Week contest</a>!</div><div><br /></div>Here it is: <a href="http://seattlesluggers.net/games/orlovbercys.htm">http://seattlesluggers.net/games/orlovbercys.htm</a>Kasprosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543375043386491454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-61200468192079080872011-09-20T15:29:00.000-07:002011-09-20T15:13:30.527-07:00Review of the Seattle Roster<div><div>eh, it's been a while since I posted something, so I thought I'd post something that'd keep me entertained.</div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>1. GM <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/VaruzhanAkobian.html">Varuzhan Akobian</a></b></div><br /><div><i>Fun Fact: His head will throb furiously in concentration if he sees mate in 50 </i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>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.</div><br /><div><b>2. FM <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/CostinCozianu.html">Costin Cozianu</a></b></div><br /><div><i>Fun Fact: "What's the first thing that comes to your mind when I say, 'Costin Cozianu'?" "A girl."</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>HAHHAHAHAHA I love asking my floormates :).</div><br /><div><b>3. IM <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/GeorgiOrlov.html">Georgi Orlov</a></b></div><br /><div><i>Fun Fact: "He is a cool cucumber"~Michael Lee</i></div><div></div><br /><div>About time the Sluggers got some vegetables on the team.</div><br /><div><b>4. FM <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/SlavaMikhailuk.html">Slava Mikhailuk</a></b></div><br /><div><i>Fun Fact: He lives a double-life as a vampire</i></div><br /><div>Slava's <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/SlavaMikhailuk.html">profile picture</a> still scares the decomposed waste material outta me.</div><br /><div><b>5. FM Marcel Milat</b></div><br /><div><i>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>.</div><br /><div>I like calling him M&M.</div><br /><div><b>6. WGM <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/KaterinaRohonyan.html">Katerina Rohonyan</a></b></div><br /><div><i>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?"</i></div><br /><div>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'?"</div><br /><div><b>7. NM <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/JoshSinanan.html">Joshua Sinanan</a></b></div><br /><div><i>Fun Fact: He used to have hair down all the way to his shoulders</i></div><br /><div>He actually did. It was kinda cool, but then he had to get a haircut :(</div><br /><div><b>8. NM Dereque Kelley</b></div><br /><div><i>Fun Fact: he plays better with one minute than with 90 minutes. </i></div><br /><div>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.</div><br /><div><b>9. NM David Golub</b></div><br /><div><i>Fun Fact: when he checks your king, he will yell "LLAMA!"</i></div><br /><div>And this, my friends, is why we need to get Skype in on these matches. So that we can yell LLAMAAAAA.</div><br /><div><b>10. Roland Feng</b></div><br /><div><i>Fun Fact: this kid is in fifth or sixth grade, but he looks like he's 6 years old</i></div><br /><div>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!</div></div>Kasprosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543375043386491454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-59710844993910381402011-09-12T15:38:00.000-07:002011-09-12T15:53:42.970-07:00Preview of the 9/12 match: Sluggers vs. SharksAfter upsetting the Arizona Scorpions, the Seattle Sluggers are looking to win another match this week. Let's take a look at the <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/CurrentGames.html">Sluggers/Sharks matchup</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/CostinCozianu.html">Cozianu (SEA)</a> - <a href="http://http//www.uschessleague.com/AlejandroMorenoRoman.html">Roman</a></span><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/EricRodriguez.html">Rodriguez</a> - </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.uschessleague.com/SlavaMikhailuk.html">Mikhailuk (SEA)</a><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/KaterinaRohonyan.html">Rohonyan (SEA)</a> - <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/AlbertoHernandez.html">Hernandez</a></span><br /><br />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.<br /><br />Oh and by the way, in his profile picture <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/AlbertoHernandez.html">Hernandez kinda looks stoned</a>, though I'm sure he's just being very very serious.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/ErnestoAlvarez.html">Alvarez</a> - <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/DerequeKelley.html">Kelley (SEA)</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span>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.<br /><br />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 <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/ErnestoAlvarez.html">Alvarez looks like he's sleeping</a>. Pleasant dreams, my friend.<br /><br />------------------------------<br /><br />Be sure to watch the match today on ICC! Later,<br /><br />Alex GuoKasprosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543375043386491454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-53116836585387782012011-08-31T20:13:00.001-07:002011-08-31T20:13:51.215-07:00Potentially free cookies, kids<a href="http://www.twitter.com/SeattleSluggers"><img src="http://twitter-badges.s3.amazonaws.com/follow_me-c.png" alt="Follow SeattleSluggers on Twitter"/></a>Kasprosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543375043386491454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-39013701651414102622011-08-30T14:32:00.000-07:002011-08-30T17:09:57.435-07:00Wednesday Night, 8/31by Michael Lee and Alex Guo<div>
<br /></div><div><b>Board 1: GM Varuzhan Akobian (Seattle) vs. GM Dmitry Gurevich</b></div><div>
<br /></div><div>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.
<br /></div><div>
<br /></div><div><b>Board 2: IM Florin Felecan vs. FM Costin Cozianu (Seattle)</b></div><div><b>
<br /></b></div><div>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 <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/CostinCozianu.html">Cozianu's profile picture</a> better than <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/FlorinFelecan.html">Felecan's</a>. 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.</div><div>
<br /></div><div><b>Board 3: NM Dereque Kelley (Seattle) vs. IM Angelo Young</b></div><div><b>
<br /></b></div><div>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 <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/AngeloYoung.html">Kelley's actually smiling</a> in his profile picture while Angelo Young's standing next to...idk, some <a href="http://www.uschessleague.com/AngeloYoung.html">random move center</a>. What is up with that. You should switch profile picture.</div><div>
<br /></div><div><b>Board 4: NM Eric Rosen vs. NM David Golub (Seattle)</b></div><div><b>
<br /></b></div><div>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.</div><div>
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<br /></div><div>Hm, and the twitter account SeattleSluggers will be tweeting during the match. Go follow us!</div>Kasprosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543375043386491454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-66639587347324231042010-11-07T17:05:00.000-08:002010-11-07T17:23:21.419-08:00The Final Match<div><p>Tough match, tough match.</p><p>There's not much for me to add on to what has already been said. Kostya and the Farmer pretty much said all there is to say. Altounian held on to a tough draw against Akobian (first result). Wang got into a bad position pretty darn early through surprisingly passive play that only got worse as the game continued (second result). The dreaded must-win situation dawned on Cozianu and Slava. Cozianu slugged a tricky win against Rogellio. The only comment I have on that game is that Cozianu probably didn't 'see' the win, but what Cozianu probably did <em>feel</em> that there was a win, but being in a bit of time pressure, could not work out the concrete variations. Once it had come to calculate the variations, though, Cozianu took a couple of minutes and found the win. </p><p>So it was all up to Slava. Kostya and Farmer have already spotted most of the winning possibilities, just check out their annotations for details. Lots of possibilities...so many chances...time trouble...missing the first easy win (Rexd4) probably came as a psychological blow to Slava--I'm guessing he saw it <em>just after</em> he played Rxe5 (probably the worst possible feeling, that you see the win...just after....you play another move)--leading to some more missed opportunities. Oh well...</p><p>I've always thought that these matches and games were as much a matter of luck as they were a matter of skillage. Once again, Arizona has gotten pretty DARN lucky that their mistakes and missed opportunities didn't cost them. just look at that match against St. Louis, and they're darn lucky again in this match. The last thing I've got to say here before I sign out for the season:</p><p></p><blockquote>the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.