2014 Week 8 Review

Baltimore Kingfishers vs. Miami Sharks 1-3
GM Niclas Huschenbeth (2603) - GM Julio Becerra (2626) 0.5-0.5 View Game
GM Larry Kaufman (2391) - GM Renier Gonzalez (2510) 0.5-0.5 View Game
NM Jared Defibaugh (2325) - NM Federico Gonzalez (2315) 0-1 View Game
FM Ralph Zimmer (2268) - Vlad Yanovsky (2165) 0-1 View Game

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

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The Miami Sharks defeated the Baltimore Kingfishers with a 3-1 score. Miami managed victories on the bottom two boards and drew both top boards. In the Southern Division, Miami (4.5-3.5) in match points) moved up to 2nd place while Baltimore (3.0-5.0) dropped to 5th place. With two weeks left to go in the regular season, Baltimore is a half-match-point (and 1.5 game points) behind the Atlanta Kings for the 3rd and likely final playoff spot in the Southern Division. It is still possible though very unlikely that the Southern Division earns a 4th playoff spot. Which of the three USCL Divisions earns that extra playoff spot will be determined next week with the final interdivisional match-ups of the regular season.

TRIVIA: Name the team against which Baltimore has not played for the longest amount of time.
ANSWER: Baltimore has not played the San Francisco Mechanics since Week 6, 2005.

Board 1: GM Niclas Huschenbeth vs. GM Julio Becerra. The top board showcased a sharp Two Knights Defense: Modern variation (5. e5). GM Niclas Huschenbeth played the novelty 17. Qxa7 and GM Julio Becerra began a scenic journey with his own queen. White seemingly won an exchange but black had a sudden attack against the surprisingly vulnerable white king. White returned a knight and pawn to relieve the pressure, resulting in a material imbalance of two white rooks for black's rook, knight, and bishop. White had a passed a-pawn, but its march was easily stopped by the black rook and bishop combination. The game ended in a threefold repetition on move 44. The game took 2nd place in the Game of the Week competition. See the judges' comments here.

Board 2: GM Renier Gonzalez vs. GM Larry Kaufman. The second board featured a Ruy Lopez: Berlin Defense (3... Nf6) with what resembled the Kaufmann variation (where white plays 5. Be3) but this game had 5. Bxc6 dxc6 inserted first. The opening variation seems to have been named after Arthur Kaufmann, an early 20th-century player, rather than our player with the black pieces. The novelty occurred relatively early with 8... Nd7 played by GM Larry Kaufman. GM Renier Gonzalez expanded slowly with the white pieces while black took a defensive position. However, the tempo of the game shifted as black played the daring break 29... g5. Then, another critical moment appeared with 35. Qf6 as it led to a bishop and rook for queen exchange in favor of black. However, black did not find the most accurate moves to press for the win, so the players drew by threefold repetition after 62 moves.

Board 3: NM Jared Defibaugh vs. NM Federico Gonzalez. Board 3 displayed a Modern Benoni Defense with 7. Nge2. NM Jared Defibaugh played the novelty 12. Qd2 and soon embarked on a kingside attack. He also castled queenside and a flank attack race ensued. However, white's attack stalled and after opening up the center, he gave up a couple pawns unnecessarily. NM Federico Gonzalez took this advantage and methodically converted the rook and pawns endgame to a victory in 69 moves.

Board 4: Vlad Yanovsky vs. FM Ralph Zimmer. The fourth board exhibited a Sicilian Defense: Four Knights Variation (4... Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6) but avoided transposing into the Sveshnikov as the game continued with 6. Ndb5 Bb4. The game followed already tested lines until Vlad Yanovsky played the novelty 18. Qd2. The game looked to be headed towards a long drawish battle until FM Ralph Zimmer missed that his rook would be trapped (for a bishop) after 33... Rb5 34. Bc5 b6 35. a4. With the extra exchange, Vlad Yanovsky was able to claim a victory in 55 moves.

