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!!

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.

Jorge responds to Shaba’s trash talk while Ilya and Denys both explain why they were amazed with their respective opponent’s play.

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.

Blitz All-Star, National Master Denys Konstantinovic Shmelov, 21, of Pepperell won the 77th Massachusetts Open, held May 24-26 at the Holiday Inn in Boxborough. The 21-year-old Ukrainian native, recently crowned champion of the Metrowest Chess Club in Natick, scored 5 points out of 6 in an Open section field of 24 players. He is the first non-FIDE-titled master to win the coveted state championship title since 1999.

Capturing 2nd place with a 4½ points was Blitz Alternate, International Master Igor Foygel of Brookline, who drew Shmelov in the fifth round. Sharing 3rd place and the top Under 2300 prize with 4 points was another Blitz All-Star, National Master Chris Williams of Brighton, along with National Master Alex Cherniack of Watertown and 17-time Massachusetts Open champion, FIDE Master John Curdo of Auburn. Winning the top Under 2200 prize was Blitz team member, Ilya Krasik of Acton, who tallied 3½.

(report by MACA)

Blitz All-Star Jorge Sammour-Hasbun arguably had the toughest adventure in the Masters section, playing 3 GMs on his way to a joint 3rd place finish behind US Champion GM Alex Shabalalov and Uzbekistan GM Darmen Sadvakasov.  A last round defeat in a crazy game to Sadvakasov made him miss out on a chance to finish in 2nd place.

Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (right) playing Darmen Sadvakasov on board 2, round 5

Jorge’s two losses, to the top two GMs, were encompassed around another exciting adventure, this time a win, in round four against GM Alexander Ivanov.  His other wins were against Sergey Vertkin and Chris Bird.

FM Bill Kelleher also finished in 3rd place with 3 points in the Masters section, which included a draw against Ivanov in round 2.  In round 3 Bill played a good, tough game against Sadvakasov but eventually ended up recording his only loss in the tournament.  His other victories were against Bennet Pellows and Deepak Aaron.  A last round half-point bye ensured he finished with 3 points.

GM Alexander Ivanov and Bill Kelleher playing on board 1, round 2, while Jorge Sammour-Hasbun looks on from board 2.

Ilya Krasik played in the Experts section and by Saturday night he was leading the tournament on a perfect 3/3.  However, two Sunday losses to eventual joint winners Vadim Kudryavtsev and Carey Theil, meant he finished with the same score.  His loss on Sunday morning was definitely not helped by him sleeping in and being about 40 minutes down on the clock before he’d even played a move.

Ilya Krasik plays Carey Theil in the final round of the Expert section

To view all the photos I took, please visit my Eastern Class Championships 2008 Photo Gallery.  You can also view more reports from the tournament at the Chess Life Online (USCF), Braden Bournival’s Blog, Hardcore Pawnography Blog and Lizzy Knows All Blog.

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.