Week 6 Lineup

Baltimore Kingfishers vs. Philadelphia Inventors
IM Levan Bregadze (2469) - FM Tom Bartell (2496)
IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat (2492) - FM Dov Gorman (2362)
NM Jared Defibaugh (2297) - NM Peter Minear (2385)
NM Ian Schoch (2296) - FM Karl Dehmelt (2260)

Tuesday, 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 (1.0-4.0, 4th place) of the Northeast Division are set to play against the Philadelphia Inventors (2.0-3.0, 3rd place) of the Atlantic Division. Both teams are currently outside of the top 2 spots, which qualify teams for the playoffs, in their respective divisions. Half of the season has come and gone, so each match gains that much more importance. Now, Philadelphia leads Baltimore in their all-time series with a 9.0-5.0 match score. These two teams last faced each other in the Quarterfinals of the 2012 season, which Philadelphia won with a 3.5-0.5 game score. Three players (FM Tom Bartell, IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat, and FM Dov Gorman) from that previous match return to play in this match as well.

Board 1: IM Levan Bregadze vs. FM Tom Bartell. IM Levan Bregadze is (+1 =2 -1) in his 2nd USCL season but has yet to play against Philadelphia. He drew last week with the black pieces against IM Marc Esserman of the Boston Blitz on Board 1. He will square off against FM Tom Bartell, who is (+1 =1 -2) in his 7th season. FM Bartell has scored (+2 =4 -1) against Baltimore in his career. He lost last week with the black pieces against GM Pascal Charbonneau of the New York Knights on Board 1.

Board 2: FM Dov Gorman vs. IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat. FM Dov Gorman is (+1 =3 -1) in his 2nd season and has a (+1 =1) record against Baltimore. He won last week with the white pieces against SM Matt Herman of the New York Knights on Board 2. Opposite him will be IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat, a 9-year USCL veteran. IM Enkhbat has a (+1 =1 -2) record this year and is (+3 =3 -2) against Philadelphia in his career. He drew last week with the white pieces against SM Denys Shmelov of the Boston Blitz on Board 2.

Board 3: NM Jared Defibaugh vs. NM Peter Minear. NM Jared Defibaugh is (+1 =2 -1) in his 4th season and has a (-3) record against Philadelphia. He won in Week 4 with the black pieces against NM Ruifeng Li of the Dallas Destiny on Board 3. His opponent, NM Peter Minear, is (+1 =3 -1) in his 2nd USCL season but has not faced Baltimore previously. He lost last week with the black pieces against FM Akshat Chandra of the New York Knights on Board 3.

Board 4: FM Karl Dehmelt vs. NM Ian Schoch. FM Karl Dehmelt is (+1 -2) in his 4th year and has scored (=1 -1) against Baltimore. He lost last week with the white pieces against NM Nicolas Checa of the New York Knights on Board 4. He will play against NM Ian Schoch, who is (-2) in his 3rd season. NM Schoch has not played against Philadelphia before this match. He last played in Week 3 when he has the white pieces against NM Ryan Goldenberg of the Manhattan Applesauce on Board 4.

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Week 5 Review

Boston Blitz vs. Baltimore Kingfishers 2-2
IM Marc Esserman (2569) - IM Levan Bregadze (2469) 0.5-0.5 View Game
SM Denys Shmelov (2465) - IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat (2492) 0.5-0.5 View Game
NM Vadim Martirosov (2349) - GM Larry Kaufman (2401) 0.5-0.5 View Game
NM Ilya Krasik (2286) - NM Andrew Zheng (2159) 0.5-0.5 View Game

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

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The Baltimore Kingfishers ended the match against the Boston Blitz in a deadlocked tied match. All four games ended in draws, but that doesn't mean there weren't ups and downs along the way! The other Northeast Division match between New England and Connecticut was also drawn, so the relative standings have not changed in the Northeast Division. Baltimore remains 2 match points behind the Connecticut Dreadnoughts for the 2nd divisional playoff spot. Baltimore will play the Philadelphia Inventors next Tuesday.

Board 1: IM Marc Esserman vs. IM Levan Bregadze. The top board featured a Classical Pirc Defense. IM Esserman started the game with 22 minutes less than IM Bregadze due to lateness. They actually followed a game played in the Austrian Staatsliga (State League) in 1995 that ended as a draw in the position after black's 16th move. However, our two USCL players played out the following rook, bishop, and pawns ending where only white had winning chances with an extra pawn. After 42 moves, the players agreed to a draw as black had neutralized white's pawn advantage. IM Bregadze seemed comfortable throughout the game as he ended with over 60 minutes on the clock to IM Esserman's 5 minutes and change.