</blockquote>~Ecclesiasties 9:11<p></p><p>Till next season, I remain</p><p>Alex Guo<br /></p><blockquote><br /></blockquote><p></p> <p></p><br /></div>Kasprosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543375043386491454noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-27972942779149801272010-10-31T18:14:00.001-07:002010-10-31T18:14:41.082-07:00formspring.meAnything related to the Seattle Sluggers or the US Chess League! <a href="http://formspring.me/SeattleSluggers" target="_blank">http://formspring.me/SeattleSluggers</a>Kasprosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543375043386491454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-28045217593794969132010-10-30T19:43:00.000-07:002010-10-31T15:21:33.833-07:00Week 10 Recap against STL<p> </p><p>Before the lineups were posted, we were pretty scared of a Naka/Shulman/double-Finegold lineup, against which we were going to go with Var/Mikhailuk/Lee/Guo anyways. A win could be expected on fourth board, but the other three...? Not too sure. Shulman was probably going to win his game, and whether Var could pull off a win, and whether Lee could hold his own against Finegold, was a little speculative. </p><p>But instead, we had the Shulman/Finegold/Brooks/Finegold lineup, which is substantially weaker. We would expect a win on fourth board; Var's chances of a win on first board greatly increased because Shulman's USCL play so far has not been too stellar. We'd hope for the best on second board, and FM Lee now had good chances for a win on third board (Brooks USCL record has also not been too great)</p><p>Which is what happened. </p><p><strong>Board 4: <u>Spencer</u> Finegold - Guo, 0-1</strong></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODMLoA0Be1_2DfZGx_P6HSJ-1YZ3qjbzVLONdPgspiUoa0ZggIYbBKjaM3iTo2HzKorBEz2lN9lZZ6Wv5pCGEuvPeFSsqu7SdIsF9wID4LYAzc7gmn2Xs86RLWHLzlRAl4i5YUPKcRrk/s1600/GuoFine1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODMLoA0Be1_2DfZGx_P6HSJ-1YZ3qjbzVLONdPgspiUoa0ZggIYbBKjaM3iTo2HzKorBEz2lN9lZZ6Wv5pCGEuvPeFSsqu7SdIsF9wID4LYAzc7gmn2Xs86RLWHLzlRAl4i5YUPKcRrk/s320/GuoFine1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534296823088971986" border="0" /></a><p align="center">(after 42...Qc2)</p><p>Given the firepower of Nakamura and Shulman on the top boards, I wouldn't have been surprised to know that Spencer prepped some crazy line against me, which might actually be credible. So the best thing to do was to play some wacko sideline to steer Spencer into unknown territory (<strong>1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 b6!?</strong>), and ended up getting into a dubious position with the black pieces. Interestingly, the resulting position was rather easy to play and did not present many difficulties for Spencer, and thus he was able to exchange down into the endgame position shown above. </p><p>At this moment, Spencer blundered with <strong>43.Nd7??</strong>. My only guess as to why this happened is simply that the move was played too fast. At this moment, I had around 16 minutes to Spencer's 56 minutes. This was probably 30 seconds...</p><p><strong>Board 2: GM Finegold - FM Slava Mikhailuk, 1-0</strong></p><p>Slava's been playing tough opposition all season, and this match was no exception. Slava got the Black side of a IQP position:</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6Ow_oU1fwV4DmRh0DXdfKfVm-ebMHKZbGaH7qIufzrK1JzI9vcNMNXWZpG_LwQHnYk3F7T4hsxyxmca33WHTCYgdHMuxNMhilMo9RHMwI9IiBq7EsjFIyAI-1O9ASV53NPgB_-XTisw/s1600/MikFine2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6Ow_oU1fwV4DmRh0DXdfKfVm-ebMHKZbGaH7qIufzrK1JzI9vcNMNXWZpG_LwQHnYk3F7T4hsxyxmca33WHTCYgdHMuxNMhilMo9RHMwI9IiBq7EsjFIyAI-1O9ASV53NPgB_-XTisw/s320/MikFine2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534296830035419394" border="0" /></a><p align="center">(after 21.Nc3)</p><p align="left">White is threatening <strong>Nd5</strong>. which will get him out of the unfavorable pawn structure. Black needed to play <strong>21...Nxe3</strong>, giving up the IQP pawn structure but getting the two bishops. After 21...Nxe3, the position is about equal. Black played <strong>21...Qb8</strong>, and after <strong>22.Nxd5</strong>, pressure on the IQP is lessened and a target is borne on d5. White now has the much better position, and White played well to achieve a great position. Even before Black gave the exchange in a bid for counterplay on move 27, White already had a domineering position (my computer gives White a 1.19 edge...). White converted the point convincingly.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmMipEarW0UAm4VuSNB6B5l3GoXkg06AWALDXI26Z1eLwKGHFK-Ma_-HtOIIr1YywDDc8GlFonoe7dUf96sxJsbta8NwDGeOrCEMpTfyNtK816eETjlLIJbuvgEm_LBSytgU1D2c3soI/s1600/MikFine1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidmMipEarW0UAm4VuSNB6B5l3GoXkg06AWALDXI26Z1eLwKGHFK-Ma_-HtOIIr1YywDDc8GlFonoe7dUf96sxJsbta8NwDGeOrCEMpTfyNtK816eETjlLIJbuvgEm_LBSytgU1D2c3soI/s320/MikFine1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534297834763612658" border="0" /></a><p align="center">(after 27.Bb1)</p><p align="left">In the above position, Black is under very strong pressure from White. The knight cannot move because of Bc7, Be8 and Rd8 are stalemated...all of White's pieces are just really active. My computer engine gives White a 1.19 score +/-...it's a pretty tough position and I wouldn't blame Slava for playing <strong>27...Ne7</strong>, which gives up the exchange to <strong>Bc7</strong>. </p><p><strong>Board 3: GM Akobian - GM Shulman</strong></p><p>Varuzhan played a fantastic game against Shulman, almost garnering him GOTW honors! Varuzhan went into a gambit line, and gained tremendous positional pressure,</p><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEB2crVMX_StRY4Os1KBuclJHwiVNbjrpeLlcmR8pl7zcGkT-ges2bzLYkbgWcqUjq9E2Msu9QOc2244fTyjJk61aonSc_kwXOXsFDkMhsyBDJS2czoKhkPtpcfIkIepDzgAL2iyUI6ng/s1600/VarShul1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEB2crVMX_StRY4Os1KBuclJHwiVNbjrpeLlcmR8pl7zcGkT-ges2bzLYkbgWcqUjq9E2Msu9QOc2244fTyjJk61aonSc_kwXOXsFDkMhsyBDJS2czoKhkPtpcfIkIepDzgAL2iyUI6ng/s320/VarShul1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534296833111186098" border="0" /></a>(after 20...Nc7)</div><p align="left">Varuzhan has an ideal position! All of Var's pieces couldn't be better placed. </p><p align="left">Varuzhan let all heck break loose with <strong>21.Nxf6!, Qxf6 22.Bxe5 Qf7 23.Bxc6. </strong>Unsurprisingly, Akobian soon won the exchange, leveling the material balance. Akobian then ran his extra c-pawn down the board to get a winning position</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYio2VSTD2-i2S2ihF2iPhJNn4yjjM55EzoKlLMsypFLw_0UQoKwdIGTF-CnbgjwuRbAzVsffytAWi6k_XAFquaqXC0wer7BYn8z-Nto5AQM8qIogIfgDWKsc2FJNpR_a8DPOwy18ZWI4/s1600/VarShul2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYio2VSTD2-i2S2ihF2iPhJNn4yjjM55EzoKlLMsypFLw_0UQoKwdIGTF-CnbgjwuRbAzVsffytAWi6k_XAFquaqXC0wer7BYn8z-Nto5AQM8qIogIfgDWKsc2FJNpR_a8DPOwy18ZWI4/s320/VarShul2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534296835647676002" border="0" /></a><p align="center">(after 38...Bxb7)</p><p align="left">In the process of running the c-pawn down to the 7th rank, the queens were exchanged, but simply <strong>39.Rxf8 Kxf8 40.Rd8+</strong>. The pawn promotes, and it's all over. Wow.</p><p align="left"><strong>Board 3: FM Lee - IM Brooks, 1-0</strong></p><p align="left">So at this point, Seattle was up 2-1, but we needed more than 2 to get past draw odds. It was on this game that Seattle fans were most scared on. Michael had been gobbling piece....after piece....</p><p align="left">First, Brooks dropped a pawn in the opening on the fifth move (a little rusty, maybe?)...</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnqwtZTeCv7oy9JvMEw4otWfG6BSfKHgkCe88TNEoyvXQ16IIyVTfksnqxLu-nqdv99i1mszNBs8ek9JUvwuk04_RbO-ZTqrE8SC4O4JRya0vC319XSk_k1DxPTRY0dsK91lyuAZZpsD4/s1600/LeeBrooks1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnqwtZTeCv7oy9JvMEw4otWfG6BSfKHgkCe88TNEoyvXQ16IIyVTfksnqxLu-nqdv99i1mszNBs8ek9JUvwuk04_RbO-ZTqrE8SC4O4JRya0vC319XSk_k1DxPTRY0dsK91lyuAZZpsD4/s320/LeeBrooks1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534296826334951250" border="0" /></a><p align="center">(after 15.Rc1)</p><p align="left">Then Brooks gave up a pawn, another pawn, and the exchange! <strong>15...Na5!? 16.Qxc7 Ba6!?</strong> (another pawn? ok!) <strong>17.Bxd6 Rxd6!? </strong>(I think I'll take that too...if you don't mind :D), <strong>18.Qxd6. </strong>At this point, Michael was already up three pawns, so perhaps a little caution is called for, and instead <strong>18.Qxa5?</strong>. Taking the knight instead of the rook eliminates any danger from that piece, but I guess a rook....is a rook. </p><p align="left">At this point, the players in the skittles room knew that Michael Lee had the better position (he's only up...three pawns and an exchange), but that the path to the win would be tricky. Brooks definitely had some counterplay - definitely not enough to win, but certainly not ignorable. The trouble started in the following position:</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhifgDRvlw9m_crKJgWM-q0BMbZttWUzq9d704eoCojnBuswAsmyZJJUn1QMyH_dOYEh5mlQlBvJXA5NIv7HrWClAijsfORy0ZHrXucFpGLF-VSEfCzNcIQo_bAwbDBErZHv_PJFEV7MMM/s1600/LeeBrooks2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhifgDRvlw9m_crKJgWM-q0BMbZttWUzq9d704eoCojnBuswAsmyZJJUn1QMyH_dOYEh5mlQlBvJXA5NIv7HrWClAijsfORy0ZHrXucFpGLF-VSEfCzNcIQo_bAwbDBErZHv_PJFEV7MMM/s320/LeeBrooks2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534297818103681618" border="0" /></a><p align="center">(after 26.Bg2)</p><p align="left">So the files are wide open for attack! All the obstacles that are left on the middle files are now...Michael Lee's pawns (by the way, Michael Lee took <em>yet another</em> pawn on e4). Brooks knocked them out of the way with <strong>26...Nxe3! 27.Qxe3 Re8</strong>, gaining back...<em>some</em> material. Then Michael Lee almost lost his marbles when Brooks had a chance to come back</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX0Y5-hQZdmFHPrA_rE-G4Az6S3joQ54FrqXmkVIM-Pd11i2WWj0ZVMMLtQbYi_0LYo2OeKJzUjlIstuG6UfuFEd2DISK49oJKkt_c8yHUN2C-Br5T4jM1WUJpjxK3xo3LOt8OFGdPTNg/s1600/LeeBrooks3.