(IM) Hungaski, could have forced a completely benign and drawn endgame with 20.Nxc8 Rxc8 21.a3=
But either he got too greedy or he felt like Shankland(IM) was in some trouble(I don’t think he was at this point) Instead he played
20.a3?! Ba6! 21.Ne4 b4 22. ab4 c3! and all of a sudden White is in huge trouble .

23.b5!? Played instantly probably because White realized he is just lost.
Forgive me for overindulgence in the diagram usage but this is the position on which the Blitz’s hopes were resting and in one instant cruelly dashed.

After the game Jorge showed the winning like he saw 23…Rxa1! 24.Rxa1 cb2 25.Rb1 Bxb5 26.Kf3(Ke1 Bd3-+) Rb8! -+(Bc6 also wins) But on this night, Caissa for some reason had other ideas and did not look favorably upon us.
Analysis Diagram -+

The 2010 campaign comes to a close and with it a whole chapter in Blitz’s brief and illustrious history. As some of you have read, Matt Phelps, our tireless Manager/Assistant Manager is stepping down, he has threatened to leave us before but this time– even before he made it official– it was clear he had made up his mind. The off-season promises to be challenging, as Matt is hard to replace and in addition the Blitz will need to look for a new home. As we have been spoiled rotten the last 5 years, I very much doubt we would like to play in some
“dungeon”, another site at Harvard University or something in the vicinity is the only option I see at this point.
Another priority next year, if there is next year, is to find sponsors :i.e money to pay our top players. I think it is the most important aspect of running such a strong team for the long haul.
I want to thank everyone, who has donated to our team, you know who you are. I also want to thank all our fans, whether you’ve come to watch in person or watched online, I want to thank those who have brought us beer, wine, or chipped in for the pizza or made us coffee. To all those who followed us and shared in our happiness and disappointments, thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.
Many of you have asked me to make the Finals predictions. Despite the fact that I wont be able to watch the finals in their entirety, maybe the first 1-2 hours as I have other obligations, its hard to turn down the opportunity to try my hand at this prediction craft(I almost spelled crap, I wonder if it was an accident)
First of all because I know certain people will interpret my predictions in a certain light, I want to make a DISCLAIMER:

My predictions, in no shape or form necessarily reflects my desires or hopes as to the outcome of this match.
I predict MIAMI to Win a tie-breaker after the initial 2-2 score and thus become the 2010 USCL Champions. Au Revoir

When preparing for a playoff USCL opponent, what is the best preparation method?

A. use your own head and common sense.
B. Watch Inspirational videos like Rocky and Scarface.
C. Make a dummy that looks like your opponent’s head and riddle it with machine gun fire.
D. Use, higher rated players on YOUR team
E. Use, higher rated players on HIS  team.
F. Pray to God                                                      

Hint: The answer is somewhere below.

In terms of preparation , I saw that she played 1.e4 exclusively but then against any type of Sicilian she would just sideline into the Grand Prix, the Moscow or the Closed. “How disgustingly boring”– I thought to myself as I started looking at various possibilities. In any case, since Anna didn’t have many games to look at, I had to look at what her coach Joel Benjamin does and in the process learn a thing or two about a thing or two . This search got me even more depressed, Joel is some kind of Anti-Sicilian bot. Of course he understands these positions and chess in general very well, but the positions reached are nothing to write home about in terms of excitement.

Anyhow, the world was saved when Anna opened with 1.d4. If I may digress a bit, earlier in the season ,in week 4, when we faced our familiar foes, the NE Northeastas, the opposite occurred. I was playing NM Alex Cherniack, someone whom I played numerous times and just roomed with at the recent Continental Open. He has always played c4 or d4 vs me, here he surprised me with e4, somehow (naturally with my help) survived and when I asked him later whats the deal with e4, he said he has switched two years now…. ok where the hell have I been.

Before we get into my game, I want to briefly recap the other 3 boards as I saw them.

Board 1 Christiansen-Benjamin: two old friends played the fantasy variation of the Caro-Kan. I was a bit worried when I saw Larry go into a deep think early on, I asked Vadim what is going on and he said well they are following that line Chucky-Jobava, probably both are trying to figure out who knows more and who is trying to trick whom into what Later it turned out Joel had just done a video on that game for ICC Chess FM, anyhow it will interesting to see what was going on from the players perspective, looks like the game fizzled out into a relatively even endgame.

On Board 2. Gulko-Shmelov, I have to say I didnt envy Denis’ task of playing Gulko with black, having started the season with 0-3. And despite getting a worse position , Denis found counterplay and escaped as he often does ,through the back door.

On board 3, Vadim, is probably somewhat disappointed about the draw, he seemed to have a clear edge, almost looked like Kapengut was in a zugzwang, with nothing constructive to do. Meanwhile, Vadim can bring up his king and improve his positions, I think Vadim’s decision on move 36 to cash in the pressure for the pawn on d7 was premature as the resulting opposite color Bishop ending was drawish.

(25) Matlin,Anna (2078) – Krasik,Ilya (2253) [E91]
USCL Boston vs New Jersey Internet Chess Club (7), 06.10.2010

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 0-0 5.Nf3 d6 6.Be2Here my thinking was that if I play e5, she will just take on e5 but if I play c5, she will realize she can get back into the familiar Sicilian/Maroczy waters with 7.0-0, which is also the main move btw.

6…c5

7.d5 [7.0-0+/=] 7…e6 8.h3 [8.0-0 exd5 9.exd5 Bf5 10.Bd3 Bxd3 (10...Bg4 11.h3 Bxf3 12.Qxf3 Nbd7 13.Qd1 a6 14.a4 Re8 15.Bf4 Ne5 16.Be2+/=) 11.Qxd3 a6 12.a4 Nbd7=] 8…Re8 [8...exd5 9.exd5 Bf5 10.g4!? Bc8 11.Bg5 h6 12.Bf4 Re8 13.Nd2 Nh7 14.Kf1 f5 15.Bd3|^ Pieterse,G-Ree,H,Amsterdam OHRA-B,1988] 9.0-0 exd5 10.exd5 Bf5 [10...Ne4 11.Nxe4 Rxe4 12.Bd3 Re8 13.Bg5 Qc7 a) 13...Bf6 14.Qd2+/=; b) 13...Qb6!? 14.Rb1 Bd7 ( 14...Nd7 /\Ne5 15.Qa4!?~~) 15.a3 a5 16.b3+/= Karpov,A-Rashkovsky,N,URS(ch) 1973; 14.Re1 Bd7 15.Qd2! (15.Rxe8+ Bxe8 16.Qd2 Nd7=) 15...Na6 0-1 Hertneck,G-Nielsen,P/Bad Lauterberg 1991/CBM 027/[Dautov] (45) (=Huebner,ECO)] 11.Be3 [11.Bd3 Qd7 12.Qc2 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 Na6 14.Be3 Nc7 15.Rfe1 Rab8 16.a4 Na6 17.Bf4 Nb4 18.Qd2 a6 19.Bh2 b6 20.Rad1 h6 21.Rxe8+ Nxe8 0-1 Alvarez Nunez,J-Felgaer,R/Santiago 2006/CBM 111 ext (95); 11.Nh4! Bd7 12.Bd3 Na6 13.Nf3+/= Zajcik,G-Gavrikov,V,URS,1976] 11…Rxe3!??!

