Game Preview, Quarter-Final, 2008

November 7th, 2008 Chris Bird

Boston Blitz vs Queens Pioneers
Monday, November 10, 7:00 pm

Well, the line-ups have been announced for the quarter-finals and there is a shock in that Queens have left out 2008 League MVP, IM Alex Lenderman.

Is it really a shock though?  Well, to most of the league I’m sure it is, but to the great minds behind the scenes at the Boston Blitz, I’m afraid not.  Already, well before Lenderman’s entertaining blog post about the numerous mistakes made before and during the season by the Queens Manager, GM Alex Stripunsky, the Blitz had decided that Queens’ best line-up would be the one they have produced, minus their MVP!  Obviously with such foresight, the Blitz players were able to get a few days extra jump on their preparation and so we’ll see whether that helps in what should be a classic battle between two powerhouse teams from the East.

However, guessing the Queens team could have been a lot more difficult had Lenderman not easily accepted the draw (or offered one, which he did a few moves before accepting it) when he was in an advantageous position, and up on time, against Esserman in the final match of the season.  I’m certain the Queens management would probably have looked more favorably on using the MVP, win, lose or draw, if he’d just had the courage to continue fighting until the bitter end.  Surely though they can’t be blaming the fact that they finished 2nd in the division, by a mere half a game point, on that one result… can they?  I guess Lenderman’s public, and extremely believable, explanation of why he accepted the draw (manager’s permission, securing the MVP – there’s no “I” in TEAM!) was overshadowed by his down to earth, behind the scenes look into the failings of a team that turned a 5-0 start into a 2nd place finish.

Of course, having said all of that, maybe they’re just really annoyed that they now have to play a super-confident Blitz team that just stomped them 3½-½ rather than mopping up a team that, by some miracle, just scraped into the 4th and final spot in the East.

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Queens… Who Are They?

October 30th, 2008 Chris Bird

Who are Queens?  Well, they are playing the Blitz in the quarter-finals and so lets take a look.

Queens Pioneers came into the US Chess League in 2007 and while they didn’t make the play-offs in their inaugural season, they did finish with a respectable 4½-5½ record.  However, 2008 has seen a change in their fortunes although the impressive 5-0 start couldn’t see them into winning the Eastern Division, eventually finishing in 2nd thanks to a 2-3 finish in the second half of the year.

They have been led this year by a new recruit, IM Alex Lenderman, who usually plays on either board 2 or 3.  Lenderman has captured the 2008 MVP award and finished with a +7 =1 -0 regular season record.  Lenderman is also regularly assisted by GM Alex Stripunsky on board 1, a staple in both of their seasons, who also finished in the top 10 of the MVP standings with a +3 =2 -0 record.

Let’s take a look at their players 2008 records:

Player and Boards Played Rating Bd. Avg. White Record Black Record
GM Alexander Stripunsky (1) 2664 1.00 (4) +2 =2 -0 (1) +1 =0 -0
IM Dmitry Schneider (1,2) 2515 1.20 (1) +0 =1 -0 (4) +1 =1 -2
IM Eli Vovsha (1,2,3) 2504 2.00 (3) +2 =0 -1 (4) +2 =0 -2
IM Alex Lenderman (2,3) 2463 2.50 (5) +5 =0 -0 (3) +2 =1 -0
Parker Zhao (3) 2227 3.00 (1) +1 =0 -0 (2) +1 =1 -0
Michael Thaler (3,4) 2146 3.66 (2) +1 =1 -0 (1) +0 =0 -1
Benjamin Katz (3,4) 2101 3.83 (4) +1 =0 -3 (2) +0 =1 -1
Shaun Smith* (4) 2054 4.00 (0) +0 =0 -0 (1) +0 =0 -1
Aleksander Ostrovskiy (4) 1993 4.00 (0) +0 =0 -0 (2) +0 =1 -1

As you can see both Stripunsky and Schneider have shared board 1 duties this year but the difference in their records is big.  Vovsha has usually held down board 2 while Lenderman has fluctuated between boards 2 and 3.  When needed the kids have filled in on the bottom boards but only Katz has played on a regular basis, usually at the bottom.  Zhao and Thaler have both filled in nicely on board 3 but their opportunities have been limited.

