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This is the final part in a series of articles which has counted down to revealing what game was voted as the 2010 USCL Game of the Year. For more information on exactly how this process worked and the prize information, please refer to: Game of the Year Contest.
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1st Place: GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) vs GM Yury Shulman (STL) 1-0
GM Akobian nicely capitalized on his initiative with 21. Nxf6+!! breaking the position wide open after which his well placed pieces paid a nice dividend eventually scoring him an impressive victory against a super strong opponent.
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 Jan Gustafsson (1st Place, 20 points): Wow, a topical opening line, powerful positional play, a correct long-term piece sac, and flawless execution! In the opening, I think 9... b6 is a more critical choice than 9... f6, but that could of course be argued against. Not sure where Black went wrong afterward, White just has very good compensation, and his position is much easier to play. Maybe 20... Bb7 was more resilient. After 21. Nxf6+!! White gets an eternal initiative and never lets go. No complaints, I'll vote for this one.
GM Robert Hess (2nd Place, 19 points): Var really played one heck of a game. Yury did not seem to have a chance. One reason I ranked this so highly is that both players worked together at the Olympiad and have similar opening repertoires, yet Var seemed in total control. Var came out aggressively and never relinquished his threats, first forcing Yury to weaken all his Pawns, then milking his huge advantage in development and finally sacrificing material and going in for the kill. It is hard to pinpoint Yury's fatal error, and that just makes the game that much better in my eyes. Nicely done.
FM Ron Young (4th Place, 17 points): Sitting on c3 and f3, White's Bishops seemed to have nothing to do with each other but after the explosion on f6, they swept in and left Black empty-handed. Watching this game was like watching a skilled pair of street scammers in action.
FM Ingvar Johannesson (4th Place, 17 points): The players don't get much stronger in this league. A very nice game by Varuzhan. He elected to play the very sharp Marshall Gambit. White gambits a Pawn and naturally gets some initiative. He followed that up with a well timed sacrifice on f6 giving life to all his centralized pieces. Shulman simply couldn't handle the pressure and had to crack under the pressure. The easy tactics in the end were also a nice cherry on the top of the cake.
WIM Alisa Melekhina (12th Place, 9 points): A typical GM game where it's unclear where the crucial mistake was, and Black suddenly finds himself worse. At one point it seemed that Shulman had stabilized and was ready to consolidate his extra pawn, but Akobian's open lines proved too much, eventually facilitating the promotion of the c-pawn that seemed to have suddenly arrived on the seventh rank out of nowhere. A very nice and clean game, that I'm sure could be ranked higher if the other games didn’t display such exciting struggles and tactics. With all the games being so decisive, at this point it just becomes a matter of taste between more creative and original, rather than straightforward wins.
Total Score of Akobian vs Shulman: (1st Place, 82 Points)
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Final 2010 Game of the Year Standings:
1st Place (82 Points): GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) vs GM Yury Shulman (STL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
2nd Place (82 Points): SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
3rd Place (79 Points): GM Yury Shulman (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
4th Place (68 Points): NM Eric Rosen (CHC) vs Alex Guo (SEA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
5th Place (65 Points): GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs IM Sam Shankland (NE) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
6th Place (64 Points): IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) vs GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
7th Place (60 Points): GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) vs GM Jesse Kraai (SF) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
8th Place (59 Points): GM Alex Stripunsky (MAN) vs GM Sergey Erenburg (BAL) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
9th Place (58 Points): IM Sam Shankland (NE) vs GM Julio Becerra (MIA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
10th Place (55 Points): IM Daniel Rensch (ARZ) vs WFM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
11th Place (53 Points): GM Yury Shulman (STL) vs IM Florin Felecan (CHC) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
12th Place (46 Points): GM Josh Friedel (SF) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
13th Place (42 Points): IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
14th Place (41 Points): IM Robert Hungaski (NE) vs IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
15th Place (40 Points): NM Ilya Krasik (BOS) vs NM Adithya Balasubramanian (BAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
16th Place (40 Points): Nicholas Rosenthal (MIA) vs NM Nick Thompson (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
17th Place (35 Points): GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) vs GM Josh Friedel (SF) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
18th Place (31 Points): GM Dmitry Gurevich (CHC) vs IM Rogelio Barcenilla (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
19th Place (27 Points): FM Charles Galofre (MIA) vs FM Marcel Milat (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
20th Place (23 Points): SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Sasha Kaplan (BAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
This is the final part in a series of articles which has counted down to revealing what game was voted as the 2010 USCL Game of the Year. For more information on exactly how this process worked and the prize information, please refer to: Game of the Year Contest.