[11...Ne4 12.Nxe4 Bxe4=] 12.fxe3 Qe7 13.e4?! [>=13.g4!] I was much more worried about 13.g4 Qxe3 14.Kg2 and now I have to sac on g4 with a very unclear position. 13…Nxe4 14.Nxe4 Bxe4 15.Qd2 Nd7 16.Rae1 Bxf3 17.Bxf3 Bd4 18.Qxd4?

Going into a clearly worse engame,I dont see any reason to avoid 18.Kh1 Ne5 19.b3 Qh4 with idea to play a5-a4, black may have some initiative but the position is roughly level anyway. Qxe1 19.Rxe1 cxd4 20.Rd1 Ne5 21.Rxd4 Rc8 22.Be2 Kg7 [When I saw this endgame my original though was to play 22...b5? but here I came to my senses and realized it just losses to 23.cxb5 Rc1 24.Kf1 Rxb2 25.Ra4+-] 23.Kf2 f5 24.b3 Kf6 25.Rd2 Nd7 26.Bf3 Re8 27.Re2 Rxe2+ 28.Bxe2 Ke5 [With better King, better minor piece and more time on the clock I thought the position would win itself, of course chess is never that simple. Black's basic idea is to fix the queenside pawns in order to effectively nullify White's pawn majority there and the ability of White's pawns to break through] 29.Ke3 a5 30.Bf3 Nc5 31.Bd1 g5 [31...f4+ 32.Kf3 Nd3+/-again zug] 32.Bc2 h5 33.g3 Nd7 34.a3 b6 [34...Nc5 35.b4 axb4 36.axb4 Na6 37.b5 Nc5 38.Bb1 g4! 39.hxg4 hxg4 40.Bc2 b6 zug 41.Kd2 f4 42.gxf4+ Kxf4 43.Ke2 Nd7 44.Kf2 Ne5 45.Bb3 Ke4-+] 35.Bd1 [35.h4! f4+ 36.gxf4+ gxf4+ 37.Kf3 Nc5 38.b4 axb4 39.axb4 Na6 40.b5 Nc5 41.Bg6 Nb3 42.Bxh5 Nd2+ 43.Ke2 Nxc4 44.Bg6 Ne3 45.Kf3 Nxd5 46.Bd3 Nf6 47.Bg6 d5 48.h5 Ng8 49.Bd3=] 35…Nc5? and here despite having a big time advantage and a big positional edge, I simply blundered this pawn. Yes I know I’m getting one back, but the point is I didnt see that my h-pawn was under attack!! The position opens up and becomes more tactical, the insanity begins. [35...h4! 36.gxh4 gxh4 37.Bc2 Nf8! 38.Bd3 Nh7 39.Be2 Ng5 40.Bf1 f4+ 41.Kd3 Kf5 42.b4 axb4 43.axb4 Ke5 zugzwang. 44.Kd2 Kd4 45.Ke1 Ne4 46.Bg2 Ke3-+] 36.Bxh5 Nxb3 37.Bd1 Nd4 38.h4 f4+ 39.gxf4+ gxf4+ 40.Kd3?![40.Kf2] Nf5 41.h5 Nh6 [41...engines at first scream that 41...Ng3 wins but it doesn't hold up to close scrutiny 42.Bf3 Kf6 43.Kc3 Kg5 44.Kb3 and White's counterplay seems to hold the balance] 42.Bf3 Nf7 43.Be2 Kf5 44.Kd4 Ne5 45.h6 Kg6 46.Ke4 f3 47.Bxf3 Nxc4 48.h7 Kxh7 49.Kf5? [I don't see a win after 49.a4!] Nxa3 50.Ke6 Nc4 51.Bd1 b5 52.Kd7 a4 53.Kc7 [53.Kc6 a3 54.Bb3 Na5+ -+] Ne3? A ridiculously stupid move considering I saw the previous variation and Kc6 isn’t a threat, Black just needs to step off the light square in order not to give White’s bishop tempos. What is wrong with me?! [53...Kg7! 54.Kc6 a3; 53...a3 54.Bc2+ Kg7 55.Bb1 Nd2-+] 54.Be2 b4 55.Kxd6 b3?? [55...a3 56.Bd3+ Kg7 57.Bb1 b3-+] After the game, Larry asked me why I had not pushed my A-pawn– to which I really had no reply. It was a total blackout: I saw moves but I didnt see them. The good moves, the bad one, they all looked the same to me as my clock kept ticking away. At some point I got so low on time that I began to think whether or not I may actually LOSE with pawns vs Bishop; I remember a bad experience on PlayChess server where I lost like that, because according to FIDE rules they use if mate can be constructed no matter how sillly or improbable–you lose. Anyhow such thoughts crossed my mind as I was blowing a winning position and running out of time. 56.Kc5 Nxd5 57.Kc4??[Bc4=] Ne3+? [ Incredibly,  here I missed another win, a very neat idea  though completely impossible to see given the time situation.  I just walk with my king to d2 and White cannot move the king due to a3 threat, So while Black moves the Bishop back and forth Black plays [57...Kg6!!-+ 58.Bf3 Kf5 ..Kf6, Ke5 Ke3 Kd2-+  etc...unreal] 58.Kb4 b2 59.Bd3+ Kg7 60.Kxa4 Nd1 61.Kb3 Kf6 62.Kc2 Game drawn by mutual agreement 1/2-1/2

While my opponent has to be congradulated for hanging tough and salvaging a draw for her team, I can only imagine the kibitzes during the end of this game, for example during Monday’s game between Craig Jones and Justus Williams, which was even more ridiculous than this, Mr fluffy a.k.a. IM David Vigorito had this to say: board 4 is always a joke; its like watching monkeys throw poop at each other”… Such is life in USCL and you try to play your best and some days you will be referred to as hero and others I guess as a monkey…

It’s not everyday you blow a position which is +10,+15 to those who are “numbers guys”. Nerves, fatigue…no that alone cannot explain what happened. It is sheer madness, not just lack of focus but a mental disengagement from the chess board for a period of time. If a murderer can claim temporary insanity as his defense to explain his explicable crime, why cant I use the same reasoning to explain this fiasco?!

