tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post1843512192657964518..comments2023-03-23T11:12:13.191-07:00Comments on US Chess League News: 2008 Board Four All StarsArun Sharmahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17502944059031864655noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-53722854406117258462008-12-17T15:13:00.000-08:002008-12-17T15:13:00.000-08:00he dosent have to put his name down, he and i, are...he dosent have to put his name down, he and i, are just a few examples of all the people that dislike your attitude. chess is a game, it isnt something that you should be cursing at people about. so i agree with the other guy, dont talk trash or keep your mouth shut.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-29051492693882250632008-12-16T16:23:00.000-08:002008-12-16T16:23:00.000-08:00another anonymous coward....put your name down bud...another anonymous coward....put your name down buddy and then we can discuss these issues you raise.Ilyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05998314504780560129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-6182597449656955902008-12-16T15:38:00.000-08:002008-12-16T15:38:00.000-08:00ilya you really should get over yourself, there is...ilya you really should get over yourself, there is one comment made by a random guy and you make it into a slug fest. you should get the fact that people ARE better than you through your head, because on top of not being by any standards the best player in the league, you also have the worst sportsmanship of anyone in the league, people ARE entitled to what they think and you should accept that or just keep your mouth shut. if you can manage to shut up you would have suprised even me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-5459241045535854552008-12-15T16:21:00.000-08:002008-12-15T16:21:00.000-08:00I think bitch has only five letters, Ilya.I think bitch has only five letters, Ilya.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-31730407841958122012008-12-14T18:42:00.000-08:002008-12-14T18:42:00.000-08:00Leaf's fans dont get a podium sorry... :)Leaf's fans dont get a podium sorry... :)Ilyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05998314504780560129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-34788200250916668922008-12-14T13:27:00.000-08:002008-12-14T13:27:00.000-08:00I propose a cage death match between Matt and Ilya...I propose a cage death match between Matt and Ilya. Probably the only way to decide matters.<BR/><BR/>Oh sorry I forgot,<BR/><BR/>ZOMG WHAT ABOUT ME etc.Matanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16991352805233306809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-65072995833712506592008-12-12T19:31:00.000-08:002008-12-12T19:31:00.000-08:00Who got the 50 bucks? b...tch.:)Who got the 50 bucks? b...tch.:)Ilyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05998314504780560129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-70614931318929800952008-12-12T18:33:00.000-08:002008-12-12T18:33:00.000-08:00The last word is yours; the last move was mine.The last word is yours; the last move was mine.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-29291567016757704792008-12-12T15:12:00.000-08:002008-12-12T15:12:00.000-08:00I like your ability to twist facts, maybe you shou...I like your ability to twist facts, maybe you should try Law School as far as I know the person trying to make a ruling is the officially disignated person to make those rulings, and in this instance he was overuled which was a clear VIOLATION of the league rules. Then you attempted to blackmail Greg and the whole league by threatening to withdraw from them league if you dont get your way. Of course everyone can point fingers and say it wasnt me,someone was using the computer... ultimately the whole team has to accept responsibility for these embarrasing actions. Now as much as feel for your playoff chances, it is hard to imagine you guys want to get into them in this cheap manner. I have a lot of respect for some members of the New York Knights and for some I dont have even one iota because of this kind of behavoir which has become a pattern over the years.Ilyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05998314504780560129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-7756521922903232382008-12-12T14:16:00.001-08:002008-12-12T14:16:00.001-08:00It's possible to question a decision without whini...It's possible to question a decision without whining. Subsequent analysis showed the pawn sacrifice wasn't dubious (with best play a draw would arise) and you're responsible for your moves. The context of the Kahn game was that our playoff chances were on the line and the Arbiter was intervening in a way not sanctioned by the league rules. The comment that you refer to was not made by me, but by someone who temporarily used my machine to chat with Greg. Not sure what you're referring to re: Dallas/Zorigt, but I was sympathizing with the frustration of coming close and missing. As they say, "fourth time's the charm."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-55196051913322467742008-12-12T14:16:00.000-08:002008-12-12T14:16:00.000-08:00Lets do a poll, who thinks that the mouslick draw ...Lets do a poll, who thinks that the mouslick draw offer is as Mathew Herman thinks is just "luck" inherent in chess?Ilyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05998314504780560129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-75257176968752130062008-12-12T13:52:00.000-08:002008-12-12T13:52:00.000-08:00First of all your post clearly indicated a whining...First of all your post clearly indicated a whining tone, "why didnt they choose me", I am more deserving". Chess is luck as you say but when you play a dubious move and then win because of my subsequent mistakes, thats of course nature taking its course, right? If I were you I wouldnt even bring up luck in reference to the mouseclick draw offer, it is simply embarrasing! Not the mention your teams reaction which I heard was completely absurd. Telling Greg if he doesnt allow the draw to stand-- the Knights will quit the League. I believe you guys got fined for those remarks but this kind of pathetic blackmail should be completely eradicated. Yes, I recall your Rook and two connected pawns fiasco vs Shakland... And dont even get me started on my game vs Dallas and Zorigt because if I say what I really feel (as do some others around the league) on this matter I will simply be banned for next season and I already have been warned to that effect. Thats my two cents... Dont worry, your time will come Mr Herman.Ilyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05998314504780560129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-2571145610663932442008-12-12T13:22:00.000-08:002008-12-12T13:22:00.000-08:00There wasn't a single "whining or disparaging comm...There wasn't a single "whining or disparaging comment", Ilya, merely a calm presentation of facts and questions. I "certainly didn't help matters" during the Carolina playoff match because I didn't play, which merely strengthens my 5-1 vs 0-5 point.