The Boston Blitz clobbered the Carolina Cobras (3 – 1) and move into sole 4th place in the Eastern division with a Record of (4 – 4). I think it’s time to do a little analysis of the team… and I ask myself… What’s wrong with the Blitz? Well… First, there is only one consistent player… Jorge. He started hot and has carried the team when he plays. In years past, the Blitz always had two or more hot players. Marc Esserman often carried the team when others faltered… this year he is yet to win in three attempts… three draws… very un-Marc-like. Then there is the erratic fourth board performance… again, in the past, 4th board was a Blitz strong point. This year Ilya has alternated between 3rd and 4th and is off form… while Chris Gu and Daniil Mosiyenko have been inconsistent… although recently Daniil has really picked up his game. Vadim started strong, and looked to be the 3rd board anchor to keep the team steady, but has cooled off.

So, What do the Blitz need? They need someone besides Jorge to get hot. Here are my nominees to pick it up in the stretch run. In order of most likely to turn it on… Marc on 2nd board, Vadim on 3rd board, Daniil on 4th board, and Ilya alternating 3rd to 4th . How about IM van de Mortel… Oh yeah, and one more guy, who turned in the best game of this match… FM David Griego… Maybe, just maybe, he’s the guy to carry us to the playoffs. He notched his first win of the season and if he gets hot, well… we’ll have more matches like this.

No problem with the top boards, the GMs and Jorge seem to have it under control. Let’s take a look at Jorge in cruise control to a nice win on board 1…
(more…)

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
------------------------------------------------------------
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

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!

Ok, I took the week off and I didn’t review last weeks games… so shoot me! A quick recap… another draw. Boston’s top boards lost, and the bottom boards won. The true hero being Daniil Mosiyenko (who I picked to lose… only to inspire him… really!). Congratulations to Daniil and I will never pick him to lose again. Final Score Boston 2 – Arizon 2, in what must be a disappointment to the Blitz who figure to win when both bottom boards come through. Oh well…

Now, on to this weeks match vs the Philadelphia Inventors… don’t let the nickname fool you, these guys are plenty tough. The match starts at 7:15 this Tuesday… now that’s news… I don’t think the Blitz have ever played on a Tuesday. Maybe it will change their luck. The Blitz are in stand-alone 4th place with a record of (3 – 3) while the Inventors are co-leaders in the East at (4.5 – 1.5)

       White			   Black
------------------------------------------------------------
1.  GM Perelshteyn (BOS)	GM Erenburg (PHI)
2.  FM Bartell (PHI)		IM Jan van de Mortel (BOS)
3.  NM Martirosov (BOS)	        IM Bonin (PHI)
4.  NM Fisher (PHI)		NM Krasik (BOS)

In keeping with my new policy of non-Homerism… I think that’s a word… I offer up the following rediculous opinion.

GM Eugene Perelshteyn (BOS) vs GM Sergey Erenburg (PHI) – Board 1

Any time two GMs meet I tend to favor the one with White. But, GM Erenburg is tough to beat. Eugene will open 1d4… and face a tough Semi-slav… no Botvinnik attack… White will close it up and play positionally… defending the c-pawn with b3… at some point. Got to be a draw… Boston (0.5 – 0.5)

FM Tom Bartell (PHI) vs IM van de Mortel (BOS) – Board 2

This is my pick of the day… Jan to win in a wicked Pirc?!! Usually, I’m not a big fan of the Pirc… but I have a feeling that this will be GOTW stuff. The Blitz will need this win to have a chance in this match… at least that’s the word according to Swami… that’s me. Boston (1.5 – 0.5)

NM Vadim Martirosov (BOS) vs IM Jay Bonin (PHI) – Board 3

Their grinder against our grinder… Oh my, this one could get ugly. Vadim has been playing well. Although his week five loss was a downer, he has been one of the stalwarts of the team this season. I see a very tough draw here… maybe an exchange Slav?
Boston (2 – 1)

NM William Fisher (PHI) vs NM Ilya Krasik (BOS) – Board 4

This board is pivotal… Ilya has crushed every one of his four opponents in the opening… and blown it every time… that is… until last week when he played GOTW quality throughout. NM Fisher will be a tough nut to crack… but, in a Blitz GOTW, I pick 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 and a wild King’s Indian win . Boston (3 – 1)

No Homerism here… just the plain truth as I see it… Boston “Blitzes” the Inventors. This could be the start of something big… like a winning streak… or a run to the playoffs… or… or not… It’s all up to Board 4. Go Ilya!

