I have to say that I could not think of a better song title or song for tonight's match with Arizona. The final was 3-1 for the Scorpions and they fully deserved to win the match, without any question. To make this as simple as possible for any readers who don't like to read, the Sluggers played a match in which they displayed all their short comings and very few of their strengths. Here is a quick recap:
Bd. 1 Ramirez met 1. e4 with Alekhine's defense, Nakamura chose the exchange variation. Black was willing to keep a compact and fairly solid position, Naka seemed to be making small gestures but in the end Ramirez had a liquidation that won black a pawn but left bishops of opposite color.
Bd. 2 Slava played a Grunfeld setup against the english in which Whtie had Qa4+ to h4. This is a kind of tricky bit for Black which Slava didn't handle well. He was dreadfully behind on time and lost a pawn. Altounian didn't let up and scored the full point.
Bd. 3 a Benko broke out between Milat and Adamson, a topical line with 10 Rb1 followed. For some reason Black put h6 and g5 in which afforded White a ready made idea. Marcel did his best to create an accident on the g or h files, but was unable and with both sides low on time a draw was agreed.
Bd. 4 Sinanan played the Nimzo, Mateer replied with 4. Qc2 00 5. e4. This has become a popular line, which I don't know the theory of. Josh created a really good chance based on play down the h1-a8 diagonal, but missed what I think was an excellent chance at move 20 where I thought 20...e3 was quite strong. Slowly White crawled out of trouble, offered a draw which was refused in order to play on and then Josh's boat just went over.
In a way this was a perfect storm. With Black the Sluggers were not prepared at all and got caught out for it, both blacks were way behind on time in the early opening phases. Combined with Naka's worst performance of the season, with all due credit to Ramirez, and Seattle just didn't have any umph. This is very much like matches that they played last season where they were underdogs and just seemed to accept that status. Let's hope that isn't really the case.
Next up is Chicago, a team with surprising aspirations to get into the playoffs. We know they will be coming to play, so lets hope the Sluggers do as well.
ttyl and have a nice day
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sunshine Superman
There's no denying it, the best score he had ever gotten at trivia. He had finished first before, but not by that margin. Still, there had been greater scores. How things had changed. In younger days a victory would have meant cause for ice cream and dreams of greater glory, now it was merely a time to reflect on the circumstances of a particular time. "Oh well, no time to waste. Matches are up, let's see who is playing this week". His fingers deftly typed the letters and pressed return. As the page opened his mind had wondered, to the different fortunes and how to portray them. "Ah, here we are" he mused as the page appeared. Yes, things had changed a lot. A slight dismay whisped by him as he read the names "Queens and Carolina". One team had higher aspirations and the other was coming off unexpected success, now they were both playing out the season. The difference was that the Cobras still played a little beyond themselves. Queens by a length, it will be an upset. Another team that gives it a lot of effort is Chicago, this week they face Dallas. "The abyss" he thought, "Dallas is on the lip of elimination. Will they panic? Will they through some kind of changeup?" Checking the lineups he noticed that Dallas had an A player in the lineup. Well, they seem to be going with their 3 best horses on top. "Ok, Dallas will keep the suspense for another week, the Destiny by margin on prelined note paper". Down scrolled the screen as he watched the names in the San Francisco versus Tennessee match appear. " Holy Moly, is Tennessee banking on their 4th board having a slingshot or some such?" Shrugging he typed "SF 3-1" keeping the hope that he wasn't short changing somebody. Taking a sip of tea he became aware that the types of matches had changed. Monday was a showcase mostly for teams that weren't in a race, teams showing what they had without any thought to final standings. The first match listed for Wednesday had a team hungry for a win to advance their playoff chances against a team thumping around the league. The Inventors are an eyelash from playoff possibilities, while the Knockouts are full of unexpected status as the premier team in the league. " Don't be fooled" grinding his teeth at the possibilities, " The Inventors are looking to play even on 1, 2 and 4 then take their chances with a veteran. Good trick, if it works. No, I don't see it, but there is credit enough for all. Tie" He wrote the words and bit his lip, " the Knockouts are in the playoffs and don't face the Knights again in the regular season, yet their history in finishing the season is poor. Tie!". New York and Baltimore, these teams were closely matched. " The difference will be on the middle boards. Even if the Knights win on 4th board, the Kingfishers will surprise them. Baltimore will win by a tail". He chuckled to himself, a fish tail that is he thought. A bit of amusement was well timed as he noted the next match. Boston faces Miami in a match where only the Sharks can affect their playoff position. "What really matters is that both teams have something to prove. The Blitz may not give a fig what the rest of the league thinks, but they have to answer to themselves at some point. Miami is composed and will be prepared. So, what do I base my decision on?" He sipped more tea and glanced at the clock. "Of course! It is right in front of me. The Blitz have been beating St. Mary's Sisters of the weak pawn and teams like that. They haven't found their way past a winning team yet. I can't go against a trend like that. Miami will win by the difference of the respective teams fourth board IQ". He knew trouble was ahead, but it always had been. Nothing new there. So, we are down to the Arizona and Seattle match up. Fully aware that even a loss wouldn't drop Seattle from first or from the playoffs, he wondered what was the teams motivation? "Play them, one at a time". he knew it was a cliche. Still, no one really understood it as well as he did. "They have a match to play, so they play. Hikaru, Slava and Josh... been pretty steady so far. Almost sounds like a law firm." As much as he liked the names, the thing that was obvious was that Seattle players had been able to avoid bad streaks. That would suggest Marcel would have a fine game. Still, it wasn't easy. Suspicion, Arizona listed an A player on fourth board. "A trick?" he wondered. Well, if it was a trick it would turn out to be a real doozy. Checking Arizona's point of view he noted that getting a 2600 player on first board is pretty good, except when that player is outrated by 150 points. This seemed out of whack. "It must be some kind of kharma thing" he tried to persuade himself. "No, they have to play the matches too. That is the Scorpions motivation". Seattle was vey likely to win on the outside boards and only needed some kind of score in the middle. As if to make a note of a special ingridient in an old family recipe he pointed at the screen. " A modest victory for Seattle. The Sluggers shall prevail by the distance between 2 raindrops". There it was done. All of the matches had been verified. As always he checked again, just to be sure no one snuck in when he wasn't looking
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Let the Good Times Roll
Hi to all the readers, we are back again. If you ask me what I will remember about week 8 I will likely tell you " some teams really defined themselves". Yup, that is what I would say. I don't really try to be cryptic, but I find it comes in handy quite often. Let me explain, but first a quick recap of the Sluggers match up with Tennessee.
