Time Control 75 min. with 30 sec. increment
Chicago Blaze vs. Baltimore Kingfishers
GM Mesgen Amanov (2576) - GM Giorgi Margvelashvili (2538)
GM Dmitry Gurevich (2547) - IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat (2426)
IM Angelo Young (2415) - NM Jared Defibaugh (2363)
NM Gopal Menon (2222) - NM Ian Schoch (2296)
Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.
Board 1: GM Mesgen Amanov vs. GM Giorgi Margvelashvili. GM Amanov is (+2) this season while GM Margvelashvili is (-1) this season. Amazingly, GM Amanov will be playing on the third different board in his third game. He faces fellow-GM Margvelashvili who will be looking to rebound from the loss in his first USCL game. This is one of the few times Baltimore has not been heavily out-rated on Board 1 this season, so they would definitely like to make the most of the opportunity.
Board 2: IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat vs. GM Dmitry Gurevich. IM Enkhbat is (=1) against Chicago and (+1 =3 -1) on the season while GM Gurevich is (+2 =1) on the season. A tough match-up for IM Enkhbat as he at a 121-point rating disadvantage and GM Gurevich has only conceded 1 draw in 6 USCL games against non-GM opponents.
Board 3: IM Angelo Young vs. NM Jared Defibaugh. IM Young is (=1) against Baltimore and (+2) on the season while NM Defibaugh is (+3 -1) on the season. IM Young will face his toughest opponent so far this season while NM Defibaugh looks to put last week's loss behind him. IM Young has the rating edge and the white pieces while this will be NM Defibaugh's first game with the black pieces this season.
Board 4: NM Ian Schoch vs. NM Gopal Menon. NM Schoch is (+3) on the season while NM Menon is (+1) on the season. NM Schoch has the only rating advantage for Baltimore in this match and he will have the white pieces. That bodes well for continuing his excellent record from the first half as he faces another league newcomer in NM Menon.
