US Chess League News

Game of the Year -- 1st Place

2012-01-26T02:32:00.000-08:00

This is the final part in a series of articles which has counted down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 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 Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1

After a somewhat uncommon opening, GM Khachiyan kept the game interesting with the strong exchange sacrifice 20... Rxg2! and eventually emerged on top

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 (1st Place, 20 points): A very elegant, well-conducted game that shows just how little White has to do to lose to the Schliemann. It even seems that the less White does, the easier for him to lose. For regular sufferers from the "Spanish torture", the final position with White's Bishop trapped on e8 was a bit of second-hand revenge.

FM Victor Shen (1st Place, 20 points): It was extremely difficult for me to pick a winner this year - among my top three choices, I felt like I could give any of them the top spot based on different criteria. But I'm going to nominate this game as GOTY for several reasons. One, it was an interesting opening - Chirila deviated from Anand vs Ivanchuk 2011 (improving on a World Champion's play!?) with 10. Nh4 instead of c3. Of course, Khachiyan then took advantage of this to play 10... Nd4, centralizing the Knight and gaining a tempo. He then had to play very accurately to ensure it wouldn't just be kicked out immediately. 15... f5! followed by the nice 17... e4! gave him the initiative and good practical chances. Chirila's natural 19. Bf4 instead of Bd2 allowed Qf6! forking both the b2 pawn as well as the g2 Pawn (!) preparing an exchange sacrifice. For the exchange, Black got a Pawn, an exposed White King, a weak Pawn on f2, harmonious piece play and a strong e-pawn. It was still unclear after this exchange sacrifice, and following an exchange of Queens, White would probably have had good drawing chances had he played 27. Bxc6 instead of Rae1. As it was, this allowed for a decisive repositioning of the Black Knight to e5, from where it dominated the White Bishop. The final touch, Kg7-Kh6, taking away the White Bishop's last escape square was quite beautiful. Overall, a fantastic game by Black, combining subtle tactics and positional mastery. The fact that Chirila only really made one mistake the whole game, and a natural move too (27. Rae1?) underlies the class that Khachiyan showed.

FM Alisa Melekhina (2nd Place, 19 points): As a fan of sidelines, I was rooting for this Schliemann, especially with the daring 20… Rxg2! Unfortunately, White could have made Black's life more difficult by following through with 27. Bxc6 instead of playing right into his hands with 27. Rae1. Chirila was not given a second opportunity to recover, and the game culminated in a noteworthy victory for Khachiyan when White's Bishop was unexpectedly snared. I would like to see more main-line deviations from both colors in future USCL games.

FM Ingvar Johannesson (4th Place, 17 points): Khachiyan played the increasingly popular (thanks to Radjabov I guess) Jaenisch Gambit against the Spanish. Black emerged with no problems from the opening and seemed to be slightly preferable from about move 16-19 when he suddenly changed the course of the game and took over with the eye pleasing 20... Rxg2! A classical exchange sacrifice giving Black complete control over the dark squares and White a weakened King position. I really like the domination of the dark squared Bishop + Knight vs light squared Bishop + passive Rook. Even with all this fancy stuff, White was still in the game fighting and probably had to try and get active with 26. a4 (27. Bxc6 also seems like a better try). Instead White allowed Khachiyan a cheeky finish trapping the Bishop on e8 with the maneuver Kg7-h6 blocking the last escape square on h5 and forcing resignation. I think Black‘s play was very nice and thematic, but White could perhaps have fought better in some places.

GM Alex Lenderman (7th Place, 14 points): Exchange sacrifice was one of the biggest trademarks of the 9th World Champion, the great Tigran Petrosian, and Melik surely must've done his homework on looking at his games and now exchange sacrifices seem to be Melik's trademark as well, which I myself have experienced first hand in the US Championships in 2010 when I was on the losing side.

That aside, 20... Rxg2 was very nice, and Black all in all won a decent game. However, White played a little bit dull in the opening, seems like he did not know the line very well and played the rare 6. Bg5 which doesn't seem to give much and hasn't produced very good results. Black outplayed him nicely with logical straight forward moves followed by the Rxg2! shot. However, the main reason why the game missed my Top Five was because Black seemingly slipped up a clearly better game.

For example, 23... Rf8 seems to be inaccurate due to Qg4 forcing the Queen exchange. Instead 23... d5! 24. Qg4 Qf6 would maintain an edge because White also has to worry about a bad King while Black is completely safe, and the Bishop on h5 would be tied up. As the game went on, White instead of 26. Be8?! (it should guard the e2 square), 26. a4! was a nice opportunity for a counterplay since on 26... b4 27. cxb4 followed by Rac1 with pressure on c6. After a4, the position seems unclear, and Black has to play accurately to maintain the balance.

After the logical 26... e3, White lost control with 27. Rae1? as instead 27. Bxc6 e2 28. Rxf2 Rxf2 29. Kg1, White was still in the game. e1 was simply a poor square for the Rook. After Black repositioned his Knight to e5 and consolidated everything, the game was pretty much lost as White was left without counterplay with all his pieces tied up. Decent game, but really nothing super special, White didn't play very well both in the opening, in the middle game, and missed his chances in the endgame, and it wasn't completely perfect from the Black side either.

Total Score of Chirila vs Khachiyan: (1st Place, 90 Points)

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Game of the Year Final Standings:

1st Place (90 Points): GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

2nd Place (83 Points): SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

3rd Place (73 Points): GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

4th Place (70 Points): SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

5th Place (66 Points): GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

6th Place (62 Points): GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

7th Place (56 Points): IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

8th Place (52 Points): WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

9th Place (51 Points): IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

10th Place (48 Points): GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

11th Place (47 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

12th Place (46 Points): IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

13th Place (45 Points): GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

14th Place (44 Points): GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

15th Place (43 Points): GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

16th Place (43 Points): GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

17th Place (42 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

18th Place (32 Points): GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 2nd Place

2012-01-26T02:31:00.000-08:00

It's hard to pinpoint where Black went wrong, after 24... Bd5 25. Bf3 the game seems to be over, and even there it's hard to find an improvement. Only slight criticism was not going 28. Qg3, but the game continuation was very convincing, and we had a standard flashy Sammour-Hasbun finish. I went a bit back and forth with my first through third picks, but this ended up being my GOTY.

GM Alex Lenderman (3rd Place, 18 points): Very nice effort by Sammour-Hasbun, and this game shows his power with the initiative. Very nice attack after a topical line in a sharp Sicilian, the Poisioned Pawn. The reason it's only third place is because Black started playing a bit too passively with 15... Qd6 followed by 15... Qc7, which wasn't best in this type of position. 15... Qa5 followed by Qg5, or maybe even h3 included somewhere probably was more to the point with an unclear game as there were some topical games played in this line. Since it seemed Black gave White too much of a free hand in this game compared to my Top Two finishers and because it wasn't a playoff game, I wound up giving it third.

FM Victor Shen (3rd Place, 18 points): A nice attacking game where Sammour-Hasbun really showed a great understanding of the Poisoned Pawn positions. Both players were playing quite well, navigating through the complications until Milman erred first with the unbelievably natural 21... Bc5+. The subtle problem with this move was that it allowed Ng7+, a bigger deal than he had probably expected. Sammour-Hasbun then paralyzed Black with his Knight, traded off Black's active light squared Bishop that was controlling d7, took control of the d-file, and won nicely. All in all, a complicated game where Sammour-Hasbun showed his great feel for dynamic positions.

FM Alisa Melekhina (6th Place, 15 points): When deciding between Sammour-Hasbun's three highly qualified submissions, this was relatively the weakest link of the three. Granted, all of the moves were logical, and the attack was tactical and powerful, but this has become almost the norm for Sammour-Hasbun. Therefore, I was more impressed with his other games where he was on the defensive vs. Kacheishvili and in an unusual endgame setting vs. Hungaski, compared to the baseline of this game. All three of his games are praiseworthy for their consistency, and it was difficult to choose.

FM Ron Young (9th Place, 12 points): Having studied the works of Reuben Fine and Nikolai Krogius, I know a bit about chess psychology, and I think the point of flicking the Bishop away with 7… h6 before going for the Poisoned Pawn is to say "you’re just the type who would wimp out with 8. Nb3 in the normal order". But though Black waved the red cape, a matador does need a picador, and there was no sword in Sammour-Hasbun's neck. I don’t know if Black missed something about Ng7+, but a check (i.e., 21… Bc5+) that gives one’s own King some elbow room does usually seem tempting.

