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The Blaze Ignite
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- Created: 17 September 2009 17 September 2009
Chicago finally gets on the board with a 2.5-1.5 victory over Tennessee
It’s good to win. That was the sentiment at the Holiday Inn Skokie last night as the Chicago Blaze finally posted their first victory of the 2009 season, beating the Tennessee Tempo 2.5-1.5 and breaking a five-match losing streak that extended to the end of last season.
As might be expected, it was the ever-reliable IM Angelo Young, still undefeated in USCL play, who hit the Volunteer State crew first, with a victory over FM Todd Andrews to spur his teammates and even the score, after FM Florin Felecan, with the Black pieces and a near-impossible match-up against Jaan Ehlvest on Board 1, had fallen to his super-GM opponent.
That left IM Mehmed Pasalic on Board 3, and NM Jon Burgess, Board 4, with the burden of determining the outcome of the match. Both games looked iffy, and a somber mood momentarily descended on the venue until both players rallied, Mehmed to victory over FM Peter Bereolos and Jon to hold FM John Bick to a draw.
Above: IM Mehmed Pasalic (foreground) and NM Jon Burgess during their games against the Tennessee Tempo. Photo: Daniel Parmet
Here are the games:
1. GM Jaan Ehlvest (TEN) vs FM Florin Felecan (CHC) 1-0
2. IM Angelo Young (CHC) vs FM Todd Andrews (TEN) 1-0
3. FM Peter Bereolos (TEN) vs IM Mehmed Pasalic (CHC) 0-1
4. NM Jon Burgess (CHC) vs FM John Bick (TEN) 1/2-1/2
Tennessee was one of the weaker teams in the league last year, but with Ehlvest and former U.S. Champion GM Alexander Shabalov now playing for the Nashville cats, they started this season strong and, as the USCL site put it, look like “a different team” this year. Last night’s match was their first defeat of the season. It came harder, and is in some ways more satisfying, than the two Blaze victories over the Tempo last year.
Special thanks to Larry Cohen, who served as our Celebrity Tournament Director for the evening’s match. Kudos also to Blaze Assistant Manager Daniel Parmet, who ran the match superbly in the absence of Manager Glenn Panner.
It’s a short week, and there won’t be much time to celebrate. We come back and play the mighty San Francisco Mechanics on Monday. Tune in to the Internet Chess Club, or watch the live coverage by Chicago’s Midway Chess Club.
Miami Puts the Shark Bite on the Blaze
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- Created: 10 September 2009 10 September 2009
But IM Young comes through again
Angelo Young always shows up.
As any Blaze fan will tell you, the popular international master and seven-time Illinois champion plays hard and always gives the team 100 percent. True to his reputation and record, Angelo came through again last night, posting an impressive victory with the Reti/King’s Indian Attack against NM Eric Rodriguez of the Miami Sharks to give the Blaze a lift and maintain his undefeated record in USCL play.
That, however, was the good news, and unfortunately, there wasn't anymore of it, as Angelo’s teammates, GM Nikola Mitkov, IM Jan van DeMortel, and expert Trevor Magness each fell to their Miami opponents. The Sharks won the match 3-1, handing the Blaze their second consecutive defeat of the new season and leaving us with an 0-2 record heading into the third week of the ten-week season.
Here are the games.
Board 1. GM Nikola Mitkov (CHC) vs GM Julio Becerra (MIA) 0-1
Board 2. FM Bruci Lopez (MIA) vs IM Jan van de Mortel (CHC) 1-0
Board 3. IM Angelo Young (CHC) vs NM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0
Board 4. Miguel Recio (MIA) vs Trevor Magness (CHC) 1-0
Special thanks to Mike Cardinale of the Youth Chess Foundation of Chicago, who served as our celebrity tournament director for the evening. Mike will be back with us again later in the season. Next up, the Tennessee Tempo: Week 3: Wednesday, September 16th Tennessee Tempo vs Chicago Blaze 7:00 PM Central Time
Deja Vu: Scopions 3.5 -- Blaze 0.5
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- Created: 03 September 2009 03 September 2009
Blaze Season Kicks Off This Week
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- Created: 31 August 2009 31 August 2009
Chicago Blaze action begins at 8:00 Central time at the Holiday Inn Skokie 5300 West Touhy. Fans are welcome, so please come and cheer the team or follow them on the Internet Chess Club.
The pairings for this season’s first match, between the Chicago Blaze and the Arizona Scorpions, have been posted on the U.S. Chess League site. As the teams get ready for the opening salvos of their 2009 title quests, the Chicago Blaze finds itself underdogs vs. Arizona, and not for the first time.
Here’s the lineup, in which Arizona has a ratings advantage on every board:
- Board 1 GM Alejandro Ramirez vs. GM Nikola Mitkov (Chicago)
- Board 2 FM Florin Felecan (Chicago) vs IM Levon Altounian
- Board 3 FM Robby Adamson vs. IM Mehmed Pasalic (Chicago)
- Board 4 Trevor Magness (Chicago) vs. David Adelberg
Robson Shines at 23rd NACA Event Scoring 2nd GM Norm
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- Created: 27 August 2009 27 August 2009
Ray Robson scored his second GM Norm at the recently completed 23rd NACA Event. He scored 7/9 5 wins and 4 draws going undefeated and taking home the first prize of $1500.
In 2nd place with 6.5/9 was GM Gior Kacheishvili followed by GM Mesgen Amanov and IM Michael Mulyar in a tie for third place on 6/9.
The event was a great success not only did Robson get his GM Norm but Molner also got his IM Norm with 4.5/9.
Robson is expected to get his final GM Norm at the Spice Cup next month. His USCF rating is expected to break the 2600 mark for the first time.
Another notable performance was by NM Erik Santarius of WI. He scored 5/9 with a win over local FM Albert Chow in the last round. Alexander Velikanov 2069 from WI didn't let the fact that he was the lowest rated player get him down he scored 4/9 only losing 2 games.
Final results are shown below. Congrats to all the players.