Baltimore Kingfishers

Sunday, October 28, 2012

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.

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!

Week 8 Review

Baltimore Kingfishers vs. New Jersey Knockouts 2-2
GM Niclas Huschenbeth (2582) - GM Alex Stripunsky (2673) 0-1 View Game
NM Kevin Wang (2366) - GM Boris Gulko (2590) 1-0 View Game
NM Jared Defibaugh (2357) - IM Albert Kapengut (2367) 0-1 View Game
FM Ralph Zimmer (2304) - Praveen Balakrishnan (2097) 1-0 View Game

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

The Baltimore Kingfishers and the New Jersey Knockouts drew the match with wins by black on all boards! Both teams dropped 1 rank in the standings to 4th and 5th place, respectively, as both Philadelphia and New York won to stay in 1st and 2nd place, respectively, in the East, and Manhattan also won to move into 3rd place on tiebreaker over Baltimore and New Jersey.

Board 1: GM Huschenbeth played an unusual Caro-Kann with 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Qe2 d4 4. Nd1. The game continued with black having a slight edge but nothing concrete until after 27... Rf8:

White erred with 28. Rc2? instead of Rc5. The game continued 28. .. f5 29. exf5 Nxf5 30. Rac1 e4 31. dxe4 Ne3 (Now we see that 28. Rc2 loses a tempo) 32. Rc5 Ne5! 33. Ke2 (33. Rxe5 Ng4+ 34. Ke1 Nxe5) Nxf3. Play went on with white down a knight for two pawns, but GM Stripunsky clearly had a won position.

Board 2: The game began as a Semi-slav Defense and then more resembled a French Winawer, Advanced variation. GM Gulko, as white, chose to go for an interesting sacrifice in the following position:

GM Gulko struck with 20. Nxg7!? Kxg7 21. Bh6+ (The immediate 21. Rd3 might be an improvement) Kg8 22. Rd3 Qc4 23. Rh3. However, NM Kevin Wang managed to defend his king and emerged with 2 knights for a rook and pawn. As the queens had been exchanged, NM Wang took advantage of the knights to create a dangerous passed c-pawn. GM Gulko sacrificed a rook for a knight and the c-pawn, but this just let to an ending where he was down a full knight, so he resigned.

Board 3: An English Opening: Bremen, Smyslov system saw white slowly push his queenside pawns looking for an advantageous break in the position.

It seems NM Defibaugh tried to be too aggressive with the move 20. c4? and found himself worse when IM Kapengut opened the position to his advantage instead with 20... axb4 21. Rad1 dxc4 22. Qxc4 e3!. The game actually continued with equal material for awhile but it was clear black was better as he had a pair of connected passed pawns. Eventually IM Kapengut won while up a knight for a double-pawn.

Board 4: This game started as a Modern Defense where Balakrishnan chose to fianchetto his own King's bishop as well. As a result, black enjoyed a space advantage in the early middlegame but white then built-up a kingside attack. After 28... fxg4, white missed a chance to grab the advantage:

Sacrificing the queen with 29. Bxg7! Qxh5 30. Bxf8 leaves white with a rook and 2 knights vs. a queen and pawn. White also has control of the open d-file and a solid position that black will find difficult to exploit. The game actually continued with 29. Nd5 Rf5 30. Qe8 Rxe5 31. Ne7 Bc4 32. Ne3 Qc5 33. Rd7 Rf6 34. Ra4 Bf7 35. Qd8 Qb5 36. Rb4 Qe2 37. N7f5 and FM Zimmer has managed to diffuse white's attack and begins his own attack eventually taking the full point with an extra promoted queen. White actually has a forced mate in 13 from this position:

Monday, October 22, 2012

Week 8 Lineup

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

Baltimore Kingfishers vs. New Jersey Knockouts
GM Niclas Huschenbeth (2582) - GM Alex Stripunsky (2673)
NM Kevin Wang (2366) - GM Boris Gulko (2590)
NM Jared Defibaugh (2357) - IM Albert Kapengut (2367)
FM Ralph Zimmer (2304) - Praveen Balakrishnan (2097)

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

The 3rd-place Baltimore Kingfishers will battle the 4th-place New Jersey Knockouts. Both teams have the same 4.0-3.0 record, but Baltimore has 0.5 more game points for the lead in the first tiebreaker. In previous matches, New Jersey has scored 4.5 match points to Baltimore's 3.5 match points. Their last match occured in Week 2, 2011, which Baltimore won with a 2.5-1.5 score. Only two players (GM Gulko and NM Defibaugh) in that match are also playing in this match.

