Blitz GM Eugene Perelshteyn was on the winning team, “GGGg”, at the USATE held in Parsippany, NJ.  Eugene’s team finished with a perfect 6-0 and included GMs Zviad Izoria and Roman Dzindzichashvili, along with 5 year old Stephen Fanning.  I decided to email Eugene some questions about his exploits and the team.

Congratulations on your recent victory at the USATE.  Have you played in USATE before?

Thank you! Yes, I’ve played twice before. Once, a long time ago as part of Collins Kids, we ended up tied for 1st but were edged out on tie-breaks. The second time last year, as board one with Dzindzi, but we had a hard time winning on the lower two boards.

Your team caused a bit of a stir by having 3 Grandmasters and then one player, Stephen Fanning, rated just 178 on board 4.  Who is Stephen and how come you ended up on this team?

Yes, there’s a huge difference in rating and in strength We are all good friends. Stephen is a son of John Fanning, who played board three last year.  We thought that Stephen would bring us the strength we needed, plus he’d have so much fun playing side-by-side with three GMs.  Who knows, perhaps this tournament will be the first step on his road to becoming a Grandmaster?

Where did the team name “GGGg” come from and who came up with it?

I don’t remember who came up with it, but it means three GMs and a little (future) gm.

Obviously to win, both yourself and Dzindzi had to each go close to 6-0 (which you both did) especially playing on boards 2 and 3 respectively.  Was this plan ever in trouble?

It is hard to play from behind psychologically.  There’s a lot of pressure on Izoria on board 1.  If he loses, we don’t win the match.  Dzindzi did great on board 3, winning effortlessly.  However, my games were always hard, lasting the longest.

Who was your highest rated opponent?

I believe Teddy Coleman (who now attends Harvard – Ed).  The match against this young team was particularly tough.  At some point Izoria was no more than equal vs. Dmitry Schneider.  My position was unclear until the very end, and even Dzindzi had some tough resistance on board 3.

There were a lot of Blitz players participating. Did you play any and did you watch the all-Blitz matchup between Larry Christiansen and Ilya Krasik in round 2?

I didn’t play any, but I saw this game.  Ilya was better at some point, but mishandled the position.  Larry had a few tough games.  There’s never any certainty on top boards, even if you’re a GM.

Did you give Izoria any stick for giving up half-point or did he do it just to seal the final round win?

Well, he saw that I was close to winning and made the correct decision to offer a draw.  Although, this put a lot of pressure on me, I finally was able to win after about 5 hours of tenacious resistance.

Do you think teams in future years will try and copy your example from this year?

I don’t know.  If someone thinks this win is a walk in the park, they should think again.  I believe that playing with so much pressure on the top boards, needing to win in every round, is not easy.  Particularly if we face a team with a GM or IM on board one.  I commend Izoria for his tough wins against Schneider and Lapshun.

Do you think such a top heavy team would do similar in the USCL?

Well, I’m not so sure. There’s always a lot of pressure on the top board. If Izoria loses, the best we can do is tie the match.

Can you provide us with your favorite game from the event?

Sure, vs. Teddy Coleman.  I managed to break open the defenses with a Rxf7+! and Nxf5!, with a deadly mating attack.  (A very cool mating attack, the game is provided in the viewer below – Ed.)