Friday, August 7, 2009

GM Alex Shabalov joins the Tennessee Tempo



While many were impressed by the Tempo's marked improvement in 2008, they are clearly aiming even higher in 2009. With both GM Jaan Ehlvest and GM Alex Shabalov now a part of their campaign this season, this new one-two punch may take the Tempo to the postseason for the first time and could very well also make them into Championship contenders.

Will this new firepower make the difference in turning the Tempo into the playoff team that they've strived to be for three seasons? Be sure to tune in soon to find out, as the new season is less than a month away!

10 comments:

Bionic Lime said...

Wasn't there, at one point, a residency requirement for team members?

Greg Shahade said...

No, only for alternates are there any restrictions.

Greg Shahade said...

Oh, there are also some restrictions for the one female roster spot as well.

Anonymous said...

That's dumb. what's the point of the teams if the people don't actually live there. Will Shabalov be in the same location as the rest of the team when they play?

Anonymous said...

It's not dumb! Good job Greg .. you run a first class sports league that continues to provide exciting chess competitions.

Anonymous said...

it is dumb, whats the point of having a team being located somewhere if the players don't even live there?? whats next some team will hire kasparov to play from russia for them?

Greg Shahade said...

The players all play at the same location. The rules page states this pretty clearly.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm... I recall many of my arguments for raising the rating limits or roster sizes of the teams being shot down because "small market" teams (Tennessee being mentioned explicitly) couldn't compete. Clearly that reasoning is no longer valid if they can attract two world class GMs to play for hire.

So, how 'bout it Greg? 2500 next year? Let's watch more GMs play and less experts.

-Matt

Ilya said...

I have nothıng agaınst Tennessee or any other barn-team hırıng Gms because fırst and formost I belıeve ıt wont help them one ıota.Hello from smolderıng-hot Antalya Turkey, ı wıll be back before the season begıns btw...

Rihel said...

Ah. The season approaches. My typing fingers are atwitching. Boylston Chess Club Weblog will provide all the wacky coverage of the Blitz again this year.

It seems that the USCL is joining the ranks of the NBA, the NFL, MLB, and that game where players kick at a checkered ball-- i.e. when was the last time the Yankees or Red Sox actually had a player from Boston/New York? How many of England's finest ball-kicking clubs have all-Englanders? Same for the USCL!