News
Stayin' Alive
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- Created: 27 October 2009 27 October 2009
The Blaze keep their playoff chances on life support and pull the plug on the defending champs
They may not be the team they were last year, but the Dallas Destiny are still the defending champions of the U.S. Chess League, and last night the Blaze beat them—convincingly.
The 3.5/4 score for the evening was the most resounding victory of the season for Chicago. It eliminated Dallas from playoff contention and kept our own long-shot hopes for postseason play alive, at least until Miami plays this week and possibly into the final week of the season. We had to win last night’s match, and we did, with three victories, a draw, and no losses.
Highlights? Where do I start?
Most likely with IM Jan van de Mortel, who has been settling splendidly into Board 1 of late. Two weeks after beating GM Jaan Ehlvest, Jan played a thrilling game against IM John Bartholomew, coming back from a significant material disadvantage to win.
Winning is Grand
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- Created: 18 October 2009 18 October 2009
Blaze beat a GM-laden Tennessee lineup
Earlier in the week we asked the following about this week’s match between Chicago and Tennessee:
“Can the Tempo do it? Can they finally beat the Blaze with two top grandmasters?”
The answer, we can now tell you, is no.
Last Wednesday night the Tennessee Tempo threw everything they had at the Chicago Blaze in an attempt to reverse a three-match losing streak against the Windy City, and it wasn’t enough. Despite Tennessee’s having two of the strongest players in the United States on Boards 1 and 2, the Blaze prevailed, winning the match 2.5-1.5.
The big news of the night was that that IM Jan van de Mortel of the Blaze overcame a 241-ratings-point deficit to beat GM Jaan Ehlvest. In a wild unbalanced game that has won the league’s Upset of the Week prize, Jan emerged from an intense series of captures up three pawns on Move 30. GM Ehlvest resigned ten moves later.
The still-undefeated IM Angelo Young beat off a tough comeback attempt by FM John Bick to give the Blaze their second victory on Board 3, and Trevor Magness drew Gerald Larson on Board 4 to give us the margin of victory.
Inventive Play
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- Created: 06 October 2009 06 October 2009
By hook or crook the Blaze find a way not to lose
The winner: IM Jan van de Mortel
Confounding the league prognosticators who had picked us to go down, the Chicago Blaze fought to the very end last night and found a way not to lose to the favored Philadelphia Inventors. With a victory on Board 2 and draws on Boards 3 and 4, the Blaze played the Brotherly Love contingent to a 2-2 draw.
It was IM Jan van de Mortel who supplied the key win, playing Black against the higher-rated IM Bryan Smith. In a cool endgame, Jan sacrificed the exchange on Move 39, freeing himself to create a passed pawn that tied up White’s remaining rook while Jan’s unmolested king went to work picking off White’s kingside pawns. Meanwhile, the out-of-position White king, powerless to stop the carnage, looked on in horror from the back rank. Smith resigned on Move 47.
Jan’s win was abetted by FM Florin Felecan and NM Eric Rosen, who held on to draw their opponents.
Here are the games:
1. GM Nikola Mitkov (CHC) vs IM Alex Lenderman (PHI) 0-1
2. IM Bryan Smith (PHI) vs IM Jan van de Mortel (CHC) 0-1
3. FM Florin Felecan (CHC) vs IM Richard Costigan (PHI) 1/2-1/2
4. Kavinayan Sivakumar (PHI) vs NM Eric Rosen (CHC) 1/2-1/2
Our record now stands at 1.5-4 with four games left in the regular season. A victory last night would have done a great deal more for our playoff hopes, though if we can put together a string of wins in the weeks ahead we’ll keep our chances alive.
Pummeled by the Pugilists
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- Created: 03 October 2009 03 October 2009
Knockouts squeak past Blaze 2.5-1.5
The hero of the night: NM Eric Rosen
In another close contest against a league leader that looked like it could have ended in a draw, the Blaze ultimately came up short Wednesday night, losing 2.5-1.5 to the New Jersey Knockouts, the only USCL team with a perfect record, which now improves to 5-0.
The Blaze, by contrast, fall to 1-4 at midseason and are in serious need of victories in the coming weeks if we are to keep our playoff hopes alive.
There are always bright spots, even in defeats, and this week’s was the victory by newly minted NM Eric Rosen over Jersey’s NM Andrew Ng in Eric’s first game as a Blazer. The game marks another milestone in the annus mirabilis that has been 2009 for the Niles North High School sophomore, who this year has earned the national master title, won the U.S. Junior Open, beaten one grandmaster, and drawn another. In the latest USCF rankings, Eric is number five nationally in his age group, his highest ever.
Though it certainly would have been a better match if we’d won or drawn, it was a good one nevertheless. The toughest assignment of the night went to Chicago's IM Jan van de Mortel, who had to face the former U.S. Champion GM Joel Benjamin with the Black pieces. Jan played a strong game that looked drawish in the middle game to some onlookers, but Benjamin was able to take control and win. FM Mehmed Pasalic fell behind in time to his higher-rated opponent, IM Albert Kapengut, and Jersey was able to put that one in the W column as well. In the final game of the night to end, IM Angelo Young struggled mightily for a victory that would have drawn the match, but before his kingside attack could get underway, his opponent, SM Mackenzie Molner, found strong counterplay and hung Angelo up on the queenside. The game ended in a draw. Remarkably, however, Angelo remains undefeated in USCL competition.
GM Amanov and IM Felecan win IL Open 2009 with 5/6
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- Created: 28 September 2009 28 September 2009
On Labor Day weekend as always the 2009 IL State Championship took place at the Double Tree Hotel in Oak Brook, IL.
Over 100 people attended the event. The top section featured 2 GM’s Amanov and Gurevich, 2 IM’s Felecan and Young (Multiple times State Champion) as well as 2 FM’s Chow and Stamnov.
There were 2 schedules people could play in: the 3 day or the 2 day which had faster time control for the first few rounds. The standard time control was Game 120 with a 30-second increment.
The early leader was GM Amanov with 4/4; however he had to settle for draws in the last 2 rounds against Gurevich and Felecan. This meant that with a crunch win over IM Young in Round 5 IM Felecan was able to tie for first with GM Amanov, and both players are Illinois State Champion for 2009.
Tied for third place was GM Gurevich and non-titled player Gopal Menon, who doesn’t play very often but when he does watch out at the board. He defeated FM Chow, NM Murgescu and drew with NM Rosen while on his way to the great score of 4.5/6. GM Gurevich had a string of 3 draws in the last 3 rounds which kept him out of the top spot.
Matthew K. Wilber became an expert player at this tournament scoring 3.5/6. Wilber has improved his rating from 1600 in June 2009 to over 2000 now. That is proof that if you put your mind to something you can do it!
In the Reserve section Matthew Gruber Castillion ran way with the tournament scoring 5.5/6. Castillion drew his first game then won the last 5 games to take first place and gain 46 rating points. In second place with 5/6 was Siddarth S Datla
The Game 25 tournament in the evening sadly did not draw many players. Only 9 players took part and Tyler J Lerner scored 4/5 to take first place.
In the trophy tournament Michael Malis scored 5/5 to take clear first a point ahead of second place. His rating went up 205 points to 1177.
The next big tournament in Illinois is the Midwest Class in October; hopefully everyone can make it.