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX0Y5-hQZdmFHPrA_rE-G4Az6S3joQ54FrqXmkVIM-Pd11i2WWj0ZVMMLtQbYi_0LYo2OeKJzUjlIstuG6UfuFEd2DISK49oJKkt_c8yHUN2C-Br5T4jM1WUJpjxK3xo3LOt8OFGdPTNg/s320/LeeBrooks3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534297831318272594" border="0" /></a><p align="center">(after 30.Rc5)</p><p align="left">Michael Lee had played 30.Rc5, which is dubious, but it's tough to find a consolidating move in this position. Brooks had a chance to play <strong>30...Qh4+! 31.Kf1 </strong>(Kd loses to Qf2), <strong>Qf6+ </strong>and if 31.Ke1/Qh4, with a draw (Kf1 Qg3 32.Bb7!!) Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for STL, who were down 2-1 at this point, so unfortunately, Brooks had to do something else to try for a win (note that if Finegold had drawn his game with me, Brooks would simply force a draw at this point, and STL would go to playoffs because of draw odds. Wow, we got lucky in this match...). </p><p align="left">But the bad thing is that....Brooks doesn't have anything else besides Qh4+. <strong>30...Ne4 31.Bxe4 Qxe4 32.Rf1 </strong>and to be frank....there's not much you can do with two pieces! Michael found his way out of the complications and out of time trouble, to clinch the match for Seattle!</p><p align="center">*****************</p><p align="left">To be honest, the Sluggers got a little lucky this match. First, we had to be grateful for Nakamura's absence during this critical match, and second, the Sluggers got a win on fourth board, where Spencer had every right to expect a draw. If the Sluggers got a draw on 4th board instead, Brooks could've easily forced perpetual at some point, and it'd be all over. </p><p align="left">But that's not to say that the Sluggers were always lucky. As I pointed out in my earlier posts, we were actually pretty <em><u>un</u></em>lucky during the season. I can point out at least a couple...Friedel-Akobian...Sinanan-Gupta...Slava-Becerra (a draw would've clinched the match against Miami). Nevertheless, the effort to make the playoffs was made possible only by everybody's effort, as the Sluggers needed <span style="font-style: italic;">every. single. point</span>. While it is true that GM Akobian, FM Lee, and myself are the only ones with + scores, and have collectively scored more than half of the team's points, just look at the standings! Seattle got in only because of tiebreaks, by 3.5 game points. Every draw mattered. And let's not forget the fans who came in on the week 10 match (and on every other week, for that matter) - you guys make the matches worth playing.<br /></p><p align="left">Next week, the Sluggers are playing the Arizona Scorpions, fighting against draw odds. Interestingly enough, Arizona picked the white colors, hoping for better chances on board 1 with the white pieces, and possibly looking at my 0% record with the white pieces. Though, draw odds definitely aren't something to be too afraid of. There're plenty of teams in the past who've made it to the Championship match despite fighting draw odds (Miami comes to mind...). In fact, the Sluggers may have a weird psychological advantage because Arizona might be content in playing for draws on all boards, while the Sluggers will slug it out no matter what happens.</p><p align="left">Should be an exciting match this week! By the way, sorry for the late post. College applications are extremely annoying. And speaking of college apps, I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't apply to Berkeley cuz of the weirdest arts requirement ever, but that's for another discussion. But before I sign out...St. Louis, you might want to know that I'm applying to the UW in St. Louis....just saying :D</p>Kasprosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543375043386491454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-1350479040193491572010-10-27T21:26:00.001-07:002010-10-27T21:26:57.045-07:00Week 10 Match vs St LouisOne word. Yay!Eddie Changhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584393261976136162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-63352376686275194042010-10-26T16:35:00.000-07:002010-10-26T16:35:45.947-07:00Season Recap and preview of the the "1st" playoff round.So, the playoffs are here. Sort of. This is technically the last round of the regular season, but in reality is just an extra round of playoffs. Unfortunately, St Louis has draw odds. Since we are looking at next weeks game as a playoff game, I will do our season recap now.<br />
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Its been a difficult year for us, losing Nakamura to St Louis. Luckily, we had Var step up and fill the void. Going into the season, we were very excited with our revamped lineup and knew people would be shocked to see Var on our lineup. Then GM Anka was unable to participate due to work load, and we had our State Champion Costin Cozianu step up in a big way. Then due to an unfortunate situation, we lost our rock, GM Serper for the season. However, after its all said and done, we are now looking a shot at the playoffs and looking for a championship.<br />
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We started off the season using a balanced lineup in week one and debuting Costin in week two, but things didn't go our way. Then, in week 3, GM Varuzhan Akobian came in and put a very impressive performance against GM Becerra to help lead the Sluggers to our first victory of the season. Var's enthusiasm was infectious, and I see why John Donaldson wanted Var on the Olympiad team so badly. Who needs cheerleaders when we have Var? <br />
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Unfortunately, in week 4, we suffered a close loss against our long time rivals, the Mechanics and we needed to stage a comeback to make the playoffs. From there on, we went undefeated, beating New Jersey and then drawing two more. Last week, we experienced our second ever win against San Francisco.<br />
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Despite going into the last week with only 4-5, we have actually scored the 2nd most points in the Western division, only short of Division champs Arizona. <br />
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Looking into our "1st" Playoff match, we are lucky that GM Nakamura is away cleaning up at the Cap D'Agde tournament and we won't have to face the deadly Triple GM lineup. On one hand, I feel that it helps our chances of scoring a victory, but on the other, I would like to face the best, only then we can see how good we are. <br />
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On Board 1, we see the matchup between long time friends, Yury Shulman and Varuzhan Akobian. They have been teammates, representing the US in various competitions, have played matches against each other, and also have had numerous training sessions together. Yury is the higher rated player, but Var has white, so its a toss up as to who will prevail.<br />
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On Board 2, we have Slava facing a big challenge in Ben Finegold. On this board, St Louis has the edge, as we have seen in the USCL, anything can happen.<br />
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On Board 3, young star Michael Lee faces IM Brooks. Brooks has been struggling this season, and Michael has looked better every match. I think Seattle has the edge here. <br />
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On Board 4, we have two underrated kids playing, Alex Guo and Spencer Finegold. It looks like Spencer will be looking to steer the game into tactical waters, where he's at his best, but in the end Alex has been remarkable this season, and he should be able to win this game too. <br />
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Given what we see, I feel like we have great chances to "advance" to the playoffs this year, but in the USCL, you never know what will happen.Eddie Changhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12584393261976136162noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-5151121574116832512010-10-23T21:43:00.000-07:002010-10-24T00:16:54.078-07:00Week 9 Sluggers vs. Mechanics<div><p>This week, the Sluggers jumped a few places to secure fifth place, based on tiebreaks. The average rating of our opponents is....hm, 2398, which is about 15 points lower than most other teams in the West. The difference in rating is simply because the St. Louis Archbishops sorta skewed the averages, so after week 10, Seattle's opps Average Ratings should be around 2410.</p><p>As was pointed out on uschessleague.com, Week 10 sees the unusual phenomenon of three matches being essentially playoff matches. That is, the teams in places 2 to 4 have draw odds, while the teams in places 5 to 7 must win in order to move on. What's even more unusual is that all of these teams have either 17.5 game points or 18 game points, with the exception of us, with 19 points. </p><p>Luckily, we won the match against San Francisco 3.5 - 0.5, giving the Sluggers 19 game points and fifth place in the West. That means that the Sluggers could potentially leap to second place in the playoffs!</p><p>In the match against San Francisco, the Sluggers were in better positions on all the boards.</p><p><strong>Board 1: GM Varuzhan - GM Josh Friedel, 1-0</strong></p><p>Board 1 sees the rematch between Var and Josh. Last time, Josh won against Var with the white pieces, but this time, Varuzhan played well and scored a great win against Friedel, garnering him <strong>Game of the Week</strong> honors (about time somebody from Seattle got a GOTW!).