At lineup time it was pretty obvious that Seattle expected a couple more GM's to play than actually did, while Tennessee aimed to try a little bit of "small ball" by getting some extra strength on the lower boards. In Arun Sharma's recent "Mid Season All Star" post he picked John Bick as the allstar 3rd board, so it seemed like a stroke of genius when the Tempo were able to push him down to 4th board. No moss growing on them Tempo players (note to league officials: is it ok to refer to multiple Tennessee players as "Tempi"?) . So, the match started. Nakamura on board 1 seems to be using 1...b6 to good effect and had another opportunity as Ron Burnett shot out 1.Nf3. Serper started with 1.c4 and 2.g3 which was his standard fare coming up, to which Andrews used a move order which has become standard since the late 80's. Bereolos and Readey on board 3 started with 1.d4 d6 2.c4 e5 and followed with the shadow boxing that seems to come from this line. Finally, an advance Caro popped up on board 4 as Chen and Bick looked like they were ready for this matchup. It somehow worked out that board 4 went very quickly as Bick played c5 a little early to which Chen found a really good response with c4, the center blew open and black's king was stuck on e8. After a couple of tactics Bick was compelled to give up the queen for a rook and bishop with Chen grabbing a couple of pawns on the way with check. This was over surprisingly quickly. Nakamura didn't appear to play for equality, but got there anyway. Burnett's decision to exchange black square bishop for knight on c5 just propelled Black into activity and a miscalculation followed that cost white a piece. Meanwhile, Bereolos and Readey were brushing up on the modern rules where players can move the pieces more than 3 squares at a time. Andrews on board 2 made what I consider a questionable choice by going for a Kings Indian formation and giving Serper the opportunity to play the Botvinnik formation ( note to readers: please don't read that last sentence aloud to any spouse, significant other or close friend who is not a chess player as that last sentence spells out "Geek" in the outside world). Serper put his pieces on the squares he wanted, played a minor combination, kept Andrews staggering, picked up the exchange and finally trapped Todd's queen. At this point I noted that Bereolos had offered a draw to Readey, which was declined! This surprised me a lot, but to each his own. This game went on for quite a while and ended as a draw, though Readey missed a couple of places to improve greatly. So, a 3.5 - .5 victory to keep the Sluggers in first place. Any time a team fields 2 GM's it seems as if they should be heavy favorites, but in this case there is more to it. Chen played a very creditable game on 4th board, while Readey did a fine job on 3rd. This indicates that Seattle it getting points from places other than the top. Tennessee was unfortunate to run into the Sluggers right now, because as well as having the 2 GM's they have a lot of momentum. Sometimes a team gets a little run going and it just seems to build on itself, that is where the Sluggers seem to be right now. The Tempo deserve full credit for finding a formula to give themselves a chance and for playing tough.
A team on a roll. Remember last season? The team on the roll was the Carolina Cobras, who won matches that seemed well beyong their resources. This season they are struggling to get any kind of a run going. So, when they faced the New York Knights there was plenty of reason to pick the Knights. Well folks, this is why they play them. The Cobras were able to get a tie in a match that belonged to the Knights. We should send out kudos to the Cobras for continuing to play hard and seek out points that aren't apparent to the rest of us. Philly and Baltimore played to a tie, which combined with the Knights tie to do absolutely nothing to clarify the playoff standings except take one more week away. The Mechanics pumelled the Pioneers,. I want to say that Queens has the appearance of a team that has plenty of talent, but no real direction... they haven't devised ways to win matches. Dallas had a great chance to leap back into the playoffs with a match versus the Miami Sharks, but were only able to tie. Arizona confirmed their status as a playoff team with a win over Chicago. The Blaze have played every match to the hilt and with a little bit of a swing could have been in the playoff chase. And finally, the New Jersey Knockouts made it clear that they are serious about not just making the playoffs, but making some noise there with a 4-0 thrashing of Boston. This doesn't affect playoff standings in terms of making the post season, but now Boston will have to get some help to get the draw odds that are now in the possesion of New Jersey. What we found from all of this is that there are some teams who have found the path to Olympus, some teams who are looking and some teams who are more than happy to make the trail as dusty as possible.
Ok, in week 9 the big matchup is Seattle and Arizona as the top 2 teams in the West square off. The Scorpions have been a refreshing presence in the league this year, but there is one thing I gotta say. You know, they have at least 3 folks who regularly blog and closer to 5 or 6 who throw stuff out there while I am only me. If it takes 5 or 6 of them to match me, the Scorps have a ways to go, though I must admit to having a couple of their albums in the 80's. This brings me to my final deal. Bloggers, we got rapped in the mouth by a certain member of a certain team that is in the northeast and just lost their second shutout match. This season seems to have a lot of posts by Arizona, New Jersey, Chicago and... me. Boston got in there a bit, but seem to be real quiet, except for a certain member of their team who's mouth is only slightly smaller than his ego. There have to be other folks out there who want to let us know what they think? Or rant? Or vent? Or just have a voice? Come on guys, lets hear some more from you. SF, are you guys really so busy? Miami, I know you don't have cold weather so do some talking. Dallas! Hey, Bartholomew you said you were going to spice things up? New York, you gotta be kidding me that you don't have something to say? You guys can't really be thinking that we don't want to hear from you? We do. So, let's hear it!!!
