2014 Week 7 Review

Baltimore Kingfishers vs. Arizona Scorpions 1.5-2.5
IM Tanguy Ringoir (2583) - GM Mackenzie Molner (2581) 0.5-0.5 View Game
GM Larry Kaufman (2391) - IM Mark Ginsburg (2397) 0-1 View Game
NM Jared Defibaugh (2325) - IM Alexey Diulger (2421) 1-0 View Game
FM Ralph Zimmer (2268) - Matthew Noble (2084) 0-1 View Game

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

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The Arizona Scorpions defeated the Baltimore Kingfishers by a 2.5-1.5 score. Arizona managed victories on the even-numbered boards with a draw on Board 1 while Baltimore won on Board 3. Arizona (3.5-3.5 in match points) moved up to 4th place in the Western Division, and Baltimore (3.0-4.0) dropped to 4th place in the Southern Division. Currently, the Western Division leads the interdivision standings, which means there would be a 4th playoff team for the Western Division if the standings hold after Week 9.

Board 1: IM Tanguy Ringoir vs. GM Mackenzie Molner. The first board began as a Grunfeld Defense with 4. e3 Bg7 5. Qb3. GM Mackenzie Molner played 9... Ne4, deviating from a previous game from each of our two players. However, the game continued to follow a Nakamura-Caruana game until 12. a3, which was a novelty played by IM Tanguy Ringoir. Early play concentrated on how the queenside would open up. Then, a multitude of trades happened and an endgame was reached with two bishops vs. bishop and knight with 4 pawns each. White had the worse-looking side as two of his pawns were doubled and the d-pawn was unconnected. However, IM Ringoir showed those things were not actually a disadvantage as he sacrificed the d-pawn and created blockades of the black pawns. The game was agreed drawn on move 46.

Board 2: IM Mark Ginsburg vs. GM Larry Kaufman. Board 2 transposed from a Reti Opening to an English Opening: Neo-Catalan Accepted. The players followed a GM Nigel Short game played earlier this year until GM Larry Kaufman played the novelty 15... h6. Play revolved around control of the center, particularly the long diagonals, and then, both the c-file and d-file. GM Larry Kaufman made a mistake with 26... Rc8. IM Mark Ginsburg capitalized on the error and slowly, but surely converted advantage as black resigned in 54 moves.

Board 3: NM Jared Defibaugh vs. IM Alexey Diulger. Board 3 featured a Caro-Kann: Advance variation with 4. h4. IM Alexey Diulger played the novelty 11... Ne7 avoiding the complications of the stem game that went 11... Nxd4. NM Jared Defibaugh found the nice 21. Be5 but missed the follow-up 22. Bxf6! move. As IM Diulger was trying to squeeze out a win, he blundered into a mate in 2 by trapping his own king with 43... b4. NM Defibaugh seized the sudden victory.

Board 4: Matthew Noble vs. FM Ralph Zimmer. The fourth board showcased a Sveshnikov Sicilian. FM Ralph Zimmer played the novelty 18... a5. There were inaccuracies on both sides in the middlegame, but the final mistake was 44... Rc7. Matthew Noble quickly realized the move dropped a piece for black as the d-pawn was pinned. FM Zimmer resigned soon thereafter.

Next week, the Baltimore Kingfishers play the Miami Sharks on Tuesday, October 14th at 7:30 PM EDT.

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Reposted at: Chess.com blogs