<BR/><BR/>You had a great run and performed spectacularly during the back half of the season. You're also absolutely correct that critical games ought to carry significant weight. I converted three must-win, playoff-like games for the Knights, including one where you whined about the soundness of my play and got mated in 25 moves. You won two playoff games for Boston. You also played recklessly with black and cost your team the league championship (I've been there -- I blew a R+2p vs R in the Finals vs San Francisco two years ago).<BR/><BR/>Everyone keeps mentioning the Kahn game. Chess has luck. Period. Kahn was "lucky" I missed a one-move win earlier in the aforementioned game; I was "lucky" that he either misclicked or panicked and offered a draw. Did they deny Carolina a playoff spot a few years ago when a Tennessee player flagged (with increment) in a position an 800 could win? <BR/><BR/>Finally, I don't have "anonymous cronies". If folks who eschew self-identification agree with me, so be it. We do have one point of agreement -- Marc definitely deserved to be on the 1st team.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-1580913851631864602008-12-12T10:37:00.000-08:002008-12-12T10:37:00.000-08:00Herman' whining and disparaging comments are stran...Herman' whining and disparaging comments are strange to see. Herman scored +1, not including the obvious mouslip draw... and his team lost 3.5-.5 to Carolina in rd 1 of the playoffs. One thing needs to be clarified I think, does the regular season and playoffs count the same or not. I strongly believed Marc Esserman should have won best board 3 award because in my mind, playoffs are WAY MORE IMPORTANT. Winning clutch regular season games is important of course too, which I guess is what Herman's point was, but NY got killed in Rd 1 of the playoffs and Herman certainly did not help matters. <BR/> I am sorry Matt, you did have a good regular season, but I played more games than you, I won more clutch/playoff games than you especially the one in the Semis to overcome our 2nd draw odds in a row and as Arun pointed out my record was better than yours +2 vs +1 asumming you dont really count that mouslip draw...Esserman and I were sitting there that night trying to figure out if your opponent was on crack offering u a draw when you were dead lost. So why dont you and your annonymous cronies chill out with the disparaging remarks, I can sit here and bitch about not being 2nd board considering rodriguez hasnt been seen since week 7, but guess what he had a great season and a great score and I got 3rd-- ce la vie.Ilyahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05998314504780560129noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-16092481868238340332008-12-12T09:32:00.000-08:002008-12-12T09:32:00.000-08:00Ok first off, thanks for the comment about the Lea...Ok first off, thanks for the comment about the League Matthew, it's nice that some people think so well of it.<BR/><BR/>In regards to "lumping you" with Johnson, that clearly wasn't meant to imply that the two of you were "equal" candidates - as you noted, he was not even eligible. If you check the writeup of the other boards, basically what I did was I listed all players who scored +2 or better (assuming I didn't miss anyone), in the "Other Candidates" section which is the category both of you fell into - but I really only provided any comments in that section about the players who were seriously considered for the spot, and to be honest for this particular spot, our debate was really only between Krasik and Young for it (which was why I didn't take note of your clutch late season run - which clearly was noteworthy also).<BR/><BR/>In regards to the "played more games" comment, the basic issue was you, like Ilya, both had +2 showings, and the fact that he played several more games than you (mainly three playoff games compared to none by you) was really what set the two of you apart. Like other players, that may not have been under your control (similar to Esserman vs Shankland), but nevertheless we did consider it very relevant. <BR/><BR/>One large thing to me though was that statistically Young would probably have to be considered higher than you as the two of you played a similar number of games, but he had a higher win percentage and much higher performance rating. Considering that we still chose to put Ilya above him shows how much we really valued the above factor and under that point of view it's honestly hard to consider you a serious candidate in comparison to the two of them. I wouldn't blame anyone for disagreeing with that way of looking at it - as mentioned in the article it was basically the All Star philosophy we chose to go with, and I'm sure many would have chosen the other route.<BR/><BR/>And as Greg mentioned, we also did count your game vs Kahn as a loss for these purposes which was the biggest thing in preventing you from getting serious consideration for the team.<BR/><BR/>But to be honest even without that fact, as I basically said, in my mind I would have still had to put Young above you given the statistical difference - so at least to me it still would have been a choice between Krasik and Young.