Week 3 Lineup

Manhattan Applesauce vs. Baltimore Kingfishers
GM Zviad Izoria (2624) - IM Levan Bregadze (2469)
IM Dmitry Schneider (2516) - IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat (2492)
FM Rico Salimbagat (2259) - NM Jared Defibaugh (2297)
NM Ryan Goldenberg (2348) - NM Ian Schoch (2294)

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 will do battle with the Manhattan Applesauce in Week 3 of the US Chess League (USCL). Baltimore is currently mired in 4th place in the Northeast Division with a 0.0-2.0 match record. Meanwhile, Manhattan is tied for 2nd (but 3rd on tiebreaks) place in the Atlantic Division. As these teams are not in the same division, they are only scheduled to play once this season. Manhattan has actually dominated the series with a 6.5-1.5 match record. They last played in Week 9, 2012 which Manhattan won with a 3.5-0.5 game score. IM Enkhbat is the only player from that match scheduled to play this week as well.

Board 1: GM Zviad Izoria vs. IM Levan Bregadze. GM Zviad Izoria is (+1) in his first USCL season. He defeated FM Tom Bartell of the Philadelphia Inventors on Board 1 in Week 1 with the white pieces. His opponent, IM Levan, Bregadze, is (+1 -1) in his 2nd USCL season. He won last week with the white pieces against IM David Vigorito of the New England Nor'easters on Board 1.

Board 2: IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat vs. IM Dmitry Schneider. IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat, in his 9th season, has lost twice and has a (=2 -4) record against Manhattan. He lost last week with the black pieces on Board 2 against FM Steven Winer of the New England Nor'easters. Playing opposite him will be IM Dmitry Schneider, who is in his 8th USCL season, having missed playing only in 2006. He drew his only game this season in Week 1 with the black pieces against FM Dov Gorman of the Philadelphia Inventors on Board 2. He is (+2 =1) against Baltimore in his career.

Board 3: FM Rico Salimbagat vs. NM Jared Defibaugh. FM Rico Salimbagat is (=1 -1) in his first season in the USCL. He lost last week on Board 3 with the black pieces against FM Michael Bodek of the New York Knights. He will be facing NM Jared Defibaugh, who is also (=1 -1) this season. NM Defibaugh is playing in his 4th USCL season and has not played against Manhattan previously. He drew last week with the white pieces against FM Charles Riordan of the New England Nor'easters on Board 3.

Board 4: NM Ian Schoch vs. NM Ryan Goldenberg. NM Ian Schoch lost his 1st game this season in Week 1 with the white pieces against Jason Shi of the Connecticut Dreadnoughts on Board 4. He is (+1) in his career against against Manhattan. He will play NM Ryan Goldenberg, who is (+1 -1) in his first USCL season. He lost with the white pieces against FM Aravind Kumar of the New York Knights last week on Board 4.

TRIVIA: During the games last week, I mentioned on chess.com that this year's Baltimore Kingfishers roster has only 3 players who are currently attending UMBC. FM Mike Klein posed this as a trivia question to USCL President, IM Greg Shahade, during the live commentary on chess.com/tv. Coupled with seeing a certain player's name in this week's match, I realized this is the first season in which there are more former UMBC attendees on other USCL rosters than current and former ones on the Baltimore Kingfishers' roster. So can you figure out which 5 players (and 1 manager) on other USCL rosters are former UMBC alumni? Here's a hint: 3 of the 6 have played for the Baltimore Kingfishers in past years.

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Week 2 Review

Baltimore Kingfishers vs. New England Nor'easters 1.5-2.5
IM Levan Bregadze (2469) - IM David Vigorito (2532) 1-0 View Game
IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat (2492) - SM Steven Winer (2409) 0-1 View Game
NM Jared Defibaugh (2297) - FM Charles Riordan (2386) 0.5-0.5 View Game
NM Ben Krause (2323) - NM Andrew Liu (2296) 0-1 View Game

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

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The New England Nor'easters edge the Baltimore Kingfishers with a 2.5-1.5 game score. The match saw 3 wins for white and a draw on Board 3. Baltimore is now 0.0-2.0 in matches on the season. However, there are still 8 weeks in the Regular Season to go in the USCL and as we have seen in previous years, anything can happen right up until the last minute/match.