Board 1: GM Niclas Huschenbeth vs. GM Alex Stripunsky. GM Niclas Huschenbeth, in his first year in the USCL, has only played one game so far. It was against GM Ben Finegold (STL) on Board 1 in Week 2 and he lost with the black pieces. This time, he will have the white pieces against another well-known American player, GM Alex Stripunsky. GM Stripunsky, a 7-year USCL veteran, is (+2 =2 -1) this season and (=4 -2) against Baltimore. He played last week, a loss with white on Board 1 against SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS).

Board 2: GM Boris Gulko vs. NM Kevin Wang. GM Boris Gulko, in his 5th USCL season, is (+1 =1) on the season and also (+1 =1) against Baltimore. He last played in Week 4, a win with black against FM Kassa Korley (CAR) on Board 2. He will be matched by NM Kevin Wang, who has played just one game in his first USCL season. It was a loss with black against IM Levan Bregadze (STL) on Board 3 in Week 2.

Board 3: NM Jared Defibaugh vs. IM Albert Kapengut. In his 3rd USCL season, NM Jared Defibaugh has a (+3 -2) record this season and is (+1 -1) in his career against New Jersey. He won with white last week against NM Justus Williams (NY) on Board 3. His opponent is IM Albert Kapengut, a 4-year USCL veteran with a (+1 =1 -1) score this season and a (+2) record against Baltimore. He last played in Week 6, a loss with black on Board 3 against IM Levan Bregadze (STL).

Board 4: Praveen Balakrishnan vs. FM Ralph Zimmer. In his 1st USCL season, Praveen Balakrishnan is (+1 -2) with his last game happening in Week 6, a loss with white against Matthew Larson (STL). He will be challenged by 7-year USCL veteran FM Ralph Zimmer, who is (+2 =1 -1) on the season and (-2) against New Jersey. FM Zimmer played last week in a loss with black against NM Alexander Katz (NY) on Board 4.

Catch the games live on ICC!

Week 7 Review

Baltimore Kingfishers vs. New York Knights 3-1
GM Giorgi Margvelashvili (2593) - GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (2697) 1-0 View Game
GM Larry Kaufman (2445) - FM Michael Bodek (2409) 1-0 View Game
NM Jared Defibaugh (2357) - NM Justus Williams (2331) 1-0 View Game
FM Ralph Zimmer (2304) - NM Alexander Katz (2250) 0-1 View Game

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

The Baltimore Kingfishers have won their 3rd match in a row. They defeated the New York Knights to tie New York and New Jersey with a second-best 4.0-3.0 record in the Eastern Division. Baltimore is currently in 3rd place on tiebreaks and only half a match point behind the Eastern Division leading Philadelphia Inventors.

Board 1:The top board began with a Reti: King's Indian Attack, built-up slowly with both sides maneuvering to control the open c-file, and finished with a wild tactical flourish. Just as it seemed that black had won the battle for the c-file, it actually had allowed white's e-pawn to open up lines against the black king, and GM Margvelashvili took full advantage of it.

In the final position, the dual threats of 36. f8=Q# and 36. Qxc3 led GM Kacheishvili to resign.

Board 2:This game, the final to finish, started as an Exchange French Defense where the players also exchanged the queens early. FM Bodek played 16. Ne2 allowing the reply 16... f6.

Despite the appearance that white will lose the exchange, he actually has 4 options (17. Ng6, Ng4, Nf3, and Ng3) that maintain the balance. Surprisingly, taking the rook with 17... Bxf4 in several lines turns out to make black's position worse due to his semi-open king and undeveloped queenside pieces. This is why GM Kaufman declined to play the variation 17. Nf3 Bxf4 18. Nxf4 Bf7 19. Rxe8 Bxe8 20. Ne6+ Kf7 21. Nc7 which loses the trapped rook next. The game instead developed more slowly with black having the initiative. It stayed near even until white erred in the following position:

36. Ne3 was missed in time trouble, so black was able to mop-up white's pawns for the game and match victory.

Board 3:The most exciting game of the match had to be NM Defibaugh - NM Williams. It won the Game of the Week honors and is analyzed by GM Alex Yermolinsky on the ICC. Now, the game began in the Queen's Indian Defense: Fianchetto, Nimzowitsch variation. NM Defibaugh has already sacrificed a pawn in the center and prepared to make another shocking sacrifice in the following position after 19... Nxd5:

The game continued: 20. Bxg7 Kxg7 21. Nd5 Qd8? 22. Qc4 b5 23. Qg4+ Kh8 24. Qf5 Qc8 25. Qh5 Nf6 26. Qxh6+ Kg8 27. Ng6.