The Blitz meet the Arizona Scorpians in what could prove to be a pivotal match… that is, as far as the Blitz season goes. With an Eastern division record of (2.5 – 2.5) the Blitz need to make a run in the right direction… Up! On the other hand, the Scorpians will have stingers poised… at (2.0 – 3.0) in the Western division, they can’t afford to be squashed like the bugs they are and hope to make the playoffs.

       White			   Black
-------------------------------------------------
1.  GM Christiansen (BOS)	IM Molner (ARZ)
2.  IM Altounian (ARZ)		FM Griego (BOS)
3.  NM Krasik (BOS)		FM Adamson (ARZ)
4.  FM Atoufi (ARZ)		Mosiyenko (BOS)

GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) – Board 1

Larry makes his first start of the season for the Blitz in a matchup straight out of the
X-files… Oh, sorry, that’s “Mulder”… Well, anyway, it will be 1.e4 c5 and an X-traordinary Najdorf worthy of the top X-traterrestrials. Boston (1 – 0)

IM Levon Altonian (ARZ) vs FM David Griego (BOS) – Board 2

David is looking for his first win of the season and is certainly facing tough opposition here. I will guess 1.e4 c5 with some sort of e6 sicilian… maybe Schev… shvesh… ingenkov. I was never very good at pronunciation. Boston (1.5 – 0.5)

NM Ilya Krasik (BOS) vs FM Robby Adamson (ARZ) – Board 3

Ilya has surprised us all season in that I have picked him to win in three appearances and he has lost. Now, he faces perhaps his toughest opponent and I will help him out by predicting a draw in a tough 1.d4 d5 slav. Boston (2 – 1)

FM Pedram Atoufi (ARZ) vs Daniil Mosiyenko (BOS) – Board 4

Daniil also faces his toughest opponent. I really don’t know what to expect here… but, if the Benoni is the choice, I don’t see good things. I apologize and will light candles for Daniil, but I must issue my first negative Blitz prediction here.
Boston (2 – 2)

That’s it, I’ve gone against my conscience and predicted a Blitz draw… On the bright side, that means that they will probably reverse my idiotic and groundless thoughts and brilliantly win. Yes, I am taking one for the team here… and it hurts… Go Blitz!

What do Poltergeist and Chess Players have in common?… give up?… They both move things in sometimes inexplicable ways. In the case of the latter, it often results in a match loss. Such was their lot last week, as Blitz pieces flew mysteriously to all the wrong squares as our heroes took a thumping from the New England Nor’easters, losing (0.5 – 3.5) in what can only be described as a disturbingly unnatural nightmare.

I offer as evidence…

Esserman drew again (3 draws this season)!?? And this time with White against IM David Vigorito’s King’s Indian.
(Blitz 0.5 – NE 0.5)

Jorge played the Black side of a Benko Gambit against GM Sam Shankland, and then attacked on the Kingside!??
(Blitz 0.5 – NE 1.5)

Vadim plays the stodgy Berlin versus NM Alex Cherniack’s Ruy Lopez… and gambits a pawn!?? (Blitz 0.5 – NE 2.5)

Ilya destroy’s NM Ben Goldberg’s Gruenfeld defence (as I predicted) winning 3 pieces for Queen and pawn by move 13… But wait,,, this middle/endgame is only equal??, or is it??
(Blitz 0.5 – NE 3.5)