Note that NM Federico Gonzalez won his first career USCL game.

Next week, the Baltimore Kingfishers play the Boston Blitz on Wednesday, October 22nd at 7:30 PM EDT.

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Reposted at: Chess.com blogs

2014 Week 8 Preview

Baltimore Kingfishers vs. Miami Sharks
GM Niclas Huschenbeth (2603) - GM Julio Becerra (2626)
GM Larry Kaufman (2391) - GM Renier Gonzalez (2510)
NM Jared Defibaugh (2325) - NM Federico Gonzalez (2315)
FM Ralph Zimmer (2268) - Vlad Yanovsky (2165)

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 Baltimore Kingfishers and the Miami Sharks face-off in a hotly-contested Southern Division match-up. Baltimore (3.0-4.0 in match points) is in 4th place while Miami (3.5-3.5) sits just above them in 3rd place in the Southern Division. Miami leads the all-time series with a 2-1 match score against Baltimore. Amazingly, these two original USCL teams, who battled each other in the very first week of the first USCL season as well as the first USCL Finals, have not met since Week 4, 2006. Two Baltimore players (GM Larry Kaufman and FM Ralph Zimmer) and one Miami player (GM Julio Becerra) played in that last match and will return to play in this upcoming match.

TRIVIA: Name the team against which Baltimore has not played for the longest amount of time.

Board 1: GM Niclas Huschenbeth vs. GM Julio Becerra. GM Niclas Huschenbeth is (=1 -1) with a 2568 performance rating in his 3rd USCL season. He last played in Week 6 when he drew with the white pieces on Board 1 against GM Wesley So of the St. Louis Arch Bishops. He has never played against Miami before he challenges GM Julio Becerra this week. Playing against GM Julio Becerra is nearly synonymous with playing against the Miami Sharks as GM Becerra recently became the first USCL player with over a hundred games played. Over his 10-year career, he has played in 101 of Miami's 111 matches played (Not counting a 2005 Miami match that was agreed drawn without playing due to a Hurricane). This season, he is (+2 =4 -1) with a 2722 performance rating. He won last week with the white pieces on Board 1 against IM David Vigorito of the New England Nor'easters. Also, he has scored (+2 -1) against Baltimore in his career.

Board 2: GM Renier Gonzalez vs. GM Larry Kaufman. GM Renier Gonzalez is (-2) with a 2217 performance rating in his 3rd season for the Miami Sharks. He last played in Week 5 with the white pieces on Board 2 against FM Yian Liou of the San Francisco Mechanics. He has not played against Baltimore previously. Meanwhile his opponent, GM Larry Kaufman, is also on a (-2) score though with a 1990 performance rating. GM Larry Kaufman has a (+2) record against Miami in his 10-year career. He played last week with the black pieces on Board 2 against IM Mark Ginsburg of the Arizona Scorpions.

Board 3: NM Jared Defibaugh vs. NM Federico Gonzalez. NM Jared Defibaugh has a (+3 =2 -1) record with a 2479 performance rating in his 5th USCL season. He won last week with the white pieces on Board 3 against IM Alexey Diulger of the Arizona Scorpions. He will get his first chance to play against Miami with an opponent, NM Federico Gonzalez, who will be playing his first USCL game ever. Little information is available for NM Federico Gonzalez except for his 2315 USCF rating.

Board 4: Vlad Yanovsky vs. FM Ralph Zimmer. Vlad Yanovsky won his only game this season in Week 6 with the white pieces on Board 3 against NM Ian Harris of the Connecticut Dreadnoughts. That starts him with a 2708 performance rating in his 2nd USCL season. Also having played only one game this season, FM Zimmer lost last week with the black pieces on Board 4 against Matthew Noble of the Arizona Scorpions. That starts him off with a 1684 performance rating. Might that be the largest performance rating gap in USCL history? Also, FM Zimmer is (-1) in his career against Miami.

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