Saturday, October 26, 2013

Week 10 Lineup

Baltimore Kingfishers vs. Boston Blitz
GM Niclas Huschenbeth (2610) - IM Steven Zierk (2543)
IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat (2492) - SM Denys Shmelov (2465)
NM Jared Defibaugh (2297) - NM Vadim Martirosov (2349)
Jeffrey Chang (2116) - NM Daniil Mosiyenko (2181)

Tuesday, 7:30 PM EDT
Time Control: 75 min. with 30 sec. increment

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

The Baltimore Kingfishers (3.5-5.5, 4th place) and the Boston Blitz (3.5-5.5, 3rd) square-off to determine 3rd place in the Northeast Division. Boston leads Baltimore 16-15 in total game points this season for the first tie-break. Neither team can make the playoffs, so it will be the last game of the year for both teams. Boston leads the all-times series against Baltimore with a 7-6 match score. These two teams last played in Week 5, 2013 when all boards were drawn. Three players (IM Tegshsuren Enkbat, SM Denys Shmelov, and NM Vadim Martirosov) from that last match return to play in this match as well.

Board 1: GM Niclas Huschenbeth vs. IM Steven Zierk. GM Niclas Huschenbeth is (+1 =1 -1) in his 2nd USCL season and has not played against Boston previously. He drew last week with the white pieces against GM Mikheil Kekelidze of the Connecticut Dreadnoughts on Board 1. He is matched up with IM Steven Zierk, who is (+1 -1) in his 3rd USCL season but has not played against Baltimore in his career. He won last week with the white pieces against GM Alexander Ivanov of the New England Nor'easters on Board 1.

Board 2: SM Denys Shmelov vs. IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat. SM Denys Shmelov is (+2 =5 -1) in his 6th season and has a (+1 =3 -1) record against Baltimore. The only match he has not played this year was Week 7 when Boston played the San Francisco Mechanics. He won last week with the black pieces against FM Charles Riordan of the New England Nor'easters on Board 2. He is rematched with IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat, who has a (+1 =3 -2) record in his 9th season and has scored (+2 =3 -3) against Boston in his career. IM Enkhbat last played in Week 8 when he drew with the white pieces against FM Steven Winer of the New England Nor'easters on Board 2. SM Shmelov and IM Enkhbat played against one another in a drawn game from Week 5, 2013.

Board 3: NM Jared Defibaugh vs. NM Vadim Martirosov. NM Jared Defibaugh is (+2 =3 -3) in his 4th season and has a (+2) score against Boston. The only match he did not play this year was Week 5 when Baltimore played against the Boston Blitz. He lost last week with the white pieces against FM Leif Pressman of the Connecticut Dreadnoughts on Board 3. He will battle NM Vadim Martirosov, who is (+2 =2 -1) in his 7th USCL season and has a (=6 -1) record against Baltimore. He won in Week 8 with the black pieces against IM Jay Bonin of the Connecticut Dreadnoughts on Board 3. NM Defibaugh and NM Martirosov also played against one another with the same colors in Week 10, 2012 when NM Defibaugh won.

Board 4: NM Daniil Mosiyenko vs. Jeffrey Chang. NM Daniil Mosiyenko is making his season debut for the Boston Blitz. He played 3 games in 2011 with a (+1 =1 -1) record for Boston. Opposite him will be Jeffrey Chang, who is making his USCL debut for the Baltimore Kingfishers. As of the October USCF Rating list, he is the 22nd ranked 15-year-old in the country.

Catch the games live on chess.com and let us know your predictions in the 5 polls to the right!

Reposted at: Chess.com blogs

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