How many times have you heard the expression “better to be good than lucky?”  Well, after last Wednesday’s Semi-Final action perhaps the converse couldn’t be more true as it relates to the win that propelled us into the USCL Finals.  To say that the Boston Blitz were very fortunate would be an understatement – for a large part of the match we were worse or losing on every single board!

Going into the match we couldn’t help but feel very confident in our chances despite Carolina holding the “Draw Odds.”  How could we not?  We have never lost to Carolina in our history, in fact we gave them a lot of good beatings over the years, including one this year, 3-1 in week 2.  Before the playoffs began, I called Carolina “a very weak team” and predicted they would lose to NY.  Although they proved me wrong, I can at least take solace in the fact that ultimately I was the one most responsible for their elimination.

Before the match, Jorge and I brainstormed that a draw in my game should be enough to win the match, given what we perceived to be a big edge on board 2 and an edge on 3.  I was also able to guess correctly what kind of opening Jones would choose.  Looking at his games, a Reti Defense seemed likely because it usually leads to quiet strategical and theoretically-light type of positions where the the player who thinks he is stronger can try to outmaneuver his opponent.  Carolina chose white on boards 2 and 4, likely to add more firepower to Jones who was already a favorite here with the the expectation that he will take me down, also Zaikov (who should change his last name to Huidini ) was given white to help make up for the 200 points he was missing.

When the match began, I was looking at board 3, 1.e4 c5!? suprise (I think Marc expected 1…e5) 2.d4 cxd 3.c3 dxc Smith Morra accepted - the love of Esserman’s life… Simpson is nuts I gleefully thought to myself, he doesn’t know what he is getting himself into, this game is over… Alas, it did not turn out so; in fact Simpson came quite prepared and eventually Esserman found himself in a difficult endgame down a pawn.  Kudos to him for once again saving half a point and of course the team in the process.

Jorge had a very complicated game, I haven’t analyzed it so I am not going to pretend like I know what happened other than the fact that he missed some shots he normally sees in his sleep.  In fact, Bh3!! was the bomb Jorge could have played but with about 40 seconds left he missed it.

Zaikov,Oleg (2376) – Sammour-Hasbun,Jorge (2576) [D27]
USCL Boston vs Carolina, Internet Chess Club, 19.11.2008

27…Qh6 [27...Bh3+!! 28.fxg6? Rxf1#] 28.Ne7 Nxe7 29.Qxe7 Qe3+ 30.Rf2 Rc8 31.Bc4 Rxc4 [31...Bxf5! 32.e5 Be4] 32.Qe8+ Kh7 33.Qg6+ Kh8 34.Qe8+ Kh7 35.Qg6+ Game drawn by mutual agreement 1/2-1/2

This was pointed out by Jorge’s father who called after the game.  Eugene was down some pawns before finding a nice resource that set up a perpetual.

Meanwhile, both I and my opponent got down to about 4 minutes around move 34, Jones began repeating the position and we did so twice.  The position was probably about equal but in team situations such as this, especially facing the draw odds you have to be very careful.  I jumped up from my chair having about 3 minutes or so and began trying to assess Eugene’s and Marc’s chances, my heart was racing.  Marc’s game was easy to assess, he was down a pawn but I thought he would hold, but Genya looked in a lot of trouble and it was complicated, so I ran back to my chair and played Qb7 thus avoiding repetition, a draw was equivalent to a loss at this point.  What followed was quite comical as I had made tons of moves with my queen (22 total) and I heard later our press center had a good time laughing each time I moved my Queen.  The idea was not only to gain time on the clock but as Mark LaRocca correctly pointed out in his article, it was also tease and unbalance Jones.  I didn’t believe he would mate me on the kingside with my Bishop on g7, but my aimless moves perhaps created the impression that I am helpless and so Jones, like a dog who smells bacon, went all out.  I  traded queens and went into an endgame 3 pawns up, now I finally could relax , I felt my pulse returning to normal.  I was later told even Larry Christiansen, who was watching on ICC while visiting family in California, got in on the kibitzing calling the endgame position “Krasik-proof,” obviously refering to the fact that even I cannot botch this up  

Jones,Craig (2320) – Krasik,Ilya (2144) [D02]
USCL Boston vs Carolina, Internet Chess Club, 19.11.2008

42.Qh4? Jones decides to checkmate me but overestimates his chances. 42…f5!! 43.d5? Qxc4 44.dxe6 Qxe6 [44...Rd1!] 45.Bf2 fxg4 46.Rg3 Rd1-+ 47.Qxg4 Rxf1+ 48.Kxf1 Qc4+ 49.Kg2 Qe4+ 50.Qf3 Qxb4 51.f5 Rf8! 52.Rg4 Qb5 53.Nd4 Bxd4! 54.Bxd4 Qxf5 55.Qe2 Nd5 56.Qe4 Qxe4+ 57.Rxe4 Here Jones could have resigned but I don’t blame him for playing on, in fact I thank him for it.  Looking at all the people watching me wrap up what had to be the most important win of my USCL career, gave me a chance to reflect on the  4 years I’ve played for the Blitz,  through  all the ups and downs .  This was my moment to shine that no one could take away, my answer to all the critics, the doubters, the detractors the jealous cowards who go on blogs after you lose and try to make you feel even worse, this was my answer to them.  

I wasnt sure where to fit this postion which was reached earlier in the game but I think it’s worth a diagram, find a way to breakthrough white’s position.

-/+ Without light square bishops, my Queen feels comfortable on a6 and all white’s weak light squares become apparant, also black’s knight on d5 is a monster. I played 27…g6 but 27…c5!! 28.dxc5 Rad8 29.Qe1(only move) Qd3 and White is very passive while Black has tons of iniative for the sacrificed pawn. 