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Boston Blitz 3½-½ Queens Pioneers

October 29th, 2008 Chris Bird
Board White Result Black
1. GM Larry Christiansen (2670) 1-0 IM Dmitry Schneider (2508)
2. IM Eli Vovsha (2532) 0-1 GM Eugene Perelshteyn (2619)
3. Marc Esserman (2307) ½-½ IM Alex Lenderman (2528)
4. Benjamin Katz (2108) 0-1 Ilya Krasik (2144)
  Boston Blitz 3½-½ Queens Pioneers

The Boston Blitz could not have asked for a better finish to the regular season as they trounced an unsuspecting Queens Pioneers team 3½-½.  Thanks to this mauling, Carolina Cobras ended up winning the Eastern Division on tie-breaks, with just half a game point separating them and Queens.  It also means that there will be an immediate rematch in the quarter finals as Queens finished 2nd while Boston finished 3rd.

The night started off very brightly for the Blitz as up on board 1, GM Larry Christiansen made short work of IM Dmitry Schneider.  Schneider spent a lot of time in the opening but quickly ended up in an inferior position, both on the board and the clock.  Blitz Manager Matt Phelps commented at about move 10 that the game was over as Christiansen had the bishop pair.  How true to form that was as Christiansen managed to quickly get all of his pieces developed and a magnificent sacrificial finish from the attacking genius brought a swift end to the game and a Boston 1-0 lead.

The next game to finish was the long awaited and much anticipated match up between MVP candidates Marc Esserman and IM Alex Lenderman.  Unfortunately there was no Smith-Morra Gambit with Lenderman playing the Caro-Kann but an interesting and unusual position arose out of the opening.  Lenderman’s play seemed more obvious and he soon built a time advantage as Esserman found himself having to work his way through some tough complications.  Eventually a draw was agreed, somewhat surprisingly in my view as Lenderman still had a time advantage and a position that would have been hard for him to lose.  It was probably even more surprising given the Boston edge on the remaining boards but I guess we’ll wait to read Lenderman’s blog for his reasons (or excuses) for not playing on.

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Game Preview, Week 10, 2008

October 28th, 2008 Chris Bird

Boston Blitz vs Queens Pioneers
Wednesday, October 29, 7:15 pm

With both teams already ensured of reaching the play-offs, one could have forgiven them if they had decided to let some of their lesser used players participate in this, the final week of the regular season.  However, just one look at the line-ups and you will see that both Boston and Queens are not taking this game lightly, possibly thinking about that psychological edge should they meet in the play-offs.

For once all of the attention will not be directed at the Grandmasters up on the top boards but will focused on a board 3 game that involves two of the top three players in the current USCL MVP standings.  After last week’s win, all that could be heard at the Blitz playing site was the voice of Marc Esserman, “give me Lenderman, I want a shot at Lenderman.”  It appears Caissa wanted the same as when the pairings for the matches were released, there it was, board 3, Marc Esserman vs Alex Lenderman.

Lenderman currently sits at the top of the MVP standings with an incredible +7 =0 -0 record and 21½ MVP points.  He has bounced around between boards 2 and 3, beating respectable opponents such as IM Dean Ippolito and IM Emory Tate, while two of his wins were awarded the USCL Game of the Week award.  It has been an impressive run for the rookie although his countless hours spent on ICC have no doubt contributed towards him comfortably adapting to the USCL format.

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Refuse to Lose?

October 25th, 2007 Mark La Rocca

The atmosphere in the clubhouse was tense… very business like. Not much joking around, not much “go Red Sox” talk. Chris Bird had the World Series game one on his PC during the match… but the lopsided (13–1) victory didn’t change the tone of the night… each Red Sox big inning seemed to bring another Blitz draw. The players (chess, that is) were in a zone. Maybe tightness was the problem as no player seemed to risk much (except for Ilya of course) and “refuse to lose” became “unable to win” as the Blitz drew all four boards and the match.

