2014 Week 10 Preview

Connecticut Dreadnoughts vs. Baltimore Kingfishers
GM Mark Paragua (2588) - IM Levan Bregadze (2530)
GM Oliver Barbosa (2579) - GM Larry Kaufman (2391)
NM Kapil Chandran (2365) - NM Jared Defibaugh (2325)
NM Yoon-Young Kim (2116) - FM Alex Barnett (2330)

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

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

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The Connecticut Dreadnoughts and the Baltimore Kingfishers clash in a match that will decide which team makes the playoffs. Both teams sit at a (4.0-5.0) match record, but Connecticut is in 3rd place in the Southern Division thanks to their 18.5 game points to Baltimore's 17.5 game points. In essence, Connecticut has draw odds with regards to making the playoffs. With the Miami Sharks (4.5-4.5 match record with 16.5 game points) playing against the Atlanta Kings (3.5-5.5 match record with 18.0 game points), only one team from each of these two matches can make the playoffs despite the possibility of all four teams ending up tied with a (4.5-5.5) match record. In that very special case, Atlanta and Connecticut would make the playoffs as they both would have at least 20.5 game points to win the first tie-breaker. That tiebreaker is also why the other Southern Division match-up, Carolina Cobras (3.5-5.5 match record with 16.0 game points) vs. St. Louis Arch Bishops (6.5-2.5), only serves to determine St. Louis' seeding in the playoffs as Carolina cannot make the playoffs even with a 4-0 victory. Also note that last week, the Western Division secured their Interdivisional supremacy, so they receive a 4th playoff spot this year. See all of the playoff structure here.

In the all-time series, Connecticut leads Baltimore with a (2.5-0.5) match record. These two teams last played against each other in Week 9, 2013 when Connecticut won with a 3.5-0.5 score. Only two Baltimore players (GM Larry Kaufman and NM Jared Defibaugh), who played in that match, return to play this week. Coincidentally, Connecticut starts a lineup that also won by a 3.5-0.5 score last week against the New England Nor'easters. Meanwhile Baltimore debuts a more balanced lineup than we have seen them use this year.

Board 1: GM Mark Paragua vs. IM Levan Bregadze. GM Mark Paragua is (+1 =3 -1) with a 2586 performance rating in his first USCL season. He drew last week with the black pieces on Board 1 against SM Mika Brattain of the New England Nor'easters. He will be challenged by IM Levan Bregadze, who is (+4 -2) with a 2670 performance rating in his 3rd USCL season and 2nd season with Baltimore. IM Levan Bregadze has a (-2) career record against Connecticut. He won last week with the white pieces on Board 2 against FM Denys Shmelov of the Boston Blitz.

Board 2: GM Larry Kaufman vs. GM Oliver Barbosa. GM Larry Kaufman is (=1 -2) with a 2163 performance rating in his 10th USCL season. He has a (=1 -1) score in his career against Connecticut. He last played in Week 8 when he drew on Board 2 with the black pieces against GM Renier Gonzalez of the Miami Sharks. He will battle GM Oliver Barbosa, who is (+2 =2) with a 2672 performance rating in his first USCL season. GM Oliver Barbosa won last week with the white pieces on Board 2 against FM Steven Winer of the New England Nor'easters.

Board 3: NM Kapil Chandran vs. NM Jared Defibaugh. NM Kapil Chandran won his season debut last week with the black pieces on Board 3 against FM Christopher Chase of the New England Nor'easters. That starts him off with a 2811 performance rating in his 3rd USCL season. His opponent, NM Jared Defibaugh, has a (+3 =2 -2) record with a 2398 performance rating in his 5th season. NM Jared Defibaugh has a (-3) career record against Connecticut. He last played in Week 8 when he lost with the white pieces on Board 3 against NM Federico Gonzalez of the Miami Sharks.