The Finals – REMATCH WITH DALLAS

So we got our wish and we meet the Dallas Destiny in a rematch of last year’s final.  The trash talk has already begun.  Judge for yourself: this is what Davorin Kuljasavic, board 2 for the Dallas team, had to say about my upcoming game vs Bayraa Zorigt: DK: I only believe that Bayaraa is a clear favorite against Krasik.  She plays really well, not just USCL.  She’s a level above Krasik, for sure.  Other games are open.  (From USCL news and gossip.)

Hmmm, he seems to indicate that my game has already been decided, I don’t know maybe he talks to God every day and knows something I don’t but last time I checked I wasn’t giving her Queen odds or anything; in our previous match, even though she won, she was completely busted and needed several gross time pressure-filed blunders on my side to win.

Now lets do a bit of trivia.  What do Dmitry Schnieder, Vinay Bhat, John Donaldson and Craig Jones all have in common?

Be proud if you got it, the answer is they all gave recent interviews to Elizabeth Vicary and subsequently all their respective teams lost and were eliminaed from the playoffs.  I am pretty sure no one from our team plans to step into this curse   This was by the way pointed out to me by teammate Denys Shmelov (the Bee).

This will be a highly anticipated rematch between two teams who hate each other.  For example, Dallas Manager John Bartholomew, whom I’ve never met in real life, came onto the BCC blog earlier this season to try to explain to me and the rest of the world just how bad of a player I am, as if I needed any reminders… Since losing his last four games though he has been eerily quiet.

The matchups are Christiansen-Zivanic, Kuljasevic-Sammour, Esserman-Shnieder, Zorigt-Krasik.
Christiansen and Zivanic never played, Jorge holds a 1.5-.5 lead vs Kuljasevic, Esserman and Shnieder have never played in USCL, and Zorigt beat me in a messy game earlier this season.  The match should be very even, exciting, tense everything a fan can ask for, we will have large projection screen demo boards, i anticipate a huge crowd so make sure to come early.

The match will begin on Saturday, December 6, 3.00 pm, at Harvard Astrophysics Center; in the meantime enjoy your turkeys and have a happy Thanksgiving! GO BLITZ!!

The match didn’t start so well for us as it was clear Esserman was suffering in his game vs Lenderman aka the only true Professional. I don’t know why but Lenderman has a penchant to suck up to other players but in this instance he was shouting things like GO Knights and I will beat hated Boston for you… He also said Esserman has no technique and that he is no more than 2250-2300 strength. I am sure Marc prepared quite seriously for Lenderman, addictive style he calls it. Yet it was Lenderman with a huge edge out of the opening. I kept hearing grunts behind me, it was quite “heavy.” At some point Marc put on his heavy winter coat that looks warm enough to withstand Alaskan winter and even put a hood over his head, this evoked heavy laughter from Chrissy the Bear Williams sitting in the first row who almost collapsed.

We drew first blood when Larry plowed through Schneider’s position like a bulldozer, the game was soon over.  Larry tried to downplay the win in speaking to local fans, OK Schneider is not Karpov but I was quite impressed.  In the meantime my game (will be annotated later) was going quite well, I had a good position and built up quite a significant time edge due to probable confusion of Mr Katz. It became especially acute after I played 11…f6!, which killed another 25 minutes off his clock, the clocks now read 61 Black, 21 white. Katz decided on a pawn sac which I anticipated but that didn’t bring him much relief. My technique in converting my advantage was quite terrible, I missed many chances to completely shut him down. I went for complication grabbing pawns on b2 and a3, 24…e4! instead of Qxb2?!. Eventually Katz uncorked a stunning 27. Nh4!! which after my inaccurate 29…Kh6 (but even Kg8 isn’t so simple to win) should have led to a draw with a simple Rf4. In time pressure, to my amazement Katz missed this opportunity and played the very greedy and bad 30. Qxd4???? after which I played the decisive 31…Qe7!. That was a game winner because White is unable to regain back the piece due to a back rank mate! After taking once on f8, Rxf8 Katz realized this and resigned… too bad as I would have loved to mate him

Eugene played a very strong all around game and mercilessly ground down Vovsha in one of his favorite systems, the Accelerated Dragon, which he covered in his book Openings for Black Explained. We didn’t know this at the time but a draw in Eugene’s game meant a date with Carolina in rd 1 of the playoffs and a win – another date with the ladies (Queens).  Meanwhile I guess some kibitzers online thought it was wise for us to “throw” a game in order to play Carolina. I was later told by a member of team personnel that Greg threatened to forfeit Boston from playoffs if he deems we threw that game, i.e. did not win it. Furthermore our team staff were not allowed to mention to us any scores from other matches, as to not influence our decision making. Now, I am completely against throwing games but isn’t this is a bit harsh Mr. Commissioner, don’t you think? I never heard of a rule forbidding the players to find out the scores of other matches and excuse me but if you forfeit us are you going to simul the other team in the first round of the upcoming playoffs?  In fact when I play I often see my opponent game being watched by his playing teammates, while I personally never do that. I also didn’t like that Greg openly cheered for the NY Knights the last time we played them, I was already done with my game and he couldn’t hide his joy when the Knights turned the match around in their favor.  All right enough venting, lets take a look around the league and towards upcoming playoffs matches.

After the match Beer and food was consumed at our usual venue– Charlie’s Kitchen.  Blitz alternate Chris Williams attempted to steal my beer by means of sucking it out with a straw,  while I wasn’t looking . He also failed for the second week in  a row to impress a cute and flirtatious waitress who studies at Harvard University and sports some interesting tattoos. Last week Williams tried to impress her by showing off his own tattoos but ran into trouble when she quickly discovered they were fake. Next week Chrissy, don’t forget a bouquet of black roses…

QUARTER FINALS

THE (WILD WILD) WEST

Miami vs Seattle

Miami has a very strong team with multiple lineup combination, Beccera is almost unbeatable, they also have a little known Perea who seems very strong to me, their board 4 – Eric Rodriguez is the best bd 4 in the US Chess League.

Seattle has Nakamura and although he claimed Seattle doesn’t get enough respect, the way they stumbled into playoffs wont awe anyone I think. Respect isn’t given, it is earned. A while back ,looking through Slugger’s photos, I was struck as to how out of sync they all looked. They say a picture is worth a thousand words– to me the players on those pictures looked awkward, uncomfortable and unfamiliar with one another. Team chemistry is key in these events and I think Seattle also lacks in this department compared to their opponents who are quite a cohesive bunch it seems.

