Blitz win, Blitz win, Daaaaa Blitz win! In an amazing display of positional prowess by Jorge, “Fearless Leader” Sammour-Hasbun and his chief lackey, Vadim, “Boris Badenov” Martirisov the Blitz proved “It’s good, to be bad” by trouncing “Moose and Squirrel”, the New England Nor’easters, (2.5 – 1.5) and moving directly into first place in the Eastern Division of the US Chess League.

Now, I wasn’t at the match in person; so, I’m gonna have’ta make a lot of this stuff up… not that I don’t usually make stuff up… My excuse for not being there is lame… It’s a much longer trek, especially after work during rush hour… that said, let me apologize to the team for not supporting them… and for all the lies I will tell without providing said support as redeeming compensation.

This win was special… In the words of Fearless Leader, “How many times in the past have they stood between me and my dreams of glory?”

Oh, we know the answer to that… Once!

Yet, no match win is easy… and this one started with a downer… as the Nor’easters’ manager, Dave Vigorito, announced that he is ready for action with a very nice win over Blitz new comer, FM David Griego.
(more…)

The Boston Blitz vs. The New England Nor’easters, an opening day match made in Heaven… or, maybe that other place. Anyway, this is a be there or be square, don’t miss it grudge match that was born on the day New England entered the league (that would be last year) and truly exacerbated by the fact that they won the @#$%^& thing (i.e. NE won the 2010 USCL Championship) in their first go ’round by sneaking by the Blitz… never beating Boston… Nooo!… drawing the season match and the playoff match, and, due to some @#$%^& rules… but, I digress.

Let’s bury the past and begin anew. In this match, Boston is taking a page from the Nor’easter book and fielding a well balanced, GM’less team in an effort to upset the defending champs.

Oh, and did I mention the new playing site. That’s right, the Blitz are no longer playing in the Boston area.
Fans can find them tomorrow night (Wednesday, Aug 31) at…

CMC Academy
201 Wayland Ave.
Providence, RI

Does that mean we can’t call them Boston? I say we call ‘em “Da Blitz”.

Here’s the lineup as orchestrated by Blitz manager Jorge Sammour-Hasbun and his charismatic assistant Ilya Krasik… if ever a dynamic duo there was…

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

1. SM Sammour-Hasbun (BOS)    IM Hungaski (NE)
2. IM Vigorito (NE)           FM Griego (BOS)
3. NM Martirosov (BOS)        NM Cherniack (NE)
4. NM Fikiet (NE)             NM Gu (BOS)    

Expect a… Oh, who cares what I say. You know I pick the Blitz… excuse me, I mean… Da Blitz.

Does anybody out there remember a TV show called Hee-Haw? If you do, you’re too old to be up this late… take some Geratol and get some rest. Anyway, they would give a great big Hee-Haw “Saallooot!” to some small town every week. Yeah, I think you know where I am heading… We the Boston Blitz do hereby offer our humble, heartfelt “Saallooot!” to the New England Nor’easters, who proved to be the best team in the East as they marched threw the first two games of the match and cinched a USCL Finals appearance in their first season by drawing the match (2 – 2) and moving on due to draw odds. A great accomplishment! Congrats to all the team members and, especially, to Manager IM Dave Vigorito and assistant manager Charles Riordan for pulling off such a great, great season. Win or Lose in the Finals, you guys have something to be proud of…

…that said, you were lucky!… lucky I tell you. We had ‘em… and we let ‘em get away. You know what they call Hee-Haw in Somerville?… a documentary. And now, the movie folks…
(more…)

  White                  Black
---------------------------------------------
1. Christiansen (BOS)     Shankland (NE)
2. Hungaski (NE)          Sammour-Hasbun (BOS)
3. Esserman (BOS)         Chase (NE)
4. Cherniack (NE)         Xu (BOS)

This is the big one… the match you have all been waiting for… or at least, I have… The Boston Blitz vs. the New England Nor’easters. Of course, Nor’easters have always been hated up here in New England. In general, they are nothing but trouble… and these Nor’easters are no different. Ergo, Boston is leading with the heavy hitters in this lineup in order to quell the storm before it ever gets started.
This top heavy strategy is one that New England was built to face and their undefeated season (Boston was the only team to draw them) is proof of that. Their lineup is basically IM and FM strength from top to bottom and with draw odds in this match, they are indeed a formidable opponent.
So, let’s get down to the tale of the tape…

GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) vs. IM Sam Shankland (NE)

Will IM Shankland repeat his week 4 Caro-Kahn? After all, although it was a quick victory for Larry, it was by no means forced. Experience and a 100 point rating advantage give the edge to Boston on this board.

IM Robert Hungaski (NE) vs. SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS)

Even here, Boston wins the rating war 2603 to 2520… and Jorge is in full stride coming off a brilliant week 10 GOTW win. This will be a brawl from beginning to end… and again, I like our chances.

IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs. FM Chris Chase (NE)

Marc is the must win leader of this team. It seems he can take the most boring openings and turn them in to 20 move kills… witness last weeks destruction of IM Enkbat’s safe Caro-Kahn. But, FM Chase cannot be underestimated… he’s a tricky, experienced player. All in all, I must give a big, big edge to Marc with a 100+ point rating ad… and that intangible win-at-all-cost spirit.

Grant Xu (BOS) vs. NM Alex Cherniak (NE)

Grant has his hands full here. With a rating disadvantage of 2061 to 2288, this is the largest disparity of the match. Although it can be said that at this level rating points have much less value than on the top boards. However, anything we get here is a plus… Common Grant, time to show your true master strength.

My guess is that this will come down to a death match on boards one and two. The Blitz will need 1.5 points from its leaders to beat the draw odds. Unless, of course, we get a nice surprise on Board 4. Who knows, maybe an unlikely hero?
Oh! I almost forgot. I think there was one other New England team that went undefeated during the regular season. Mmmmm! de ja vu all over again?

Chess is not a game. It is not Monopoly… It is not Kick-the-Can… and it is not Hide-and-Seek. Games cannot lift your spirit so high… nor bring such joy as known only to we privileged few. Chess is the wind in our sails taking us to beautiful places that only Chess players can go. We lonely artisans of the 64 squares can confiscate the Mona Lisa and save it in our secret place to be regurgitated again and again… each time bringing the same pleasure… no, an even greater pleasure… as those in our special club nod and approve… laugh and cajole… Chess is our way. There is no other for us.

I have often thought that the greatest sorrow in my life is that I cannot share such moments with non-chess players. I cannot make them “see”, for they have no eyes. They cannot feel what I feel, or know what I know. Only we, we servants of Caissa, we soldiers, we few will ever know the answer to the greatest question life may pose… nay, only we can even ask the question… “What the heck is Jorge doing?”.

Common!… you expected maybe some deep Camus-like philosophical revelation? This is Chess and the Boston Blitz have just drawn a match with they whose name may not be mentioned in this column. Let’s just say it rhymes with Blue Fork Bites. (BFB) for literary purposes.

Oh, I knew it wasn’t a good “Knight” when Vadim played his first move 1.d4… on the board, then promptly played 1.e4… on the computer. What game was he playing?… not chess… not our precious link to nirvana… the perfect reflection of man’s inner soul… but wait, there’s more…
(more…)

Alright! I’m late with my analysis again. I apologize a thousand times… but, it’s been a tough couple of weeks. It’s not easy to relay two of Jorge’s games in consecutive weeks… at least, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. People just don’t realize the strain that relaying places on even the most stalwart of us. Just remember, in week eight I had to sit there for 40+ minutes for Jorge to play 10.Kb1… Things like that can be quite damaging. I couldn’t even manage a blog that week.
In any case, things turned out better this week, as Boston clinched second place and a nice playoff spot, draw odds and all, with this weeks win (2.5 – 1.5) over the Baltimore Kingfishers. And I improved my 2nd Board relayer record to (3 – 1)… no applause please… save’a for the end. Sorry, I just must get one Dom Deluise reference in per season. It’s a contractual thing. Now, to sum up…
Grant drew a tough game… Larry played his most boring game of the season and drew very simply… Jorge promised to follow theory this time and win a quiet endgame… But, he failed to tell us he was planning to allow the Marshal… typical… He won, but Oh my nerves. And, Finally Denys drew a won game. It was, all in all, a normal night of crazy USCL chess… starting with our first draw of the night, and real team boost… Thank God for “Grant”ing us small blessings.
(more…)

When is a draw not a draw?… When it wins of course!
Evan Rabin’s 104 move, effortless draw clinched a win as the Boston Blitz defeated the New Jersey Knockouts in what I am calling a nightmare of a match. Not only were the games… well… rather ugly… but the atmosphere was sluggish… you know, one of those nights when it gets dark early and the fog rolls in and you begin to doze off… and the next thing you know, your soul has been transplanted into some pod laying in a goo in the basement… It could happen! And it almost did.
The players arrived looking rather listless… there was no energy in their gaze. They seemed mere imposters of themselves.
Evan was sitting at his PC quietly tapping away when I got there. He was trying hard to stay awake… he’s a bit to young to be a coffee junky yet… nothing to worry about, I thought. Eugene was next to wander in. Of course, we greeted him with… “So, you ready to crush your opponent?”. His answer, ‘Who am I playing?”, left no doubt. He was one of “them”… and I was relaying for him tonight. What to do…
Now, Vadim and Larry both seemed in good spirits… no basement plants could affect their mood… no sir… but just then, they both yawned simultaneously… It was going to be a long night. I tried desperately to recall the solution to this problem as I hurried to google “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”. But, it was too Late… relaying duties on board two prevented me from searching further. I would have to rely on my wits… I had a bad feeling about this match.
Things didn’t start well on first board as it looked like Larry’s pod was gaining control… Trading Queens on move 4? The nightmare had begun.
(more…)