</p><p>In a Nimzo, Friedel made a structurally weakening move <strong>9...g5?!</strong>, which is, in all likelihood, quite dubious because it weakens the kingside pawn structures, and Friedel does not have his dark-squared bishop. Varuzhan later capitalized on Friedel's kingside weaknesses with <strong>25.e4!</strong>. </p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYiz176KjZFd2yD6W-9fN7ZxiReLOvRPek9fr9vrbLk_u0UQ-GJkOghHRXJHPLZ8Y0gKBvqxx9SQWDvGjZZneYKYmjsrZAdrTNkfy72EdECrLF2ocERcanvizgUoDDcZvNPeK-nNrtKM/s1600/VarJosh1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531490163144933682" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuYiz176KjZFd2yD6W-9fN7ZxiReLOvRPek9fr9vrbLk_u0UQ-GJkOghHRXJHPLZ8Y0gKBvqxx9SQWDvGjZZneYKYmjsrZAdrTNkfy72EdECrLF2ocERcanvizgUoDDcZvNPeK-nNrtKM/s320/VarJosh1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p align="center">(after 25.e4!)</p><p>An extremely strong positional pawn sacrifice! Var gets his knight back into the game, and right into the thick of Friedel's kingside weaknesses. Varuzhan continued developing pressure to reach the following position:<br /></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnha3QZbYZqsfsIEoYUkzjoDiAHEhHVhc4Ijn33daNGTMo-m7KY6EALkAuaFAI4CCN6G8iwn-SA_iq2cqHNx82RaIl0e4eH-soMcykHv8GHEWbEpQxK563SwJeltQA9xNNKxcSzYY0k6k/s1600/VarJosh2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531490169948120466" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnha3QZbYZqsfsIEoYUkzjoDiAHEhHVhc4Ijn33daNGTMo-m7KY6EALkAuaFAI4CCN6G8iwn-SA_iq2cqHNx82RaIl0e4eH-soMcykHv8GHEWbEpQxK563SwJeltQA9xNNKxcSzYY0k6k/s320/VarJosh2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p align="center">(after 32. Qb3)</p><p>In the above position, it becomes very difficult to defend all of Black's weaknesses, which include c6, e4, h6, and later on, g6, a7, and g4, while Var's pawns are easily defendable. Unsurprisingly, GM Varuzhan converted the point cleanly.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Board 4: NM Liou - Guo</strong></p><p>Before the game, I had prepped for a French Tarrasch, but clearly, Yian came prepared and opened with 1.d4. Duh! Yian plays the Dutch, so he'd be fine playing on the white side of it as well. </p><p>The game steered into a Leningrad Stonewall. It was a Kingside attack vs. Queenside attack. Yian's first mistake probably came with an incorrect exchange of pawns.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJJRppFZ5kvU6MZf4syIMaOftyLtsEXJwxiZCfKR-6N_R5TtRCdU7LH7ivjJUOiJnhJ70G5BLe7lFGUUL3zb_SMcQni2bx2IghyrM46iABOpdmy7lv2MWSj68z9ajcrD_wvldGefQau0/s1600/GuoYian1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531489615136707106" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJJRppFZ5kvU6MZf4syIMaOftyLtsEXJwxiZCfKR-6N_R5TtRCdU7LH7ivjJUOiJnhJ70G5BLe7lFGUUL3zb_SMcQni2bx2IghyrM46iABOpdmy7lv2MWSj68z9ajcrD_wvldGefQau0/s320/GuoYian1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p align="center">(after 21...Nd6)</p><p>Yian played <strong>22.cxd5?</strong>, to which the simple <strong>22...cxd5</strong> essentially kills White's queenside attack, as there is no target on the queenside and if the c5 knight moves, <strong>Nc4, Rc8</strong> and there is no penetration on the queenside, or if there is, Black's kingside attack will certainly come faster.</p><p>But after <strong>23.Ba3</strong>, I returned the favor with <strong>23...Qe8?</strong>, allowing a tactical shot.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBuzznnCL-lqo-g5usG4ImDkodD8q47huNa3X5xwpOKj61kozzCT6M5lItzryDqQM0ancW5YEkM2q2zKZNbe2-dcbiVfQVQ2ig07LnujQvZb3XE2z-Bd0KdSQkrxfEkmg8gUDvQ8BWxS4/s1600/GuoYian2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531489617229132258" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBuzznnCL-lqo-g5usG4ImDkodD8q47huNa3X5xwpOKj61kozzCT6M5lItzryDqQM0ancW5YEkM2q2zKZNbe2-dcbiVfQVQ2ig07LnujQvZb3XE2z-Bd0KdSQkrxfEkmg8gUDvQ8BWxS4/s320/GuoYian2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p align="center">(after 23...Qe8?)</p><p align="left"><strong>24.Nxe4! Nxe4 25.f3 </strong>and Yian is back in the game. Instead of 23...Qe8, better would have been <strong>23...b6 </strong>and then <strong>24...Nc4</strong>, with the better position and good chances of quickly breaking through on the kingside. Or even <strong>23...Bf3</strong> first, before Qe8, with a similarly crushing attack.</p><p align="left">Instead, <strong>24.Rfe1?</strong> and now <strong>24...Bf3</strong>, after which there is not much more to say.</p><p align="left"> </p><p align="left"><strong>Board 2: IM David Pruess - FM "Micky Mouse" Mikhailuk, 0-1</strong></p><p align="left">Slava pulls off a nice win with several good sacrifices along the way. </p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBdWdSBpRu64jI5b_Ojb8SwO2lkGAjzmkQEfFN-5jkjJ3TBdr0yh2bm2MCEgYJcm0D-GbHilAdXmtmyW8IxhoDB2SF0xaD5Ux5GJbUE4dYzDWl1ORPnVGs8n6uj_wzve3iG5v8aQPoP3w/s1600/SlavaPruess1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531489612146714178" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBdWdSBpRu64jI5b_Ojb8SwO2lkGAjzmkQEfFN-5jkjJ3TBdr0yh2bm2MCEgYJcm0D-GbHilAdXmtmyW8IxhoDB2SF0xaD5Ux5GJbUE4dYzDWl1ORPnVGs8n6uj_wzve3iG5v8aQPoP3w/s320/SlavaPruess1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p align="center">(after 12.Kh1)</p><p align="left">Slava plays the interesting pawn sac <strong>12...Rg8!?</strong>, with Benko-like compensation. In return for the pawn, Black gets...the h-file, but is perfectly justified because open lines against the king are key in this kind of position, as seen when the game developed to the following position</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVttttRACwReZsYnvPOGj9eHCHx0LJ2gH5Y5QNRl6X3FuEbH0kIsjC0OW6uhG7Mo1q-voLDDtK_4kZj17b2U8CCJNM-c6mMGynsOfWmq6r5g2fwVP656mzrgtwEnV6JseNe8iyrm0p53E/s1600/SlavaPruess2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531489607758465970" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVttttRACwReZsYnvPOGj9eHCHx0LJ2gH5Y5QNRl6X3FuEbH0kIsjC0OW6uhG7Mo1q-voLDDtK_4kZj17b2U8CCJNM-c6mMGynsOfWmq6r5g2fwVP656mzrgtwEnV6JseNe8iyrm0p53E/s320/SlavaPruess2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p align="center">(after 22.f3)</p><p align="left">Slava utilizes the h-file in sweeping fashion with <strong>22...Nxh2!</strong> and obtains a winning position. The game continued <strong>23.Kxh2 Bd6 24.Rg1</strong> (24.Kg2 Rdg8! -+ 25.Kf2 Bxg3 26.Ke3 Rd8! Black will win substantial material, in view of the coming mating threat) <strong>Rh8+ 25.Kg2 Rxg3+</strong> and soon wins the Queen, and with it, the game</p><p align="left"><strong>Board 3: FM Lee - FM Naroditsky, 0.5 - 0.5</strong></p><p align="left">Surprise, surprise. FM Robby Adamson correctly predicted a boring English. Lee-Naroditsky went into an opposite-colored bishop ending, in which Naroditsky blundered a b-pawn. Thus, Michael had the better position all the way till the end, when he felt insecure about his King and Bishop and accepted a draw, though in actuality, the position was winning. Perhaps Lee just didn't feel like grinding Naroditsky down that night?</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjguOhc2jjot6qvRNYkNEGeDbsuaouSpQzEL-LFn0oZCHoHOIeAKxbSchydb4-aTYXCQDhISf2YIXh9bbJf5YvkE79dX9N2e0W5Bo_1Vio85b_H5x9fG4NKwvPKrugl-nx3yAqlnzG9xRg/s1600/LeeNaro1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjguOhc2jjot6qvRNYkNEGeDbsuaouSpQzEL-LFn0oZCHoHOIeAKxbSchydb4-aTYXCQDhISf2YIXh9bbJf5YvkE79dX9N2e0W5Bo_1Vio85b_H5x9fG4NKwvPKrugl-nx3yAqlnzG9xRg/s320/LeeNaro1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531492639020042194" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p align="center">(after 39...Rh5, drawn)</p><p align="left">"Oh well," said Lee, "at least now it looks like I gave SF a consolation draw! :)"</p><p align="center">******************</p><p align="left">Week 10.</p><p align="left">The final week.</p><p align="left">And the Sluggers now get to meet their <em>best buddies</em>, the St. Louis Archbishops. </p><p align="left">Who just happen to be 2500+ rating, on average. But considering what happened this past Wednesday, St. Louis's "oh so mighty" triple GM lineup were, in the commissioner's words, "<em>very lucky to get away with a draw</em>" (italics mine - added for emphasis). Initially, I thought it was some sort of conspiracy to get Seattle out of the playoffs, but FM Michael Lee has convinced me otherwise. Instead, it now becomes overwhelmingly clear that Arizona's chessplayers just played dumb chess. Period. Granted, draws against Nakamura and Shulman, both U.S. Champs, is <em>extremely</em> impressive, but seriously, taking two draws on two boards in two winning positions has to mean that somebody's fighting spirit is a little less than mediocre.</p><p align="left">Too bad that doesn't diminish the fact that there's two monsters on board 1/2. But it does mean that the Sluggers also have a good shot at beating St. Louis.<br /></p></div>Kasprosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543375043386491454noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-90323116126283166222010-10-16T22:18:00.000-07:002010-10-17T12:51:46.401-07:00Date Night<div>In a date with Destiny, the guy Slugger didn't have such a great time.<br /><br />The Slugger's date showed up to the party (which coincidentally consists of chess games) on time, but what about Slugger?<br /><br />Well, I've got to say....half of Slugger showed up on time, and the other half of the guy...well...wasn't quite there. Sorta like a hole in his heart, just...well, half-empty. Some might say that it's half-full, but....not quite. More like half-empty, but not half-full, because it seemed more half-empty than half-full...if you know what I mean. Or, actually, half-full might be a better descriptor, because half-full is a (w)hole that is half-empty, while half-empty is a whole that is half-full. Wait a second. I think I'm getting some things mixed up here. Isn't half-full and half-empty the....same...thing?