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2nd Place: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 1-0
The interesting 13. e4!? turned the normally tame opening into a tactical slug-fest, the exact kind SM Sammour-Hasbun thrives in, and he didn't disappoint here, bringing home the full point against a strong GM via very attractive play.
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 Robert Hess (1st Place, 20 points): A truly remarkable effort by Jorge. Even in the most peaceful of positions, Jorge can be dynamic and exciting. An exchange Slav turned into a tactical slugfest? REALLY?! Well somehow Jorge made it happen. 13. e4 was a nice shot, although 13. Nh4 also gave White a pleasant advantage. It seems that no real mistake was made by either side until move twenty five, when h4?! wasn't so good. 25. Bd6 looked much better than h4, as Black's response f4 creates complications seeming to end in a draw (25... f4 26. Bh2 Nc5!? 27. Rxc5 Bxc5 28. Qxg5+ Kh8 29. Qe5+ looks like a perpetual – all you engine users, please correct me if I made a mistake!). Anyways, mistakes made in time trouble are admissible. This game was my runaway top choice. Congrats to Jorge!!
FM Ingvar Johannesson (3rd Place, 18 points): I am a big fan of Sammour-Hasbun's games. The guy can play, and he plays entertaining chess! It was especially nice how he uncorked the super tactical sequence starting with 13. e4! I watched this game live and every move impressed me, powerful forcing moves, doing everything for the initiative. Surprisingly this had been played before in an obscure game so not clear whether Sammou-Hasbun knew about this or found this over the board. Nevertheless 20. Nxb5 is a novelty according to my database and a stronger move according to my engine than the previously played 20. Qa3 in the stem game. From there on out Sammour-Hasbun held tight to the initiative, and Kacheishvili never got a chance to untangle and finally had to resign after some further nice tactical sequences near the end. A game I really enjoyed both watching live and analyzing again for the GOTY.
GM Jan Gustafsson (5th Place, 16 points): A line of the exchange Slav that is considered fairly harmless. Last time I checked, 12... Be7 was the move, and White has nothing. 12… Qc8 is asking for trouble, and Sammour-Hasbun doesn't disappoint. His double pawn sac followed by the Knight sac 20. Nxb5 to exploit his lead in development makes quite an impression and also seem to be correct. What's up with Kacheishvili, and why do all of his losses get nominated for GOTY? Must be some behind the scenes beef I'm not aware of.
WIM Alisa Melekhina (7th Place, 14 points): Leave it up to Sammour-Hasbun to make an opening supposedly as tedious as the Exchange Slav exciting. Using the inspired temporary double pawn sacrifice to creatively access the open c-file, Sammour-Hasbun was able to gain decisive control over the light squares that allowed him to unleash an unwavering series of threats on the back rank that once again left Kacheishvili in trouble and in a hopeless position.
FM Ron Young (7th Place, 14 points): As has been observed, this game shows that White can play the exchange line against the Slav and still switch to aggression, which makes it an attractive option for those subject to drastic mood changes. The 13. e4 break was quite instructive; in fact it has already helped me to solve one of Elizabeth Vicary's kids' games quizzes. The position after move thirty one was Soltis's quiz in his December 12 New York Post column, so it can't have been too trivial. On the other hand, I solved it.