Board 4: FM Alex Barnett vs. NM Yoon-Young Kim. FM Alex Barnett lost his USCL debut last week with the black pieces on Board 3 against NM Chris Williams of the Boston Blitz. That starts him with a 1910 performance rating. This week, he is set to play NM Yoon-Young Kim, who is (+2 -3) with a 2176 performance rating in his first USCL season. NM Yoon-Young Kim won last week with the white pieces on Board 4 against Carissa Yip of the New England Nor'easters.

Catch the games live on ICC and let us know your predictions in the 5 polls linked below/shown to the right!
Board 1 Result? | Board 2 Result? | Board 3 Result? | Board 4 Result? | Match Result?

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Reposted at: Chess.com blogs

Week 9 Review

Baltimore Kingfishers vs. Connecticut Dreadnoughts 0.5-3.5
GM Niclas Huschenbeth (2610) - GM Mikheil Kekelidze (2576) 0.5-0.5 View Games
GM Larry Kaufman (2401) - IM Justin Sarkar (2512) 0-1 View Games
NM Jared Defibaugh (2297) - FM Leif Pressman (2374) 0-1 View Games
FM Ralph Zimmer (2244) - Jason Shi (2173) 0-1 View Games

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

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The Baltimore Kingfishers lost to the Connecticut Dreadnoughts by a dreadful 3.5-0.5 score. That leaves Baltimore out of the playoffs this year with the New England Nor'easters (6.5-2.5, 1st) and Connecticut Dreadnoughts (6.0-3.0, 2nd) clinching the top 2 spots in the Northeast Division. Those two teams will battle next week to determine playoff seeding and the oft-important draw odds when they meet again in the Quarterfinals. Meanwhile, the Baltimore Kingfishers (3.5-5.5, 4th) will face the Boston Blitz (3.5-5.5, 3rd) to determine third place in the division.

Also, there was an unusual circumstance on board 3. Baltimore's player NM Jared Defibaugh was granted permission by the league to play from his home as his neighborhood was undergoing a police search for a man who shot an officer. Thankfully, the suspect has been caught, but that did not happen until the day after the match. Read more about the news story at: CBS Baltimore News.

Board 1: GM Niclas Huschenbeth vs. GM Mikheil Kekelidze. The top board showcased a Ruy Lopez: Open Berlin Defense, Rosenthal Variation. NM Niclas Huschenbeth played the novelty 12. g4 that proved quite risky as GM Mikheil Kekelidze was able to open the h-file to threaten the white king. It looked like white was in dire straits but somehow the white king found himself relatively safe back towards the center back rank and found himself up a knight for some pawns with queens and rooks still on the board. White seemed to have gained the upper hand and forced trades of the rooks and queens. It was a white knight and 2 pawns vs. 5 pawns for black, yet it was black who seemed to be pushing for a win again. However, white's king and knight were up to the task of blockading though no more as the game was drawn by 3-fold repetition after 64 moves.

Board 2: IM Justin Sarkar vs. GM Larry Kaufman. The second board featured a Nimzo-Indian Defense: Botvinnik System. IM Justin Sarkar played the novelty 13. Bb2 and GM Larry Kaufman responded with the very ambitious 13... e5!? intending a knight sacrifice. However, in what turned out to be the critical moment of the game, he slipped with 19... Ba6? 20. c4 Bxc4 allowing a nifty tactic that loses his queen. GM Kaufman saw the tactic immediately after playing Bxc4, and unfortunately, so did his opponent. Black resigned in 28 moves. There were some interesting possible lines in the critical position. Check them out in the board analysis!

Board 3: NM Jared Defibaugh vs. FM Leif Pressman. The third board began as a Sicilian Defense with the relatively rare variation 2. Nf3 e6 3. b3. NM Jared Defibaugh played the novelty 10. Nc3. The moves 10. Na3 (7 White wins, 13 Draws, 2 Black wins) and 10. d4 (1 White win, 2 Draws) have been played previously. White tried to create an attack on the kingside, but FM Leif Pressman thwarted that plan by forcing a queen trade. Black quickly gained a space advantage as the white rooks had no clear targets. Black won a pawn and then a rook as white tried to keep chances on the board. White resigned after 47 moves.