Total Score of Sammour-Hasbun vs Milman: (2nd Place, 83 Points)

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Game of the Year Final Standings:

1st Place (90 Points): GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

2nd Place (83 Points): SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

3rd Place (73 Points): GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

4th Place (70 Points): SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

5th Place (66 Points): GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

6th Place (62 Points): GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

7th Place (56 Points): IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

8th Place (52 Points): WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

9th Place (51 Points): IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

10th Place (48 Points): GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

11th Place (47 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

12th Place (46 Points): IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

13th Place (45 Points): GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

14th Place (44 Points): GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

15th Place (43 Points): GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

16th Place (43 Points): GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

17th Place (42 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

18th Place (32 Points): GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 3rd Place

2012-01-24T04:34:00.000-08:00

This is the eighteenth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 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 Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1

Despite having a very precarious King position for much of the game, with 32... Rd1+!, SM Sammour-Hasbun finished off the wild game with a nice counter mating attack

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 Alisa Melekhina (1st Place, 20 points): Typically known for his uncompromising attacking play, it is unusual to find Sammour-Hungaski on the defensive side. However, after facing what must have been an unwelcome novelty from Kacheishvili on move eleven in an opening that already requires precision, Sammour-Hasbun defended accurately and in a very composed manner. After the dust settled he launched his own attack after coordinating his pieces and then finished off his seasoned opponent with the usual firework-type display we’re used to seeing from him. This was a high-level struggle that was one of the few memorable games from this year’s batch.

FM Ingvar Johannesson (3rd Place, 18 points): The players contested the sharp Marshall Gambit in the Slav (sharp and Sammour-Hasbun go so well together that personally I would chicken out of sharp stuff!). I have no clue what was going on, and I am sure the players weren't completely sure as well! It seems that after 24. Qxh8 Black takes over a little ... instead 24. Qf4+ seems evenish, and some lines seem to lead to perpetual. After taking over, Sammour-Hasbun made his pieces work together beautifully (making like six to seven perfect moves in a row), and the finish was a textbook pretty tactical finish.

FM Victor Shen (6th Place, 15 points): After a theoretical debate, a complicated position arose, where it seemed as if there was dynamic equality. On move 24, Kacheishvili took the hanging Rook on h8 (who wouldn't!?), but it turned out to be a big mistake after the nice manuever 24... Qe3+ 25... Qg5. With the Queen on g5, the Knight on g8 is indirectly protected (Bh3 ideas), and White astonishingly has no way to progress with his attack and is simply losing! He had to play 24. Qf4+ instead of Qxh8 which could lead to a repetition after 24... Kh5 25. Qe5+, or, if Black interposted after 24. Qf4+ Kh5 25. Qe5+ g5, then Qxh8, as there is now a Black Pawn on g5, stopping Sammour-Hasbun's Queen manuever! Overall, a complicated game with only one real mistake, and a nice Queen sacrifice at the end to cap it off.

FM Ron Young (7th Place, 14 points): I never understood comments such as "a pity that either player had to lose" because really, what is the fun of winning if not that you made somebody else lose? Still, grant both players credit for the entertaining-ness of this game, wherein White threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Black King. If he used paper plates and plastic cutlery, perhaps he could have spared the sink, but there is the price for environmental consciousness.

GM Alex Lenderman (15th Place, 6 points): Exciting topical opening and exciting finish but this game didn't do it for me. White decided to go for the line with 10. Qd8+ which doesn't seem as popular or good.

For the strong way to play this line, see last year's GOTY Akobian vs Shulman, that game says it all. After 11. f3 Qc2 was good, but 11... Qg6 was also strong. 13... e4 was a mistake though, blocking the Queen's access to the Kingside. 13... exf4!? was stronger, and unclear, because Black does have some Pawns. Then, after 13... e4?!, 14. Rd1! Nc5 (14... h5!? actually might've been stronger can't blame anyone for not finding that!) 14. Bb4 b6, White erred with 16. Bxc5?! With 16. Ba3 White would gain an amazing initiative and might just be winning as Black is boxed up and Nh3 followed by 0-0 is coming.

Sammour-Hasbun in his annotations simply could not find a good defence, there might not be any, with the Queen stuck like that on c2, and e3 allowing Nf3. The only adequate defence the computer finds is actually 16... e3! 17. Nf3 Ne7!! 18. Qxh8 Bb7!, a double Rook sac to trap the Queen, and now the Queen from c2 has access to h7 and Black is still battling! But e3 is a very hard move to find, though again without the Queen in the game it's hopeless. Actually even in that line the computer finds a solution. 18... Bb7 19. Rd8 Qc1+ 20. Bd1 Nd3+ 21. Rxd3! Rxh8 22. 0-0, and even though Black is actually up material, the Queen is so bad on c1 that White is actually winning! Black will lose time with 22... e2 23. Bxe2 Qxf4 24. Bd6 Qh6 25. Ne5+, and then the Black King will be under fire also!

Anyway, after the game continuation 16. Bxc5?! the game was led to a forced perpetual check with simple logical only moves from both sides. My main problem with this game is not about the inaccuracies in the opening because the position was very complicated (even though there were a lot of mistakes). The problem here is that objectively the game should've finished in a draw. The thing is Kacheishvili had to risk losing to try to win because at that point his team was completely losing. True, Boston ended up winning the match only 2.5 - 1.5, but that was only because an accident happened for Boston on Board Four once the team has already clinched the match, and things happen like that happen sometimes once it gets meaningless as Boston was completely winning on Board Four at that time as well.

Total Score of Kacheishvili vs Sammour-Hasbun: (3rd Place, 73 Points)

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Stay tuned for the final article in a couple of days to see which of these two games will be the 2011 Game of the Year!

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Eliminated:

3rd Place (73 Points): GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

4th Place (70 Points): SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

5th Place (66 Points): GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

6th Place (62 Points): GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

7th Place (56 Points): IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

8th Place (52 Points): WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

9th Place (51 Points): IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

10th Place (48 Points): GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

11th Place (47 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

12th Place (46 Points): IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

13th Place (45 Points): GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

14th Place (44 Points): GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

15th Place (43 Points): GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

16th Place (43 Points): GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

17th Place (42 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

18th Place (32 Points): GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 4th Place

2012-01-22T02:33:00.000-08:00

This is the seventeenth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 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: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0

The strong exchange sacrifice 26. Rxd7!, perfectly executed, resulted in a very well played win by SM Sammour-Hasbun

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 Alisa Melekhina (3rd Place, 18 points): This game has to be taken in context with Sammour-Hasbun's win over Milman to be appreciated. Even after Queens have been exchanged when many people would assume a draw was not far off the horizon, Sammour-Hasbun manages to initiate a positional sacrifice before cajoling Black's King into the center and casting an unexpected mating net. This game is a reminder that when paired with the proper, adamant attitude, even exchanging is not the end of tactical and fighting chess.

GM Alex Lenderman (5th Place, 16 points): If I didn't already know the names of the players, I would have thought Magnus Carlsen played White in this game because it looks like a typical Carlsen game, just squeezing a tiny advantage with perfect positional moves, slowly improving every single piece and putting the opponent into trouble without it even being entirely clear where the opponent made a mistake. This game also shows that Sammour-Hasbun is not only a great tactical player but is also extremely capable of playing great strategically and positionally. Just a wonderful game by White. I wish I could have placed it higher, but my Top Four games also had very interesting tactics and very nice play with the initiative which were somewhat lacking here, and my Top Four games were also nearly perfectly played, so I had to give preference to the games which also had exciting tactics at the end.

Some possible improvements for Black were (though I really am not sure, I can't exactly claim a clear mistake by Black here), 12... f5 was perhaps played too early and might have been too weakening and too committal. 12... Be7 was safer after which the position should be about equal. Maybe d5 had to be played at some point to declare the structure and to try to hold that endgame with only one weakness on c6 or d5 after which it should probably be holdable. Possibly with 16... Rfc8 Black tied his pieces down a bit too much. Then in a bad position already after a nice positional exchange sacrifice, 27... Ke6 was losing as the King becomes too exposed. 27... Rcb8 was probably more tenacious though White is still better. Still these inaccuracies (maybe I'm even wrong about them) are very subtle. Kudos to Jorge for such a great game. A clear example of the winner winning the game, NOT the loser losing the game.