The night started with a GM Larry Christiansen venturing a Caro-Kann as Black against GM Alex Stripunsky’s Panov-Botvinnik attack. At one time, this opening seemed very sharp, but GMs today have it down pat. My favorite position, only because it somehow looks funny to me, is one with a check being blocked by a check and pieces and pawns attacked…


Position after 18.Qd4+

No danger here; after the exchanges things wind down to a Rook ending where Black has won a pawn… but cannot make use of it.


Position after 29.Re2

Here Black played 29…e6 and the draw was inevitable. Of course, taking the d pawn wouldn’t do much good either. Boston (0.5 – 0.5)

GM Eugene Perelshteyn played quite riskily in grabbing a pawn in this strange d-pawn opening against IM Eli Vovsha… obviously, his hope was to make use of the time it takes to win it back. But, Black’s space advantage made it a tough endgame… take a look…


Position after 13…e5

No way to hold it comfortably. After 14.c3 bxc3 15.bxc3 Ba6!, things seemed quite cramped for White. I couldn’t help but feel that Black was missing something as he exchanged down to the following interesting position…


Position after 25…Ra3

Now, I would probably have lost easily here as White and played 25.Qb2 thinking I was winning a Rook. But, Black is a tricky IM and has the very pretty 25…Rxc3 turning the tables and winning a pawn as 26.Qxc3 Qxc3 27.Rxc3 Bxd4+ just loses. But, GMs see these things (thank Caissa) and Eugene maintained a tense but ultimately un-winnable endgame…


Position after 31.Rb2

Draw agreed on move 42. Boston (1 – 1)

I have one word for both players in the game Ilya Krasik versus Michael Thaler… “Brave”… a wild Queens Gambit Botvinnik Attack with both players leaving caution behind. Actually, this game was the only one that Boston should have won. Credit Thaler for pulling out the draw.


Position after 21…axb5

In this position, Ilya thought a while before rejecting Ra6 and/or Ra7 both of which Fritz says win. But, no wonder… take a look at this variation… 22.Ra6 Ra8 23.Nxf6+ Qxf6 24.Rxa8 Bxa8 25.b3!… winning a pawn. Oops, Ilya missed this and played instead a move which wins the exchange, 22.Qc3!? Nxe4 23.Qxe5+ Qxe5
24.Bxe5 Bc5…


Position after 24…Bc5

And now, (do you see it?) 25.Nf6+! Nxf6 26.Bxb8… and White is up an exchange for a pawn. But, this is a little more complicated a win than the previously mentioned win of a pawn. Yet, Ilya reached the following winning position…


Position after 32…Kf8

There is a win after 33.Rd8+ Kg7 34.Rc8 Re6 35.Rh8 f5 36.Rcg8+ Kf6 37.Rxh6+ etc… But, Ilya missed this and the game wound it’s way down to the following cute ending….


Position after 52…Kxc3

This is a draw. I originally thought that 53.Rc4+ would win after 53…Kxc4 54.Kc2… but Black has 54…b1=Q+ 55.Kxb1 Kd3 56.Kb2 Ke2 57.f4 Kf2 and both pawns will Queen with a draw. Ilya played 53.Rb4 Kxb4 54.Kc2 Ka3 55.Kb1 Kb3 56.f4 Kc4 and Black’s King catches the f-pawn. Boston (1.5 – 1.5)

And now, the weight of the world (a Blitz win) fell on the shoulders of Superstar third board NM Denys Shmelov, playing Black in a Tarrasch French, against FM James Critelli.

By move 11 the position was devoid of life. I could see (and sometimes hear) Denys’s frustration. Try and win this one…


Position after 11…b6

Here White played the even more drawish 12.Ng5 Bb7 13.Ne4… when Black has nothing better than 13…Qe5 14.Nxf6+ Bxf6 15.Qxe5 Bxe5 and the players could agree to a draw. But, the match situation demanded that both play on. Of course, White does have the better of it with a queenside majority, which he very correctly began pushing.

With Denys straining to find winning chances, he probably pushed too hard and ended up on the tough side of a draw. Yet, my analysis with Fritz showed that he was never really lost.

In this position, the players shuffled rooks a few times from a7 to a8 and correspondingly from b7 to b8 before White retreated to continue. But, nothing eventful happened.


Position after 35…Rb7

Draw on move 67. Boston (2 – 2) match drawn.