Board 1: IM Levan Bregadze vs. IM David Vigorito. The opening of this game transposed into an English Opening: Symmetrical Defense that saw an unusual line with 8. Ne3 leaving the c3-pawn hanging with check. However, the pawn must have been poisoned as it was not captured until 26 moves later. White made some play on the queenside with a Rook on the b-file, but black seemed solid in the middle game. After a series of trades that left both sides with a Queen, a Bishop, and a handful of pawns, it was white who emerged as the aggressor with the outside passed a-pawn. In a slightly worse position, black (mouse?)slips up with 37... Qd2 and allows a clear win, which white pounced on here:

Board 2: SM Steven Winer vs. IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat. They began with a Semi-Slav Defense where white seemed to take control from in the middle game due to his control of the half-open c-file and black's passive light-squared bishop. SM Winer held off taking black's c-pawn in order to slowly improve his position while denying any chances at counterplay. This led to winning the h-pawn and a-pawn and eventually the game.

Board 3: NM Jared Defibaugh vs. FM Charles Riordan. NM Defibaugh played an unusual Sicilian with 3. b3. The players traded queens early on move 9 and the rest of the game was characterized by slow positional maneuvering. The game never strayed far from an equal evaluation and the players agreed to a draw with a rook and 2 unconnected pawns for each side.

Board 4: NM Andrew Liu vs. NM Ben Krause. These two started with a Grunfeld Defense with 5. Bg5 dxc4. It became a unique position by move 10, and soon, black allowed white to capture a pawn on b7 and knight on c7 for play against white's center and uncastled king. Black missed some opportunities to seize the advantage, especially with 20... d3! 21. Bxd3 Rfd8 22. Nc1 Rac8 -/+. In the ensuing complex middlegame, white was able to consolidate his position while keeping his piece advantage. Black resigned down a bishop in the endgame.

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Week 2 Lineup

Baltimore Kingfishers vs. New England Nor'easters
IM Levan Bregadze (2469) - IM David Vigorito (2532)
IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat (2492) - SM Steven Winer (2409)
NM Jared Defibaugh (2297) - FM Charles Riordan (2386)
NM Ben Krause (2323) - NM Andrew Liu (2296)

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

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After a terrible Week 1, the Baltimore Kingfishers (0.0-1.0, 4th in the Northeast Division) look to bounce back against the New England Nor'easters (0.5-0.5, 3rd in the Northeast Division). New England drew with the Boston Blitz last week, but are in 3rd place on the 2nd tiebreak of opponents' rating average. New England leads the all-time series match score by 2.5-1.5, but when they last played each other in Week 5, 2012, Baltimore won with a 2.5-1.5 games score. Three players (IM Enkhbat, IM Vigorito, and NM Defibaugh) from that last match return to play in this one.

Board 1: IM Levan Bregadze vs. IM David Vigorito. IM Levan Bregadze is (-1) in his 2nd USCL season and has never played against New England before this match. His opponent, the player/manager IM David Vigorito, is making his first appearance in his 5th year as a player. IM Vigorito went (=1 -2) last year and has scored (+1 =1 -1) against Baltimore in his USCL career.

Board 2: SM Steven Winer vs. IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat. SM Steven Winer is making a return to the USCL with New England after having played for the Boston Blitz in the first 2 USCL seasons. He is (=1) on the season and is (-2) against Baltimore. He drew as black against SM Denys Shmelov of the Boston Blitz last week on Board 2. He will be facing IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat, who is (-1) this season and (+1 =1 -2) against New England. These two actually played against each other back in Week 10, 2005 when IM Enkhbat won with the black pieces.

Board 3: NM Jared Defibaugh vs. FM Charles Riordan. NM Jared Defibaugh is also (-1) this season and (+1 =1) against New England. He is matched up against FM Charles Riordan, who will be playing in his 7th USCL season. FM Riordan scored (+2 =2 -1) for New England last year and is (+1 =2) against Baltimore in his career.

Board 4: NM Andrew Liu vs. NM Ben Krause. NM Andrew Liu is (=1) this season having drawn with black against NM Ilya Krasik of the Boston Blitz last week on Board 4. This is NM Liu's 2nd USCL season and he is still searching for his first win after 3 games played. He is tasked against NM Ben Krause, who is making his USCL debut for Baltimore in this match.

Trivia Note: All four of the New England Nor'easter's players this week began their USCL careers on the Boston Blitz, and they are the only four players on the New England roster to have played for Boston.

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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!

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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?

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Reposted at: Chess.com blogs