FM Ingvar Johannesson (6th Place, 15 points): I like this game. We had a Queenless middlegame out of a Scotch Opening. From there it felt like White made really efficent moves and placed his pieces on good squares. Then came a surprising exchange sacrifice (not that common with Queens off), and Black soon drifted into trouble. I liked the calm 23. f4! when most would have cashed in on the discovered check (threat is stronger than the execution!). Sammour-Hasbun then wrapped up it up nicely in the end with almost everything dropping off the board for Black. Only the lack of "flash" prevented this from getting close to the absolute
top of my list.

FM Victor Shen (10th Place, 11 points): Black was fine following the opening, but it seems to me as if he slightly misevaluated the position when he went for his solid set up in the endgame. Instead, it was objectively better to break with d5 early on and equalize. White then got a more pleasant position and some pressure, which he capitalized on with a nice exchange sacrifice. The White Knight and light squared Bishop combined with Black's open King proved to be a decisive advantage in a practical game. I liked this game, as it was hard to pinpoint exactly where Hungaski went wrong - I suppose he had to choose a more active plan, and White's play was clean and efficient.

FM Ron Young (11th Place, 10 points): A nice exchange sac in a Queenless middlegame, but 27… Ke6 led too quickly to a Kingless endgame.

Total Score of Sammour-Hasbun vs Hungaski: (4th Place, 70 Points)

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Stay tuned for two more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2011 Game of the Year!

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Eliminated:

4th Place (70 Points): SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

5th Place (66 Points): GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

6th Place (62 Points): GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

7th Place (56 Points): IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

8th Place (52 Points): WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

9th Place (51 Points): IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

10th Place (48 Points): GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

11th Place (47 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

12th Place (46 Points): IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

13th Place (45 Points): GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

14th Place (44 Points): GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

15th Place (43 Points): GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

16th Place (43 Points): GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

17th Place (42 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

18th Place (32 Points): GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 5th Place

2012-01-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

This is the sixteenth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 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 Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0

With 52. Kd4!, GM Shulman finished off a unique King manuever and shortly after broke through decisively on the Kingside

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): A great positional game from Shulman. I love this game for its instructional value. White just plays the opening solidly, centralizing his pieces and then takes advantage when Black allows him to exchange and obtain good Knight vs bad Bishop and complete domination. Perhaps Black's only opening mistake was surrending the e5 square and allowing Ne5. After closing the Queenside, Black left White with a freeroll on the Kingside. Shulman built up slowly but after maneuvering and setting up Rh3/Qh4, forcing the further weakening 42... g6, and Black was drawing dead! The way Shulman then wrapped it up was very nice, the somewhat sadistic maneuvre of the King to d4, putting a stop to any counterplay based on sacking the d5 pawn and freeing the Knight to join the party on the Kingside. Then the eventual buildup on the h-file followed by a nice finishing tactic.

FM Alisa Melekhina (4th Place, 17 points): With so many explosive games to choose from, this positional grind from Shulman was a refreshing addition to this year's selection. After Black had seemingly set up a resilient blockade, Shulman calmly maneuvered until Black’s conspicuous lack of a dark squared Bishop and White’s flexible Knight was enough for a powerful breakthrough. Shulman patiently persevered by chipping away at the wall until it cracked, an example of why positions like this only seem drawish.

GM Alex Lenderman (6th Place, 15 points): This very nice strategical/positional effort by Shulman in a very clutch battle which helped Chicago get to the next round in the Playoffs and just missed my Top Five list.

As nearly flawless as it was, this game also seemed a bit too one-sided to go higher, and it did not seem like anything super special. Rather it looked more like a standard classical game, very straightforward, where Black simply could not get any counterplay. I also could not understand the purpose of 18. Qc2!??!. To me this move looks dubious as I don't understand really what the idea as 18. Ne5 seems to make much more sense. Maybe there is some huge detail that neither me or Rybka understands?! And in reply, instead of 18. Qd8 for Chirilia, Rae8 maybe makes more sense, getting pieces into the game? And then 20... Ra7 seemed also a bit strange. Overall it seemed like Black didn't really make it very hard for White. Nevertheless it was still an excellent game by Yury, at least after the position got closed up, very precise play.

FM Victor Shen (8th Place, 13 points): A very nice positional squeeze by Shulman. He made it seem easy: trade, trade, good Knight vs bad Bishop. Lock Queenside, pile up slowly on Kingside, bring King to d4 for fun (but actually to prevent random central breaks), breakthrough on Kingside, mate. It was especially instructive to watch Shulman's patience - for example, knowing that Black was completely helpless, after bringing his King to c3, he played 53. Rg2 and 54. Rd2 to absolutely ensure that if Black decided to sac with d4, he could take with the Rook and stick it on d6. Not the most exciting game, but clean and masterful nevertheless.

FM Ron Young (19th Place, 2 points): The immortal never-ending game. Admirable patience on all sides.

Total Score of Shulman vs Chirila: (5th Place, 66 Points)

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Stay tuned for three more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2011 Game of the Year!

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Wildcard #5: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article

Eliminated:

5th Place (66 Points): GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

6th Place (62 Points): GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

7th Place (56 Points): IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

8th Place (52 Points): WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

9th Place (51 Points): IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

10th Place (48 Points): GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

11th Place (47 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

12th Place (46 Points): IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

13th Place (45 Points): GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

14th Place (44 Points): GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

15th Place (43 Points): GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

16th Place (43 Points): GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

17th Place (42 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

18th Place (32 Points): GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 6th Place

2012-01-18T16:26:00.000-08:00

This is the fifteenth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 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: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0

With 37. Nd8!, GM Charbonneau finally eliminated Black's key defender after which the Black position unravelled quickly.

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 Alisa Melekhina (5th Place, 16 points): After Akobian’s opportunistic and hasty 10…Nb3 exchanging White’s undeveloped and blocked dark-squared Bishop, Charbonneau effortlessly capitalized on the typical cramped French structure by controlling all of the space in his position. He prevented Black’s pieces from reaching any optimal squares while initiating favorable exchanges. A smooth victory over an esteemed French player.

FM Ingvar Johannesson (8th Place, 13 points): Overall felt like a nice game by Charbonneau. Really strangling Akobian on the White side of a French. Perhaps Akobian made a mistake not just waiting and making Charbonneau show him the win instead of perhaps making it easier than it should have been with 30... h6. Also I thought 20. Nb5 at first glance should have been stronger followed by placing it on d6 and then slowly taking over the f-file. Good game but not enough for top honors.

GM Alex Lenderman (9th Place, 12 points): White played a nice game outplaying a very strong player in one of his main openings. But this game Black didn't seem to play very well and made it a bit too easy for Pascal. For example 16... Rf7?! followed by Nf8?! seemed too passive. Instead 16... Nb8! seems more to the point to follow it up with Nc6 and exert pressure on d4, which makes Ng5 harder to execute. That would also allow the french Bishop some life via the e8-h5 diagonal, and all in all White would have a more difficult task in getting an advantage though I think White's position was already pleasant.

But then White returned the favor slightly with 20. Rf1?!. 20. Nb5 seems much more to the point, threatening Nd6, and boxing all of Black's Pieces, especially his Rook, in. I'm sure White would have been much more happy having the Black Rook on e7 than having it traded! Even the way the game went wasn't pleasant for Black though, 30... h6? seems a little too active. Of course 30... Bd7 and defending without counterplay is not pleasant but actually White doesn't seem to have crystal-clear plan of making progress, and Black is still relatively solid. Instead Black unravled pretty quikcly and the finish was nice.

Because Black's play was not great and since White missed a very important move, 20. Nb5, I could not rank this game higher than this. Also, White's play was very straightforward for the most part.

FM Ron Young (10th Place, 11 points): If "the world’s a chessboard", as per a Reuben Fine book title (you may or may not already have heard of my familiarity with the Fine oeuvre), then White’s King's Knight visited the four corners of the earth in this game, and though it may not assembled the outcasts of Israel or gathered the dispersed of Judah, it did eliminate the Bishop that was the only thing holding Black’s game together at the end, which is all that could reasonably have been asked of it.

FM Victor Shen (11th Place, 10 points): It seemed to me as if Black adopted the wrong set up following the opening and was just strategically worse throughout. It was surprising, as Akobian's moves looked so natural, but Charbonneau's 17. h4! put a lot of pressure on Black's position. Rf7 and Nf8 was probably the wrong set up; perhaps Black should have tried 16... Nb8 to reroute the Knight to c6. On move 20, White could have really put the screws on with 20. Nb5, heading to d6, which would have paralyzed Black and allowed White to take control of the f-file, leading to a completely dominating position. Even in the game, Black was unable to find a coherent plan and was slowly suffocated. A nice strategic win by Charbonneau.