<BR/><BR/>Nevertheless, you did have a very strong late season in helping New York on that magical run - you are definitely correct that I'd completely counted your team out of the running, and you were definitely a huge part in proving me wrong so congrats on a strong season.Arun Sharmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17502944059031864655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-7181901460053480922008-12-12T09:28:00.000-08:002008-12-12T09:28:00.000-08:00Anyway thanks for the kind words Matthew, I'm happ...Anyway thanks for the kind words Matthew, I'm happy that you enjoy the league. I agree that your late run and Ilya's were quite similar, but I think in the end we made the best choice we could with the information we had.Greg Shahadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00233341816210357863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-77630262506233713642008-12-12T09:19:00.000-08:002008-12-12T09:19:00.000-08:00Please note that any consideration made of Herman ...Please note that any consideration made of Herman would probably approximate his score as 1/2 point lower, as he drew a game solely due to a mouseslip draw offer. We consider that stuff in all cases if relevant. <BR/><BR/> For example Kuljasevic probably would have lost a game in Week 1 to Friedel if SF didn't need a draw to win the match. It wasn't quite as clear as the Kahn-Herman game but if for some reason it was a really really close call between Kulj and someone else, we might give the nod to that other player (it wasn't close though).<BR/><BR/> This is just an example but the main point is that when I calculate the scores I have Krasik as +2 and Herman as closer to +1, which makes a huge difference IMO.<BR/><BR/> It's not as though we calculate such things if someone is losing and comes back and wins, but this incident was on a whole other level and it was through no skill of Herman that he achieved a draw in that particular game. It's basically the kind of thing that means if it's a close call between Herman and someone else, Herman won't get the nod, and if it's not really close, it won't matter.<BR/><BR/> Hope this clears up the process a little bit.Greg Shahadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00233341816210357863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-34612311755341787982008-12-12T07:36:00.000-08:002008-12-12T07:36:00.000-08:00FYI... you could make a case for Ilya being Boston...FYI... you could make a case for Ilya being Boston's MVP. Every time he scored Boston won and every time he lost, Boston lost. His brilliant streak of wins is what put Boston into the finals. He and Marc carried the team to the end. Blaming Ilya for the finals loss is silly... Dallas is a well balanced team and just plain gutted out a win.Mark LaRoccahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09882440617647268171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-12286207711955502122008-12-12T04:58:00.000-08:002008-12-12T04:58:00.000-08:00i think herman was more deserving than ilya as wel...i think herman was more deserving than ilya as well, boston has other players that they could have fit in, ilya was not there star by any standards, as as herman pointed out once they put him in the lineup NY started to win, and eventually shock everyone by making the playoffs. also ilya slipped up when it mattered most in the playoffs, only needing a draw to win the match which he couldnt getAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-37726390950440343972008-12-12T03:26:00.000-08:002008-12-12T03:26:00.000-08:00Congratulations to Bayaraa, Eric and Ilya. Incredi...Congratulations to Bayaraa, Eric and Ilya. Incredible season and a well-deserved championship for Dallas. Greg and Arun, great job as always. This league is probably the best run chess organization in the world and is something its organizers, players, managers and fans can be proud of.<BR/><BR/>Some questions about the medals:<BR/><BR/>"Solid showings were also turned in by NM Matthew Herman and NM Joel Johnson (ARZ), both of whom could well have been in the running, especially if they had played more games."<BR/><BR/>Not sure how I got lumped in with Joel's two-game season. I played as many games as Angelo and Eric, and your rules state that it takes only 5 games to be eligible.<BR/><BR/>Furthermore, you emphasize how Ilya "caught fire at the most important part of the season" and how Angelo won "...some key games which were huge in helping the Blaze stay in the thick of the playoff race until the very end."<BR/><BR/>Here are some facts:<BR/>*New York was 1-5 and left for dead by every commentator.<BR/>*We stormed back to win 4 in a row to qualify for the playoffs. <BR/>(If I'm not mistaken, an unprecedented feat.)<BR/>*Over those 4 matches, I was 3.5/4 (including a victory over your bronze medalist during his 1.5/5 start that left Boston fighting for its playoff life).<BR/>*New York was 5-1 with me in the lineup this year and 0-5 without. Does any other medalist here have such an 83% performance gap?<BR/>*2301 - 2144 = 157 <BR/>*2367 - 2187 = 180<BR/><BR/>In sum, I beat Ilya on categories 1/3/8. He was better on 2. We were both fairly clutch, irreplacable (though my claim is backed up by results -- Boston just doesn't have another eligible board 4) and underrated.<BR/><BR/>See you next year!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-36019830207944557622008-12-11T23:55:00.000-08:002008-12-11T23:55:00.000-08:00Yes I noticed that but it unfortunately just worke...Yes I noticed that but it unfortunately just worked out that way. Ron Simpson would normally be a surefire AllStar but was stuck on the most highly achieving Board in USCL history.<BR/><BR/> The other players, while they all had quite good seasons, just didn't have the credentials needed.....Probably the entire team was ranked 4th-7th for their board, which makes them overall a very above average team.<BR/><BR/> Another example of this is in 2006, when Boston ran away with the Eastern Division yet had zero All-Stars. Sometimes it just turns out that way.Greg Shahadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00233341816210357863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2681850489432318981.post-35567781912469206752008-12-11T23:27:00.000-08:002008-12-11T23:27:00.000-08:00This is not a criticism of your selections, but I ...This is not a criticism of your selections, but I find it interesting that Carolina gets no all-stars. Nine teams got at least one. The other three Conference finalists got two.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com