Total Score of Sammour-Hasbun vs Kacheishvili: (2nd Place, 82 Points)
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Final 2010 Game of the Year Standings:
1st Place (82 Points): GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) vs GM Yury Shulman (STL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
2nd Place (82 Points): SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
3rd Place (79 Points): GM Yury Shulman (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
4th Place (68 Points): NM Eric Rosen (CHC) vs Alex Guo (SEA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
5th Place (65 Points): GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs IM Sam Shankland (NE) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
6th Place (64 Points): IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) vs GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
7th Place (60 Points): GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) vs GM Jesse Kraai (SF) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
8th Place (59 Points): GM Alex Stripunsky (MAN) vs GM Sergey Erenburg (BAL) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
9th Place (58 Points): IM Sam Shankland (NE) vs GM Julio Becerra (MIA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
10th Place (55 Points): IM Daniel Rensch (ARZ) vs WFM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
11th Place (53 Points): GM Yury Shulman (STL) vs IM Florin Felecan (CHC) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
12th Place (46 Points): GM Josh Friedel (SF) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
13th Place (42 Points): IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
14th Place (41 Points): IM Robert Hungaski (NE) vs IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
15th Place (40 Points): NM Ilya Krasik (BOS) vs NM Adithya Balasubramanian (BAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
16th Place (40 Points): Nicholas Rosenthal (MIA) vs NM Nick Thompson (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
17th Place (35 Points): GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) vs GM Josh Friedel (SF) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
18th Place (31 Points): GM Dmitry Gurevich (CHC) vs IM Rogelio Barcenilla (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
19th Place (27 Points): FM Charles Galofre (MIA) vs FM Marcel Milat (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
20th Place (23 Points): SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Sasha Kaplan (BAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
This is the eighteenth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2010 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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3rd Place: GM Yury Shulman (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 1-0
The strong 24. Rc5! by GM Shulman gave GM Khachiyan the unpleasant choice of permitting a White Knight on c5 or bringing his Queen away from the defense of c7, and soon White's initiative proved decisive.
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.
FM Ingvar Johannesson (2nd Place, 19 points): Originally I ranked this game four or five places lower. However this game grows on you, and I appreciate White's play here more and more with each viewing. Shulman just pounds on the initiative and what an unenviable job Khachiyan had of defending this! After sacking the Pawns in the opening, Black isn't given a moments rest, and then we see some all-star moves in 21. b4 and 23. Rc5! Then the absolute end is nicely calculated as White accurately exploits the clumsy positioning of the Black Rooks to win one of them!
GM Jan Gustafsson (2nd Place, 19 points): Very nice effort by Mr. Shulman! I lack expertise to comment much on the opening. Via some weird move-order the players get a topical Catalan line, where White gets long-lasting compensation for a sacrificed Pawn. Not that sure Shulman was better all the way, 17... Bb5 instead of the weakening 17... b5? comes to mind when Black should be alright. The way it went, the punishment is ruthless and very pretty, the star moves being 21. b4 and 23. Rc5! To calculate all this stuff to the end, especially that Black can't avoid losing one of his Rooks to the bare Queen in the end, is quite impressive. Hats off!
FM Ron Young (2nd Place, 19 points): I am dating myself, but I remember when Bobby Fischer was regarded simply as a Howard the Duck-like "trapped in a world he never made" character, and was still the subject of nostalgic, affectionate reminiscences on the rare occasions when chess was on television. A well-known chess fund raising and administering guy of the time said that Fischer's moves were so good that simply to watch them brought tears to his eyes, and I was extremely skeptical because if this guy understood chess so well as to realize what moves were cry-worthy, he would have cried himself dry before the move was even played on the board; in fact would be crying all the time, contemplating what accurate moves there were out there to be played, and though he might still, in his constant state of flowing tears, have been able to raise money, the way someone with a nice sob story is able to raise enough on the subway to feed himself, he probably could not raise the kind of money from the people with the thick wallets that would enable his organization to send teams and players and their captains and their seconds to foreign countries for weeks at a time and still leave enough to pay his own salary. But if making a move like 26. Bb3 in Fischer-Spassky Game 10 Reykjavik seem to have the same effect on the chess fan that some lovers of music report upon listening to Barber's "Adagio for Strings" or that certain art aficionados claim on viewing Bernini's "Ecstasy of Saint Theresa" makes it possible to support America's best chess players, then who am I to sneer? That said, 21. b4 was not bad and 23. Rc5 was ok.