Total Score of Charbonneau vs Akobian: (6th Place, 62 Points)

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Stay tuned for four more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2011 Game of the Year!

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #5: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article

Eliminated:

6th Place (62 Points): GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

7th Place (56 Points): IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

8th Place (52 Points): WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

9th Place (51 Points): IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

10th Place (48 Points): GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

11th Place (47 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

12th Place (46 Points): IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

13th Place (45 Points): GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

14th Place (44 Points): GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

15th Place (43 Points): GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

16th Place (43 Points): GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

17th Place (42 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

18th Place (32 Points): GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 7th Place

2012-01-16T19:13:00.000-08:00

This is the fourteenth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 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 Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1

The nice tactical blow 32... Rd2!, finished off a well played game by GM Friedel.

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 Alex Lenderman (2nd Place, 19 points): Another clutch game. Very key to Chicago advancing, and despite the pressure was played nearly perfectly by Josh if not perfectly. Black got a dream position out of the opening, which Black often has trouble in, examples like Kasparov-Karpov in 1987 match, or Kramnik-Radjabov recently in the candidates. Black used his trump, the space advantage with great care, shutting down White's light squared Bishop. Then he followed up with an interesting Pawn sack 18... e5!?. White probably should've taken the bait and risked grabbing it, so that his eventual suffering wouldn't have been for nothing. It would have required very accurate play against Black's initaitive but with a couple of correct moves the resulting position should be dynamically playable for both sides (roughly equal/unclear).

After that White's defence wasn't very tenacious as White should've tried maybe Ne4 at some point, and try to exchange some pieces, given Black's space advantage. For example, instead of 21. Re1?! allowing 21... Bb4 and the exchange of Black's bad Bishop, 21. Bxb7 followed by 22. Qg2 has good chances of equalizing. After that, Black was able to generate a nice initiative, with his powerful Queen+Knight combination and executing a nice tactical pattern. Very nice game by Josh all around. The reason this game I ranked second rather than first is because I thought the first place was a little bit more unique, unorthodox and creative, whereas this one was a bit more simple, routine, and straightforward. Nevertheless, it should take away from Josh, as he played the best moves the position could ask for. (I almost wish I could rank the top five games equally!), but unfortunately I cannot, so I have to give some little preferences to certain types.

FM Ron Young (6th Place, 15 points): A nice attack with limited means. On the chessboard, that is. Plenty of means within the cranium, no doubt.

FM Ingvar Johannesson (7th Place, 14 points): A good game by Friedel. He just seemed to play a good solid game, equalizing with Black and then taking over with some solid chess, weakening White on the light squares and then taking advantage of the weaknesses remaining. The 32...Rd2 tactic was a nice finishing touch

FM Victor Shen (16th Place, 5 points): I thought Friedel played a very nice game, but it unfortunately wasn't really White's day at all. He seemed to flounder around in the opening and early middlegame, unable to find a plan while Black slowly built up his position. It was a nice performance by Friedel and had a nice finish as well, but White played too passively for this game to merit a higher ranking.

FM Alisa Melekhina (18th Place, 3 points): This was a lackluster game until the end, not helped by White's choice of playing the Reti. Friedel combated it calmly and finished with the surprising and appealing 32... Rd2. If this were a tactics contest, this game would have been ranked higher for the miniature, but as far as the overall game was concerned, there was not enough to put it past the others.

Total Score of Z Amanov vs Friedel: (7th Place, 56 Points)

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Stay tuned for five more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2011 Game of the Year!

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #1: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #5: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article

Eliminated:

7th Place (56 Points): IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

8th Place (52 Points): WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

9th Place (51 Points): IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

10th Place (48 Points): GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

11th Place (47 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

12th Place (46 Points): IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

13th Place (45 Points): GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

14th Place (44 Points): GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

15th Place (43 Points): GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

16th Place (43 Points): GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

17th Place (42 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

18th Place (32 Points): GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 8th Place

2012-01-15T19:54:00.000-08:00

This is the thirteenth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 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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8th Place: WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0

WGM Abrahamyan effectively concluded her attack with 29. f6+!, winning decisive material.

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 (4th Place, 17 points): The light square weaknesses that first appeared on Black’s Queenside after 8… a5 spread tragically but instructively all the way to the g6 square, while 19. f4!, preparing the lift Rd2-g2, was reminiscent of the famous Esserman-Fedorowicz game. 29. f6+ was a piquant finish.

FM Alisa Melekhina (9th Place, 12 points): This was probably the only game where I'm sure the winner was out of theory by move 5. White handled an unfamiliar set-up by Black well, and punished him accordingly after Black’s nonchalant 14…Nd7, transferring the Knight to the Queenside instead of playing the solid and defensive 14…Nh7. Even though in hindsight g5 turned out to be very powerful, it is not clear what White’s plan would have been after Nh7. Regardless, White executed a remarkable and forceful attack against a tricky player.

FM Ingvar Johannesson (12th Place, 9 points): Lots of Sicilian games in this GOTY contest! White's play in this game was very direct and somehow Black just seemed to lack counterplay in this game and was very cooperative in losing this game (for instance giving White a hook for the attack with 11... h6). Having said that, White played a very nice attacking game with a thematic opening of the g-file and then finished it off with the nice 29. f6+

GM Alex Lenderman (13th Place, 8 points): An interesting sharp Sicilian where White executed the attack well. However, I ranked this game relatively low because the opening just seemed too sloppy to me. Black played a rare line 5... Bd7, possibly influenced by Tatev's last year's game against Angelo Young, where Tatev played f3 on move 6. But here Tatev plays another line with 6. Be3!?, and Black immediately made a sloppy move 6... e5?!, on which Tatev missed the simple move 7. Nb5! simply attacking a7 and d6 (Najdorf went bad for Black without that a6!). That seems to force Black to actually play the unfortunate 7... Bxb5 8. Bxb5+ Nc6 9. Nd5, and White is just clearly better. For instance, 9... Be7 10. c3 and Nxe4 is always dangerous due to Qf3. And if the Bishop is on e7, then Qg4. It's not surprising White missed it and played the primitive conventional 7. Nb3?! because she spent only 31 seconds on that move (Thanks ICC!). Then on move 11, after Black mangled the opening a bit more, White had a strong move 11. Nd2! (Improve your worst piece, and find a weakness in opponent's strucutre). The Knight is coming to c4 to pressure b6, d6, and even e5 a bit, and possibly can try to come to d5 via b6 - a very unpleasant move for Black to meet. And 11. Nd2 d5? 12. Nc4! is just bad for Black.

Instead 11. Rd2?! was played. And then for some reason Eric plays 11... h6?! as simply Be7 and 0-0, getting the King to safety makes much more sense, keeping his Pawn structure in tact and giving counterattacking chances, giving Black a fairly normal game then. 13. Rg1 also didn't make much sense. Either play g4 right away and see if you'll need to play Rg1, or play another move like 13. Qg3!? after which I simply don't see a good response for Black. Black returns the favor with 13... 0-0?!, something that should not be rushed once you've already played h6. 13... Qc7 is a nice waiting move would be very logical and would come with a surprising threat - that is, 13... Qc7 14. g4?! would be met with 14... d5! 15. exd5 Nfxd5 16. Nxd5 Bxd5. 17. Rxd5 then doesn't work due to c2 hanging. 17. Bb5+ Kf8 and after Rd8 Black has a very playable game with about equal chances. Instead Black castled and didn't even defend very well after that to let White exectue such an attack. 14... Nh7 had to be played to cover g5 better. A lot of inaccuracies in this game. Despite the many mistakes, I still gave this game a reasonable ranking since the victor didn't really miss wins, which happened in some other games.

FM Victor Shen (15th Place, 6 points): A powerful display by Tatev, but a little too one-sided. The attack came crashing through after an unusual opening with nice moves like 19. f4! and 22. Bb5! Perhaps Black should have defended with 14... Nh7 instead of 14... Nd7, to stop 15. g5. 29. f6+ was a nice finish to a clean attacking game.

Total Score of Abrahamyan vs Rodriguez: (8th Place, 52 Points)

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Stay tuned for six more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2011 Game of the Year!

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article

Semifinals: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article

Wildcard #1: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #5: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article

Eliminated:

8th Place (52 Points): WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

9th Place (51 Points): IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

10th Place (48 Points): GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

11th Place (47 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

12th Place (46 Points): IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

13th Place (45 Points): GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

14th Place (44 Points): GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

15th Place (43 Points): GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

16th Place (43 Points): GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

17th Place (42 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

18th Place (32 Points): GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 9th Place

2012-01-14T17:39:00.000-08:00

This is the twelfth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 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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9th Place: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0

The strong exchange sacrifice, 21. Rxf4!, proved very strong as the shattering of Black's Pawns eventually ensured White's triumph.