Board 4: Jason Shi vs. FM Ralph Zimmer. The fourth board saw a Benko Gambit played. Jason Shi played the novelty 8. e5. Surprisingly, white had always played 8. Bxc4 (1 White win, 1 Draw, 6 Black wins) each time this position was reached. FM Zimmer appeared to be allowing white to gain space in the center perhaps anticipating that white would overextend himself. White did march his pawn to e6, but black missed some chances to create an unbalanced position. White gradually gained an advantage using his more mobile pieces. Black resigned on move 42.

Reposted at: Chess.com blogs

Week 9 Lineup

Baltimore Kingfishers vs. Connecticut Dreadnoughts
GM Niclas Huschenbeth (2610) - GM Mikheil Kekelidze (2576)
GM Larry Kaufman (2401) - IM Justin Sarkar (2512)
NM Jared Defibaugh (2297) - FM Leif Pressman (2374)
FM Ralph Zimmer (2244) - Jason Shi (2173)

Wednesday, 7:20 PM EDT
Time Control: 75 min. with 30 sec. increment

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

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The Baltimore Kingfishers (3.5-4.5, 3rd place) battle the Connecticut Dreadnoughts (5.0-3.0, 2nd place) in a race to secure the 2nd playoff spot in the Northeast Division. Connecticut is 1.0 match point behind the 1st place New England Nor'easters, and the 1st place team in each division gets to choose either draw odds or color choice in the Quarterfinals of the playoffs. Baltimore needs to win this match to have any chance of overtaking Connecticut in the final week of the regular season. Baltimore is also behind with 14.5 game points (the first tie-break) to Connecticut's 18.0 game points thanks to Connecticut's 4-0 sweep of Baltimore the last time they faced-off in Week 1 of this season. Surprisingly, that means Baltimore has outscored Connecticut by 0.5 game points but Connecticut has outscored Baltimore by 0.5 match points after Week 1. Connecticut leads the all-time series 1.5-0.5 in match points. Three players (GM Mikheil Kekelidze, NM Jared Defibaugh, and Jason Shi) return from that last match to play in this match, too.

Board 1: GM Niclas Huschenbeth vs. GM Mikheil Kekelidze. GM Niclas Huschenbeth is (+1 -1) in his 2nd USCL season and has not played against Connecticut previously. He won in Week 7 with the white pieces against GM Emil Anka of the Seattle Sluggers on Board 1. He is matched up with GM Mikheil Kekelidze, who is (+2 =2 -1) in his 2nd USCL season and has scored (+1 =1) against Baltimore. He last played in Week 5, when he won with the black pieces against GM Sam Shankland of the New England Nor'easters on Board 1.

Board 2: IM Justin Sarkar vs. GM Larry Kaufman. IM Justin Sarkar lost his only game of the season in Week 7 with the white pieces against IM Levon Altounian of the Arizona Scorpions on Board 2. He has yet to play against Baltimore in his 3 USCL seasons. His opponent, GM Larry Kaufman, has a (=1 -2) record in his 9th season and drew his only career game against Connecticut. He lost in Week 7 with the black pieces against FM Costin Cozianu of the Seattle Sluggers on Board 2.

Board 3: NM Jared Defibaugh vs. FM Leif Pressman. NM Jared Defibaugh is (+2 =3 -2) in his 4th season and has a (-2) record against Connecticut. He drew last week with the black pieces against NM Mika Brattain of the New England Nor'easters on Board 3. He is set to play against FM Leif Pressman, who is (+1 =1) in his 2nd season but has not played against Baltimore. He drew in Week 7 with the black pieces against IM Mark Ginsburg of the Arizona Scorpions on Board 3.