<br /><br />WHATEVER.<br /><br />Well, as it so happened, alternate personalities Slava Mikhailuk and Alex Guo arrived a little bit late--10 minutes, to be precise. Ms. Destiny was not happy at all.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Board 3: FM Keaton Kiewra - FM Marcel Milat, 0-1!!</strong></span><br /><br />She certainly did not seem happier one and half hours later. FM Marcel Milat outmaneuvered FM Keaton "the Beaten" Kiewra to achieve a superior ending:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinOgu21h8X0a46ZbqInkCQUJk6aufsV-7Ey4uHlZ5RadwY39vJpbdaRd_7nzloHo33q8R88WMalz7Ly7-JF_HMKPo0RE0ppQARpMha6qHB6IJDMmsK1Yv0_8AF2WnlWw_JjC2LfdPEkXE/s1600/MilatKeat.jpg"></a></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinOgu21h8X0a46ZbqInkCQUJk6aufsV-7Ey4uHlZ5RadwY39vJpbdaRd_7nzloHo33q8R88WMalz7Ly7-JF_HMKPo0RE0ppQARpMha6qHB6IJDMmsK1Yv0_8AF2WnlWw_JjC2LfdPEkXE/s1600/MilatKeat.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528923147344683970" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinOgu21h8X0a46ZbqInkCQUJk6aufsV-7Ey4uHlZ5RadwY39vJpbdaRd_7nzloHo33q8R88WMalz7Ly7-JF_HMKPo0RE0ppQARpMha6qHB6IJDMmsK1Yv0_8AF2WnlWw_JjC2LfdPEkXE/s320/MilatKeat.jpg" border="0" /></a><div align="center">(after 30...Bd5)</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="left">Keaton's pieces had experienced a temporary flourish of activity and initiative, noted by an obstinate rook on d6. But three pieces is....three pieces. There's not much you can really do with three active pieces, and in the above diagram, traded the rooks, and Keaton's pawn structure cost him the game.</div><div align="left"> </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpzogl7CiF7fOeQHABKULK1LkT2Mla8MYAfJW9NpuDj5taOTitRVqYhik8iI-_hs9Rlsd6ciKmzxQDBYDjJ15f4ArNt6E1eBeay2tKlgcA9-ypo_tsI8xHyhpqMr9h0uvTuLKcdWiowYk/s1600/MilatKeat1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528923152166704034" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpzogl7CiF7fOeQHABKULK1LkT2Mla8MYAfJW9NpuDj5taOTitRVqYhik8iI-_hs9Rlsd6ciKmzxQDBYDjJ15f4ArNt6E1eBeay2tKlgcA9-ypo_tsI8xHyhpqMr9h0uvTuLKcdWiowYk/s320/MilatKeat1.jpg" border="0" /></a><div align="center">(after 38...Nd4)</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="left">Can't defend all those pawns at the same time. FM Milat brings in the win for Seattle.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Board 2: FM Slava Mikhailuk - Julio Sadorra, 0-1</strong></span></div><div align="left"><strong></strong> </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BRNuainmci7wDmEaAhlgYT52_i-yKJBDv5pvYiOrlWidgAWSbDGarzvksStkV7YCzY3ASrPSMpA-0BvUvYAiqmCQ7zknO0UKBuFsYboysp9XJMuuCKA5jvgWb9ljUSFPvdVgILUg47U/s1600/SlavaJules.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528924500867512770" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7BRNuainmci7wDmEaAhlgYT52_i-yKJBDv5pvYiOrlWidgAWSbDGarzvksStkV7YCzY3ASrPSMpA-0BvUvYAiqmCQ7zknO0UKBuFsYboysp9XJMuuCKA5jvgWb9ljUSFPvdVgILUg47U/s320/SlavaJules.jpg" border="0" /></a><div align="center">(after 21...b4)</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="left">Jules is going for a queenside attack, while White stakes his hopes on a kingside attack. <strong>22.g5?!</strong> I'm not too sure about this move. By now, Black seems to have obtained the better position because of better minor pieces and actual targets on the queenside, but 22.g5 seems to exacerbate the situation, if nothing else, simply because it drops the c-pawn. Jules now has a far advanced c-pawn, the a-pawn is still a target, and now he potentially has d4 for his knight. If Black exchanges down, then White's kingside attack fails, and Jules takes the point.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">Actually, that <em>did</em> happen. </div><div align="left"> </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTa5bKQUX-1A8BFq4tNhqD6OBpWIObnSpitoue_85CS4IlGUtDipIO05-a0bYdeVp50xBTnpJjWd6S6w0Ut9NHY3gB4Wjm_B6898meFs-ng62bZJVZlhinyL5f7tZF8wMVKGYsJQgnEU/s1600/SlavaJules1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528924510072565394" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTa5bKQUX-1A8BFq4tNhqD6OBpWIObnSpitoue_85CS4IlGUtDipIO05-a0bYdeVp50xBTnpJjWd6S6w0Ut9NHY3gB4Wjm_B6898meFs-ng62bZJVZlhinyL5f7tZF8wMVKGYsJQgnEU/s320/SlavaJules1.jpg" border="0" /></a><div align="center">(after 29.Rg2)</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="left">Apparently, White's attack has broken through, but Jules found this nice move: <strong>28...Qxg2+!</strong>, which exchanges away the queen and rook, after Black's Rg7. Afterwards, Jules just had too many pawns.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Board 1: Bercys - FM "Cozy" Cozianu, 1-0</strong></span></div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">To be brutally honest, Cozianu, it just seems like you got a s****y position out of the opening. </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">Here's how the game went:</div><div align="left"> </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiySQI00pchqnNTnRIP6S59jJRfT519ksEXoKCDgfLGVBKD8CNlKVm-CKoy3_7_F24G-subxtF2B7Hxt7EV7xa72c2HLJeNGec3o-zI11N8vOC-U7HtrPN_iuQUJrtxWK3tXonTy_HQBww/s1600/CozyBercys.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528921584171183394" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiySQI00pchqnNTnRIP6S59jJRfT519ksEXoKCDgfLGVBKD8CNlKVm-CKoy3_7_F24G-subxtF2B7Hxt7EV7xa72c2HLJeNGec3o-zI11N8vOC-U7HtrPN_iuQUJrtxWK3tXonTy_HQBww/s320/CozyBercys.jpg" border="0" /></a><div align="center">(after 1...c5)</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="left">OK...</div><div align="center"> </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzRWWqrU1c-dYMe16rKmotMzLzj4_1BaHnc8AVxXMGZQfoQrEhf28JtRFpNYzbaOUcgq8F2JvNno7OqHDNiQ6CXBWir5hZOEKZBOJlZgcwKLDBEkUxc1-g_QiX5veTFf1c8-HjuTTzPs/s1600/CozyBercys1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528921586873324770" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuzRWWqrU1c-dYMe16rKmotMzLzj4_1BaHnc8AVxXMGZQfoQrEhf28JtRFpNYzbaOUcgq8F2JvNno7OqHDNiQ6CXBWir5hZOEKZBOJlZgcwKLDBEkUxc1-g_QiX5veTFf1c8-HjuTTzPs/s320/CozyBercys1.jpg" border="0" /></a><div align="center">(after 8.Bb5+)</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="left"><strong>8...N6d7!?</strong>, This, is the first time in my <em>chess career</em> that I have had to use two numbers to write down a knight move! This kind of move means that Black <em>might</em> be in some trouble. A good opening usually doesn't have the knight dancing around while shutting in the light-squared bishop.</div><div align="left"> </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxF_1WY9H7UNtpn9QdoFXhZwBjbtHK4uIbIAr8kEKc4ZVYYdqRP51NuRDmtNZthyphenhyphen39NibjoHCjqBLDBo17-onGQ1NiXQpCXTBIffRyIKRoTbop1cN2im0paYx_vqjIhyphenhyphenQn5NvbFULe6qQ/s1600/CozyBercys2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528921590962568466" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxF_1WY9H7UNtpn9QdoFXhZwBjbtHK4uIbIAr8kEKc4ZVYYdqRP51NuRDmtNZthyphenhyphen39NibjoHCjqBLDBo17-onGQ1NiXQpCXTBIffRyIKRoTbop1cN2im0paYx_vqjIhyphenhyphenQn5NvbFULe6qQ/s320/CozyBercys2.jpg" border="0" /></a><div align="center">(after 12.Nd2)</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="left">Alright. Black's probably in some doodoo now, as Nc4 and Na4 are coming. Positionally, <strong>12...b5</strong> is forced. But guess what?</div><div align="left"> </div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdEug_yUBG5FzNA9Qk_LD_yXdTJQROwPexmtTTwMwXrQuNSTEymP031ryfuwKne2D-hzHUyuGSKiFCGAA7mfsJXWKKX92cvTkBeJIFxNgkN8od7ohQFKTV2CMgRBfl5IyWPvC7JMxBvaE/s1600/CozyBercys3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528921591599509970" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdEug_yUBG5FzNA9Qk_LD_yXdTJQROwPexmtTTwMwXrQuNSTEymP031ryfuwKne2D-hzHUyuGSKiFCGAA7mfsJXWKKX92cvTkBeJIFxNgkN8od7ohQFKTV2CMgRBfl5IyWPvC7JMxBvaE/s320/CozyBercys3.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center">(after 17.Qe2)</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="left">You get THIS position. White has tremendous pressure, and Black decides to give the a-pawn. Not sure whether there's sufficient compensation. Black's not lost, but certainly losing. </div><div align="left"> </div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir75ladhu4-Q5l1IV1SJFx8PQIz4xq0Z5VulU9EbtSU7c5FvaCPVyG5PoXn_NKuICDJhLjlu8Z8dVTVMoQKhjlVvyti6gTy6taICNeGr6RBxN6PA9ldm768MBQKW1H5Sqgow4XtbP7dac/s1600/CozyBercys4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528921593388799554" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir75ladhu4-Q5l1IV1SJFx8PQIz4xq0Z5VulU9EbtSU7c5FvaCPVyG5PoXn_NKuICDJhLjlu8Z8dVTVMoQKhjlVvyti6gTy6taICNeGr6RBxN6PA9ldm768MBQKW1H5Sqgow4XtbP7dac/s320/CozyBercys4.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center">(after 32...Rf7)</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">Black launches a kingside attack to complicate the position, with ideas concerning the h-pawn and Rook infiltration on the queenside. White finds the consolidating move <strong>33.Ne2!</strong>. White now loses two pawns, but the win is simplified. Soon afterwards, Black resigns in the following position:</div><div align="left"> </div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirpurslBz5X6ciKGVFgokC4ISJq0wqQR2UV1JTy4Orv5SrAU1D2DUN0kQLW9s2fv-c-EkG4r9iXVZcwtx-69FquyWnDSm5w0wS4upmKsNVUHwWA_EAIkF13aSKuEyHED5RQxSwmUtRO7Q/s1600/CozyBercys5.