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 (5th Place, 16 points): In the old days, before we had computer evaluations, we relied on the punctuation method to tell us who was doing well, and in this game, White would have garnered several exclamation points (i.e., "!’s") in a row during the phase where he is spurning the other side's minors in favor of preserving his own, and giving up clunky Rooks to retain graceful Knights and Bishops (punctuation, is? fun!).

FM Victor Shen (9th Place, 12 points): I liked this game - it just seemed fresh and creative. Amanov's play was pretty accurate throughout, as he found the powerful 21. Rxf4 (which was certainly planned, possibly since move 16). He did miss a quicker win though (24. Kf2! and if 24... Qxe4 25. Qg4+ Kh8 26. Rg1, and Black must sacrifice his Queen to stave off mate). However, it was still a difficult position for Black to play, and Amanov converted a better endgame. All in all, a creative and interesting attacking game.

GM Alex Lenderman (12th Place, 9 points): Another interesting sharp Sicilian battle, and I'm usually in favor of those. In this one though Black didn't really play very well. First of all 15... d5 might've been a bit premature. Surprisingly the somewhat unnatural 15... h6!?, a computer move, might be ok! But the idea is unique. If 16. Qg2 Bb7 17. h4, Black answers with 17... h5! and on 18. g5 Ng4. That actually seems ok for Black and d5 can then come with some preparation with great effect now that White played g4. Of course that might be too bold, only computers can tend to play like that. But the next move after 16. g5, 16... d4?! seems not so good. After 16... Nxe4 would follow 17. Nxe4 Nxd3 18. cxd3 dxe4 19. dxe4 Qc4 which seems playable even if a little bit better for White. After Qf3, Black can either attempt to sac an exchange after Bb7 and Bxe4, or play Rd8 to protect against f6 with Bf8. That would probably have been a much better way of defending.

White played extremely well up until a certain point. But the major problem with this game for me is 24. Re1? when 24. Kf2 was just simply winning. 24... Qxe4 leads to mate after 25. Qg4+ and 26. Rg1. And the best Black can do there is the bleak 26... bf5 27. Qxf5+-. Kf2 seems like quite a simple move to me, and White after missing it, Black returned the favor with 26... Qf8?. Instead 26... Qe5! with the idea of Bxf5 gives Black some activity. For example, 27. Bb6 Bxf5! 28. exf5 (Bxd4 then Rg6 comes as a surprise) Qxf5 29. Nxd4 Qg6 30. Qxg6 hxg6 31. Re7, and even though White is probably better, Black is still very much fighting. After 26... Qf8 was
played though White finished off nicely.

So all in all a very nice interesting game but mostly it was spoiled by missing 24. Kf2+-, a seemingly a very simple move, and instead giving Black a chance. This would possibly have made the Top Five if not for that big mistake. And also Black did panic maybe a bit with d5 though, but of course White's whole nice sequence with Rxf4 and Ba5 wasn't so easy to see in advance.

FM Ingvar Johannesson (13th Place, 8 points): A sharp Sicilian game. I really like the exchange sacrifice from White, and it was very nice how the White pieces dominated the board, even after exchanging Queens.

White won the exchange back more or less by force and was left with an easily winning two Pawn up endgame. This game slips a bit though because White had 24. Kf2 which seems like an easy idea to find, simply threatening Rg1+ (if 24...Kh8 25.Qh6). Black has only 24...Bxf5 when the White victory is then only a matter of technique.

FM Alisa Melekhina (15th Place, 6 points): After Black allowed White to Pawn storm with f5 and g5 and missed either a3 or the intermediate Nd5, it became difficult to defend the unpleasant position. It became a matter of technique from there, which White craftily demonstrated with a timely positional sacrifice and Bishop maneuver. The result was imminent when he obtained a decisive advantage around move 31, and the game really should not have lasted longer.

Total Score of Z Amanov vs Mikhailuk: (10th Place, 51 Points)

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Stay tuned for seven more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2011 Game of the Year!

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Week 7: WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article

Semifinals: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article

Wildcard #1: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #5: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article

Eliminated:

9th Place (51 Points): IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

10th Place (48 Points): GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

11th Place (47 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

12th Place (46 Points): IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

13th Place (45 Points): GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

14th Place (44 Points): GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

15th Place (43 Points): GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

16th Place (43 Points): GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

17th Place (42 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

18th Place (32 Points): GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 10th Place

2012-01-13T17:36:00.000-08:00

This is the eleventh part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 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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10th Place: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0

With 35. Qa7!, GM Shulman tranposed to a favorable endgame which he skillfully converted.

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 Victor Shen (7th Place, 14 points): This was another nice positional game by Shulman, who just had a more pleasant position throughout and exerted pressure on his opponent. Black, already in a slightly difficult endgame, erred with 33... dxe5 giving White a passed d-pawn which decided the game. Overall however, this was pretty well played by both sides; at first glance it was hard to say where Black made a real mistake.

GM Alex Lenderman (8th Place, 13 points): A nice effort by Shulman. 9. exd5 I think isn't a recommended way to play, instead 9. b5!? is more unclear and probably a more topical way of playing this line. After 9... exd5?! White seems to have a free hand, where he gets the pressure and space advantage for nothing, not even a pawn, which Yury exhbited very nicely and won a decent straightforward game. But there were inaccuracies that ended up making this game a little bit lower-ranked. 13. cxd5 maybe should not have been rushed, as 13. Re1!? ( moving the Rook avoids Ba6 tricks). The line can go 13. Re1 Re8 14. cxd5 c4 15. Qd4 Nc5 16. Qxc4 Ba6 17. Qd4! And if instead of 15... Nc5, 15.. Rc8 then 16. Bf1 Qc7 17. e4 Nc5 18. Bg5, and again White seems to have an edge.

In the game Yury took on d5 right away, which meant after 13... c4 14. Qd4 wasn't as good due to Nc5 with the c4 Pawn now being taboo due to Ba6! So Yury played then 14. e4, which still promised an edge. So cxd5 was not inaccurate, and Re1 wasn't necessary better, just interesting, but some real inaccuracies/mistakes were to come. On move 27, Kg2?! was played, which allowed 27... Nb8 making the advantage much smaller for White. Instead 27. Qb4 or 27. Qd4 wins a Pawn after 27... Nb8 28. Qxc4 Nxc6 29. Rc1! (Maybe Yury missed this move?). The line would likely continue 29... b5! 30. Qxc6 (30. Qxb5? Qa5 -/+) Qb8 31. Qa6 Rc4! 32. Rxc4 bxc4 33. Qxc4 Qxb2 34. Qd3 Rc8 35. Rf2, and White is still up a pretty healthy pawn and will soon try to exploit his center. This seems much better than what could've happened in the game. In the game, White, after 27. Kg2?! Nc5! 28. Qd4 b5, instead 28... Nb3! 29. Qc3 (Qxc4? Nd2) Qd7!, and Black is still very much fighting as e5 is controlled, and it's unclear how White really improves his game, even though I'd still probably prefer White. Maybe White has to sacrifice the exchange but then black perhaps can sacrifice it back so it's probably closer to equal than +/= to be honest.

In the game instead 28... b5 was played which was followed by 29. Re3 a6 30. e5 and now 30... Nb3?! was played at the wrong time. 30... Qd7 was more tenacious, not allowing Qa7 tricks, and e6 is impossible then due to Nxe6! Black didn't defend perfectly afterwards, thus allowing White to get a winning game which he could have exploited easier with 36. Rf7! or 36. Rf5!?, and the d-pawn would be completely decisive. Instead 36. Rxe5?! let Black back into the game and on move 39, instead of 39... Kf7? (losing move allowing basically everything, 39... Rf8! actually still holds the position. (40. Re7 Rf6! 41. d7 Nxd7). After 39... Rf8 Black is still very much in the game despite White being better. Relatively best for White would be to play slowly with 40. h4!? and then Black can create some counterplay with 40... Rf6!? 41. Re5 Rxd6 42. Rxc5 Rd2+, and Black gets some chances. That might not be the best variation though because there White is probably still winning. However, on 40. h4, 40... h5! then in some Knight endgames, White cannot gain
space with g4-g5. Point is, instead of White being completely winning, Black can now fight based on certain nuances. I don't think that was something Shulman really planned on allowing. As good of a positional effort it was all around, from good opening, to decent middlegame to decent endgame, this game wasn't completely special and also had flaws that kept it only in 8th place. Still good game though.