Ok, thanks as always to the Commish, Mulfish, the kids in the lunch line, Todd Andrews for explaining what was going to happen if a certain member of a certain team accidentally found himself below the Mason Dixon Line, to all my readers the "4 to 9ers" and of course to Mom who taught me the best gambling odds should be less than the confidence I have in myself. ttyl and have a nice day
At lineup time it was pretty obvious that Seattle expected a couple more GM's to play than actually did, while Tennessee aimed to try a little bit of "small ball" by getting some extra strength on the lower boards. In Arun Sharma's recent "Mid Season All Star" post he picked John Bick as the allstar 3rd board, so it seemed like a stroke of genius when the Tempo were able to push him down to 4th board. No moss growing on them Tempo players (note to league officials: is it ok to refer to multiple Tennessee players as "Tempi"?) . So, the match started. Nakamura on board 1 seems to be using 1...b6 to good effect and had another opportunity as Ron Burnett shot out 1.Nf3. Serper started with 1.c4 and 2.g3 which was his standard fare coming up, to which Andrews used a move order which has become standard since the late 80's. Bereolos and Readey on board 3 started with 1.d4 d6 2.c4 e5 and followed with the shadow boxing that seems to come from this line. Finally, an advance Caro popped up on board 4 as Chen and Bick looked like they were ready for this matchup. It somehow worked out that board 4 went very quickly as Bick played c5 a little early to which Chen found a really good response with c4, the center blew open and black's king was stuck on e8. After a couple of tactics Bick was compelled to give up the queen for a rook and bishop with Chen grabbing a couple of pawns on the way with check. This was over surprisingly quickly. Nakamura didn't appear to play for equality, but got there anyway. Burnett's decision to exchange black square bishop for knight on c5 just propelled Black into activity and a miscalculation followed that cost white a piece. Meanwhile, Bereolos and Readey were brushing up on the modern rules where players can move the pieces more than 3 squares at a time. Andrews on board 2 made what I consider a questionable choice by going for a Kings Indian formation and giving Serper the opportunity to play the Botvinnik formation ( note to readers: please don't read that last sentence aloud to any spouse, significant other or close friend who is not a chess player as that last sentence spells out "Geek" in the outside world). Serper put his pieces on the squares he wanted, played a minor combination, kept Andrews staggering, picked up the exchange and finally trapped Todd's queen. At this point I noted that Bereolos had offered a draw to Readey, which was declined! This surprised me a lot, but to each his own. This game went on for quite a while and ended as a draw, though Readey missed a couple of places to improve greatly. So, a 3.5 - .5 victory to keep the Sluggers in first place. Any time a team fields 2 GM's it seems as if they should be heavy favorites, but in this case there is more to it. Chen played a very creditable game on 4th board, while Readey did a fine job on 3rd. This indicates that Seattle it getting points from places other than the top. Tennessee was unfortunate to run into the Sluggers right now, because as well as having the 2 GM's they have a lot of momentum. Sometimes a team gets a little run going and it just seems to build on itself, that is where the Sluggers seem to be right now. The Tempo deserve full credit for finding a formula to give themselves a chance and for playing tough.
A team on a roll. Remember last season? The team on the roll was the Carolina Cobras, who won matches that seemed well beyong their resources. This season they are struggling to get any kind of a run going. So, when they faced the New York Knights there was plenty of reason to pick the Knights. Well folks, this is why they play them. The Cobras were able to get a tie in a match that belonged to the Knights. We should send out kudos to the Cobras for continuing to play hard and seek out points that aren't apparent to the rest of us. Philly and Baltimore played to a tie, which combined with the Knights tie to do absolutely nothing to clarify the playoff standings except take one more week away. The Mechanics pumelled the Pioneers,. I want to say that Queens has the appearance of a team that has plenty of talent, but no real direction... they haven't devised ways to win matches. Dallas had a great chance to leap back into the playoffs with a match versus the Miami Sharks, but were only able to tie. Arizona confirmed their status as a playoff team with a win over Chicago. The Blaze have played every match to the hilt and with a little bit of a swing could have been in the playoff chase. And finally, the New Jersey Knockouts made it clear that they are serious about not just making the playoffs, but making some noise there with a 4-0 thrashing of Boston. This doesn't affect playoff standings in terms of making the post season, but now Boston will have to get some help to get the draw odds that are now in the possesion of New Jersey. What we found from all of this is that there are some teams who have found the path to Olympus, some teams who are looking and some teams who are more than happy to make the trail as dusty as possible.
Ok, in week 9 the big matchup is Seattle and Arizona as the top 2 teams in the West square off. The Scorpions have been a refreshing presence in the league this year, but there is one thing I gotta say. You know, they have at least 3 folks who regularly blog and closer to 5 or 6 who throw stuff out there while I am only me. If it takes 5 or 6 of them to match me, the Scorps have a ways to go, though I must admit to having a couple of their albums in the 80's. This brings me to my final deal. Bloggers, we got rapped in the mouth by a certain member of a certain team that is in the northeast and just lost their second shutout match. This season seems to have a lot of posts by Arizona, New Jersey, Chicago and... me. Boston got in there a bit, but seem to be real quiet, except for a certain member of their team who's mouth is only slightly smaller than his ego. There have to be other folks out there who want to let us know what they think? Or rant? Or vent? Or just have a voice? Come on guys, lets hear some more from you. SF, are you guys really so busy? Miami, I know you don't have cold weather so do some talking. Dallas! Hey, Bartholomew you said you were going to spice things up? New York, you gotta be kidding me that you don't have something to say? You guys can't really be thinking that we don't want to hear from you? We do. So, let's hear it!!!
Ok, thanks as always to the Commish, Mulfish, the kids in the lunch line, Todd Andrews for explaining what was going to happen if a certain member of a certain team accidentally found himself below the Mason Dixon Line, to all my readers the "4 to 9ers" and of course to Mom who taught me the best gambling odds should be less than the confidence I have in myself. ttyl and have a nice day
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Karn Evil #9
Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends,
We're so glad you could attend, come inside come inside,
There behind the glass stands a real blade of grass,
Be careful as you pass, move along move along
Week 8 and the pairings are up, good to be here to share a few moments with the readers in their busy lives. I have to tell you, the USCL is really a lot of fun and there is a simple reason for that. Think about it, there are a whole bunch of us who wake up on Saturday's and Sundays in the fall or winter so that we will be certain to watch football on TV, later in the year it will be hoops. After watching our favorite teams we go on the blogging sites and critique the coaches and officials, the failures of the players and the insanity of the beer commercials. Here in the USCL we can do pretty much the same, well except for the beer commercials. There is a difference. I never played organized sports past high school and have no idea what it is like to compete at those levels, nor have I ever been on the field or court with any of the players I see on TV. I have played in tournaments against a whole bunch of the USCL players and expect to look across at some of them again! Oh no, I am not a titled player or anything like, don't get me wrong I have been in a ton of team leagues and know what it takes to play and win. That's the deal, just because the players in the USCL are stronger or have higher ratings doesn't deny the fact that we have all been in the pits of playing chess right there along side them, as opposed to pro/college sports where very few of us have any idea what is involved. Yeah, this league is a lot closer to home and that makes it so much fun. So, as I start to embarass myself again with these inane predictions, let the USCL know what you think. I am certain that the Commish is more than welcome to ideas and comments. Ok? Bring on the next act!