WIM Alisa Melekhina (8th Place, 13 points): This high-caliber game between two eminent GMs was an unequivocal demonstration of Shulman's strength. After enticing 10... Nxd4, Shulman prevented any opportunity Black had to castle until Black's defensive resources finally collapsed. Black was bound to be punished with his displaced centralized King and dislocated Rooks, and sure enough the clever combination with 28. Rxe7+ entailing an inevitable win of one of the Rooks fittingly did just that.
GM Robert Hess (12th Place, 9 points): I feel a bit better now that I have a Shulman victory on my list. For a minute there I thought Yury was becoming the poster boy for Game of the Year losses, which would be awfully unfortunate considering was a great player he is. Anyways, Yury punished Melik for being greedy this game. Not surprising considering how well Yury knows his openings, but still a nice victory over a very strong GM in Khachiyan. Melik was fighting valiantly, and looking back it seems that he should have played Rd8 at some point to protect his d7 bishop. But OK, hard to fend off so many threats, can't really blame Melik for faltering. Yury played a very smooth game and deserved the win.
Total Score of Shulman vs Khachiyan: (3rd Place, 79 Points)
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Stay tuned for the final articles in the next couple of days to see which of the following two games will be the 2010 Game of the Year!
Week 10: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 1-0 Article
Wildcard #2: GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) vs GM Yury Shulman (STL) 1-0 Article
Eliminated:
3rd Place (79 Points): GM Yury Shulman (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
4th Place (68 Points): NM Eric Rosen (CHC) vs Alex Guo (SEA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
5th Place (65 Points): GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs IM Sam Shankland (NE) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
6th Place (64 Points): IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) vs GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
7th Place (60 Points): GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) vs GM Jesse Kraai (SF) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
8th Place (59 Points): GM Alex Stripunsky (MAN) vs GM Sergey Erenburg (BAL) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
9th Place (58 Points): IM Sam Shankland (NE) vs GM Julio Becerra (MIA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
10th Place (55 Points): IM Daniel Rensch (ARZ) vs WFM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
11th Place (53 Points): GM Yury Shulman (STL) vs IM Florin Felecan (CHC) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
12th Place (46 Points): GM Josh Friedel (SF) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
13th Place (42 Points): IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
14th Place (41 Points): IM Robert Hungaski (NE) vs IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
15th Place (40 Points): NM Ilya Krasik (BOS) vs NM Adithya Balasubramanian (BAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
16th Place (40 Points): Nicholas Rosenthal (MIA) vs NM Nick Thompson (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
17th Place (35 Points): GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) vs GM Josh Friedel (SF) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
18th Place (31 Points): GM Dmitry Gurevich (CHC) vs IM Rogelio Barcenilla (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
19th Place (27 Points): FM Charles Galofre (MIA) vs FM Marcel Milat (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
20th Place (23 Points): SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Sasha Kaplan (BAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
This is the seventeenth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2010 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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4th Place: NM Eric Rosen (CHC) vs Alex Guo (SEA) 0-1
The nice, well calculated shot 35... Bxh3!, won the game for Guo, making this one of the most creative games seen on Board Four in USCL History.
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.
FM Ron Young (3rd Place, 18 points): When I was a kid I read Nimzovich's "Mein System" and "Die Praxis of Mein System", but I never did see "Die Blockade" and have often wondered what sort of marvels it contains. I believe now that I know at last.
GM Jan Gustafsson (6th Place, 15 points): Some odd line in the French is played. White should be better, but the position is not so easy to play. I'm not a big fan of the move 12. Bd2 and kind of surprised Black doesn't go Nc4 for several moves, moving his Pawns instead. Also curious why White didn't go Rc1 to take out that option. Anyway, once Black does go Nc4, the timing seems a little off, and it should lead to trouble, 19. Qe2 to take on c4 comes to mind. Ra5-Rd5 gets credit for creativity though, and after that it's never clear cut. Black plays very well from then on, takes over the initiative and finishes in style with the cute shot 35... Bxh3!