Board 4: Jason Shi vs. FM Ralph Zimmer. Jason Shi is (+1 =1) in his first USCL season and won his only game against Baltimore. He last played in Week 4, when he drew with the black pieces against Jacob Wilkins of the St. Louis Arch Bishops on Board 4. He will square-off against FM Ralph Zimmer, who is (+2 =1) in his 8th year in the USCL and won his only career game against Connecticut. He won last week with the white pieces against NM Andrew Liu of the New England Nor'easters on Board 4.

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

Week 1 Review

Connecticut Dreadnoughts vs. Baltimore Kingfishers 4-0
GM Mikheil Kekelidze (2576) - IM Levan Bregadze (2469) 1-0 View Game
GM Michael Rohde (2548) - IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat (2492) 1-0 View Game
IM Jay Bonin (2436) - NM Jared Defibaugh (2297) 1-0 View Game
Jason Shi (2173) - NM Ian Schoch (2294) 1-0 View Game

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

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Board 1: GM Mikheil Kekelidze vs. IM Levan Bregadze. The game began as a King's Indian where black gave up a pawn for opening up the center. In the following position, it is white to play. Black is threatening to take the f3 pawn with check, but GM Kekelidze saw deeper to found a killer sequence of moves that left him up a minor piece and eventually with a victory in hand. Can you find it as well?

Board 2: IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat vs. GM Michael Rohde. These two players trotted out the Vitolins variation of the Bogo-Indian Defense where white played an interesting knight maneuver that traversed b1-d2-f1-e3 before castling kingside. IM Enkhbat seemed to be pressing with the white pieces but slipped up in mutual time pressure, dropping a knight and the game to GM Rohde's well-spotted queen-checks-and-capture sequence. Soon after the game had finished, IM Enkhbat pointed out to me that he had missed a forced draw just before allowing those queen checks. Find it in the following position!

Board 3: IM Jay Bonin vs. NM Jared Defibaugh. This game featured an exchange Grunfeld Defense where NM Defibaugh played the novelty 11... Qa5. The game seemed rather even until IM Bonin started pushing his kingside pawns and black found his king under severe pressure. NM Defibaugh pinned his hopes on being able to promote his c-pawn, but that allowed white to surround black's king completely and that pressure eventually proved too much to handle. See how IM Bonin finished off the game after the blunder 30... c4?

Board 4: NM Ian Schoch vs. Jason Shi. NM Schoch played and Jason Shi accepted the Smith-Morra Gambit of the Sicilian Defense. White never really got the kind of pressure you would hope for when playing the Smith-Morra Gambit, but black eventually allowed a liquidation to a drawn ending in the position below. However, in the game, NM Schoch tried a different path to keep winning chances alive, but apparently miscalculated a line that is also pointed out in the game viewer below. Jason Shi was able to take advantage of the miscalculation to score another victory for Connecticut and complete the 4-0 sweep of Baltimore.

Week 1 showcased an unfortunate series of mistakes from the Baltimore Kingfishers and some great play from the Connecticut Dreadnoughts. This match was the 3rd time in USCL history that Baltimore was swept 4-0. The other occurrences were in Week 8, 2006 against the Dallas Destiny and in Week 2, 2012 against the St. Louis Arch Bishops. Baltimore finished out of the playoffs in 2006, but managed to make the playoffs in 2012 despite the early sweep. A rematch with Connecticut is scheduled for Week 9. Also, stay tuned to see Baltimore play the New England Nor'easters next Tuesday night!