SF was leading the division for most of the year and looked like the best team but a hot Miami team in combination with Shankland’s and Naroditsky’s absence due to World Juniors allowed Miami to overtake them. San Francisco is clearly stronger and it doesn’t look good  when Dallas captain John Bartholemew is 0-4 in his last matches. On a personal note I am 3-0 since he came on to BCC Blog to try to insult me, not very wise Johnny. However as much as I would love a rematch with Dallas in the Finals, I just don’t see it happening.

Prediction: SF Advances

THE EAST

Carolina vs NY

I hope Carolina fans can forgive me for this, but I never liked sugar-coating and lying so I’ll just say it straight up CAROLINA IS A WEAK TEAM. Boston beat them this year with their usual lineup and probably not our strongest lineup 3-1. It’s an accident that they won the EAST and I was recently shamed about this by a fellow USCL player who happens to reside in the Western part of the country…How is Carolina going to deal with Charbonneau, Krush, Braylovsky and Herman , I  just don’t see a board on which Carolina can win. The bottom line  is Carolina had a nice ride but the train stops here as they will not be able to overcome NY, draw odds or not.

Prediction: NY Advances

The GLORIOUS BOSTON vs Queens

Well, after a drubbing Queens just received they must be scratching their heads real hard, so hard all their hair is fallout out What went wrong? Also, I believe they will have a better lineup next Monday. Probably a combination of Stripunsky, Schneider (Vovsha ), Lenderman and the little kid. Although it’s also possible that if the kid wants to watch his cartoons or something that he may have to be replaced…  The potential highlight of this match  is of course  a rematch  of Esserman-Lenderman ( we already know color assignments). Esserman went to Connecticut this weekend when he saw that Lenderman was preregistered, now it may seem like an obsession  of sort and perhaps it is but you gotta at least admit the man is “very serious“.  Of course I believe in our chances to win, overcoming draw odds, but I don’t expect an easy match.

Prediction: Boston Advances

Finally lets talk a bit about those who did not make playoffs.  Philadelphia and Baltimore simply lacked firepower this year. Although Phily gave us our worst loss of the season if not our entire existence, perhaps it wasn’t so bad as it served as a wake-up call. Baltimore’s Sergey Erenburg held board 1 quite honorably, which cant be said for the rest of his teammates. But the real surprise in the East was New Jersey. I kid you not that for most of the season I believed them to be the strongest team in the East. They had lineups which were simply scary to look at. Their leader Joel Benjamin wrote a lengthy article for Chess Life online boasting about how great his team was and to be quite honest I was intoxicated by the level of commitment and enthusiasm he showed in that article. Unfortunately they went away from using strong lineups, even when they needed it most vs NY in week 10 and ultimately they are not with us.

In the West, Tennessee was the most improved team by far. They actually did not finish dead last in the League and I think its a huge accomplishment. Ehlvest showed how strong he can still play and that made a big difference.  Chicago and Arizona were expansion teams which I know very little about, perhaps Arizona could have made in the East since the West clearly seemed stronger this year.

All the best and I personally invite all Boston fans to attend our playoff matches. Ciao.

Ilya Krasik – Marc, hello and welcome to the Boston Blitz. Where were you born, grew up? Do you remember your first steps in chess?

Marc Esserman – Good evening. I was born and grew up in Miami. My first steps… I sharply remember going for the four move checkmate as a 7 year old but when I played Qxf7 and announced mate to my shock my opponent took my queen as he had already played e6! I have not made this mistake since. I would play often with my older brother who was a national champion in elementary school and he started my interest in chess. From ages 7-13 I worked with my first coach from Miami, Randall Smith, and he took me to around 1000 to 2000 strength. Along the way I won a national title in middle school which I was very proud of. However, I quickly realized there was much to learn, and I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by so many strong Cuban chess players in Miami. All of the difficult games from blitz to classical time controls at IM Blas Lugo’s club were a constant reminder of how much I didn’t know about chess. For example, players like Blas and Marcel Martinez would just beat me over and over in the Friday night game/10 tournaments for years.

Who were your biggest influences in chess as far as top players, did you study with any prominent coaches?

From 14-19 I studied with IM Calvin Blocker. As he was in Ohio and I in Miami/Cambridge, every single one of our lessons was via telephone. Calvin introduced me to the great history and depth of chess and how to approach chess at a more professional level. Calvin is most responsible for the style of chess that I try to adopt today. In college I also worked with both Grandmasters Anatoly Lein and William Lombardy, both famous players and coaches whose accomplishments and deep knowledge of chess speak for themselves. While in Moscow for a month I got to work a little with Grandmaster Igor Zaitsev as well. My favorite player is Paul Morphy, and its not because I am American

What made you recently trade Miami for Boston, do you envision dropping anchor in Boston or are you going to cut tail and run away back to Miami when winter hits?

Now to the serious business, I’m not sure I will be able to handle Boston in a few months with the Miami tennis shorts that got me through 5 long New England winters. I am older now and frostbite will take its toll. I think I may run to the beach after the finals.

How would you describe your style of play?

You know me, I like to trade the pieces and go for technical endings

What other hobbies, sports and activities do you enjoy?

I’ve played tennis seriously my whole life, and some friends recommend I get into chess boxing but I don’t think that will be a wise idea. I also pretend to speak Russian.

Do you have any weird superstitions, beliefs?

“I believe, whatever doesn’t kill you, only makes you, stranger…”

I know you are a crazy advocate of Batman, what in the world attracts you to this movie and how will this movie make you a better chess player?

Yes, speaking of quoting the Batman, I actually took a chess student of mine to see this movie tonight as training and he started snoring and disturbing the audience. I am not sure I can work with this student anymore Another very strong chess player, who shall remain anonymous and who happens to be a member of the Blitz, dismisses the Batman as superficial and the product of the dumbing down of American society, but of course he hasn’t seen it yet. I cannot reveal any of my preparations regarding the Batman, but my second in Batman studies, Eric Rodriguez of the Miami Sharks may be able to divulge more information. All I can say is “do I look like a guy that plans things?”

Tell us something about Marc Esserman that no one knows, it can be a curious fact, an interesting story.

Surely at least one person will have heard any story worth telling, so as a child I used to bring little plastic pigs to tournament games for good luck. One pig even sat lounged in a beach chair sipping some kind of fruit drink. Some opponents found the pigs cute, others not so much.

There is a rumor flying out there that you have nowhere to live and you might have to live out of a cardboard box, what’s the story here?