GM Robert Hess (8th Place, 13 points): For a battle on the fourth board, this game is of astounding quality. Rosen was very much in control early on, and probably should have won one of Black’s weak Pawns at some point. However, Guo's Ra8-a5-d5 was the maneuver of the year in my opinion. It's funny that Rosen's best option was to ignore the Rook for a bit, but it really is difficult not to take the present! Guo never seemed in trouble after that, shutting down both sides of the board until he wanted to break them open. A nice display of strong chess between two young, improving players.
FM Ingvar Johannesson (10th Place, 11 points): I like this game a little more as I play the French Defence myself. I thought Black played this very creatively and insisted on forcing his blocking strategy upon White with the exchange sacrifice Ra5-d5 which is very Petrosian like. At first sight, sacking the exchange and then having such a seemingly passive Bishop on e6 just shouldn't work but the closed nature of the position meant White had a hard time doing anything about it. The sacrifice in the end was also nice as were the accurate Queen checks. Having said that, looking at it again definitely there are some improvements for White. For instance he should play on the Kingside and so g3 must be better than h3, trying to force through g4 and f5. Instead he got blocked up by ... h4. Also after ... Ra5 maybe White has Qe2 just attacking the c4 pawn which must be defended by ... b5 and then just play d5 and White should stand better as ...Ra5 is losing time. But again the end after ... Bxh3 was very nice but this game moved down in the rankings the more I looked at it because I think White didn't play the opening very well.
WIM Alisa Melekhina (10th Place, 11 points): Another thrilling upset by one of the lower boards deserving of being in the top ten. Guo demonstrated great resourcefulness and maturity with his creative Rook lift and sacrifice and by eventually turning the tables on White’s attack. He aptly employed his Bishop pair to relentlessly harass White's King, consuming his experienced opponent in the process.
Total Score of Rosen vs Guo: (4th Place, 68 Points)
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Stay tuned for three more such articles as the field shrinks by one game every couple of days to see which of the following games will be the 2010 Game of the Year!
Week 1: GM Yury Shulman (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 1-0 Article
Week 10: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 1-0 Article
Wildcard #2: GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) vs GM Yury Shulman (STL) 1-0 Article
Eliminated:
4th Place (68 Points): NM Eric Rosen (CHC) vs Alex Guo (SEA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
5th Place (65 Points): GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs IM Sam Shankland (NE) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
6th Place (64 Points): IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) vs GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
7th Place (60 Points): GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) vs GM Jesse Kraai (SF) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
8th Place (59 Points): GM Alex Stripunsky (MAN) vs GM Sergey Erenburg (BAL) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
9th Place (58 Points): IM Sam Shankland (NE) vs GM Julio Becerra (MIA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
10th Place (55 Points): IM Daniel Rensch (ARZ) vs WFM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
11th Place (53 Points): GM Yury Shulman (STL) vs IM Florin Felecan (CHC) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
12th Place (46 Points): GM Josh Friedel (SF) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
13th Place (42 Points): IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
14th Place (41 Points): IM Robert Hungaski (NE) vs IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
15th Place (40 Points): NM Ilya Krasik (BOS) vs NM Adithya Balasubramanian (BAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
16th Place (40 Points): Nicholas Rosenthal (MIA) vs NM Nick Thompson (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
17th Place (35 Points): GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) vs GM Josh Friedel (SF) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
18th Place (31 Points): GM Dmitry Gurevich (CHC) vs IM Rogelio Barcenilla (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
19th Place (27 Points): FM Charles Galofre (MIA) vs FM Marcel Milat (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
20th Place (23 Points): SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Sasha Kaplan (BAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
This is the sixteenth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2010 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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5th Place: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs IM Sam Shankland (NE) 0-1
The somewhat counter intuitive 40... Kd4!, placing the King in front of the passed Pawns, sealed White's fate as the followup of Ne3+ trading Knights, ensured the triumph of Black's Pawn array.
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.
WIM Alisa Melekhina (3rd Place, 18 points): The unwary opponent may find himself the prey of one of Shankland's dangerous opening lines, and indeed Kacheishvili was the next victim of not only excellent preparation, but an uncompromising finish. Shankland is to be commended for his courageous opening choice against a seasoned GM, and for his precision in utilizing the Pawn majority in the remainder of the game.
