October 16th, 2011 
Mark La Rocca After last week’s loss to Philadelphia, Boston is now 3 – 4 and in a tie with New England and a pack of others for 4th place in the very tough Eastern division. Looking at the standings, my eyes were drawn immediately to one particular column… “Opponent’s Average Rating”. Boston leads the league in this stat with a 2434 OAR and New England is second with 2429. What this means is that teams seem to be putting their best foot forward, so to speak, when facing either team… and especially against the Blitz.
Not that I am complaining, as I am a great exponent of the “Hit me with your best shot!” theory of steeling your inner strength… the old school “when the going gets tough”… and all that.
That said, this weeks opponent, the Carolina Cobras (one of the pack tied at 3 -4 ), comes in on the low side of that average. The Blitz, on the other hand, are fielding an impressive lineup with the top three boards over 2490. Does this mean anything?… I doubt it… the Blitz have reached the point of “show me”… they definitely cannot afford another loss if they expect to make a run this year. Now, Let’s do the math…
White Black
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1. IM Schroer (CAR) SM Sammour-Hasbun
2. FM Griego (BOS) FM Korey (CAR)
3. FM Simpson (CAR) IM Jan van de Mortel (BOS)
4. Mosiyenko (BOS) NM Jones (CAR)
IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) (2435) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) (2605) – Board 1
Jorge must be a heavy favorite in this matchup, mathematically that is. But throw out the stats, Carolina is also fighting for their lives. I say 1d4 d5 and a hard fought win for Jorge… but watch out, this will not be easy. Boston (1 – 0)
FM David Griego (BOS) (2494) vs FM Kassa Korey (CAR) (2368) – Board 2
Seems a lopsided (mathematically), bet on Boston, matchup here. FM Griego needs to start winning, and the Blitz need a hot hand right now. I believe this is his first White this season… and it will be his first win. Queen’s Gambit Accepted…
Boston (2 – 0)
FM Ron Simpson (CAR) (2317) vs IM Jan van de Mortel (BOS) (2499) – Board 3
Let’s see 2499 minus 2317… hmmm… well, you do the math. Boston wins this exciting, dare we hope, Sicilian Dragon… I love it when IMs play he-man chess… Boston (3 – 0)
Daniil Mosiyenko (BOS) (2132) vs NM Craig Jones (CAR) (2305) – Board 4
Never mind what the math tells you here… Daniil will win this one. He turned a big corner in his last appearance and made believers of us all. This is also his first White of the season… Let’s say 1.d4 d5 and Boston (4 – 0)
Yes, I know, the kiss of death… a sweep for the Blitz… hard to believe you say? Well maybe, so prove me wrong Cobras… come on… Hit us with your best shot!
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