Monday sees the match that so many have had circled, the Boston-New Jersey showdown. But first there we should comment on the other 2 Monday night menageries. Dallas faces Miami. This is it for the Destiny, they can still make the playoffs and have a certain amount of their fate in their own hands, but it has to start here. It looks like they are seeing it the same way I am by having Ludwig and Kiewra in the middle. If they can pick up a score on the outside boards Dallas has a cood chance to win the match. Miami is still a formidable team, but have misplaced some of the magic they had last year. I have a feeling that the Destiny aren't quite done yet and will pull this off by width of a caterpillars nose (Note to Ron Young: I am trying out this scoring system using words... hope it works). Chicago has Arizona on Monday as wll. Both teams are coming off surprise victories last weel. Chicago's Jan van de Mortel has proven to be a barrel of fun on first board, but the Blaze don't have Angelo Young. Combine that with Arizona's push to the playoffs and I see the Scrops winning by the distance between major cities on an AZ state road map. Now, the Blitz and Knockouts setup. It is surprising that neither Christiansen or Benjamin is playing, but the quality of top board matchups doesn't fall with Gulko vs. Perelshtyn and Sammour=Hasbun up against Ippolito. Boston has an advantage on third board, while the Knockouts have high expectations for youngster Ng on 4. I want to think that Boston has an advantage based on the difference on third board, but NJ has been showing a lot of resilience so far. If there is going to be a surprise in the match I suspect it will be on board 2, though that is entirely a hunch. I am going to say the match ends in a tie.
Wednesday starts off with the Knights against the Cobras. Carolina picked up there best result of the season last week, but the New Yorkers have some battle tested players back. This one goes to the Knights by the width of one of them streets in the Big Apple. Philly has Baltimore. The Inventors could move into the bottom playoff position with a win and are trying to find a hot hand on board 1. The Kingfishers have been in a funk all season and I don't see them getting out of it. I like the Inventors by a crack in a bell. San Francisco faces the Queens squad this week. The Mechanics are going with the same lineup as last week, there must be some scheduling issues for them as the risk of going further down the playoff list is nothing to sneeze at. Queens is looking to make a late pull into the playoff race in the East. The Mechanics are a tough bunch and I really don't like picking an eastern team in 6th place over a western team in 3rd place, but it looks to me like Queens has a better group on the first 3 boards and will win by a donut hole. Now we get to the Sluggers and the Tempo match. This is one of those times where you kind of look at the matchups and wonder just exactly who Kreskin is working for. Seattle put their 2 GM's out there, obviously anticipating the Tempo would do the same, and Tennessee has sold some carrots on the top two to get potatoes on the bottom 2. Ok, sounds like I am saying "Seattle on first 2 and Tennessee on the bottom", but not quite that easy. I have faced Burnett online a bunch of times and have the utmost respect for him as well as Todd Andrews, but when you go into the cage with the lions you gotta think that very few good things are going to happen. It would seem that if there are going to be results that don't fit the schedule it would be on one of the two bottom boards. I am thinking board 3 will be the place the match goes one way or the other. Bereolos and Readey are similar types of players and I think I know what opening it will be ( I don't want to give away anyone's secretes here, but the opening line I am thinking is on page 234 of the.... cough, cough, uh never mind). I think the match will be a tie with Seattle have about a 1/3 of a point chance for victory.
Ok, Alfred Hitchcock is on and I gotta go. Remember to let your USCL team or the Commish know how much you enjoy this league. Big thanks to Emerson, Lake and Palmer, to Eddie, to that whiny guy in the Sluggers mascot costume, to Joe the pizza delivery man and of course Dean Wormer. ttyl and have a nice day
We're so glad you could attend, come inside come inside,
There behind the glass stands a real blade of grass,
Be careful as you pass, move along move along
Week 8 and the pairings are up, good to be here to share a few moments with the readers in their busy lives. I have to tell you, the USCL is really a lot of fun and there is a simple reason for that. Think about it, there are a whole bunch of us who wake up on Saturday's and Sundays in the fall or winter so that we will be certain to watch football on TV, later in the year it will be hoops. After watching our favorite teams we go on the blogging sites and critique the coaches and officials, the failures of the players and the insanity of the beer commercials. Here in the USCL we can do pretty much the same, well except for the beer commercials. There is a difference. I never played organized sports past high school and have no idea what it is like to compete at those levels, nor have I ever been on the field or court with any of the players I see on TV. I have played in tournaments against a whole bunch of the USCL players and expect to look across at some of them again! Oh no, I am not a titled player or anything like, don't get me wrong I have been in a ton of team leagues and know what it takes to play and win. That's the deal, just because the players in the USCL are stronger or have higher ratings doesn't deny the fact that we have all been in the pits of playing chess right there along side them, as opposed to pro/college sports where very few of us have any idea what is involved. Yeah, this league is a lot closer to home and that makes it so much fun. So, as I start to embarass myself again with these inane predictions, let the USCL know what you think. I am certain that the Commish is more than welcome to ideas and comments. Ok? Bring on the next act!
Monday sees the match that so many have had circled, the Boston-New Jersey showdown. But first there we should comment on the other 2 Monday night menageries. Dallas faces Miami. This is it for the Destiny, they can still make the playoffs and have a certain amount of their fate in their own hands, but it has to start here. It looks like they are seeing it the same way I am by having Ludwig and Kiewra in the middle. If they can pick up a score on the outside boards Dallas has a cood chance to win the match. Miami is still a formidable team, but have misplaced some of the magic they had last year. I have a feeling that the Destiny aren't quite done yet and will pull this off by width of a caterpillars nose (Note to Ron Young: I am trying out this scoring system using words... hope it works). Chicago has Arizona on Monday as wll. Both teams are coming off surprise victories last weel. Chicago's Jan van de Mortel has proven to be a barrel of fun on first board, but the Blaze don't have Angelo Young. Combine that with Arizona's push to the playoffs and I see the Scrops winning by the distance between major cities on an AZ state road map. Now, the Blitz and Knockouts setup. It is surprising that neither Christiansen or Benjamin is playing, but the quality of top board matchups doesn't fall with Gulko vs. Perelshtyn and Sammour=Hasbun up against Ippolito. Boston has an advantage on third board, while the Knockouts have high expectations for youngster Ng on 4. I want to think that Boston has an advantage based on the difference on third board, but NJ has been showing a lot of resilience so far. If there is going to be a surprise in the match I suspect it will be on board 2, though that is entirely a hunch. I am going to say the match ends in a tie.
Wednesday starts off with the Knights against the Cobras. Carolina picked up there best result of the season last week, but the New Yorkers have some battle tested players back. This one goes to the Knights by the width of one of them streets in the Big Apple. Philly has Baltimore. The Inventors could move into the bottom playoff position with a win and are trying to find a hot hand on board 1. The Kingfishers have been in a funk all season and I don't see them getting out of it. I like the Inventors by a crack in a bell. San Francisco faces the Queens squad this week. The Mechanics are going with the same lineup as last week, there must be some scheduling issues for them as the risk of going further down the playoff list is nothing to sneeze at. Queens is looking to make a late pull into the playoff race in the East. The Mechanics are a tough bunch and I really don't like picking an eastern team in 6th place over a western team in 3rd place, but it looks to me like Queens has a better group on the first 3 boards and will win by a donut hole. Now we get to the Sluggers and the Tempo match. This is one of those times where you kind of look at the matchups and wonder just exactly who Kreskin is working for. Seattle put their 2 GM's out there, obviously anticipating the Tempo would do the same, and Tennessee has sold some carrots on the top two to get potatoes on the bottom 2. Ok, sounds like I am saying "Seattle on first 2 and Tennessee on the bottom", but not quite that easy. I have faced Burnett online a bunch of times and have the utmost respect for him as well as Todd Andrews, but when you go into the cage with the lions you gotta think that very few good things are going to happen. It would seem that if there are going to be results that don't fit the schedule it would be on one of the two bottom boards. I am thinking board 3 will be the place the match goes one way or the other. Bereolos and Readey are similar types of players and I think I know what opening it will be ( I don't want to give away anyone's secretes here, but the opening line I am thinking is on page 234 of the.... cough, cough, uh never mind). I think the match will be a tie with Seattle have about a 1/3 of a point chance for victory.