Yes, yes. As my lease expired last minute I was caught in the chaotic rush for Boston fall housing, and the Bolyston Blog made a desperate post “Chess Player Needs Housing, Support the Boston Blitz.” One comment read “you can stay in my cardboard box in the garage.” It was an intriguing offer which I politely declined because I felt it could get cold in the garage, but the price was unbeatable.

Let’s talk about the USCL a bit, you played for Miami, last Wednesday you were a spectator at the Blitz match and hung out with your new teammates afterwards, what is the difference between the Sharks and the Blitz?

For Miami I only played one game and played board 1, for Boston I will be playing my first game on board 4, so this is quite a difference I was mostly disappointed that Miami, known for its beautiful women, did not have any adoring female fans in attendance. However, in Boston, this is not a problem!

Last week, Boston won a huge match vs NY by a score of 3-1, it is rumored some Knights players displayed poor sportsmanship after the match (those players were not actually present in NY at the time), making ridiculous accusations, what’s your take on this issue and how do you think the league should deal with these infractions in the future?

I think that those who made the accusations should come to Boston and get the full experience of playing Jorge live in blitz, in a money match, of course. Accusing someone of cheating is a serious allegation and these things cannot be tossed around trivially, as the accuser is basically saying that for all the energy the player has poured into chess, he is willing to throw that all away and risk his reputation to win a game by copying moves from a computer. The league should have a zero tolerance policy for this sort of talk, which should result in suspensions like any other professional league. Cheating allegations should be dealt with by the commissioner like other professional leagues.

This week we face Carolina Cobras, what do you know about your opponent and what do you think of Carolina in general?

Why so serious a question? I will not give the underdog any motivational fire.

I am sure being from Miami you have seen “Scarface.” Do your best Tony Montana expression and tell us what you are going to do to Craig Jones on Wednesday.

Ok, if you insist. “You wanna play? Ok. Ok. Say chello to my little friend.” “I’ll bury those cockroaches.”

Thanks for your time and good luck on Wednesday.

As soon as I arrived at the Boston Blitz home location I definitely could feel the winds of change.

Besides welcoming David Vigorito, I was quite surprised to see another fellow with him, FM Braden Bournival. Last year it was simply unthinkable that he would come to watch our games unless he planned to leave on a stretcher but of course one cannot keep old grudges forever and sometimes circumstances force you to become more amenable as well. Another thing I noticed was this guy with a huge camera, rather a huge lens, well I sort of assumed he was some local photo enthusiast and really didn’t pay much attention to him. I am talking to my friends and teammates while the guy was unloading his shots. Then I decided to be a little nosy so I ask the guy who the hell he is and to my great amazement he tells me he is from the Boston Globe. My jaw almost dropped. What is Boston Globe doing at our match?!

I think my tone even changed as I began to talk to him with much more attentiveness. Anyhow he took some pictures and left only to be replaced by another fellow, he had a notepad and was asking questions, also from the Globe. He was especially interested in talking to Jorge (no idea why ) and my friend Alla, who is basically a chess groupie, just kidding… she is just a good friend and a loyal fan.

Even before the match starting and even without reading some of Greg’s comments on Boston Blitz homepage of the USCL site, I knew my game was going to be pivotal in the team’s success. I embraced this idea with dignity by not preparing whatsoever for my opponent. My game started out as a Slav, until he played Bg4 which is an old obscure line, which I knew little about. I knew Nd5 wasn’t a move (Nfd7 Nxc4 e5…), but after that I think we were both on our own which was fine with me.

Perhaps g4 was a bit unnecessary and a more cool-headed response like Bxc4 was in order but I decided to mix things up and played in anyway. Of course I never imagined in my wildest dreams that my opponent will simply retreat his bishop, he should have played Qh4+ first. After Bg6? h4!, I think its a clear +/-. Black is already hard-pressed for good advice. I expected Evan to play Qc7 but I wasn’t immediately sure how to respond to it until I found the Bc8 idea which I think he had overlooked completely so after 14.Bxe6!, I was totally in control.

The next decision came after my opponent played 15…Qg2+ and I had to choose between moving my king to e3 or d3. At first the d3 square seemed much more natural, it doesn’t block anyone and is closer to the queenside where I would be potentially safer. However I spotted Na6-c5 -Rd8 ideas and that meant e3 was the home for me!

My teammate Mark Esserman joked afterwards that he thought I should play the King’s gambit like those old games where kings are walking around with no fear. My other teammate Vadim Martirosov misunderstood that comment to mean this position came out of King’s gambit itself, and was quite baffled as he knows I don’t play that.

Finally on move 17, I had the time out to play the star Bc8 move. I won more material than I expected (a whole rook) largely due to Evan’s generosity and later had to just play relatively precisely not to blunder but the outcome of the game was never in doubt. I wanted to analyze the game with my opponent, but ICC administrators in their infinite wisdom decided to mute my account Krasik-BOS…

I don’t have much to say about my teammates games because I really didn’t see much of them, some – like Jorge’s – because it gave me a headache to even look at the position. One moment though I do remember distinctly, was when Shabalov played Topalov’s Nxf7!?, a bomb went off… I remember everyone getting up from their seats and looking intently at the projector screen, some fans began whispering probably trying to figure out if it had been played before, while the players were just looking at the projector board and at each other in disbelief. To be quite honest, I did not have a good feeling.

After his game had ended Jorge spent another 40 min or so perhaps more analyzing certain variations with a horde of people. I just couldn’t believe his stamina! The variations were insane and he was navigating through them with amazing efficiency. I know even the higher rated players very impressed, I wanted to go drink and celebrate but it was hard to pull Jorge off his task. Since, I couldn’t think clearly or was simply not made for that position, I quickly took myself out of the analysis session.

As this was going on, my teammate Denys Shmelov informed me that at least one prominent member of the Knights, as well as one former member of the Knights are accusing Jorge of cheating, something about too many of his moves matching Rybka, at first I just dismissed it as sour grapes and typical ICC kibitzers nonsense but when I heard Chris Bird discussing it too and finally when I saw the Globe reporter shock Jorge with this question, presumably he had overheard someone’s conversation from Bird or Matt, I was just appalled.

It’s not just an personal attack at Jorge and the Boston Blitz, it’s an attempt to completely discredit the whole USCL. Something which we take for granted and which took a long time to build, these people can destroy in one night and create an atmosphere of distrust and paranoia in a chess world already dominated by these effects. I think the reasons for grave concern are obvious, we are not playing face to face, we cannot see what’s going on in another city. I prefer to have faith in my fellow USCL’ers as well as in certain measures instituted by the league like having TD’s and surrendering your cell phones. Sure cheaters will always find a way, but I haven’t seen anything so far in these 3+ seasons to warrant such suspicion.