Paranormal activity?… to say the least. And Marc was one victim as he just couldn’t get his fingers to cooperate… the pieces seemed to have their own peaceful plan.
(more…)

On the heels of their first loss of the season, the Blitz walk into the eye of the hurricane, a calm before the storm, or should I say Nor’easter, as in New England. In week one, the Blitz defeated the Nor’easters (2.5 – 1.5) starting New England on a downhill slide from which they haven’t yet recovered. NE is winless this season with only one draw in four matches… and no they aren’t that bad. In my opinion, they are simply the victim of everyone’s best punch. But, don’t count on the slump lasting as they simply cannot afford to lose this week and the Blitz know it.

Both teams put their best foot forward, lineup wise.

	White		   Black
-------------------------------------------------
1.  GM Shankland (NE)	SM Sammour-Hasbun (BOS)
2.  IM Esserman (BOS)	IM Vigarito (NE)
3.  NM Cherniack (NE)	NM Martirosov (BOS)
4.  NM Krasik (BOS)	NM Goldberg (NE)

GM Sam Shankland will attend this match intending to put an end to Jorge’s GOTW streak on board one. Can he, or rather, will he attempt to match tactics with arguably the leagues top tactical player? Shankland will play 1.e4… and we will see an explosive Ruy Lopez…. or not. (½ – ½)

On board two, Marc Esserman (White) has been in a bit of a slump (for him) with two draws this season. Usually, he competes with Jorge for most GOTWs on the team. This week he faces a staunch positional challenge as IM Dave Vigorito will test his patience with fine positional play… a Najdorf??… Would be like trying to kill a bull by butting him with your head… (1 – 0)

After last weeks fine performance (although a draw) on board two, Vadim returns to board three where he has proven unstoppable with two wins, one of them over this weeks opponent, the grinder, NM Alex Cherniack (White). NM Cherniack has expanded his repertoire to 1.e4… Book your tickets now… Philidor fans. (½ – ½)

Ilya has two losses this season; however, he should have two wins (in your humble author’s opinion). With White on board four against NM Ben Goldberg, he will rebound with a nice dismantling of the Gruenfeld. (1 – 0)

If you are not good at math (and I’m not; so please double check for me), let’s call it Boston (3 – 1) in an early season must win for both sides.

Hey, fans, don’t miss this one. I will be there to root on the home team. See ya in Providence, CMC academy, 201 Wayland ave…7:00 pm. It’s worth the trip, no doubt!

The Boston Blitz knocked the New York Knights off their horses taking the match (2.5 – 1.5) just as I predicted although not close to the way I predicted… and moved into sole first place in the Eastern division.

There is only one great truth that I was able to extract from this match… that is… Computers will never be able to think. One by one, the Blitz’s top mathematicians were able to show that Turing machines do not always terminate and human thinking is, at points, non-algorithmic.

To begin, Jorge, an enthusiastic supporter of Kurt Godel, was able to demonstrate that in any formalism (If you will allow chess as one) there is at least one proposition (theory if you will) that is neither provable, nor disprovable… i.e. development is a good thing.

Vadim, on the other hand, is an Intuitionist… that is, he believes that just because something is not false, does not mean that it is true. That is, we all know Philidor is not good (a well know and established theorem)… but, it is not bad. This allowed him to play what I consider the best game of the match and yet allow Jorge to play the Game of the week… an inside Intuitionism joke.

Marc Esserman supported both Jorge and Vadim in their theories, as he was unable to prove or disprove that space, on the chess board, is a good thing… but, it was his easy drawing effort that put the cork on the bottle, as we mathematicians like to say.

At one point, it looked like the match might be 4-0 Boston. But, with two wins racked up and Marc in control, Ilya somehow lost his concentration in a won position… i.e. “If A, does not imply B”… thinking is definitely not algorithmic.