Well, at least the Red Sox won. Can another Boston team struggle to a division win… and then hit their stride in the playoffs? Tune in next week… it should be a good one… Boston vs Philly for the title and, of course, Big Mo (momentum, that it).

Go Sox!

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Blitz Play “On The Edge”

September 6th, 2007 Mark La Rocca

The atmosphere at the beginning of the second round seemed electric… of course, it could have been the static from David Harris’ hair. David had driven in with (soon to be) game of the week star Jorge Sammour-Hasbun. But, in any case, the team mood was light as always, though the players paced tensely at times awaiting the start of the round.

The final 3-1 score in favor of the Blitz was no indication of how tough this match with Queens Pioneers really was. Every board was a Korchnoi like, “on the edge” position. The diagrams I have chosen for each game show the tense struggle that each board had. Strangely, the only Blitz board to lose was the only one with a clear advantage… well maybe not so clear… but we’ll get to that.

First board, GM Larry Christiansen playing White against top notch GM Ildar Ibragimov seemed to effortlessly put more and more pressure on his opponent until, in the diagrammed position, Ibragimov played 25…exf5 grabbing the offered pawn. What’s the idea… can you guess Larry’s move?


position after 25.f5

After 25.f5 exf5, Larry uncorks… 26.Qb3!… pressurizing the game. Now the rook can’t move because of 27.Qxf7+ and the threat is 27. Nxc6 gaining back the pawn with complications favoring White. Later analysis (by me) with Fritz shows that 25…f6 would have been the way for Black to go, with a tough game still ahead.

In the game line, Ibragimov now faltered with 26…Rxe5 giving up the exchange to relieve the pressure and Larry proceeded to show impeccable technique in ending Black’s hopes by move 40. A fine game.
Now, on to the “Game of the Week.” Jorge was still shaking his head after the game… though he won, he had the “feeling that I was lost”… and no wonder. In my favorite position from the game, White has sacked a piece for a dangerous attack. Take a look…


position after 20…Bg7

No wonder Jorge was wondering “What if…” White can now settle for rook and two pawns and an attack with 21.Nxf7+… and, by the way, still keep the attack… or, as played in the game, he can continue to press for mate. Fritz prefers 21.Nxf7+ and based on how the game went, I would have to agree. Take the bird in the hand…

White continued… 21.Ng4 and after some great only moves… Jorge repulsed the attack and won the game… certainly a game worthy of its awarded title.

I was a bit worried for Denys in his game. Although he had been chasing Black’s king around quite a bit… in my favorite position of the game… it looked like Black was the only one with winning chances if he played… 53…Nxg5. As Denys, I’m sure, pondered on what to do next should Black play this, his opponent, in severe time pressure, shocked the world with 53…Qe7 giving up the queen and the game after 54.Bxe7. This was the famous “mouse slip” and the only major controversy, so far, this season. But, as Denys points out, any Queen move is a mistake and, even if his opponent meant to play 53…Qd7 then 54.Bf6+ gives White a big edge in the time scramble.

The league disallowed the “mouse slip” appeal… and the result of this final game gave Boston the match.


position after 53.Qf4

The third game to finish was fourth board, master Teddy Coleman vs Ilya Krasik. I truly enjoyed this game. Ilya, as always, played sharply and for a win to reach the incredible position (and my favorite of the match) below…


position after 25.Qa3

Black seems doomed… He is already an exchange down and another bishop for R\rook exchange is threatened. Fritz gives Black as better after 25…Nc7!! check this out…

If now 25.Bxf8 Bxf8! attacking the Queen. Now 26.Qa4 (forced) is followed by 26… Nb5!! which wins due to the double threat of 27…Nxc6 and the mate threat of 27. …Qb6+ and smothered mate after Whites forced 28.Kh1….

Who but a computer (or a GM) would see all this? Ilya played differently beginning with 25…Bxc6 and after a few mistakes by his opponent, wound up in this beautiful complex position…


position after 31.Kg1

White is losing his bishop and Black is winning after either 31…Nxh6 or 31…d3 (as 32.Rxc4 is answered by the pawn push and queens). Ilya played 31…Bb5 which still keeps a draw, but he eventually lost a tense struggle. A very exciting game marred by time pressure mistakes.