Ok, Alfred Hitchcock is on and I gotta go. Remember to let your USCL team or the Commish know how much you enjoy this league. Big thanks to Emerson, Lake and Palmer, to Eddie, to that whiny guy in the Sluggers mascot costume, to Joe the pizza delivery man and of course Dean Wormer. ttyl and have a nice day
Friday, October 16, 2009
Heart Full of Soul
HIYA, HIYA, HIYA, HIYA…!!! It is a great day to be writing. Sky is gray, rain is falling from right to left (October in Seattle is very windy) and the only thing less interesting than the local news is, well news from any where else! It is a great day! Before we get to all the razzmatazz from this past week, I want to share a thought with the other bloggers in the USCL. I have to pay tribute to my “spiritual superior”. Like Darth Vader kneeling before the Emperor, I bow my head in tribute to the force that has guided my hand in blogging. Of course, I recommend all of this person’s worCheck this guy out, I am pretty certain you can all pick up plenty of tips on interesting communication from him! Ok, on to the party…!!!!
Sluggers match with the Sharks. I had convinced myself to pick the Sluggers to win based on some pretty reasonable thinking. Therein was the problem, anyone who knows me will tell you that I am neither reasonable or a thinker. Behind the scenes I was kicking myself for not looking at the facts. Seattle had found their way to the top of the western division, had Nakamura coming back and were facing a Miami team that appeared to be in the middle of the blues, you know the depression of staying up to 4 a.m. to see your favorite terrible sci-fi movie only to find out they cut out the one scene you loved and now you had to be up at 6:30 to go to work? Yeah, that feeling. All of these things were really negatives for the Sluggers; never a team to accept success well, this was the equivalent of winning a brand new Porsche as the price of gas hits $5 a gallon. Still, I had to watch… it is my duty. Sinanan on board 4 had a pretty standard game, got to a Benoni type position with b5-b4 in, then did a slight shuffle of pieces to the left (does anyone remember “The Time Warp”?) and finished with a bit of nice technique. Well done. Milat made his season debut on board 3 and surprised me by playing the Zot /Trompovski (quick note to Marcel… “Dude, tough to get to the Belgrade after that sequence”). This one deteriorated quickly into a contest of who could mis-interpret Reinfeld more effectively. To be fair, Marcel found everything in the house to try to win and it wasn’t quite enough. On board 2 Slava took a choice in the opening to give up the exchange for a pawn and cut Martinez’ attacking chances down. It appears that White then went looking for a rabbit, while Slava just “slowly rolled along”. In a game where either side certainly had places to press for more, a draw was found via a rook opposition. Matchups of GM’s in the USCL has become pretty common and we know that those GM’s just don’t like being outdone at anything. So, as if the efforts on boards 2 and 3 weren’t enough Becerra and Nakamura got together to give us plenty more excitement. I had predicted that Nakamura would open with 1.g3, this had been his usual previously in USCL matches, and was quite intrigued when he opted for the Veresov. It turned out to be an inspired choice as White was presented with a huge space advantage and plenty of time in the opening. I would bet that Nakamura changed his mind at a couple of points, seeking the “perfect” route instead of just a pawn or some such ( I hope he writes the game up in his blog). Slowly Becerra worked his way out of the dungeon and emerged with equality. So, tied match right? WRONG!! I don’t know if he just misjudged, misanalyzed or simply overplayed but Becerra went directly into a losing ending by offering a queen exchange. Nakamura found a very direct line to victory from there. So, another use of reflections to collect a 2 ½ - 1 ½ victory. Let’s be clear, except for board 4 all the games swung around at least once and had the potential for any result, plus every player seemed to have some sort of issue with the clock. This was a close match between division rivals. Next up for the Sluggers is a rematch with the Tennessee boys who will likely by sporting their 2 GM’s again.
On a more self serving angle; note to IM Mark Ginsburg ( please, please, please Eddie, can I call him Dr. Demento?) when you are considering the opening to focus on this week keep in mind that this week there were 2 Zots, 1 Veresov, 1 aborted Stonewall and of course the Young – Bick encounter. Work with the league here to get across to the readers how Sunye Neto – Quinteros Lone Pine 77 had morphed into Young – Bick USCL 2009. Changing topics here, I appreciate the Arizona folks for all their efforts in blogging and want the rest of the league to show their approval as well. However, I think there should be a rule limiting players to less than 3 “nicknames”. Please, Dr. Dem… er, I mean IM Ginsburg sir, I am your age and enjoy quite a bit about your writing, but giving each player on the squad 3 or more nicknames is a bit much. If J. Edgar Hoover were alive the Tucson area would be drowning in FBI agents trying to figure out what secrets you are passing to the KGB via these nicknames! Thank you.
Donuts! That should be the battle cry for at least a couple of the USCL teams. Anyone who knows/remembers “The Tick” can relate this to “spoon”. I am however suspicious, thinking back on GM Benjamin’s comments about “energy drinks” and donuts, then seeing this. Coincidence?
Special big thanks go out this week to John Bick and Angelo Young, spirits of chess from a different dimension, to all the players out there pushing digital wood, to all the “four – to – niners” where ever they may be, absolutely to my friend Mulfish, The Arizona team for being good sports and of course to the Commish. Ttyl and have a nice day!