FM Ingvar Johannesson (11th Place, 10 points): A positional game out of a Nimzo. Seemed like a strong game from Shulman, just piling up the positional pressure and crashing through in the endgame. I really found 16. Bxc5 interesting, giving up the Bishop pair but instead fighting for the weakened light squares using the d4 square as a springboard for the Knight. Black didn't make any obvious mistakes, perhaps only 39... Kf7 in the endgame is a mistake when 39... Rf8 seems to give good chances to fight for a draw as it's not clear how to activate the White King (since Rook exchanges mean the d6 pawn can be picked up).

FM Alisa Melekhina (13th Place, 8 points): Another positional game from Shulman, this time using the Rubinstein to neutralize a very dynamic player. After Black opted to go for 9... exd5 instead of 9... b5, White again realized his slight advantage by patiently maneuvering his pieces until he was ready to initiate a decisive breakthrough with e5. Black was unable to patch up the weaknesses in his position, leaving him with little chances for counterplay in the meantime.

FM Ron Young (18th Place, 3 points): As others have said (credit where it is due), White played cleanly, but Black could have made it tougher toward the end, which is not unusual, but it did not all add up to much excitement for me.

Total Score of Shulman vs Molner: (10th Place, 48 Points)

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Stay tuned for eight more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2011 Game of the Year!

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Week 7: WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article

Semifinals: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article

Wildcard #1: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #5: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #6: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article

Eliminated:

10th Place (48 Points): GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

11th Place (47 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

12th Place (46 Points): IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

13th Place (45 Points): GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

14th Place (44 Points): GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

15th Place (43 Points): GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

16th Place (43 Points): GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

17th Place (42 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

18th Place (32 Points): GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 11th Place

2012-01-12T17:32:00.000-08:00

This is the tenth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 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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11th Place: GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1

With 35... Na4, GM Kacheisvili eventually managed to grind out a win in the famous B+N endgame, clinching the Championship for the Knights.

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 (5th Place, 16 points): A great win for Kacheishvili. With this being the decisive game of the Championship I am probably ranking it higher than I would have. It was a typical fighting game between strong players. Kacheishvili seemed to have a small initiative in the endgame with his better placed and active pieces. Amanov just made some small mistakes, and Kacheishvili cooly cashed in on his passed Pawn and then we need to give him a cookie for mating flawlessly with a Bishop and Knight as there is always a famous story of someone blowing that although it should be really straightforward for any serious player.

FM Victor Shen (5th Place, 16 points): I wouldn't have ranked this game in the top five had it not been for its competitive importance. Kacheisvhili, who proved to be a great leader for his team all season, won with Black in the Championship Match to secure the victory. It was also very well played by Kacheishvili as he just outplayed his opponent throughout. Unfortunately, it seemed to me as if White played too passively in the opening and early middlegame, making it not the big fight that fans probably hoped for. However, well played by Black, and nice endgame technique to wrap up the match and the Championship.

FM Ron Young (12th Place, 9 points): White's play may have been unambitious, but the ending he reached seemed just about tenable. Having two pieces get trapped in that particular phase of the game is pretty unusual. I haven't ranked it yet as I write this, but wherever it ends up, it probably got a couple of places worth of consideration for the clutchness.

GM Alex Lenderman (16th Place, 5 points): Obviously a very clutch game as it was a deciding clincher in the League Championship Match helping New York to a 2.5-1.5 win over Chicago. This game however, if you ask Giorgi, is probably one of his least favorites amongst his many wins in USCL, some of which were left out of this contest. Problem was that there weren't very many exciting tactics in this one, and the bigger problem is that the game was not very high quality; possibly a nervous game from both sides as there was a lot on the line here.

White played a rather passive opening, and Black got very comfortable. 20... e5!? seemed a bit more accurate than 20... Nb6 which brought the Knight to a vulnerable square. After 20... e5!? Black probably has a slight edge but nothing more. The very next move, after 21. Bf4, 21... Rc2 is a mistake, leave his pieces vulnerable. 21... Rc4 followed by Ra4 had to be played. On 23. Bf1 there would follow 23... Nc4, and Black is solid and fine. After 21... Rc2?! Amanov returned the favor with 22. Rbc1?!. Instead 22. Bf1! gives White a solid edge, and the best Black can hope for in any line would be an endgame where Black would be suffering for a draw!

After a couple of more inaccuracies by White, Black got a very strong endgame without any risk. But on move 29, Black again erred with 29... f5?! which allows White to liquidate some of his weaknesses and untangle his pieces. Instead simply 29... f6 or Na4!? followed by pushing on the majority on the Queenside would be very strong. White had a couple of chances to equalize, like instead of 33. Nf1, bg2-f1. But his last chance was 37. Ne7+ Kf7 38. Bd5 and somehow try to get counterplay. After 37. a3?! Nc5 38. Nb6?! (all pieces away from the passed d-pawn), 38... Bf7 Black is simply winning and then the technique was good enough though probably not perfect, but nice execution of Knight+Bishop vs King, something that some GMs aren't even able to do. But besides the clutch factor, nothing seems intruiging to me in this game as I have seen a lot of much better games by both of them!

FM Alisa Melekhina (20th Place, 1 point): The action in this game only began after move 34 when Black managed to promote his pawn. Even though a Knight and Bishop checkmate is unusual to come across in tournament chess, especially among GMs, regurgitating endgame theory for 26 moves is insufficient to surpass the other nominees.

Total Score of M Amanov vs Kacheishvili: (11th Place, 47 Points)

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Stay tuned for nine more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2011 Game of the Year!

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Week 7: WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article

Week 10: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article

Semifinals: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article

Wildcard #1: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #5: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #6: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article

Eliminated:

11th Place (47 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

12th Place (46 Points): IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

13th Place (45 Points): GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

14th Place (44 Points): GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

15th Place (43 Points): GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

16th Place (43 Points): GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

17th Place (42 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

18th Place (32 Points): GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 12th Place

2012-01-11T15:48:00.000-08:00

This is the ninth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 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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12th Place: IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0

The interesting 25. Ke2! proved to be a very effective shot with IM Esserman scoring a quick victory over a 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 Alex Lenderman (1st Place, 20 points): This game simply illustrates all of Marc's positive chess traits. In not even his main opening against the Sicilian (the Smith-Morra), he still exhibits amazing preparation. Playing the opening fairly fast making me believe it was preparation. And that great preparation ends with a brilliant novelty (or almost novelty), though a very rare move, 25. Ke2!. For the rest on this game I can just refer you to his wonderful analysis in his very nice article as that says it all. And of course the computer says everything is perfect. Maybe 21... Bxh4+ is too ambitious of a line as 21... Bf6 or 21... Bg7 would be safer. But nevertheless to just nearly refute a popular line and play so accurately at such an important time in the playoffs against a strong booked-up player and GM, really says something.

P.S. instead of 25. Ke2, I think 25. b5 is also very good for White, though maybe not as clear, but Ke2 pretty much seals it probably.

FM Alisa Melekhina (11th Place, 10 points): At first glance this game had the makings of at least a top five finisher: theoretical battle in the main line of a sharp opening between two strong players, unorthodox piece development, vigilant attack with the King left uncastled, piece and pawn sacrifices, and creative maneuvers all around, but on further examination there was one major flaw – the game was contaminated with preparation. Out of the 32 moves of the game, only at 26... Ne5 by Fedorowicz did the game deviate from previous games. Esserman had improved on the previous Kramnik – Van Wely (Amber-Rapid, 2005) game with the courageous 25. Ke2, but even that was previously employed by one Snape (Jessie Gilbert Celebration, 2008).

Of course Esserman executed the final six moves perfectly, but while his preparation is admirable, and he definitely deserves the win and to have his game nominated, I would hope that the GOTY winner is someone who displays as much creativity and originality on the board as they do off. This is not to detract anything from Esserman, who frequently gets overlooked despite his numerous GM scalps and being one of the most devoted players in the country. This game and his memorable win over Van Wely in the US Open should serve as a reminder that he is not to be taken lightly.

FM Ron Young (13th Place, 8 points): Wouldn't it be a gas if it turned out that the whole Morra Gambit thing was a big hype and that Esserman never actually played it at all? In any case, he did a good job of prep for this game, and though evidently his would-be TN wasn't actually from Tennessee, he found it himself and though he is completely to be praised for it, they don't give the Oscar to Casablanca every year. Or have I already said all this?