I know the mood was quite ruined in the room and I know we were all quite upset about it during the postgame press conference, it felt like someone who can’t beat us, is trying to take our joy out in this fashion. The press conference ended but certain players were still fuming over it, they wanted to continue the video and make certain statements to NY players which may or may not be appropriate.

The discussion continued long into the night as we went to the bar with several other team members and fans. I know my night was somewhat ruined by this accusation, because this is last thing I wanted to discuss after my match. I hope the people involved in starting these allegations, whether they meant it as a joke, as sour grapes or whether they actually believe these lunacies, realize what they are doing to USCL which we all cherish and love.

Chris Williams – Well I was born actually not to far from where we play our matches, Cambridge Hospital. I was taught the rules of chess by my 3rd grade teacher with those fat plastic pieces that say the way the pieces move on the fronts. I didn’t play much after that until I turned 10-11 then I played my first tournament, some little scholastic at the Metrowest Club, I went 3-1.

Chess players are a superstitious bunch; do you have any weird superstitions?

I’m the most psychologically soft person I know when it comes to chess and am affected by everything at the board, which is why I use music before and during play to keep my self in sync.

Do you believe in extraterrestrial life (aliens)? Do you believe in God?

I won’t go much into detail about it, I am Jewish, and I also have kind of joked/preached about a philosophy of mine called the “Bonus Question” to some friends, lol.

You are currently a senior in high school, what are your plans for next year?

I plan to go to college next year.

What is your number one college choice? Do you plan to continue playing actively when in college?

Chess messed up my life, school especially, my performance in school and energy, I do not recommend to anyone who wants to live a happy life as it totally destroys your spirit. My #1 choice is U Mass Boston as I can go for free and it’s not far from where I live, about a 40 minute train ride.

How did the nickname “Bear” come about? And what’s the story behind your ICC handle “Exiledbear?”

A very, very close friend of mine, Vanessa Diaz, (an incredibly gifted, vivacious, beautiful chess girl) gave me the nick name chrissybear. It quickly spread and I’m now known by that name not only in chess but everywhere. I gave my self the handle Exiledbear because at the time I bought it I was feeling exiled by chess and life in general.

Who are favorite chess players?

Fischer is my favorite legend while Christiansen is my favorite player of all time; his style and commitment to chess are most inspiring to me. I agree whole heartedly with Fischer’s view and theories about corrupt chess at the highest level and I agree it is quite possible that they fixed all those games. I think Fischer has a lot of interesting points actually; he’s really quite sane if you look past his stupid rants such as the Jewish-hate nonsense, which is totally ridiculous so I don’t even acknowledge it.

Have you heard about new FIDE regulations requiring certain top players to undergo a drug test, is this the stupidest thing ever or does it make sense in the context of chess competition?

Well I wouldn’t be surprised if they started doing drug testing. I myself admit to taking drugs that by sheer luck have also contributed to my chess improvement. Adderal really heightens all of the senses, extra senses needed while playing, and it should not be allowed as I think it gives me an unfair advantage, lol. There was only one game this season I wasn’t on it for, that game against the little kid where I mated him in like 12 moves, yeah so I didn’t need it for that, lol.

Any plans to play in Russia, say in Aeroflot, and maybe meet some real Russian Bears?

Hmmm, my good friend, Ilya Krasik, did introduce me to that opportunity and I will have to give it some thought, logistically speaking, but of course I’d love to if I’m able and available.

Recently there has been much discussion about women’s chess in the US: some people feel that women get undue privileges, i.e. special tournaments, special prizes and unwarranted publicity, others feel that we need to do what it takes to attract more women to chess, what is your take on this issue and who in your opinion is the most talented Junior female player in the U.S. today?

Well I agree that this sexist stuff is totally not needed, but because of past history, we will have to just look the other way. Women were treated so unfairly in the past, thought to not be as smart or capable as men in any area except the house and childcare, that they deserve special accommodations and privileges for having the courage to come out into a field dominated with men and prove they are just as capable.

I have met many young talented chess girls throughout my chess life, I mean I can’t really say special things about their chess skills in relation to their gender as I am a firm believer in one’s intelligence not being linked with whether they are male or female, but I will say that chess girls are much, much, better at separating their ferocious chess feelings from their sweet personalities than dudes are. You would never be able to tell from being around chess girls in public places that they were capable of such cut throat determination.

Let’s talk about the US Chess League, did you know about the existence of USCL before this season? What are your impressions from your rookie season in the league, tell us about your team, teammates and the general atmosphere? How do you prepare for USCL matches? Do you play differently in USCL than in OTB tournaments because it is an online team event and because you know many folks are watching?

I became aware of the USCL’s existence in the middle of last season and fell in love with it right away. It’s a great concept, brilliant, and I think it’s great for chess and is very entertaining both chess wise and socially, and I take my hat off to Greg Shahade and company for putting it all together. We have an amazing team this year, I think Eugene, Larry and Jorge are monster top boards to have in our arsenal, and Denys is a pimp. Denys and I getting a discount, rating wise, to play is pretty good. I think Bill Kelleher has displayed some huge chess this season too and I was very impressed with his games even though his results weren’t all that good, and as for Ilya, people need to stop hating as I know from personal experience that Ilya is a very strong master, and that he is just going through an unlucky/bad slump that we all go through. I did for like 2 years straight and we should all just chill.

Last week the Blitz defeated the NY Knights, which you came through with a big win over Iryna Zenyuk. Tell us about that game, what was Bd2 all about?

LOL, yeah, New York is a very strong team although I think they would be much stronger without Nakamura. He doesn’t seem to much care for his team’s performance and has sort of just been like an ornament for them this whole season. I will say again, Iryna is a phenomenal player, a very sweet person who was very kind to me in between games and everyone just says how nice she is as a person. I really enjoyed playing with her, she is a very good sport and we need more people like her in chess. As for Bd2, I did that for Charbonneau, when I played him in Miami I was having some weird reactions from my Adderal and while I was playing him I was kind of thinking differently and had the urge to play this move. I actually got a winning position and messed it up, but yeah I thought I would spice up the match with some good memories for him to think about while he played Jorge, lol.

As the NY-Boston match was winding down, Nakamura started coming out with excuses about how unimportant he views the whole enterprise, yet I have heard from several sources that at the same time, Knight’s manager/player, Irina Krush, was upset realizing NY was knocked out. How important is team chemistry in your opinion, what is your take on Blitz’s togetherness?