Board 2: IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat vs. SM Denys Shmelov. The second board began with a Slav Defense. IM Enkhbat played the novelty 12. h3. This was the last game of the match (also the night) to finish as IM Enkhbat kept pressing to try to come up with a victory. However, SM Shmelov was able to defend well and the two agreed to a draw in a rook and 2 pawns ending.

Board 3: NM Vadim Martirosov vs. GM Larry Kaufman. The third board started as a Catalan but quickly transposed into a Bogo-Indian Defense. NM Martirosov played the novelty with 11. cxd5. NM Martirosov missed a chance to win with 30. b4 which simply wins black's knight. Instead, the move he played allowed the position to stay equal and the game soon ended in an agreed draw when it was clear the game would liquidate into an opposite-color bishop ending with an equal amount of pawns.

Board 4: NM Andrew Zheng vs. NM Ilya Krasik. The fourth board showcased an Hyper-Accelerated Dragon Sicilian. NM Zheng actually played 2 novelties: 10. 0-0 and 11. Qe1. The move 10. exd5 has been played at least 9 times before, but with less than stellar results for white (+1 =2 -6) but the move 11. exd5 has had good results for white (+2 =2) previously. Later on, white went down an exchange and it looked like just a matter of time before NM Krasik won. However, NM Zheng kept playing and eventually won back the exchange on move 40. The players found themselves in a same-colored bishop ending with black having an extra pawn. In fact, NM Zheng even gave up another pawn with 45. h4 to disconnect black's kingside pawns. White eventually was allowed to take both h-pawns and the game was agreed drawn with equal material on the board.

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Week 5 Lineup

Boston Blitz vs. Baltimore Kingfishers
IM Marc Esserman (2569) - IM Levan Bregadze (2469)
SM Denys Shmelov (2465) - IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat (2492)
NM Vadim Martirosov (2349) - GM Larry Kaufman (2401)
NM Ilya Krasik (2286) - NM Andrew Zheng (2159)

Wednesday, 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 (0.5-3.5, 4th) battle the Boston Blitz (2.0-2.0, 3rd) this Wednesday in the USCL's Week 5. Both teams are looking to catch up to the New England Nor'easters (3.5-0.5, 1st) and the Connecticut Dreadnoughts (2.5-1.5, 2nd) for the two playoff spots in the Northeast Division. Boston leads the all-time series against Baltimore with a 6.5-5.5 match score. However, the last time these two teams played each other, Baltimore put themselves into the playoffs by knocking out Boston in Week 10, 2012 by a 2.5-1.5 score. Four players (SM Denys Shmelov, GM Larry Kaufman, NM Vadim Martirosov, NM Ilya Krasik) from that previous match return to play in this upcoming match as well.

Board 1: IM Marc Esserman vs. IM Levan Bregadze. IM Marc Esserman, playing in his 6th USCL season, is (+1 -1) on the season and has scored (+2 =1) in his career against Baltimore. He lost last week with the black pieces against GM Yuniesky Quesada of the Miami Sharks on Board 1. His opponent, IM Levan Bregadze, is (+1 =1 -1) in his 2nd USCL season. IM Bregadze last played in Week 3, which was a draw with the black pieces against GM Zviad Izoria of the Manhattan Applesauce on Board 1.

Board 2: IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat vs. SM Denys Shmelov. IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat is (+1 -2) in his 9th USCL season and has scored (+2 =2 -3) against Boston. He won in Week 3 with white against IM Dmitry Schneider of the Manhattan Applesauce on Board 2. He will face SM Denys Shmelov, who is (=3 -1) in his 6th USCL season and has scored (+1 =2 -1) against Baltimore. He lost last week with the black pieces against FM Eric Rodriguez of the Miami Sharks on Board 3.

Board 3: NM Vadim Martirosov vs. GM Larry Kaufman. NM Vadim Martirosov has a (+1 -1) record in his 7th USCL season and is (=5 -1) against Baltimore in his career. He last played in Week 2, a loss with the white pieces against FM Leif Pressman of the Connecticut Dreadnoughts. He will play GM Larry Kaufman, who lost his only game of the season last week with the white pieces against FM Jeffery Xiong of the Dallas Destiny on Board 2. GM Kaufman is playing in his 9th USCL season and has a (=2 -6) record against Boston.