As for Vadim, one small step for Intuitionism, one large step for the Blitz…
I, for one, love this game.
(more…)

The Blitz are off to a good start; with a record of 1.5 out of two matches, they find themselves a half point behind the Eastern Division leading New York Knights, who, by the way, are this week’s opponent. For the first time the Blitz are outrated across the board (no pun intended) as the Knights field a two GM lineup that would strike terror into a lesser opponent (He said sarcastically). Well, top guns or not, the Blitz have a few sharp shooters of their own. I guarantee the GMs will not be able to rest on their laurels… there will be no comfortable games in this old fashion throw-down. Let’s take a look…

	White				Black
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.  GM Kacheishvili (NY)      	SM Sammour-Hasbun (BOS)
2.  IM Esserman (BOS)		GM Fedorowicz (NY)
3.  SM Herman (NY)		NM Martirosov (BOS)
4.  NM Krasik (BOS)		NM Bodek (NY)

GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) – Board 1

GM Kacheishvili was Jorge’s 2010, week 10, GOTW victim and will surely be intent on returning the favor. 1.d4… and maybe a Slav would be ironic. Naahhh! Let’s go with an Albin Counter-gambit… A man’s opening, right Jorge. Swami says a split point in a barn burner.

IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) – Board 2

Marc is still fuming from last weeks dullness… He will definitely mix it up. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a King’s Gambit! Or, irony of ironies…, a    2…c3 sicilian. Ha! I crack myself up sometimes. That’s it! Marc shows how to sac a pawn as White in a c3 Sicilian… Oh yeah! That’s a Smith-Morra! 1-0

SM Matt Herman (NY) vs NM Vadim Martirosov (BOS) – Board 3

Vadim will have his hands full this week. Of course, 1.e4… and, of course, 1…c5 and God love us… a Najdorf? No not that… How about a simple 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 Philidor? Hmmmm! Maybe good for a draw… ½ – ½

NM Ilya Krasik (BOS) vs NM Michael Bodik – Board 4

The return of the soul of the Blitz… 1.d4… and lots of funny faces. Maybe a semi-slav or a King’s Indian. A win here would be nice… but, Ilya won’t need it.
½ – ½    He takes a draw in a winning position to secure the match.

That’s it from Swami land… and if I don’t come close this time, I will tattoo NY on my behind… wait, I think that’s too much pressure on the team… I’ll sing “I love New York” on a podcast… I’m a really lousy singer… So, guys, don’t make me do it.
Boston (2.5 – 1.5)

As I finish this blog this Sunday night of 9/11, I feel that it would not due to say nothing given what this day means to us as Americans. Please forgive this bit of personal lament, but I want to say I do remember and share, as much as I can, the grief of all who witnessed this tragedy; and although I poke fun at New York and their teams in this league, I am at heart one of your greatest admirers as people and as the heart of our country. Today and this week, I am a New York fan… all the best to all of you who struggled through that day… You are number one in my book.
And now to much less important things…

I know, I know… I know what you’re thinking… some Swami he is. Well, it’s not easy being precogniscient (if that’s a word) and wasn’t that proved Wednesday evening as the Blitz suffered a small setback… a draw with the Applesauce!

I picked a fine night to attend. I like the new site it is a very comfortable facility. It does need a few fan facilities… a projector for the games… and some way for the fans to sit an watch… mostly, we were confined to a side room where everyone had a lot of fun analyzing. All and all, a nice way to spend an evening.

Of course, Jorge’s game drew the most attention. We all kinda’ new he had it in the bag. Why would any rational being play the poison pawn Najdorf against Jorge? Give IM Milman credit for guts and confidence. I enjoyed this game immensely, but, the only doubt in its outcome came from Ilya as he screamed… “for God sake, Jorge, you !@#$%, make a move!” True, Jorge loves to torture fans by taking 20 minutes to do the obvious.

Marc Esserman, however, was his usually angry self when his opponent unveiled 1.e4?… and he became even angrier when he saw 1.e4 c5 2.c3!?… taking the life out of his hopes for a real fight. It was drawish all the way and at no time did I see any way for Marc to complicate. A nice strategy by IM Bartholomew. But, a rather boring draw… especially aggravating to someone with Marc’s temperament.