FM Victor Shen (14th Place, 7 points): An impressive piece of opening preparation from Esserman. Although Ke2 isn't new, it's a nice idea nevertheless. However, I have a strong suspicion that the opening is just dubious for Black (he is just lost after 25. Ke2). I had to go all the way back to around move seventeen to find an acceptable position for Black as the ensuing positions after the h4 Pawn sacrifice seem extremely dangerous. I guess this may have been one of the reasons why the Sveshnikov has virtually disappeared from top level play. Well played by White, but the game ended very quickly after the opening which slightly detracts from the quality and appeal of the game.

FM Ingvar Johannesson (20th Place, 1 point): Cool game. The idea of clearing the second rank and the Rook maneuvre Ra1-a2-h2 makes a nice aesthetic impression. However I had a recollection of seeing this idea in a Van Wely game before, and I was right, this game was Kramnik vs Van Wely Amber rapid 2005. They copied that game up to move 24 when Esserman deviates with 25. Ke2 but from there they are even following Stopa vs Bogosavlevich from 2005, the new move of the game being 30. Rxh4, Stopa went 30. Bd3, and the position is already winning. A nice win but it seems to me like just superior preparation which is very nice but not worthy of GOTY without the originality.

Total Score of Esserman vs Fedorowicz: (12th Place, 46 Points)

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Stay tuned for ten more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2011 Game of the Year!

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Week 7: WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article

Week 10: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article

Semifinals: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article

Championship: GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article

Wildcard #1: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #5: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #6: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article

Eliminated:

12th Place (46 Points): IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

13th Place (45 Points): GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

14th Place (44 Points): GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

15th Place (43 Points): GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

16th Place (43 Points): GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

17th Place (42 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

18th Place (32 Points): GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 13th Place

2012-01-10T17:58:00.000-08:00

This is the eighth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 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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13th Place: GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0

With 39. g6!, the numerous threats soon caused Black's position to collapse giving the three time MVP GM Becerra yet another win.

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): I'm still not sure if White's exchange loss was a sacrifice that looked like a blunder or a blunder that looked like a sacrifice, but in either case, it made me think again about what is truly valuable, and you've got to be grateful for any game that does that.

FM Ingvar Johannesson (10th Place, 11 points): This was a tense battle in the Najdorf. Black seemed to be doing at least ok when the course of the game was changed with Black being up the exchange, but White having strong positonal compensation for it (weak light squares d5/f5 and some weaknesses around the Black King). The battle was still very tense but probably Black lost his footing a little when he failed to play 35... Bd4!? which seems interesting and highlights the weakness of the White King and the backrank and lets Black's Rooks come alive. Instead Black lost the thread and allowed White the nice 39. g6 winning the game. A nice game and a tough battle but for me not impressive enough from the winner to be in the top spots of GOTY.

FM Alisa Melekhina (12th Place, 9 points): Becerra executed the uncommon 12. g5 in a sensible and logical manner, eliminating Black's light-squared Bishop after preventing Black from playing Nb6 and following up with the menacing Bg4. Although Black could have perhaps put up more resistance by going into a positional sacrifice with 20... Nxe3, it is difficult to say how he could have halted White's unwavering and methodical attack. This was a clean game, albeit a bit one-sided, that demonstrated what disparity there is between a GM and a 2350+ player.

GM Alex Lenderman (17th Place, 4 points): This is a sharp Sicilian where Black at first got a better of it, just soundly on the way of outplaying a very solid GM. 20. Rc3!? probably was an improvement over 20. Bh3, and 26. Na1!? not blocking access to e3 square might've been a better try than 26. Nd2. In the game line, White ended up sacrifising/losing an exchange, which
objectively shouldn't work with Black already attacking. And if Black found 28... b4! instead of 28... Rfd8?! then White had nothing better than 29. Ng3 b3 30. Nf5, allowing a Queen trade as anything else actually allows Black to crash through first with his attack. In other lines, for instance if White takes twice on b3, Black puts his Bishop on d4, and then White's pieces would
be bit tied down to defending the attack!

Also 31... axb3 followed by Qa7, Ra8, and Bc5 tying White down would also have been an improvement. Then on move 34, there was a comedy of errors. White played 34. Rd5?! when 34. Qg3 would probably be better. And then 34... a3? is just a terrible move, blocking the attack and all the counterplay that Black tried to play for the whole game. 34... axb3 absolutely
had to be played, and Black is still doing well there as after 35. axb3 Qa7 it's not clear what White should do as Be3! is a nasty threat with the follow up of Qa2+. If Black forces the trade of the f5 Knight, Black will simply winning. For example 36. fxe5 Be3 37. Nxe3 Qxe3 brings the threat of
Qe1+ followed by Ra1+ with mate. And 36. Qd2? is just getting mated to 36... Qa2+ 37. Kc1 Qa1+!! 38. Bxa1 Rxa1+ 39. Kb2 Ra8 followed by mate on a2 in short order. The point is Black absolutely had to try for counterplay and shied way from it at the worst moment, giving White absolutely everything.

To me it looked more like White not doing much to win this game, actually Black, his lower-rated opponent even outplaying him, but then just not executing to get his nice win, and losing the game on his own. That's why I ranked this game low, just above the comedy of error games, despite its seemingly nice finish. Even after 34... a3?, 35... Bd4 was still an improvement on the game continuation, either trading away the defending Bishop for the b2 square, or the dangerous Knight? And Black would still be better then! White should've played 36. Bc1 instead of 36. Ba1?! as in several lines the Bishop is better on c1, covering back-rank mates.

FM Victor Shen (18th Place, 3 points): Though this game may have seemed rather one sided at first glance, Banawa was actually quite in the game until the very end. After Becerra sacrificed an exchange for light square compensation as well as an attack, Black should have probably started immediately on the Queenside with 28... b4. He was still doing fine as both players manoeuvred around, but then missed a chance, 34... axb3, to regain the initiative. Locking the Queenside with 34... a3 was fine also, but only if followed up with Bd4. After this, Black played too passively and was swiftly punished.

Total Score of Becerra vs Banawa: (13th Place, 45 Points)

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Stay tuned for eleven more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2011 Game of the Year!

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Week 7: WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article

Week 10: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article

Semifinals: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article

Championship: GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article

Wildcard #1: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #3: IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #5: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #6: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article

Eliminated:

13th Place (45 Points): GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

14th Place (44 Points): GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

15th Place (43 Points): GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

16th Place (43 Points): GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

17th Place (42 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

18th Place (32 Points): GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 14th Place

2012-01-06T01:29:00.000-08:00

This is the seventh part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 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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14th Place: GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0

GM Shankland started a nice tactical finish with 46. Nxd6!, handing the top Board One All Star his only loss of the season

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 Victor Shen (4th Place, 17 points): This game received criticism for the fact that both players made a mistake in the opening, but if it wasn't apparent to two 2600s then it's really not something to cry about. It was a complex game where Sammour-Hasbun made the instinctive, but as it turned out, objectively wrong choice to break with 21... e6, probably hoping for a complicated position in which he thrives. However, Shankland proved to be up to the task and handled the complications quite well, putting Sammour-Hasbun's Queenside in a bind. Though Shankland might have missed a quicker win, his final combination was quite aesthetic. In all his other games this season, the invincible Sammour-Hasbun won game after game by besting his opponents in a complicated, dynamic position, but this was the exception, making it even more impressive.

FM Alisa Melekhina (10th Place, 11 points): Black was unable to obtain sufficient compensation for the sacrificed pawn in a Benko, and after coordinating his pieces, Shankland made good use of his extra Pawn on the Queenside. He was able to simplify the position with exchanges, and eventually his material advantage proved decisive. Overall, this game puts into question Black's Qf5-g6 maneuver. It seems that a potentially exciting game was sedated by an early imprecision by Black. Natural and simple moves by Shankland proved effective against Sammour-Hasbun's setup.

This game is not representative of what Sammour-Hasbun is capable of, as evidenced by his three other games in this year’s competition. However, Sam should be commended for halting one of the league’s most dangerous attackers.