NM Williams resigned in view of 27... Nh7 28. Nxe7+ Kh8 Nxc8 or 27... fxg6 28. Rxe7 Rf7 29. Qxg6 Kh8 30. Rxf7 and the black king will be mated soon.

Board 4:This was a Scandinavian Defense which saw white castle queenside and black deciding to leave his king in the center. The middle game saw white pushing forth his kingside pawns while black attempted to open up the queenside. While NM Katz seemed to have the upperhand with more active pieces and a less vulnerable king after 25. Qxf5, black could still fight for a draw with 25... Qf7.

Instead, the game continued 25... g6? 26. Qe6+ Be7 27. Kb1 Qd7 28. Qxd7+ Kxd7 29. e6+ and FM Zimmer resigned seeing as his rook is lost on the next move.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Week 7 Lineup

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

Baltimore Kingfishers vs. New York Knights
GM Giorgi Margvelashvili (2593) - GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (2697)
GM Larry Kaufman (2445) - FM Michael Bodek (2409)
NM Jared Defibaugh (2357) - NM Justus Williams (2331)
FM Ralph Zimmer (2304) - NM Alexander Katz (2250)

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

The sixth-place Baltimore Kingfishers will take on the first-place New York Knights. Despite the large difference in standings, these two teams are only one match point apart. In previous matches, Baltimore and New York are tied with 5.5 match points each. In their last match in Week 1, 2011, New York won with a 2.5-1.5 score. Four players (GM Margvelashvili, GM Kacheishvili, NM Defibaugh, and NM Justus Williams) from that match return for this match. Also, only one player from that last match is not currently on either roster - GM John Federowicz (NY).

Board 1: GM Giorgi Margvelashvili vs. GM Giorgi Kacheishvili. This board sees a rematch with the same colors of Week 1, 2011 when GM Kacheishvili prevailed for the full point. Now in his 2nd USCL season, GM Giorgi Margvelashvili is (+1 =2) and drew with black last week against IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) on Board 1. The loss against GM Kacheishvili is his only previous game against New York. Meanwhile GM Giorgi Kacheishvili, a 4-year USCL veteran, is (+1 =2) this season and (+2 =1) against Baltimore. He last played in Week 5, a draw with white against GM Robert Hess (CON) on Board 1.

Board 2: FM Michael Bodek vs. GM Larry Kaufman. FM Michael Bodek, with 2 years in the USCL, is (+1 =1) on the season and last played on Board 3 in Week 4 - a draw with black against FM Yian Liou (SF). He has not previously played against Baltimore. His 8-year-veteran opponent, GM Larry Kaufman is (=2 -1) this season and (+4 -2) against New York. His last game occurred in Week 5 as black against IM David Vigorito (NE) on Board 2, which ended in a draw.

Board 3: NM Jared Defibaugh vs. NM Justus Williams. NM Jared Defibaugh, a 3-year USCL player, has scored (+2 -2) this season and (+1 =1) against New York. He won last week as black against IM Mark Ginsburg (ARZ) on Board 3. He will face the formidable NM Justus Williams, who is (+3) in his 3rd year in the USCL and (+1) against Baltimore. He last played in a Week 5 victory with white against NM Ian Harris (CON) on Board 3. Astonishingly, with his 10-game-history in the USCL, he has only used the black pieces once before, which happened to be the only drawn game he has played.

(TRIVIA: Which USCL player had black in all of his/her first 10 games - all of which were decisive? Answer in the comments!)

Board 4: NM Alexander Katz vs. FM Ralph Zimmer. NM Alexander Katz, in his 2nd USCL season, is (+2 =1) and played a draw last week with white against FM Alec Getz (DAL) on Board 3. He has not played Baltimore previously. Challenging him is FM Ralph Zimmer, a 7-year USCL veteran. FM Zimmer is (+2 =1) this season and (+1 -1) against New York. He last played as black to a draw against Bennet Pellows (NE) in Week 5 on Board 4.