Reposted at: Chess.com blogs

Week 1 Lineup

Wednesday, 7:20 PM EDT
Time Control 75 min. with 30 sec. increment

Connecticut Dreadnoughts vs. Baltimore Kingfishers
GM Mikheil Kekelidze (2576) - IM Levan Bregadze (2469)
GM Michael Rohde (2548) - IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat (2492)
IM Jay Bonin (2436) - NM Jared Defibaugh (2297)
Jason Shi (2173) - NM Ian Schoch (2294)

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

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And so begins the 9th season of the U.S. Chess League (USCL). In the first week's match-up, we find our Baltimore Kingfishers paired against the Connecticut Dreadnoughts. This will be Baltimore's 9th season and Connecticut's 2nd season in the league. In light of the newly-enacted four teams per division arrangement in the USCL, this match has some extra importance as these two teams compete in the same division and there will be only 6 divisional games this year. The last (and only) time these two teams squared-off, they settled for a drawn match in Week 3, 2012. Two players (GM Kekelidze and NM Defibaugh) from that match return to play in this match.

Board 1: GM Mikheil Kekelidze vs. IM Levan Bregadze. GM Mikheil Kekelidze was (+1 =6 -3) last year for the Dreadnoughts and is (=1) against Baltimore. His opponent, IM Levan Bregadze, scored (+7 =1 -2) for his former team, the St. Louis Archbishops, and is (-1) against Connecticut. Both players will look to avoid starting their sophomore season in a slump!

Board 2: IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat vs. GM Michael Rohde. IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat, who will be appearing in his 9th USCL season, was (=3 -2) for the Kingfishers last season. He has yet to play against Connecticut. IM Enkhbat is a stalwart of the Baltimore team, having a career score of 28.0/60 from the team's 85 matches (including playoffs). Sitting opposite him (on the virtual chess board) will be GM Michael Rohde, who will be playing his 1st game in the USCL. This pairing is a rare clash between a USCL Veteran, who has been in the league from the start, vs. a complete USCL Rookie.

Board 3: IM Jay Bonin vs. NM Jared Defibaugh. After not playing at all in the USCL last season (despite being on the Philadelphia Inventors' roster), IM Jay Bonin is now playing again with the 3rd team of his 9-year USCL career. He has accumulated 28.0 points in 47 USCL games. He will be facing NM Jared Defibaugh, playing in his 4th USCL season. NM Defibaugh scored (+4 -3) last season, but lost his game in Baltimore's previous match with Connecticut. He has scored 10.0/19 in the USCL thus far. Both players have plenty of experience in the USCL, so they know that every (half-)point counts.

Board 4: NM Ian Schoch vs. Jason Shi. NM Ian Schoch returns to the Baltimore Kingfishers' lineup after a year off. He previously played in 2 USCL seasons, and he won 5 out of 8 games (all were decisive). He is set to play another USCL newcomer for Connecticut, Jason Shi. Will NM Schoch be able to continue his decisive game streak?

Catch the games live on chess.com!

Reposted at: Chess.com blogs

Week 3 Review

Connecticut Dreadnoughts vs. Baltimore Kingfishers 2-2
GM Robert Hess (2719) - GM Giorgi Margvelashvili (2593) 0.5-0.5 View Game
GM Mikheil Kekelidze (2628) - GM Larry Kaufman (2445) 0.5-0.5 View Game
NM Ian Harris (2342) - NM Jared Defibaugh (2357) 1-0 View Game
NM Joshua Colas (2376) - FM Ralph Zimmer (2304) 0-1 View Game

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

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Board 1:GM Giorgi Margvelashvili held GM Robert Hess to a draw in a Classical Caro-Kann that saw GM Hess pressing with the white pieces for most of the game. A key moment came in the position after 18... e5:

The audience on chess.com wondered which daring move white would try: 19. Nxc6 or 19. Rxf6. Further analysis shows that after 19. Nxc6 bxc6 20. Qxc6+ Qc7, white probably does not have anything better than the perpetual checks with 21. Qa8+ Qb8 23. Qc6+ etc. Therefore, GM Hess chose 19. Rxf6 and ended up with a rook, a central-placed bishop, and 2 pawns (1 doubled) vs. black's 2 rooks. The game ended when GM Margvelashvili managed to convert the game into a drawn rook and pawn vs. rook ending.