The match hinged on the results of the two newcomers to the Blitz playing boards 3 and 4. IM Jan van de Mortel played very enterprisingly taking a weak but advanced pawn on e6 and forcing play. Just when I thought he might be winning, he went a bit crazy and may have been lost somewhere before they agreed draw. Afterward, he kindly explained why he was not winning… but we’ll save that for later.

Then there was Daniil Mosiyenko, who played well, but just when we all thought he might be better, he misplayed the position in time trouble and overstepped. Well, let’s chalk this one up to a rookie mistake. I’m sure the Blitz can expect fine play from this young man… make no mistake.

So, I thought the Blitz would make mincemeat out of the Applesauce. Instead, they had to settle for cottage cheese and applesauce… not bad, my grandmother used to make this for me as a child… I eat it to this day… but, I digress…

Let’s take a look at the weekly GOTW contender, Jorge Sammour-Hasbun, and his very nice win… cottage cheese not withstanding… this one was a treat.
(more…)

Is it week two already? My, how time flies when the Blitz are winning.
Boston again has the home field, i.e., White on first board, against the Manhattan Applesauce. Now, there will be no Applesauce jokes in this preview… It’s just too easy. To prevent any temptation I will refer only to Manhattan.

Manhattan comes into this match fresh off a week one draw against Philly, while the Blitz, after an energizing win against New England, must avoid a let down as so often happens after big matches.

The good news for the Blitz is they welcome back IM Marc Esserman, who, I am sure, will provide the necessary fireworks to keep the team anxious and focussed on the prize. Marc is returning to league play after his unconditional retirement last year. Hey, chess is just like the NFL! It will be great to see Marc playing his usual uncompromising chess for the Blitz once again.

And now for the most accurate preview of the season…

      White                      Black
------------------------------------------------

1. SM Sammour-Hasbun (BOS)    IM Milman (MAN)
2. IM Bartholomew (MAN)       IM Esserman(BOS)
3. IN Van de Mortel (BOS)     NM Mandizha (MAN)
4. NM Black (MAN              NM Masiyenko (BOS)

SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN)

I believe this is their first encounter in league play… maybe ever.
Jorge’s new found positional/rational style vs IM Milman’s rock solid defense makes this one tough to pick. Swami (my new nickname) sees a calm and quiet English opening. Boston 1-0.

IM John Bartholomew (MAN) vs IM Marc Esserman (BOS)

From my extensive research (about 10 minutes on the InterWeb) IM Bartholomew will probably play 1.d4… Now, this will be a great test for Marc, as he seems to have had a revelation… Good players should play solid openings like the Gruenfeld… not the Dutch. Will he be tempted to revert?
No! Swami says he plays the Gruenfeld and shows the world the new Marc. Of course, he will still sac a pawn somewhere. Boston 2-0.

IM Jan Van de Mortel (BOS) vs FM Farai Mandizha (MAN)

Another newcomer to the revamped Blitz… All together now… Welcome Jan! Since I don’t know much about either player in this match, I had to use all my psychic Swami abilities to forsee… 1.d4 d5 and a Semi-Slav where Black avoids the hazardous Botvinnik. Although I never met Jan, I know he will produce the game of the day… saccing a piece by move 20… Boston 3-0

NM James Black (MAN) vs Daniil Masiyenko (BOS)

Yet another newbee… Welcome aboard Daniil! May all your sacrificed pawns be poison… Wow! It just hit me… a poison pawn Najdorf… If ever a Swami there was, I am one because… Hey, if it comes true, I am a legend. Come on Daniil, Bobby played it… so can you… Unless, of course, your opponent reads this article and takes the way of the cowardly lion.
Boston 3.5-0.5

Well, that’s it for your swinging Swami. The Blitz win again and Manhattan sings the Applesauce Blues all the way back to New… New… N…N….Newww… well, you know where.