I had promoted this as a battle for the Love of New England fans… no, not New England the team fans… New England as in those chess fans living here. Now this is going to get confusing. Obviously, New England (the team) thought that by naming their team “New England”, the love and devotion of New England (the area) fans would automatically be forfeit to them… New England the team. After all, New England (the area) does encompass Boston (the city).
Well, not so fast, New England (the team) … Boston (the team and the city) was here first and you’ll steal no affection from us without a fight… or at least, some form of reasonable compensation.
That said (and it was no easy job), there was a fight… a chess fight, that is… a knockout on first board, a TKO due to a thousand small cuts on second, a precision draw on third, and an “oh, so painful one that got away” draw on fourth. And all of this squabbling over fan loyalty was for naught as Boston (the team) Blitz vs New England (the team) Nor’easters first ever encounter amounted to nothing more than a revolting hill of beans (Boston) and (2 – 2) match draw.
But, let’s not quibble over meaningless borders… let’s get on with the first board clash of titans, as Boston (the city) first board, GM Larry Christiansen, waxed his opponent in a game that should have been called (if only there were referees in chess) due to cruel and unusual punishment (of his opponent and fans ) before move 20. Don’t worry; it won’t hurt to analyze it. You had to be there…
(more…)

How can a match be a grudge match in the first ever meeting between two teams?…
When New England’s beloved Boston Blitz hosts the New England Nor’easters in a week 4 showdown to determine just who the most beloved team in NE really is… That’s how. There can be only one. No one has beaten the Nor’easters (3 – 0) and the Blitz have a record of (2 – 1) after being splatted in the first round by that team, whose name shall never appear on this blog again. So, the stakes are high… the stage is set… to determine just who will walk away this Wednesday with all the love.

       White               		Black
---------------------------------------------------------------
1. GM Larry Christiansen (BOS)	IM Sam Shankland (NE)
2. IM Robert Hungaski (NE)	SM Denys Shmelov (BOS)
3. WGM Anya Corke (BOS) 	FM Chris Chase (NE)
4. NM Alex Cherniack (NE)	NM Ilya Krasik (BOS)

Board 1
Let’s get ready to rumblllllle!… as both teams bring out the big guns.
IM Shankland must be itching to prove himself after an unfortunate loss to GM Benjamin in week 2. While Larry has been suffering a bit with Black in league games, he is awfully tough with White. Look for an 1.e4, c5 Scheveningen… and a really tough scratch your eyes out cage match.

Board 2
Denys has suffered an unprecedented, for him, two defeats playing White this year… and I’m sure he is chomping at the bit to get his first win. However, IM Hungaski is not the easiest route to victory as he clearly showed in his week 1 win over IM Enkhbat. Let’s look for a Queen’s Indian here… with a long, hard, Denys-like struggle.

Board 3
WGM Corke got her first win of the season last week in her only appearance for the Blitz. FM Chris Chase brings veteran craftiness. He can and will play anything. Expect 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 (My best guess), followed by a quiet maneuvering game.

Board 4
Ilya’s game has improved by leaps and bounds over the last year. Gone are the crazy, unjustified attacks. Believe it or not, he has been solid. NM Cherniak can play 1.e4… or 1.d4… But, he’ll probably test Ilya’s e6 Sicilian. I’ll trust Ilya to come up with a “solid” novelty.

That’s it for my conservative, predictionless preview. Win or lose, I guess I’ll still love the Blitz… How about you?

Like Krakus polish ham with Finlandia Swiss, pickles, and French’s mustard… the Blitz are on a Roll… preferably a Kaiser Roll. I must admit; I was worried… Had they lost the spark? Where were those fearsome fighters of former glory… those fabulous phenoms (?) of four-fold fame… those four-flushing frauds of freakish folly… Whoa! Somebody stop me please. Alliterary angst is often fatal in chess blogs. I should never have doubted them… This is a team beyond comparison to mere sandwiches… beyond even a likeness to super-subs… this team is a Hoagie… a hodge-podge of heavenly… no, no, this can’t continue… someone hand me my medicine.

That’s better… The Boston Blitz defeated the Manhattan Applesauce (3.5 – 0.5) in a week 3 match that can only be described as… well… delicious. Applesauce? Somehow it would have been more impressive to have beaten the Giants. Anyway, we beat the Applesauce… and we’ll have to live with it. Watching this match was a pleasure. I didn’t have any relay duties; so, I could really get into the fan thing. I could feel this one. It was a no holds barred food fight from the beginning… lunch pail type that is… each member of the Blitz was solemn and in a zone. I was almost afraid to speak to them as they settled to their boards and began chucking culinary delights… cheese and lunch meat vs. applesauce(?). It was going to be a sticky affair on this night of deadly condiments.

But, let’s not delay our feast one moment longer. Let’s get right to the meat… (I crack myself up sometimes)… as fan favorite femme fatale, WGM Anya Corke, spattered her opponent with mayonnaise causing him to slip and become the first victim of silly, savory sustenance… Auugh! I promise… I will gain control… please read on.
(more…)