Welcome!

Welcome all to the debut of Baltimore Kingfishers Blog! My name is Brian Chan and I act as the Tournament Director/Computer Technician for the team.

The Baltimore Kingfishers, under the management of WIM Tsagaan Battsetseg, have been competing in the US Chess League since the league began 3 years ago. Baltimore actually won the League Championship in the inaugural season, but has suffered losses in the final regular season matches of the past two seasons to miss the playoffs both years. I know this year's players are looking forward to a much better outcome!

Speaking of the players, let's take a look at the Baltimore Kingfishers Roster: (Oct. 2007 Rating) [Current Rating]

1. GM Sergey Erenburg (2592) [2646]
   
2. GM Pawel Blehm (2580) [2551]
   
3. FM Tegshsuren Enkhbat (2399) [2424]
   
4. IM Larry Kaufman (2392) [2445]
   
5. FM Ray Kaufman (2327) [2343]
   
6. FM Ralph Zimmer (2261) [2329]
   
7. Aaron Kahn (2259) [2294]
   
8. Jared Defibaugh (2048) [2143]
   

Alternates:

1. Scott Low (2078) [2176]
   
2. Ian Harris (2051) [2125]
   

As you can see, almost all the players have increased in rating since the October list with newcomers Jared Defibaugh and Scott Low gaining nearly 100 points each. The other two new members of the team, Aaron Kahn and Ian Harris, have shown marked improvement as well. Also, top player GM Sergey Erenburg has had quite the Summer: sharing first place in the Cleveland Open (with GM Mitkov) and the Atlantic Open (with GM Stripunsky), and taking clear first in the NJ Futurity International and New England Masters tournaments!

These signs point to an enjoyable 2008 season for the Baltimore Kingfishers!