GM Robert Hess (5th Place, 16 points): Sam is all over the top spots on my ranking list here. Well deserved, indeed, with two convincing wins over high class GMs. This one I liked a bit less, as I generally don't favor long variations that have been played so many times and do like this variation for Black. However, Sam showed deep knowledge of the opening, and his extensive preparation catapulted him to victory. Giorgi should have attempted to repeat moves 27. Rb5, but from there on Sam played flawlessly. Another impressive showing from the recent retiree.
FM Ingvar Johannesson (9th Place, 12 points): Again not the most exciting game, no big attack, no big sacs. However a very well played game by Black. He seemed well prepared, and he conducted the endgame excellently. Probably White made a mistake exchanging Queens and giving Black such a great set of connected passed Pawns in the center.
FM Ron Young (10th Place, 11 points): The Pawn swarm overwhelming the piece reminds me of those National Geographic videos of a pack of hyenas taking down a lion. But I always feel bad when that happens. I expected a battle over whose terms the Queens would be exchanged on, but White didn't seem up for that.
GM Jan Gustafsson (13th Place, 8 points): Heavy theory Slav. The resulting positions with a piece for three Pawns have always been considered slightly better for White, but deep down inside I've always been scared of this very game scenario, the three pawns just running up the board. Good game by Shankland, but Commissioner Shahade advised me not to give props to games that feature Queen exchanges and no heavy sacrifices, sorry!
Total Score of Kacheishvili vs Shankland: (5th Place, 65 Points)
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Stay tuned for four more such articles as the field shrinks by one game every couple of days to see which of the following games will be the 2010 Game of the Year!
Week 1: GM Yury Shulman (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 1-0 Article
Week 10: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 1-0 Article
Wildcard #1: NM Eric Rosen (CHC) vs Alex Guo (SEA) 0-1 Article
Wildcard #2: GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) vs GM Yury Shulman (STL) 1-0 Article
Eliminated:
5th Place (65 Points): GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs IM Sam Shankland (NE) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
6th Place (64 Points): IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) vs GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
7th Place (60 Points): GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) vs GM Jesse Kraai (SF) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
8th Place (59 Points): GM Alex Stripunsky (MAN) vs GM Sergey Erenburg (BAL) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
9th Place (58 Points): IM Sam Shankland (NE) vs GM Julio Becerra (MIA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
10th Place (55 Points): IM Daniel Rensch (ARZ) vs WFM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
11th Place (53 Points): GM Yury Shulman (STL) vs IM Florin Felecan (CHC) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
12th Place (46 Points): GM Josh Friedel (SF) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
13th Place (42 Points): IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
14th Place (41 Points): IM Robert Hungaski (NE) vs IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
15th Place (40 Points): NM Ilya Krasik (BOS) vs NM Adithya Balasubramanian (BAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
16th Place (40 Points): Nicholas Rosenthal (MIA) vs NM Nick Thompson (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
17th Place (35 Points): GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) vs GM Josh Friedel (SF) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
18th Place (31 Points): GM Dmitry Gurevich (CHC) vs IM Rogelio Barcenilla (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
19th Place (27 Points): FM Charles Galofre (MIA) vs FM Marcel Milat (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
20th Place (23 Points): SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Sasha Kaplan (BAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
This is the fifteenth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2010 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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6th Place: IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) vs GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) 0-1
With the clever 29... Nh3!, GM Christiansen forced the return of his sacrificed material and also destroyed IM Schroer's Pawn structure, eventually capitalizing on the latter to win a tricky ending.
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.
WIM Alisa Melekhina (5th Place, 16 points): A week later finds Schroer on the receiving end of a series of ruthless tactics. It seemed as if he had neutralized Christiansen's spatial advantage with a sequence of Knight maneuvers to establish outposts, but Christiansen's ominous positional sacrifice with 17... f5 was a preview of the startling sacrifices instigated by 25... b3 and 26... Nxf2. 29... Nh3 with the callous threat of smothered mate must be the most vicious tactic I have recently seen in high-level chess; 30. Rd2 could not have been a happy reply to make. However, Schroer did not make Christiansen's job that easy, and made a tremendous effort to put up resistance that made the game suspenseful even after looking over it the first time.