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirpurslBz5X6ciKGVFgokC4ISJq0wqQR2UV1JTy4Orv5SrAU1D2DUN0kQLW9s2fv-c-EkG4r9iXVZcwtx-69FquyWnDSm5w0wS4upmKsNVUHwWA_EAIkF13aSKuEyHED5RQxSwmUtRO7Q/s320/CozyBercys5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528929737308380802" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div align="center">(after 38.Kd2)</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="left">Black's pretty much lost, so it makes sense for Black to resign here. However, White still has some work to do in order to fully convert the point. If anything, the other Destiny members will still be somewhat uncertain of the outcome of this game.</div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Board 4: Guo - WFM Zorigt, 0-1</strong></span></div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left">Out of the English Opening arose the following position:</div><div align="left"> </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQP0Oqi1qhONZfGw6XrBfqwnm3WJpQgxp4F3pjw6O6rq-wG7lVQ9_i_Yc2zmKIU1bFDjWbWYbcLF3hJuI7HRnOHctFUrJrZ9dB9FPHux5X4fGzgHgPXnRdPGYt7SJs9zmwFsJCNFMk8so/s1600/GuoZorig.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528923141599829730" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQP0Oqi1qhONZfGw6XrBfqwnm3WJpQgxp4F3pjw6O6rq-wG7lVQ9_i_Yc2zmKIU1bFDjWbWYbcLF3hJuI7HRnOHctFUrJrZ9dB9FPHux5X4fGzgHgPXnRdPGYt7SJs9zmwFsJCNFMk8so/s320/GuoZorig.jpg" border="0" /></a><div align="center">(after 24...bxc5)</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="left">To be honest, the game felt like a really good story with a -crappy- ending. Things were going <em>great</em> throughout the game but things fell apart, and in postmortem with the rest of the team, I kept on having sentences in the form "he could play that" or "he could play this", which just made things worse. </div><div align="left"> </div><p></p><div align="left">In the above position, for example, White has a terrific position. Black's light-square bishop is blunted by his d-pawn. Black's knight is hanging out on the sidelines. Black doesn't have any real targets to attack, while his hanging pawns are more of a burden then an asset. White's bishops are on the most active posts they could be and in addition, there're hardly better place for White's rooks.</div><div align="left"> </div><p></p><div align="left">Being short on time and wanting to conserve time for later decisions that I felt could be more important than the present one, I played <strong>25.Nh4?</strong>, which just ends up losing time. I missed the rather elementary defense <strong>25...Red8</strong>. Lol, and with that, it was pretty clear to me that I let slip the win. 25.Nh4 popped out to me because I felt like there was a killer move, and Nh4 seemed to be it, as the d-pawn was <em>almost</em> undefensible. Except it wasn't. The pawn was perfectly defendable. </div><div align="left"> </div><p></p><div align="left">But I was right about one thing. As a good friend pointed out, simply <strong>25.g5!</strong> would have secured a large positional advantage for White. 25...hxg5 26.Nxg5 and either the h-pawn or the d-pawn falls. If instead <strong>25...Nf5</strong>, the only other option, <strong>26.gxf6 gxf6 27.Nh2!</strong> Black has four pawn islands! and now White's knight moves to h2 opens up the long diagonal and threatens to attack the f6-pawn, while the d-pawn is about to fall as well.</div><div align="left"> </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfNI4NDburhroMRxhyphenhyphenrJw7uLMJ2BsgXIf4hctUnBYTozAl4tQEOc6miz2uLbmE01dGPhpQ8V5Af50A66mPmkUq8OmaveYcXY86AMKR4I6XaAWq4PnUNsF2ZjcafXJQUf8QiVVlVA-v5vc/s1600/GuoZorig1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 320px; text-align: center; display: block;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5528923144016873186" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfNI4NDburhroMRxhyphenhyphenrJw7uLMJ2BsgXIf4hctUnBYTozAl4tQEOc6miz2uLbmE01dGPhpQ8V5Af50A66mPmkUq8OmaveYcXY86AMKR4I6XaAWq4PnUNsF2ZjcafXJQUf8QiVVlVA-v5vc/s320/GuoZorig1.jpg" border="0" /></a><div align="center">Analysis position: after 27.Nh2!</div><div align="center"> </div><p></p><div align="left">Here, the variations split into two options: <strong>27...Bxh2+ or 27...Ne7</strong>. </div><div align="left"> </div><p></p><div align="left">1) <strong>27...Ne7 28.Ng4 Be5 29.Nxe5 fxe5 30. Qb5</strong>, and a few moves later, one of the pawns must fall. White's unopposed dark-square bishop should also help in converting the advantage.</div><div align="left"> </div><p></p><div align="left">2) <strong>27...Bxh2+ 28.Kxh2 </strong>White's already set up to swing his rook to the open g-file. Sample variation: <strong>28...Ne7 29.Rg1 Ng6 30.Bf3 Qd6+ 31.Kh1 Re7 32.Qf5</strong>. The basic idea in the variations: -Rook on g1, -Rook on c1/d1 (depending on where pressure is best applied), targets-f6, d5, c5, a7. At any rate, White has a pretty large advantage.</div><div align="left"> </div><p></p><div align="left">Oh well. Can't kiss all the girls. </div><div align="left"> </div><p></p><div align="left"> As it turns out, White even had a chance to obtain the better position later in the game with <strong>34.Nc3!</strong>, but at that point, it's essentially useless to talk about such opportunities, as 1 minute does not compare with 30 minutes. The tremendous amount of complications later in the game, and my time shortage, sealed my fate.</div><div align="left"> </div><p></p><div align="left">Now that I reflect on this past Monday, it seems that I might've played on a little too much. My apologies, and good game, <strong><u><em>W</em></u></strong>FM Zorigt! </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><div align="center">*************************</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="left">Well, that wraps up what happened last monday. Still two more matches to go! Both Seattle and San Francisco have had disappointing matches recently, and with playoff position up for grabs, these last few matches are especially critical.<br /><br />And we'll see whether the Sluggers can get a second date with Destiny<br /></div>Kasprosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543375043386491454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-19703143268652741992010-10-10T16:35:00.000-07:002010-10-10T17:10:14.780-07:00Week 7 Recap<div>This week I was a little bit more busy than other weeks, due to SAT testing (every high schooler needs to boycott this test). Consequently, my annotations are going to be rather anemic (SAT word!).<br /><br />On Wednesday, the Sluggers went into the match with every reason to win. Akobian heavily outrated his opponent, while the other three boards were evenly balanced.<br /><br />As expected, Akobian cruised his way to victory rather surprisingly easy, due to a couple of major mistakes from his opponents, and accordingly, it seems rather presumptuous (another SAT word!) for <a href="http://usclfans.com/2010/10/week-7-recap-of-uscl-action/">Muscleman to be falling all over this game.</a><br /></div><br /><br /><div>However, Akobian's quick victory was equally matched in terms of decisiveness in Rohonyan's match. Soon after the opening, Rohonyan fell for an opening <em>cheapo </em>, and ended up in a losing position.</div><br /><br /><div>That left Sinanan and Slava. FM Mikhailuk pulled through and brought home his FIRST WIN of the season, after having a tough start. It seemed that Banawa miscalculated the variations or his chances when he sacced his queen for two rooks and knight, but Slava ended up winning the piece back, and in a tricky position, infiltrated Black's position while Banawa was unable to coordinate his two rooks.</div><br /><br /><div>With the match at 2-1, Seattle only needed a draw from Sinanan to clinch the match. A draw seemed likely for a while, as Sinanan traded down into a drawish rook ending. In a weird psychological twist, having to play only for a draw seemed to have a detrimental effect on Sinanan's ensuing play, and missed a few of Gupta's tricks in the endgame. But no worries, my friend. I still think Seattle's got a good shot at playoffs. Maybe Championship.</div><br /><br /><div>P.S. more detailed annotations will be available soon.</div>Kasprosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543375043386491454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-91853673483351844692010-10-04T18:05:00.000-07:002010-10-04T18:11:57.892-07:00Michael Lee predicts againPhysics Final 2morrow.<br /><br />NY 3-1<br />Manhattan 2.5-1.5<br />Miami 2-2 Dallas<br />SF 2.5-1.5<br />Boston 2-2 NJ<br />NE 3-1<br />STL 2-2 Blaze<br /><br />As for the Seattle match, Michael Lee prefers to leave well enough alone.Kasprosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543375043386491454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8985204394180949060.post-46024683642495562952010-10-02T16:15:00.001-07:002010-10-02T16:30:20.910-07:00Seattle Slugged the Knocked-OutsCo-authored by Alex Guo and Josh Sinanan<br /><br /><iframe style="BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; WIDTH: 450px; HEIGHT: 35px; OVERFLOW: hidden; BORDER-TOP: medium none; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fseattlesluggers.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F10%2Fseattle-slugged-knocked-outs.html&layout=standard&show_faces=false&width=450&action=like&font=arial&colorscheme=light&height=35" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe><br /><br />Guo:<br />Going into the match of the interdivisional week, I must admit that I was rooting for Western division to get swept, and then Seattle would be the lone winner and take a giant leap in the standings. Of course, none of that was going to happen, but to my surprise, Seattle did indeed take quite a sizable jump, from second to last, to being one of the top four--at least for now, as Seattle had the best tiebreaks of all the other teams.