Board 4: NM Andrew Zheng vs. NM Ilya Krasik. NM Andrew Zheng is making his USCL debut in this match. According the the USCF's Sept. 2013 rating lists, NM Zheng is the #7 ranked 11-year-old in the country. Welcoming him to the league will be a 9-year-veteran of the USCL, NM Ilya Krasik. NM Krasik drew his only game this year in Week 1 with the white pieces against NM Andrew Liu of the New England Nor'easters on Board 4. He is (+4 =1 -4) in his career against Baltimore.

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Week 4 Review

Dallas Destiny vs. Baltimore Kingfishers 2.5-1.5
GM Conrad Holt (2639) - GM Niclas Huschenbeth (2610) 1-0 View Game
FM Jeffery Xiong (2485) - GM Larry Kaufman (2401) 1-0 View Game
NM Ruifeng Li (2348) - NM Jared Defibaugh (2297) 0-1 View Game
NM Sarah Chiang (2213) - FM Ralph Zimmer (2244) 0.5-0.5 View Game

Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

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The Dallas Destiny stay perfect on the season as they defeated the Baltimore Kingfishers by a 2.5-1.5 game score. Baltimore missed a chance to gain some ground on the 2nd playoff spot in the Northeast Division as both the Connecticut Dreadnoughts and Boston Blitz lost this week. Baltimore (0.5-3.5) will battle the Boston Blitz (2.0-2.0) next Wednesday.

Board 1: GM Conrad Holt vs. GM Niclas Huschenbeth. The top board showcased a Main line Semi-Slav Defense: Noteboom varation. The game started approximately 18 minutes late (due to connectivity issues for Dallas) but got quickly underway as both players blitzed out the opening theory. GM Huschenbeth varied first with the novelty 14... Ne4. Then, black sacrificed a bishop for white's two central pawns. A queen trade was soon allowed and black was still pressing, but simply could not get the connected passed pawns on the a-file and b-file going. GM Holt was able to slowly consolidate his position and eventually force more piece trades. Black resigned down a bishop in the endgame.

Board 2: GM Larry Kaufman vs. FM Jeffery Xiong. The second board featured a Queen's Gambit Declined. FM Xiong played the novelty 9... b6. GM Kaufman began to aim his pieces at black's kingside. However, the attack never came to fruition as black started to get play on the queenside with a knight on c4 threatening to fork the queen and rooks after 19... g5 20. Bg3 Nxe3. Several trades ensued until each side was left with a queen, rook and 6 pawns though with black holding onto a dangerous passed d-pawn. Black was allowed to queen that d-pawn and FM Xiong immediately sacrificed it for a mating combination.

Board 3: NM Ruifeng Li vs. NM Jared Defibaugh. On the third board, NM Defibaugh chose to defend against e4 with Alekhine's Defense: Modern, Schmid Variation (4... Nb6). NM Defibaugh started with few minutes time advantage presumably due to the previously mentioned connectivity issues. The game transformed into something that looked more like it came from a King's Indian. NM Li played the novelty 14. Nd5. NM Defibaugh then was able to push pawns to f4 and e3, constricting white's position. Then, NM Li sacrificed an exchange in order to try to defend. For awhile, it looked possible he might just do that with 3 menacing queenside pawns against a single b-pawn for black. He missed an incredible try with 45. a5 Rf8 (45... Kg5 46. a6 bxa6 47. c6 Rf8 48. c7 Rc8 49. Bd3 and white is the one playing for a win) 46. a6 bxa6 47. c6 a5 48. b5 a4 49. c7 a3 50. Bb1 Ba5 51. b6 and it's unclear if black can win this position. Instead white soon sacrificed his knight for the e-pawn and b-pawn and quickly fell to black's remaining forces.

Board 4: FM Ralph Zimmer vs. NM Sarah Chiang. The final board began with an English Opening: Neo-Catalan Declined. Due to a late lineup change and the connectivity issues, FM Zimmer started with 84 minutes to NM Sarah Chiang's 60 minutes. FM Zimmer played the novelty 14. Bg5. Although white seemed slightly better from the opening, his Qf5-h3-f1 maneuver took quite a few tempi and allowed black to gain control and space in the center. However, after a pair of bishops and the queens were traded, much of the pressure was gone and white again seemed better after 31. Nd3. That advantage again slipped away after 40. Nxg7 when FM Zimmer was expecting NM Sarah Chiang to recapture the g7-knight instead of the c5-knight. PLay went on until both players were down to king, knight, and pawn and a draw by 3-fold repetition was called.