FM Ingvar Johannesson (6th Place, 15 points): Man, you gotta love Larry C! This guy sure knows how to attack. He plays a Benoni which seems fairly fitting for an attacking player and begins by sacking a Pawn. He even develops tactically with 17... Nd7 (18. Nxd6 Bxb2 I presume). Then he gets to sac a piece on f2 and follows up with the nice looking 29... Nh3 move. From here, Schroer defends remarkably tenaciously and the only thing spoiling this game was how long it took to get the 0-1 on the scoresheet. My feeling was the win should have been a lot quicker and would have given it a higher ranking if so.
GM Jan Gustafsson (8th Place, 13 points): And another typical Christiansen game. Unbalanced structure, I don't quite like it for Black, looks positionally suspect, blabla. But given the chance with 25. Bd3?, he strikes with the sequence starting with b3!, 29... Nh3 being the star move. The rest of the game is an uphill struggle all the way.
GM Robert Hess (9th Place, 12 points): LarryC is afraid of no person or position. With 17... f5, he bravely opened the position, albeit giving Schroer a Pawn and an edge. Schroer couldn't decide where to keep his light-squared Bishop, subsequently making three straight moves with the piece. Many more sacrifices ensued, and LarryC obviously felt more comfortable. Schroer had chances to retain a nice edge, but kept faltering due to innumerable threats. Schroer should have put a Rook on e1 instead of d1, thus keeping e3 under control. After the exchange sacrifice and the beautiful 29... Nh3, the game should have been over quickly, but credit must be given to Schroer for fighting so valiantly. All in all, a tense tactical battle where LarryC out dueled his counterpart.
FM Ron Young (13th Place, 8 points): When this game won Game of the Week, Christiansen asked that he be judged tougher in the future, so I will try to do that. I do, though, feel he was too hard on himself in saying he should have been arrested for impersonating a GM in the ending. In fact, that is the last thing I'd have accused him of doing there. Still, it was a nice middlegame. It's not Larry's fault Schroer didn't fall for the smothered mate.
Total Score of Schroer vs Christiansen: (6th Place, 64 Points)
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Stay tuned for five more such articles as the field shrinks by one game every couple of days to see which of the following games will be the 2010 Game of the Year!
Week 1: GM Yury Shulman (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 1-0 Article
Week 10: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 1-0 Article
Wildcard #1: NM Eric Rosen (CHC) vs Alex Guo (SEA) 0-1 Article
Wildcard #2: GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) vs GM Yury Shulman (STL) 1-0 Article
Wildcard #3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs IM Sam Shankland (NE) 0-1 Article
Eliminated:
6th Place (64 Points): IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) vs GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
7th Place (60 Points): GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) vs GM Jesse Kraai (SF) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
8th Place (59 Points): GM Alex Stripunsky (MAN) vs GM Sergey Erenburg (BAL) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
9th Place (58 Points): IM Sam Shankland (NE) vs GM Julio Becerra (MIA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
10th Place (55 Points): IM Daniel Rensch (ARZ) vs WFM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
11th Place (53 Points): GM Yury Shulman (STL) vs IM Florin Felecan (CHC) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
12th Place (46 Points): GM Josh Friedel (SF) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
13th Place (42 Points): IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
14th Place (41 Points): IM Robert Hungaski (NE) vs IM Jonathan Schroer (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
15th Place (40 Points): NM Ilya Krasik (BOS) vs NM Adithya Balasubramanian (BAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
16th Place (40 Points): Nicholas Rosenthal (MIA) vs NM Nick Thompson (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
17th Place (35 Points): GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) vs GM Josh Friedel (SF) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
18th Place (31 Points): GM Dmitry Gurevich (CHC) vs IM Rogelio Barcenilla (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
19th Place (27 Points): FM Charles Galofre (MIA) vs FM Marcel Milat (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
20th Place (23 Points): SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Sasha Kaplan (BAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