Sluggers match with the Sharks. I had convinced myself to pick the Sluggers to win based on some pretty reasonable thinking. Therein was the problem, anyone who knows me will tell you that I am neither reasonable or a thinker. Behind the scenes I was kicking myself for not looking at the facts. Seattle had found their way to the top of the western division, had Nakamura coming back and were facing a Miami team that appeared to be in the middle of the blues, you know the depression of staying up to 4 a.m. to see your favorite terrible sci-fi movie only to find out they cut out the one scene you loved and now you had to be up at 6:30 to go to work? Yeah, that feeling. All of these things were really negatives for the Sluggers; never a team to accept success well, this was the equivalent of winning a brand new Porsche as the price of gas hits $5 a gallon. Still, I had to watch… it is my duty. Sinanan on board 4 had a pretty standard game, got to a Benoni type position with b5-b4 in, then did a slight shuffle of pieces to the left (does anyone remember “The Time Warp”?) and finished with a bit of nice technique. Well done. Milat made his season debut on board 3 and surprised me by playing the Zot /Trompovski (quick note to Marcel… “Dude, tough to get to the Belgrade after that sequence”). This one deteriorated quickly into a contest of who could mis-interpret Reinfeld more effectively. To be fair, Marcel found everything in the house to try to win and it wasn’t quite enough. On board 2 Slava took a choice in the opening to give up the exchange for a pawn and cut Martinez’ attacking chances down. It appears that White then went looking for a rabbit, while Slava just “slowly rolled along”. In a game where either side certainly had places to press for more, a draw was found via a rook opposition. Matchups of GM’s in the USCL has become pretty common and we know that those GM’s just don’t like being outdone at anything. So, as if the efforts on boards 2 and 3 weren’t enough Becerra and Nakamura got together to give us plenty more excitement. I had predicted that Nakamura would open with 1.g3, this had been his usual previously in USCL matches, and was quite intrigued when he opted for the Veresov. It turned out to be an inspired choice as White was presented with a huge space advantage and plenty of time in the opening. I would bet that Nakamura changed his mind at a couple of points, seeking the “perfect” route instead of just a pawn or some such ( I hope he writes the game up in his blog). Slowly Becerra worked his way out of the dungeon and emerged with equality. So, tied match right? WRONG!! I don’t know if he just misjudged, misanalyzed or simply overplayed but Becerra went directly into a losing ending by offering a queen exchange. Nakamura found a very direct line to victory from there. So, another use of reflections to collect a 2 ½ - 1 ½ victory. Let’s be clear, except for board 4 all the games swung around at least once and had the potential for any result, plus every player seemed to have some sort of issue with the clock. This was a close match between division rivals. Next up for the Sluggers is a rematch with the Tennessee boys who will likely by sporting their 2 GM’s again.
On a more self serving angle; note to IM Mark Ginsburg ( please, please, please Eddie, can I call him Dr. Demento?) when you are considering the opening to focus on this week keep in mind that this week there were 2 Zots, 1 Veresov, 1 aborted Stonewall and of course the Young – Bick encounter. Work with the league here to get across to the readers how Sunye Neto – Quinteros Lone Pine 77 had morphed into Young – Bick USCL 2009. Changing topics here, I appreciate the Arizona folks for all their efforts in blogging and want the rest of the league to show their approval as well. However, I think there should be a rule limiting players to less than 3 “nicknames”. Please, Dr. Dem… er, I mean IM Ginsburg sir, I am your age and enjoy quite a bit about your writing, but giving each player on the squad 3 or more nicknames is a bit much. If J. Edgar Hoover were alive the Tucson area would be drowning in FBI agents trying to figure out what secrets you are passing to the KGB via these nicknames! Thank you.
Donuts! That should be the battle cry for at least a couple of the USCL teams. Anyone who knows/remembers “The Tick” can relate this to “spoon”. I am however suspicious, thinking back on GM Benjamin’s comments about “energy drinks” and donuts, then seeing this. Coincidence?
Special big thanks go out this week to John Bick and Angelo Young, spirits of chess from a different dimension, to all the players out there pushing digital wood, to all the “four – to – niners” where ever they may be, absolutely to my friend Mulfish, The Arizona team for being good sports and of course to the Commish. Ttyl and have a nice day!
Monday, October 12, 2009
CHANGES
Many tasks at hand. Of course, it was a day off and some how there were always lots of tasks for a day off. He glanced out the window as the view was filled with a sudden burst of sunshine. "Check the USCL first!", his mind concluded the best first step. Checking for updates and rereading posts for new comments there was one thing that was fairly obvious, either the USCF or the Commish was going to have to make some sort of ruling about the consumption of donuts . "Quite a change in a week, the Knockouts have gone from looking for a record 6-0 start to worrying about fried pastries." His direction of thought jumped to the changes of the past week. "Not an unusual result in the league, nobody got 3/4 of a point for almost winning or anything like that" , his face changed expression as his eyes squinted "Four-to Niners?" The mind would be boggled. Such things didn't happen in a universe directed by string theory, only in the universes of upside down gravity. "NO! There is the clue!" Yes, 429 was a special number in his memory. As a youngster his mother had taught him about the odds in Vegas, where they happened to live, and one of the things she ingrained in him was that you would never see a smaller number listed first, " 2 to 1 you will see, 3 to 1 sometimes, even 7 to 2, but never a smaller number first like 4 to 9". He could here her words in his mind, those exact words, 4 to 9!. It was mom letting him know that she was well. Having been on the run for that whole "Yes, we produce wonderful dry wines in Washington state" fiasco. Everyone knows that 'Dry" and "Washington" can't be used together. "Thanks Mom" he thought. Now, there are matchups to consider.
New York versus Philadelphia looks pretty easy. "Of course I will root for the Inventors first board, I remember him as a fine lad in Alaska, scratched arm and all", yet that won't change the outcome. The Knights are picking up momentum and will win this one easily
Carolina and Dallas, " Poor scheduling committee, didn't have a clue" Carolina has run completely out of magic dust and the Destiny are trying to get out of the rear view mirror in the West playoff race. Dallas will win, by the minimum, but will win
Wednesday night has only in division matches for each side on Wednesday
Boston and Queens. His head turned for an instant as a could blocked the sunlight for a moment. Boston would be the obvious pick, obvious to those who didn't observe. The Blitz know they have a big match next week and could be looking ahead, not really very likely as the Boston players seemed to focus on their immediate surrounding quite well. No, there are 2 factors to consider. Queens took a hard loss last week where a tie seemed almost certain, this is the point where they need to make some advances in the standings. Combine that with the most recent trend, Red Sox swept in playoffs and Patriots defeated by some oversized ponies, and you have the makings of a surprise result. I can't pick Queens to win because that would have too dramatic an effect on next weeks predictions (how many of us think Boston would lose 2 in a row?). Tie
The Knockouts face the Kingfishers. Baltimore isn't fielding there best team, so their chances go way down. The Knockouts get back on track.
Chicago is kind of like the little train that can't. Their lineup jumps around too much. The Tempo have their GM's on hand and will win easily. Board 3 will be the focus for much of this match as Bick and Young are possibly the 2 best board 3's . "That is another change" he thought, "Arun is back?"