<br /><br /><br /><br />As for the match, I was a little uneasy about our chances. Seattle had better chances on the bottom two boards, while the top two boards faced strong New Jersey players GM Benjamin and IM Molner. Fortunately, everything turned out alright, with Cozianu and Slava getting past their missteps in the past two weeks, and bottom two boards performing as was expected.<br /><br /><br /><br />Personal message to Professional Prognosticators: HAHAHAHAHA, WE WON!!!!!! Sorry, it just makes me a little bit more than amused to see Seattle completely stomping the predictions of naysayers, who were predicting a win for New Jersey, while instead, New Jersey nearly got swept. Looks like NJ is having a rough season.<br /><br /><br /><br />Well, onto the match!<br /><br /><br /><br /><strong>Board 3: FM Michael Lee - IM Albert Kapengut, 1-0</strong><br /><br /><br /><br />Michael Lee scored the first win of the match, continuing his latest winning streak. Nothing's stoppin' this USCL stud! With the white pieces, Michael Lee entered into a 1...e5 English, to reach the following position arising out of the opening:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEaxRZXnSu9TNTDjhGRaEkPXyEvBAkk5JLrgFb4F8lzRzt6QmWvTAbIooFwUiKqG25ap-9kknNekEqon4pAD2qwCw8g3lz-zmXf_5bAmLumfu3neUdxONsdlyrXSxOxljjrc8i4jsm18/s1600/LeeAlby1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523585459148613970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhEaxRZXnSu9TNTDjhGRaEkPXyEvBAkk5JLrgFb4F8lzRzt6QmWvTAbIooFwUiKqG25ap-9kknNekEqon4pAD2qwCw8g3lz-zmXf_5bAmLumfu3neUdxONsdlyrXSxOxljjrc8i4jsm18/s320/LeeAlby1.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center">(after <strong>12...b6</strong>)</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">White is saddled with doubled c-pawns, but in return, has the two bishops, potential pressure down the d-file, and a nice target to work with, in the e4-pawn. In positions like these, the e-pawn is like a sore thumb, since backing it up with a pawn is difficult to do.</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><p><div align="left">Michael Lee mobilized his Q-side pawns with <strong>13.b4</strong>, to which Black replied <strong>13...c5!?</strong>, a positionally sharp move. After <strong>14.Nb5</strong>, Black must take on b4. After winning the pawn on b4, Black will position his QN on c5, and then opt for a d6-d5 break, and the chances are roughly equal. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><p><div align="left">However, Kapengut played <strong>14...Bf5?</strong>, a positional blunder, and allows White to consolidate his Q-side pawn structure <strong>15.ba5 ba5</strong> and then <strong>16.Rad1</strong>, and then Black will have the uneviable task of defending the d-pawn, with no substantial counterplay in sight. Another important detail, as noted in the only two tweets that NJ had on this match, the QN is rather cut off from the battle, while Michael Lee's pieces are coordinated against a concrete target.</div><div align="left"></div><p><div align="left">Kapengut did indeed lose the d-pawn soon, and after that, Michael Lee cleaned up the game to score the point for Seattle. Nice job FM Lee!</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><p><div align="left"><strong>Board 4: Sean Finn - Alex Guo</strong>, <strong>0-1</strong></div><div align="left"><strong></strong></div><div align="left"><strong></strong></div><div align="left"></div><p><div align="left">Finally. For the first time, I'm not the only player in the match without some sort of a title! This game was rather crazy. Obviously, the Winawer I played was wayyyyy offline, with <strong>6..Qa6 </strong>and <strong>7...c4</strong> completely out of book. I don't think you'll find many significant games on this line. I just wanted to immediately lock up a portion of the pawn structure and see how well Finn could play on his own. Besides, 1.e4, 2.d4, 3.Nc3 were whipped out rather quickly, so it was obvious Finn had come prepared to battle me in my Poisoned Pawn Variation. But 2100s aren't well known for great play in an opening that is unknown to them.</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><p><div align="left">Apparently Finn didn't like my line. He immediately went for the kill, trying to refute my opening, which is, to be honest, a little aggressive, when at the most, Black had committed only a opening inaccuracy, and so Black should not be immediately losing, though Black might indeed be in a slightly worse position. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxU9xAKyksH8uWuAIvImippdW1-Bk_dMFcYNTMRZ_3CcUnJZhH6BOfdauycxqX5nJMJriV5SQKIZ0zJMkbGZAgJulfLjwPtyFM4uBfLJ_PIgkdknMQPFz5it7A6gYHQeSZVX4hRehM_jw/s1600/GuoFinn1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523585465158891954" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxU9xAKyksH8uWuAIvImippdW1-Bk_dMFcYNTMRZ_3CcUnJZhH6BOfdauycxqX5nJMJriV5SQKIZ0zJMkbGZAgJulfLjwPtyFM4uBfLJ_PIgkdknMQPFz5it7A6gYHQeSZVX4hRehM_jw/s320/GuoFinn1.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center">(after <strong>15...Ba4</strong>)</div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">With the two bishops and targets on a greatly weakened K-side pawn structure, White probably has the better position, though, unfortunately for Finn, the path to victory is by no means clear. Smelling blood, "Shark" Finn went for the kill with <strong>16.Ne2?!, </strong>allowing <strong>16...Bxc2 17.Nf4 Kd7!</strong> with this move Black is doing fine now. After <strong>18.Qxf7 Nxf4 19.Qxf4 </strong>Black has pressure along the g- and f- files, and meanwhile White's king is no safer than Black's. </div><div align="left"></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhI37fLpXZKr-hurPI-uZCiyrq_YCtS78zTM-Veh4hJJlgE0EeGNafl13hRFdNjEbQ5LcXQNi26OxUF3gdYY7FuOtzWvLh01CMN8N43lJaj9gX-RlHtpv6juJT3Zi4R8a7DDtNNBZ39JY/s1600/GuoFinn4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523585467903837874" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhI37fLpXZKr-hurPI-uZCiyrq_YCtS78zTM-Veh4hJJlgE0EeGNafl13hRFdNjEbQ5LcXQNi26OxUF3gdYY7FuOtzWvLh01CMN8N43lJaj9gX-RlHtpv6juJT3Zi4R8a7DDtNNBZ39JY/s320/GuoFinn4.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center">(after <strong>31.Rg2</strong>)</div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">Just a few moves before, I essentially offered Finn a draw. We were repeating moves with Be2/Bd3 and Bf3/Be4. Objectively, Black's position is certainly better because of a Q-side passer, but the win is very tricky and by now I was living off the increment. By this point, the upper boards Cozianu and Slava looked like they both had good chances to secure a draw, in which case a draw on fourth board was sufficient to clinch the match, which is all that really matters in the end. Thus, I decided to "offer" a draw instead of going for the win by exchanging bishops. Naturally, Shark Finn declined. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><p><div align="left">I went for the kill with <strong>31...a5</strong>, to utilize my extra q-side pawn. Shark Finn saw a tactical opportunity and played <strong>32.Qh2</strong>, sensing a chance to target the potentially weak Q-side pawns. Unfortunately, the attack comes just a little too late, as after <strong>32...Be4!</strong> Finn must exchange the key defender of g4-pawn. After the exchange, Finn must either defend the g-pawn with his queen, which then paves the way for my queen to get my a-pawn down the board. On the other hand, if Finn advances his g-pawn, then that gives up control of the f5-square, so that my Nf5, which then gets control of the key e3-square, and thus Finn can never really get his Bd2 out of the way on the second rank, and thus my a-pawn still gets to the last rank. Essentially, White is losing. After some crazy tactics and a pretty intense time scramble, I did eventually convert the point.<br /><br />From here on, Sinanan recaps the match for us.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Board 1: FM Costin Cozianu (SEA) - GM Joel Benjamin (NJ), 1-0</span><br /><br /><br /><br />On board 1, Costin faced off against MVP points leader GM Benjamin.<br /><br /><br /><br />For those of you who aren't familiar with Costin, he was one of the top junior Romanian prospects back in the early 90's. He stopped playing chess professionally to take up a career as a software engineer, which eventually led him to Seattle where he works for Amazon. He came to the attention of the Sluggers management in 2009 when he won the WA State Championship, ahead of Sluggers stars FM Michael Lee, NM Howard Chen, and yours truly. Oh yeah, and don't be fooled by the fact that Costin is "only an FM." Like many other players from Seattle, he just hasn't bothered to get his IM norms yet!<br /><br /><br /><br />Before the game began, Costin beat the heavy Seattle traffic and arrived at the Chess4Life Center early to do some last-minute prep. for GM Benjamin. Cozianu is one of the few Sluggers who prefers to play 1. e4 instead of 1. d4 or the English, which he considers to be "closings" rather than "openings." It was no surprise when GM Benjamin responded with the Caro-Kann defense, which has been his weapon of choice against 1. e4 this season. Costin chose the quiet exchange variation, which followed theory until white played a novelty on move 8:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkuLhzfmFvzItvBXyL4_LEmQ5LlbNEHsOZDrPUu16bC_NtbkqjgRPoMCrmbOV4oeiZ2feJIxxjCn5B5zRhRpWPj-OOW4nn568KEsKx_6DR9mP0cZBgefag-pbI2_pe5-nEH7WIbFzncQ/s1600/CozianuBen1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523588051267544994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJkuLhzfmFvzItvBXyL4_LEmQ5LlbNEHsOZDrPUu16bC_NtbkqjgRPoMCrmbOV4oeiZ2feJIxxjCn5B5zRhRpWPj-OOW4nn568KEsKx_6DR9mP0cZBgefag-pbI2_pe5-nEH7WIbFzncQ/s320/CozianuBen1.jpg" /></a><br /><br /></div><div align="center">(after 8. Bg5!?)