The loss here put Queens back in the match (for a possible draw) at 2-1 Boston. But… oh those mice are tricky things… thank you Denys.

I don’t think I can take much more excitement… But, I’m sure there’s more ahead with undefeated and Eastern Conference co-leader (tied with our Blitz) Philadelphia coming in next week… Oh well, see you there.

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Game Preview – Week 2, 2007

September 5th, 2007 Chris Bird

Blitz vs Queens, Week 2, 2007Boston Blitz vs Queens Pioneers
Wednesday, September 5th, 7:00 pm EST

After a successful start to the season, the Blitz will be hoping to move to 2-0 this week when they face expansion team, Queens Pioneers, who they will meet again in week 9.

The win against Seattle was all about the dynamic “under-rated” tandem of Shmelov and Williams on the bottom two boards.  This week however, the focus of attention will switch to another of Blitz’s new team members, Jorge Sammour-Hasbun. Jorge will make his debut this week and, with him heavily out-rating his opponent, he will probably be expected to give the Blitz an edge in the match.

Board 1 sees Blitz superstar, GM Larry Christiansen, face a solid challenge in GM Ildar Ibragimov.  Ibragimov will be making his debut in the USCL, although he has been a frequent fixture in a multitude of chess tournaments around the US since his arrival in ’95.  With Christiansen having the white pieces, this may give whatever edge exists, if indeed there is any, to the Blitz.  However, my database shows these two have only faced each other a couple of times previously, Ibragimov having white in both of those games scoring 1½/2.

As has already been stated, Jorge Sammour-Hasbun will make his Blitz debut on board 2, and will probably be expected to win seeing as he has a 200 point rating advantage over his opponent, FM Jake Kleiman.  Kleiman, however, has been steadily improving, gaining 100 points in the last year.  At the recent World Open, Kleiman drew three GMs, Khachiyan, Sharavdorj and Bo Hansen, while at the Chicago Open at the end of May, Kleiman beat Sharavdorj and drew with GMs Akobian and Ramirez.  Jorge hasn’t played much “over the board” chess recently, but has been taking part in online tournaments, most notably willing the famous Dos Hermanas blitz event back in March, which included no less than 100 GMs!  In the “real” chess that Jorge has played recently, he drew GMs Ivanov and Kudrin at the Eastern Class Championships.  Watch out for a knock down, drag out match in this one, which will be our live game of the week!

The Blitz’s Denys Shmelov will be hoping for less of a defensive effort this week when he has the white pieces against FM James Critelli on board 3.  Shmelov held off a strong opponent in week one to be a big part of the Blitz’s win against Seattle and once again he will face tough opposition in Critelli, who has just come off probably the best performance of his life, scoring an IM norm performance in our own backyard at the recent New England Masters.  This one is a battle of youth, and both players will be out to show their respective teams that they need to be a permanent fixture in future matches.

Board 4 could be where the Blitz have the most work cut out for them as the Blitz’s most experienced USCL player, Ilya Krasik, faces off against FM Teddy Coleman, who is coming off the back of an impressive World Open that included a win over GM Ftacnik and draws against GMs Fedorowicz, Bo Hansen and Abramovic.  However, in week 1 Coleman could only muster a draw against Molner in the Pioneers’ draw against other newcomers New Jersey Knockouts.  Ilya has been a permanent fixture in the Blitz lineup for the last couple of years, being a big part of the Eastern Conference Championship winning team, although this year his time may be limited due to the arrival of Chris Williams.  However, Ilya is one of the biggest cheerleaders for the Blitz and won’t mind spending time on the sidelines, so long as Chris keeps winning!  This week though will be about him and his game, and it’s time for him to show that should things start going wrong at the bottom of the board order, that he can step in and still do a job.

Both teams have put out pretty strong lineups for this weeks game and it should be a thrilling encounter.  Remember to check out all the action from our game of the week, Kleiman vs Sammour-Hasbun, live here starting at 7:00 pm EST, or if you’re lucky enough to have an ICC account, you can watch all of the games live there, along with radio commentary.

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