Sf and Arizona face off. The Mechanics have a problem, a simple big problem. They have too many GM's! Anytime that the Mechanics have Donaldson on 2nd board it means that a bunch of their GM's are busy. Arizona has a problem, they don't have Ramirez playing this week. The obvious thought would be that the Mechanics still have more talent, but the Scorpions are coming off their win over the Knockouts. Teams that have problems are usually lucky to tie, so I think both teams will be lucky this week.
"Finally, the Seattle match" he peers at the names while his mind races to the donut dish. He nodded as he noticed Nakamura would have white and possibly a little bit to play for, considering what happened between these teams in last years playoffs. Sinanan on 4 has been pretty close to a rock. "That has been a real surprise" he sipped some coffee. "Milat is making his appearance for the season, very clever!" Weighing things up a strange feeling came to him. " Miami often has young underrated players on the lower boards, but Marcel is very solid and Josh is playing well. Seattle has the advantage there" another chocolate donut, " Nakamura is not likely to base anything on payback, but is the better player and trying to get past Slava is like trying to climb over a brown bear" his fingers felt a bit numb. Quickly he jumped to the season schedule. "All the matches are tough, pretty even league. Still, if the Sluggers get past this match the rest of the division will be racing with one leg tied behind their backs". How could he do it? This was sure to be a hard match, but logic was in charge. "Logic, the thinking man's way of explaining the obvious!" he whispered. Yes, it was time. "Seattle will win this match, probably 3-1, but a simple win will be enough". There, he had said it. No way to go back now. It was certainly quite a change from the week before, predicting a Seattle victory, but it was only a change in perseption. Gods be damned, it was the right prediction and he knew it. Still, the chocolate didn't taste right...
All the best to whoever reads this, to GM Joel Benjamin who has proven that the best players do read the blogs (sort of), to all the guys in the Omega Theta Pi house, Dean Wormer and of course to "mom" in 429.
New York versus Philadelphia looks pretty easy. "Of course I will root for the Inventors first board, I remember him as a fine lad in Alaska, scratched arm and all", yet that won't change the outcome. The Knights are picking up momentum and will win this one easily
Carolina and Dallas, " Poor scheduling committee, didn't have a clue" Carolina has run completely out of magic dust and the Destiny are trying to get out of the rear view mirror in the West playoff race. Dallas will win, by the minimum, but will win
Wednesday night has only in division matches for each side on Wednesday
Boston and Queens. His head turned for an instant as a could blocked the sunlight for a moment. Boston would be the obvious pick, obvious to those who didn't observe. The Blitz know they have a big match next week and could be looking ahead, not really very likely as the Boston players seemed to focus on their immediate surrounding quite well. No, there are 2 factors to consider. Queens took a hard loss last week where a tie seemed almost certain, this is the point where they need to make some advances in the standings. Combine that with the most recent trend, Red Sox swept in playoffs and Patriots defeated by some oversized ponies, and you have the makings of a surprise result. I can't pick Queens to win because that would have too dramatic an effect on next weeks predictions (how many of us think Boston would lose 2 in a row?). Tie
The Knockouts face the Kingfishers. Baltimore isn't fielding there best team, so their chances go way down. The Knockouts get back on track.
Chicago is kind of like the little train that can't. Their lineup jumps around too much. The Tempo have their GM's on hand and will win easily. Board 3 will be the focus for much of this match as Bick and Young are possibly the 2 best board 3's . "That is another change" he thought, "Arun is back?"
Sf and Arizona face off. The Mechanics have a problem, a simple big problem. They have too many GM's! Anytime that the Mechanics have Donaldson on 2nd board it means that a bunch of their GM's are busy. Arizona has a problem, they don't have Ramirez playing this week. The obvious thought would be that the Mechanics still have more talent, but the Scorpions are coming off their win over the Knockouts. Teams that have problems are usually lucky to tie, so I think both teams will be lucky this week.
"Finally, the Seattle match" he peers at the names while his mind races to the donut dish. He nodded as he noticed Nakamura would have white and possibly a little bit to play for, considering what happened between these teams in last years playoffs. Sinanan on 4 has been pretty close to a rock. "That has been a real surprise" he sipped some coffee. "Milat is making his appearance for the season, very clever!" Weighing things up a strange feeling came to him. " Miami often has young underrated players on the lower boards, but Marcel is very solid and Josh is playing well. Seattle has the advantage there" another chocolate donut, " Nakamura is not likely to base anything on payback, but is the better player and trying to get past Slava is like trying to climb over a brown bear" his fingers felt a bit numb. Quickly he jumped to the season schedule. "All the matches are tough, pretty even league. Still, if the Sluggers get past this match the rest of the division will be racing with one leg tied behind their backs". How could he do it? This was sure to be a hard match, but logic was in charge. "Logic, the thinking man's way of explaining the obvious!" he whispered. Yes, it was time. "Seattle will win this match, probably 3-1, but a simple win will be enough". There, he had said it. No way to go back now. It was certainly quite a change from the week before, predicting a Seattle victory, but it was only a change in perseption. Gods be damned, it was the right prediction and he knew it. Still, the chocolate didn't taste right...
All the best to whoever reads this, to GM Joel Benjamin who has proven that the best players do read the blogs (sort of), to all the guys in the Omega Theta Pi house, Dean Wormer and of course to "mom" in 429.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Too Old to Rock n' Roll, Too Young to Die!
He fumbled slightly as another piece of wood went onto the fire. Early morning was like that for him. He didn't have trouble waking up, his eyes seemed to open at the same time no matter what season it was, but getting up had become a chore. It was age. Bad pawns, bad bishops, bad pairings and age, the tormenters of chess players. "They follow us to the end" he thought. On to the task at hand, a summary of the previous evenings escapades.