</div><br /><br /><br /><br />Costin chose 8. Bg5!? over the more popular 8. Bf4. Perhaps he was hoping to trade the Bishop for the knight on g8 should it develop to f6, which would weaken black's pawn structure. Benjamin didn't go for this though and seemed to equalize rather easily. In the ensuing middle game, black had the better chances due to superior coordination amongst his pieces. After 14. a4, white's knight on b3 became a target that Costin defended by interposing his bishop on b5.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5PkRmo9kqIwDurhhosdRPbWJUm1_vgUwccPJRfZRCtHGmqYtHGvkmCGslBQu0StFA9nuEx7vEAQa8w8m2AJNIwfNU9qvYlqiQ53-kW7t_n41SaTsJ-cYWuZI101jnlNfrFimnEBnIR8/s1600/CozianuBen2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523588053815890322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia5PkRmo9kqIwDurhhosdRPbWJUm1_vgUwccPJRfZRCtHGmqYtHGvkmCGslBQu0StFA9nuEx7vEAQa8w8m2AJNIwfNU9qvYlqiQ53-kW7t_n41SaTsJ-cYWuZI101jnlNfrFimnEBnIR8/s320/CozianuBen2.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center">(after 15. Bb5)</div><br /><br /><br /><br />White was forced to give up a pawn a few moves later but as compensation he was able to establish a knight on d4. As time pressure approached, GM Benjamin built up nicely on the kingside, while Costin countered in along the d-file. The critical moment occurred when black found a very nice exchange sacrifice to open up the kingside:<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAoZTgBhYCpgHlR7-wg1voHC1HCBwqFpXFgljNWHRZ23cX8Oc5KlRZiq98xti_EriCTtAJ_Mg5IeTZbHDPVc3oP2L46H3Trcevs1GoucfbwbNjpj1mmBvRfYqcze_2dBrHlEK1bxF2SAA/s1600/CozianuBen3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523588058513085490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAoZTgBhYCpgHlR7-wg1voHC1HCBwqFpXFgljNWHRZ23cX8Oc5KlRZiq98xti_EriCTtAJ_Mg5IeTZbHDPVc3oP2L46H3Trcevs1GoucfbwbNjpj1mmBvRfYqcze_2dBrHlEK1bxF2SAA/s320/CozianuBen3.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center">(after 25... Rxf3!)</div><br /><br /><br /><br />Here Seattle fans had reason to be worried. After 26. gxf3, black could have improved with 26...Ne5 instead of 26...Qh3, leading to a winning position. In the complications that followed, white had to find 28. Bxe5 Bxe5 29. f4, probably leading to a draw. Instead, Costin blundered:<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_ADWp9JVuTilmnQlP4qeFJ5SNx9HxUwWSuaUWj0FK0jxmgDmdzqLlHoTyJpJmVWHTjN_s9NROze5DU0blO_0DtrTaJmnRCW0cWADaddX0RQg9voCWItMc9egGmE4KM_UzDARxoZ5dRU/s1600/CozianuBen4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523588058900630018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_ADWp9JVuTilmnQlP4qeFJ5SNx9HxUwWSuaUWj0FK0jxmgDmdzqLlHoTyJpJmVWHTjN_s9NROze5DU0blO_0DtrTaJmnRCW0cWADaddX0RQg9voCWItMc9egGmE4KM_UzDARxoZ5dRU/s320/CozianuBen4.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center">(after 28. Qc3??)</div><br /><br /><br /><br />GM Benjamin had about 2 minutes on his clock to find the crushing 28...Nf5! The point is that after 29. Rxd5, black has 29...Nh4!!, winning instantly.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvVkraXhKUVO-QYzDeN4TeVrXYC5Ii8U2gacEvYsKFfqoUehmDWtWKLjzINq0_JrE7DeeamA41ubfBc20XoZdDuUT-MayZpWKJooXgo4w7T6B87lu9PoE20_1bqQdLvbkx8KO48YTTRNU/s1600/CozianuBen5.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523588064060283234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvVkraXhKUVO-QYzDeN4TeVrXYC5Ii8U2gacEvYsKFfqoUehmDWtWKLjzINq0_JrE7DeeamA41ubfBc20XoZdDuUT-MayZpWKJooXgo4w7T6B87lu9PoE20_1bqQdLvbkx8KO48YTTRNU/s320/CozianuBen5.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center">(analysis diagram after 29...Nh4)</div><br /><br /><br /><br />Fortunately for Costin and the Sluggers, GM Benjamin played the second best move, 28...Bc5+. After 29. Kh1, black missed the last chance to win with Nf5. Costin took advantage of this missed opportunity and calmly played 30. Nf4, after which white is winning.<br /><br /><br /><br />After a series of forced moves, white won a piece for a pawn and converted the ending cleanly. Nicely done Costin!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Board 2: IM Mackenzie Molner (NJ) - FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA), 1/2 - 1/2</span><br /><br /><br /><br />On board 2, Slava was playing up against Molner, a very dangerous IM. Coming into this game, Slava was off to a slow start this season, having castled long after his first three starts. In Slava's defense though, he has played up in all three games, facing 2 GM's and a very strong IM. He came very close to beating GM Gurevich and held his own against IM Barcenilla and GM Becerra. As one of the Sluggers' all-time MVP points leaders, it is only a matter of time before Slava regains his form!<br /><br /><br /><br />Slava seemed to have prepared well for this game, as he opted for a Lowenthal Sicilian instead of his usual classical Sicilian. Molner went for an early queen trade with 8. Qxf6, and the game followed theory until Slava played the rare 10...b5 instead of the more common 10...d5:<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoh-fwPOk4cG8AuSyW5OUGkPFNPZACZU4gRlHgfENaWp2b_84XcENKDhYkr9gqOxhgQysTplrALLIuutRsu0gGa7Z0tNiGHDOQ5M2ZCGLiNzoonU0vCMCXUc4qS_HtJMJkCC7sS3jeF38/s1600/SlavaMac1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523589847527800274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoh-fwPOk4cG8AuSyW5OUGkPFNPZACZU4gRlHgfENaWp2b_84XcENKDhYkr9gqOxhgQysTplrALLIuutRsu0gGa7Z0tNiGHDOQ5M2ZCGLiNzoonU0vCMCXUc4qS_HtJMJkCC7sS3jeF38/s320/SlavaMac1.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center">(after 10...b5)</div><br /><br /><br /><br />The point of this move is to create a square for the bishop on b7 and to take over some space on the queenside. Molner countered with Bg5 and captured on f6, giving black some weak doubled f-pawns.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE6j3zoyoJOEB4Zeuc0Q-cs6Ky3qyS-Iuyqc-AnOMAX6ixsOV_bZ3tB6bPgbRi3WmB68c2vWaVNFTrZDCA9DsNBz6zueZ8CyedpS_RFgmpm2dYefPNW06i6FNziecb_ujWn58659-FHeQ/s1600/SlavaMac2.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523589853410241106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE6j3zoyoJOEB4Zeuc0Q-cs6Ky3qyS-Iuyqc-AnOMAX6ixsOV_bZ3tB6bPgbRi3WmB68c2vWaVNFTrZDCA9DsNBz6zueZ8CyedpS_RFgmpm2dYefPNW06i6FNziecb_ujWn58659-FHeQ/s320/SlavaMac2.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center">(after 14...gxf6)</div><br /><br /><br /><br />I was discussing this position with NM Dereque Kelley during the match, and we went back and forth trying to decide how white can prove an advantage in this position. After doing some analysis with Rybka 4, we decided that the correct plan for white is to play f4, bring his King to e3, double rooks on the f-file and then switch to the c-file at some point one black has taken time to defend on the kingside. Molner instead went for a quick f4 break, exchanged on e5, and doubled his rooks on the f-file. Slava responded by putting his King on e7, king's rook on h7 to guard f7, and his other rook on c8 for play on the queenside.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidB6ShxxynbTV8w0mGSfkGQtpkab0fp-6e4qIT19KyIHIp6p2RD7nNrBKiuWvoZS57n-XKMN9GfsUB2-TNtxL48ZEZAt4v5Nd808cfWyQlGbgQA01CFMKI1fk7SMT0udwUPhFErhFxE_s/s1600/SlavaMac3.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523589850430725618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidB6ShxxynbTV8w0mGSfkGQtpkab0fp-6e4qIT19KyIHIp6p2RD7nNrBKiuWvoZS57n-XKMN9GfsUB2-TNtxL48ZEZAt4v5Nd808cfWyQlGbgQA01CFMKI1fk7SMT0udwUPhFErhFxE_s/s320/SlavaMac3.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center">(after 18...Rh7)</div><br /><br /><br /><br />Molner then played the aggressive 19. Rf6, threatening Rb6. However, after Slava responded with 19...d6, Molner played 20. Nd1?!, allowing 20...Rc2 with equality.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlq9oy2UN59KckGlTmeuUoZf9PRc7QoVlm4lkA03BZ7mAk_zNrxe0nfu5xz_lWS4i1Iagi_SFZHl1Tx6GaU0c3n6KAGdn2bzOyWJ8pmO8_vKk4hdBiSUm1ch4vlf7aE56uBV3YkZ7GeQQ/s1600/SlavaMac4.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 268px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523589856218922546" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlq9oy2UN59KckGlTmeuUoZf9PRc7QoVlm4lkA03BZ7mAk_zNrxe0nfu5xz_lWS4i1Iagi_SFZHl1Tx6GaU0c3n6KAGdn2bzOyWJ8pmO8_vKk4hdBiSUm1ch4vlf7aE56uBV3YkZ7GeQQ/s320/SlavaMac4.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div align="center">(after 20...Rc2)</div><br /><br /><br /><br />Here white had no choice but to retreat his rook back to f2, after which Slava traded into an even endgame and easily held the draw.<br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Final score: Seattle 3.5 - New Jersey 0.5</span><br /><br /><br /><br />Overall, this was a great match for the Sluggers! Everyone played well throughout the evening, and we seemed to gain momentum after Michael Lee's big win on board 3. We were lucky to come out on top in the time-pressure scrambles on boards 1 and 4, and Slava scored a clutch draw on board 2 to clinch the match. We improved our match record to 2.5-3.5, which puts us in a 4-way tie for 4th place in the West. The next 4 weeks will be critical as we play 3 of the teams with whom we're currently tied. With the return of our new superstar from the Olympiad, GM Varuzhan Akobian, we hope to have another strong showing next week as we take on the L.A. Vibe!Kasprosianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02543375043386491454noreply@blogger.com0