Week 9 Lineup

Tuesday, 7:30 PM EDT
Time Control 90 min. with 30 sec. increment

Manhattan Applesauce vs. Baltimore Kingfishers
GM Vladimir Romanenko (2513) - GM Giorgi Margvelashvili (2593)
IM Eli Vovsha (2514) - IM Nazi Paikidze (2444)
NM Andrew Shvartsman (2343) - NM Adithya Balasubramanian (2345)
NM Andrew Ryba (2202) - FM Ralph Zimmer (2304)

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

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The Manhattan Applesauce will battle against the Baltimore Kingfishers this week. Manhattan has dominated the series, scoring 5.5 match points to Baltimore's 1.5 match points. They last faced each other in Week 8, 2011 when Manhattan won with a 3-1 score. Only IM Eli Vovsha and GM Giorgi Margvelashvili have returned to play in this match as well.

This match is scheduled to be played on a Tuesday to avoid having to play on a holiday as Wednesday is Halloween. However, Hurricane Sandy has threatened to change these plans. Please bear with us as we attempt to get this match played as safely and smoothly as possible.

Board 1: GM Vladimir Romanenko vs. GM Giorgi Margvelashvili. GM Vladimir Romanenko is (+1 =3 -2) in his first USCL season. He lost his last game in Week 7 with black against GM Sergey Erenburg (PHI) on Board 1. His challenger, GM Giorgi Margvelashvili, is (+2 =2) in his 2nd USCL season and (=1) against Manhattan. He won his last game with white in Week 7 on Board 1 against GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY).

Board 2: IM Nazi Paikidze vs. IM Eli Vovsha. IM Nazi Paikidze is (=1 -1) in her first USCL season. She last played in Week 4 when she lost with black to FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) on Board 2. Her opponent, IM Eli Vovsha, is (+1 =2 -2) in his 6th USCL season and (+2 =3 -1) against Baltimore. He drew last week with white against GM Eugene Perelshteyn (BOS) on Board 1.

Board 3: NM Andrew Shvartsman vs. NM Adithya Balasubramanian. NM Andrew Shvartsman is (+1 =2 -1) in his first USCL season. He won last week with white against NM Michael Vilenchuk (BOS) on Board 3. He will be facing NM Adithya Balasubramanian, who has only played one game so far in his 3rd USCL season. He drew with white in Week 4 against FM Curt Collyer (SEA) on Board 3. He also drew his only game so far against Manhattan.

Board 4: FM Ralph Zimmer vs. NM Andrew Ryba. FM Ralph Zimmer, a 7-year USCL veteran, is (+3 =1 -1) on the season and (-2) against Manhattan. He won last week with black against Praveen Balakrishnan (NJ) on Board 4. He will square-off against NM Andrew Ryba, who is (+1 -1) in his first USCL season. He lost with black last week against NM Ilya Krasik (BOS) on Board 4.

Let us know what results you predict in the polls to the right. Catch the games live on chess.com or relayed on ICC!