" I arrived after only a couple of moves, Serper had played the French again, Lee was well into a Panno Kings Indian, a surprising choice of Semi Tarrasch QGD on board 4 and Slava had started with Nf3 and g3." He was working to find the correct words. "Checking back a few moments later, I found that Josh had played the e4 line of the Semi-Tarrasch, good! That line has been good for White since the Botvinnik - Petrosian match". He stopped for a moment, gazing out the window at the darkness. All the games seemed so hopeful, his prediction might have been born of fright. "After my salad I checked again. Serper's game looked ok, but playing g6 seeemed very provocative. Sinanan was surely aware that pushing d5 and then e5 as a temporary pawn sac was an accepted lever in that line and Slava had finally pushed up the c-pawn to the 4th rank. This all seemed well, only the board 3 game was a question. Lee had given up the white square bishop to establish a Nd4 and Zaremba was building the Q-side advance. I hope that Michael has the feel for proper timing, I seem to remember that Black should try to time the f5 break so that Nf6 arrived to support a d5 push. I just hope..." He poured some coffee and wondered how much more chess there was in him. It had been a long time. His prediction wasn't based on a simple whimsy of "pick against the team to win", it had been based on those years of playing, the catastrophe's he had been witness to or victim of. He had some notes, now where had he left them. "Dinner finished and I was back again. Serper's game had changed drastically, all the minors were off and only a queen plus rook each. Serper had a passer on the d-file which combined very well with White's k-side weakness looked very promising. This was more than countered on the bottom boards. Josh looked to have waited too long and Black had what appeared to be good play on the Q-side. Worse yet, Lee had mis judged the position by ignoring the f5 break and playing a5 instead. All the white squares were now a problem for Michael. Slava had been presented with a small opportunity based on the black knight on d7 guarding a Nf6 and a Bc5, This looked quite promising, but possibly not enough." Remembering his thoughts at the time, he considered. "That seemed the lowest point and it felt like I had seen this match from the Sluggers before." Anyone who thought he didn't pick the Sluggers to win hadn't read any of his work from previous years. "My next check in made me think of a whirlpool. The board 1 game seemed well in control and Serper only needed to avoid a perpetual, but Lee had lost. Too bad, games like that are hard for King's Indian fans. Sinanan's game had turned around totally as he had the c-file, a more active king and a passer on d6! On board 2 something crazy had happened as Slava was one pawn down and looked to lose another on c5. It happens so often, some milk turns to cream and some turns sour." Another cup of coffee was needed, also a donut. "I watched Serper wrap up his game very neatly and began to watch board 4. As Josh got closer to victory I knew that my prediction had been accurate. Actually, it was quite good that way. Dallas had won, Miami and SF had tied as I thought. Boston was victorious, but eveyone picked that one. As soon as Katz resigned I started to put together some things about the match and realized I had left detail unattended. Slava's game wasn't finished, so I quickly went to it. What was this! Bishops of opposite color and all pawns on the same side of the board! Incredible! It almost seemed impossible, yet there it was. Seattle had won the match!" Writing the words he knew that some would question him yet again for failing to pick Seattle for victory. "The fools, did they not see how close the Pioneers were to victory? Simple play on board 1, a little more iniitiative on board 4, perhaps a bit better technique on 2? How would that have played in the blogs? No, I feel fine about my prediction. If my credibility is the price to pay, then so be it!" He peered out the window again. The darkness had given way to fog. A slight smile came to him. "Happy for victory? Of course, but results come and go. There will be other results to be concerned about. Satisfaction in picking 3 matches correctly, hardly. I cannot mimic the Oracle of Delphi and feel lucky to get any right. I smile because my friend Mulfish had forseen events accurately. Plus, I seem to have a couple of readers... what more can I hope for?"
With all things in place he begins to lay down the words, wondering again how much chess there was left...
" I arrived after only a couple of moves, Serper had played the French again, Lee was well into a Panno Kings Indian, a surprising choice of Semi Tarrasch QGD on board 4 and Slava had started with Nf3 and g3." He was working to find the correct words. "Checking back a few moments later, I found that Josh had played the e4 line of the Semi-Tarrasch, good! That line has been good for White since the Botvinnik - Petrosian match". He stopped for a moment, gazing out the window at the darkness. All the games seemed so hopeful, his prediction might have been born of fright. "After my salad I checked again. Serper's game looked ok, but playing g6 seeemed very provocative. Sinanan was surely aware that pushing d5 and then e5 as a temporary pawn sac was an accepted lever in that line and Slava had finally pushed up the c-pawn to the 4th rank. This all seemed well, only the board 3 game was a question. Lee had given up the white square bishop to establish a Nd4 and Zaremba was building the Q-side advance. I hope that Michael has the feel for proper timing, I seem to remember that Black should try to time the f5 break so that Nf6 arrived to support a d5 push. I just hope..." He poured some coffee and wondered how much more chess there was in him. It had been a long time. His prediction wasn't based on a simple whimsy of "pick against the team to win", it had been based on those years of playing, the catastrophe's he had been witness to or victim of. He had some notes, now where had he left them. "Dinner finished and I was back again. Serper's game had changed drastically, all the minors were off and only a queen plus rook each. Serper had a passer on the d-file which combined very well with White's k-side weakness looked very promising. This was more than countered on the bottom boards. Josh looked to have waited too long and Black had what appeared to be good play on the Q-side. Worse yet, Lee had mis judged the position by ignoring the f5 break and playing a5 instead. All the white squares were now a problem for Michael. Slava had been presented with a small opportunity based on the black knight on d7 guarding a Nf6 and a Bc5, This looked quite promising, but possibly not enough." Remembering his thoughts at the time, he considered. "That seemed the lowest point and it felt like I had seen this match from the Sluggers before." Anyone who thought he didn't pick the Sluggers to win hadn't read any of his work from previous years. "My next check in made me think of a whirlpool. The board 1 game seemed well in control and Serper only needed to avoid a perpetual, but Lee had lost. Too bad, games like that are hard for King's Indian fans. Sinanan's game had turned around totally as he had the c-file, a more active king and a passer on d6! On board 2 something crazy had happened as Slava was one pawn down and looked to lose another on c5. It happens so often, some milk turns to cream and some turns sour." Another cup of coffee was needed, also a donut. "I watched Serper wrap up his game very neatly and began to watch board 4. As Josh got closer to victory I knew that my prediction had been accurate. Actually, it was quite good that way. Dallas had won, Miami and SF had tied as I thought. Boston was victorious, but eveyone picked that one. As soon as Katz resigned I started to put together some things about the match and realized I had left detail unattended. Slava's game wasn't finished, so I quickly went to it. What was this! Bishops of opposite color and all pawns on the same side of the board! Incredible! It almost seemed impossible, yet there it was. Seattle had won the match!" Writing the words he knew that some would question him yet again for failing to pick Seattle for victory. "The fools, did they not see how close the Pioneers were to victory? Simple play on board 1, a little more iniitiative on board 4, perhaps a bit better technique on 2? How would that have played in the blogs? No, I feel fine about my prediction. If my credibility is the price to pay, then so be it!" He peered out the window again. The darkness had given way to fog. A slight smile came to him. "Happy for victory? Of course, but results come and go. There will be other results to be concerned about. Satisfaction in picking 3 matches correctly, hardly. I cannot mimic the Oracle of Delphi and feel lucky to get any right. I smile because my friend Mulfish had forseen events accurately. Plus, I seem to have a couple of readers... what more can I hope for?"
With all things in place he begins to lay down the words, wondering again how much chess there was left...
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