Board 2: In what was the most exciting ending of the match, GM Kaufman and GM Kekelidze agreed to a draw. They played a Nimzo-Indian in which white seemed to dictate play based on his two bishops aiming through the center of the board and toward the black king. After 39... Qxe8, victory was in reach for white with 40. Rxe8+, but a mouse-slip let the rook drop on e3.

A request for a takeback was made, but seeing as both players had less than 5 minutes on their clocks, the request was denied as per Rule C.1.b. GM Kaufman went back to play out the game as at least the rook had not dropped on a square that left it immediately hanging. After 43. Rf3 Qe6, GM Kekelidze offered a draw, which GM Kaufman accepted with 17 seconds left on his clock.

Unfortunately, this left on the table the opportunity to play 44. Qb8! Be8 (44... g6 45. Qh8+ Kg6 46. Qg8+ Kh6 47. Rxf7 or 44... Rg7 45. Bxg7 Kxg7 46. Qf8+ Kh7 47. Rf7+) 45. Re3! and white wins.

Board 3: This game started with the very exciting Ruy Lopez: Schliemann Defense (also known as the Jaenisch Gambit). The key moment came while still in opening theory after 8... Nf6:

NM Harris snatched a second pawn with 9. Nxa7 and never let the slight material advantage slip away as NM Defibaugh was eventually unable to hold back white's advancing pawns.

Board 4: FM Zimmer played an outstanding game that took 2nd place in the Game of the Week contest. In a semi-closed position out of the English: Neo-Catalan Declined, he forced the opening of the center with the nice pawn sacrifice 13. b4!

And he further opened up black's king to attack with 23. Rxf6! in the following position:

GM Alex Yermolinsky has posted a more in-depth analysis of the game in his Game of the Week video on ICC. FM Zimmer's game is covered starting around the 22:30 mark.

Week 3 Lineup

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

Connecticut Dreadnoughts vs. Baltimore Kingfishers
GM Robert Hess (2719) - GM Giorgi Margvelashvili (2593)
GM Mikheil Kekelidze (2628) - GM Larry Kaufman (2445)
NM Ian Harris (2342) - NM Jared Defibaugh (2357)
NM Joshua Colas (2376) - FM Ralph Zimmer (2304)

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

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First vs. Last in the Eastern Division: The Baltimore Kingfishers look to climb up the standings against the highly-rated Connecticut Dreadnoughts.

Board 1: GM Robert Hess vs. GM Giorgi Margvelashvili. GM Hess is (+1 =1) this year in the USCL. He is the highest rated player in the USCL this season (according to August 2012 ratings), leading the newly formed Connecticut Dreadnoughts team to a clear first place standing in the Eastern Division after two weeks. His opponent, GM Margvelashvili, is playing his first USCL game of the season. He is a student at UMBC and has played with the Baltimore Kingfishers since last season. He is still looking for his first USCL win as he went (=3 -1) last season.

Board 2: GM Larry Kaufman vs. GM Mikheil Kekelidze. GM Kaufman was on the wrong side (-1) of a marathon game last week, and now, he is back to face one of the strongest Board 2's in the league, GM Kekelidze. Connecticut's Board 2 is (+1 -1) on the season.

Board 3: NM Ian Harris vs. NM Jared Defibaugh. NM Harris is (+1) this USCL season. He is also the manager of the Connecticut Dreadnoughts and a former Baltimore Kingfisher circa 2008-09. His opponent, NM Defibaugh, was also on that 2009 Baltimore Kingfisher team, so this game is a battle between former teammates. He is (-1) this season.

Board 4: FM Ralph Zimmer vs. NM Joshua Colas. FM Zimmer scored a victory (+1) in the first week, which is currently Baltimore's only win. He plays against the young NM Colas, who is (-1) on the season.

Catch all the games on chess.com, Wednesday night! Also, let us know what you expect for the outcomes by voting in the polls to the right.