Arun Sharma's GOTY Picks

Though I mostly retired from USCL reporting involving subjective material this past year, with the season over, it did seem only appropriate to at least make some (probably bad) GOTY picks (though, unlike our lazy commissioner, I will at least attempt to provide some brief comments about each game). Note that the picks below represent my personal opinion about where the games should finish -- not necessarily where I actually expect that they will finish (and I might even make a note that I expect a game to finish higher or lower than I've chosen it in a few of the games). Also be aware that these choices were made totally independently of Greg Shahade's picks even though my comments may sometimes refer to his rankings.


I should say that this, of the four years we have had the GOTY Contest in this fashion, was definitely the hardest year for me for trying to pick my order for the games. In previous years there always were, to me, a crop of games I thought to be the pick of the litter as well as a batch of games holding the opposite distinction. However, this year my only real guess would be that the games that I have picked to finish amongst the highest few will almost certainly be in the top half and similarly for the games I picked to be amongst the lowest few. I simply would not be confident in saying any one game is very likely to be in the bottom five or to be in the top five, the contest just seems that open to me.


Whether my instinct about that particular assessment is correct or not or whether my similar previous years' feelings have been correct (yeah, yeah no one really needs to mention how the game which won GOTY in 2007 was given a one in four hundred chance to win by me before the contest), clearly that feeling made my task this year even harder though the other (more competent!) judges might not have happened to encounter the same difficulty.


So without further ado, here are my picks.



20th Place: IM John Bartholomew (DAL) vs IM Jan van de Mortel (CHC) 0-1. While I doubt this (or any one game in particular) will actually finish last, I stated at the time when this won GOTW that I felt the losing side self-destructed a bit too much for this game to finish high on my list even if the winning side played creatively. I still have to hold to that view here which is why I've chosen to place this game last even though I would not be at all surprised to see it get as high as tenth.

Article



19th Place: SM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs FM Tom Bartell (PHI) 1-0. Another game which somehow doesn't seem like it should be ranked so lowly, but obviously some games have to assume these dubious distinctions and given that in this game, just like the previous one, the losing side also self-destructed a bit too much, marring the winning side's fine play, it does seem like a reasonable choice for one of the lowest spots.

Article



18th Place: IM Dean Ippolito (NJ) vs GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) 1-0. The two Knights vs Pawn mate is always an interesting sight, but it's really difficult to find anything else truly salient about this game so I had to rank it near the bottom. I have a feeling the GOTY judges will also agree with that, as that endgame is more likely to be business as usual to them rather than something very intriguing.

Article



17th Place: IM Jan van de Mortel (CHC) vs GM Jaan Ehlvest (TEN) 1-0. The main impressive thing about this game was knocking off such a strong player in an opening which he himself had authored a book in. But it's rather hard in a contest with so many games to consider that a more impressive feature than most of the other salient points that the other games have so I cannot justify ranking this game highly and like the previous game, I expect the GOTY judges to follow that lead and rank this game about where I have done so.

Article



16th Place: GM Gregory Serper (SEA) vs IM Jan van de Mortel (CHC) 1-0. Very solid game, a typical Serper effort, one strong and logical move after another and winning in very clean fashion without allowing any counter chances. But on the other hand, there weren't exactly a bunch of exciting moments or truly surprising moves in this game which makes it hard for this game to really stand out amongst many of the others, especially in a "best of the best" contest.

Article



15th Place: FM Andrei Zaremba (QNS) vs SM Marc Esserman (BOS) 1-0. Nice effort by the victor, conducting his attack very well and throwing in some cute tactics. But just like Esserman's win over Bartell, the game just seemed a bit too easy, with multiple ways to win and never any real danger for the winner to contend with.

Article



14th Place: GM Alejandro Ramirez (ARZ) vs GM Joel Benjamin (NJ) 1-0. Very solid game, just like Serper vs van de Mortel, with many strong and logical moves, but in this case a nice tactical trick thrown in - a necessary key to scoring the victory. That tactic definitely lead me to rank this game a few spots higher than I otherwise might have, but it was still hard to find anything else I thought was super impressive about this game so I still could not rank it higher than this place.

Article



13th Place: IM John Bartholomew (DAL) vs GM Julio Becerra (MIA) 1-0. Very bold game by Bartholomew, just never giving up and pressing his strong opponent over and over until he finally cracked. While the judges might choose to rank this lower than me since Black probably did miss a few chances to gain the upper hand, I personally have to favor a game like this, a game with many interesting moments, over a slow grind with no really surprising moves or tenuous moments.

Article



12th Place: IM Daniel Fernandez (DAL) vs FM Oleg Zaikov (CAR) 0-1. A perhaps not atypical Najdorf type game which got crazy like many others of its kind. In one sense, this type of interesting game is nothing new in this opening, but that does not (at least to me) tend to make it any less interesting to watch while going on or to analyze afterward. I expect this to get a middle of the road ranking just as I've given it.

Article



11th Place: GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1. A very hard game to properly assess. After all, it's often said that a blitz game is just that: a blitz game and not something to be studied and prodded over. But this was a really great blitz game and obviously a game with stakes as high as they come in the USCL. But the few inevitable missteps that nearly every blitz game is generally going to have did prevent this game from finishing near the top of my rankings, and I would guess that the same will be true for this game in the actual contest.

Article



10th Place: FM Victor Shen (NJ) vs IM Marc Esserman (BOS) 1-0. Very complete game by Shen with some nice tactical ideas thrown in which wound up giving him a devastating bind that he utilized very well. This game may well finish higher, but like Esserman's other loss, the fact that the game might have seemed a bit too easy for the winner with multiple ways to win at no real risk may prevent it from finishing in the very top spots.