Oh yeah I mean you have to be with your team through thick and thin, be there to celebrate and also to console when you lose, but most important, above all, always give your best for your team, always. Admitting you don’t care, or using it as an excuse is totally ridiculous and I think Nakamura should be cut from the team. Who wants an arrogant ball hog on their team? Not me. The Blitz have fun and are fierce as a team and that is why we win.

Your next opponent is Dallas; it’s the USCL Finals so the stakes couldn’t be higher. What do you know about your finals opponent, she has a complicated last name that I dare not spell, have you seen her games? Dallas players claim they will win the match, and that they believed they would win it all from the very beginning, what do you think about their cockiness, who will prevail in the upcoming match?

I am going to use my best judgment for this game. I am still not sure how I am going to approach this, preparation wise, but I think the Blitz are going to win the title for sure.

At the start of this USCL season you have said on many occasions that you feel you aren’t getting the respect, after finishing the season with a remarkable 6/8 score, do you feel you are finally getting that respect?

I mean people can say what they want, I have talked a lot of trash, yeah, but I have closed it all off for each and every one of my games and tried to play the best chess I can with all the seriousness I have, that’s what you do when you’re on a team, Nakamura should pay attention to that.

Thanks for your time Chris, and best of luck against Dallas.

Week 1, Seattle: The match was preceded by some carryover hype from the previous season, when Seattle’s then-in-charge manager Mr. Ballard made a number of bold statements, namely that the League is biased toward the East (I hope the sun isn’t biased also) and that I should play him down a rook for some reason, for money! He kept threatening to play all year and, despite being on the roster in 2006, he didn’t play a single game. When 2007 rolled around he had found something better to do and the match-up so many have been waiting for, never materialized… oh well. I was scheduled to play in this one but knowing how badly the Bear wanted to play, I conceded my spot to him. He surely didn’t disappoint, coming through with a big and the only win of the night, handing Boston its first victory of 2007. Uraaaaa… 2.5-1.5 Boston

Week 2, Queens: My game vs. Coleman is still giving me nightmares. I completely outplayed him from a bad opening position, missed some winning chances and then threw away a draw too in severe time pressure. (Qd4+ followed by Ne4, instead of Ne2+?? And also d3!, instead of Bb5). However, my teammates had my back, both Larry and Jorge winning on bds 1 and 2. Larry won a smooth game against Ibragimov, where it looked like Ildar missed some nuances, and Jorge was in big trouble, but defended well and won. It all came down to the Bee and the infamous mouse slip. Missing in all this chaos was the fact that Denys was reemerging from any troubles he may have had and at the point of the slip he looked like he was going to hold a draw, thereby giving us the victory. In general, I have got to say that he is one tough player; and some of the positions he has managed to salvage in this young season, look very impressive. 3-1 Boston

Week 3, Philadelphia: The battle between the leaders and the only perfect teams in the League wasn’t close at all. Boston played confidently and purposefully from the start. On board 2 Jorge’s relayer played 1.e4, instead of the intended 1.d4 but Instead of allowing Philip to take the move back, Jorge saw it as a sign and overruled him, who cares what move you win with right!? Looking at the board 15-20 moves later, I was quite happy with his choice and by the looks of it, so was he! Denys was nowhere to be found, his time kept ticking away, and then as I was outside, having a cigarette, I see a figure emerging out of the darkness. It was Denys. He mumbled something and ran into the playing room, his game was the first one to finish as he trapped his opponent’s Queen on move 25 or so, forcing immediate resignation. On board 4, the Bear was possessed or something because he really tore up Philadelphia’s Elvin Wilson, sacking his piece on a6, and then finding the cute Qe4 move which forced a winning endgame, which he easily converted. Not to be outdone, Jorge defeated Bryan Smith on board 2 in a game that particularly stood out for its many fireworks, Bxa6, Rxc3, Rxd6, Qc4! etc. Most amazing was his ability to play the very best moves in a complex position and in time pressure for the second game in a row; maybe we ought to take away some of his time in the beginning of the game, cause he seems to play stronger when he doesn’t have any. Eugene drew comfortably despite feeling sick that day and the rout was finished, the match separated the men from the boys. 3.5-.5 Boston

Week 4, NY: As many guessed beforehand, it would be the first match in League history to pit two GMs a-piece on the top boards. NY came into the match having scored a miserable .5/3 and Boston was sitting on top of the mountain. It was important for us not to have a let down. Nakamura-LC game was the first one to finish. Larry initiated complications with 20…e3!, which lead to an exchange sac for several pawns, soon fizzling out to draw. With the black pieces, it was a result the Blitz was quite satisfied with. However, the Bee’s game looked like a wreckage of a derailed train; it didn’t seem likely he would hold against Jay Bonin. Eugene had a typical kind of English position that I couldn’t yet assess and Chrissy looked worse after the opening. However soon, Boston started making a run, we always do. Vicary seemed confused after banging out her opening like a robot, she started retreating on all fronts and lost quickly after a few precise moves by the Bear. Boston was in the lead. The Bee, as I mentioned before is one tough player and he kept digging in and digging in, what seemed like a sure loss no longer seemed certain at all. Then the game Bonin-Bee reached a point when it looked like Bee was going to secure a draw with perpetual. Bonin, having woke up, I think decided to play for a win with Kh3!?, given the team score. As a result an interesting endgame arose, which was up and down and at one point, Denys came one square away from finding a beautiful textbook win based on zugzwang (the move was Rh3! instead of Rg3). However, Denys found a cute draw trick that we had all anticipated and so it now all came down to the match up between former UMBC buddies Eugene and Pascal. Unfortunately Pascal’s knight (no pun intended) was a real pain in the butt and the time factor didn’t favor us as well. It was a position I am sure Eugene can hold in a normal game, but here, given the time the pressure and the overall exhaustion, he eventually ended up in a mating net, a hard fought battle, 2-2.

I am sure the rest of season promises to be even more exciting. Tune in to watch your beloved Blitz kick butt all over the country, and if you live close, come by and cheer us on. Be sure to keep checking our new home: www.Boston-Blitz.com for all official team information and photos, as well as Blitz merchandise. Big thanks goes out to Chris Bird for creating and maintaining this page.

In case you still didn’t get it… Bee = Denys Shmelov (Shmel – bumble bee in Russian) and Bear = Chris Williams… Chrissy Bear or Exiled Bear, so many names I get confused myself!