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Week 4 Lineup

Dallas Destiny vs. Baltimore Kingfishers
GM Conrad Holt (2639) - GM Niclas Huschenbeth (2610)
FM Jeffery Xiong (2485) - GM Larry Kaufman (2401)
NM Ruifeng Li (2348) - NM Jared Defibaugh (2297)
NM Jonathan Chiang (2330) NM Sarah Chiang (2213) - FM Ralph Zimmer (2244)

Wednesday, 7:45 PM EDT
Time Control 75 min. with 30 sec. increment
Due to a lineup change, on Board Four Baltimore will begin with 84 minutes while Dallas will begin with 66.
Note: Players in italic have the white pieces.

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The Baltimore Kingfishers play their first Western Conference foe of the season, the Dallas Destiny. Baltimore sits in 4th place in the Northeast Division with a (0.5 - 2.5) match record while Dallas is tied for first place (2nd place on tiebreak) with the Miami Sharks in the South Division, both teams having perfect (3.0 - 0.0) match records. Baltimore and Dallas are tied at (1.0 - 1.0) in their previous matches. The last time these two teams tackled each other, Dallas swept Baltimore 4-0 in Week 8, 2006. Two players (GM Larry Kaufman and FM Ralph Zimmer) from that last match are also playing in this upcoming match.

Board 1: GM Conrad Holt vs. GM Niclas Huschenbeth. GM Conrad Holt is (+2) in his 3rd USCL season and currently in 4th place place in the USCL MVP race. He won last week with white against IM Mackenzie Molner of the Arizona Scorpions on Board 1. He will play against GM Niclas Huschenbeth, who is playing his 1st game in his 2nd season. He was (=1 -2) last season. These two players also represent rival College Chess teams, the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC); both of which have made the President's Cup (Final Four of College Chess) each year since the tournament's inception in 2001. As such, this game might be a prelude to this year's Pan-American Intercollegiate Championship.

Board 2: GM Larry Kaufman vs. FM Jeffery Xiong. GM Larry Kaufman is also playing his 1st game this year though this is his 9th season playing in the USCL. He scored (+1 =2 -3) last year and is (=1 -1) against Dallas. His opponent, FM Jeffery Xiong, is a perfect (+3) this season (his 3rd) and currently 2nd in the USCL MVP race. He won last week on Board 3 with white against WGM Angelina Belakovskaia of the Arizona Scorpions.

Board 3: NM Ruifeng Li vs. NM Jared Defibaugh. NM Ruifeng Li is making his USCL debut in this match. He will face NM Jared Defibaugh, who is also (=2 -1) this season. NM Defibaugh is playing in his 4th USCL season, but has not faced Dallas before this match. He drew last week with black against FM Rico Salimbagat of the Manhattan Applesauce on Board 3.

Board 4: FM Ralph Zimmer vs. NM Jonathan Chiang NM Sarah Chiang. FM Ralph Zimmer is third Kingfisher to make his season debut in this match. This will be his 8th year playing in the USCL, as he has only missed the 2005 season. He is (-1) against Dallas, and he scored (+4 =1 -2) last year while earning top honors in the Baltimore Kingfishers' team MVP points race. He is matched against NM Jonathan Chiang, who is also making his season debut in this match. NM Chiang is playing in his 2nd USCL season and scored (+1 -1) last season. Less than 24 hours after the official lineups were posted, Dallas has replaced NM Jonathan Chiang with his older sister, NM Sarah Chiang. A recent scheduling conflict must have come up. Anyway, NM Sarah Chiang will be playing her first game of the season in this match. She has only played 1 USCL game so far, a draw with white against Nicholas Rosenthal of the Miami Sharks in Week 3 of last year. Also, due to the late lineup change, FM Zimmer will begin with 84 minutes while NM Sarah Chiang will begin with 66 minutes.

TRIVIA NOTE: Upon seeing this week's lineup, NM Jared Defibaugh e-mailed me proclaiming about the Dallas Destiny lineup, "that's gotta be the youngest uscl team in history." Dallas, with all four players under the age of 21, and an average age under 15, certainly appears to have a claim to that USCL record. Although they may have already been the record holder as I do not recall Dallas ever having a single player over 30 years old (Sounds eerily like Logan's Run). Can anyone prove either statement wrong?

Updated at 11:35 AM EDT on 9/17/2013

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Reposted at: Chess.com blogs