Article



9th Place: GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs GM Josh Friedel (SF) 1-0. Now I know that Greg hates Josh Friedel and as much as I understand and empathize with that sentiment, I still think it's a bit much of him to rank both of Friedel's losses in first and second place. Most disturbing to me about that was his putting this game, a game that I could see putting in the Top Five if we were judging based solely on which games were the most interesting, as highly as second. But given that accuracy and number of mistakes do also count for something (at least to me!), I personally cannot really even consider ranking this game nearly that high.

In any case, this is most definitely a game which is likely to have some very disparate rankings depending on what the individual judge chooses to consider pertinent. That being so, I do think my placing for it is likely to be about where it will average out to (even though it may do so via having two first place votes and two twentieth place ones).

Article



8th Place: GM Boris Gulko (NJ) vs FM Oleg Zaikov (CAR) 1-0. A game in a style which has seemed to become a typical Gulko league effort, grinding his opponent down and by the end of the game having won in very clean fashion while leaving his opponent probably scratching his head as to where exactly things went wrong. This game, in addition to having that attribute, had an unusual material imbalance combined with a very effective use of the two Bishops which made it even more attractive. While I didn't find it stand out enough to put it in the Top Five, I would not be surprised to see it finish that high.

Article



7th Place: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs IM Dean Ippolito (NJ) 1/2-1/2. Another game whose ranking will really come down to what the judges choose to consider most important. Should they go by sheer accuracy this game likely has no chance of making the Top Five, but should they consider how interesting the Queen sacrifice was and how many interesting moments this game had along with being a part of a very important and tense match, it might just finish that highly. Personally I felt it had a few too many mistakes to put it my Top Five, but again I would not be overly surprised to see it reach that.

Article



6th Place: GM Josh Friedel (SF) vs IM Marko Zivanic (DAL) 1-0. Brutal Sicilian slaughter with a very nice tactic utilized to give White a very quick win. The game's shortness might count against it which could well cause this game to finish much lower than I've chosen it for (and also Black's large blunder in permitting the nice combination), but there's always something to be said for a perfect game by the victor where it's not instantly clear at first glance where the opponent went wrong.

Article



5th Place: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs GM Josh Friedel (SF) 1-0. Yet another game which caused a good deal of controversy in its aftermath. One point of view is that the victor found a brilliant novelty to refute a very constantly played opening - a view that if a judge were to hold it would almost certainly cause them to put this in their Top Five and perhaps even first. The other viewpoint is that the "novelty" was actually known of by many beforehand, meaning that the victim essentially played a refuted line, a view that would probably cause this game to be ranked much lower.

So given that, where does that actually put this game? Well I know most I've talked to favor the first point of view, and one can only assume that the majority of the judges will do so also, making this a fairly likely Top Five finisher. As to me personally, I fall somewhere in the middle about how great the "novelty" really was, but either way one cannot deny how impressive White's preparation was in totality so this seems like a reasonable Top Five game in any case.

Article



4th Place: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) 1-0. I have a feeling that most will disagree with my choice to put this Kacheishvili game above his effort against Friedel. I suppose that's very much a matter of taste, but this game happened to appeal to me a bit more since it was very dramatic, occurred in a very important match, and definitely had a nail biting finish (and the last fact I definitely cannot ascribe to the other game). Although a couple of key mistakes at the end might prevent it from actually making the Top Five, considering how many good moves were found along with the excitement of the game, I had to put it in my Top Five.

Article



3rd Place: NM Matt Herman (NY) vs FM Daniel Naroditsky (SF) 1-0. Undoubtedly one of the most controversial games in GOTW history. Like the Kacheishvili vs Friedel game, it seems that there are two very disparate opinions about this encounter: the first that this game was a really great game, very creative and obviously super interesting, and the second that this was a mistake riddled game where the losing side missed numerous chances to gain a big advantage. I personally tend to favor the former opinion quite a bit more than the latter (which is why I chose to rank this so highly) and judging by the numerous people I've spoken to about this game, it seems the majority favors that opinion also and as such I think this game is definitely one of the most likely to make the Top Five and may even be the favorite to win.

Article



2nd Place: GM Jaan Ehlvest (TEN) vs GM Alejandro Ramirez (ARZ) 1-0. Although I definitely would rank this game in the Top Five, I honestly really do not expect it to finish that high and would be especially surprised if it finished as highly as I am putting it. Just like for my first place pick, I did not feel any game was a clear choice for these very top spots and so chose to go with games which seem very solid rather than more controversial games for which there are varied viewpoints. This is a solid choice simply because it was very well played by the winner, playing one strong move after another and winning in very clean fashion, never allowing any real counterplay by his opponent along with showcasing a nice tactic to finish the game.

Article



1st Place: SM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs FM Ron Simpson (CAR) 1-0. Yes, it's entirely possible that I'm crazy for picking three Wildcard games for my top three games (or perhaps I'm insinuating that the GOTW Judges, myself included, are crazy). This game is a bit short, but certainly quite rich for such a short game and since once again I did not have a clear idea of what I really did want to pick first, it seemed that a game which was perfectly played by the winner, winning in very quick and clean fashion without any perceptible mistakes by the opponent might well be the best choice. Add that to the fact that a Boston player has won GOTY the past two seasons, and one knows to not ignore tradition in the USCL, well there you have it.

Like my second place pick, I really do not seriously expect this game to finish this highly as given how open the contest seems, I'm not sure I would even consider it to be a "favorite" to make the Top Five. But honestly, other than perhaps the Herman game, I personally don't consider any game to really be such a favorite which I suppose is what will make this year have the most interesting GOTY Contest to date!

Article



So those are my picks. I hope I've at least shed a little light and made everyone look forward a bit more to what might actually come about when the actual contest starts. So as I've said many times, be sure to keep an eye out on the USCL site for the actual contest which will begin very soon!