Game of the Year -- 7th Place

This is the fourteenth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2009 USCL Game of the Year. For more information on exactly how this process works and the prize information, please refer to: Game of the Year Contest.


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7th Place: IM Daniel Fernandez (DAL) vs FM Oleg Zaikov (CAR) 0-1






















FM Zaikov further extended his material advantage with 28... Bf3!, soon forcing his opponent's resignation.



Below are the comments from the judges on why they ranked the game where they did and in parentheses is the ranking given by that judge and the number of points awarded for that ranking.



GM Gregory Kaidanov (4th Place, 17 points): Very impressive exchange of tactical blows though Black's win was never in doubt.



FM Ron Young (4th Place, 17 points): In explaining his placing of this game behind several others played that week, one of the weekly judges opined that Black had to come up with only three difficult moves in the "game" phase of the game; the part between the opening and the technical portion. My only disagreement is with the "only". In this age of theory and technique, very often the first original move one is called on to make turns out to be the critical error. For me, to see a game with three good moves is like walking through the Gardens of Versailles.



GM Robert Hess (11th Place, 10 points): I agree with Michael Aigner's comment when deciding Week 7 GOTW. The game did not have any real shocking moves. However, I must also agree with Jim Dean when he asserts that these two players most likely did not know theory from a game played in 1987. 18… Kc8 was a nice move to sidestep the assault. But really, not many moves were surprising. Great fight from both sides, but quite one-sided after the sacrifice.



GM Alex Yermolinsky (11th Place, 10 points): Yermolinsky only provides commentary for his top ten games.



WFM Tatev Abrahamyan (17th Place, 4 points): I am no expert, but these sacrifices don't seem to work if Black plays precisely. White's attack never really took off, and with a few accurate moves Black ended up with an extra piece and soon enough was able to launch his own attack. 28... Bf3 was a nice finish followed by 29... Ra7!, but at that point it really didn't matter anymore.



Total Score of Fernandez vs Zaikov: (7th Place, 58 Points)


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Stay tuned for five more such articles as the field shrinks by one game every day to see which of the following games will be the 2009 Game of the Year!


Week 5: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs GM Josh Friedel (SF) 1-0 Article

Week 6: GM Alejandro Ramirez (ARZ) vs GM Joel Benjamin (NJ) 1-0 Article

Week 8: IM John Bartholomew (DAL) vs GM Julio Becerra (MIA) 1-0 Article

Semifinals: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs IM Dean Ippolito (NJ) 1/2-1/2 Article

Wildcard #4: NM Matt Herman (NY) vs FM Daniel Naroditsky (SF) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #5: SM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs FM Ron Simpson (CAR) 1-0 Article



Eliminated:


7th Place (58 Points): IM Daniel Fernandez (DAL) vs FM Oleg Zaikov (CAR) 0-1 Article Elimination Article


8th Place (57 Points): IM Dean Ippolito (NJ) vs GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article


9th Place (56 Points): IM John Bartholomew (DAL) vs IM Jan van de Mortel (CHC) 0-1 Article Elimination Article


10th Place (55 Points): GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) 1-0 Article Elimination Article


11th Place (52 Points): GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs GM Josh Friedel (SF) 1-0 Article Elimination Article


12th Place (48 Points): GM Boris Gulko (NJ) vs FM Oleg Zaikov (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article


13th Place (45 Points): GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article Elimination Article


14th Place (43 Points): GM Jaan Ehlvest (TEN) vs GM Alejandro Ramirez (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article


15th Place (39 Points): FM Victor Shen (NJ) vs IM Marc Esserman (BOS) 1-0 Article Elimination Article


16th Place (36 Points): IM Jan van de Mortel (CHC) vs GM Jaan Ehlvest (TEN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article


17th Place (35 Points): GM Gregory Serper (SEA) vs IM Jan van de Mortel (CHC) 1-0 Article Elimination Article


18th Place (35 Points): FM Andrei Zaremba (QNS) vs SM Marc Esserman (BOS) 1-0 Article Elimination Article


19th Place (30 Points): SM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs FM Tom Bartell (PHI) 1-0 Article Elimination Article


20th Place (24 Points): GM Josh Friedel (SF) vs IM Marko Zivanic (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article