GM Alex Lenderman (14th Place, 7 points): Sammour-Hasbun has played many brilliant games in his USCL career, but in this lone loss of the season it just wasn't his day. This game didn't start on the right foot, beginning with the move 14. 0-0?! which seems to just blunder a Pawn with 14.. g5 15. Nf3 Nxd5. If Sam was hoping for some kind of discoveries with the Knight they don't work because once the Bishop moves from g2, Qh3 comes too powerful with mating threats. Instead 14. Bb2 secured a typical Benko game edge. But for some strange reason Black also returned the favor and missed Nxd5 instead playing 15... Qf5? 16. e4 Qg6 17. Bb2 +/-

One would think that would essentially be it for this game but unfortunately not. White's technique didn't seem great in this game either, despite it looking relatively straightforward. A shaky moment was 23. Qf1?! as 23. e5 looks like it speeds up the process as 23... Ne8 24. Qe4!, and Black's position just crumbles; Black doesn't really have an adequate defence after 23. e5! Instead after 23. Qf1, on move 28 Black had a more tenacious defence with 28... Ne5! instead of 28... Red8?! which is just too passive, already being down a pawn. 29. Qxb6? Reb8 will allow a perpetual on the Queen which can only allow White to play for a win with the strange 29. Be4 as after 29... Qe7 30. Re8 f5 31. Qb7 fxe4, White has given away practically all of his advantage. And after 28... Ne5! 29. a5 Nbd7 30. Ra2 Reb8, White's Queen is forced into passivity, and Black still has chances to hold although it's still +/-, but not +-.

Also, on move 40, White played 40. Ne3?! Instead after 40. Re8! Nb4 then 41. Rxd8!? and 41. Qa4 both win. Black played 40... Ne7 while instead 40... Qd2!? keeps Black in the game as 41. Nf5 Kg6 42. Ra1(look where the Rook has to go now!) Nb4 43. Qb5 Nc2, and even though White is still better, Black is still defending and you see where this is going as it can still become messy. 42... Qb4! would have been more tenacious after 43. Bf1 Qe4. After 42... Qe5 43. Bf1?! was played but 43. Nc4!? was better. 43... Nb4?! finally gave away the game completely while 43... Qe4 keeps Black in the game.

Finally, 45. Re3?! again ruined a big advantage. Instead 45. Rxf7+! Kxf7 46. Qxa7 was also winning on the spot. 45... Qc2?! wasn't best either as 45... Qg6 was better, and Black is again fighting. Black ends up with an ending down a Pawn after 45... Qg6 46. Rxe7, but it's still a battle.

The finish in this game was nice. But it was sloppy in the opening, sloppy with technique, missing several much better continuations and really nothing special all around before the finish so I had to rank it pretty low.

FM Ingvar Johannesson (16th Place, 5 points): Interesting to see Sammour-Hasbun for once being "spanked" instead of holding the whip for a change! They contested a line in the Benko that Dutch Karel Van der Weide tried out for a while to counter the fianchetto line which was starting to have very good success for White. Black's play is very direct, but it is my understanding that White had more or less completely neutralized this idea. It also felt like White got in control without doing anything special in this game. From there it just felt like standard GM technique to direct the win home, but it had some sloppy moments before the aesthetically pleasing ending. With Black not playing very well and the finishing not exactly clinical I couldn't rank this very high.

FM Ron Young (17th Place, 4 points): A heavyweight fight to be sure, but even a heavyweight perhaps ought not to lead with his Queen. By move 28, Black was clutching a one-way ticket to Palookaville.

Total Score of Shankland vs Sammour-Hasbun: (14th Place, 44 Points)

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Stay tuned for twelve more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2011 Game of the Year!

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Week 7: WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article

Week 8: GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article

Week 10: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article

Semifinals: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article

Championship: GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article

Wildcard #1: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #3: IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #5: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #6: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article

Eliminated:

14th Place (44 Points): GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

15th Place (43 Points): GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

16th Place (43 Points): GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

17th Place (42 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

18th Place (32 Points): GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 15th Place

2012-01-04T09:35:00.000-08:00

This is the sixth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 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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15th Place: GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0

GM Kraai nicely exploited his opponent's misplaced Queen with 20. c3!, and with the threat of his Queen being trapped, Black was forced to shed material after which White converted easily.

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 (2nd Place, 19 points): My father was never a tournament player and probably never beat a stronger player than my mother, who was likewise not a tournament player and never beat a stronger player than my father, but even so, years after the Fischer vs Spassky World Championship Match (i.e., the FIDE-recognized one, played in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1972), he remembered Fischer's Queen being trapped "in the lower-left hand corner of the board" in the eleventh game. This makes me wonder whether there is a genetic component to chess appreciation, as I feel much the same way about Queen trappings as Jerry Hanken used to feel about Queen sacrifices, and, I believe, with more justice. After all, it's easy to give away such a powerful piece but not at all easy to trap it.

GM Alex Lenderman (4th Place, 17 points): Very nice effort by Jesse! Another topical line, a sharp Sicilian where White plays actively, sacrifises a couple of Pawns for an initiative, and the initiative ends up being a deciding factor.

Looks like taking the Pawns was a dangerous proposition, but once you play a line like this where you play h5, it already becomes very sharp and risky. 14... Qc5!? or 14... Bc5!? were probably safer, though again once you play such a sharp line, you can't blame Julio for going after the Pawns as a logical follow-up. Probably the real error (though not very obvious) is 19... Ba6?!, exchanging his defender, and misplacing his Rook slightly. Then after that White's initiative went full-steam. Instead, 19... Rc8!! was a very interesting computer try (can't blame either one for not seeing it or underestimating it. This move also has a real hidden trap. First of all, if White tries the same move 20. c3, then in all the lines, Rb8+ is not a problem and after 20... bxc3 21. Bc1 Bxf2+ Black gets too many pawns. But the main hidden trap is if White goes for the apparently winning line 20. Ra1? Qb2 21. Nc4?! seemingly trapping the Queen, then comes 21... Bxf2+!! 22. Kxf2 Rxc4! 23. bxc4 Qd4+, and Black is simply winning with many Pawns for the exchange, and now Black is the one attacking!

Probably after 19... Rc8, 20... Bc1 Qa2 21. Bb2 is best with a lasting initiatve for the two pawns. A possible line (of course not only line) is 21... Be7!? 22. Re2!? d6 23. c3 Ra1 24. Qxa1 Qxa1 leaving a huge mess. I have to admit I didn't analyze this game super-deeply like I would my own game, but still even though I would prefer White with the initiative, it's clear that it's still a game in all these lines.

It seems like White could've done better than this, without allowing the 19... Rc8 resource. Instead of 18. Rb1?!, perhaps 18. Bf4! is stronger. Be5 is a very powerful threat, and now after 18... d6 19. Bb5+ Ke7 20. e5 ne4!? the only try is 21. exd6+ Kf8 22. Be5!, and either way Black captures on f2, White will be better. On 22... Nxf2 Bxb2 23. Nxd1+ Bd4 24. Bxd4 Nxd4 25. Nc3 Bc6 White is better because of the passed Pawn. And on 22... Bxf2+ 23. Kf1 Nc3 the only move is 24. bxc3 Qxc3 25. Kxf2 Qc5+ 26. Qd4 Qxb5 27. axb4, Black gets the piece back but because of the King on f8, and White pawn on d6, Black is under serious pressure. There were probably some little variations that were omitted but with the help of the computer of course all of this is easy to find. Of course we cannot blame the players for missing most of these lines, as probably even the elite GMS wouldn't see all of this.

Finally, on move 24, probably instead of 24... Qa2?! which is completely hopeless, 24... Qxc1!? was probably still lost but a better practical try, at least killing some dangerous pieces for a useless Queen. The reason this game missed Top 3 is because of some of these imperfections, and because White's initiative was a bit too straightforward. Still because of how sharp and topical and interesting this game was, I decided to give this game a pretty high ranking.

FM Ingvar Johannesson (18th Place, 3 points): A Taimanov Sicilian. Seems like every other game I look at here is a Sicilian! Anyway it seemed that the the 15... Qxb2 Pawn grab was a bit risky, and then 19... Ba6 was a mistake which seems to just lose by force. After that White just needed to snuff out some counterplay up a Rook. White played well but a bad game by his opponent, following up an already dubious idea with a blunder.

FM Alisa Melekhina (19th Place, 2 points): This game involved several jarring maneuvers by Black while neglecting sound chess principles. Black's lack of development quickly turned into a nightmare when White won a Rook and a Knight, depriving Black of any counterplay.

FM Victor Shen (19th Place, 2 points): Black played very enterprisingly, if not outright riskily, though objectively wasn't doing too badly until his 19th move. 19... Ba6 allowed the White Knight to reach d3, entrapping the Black Queen and forcing Black to shed material. GM Kraai showed nice tactical precision, but it just didn't seem like Sadorra's day; he made life a little too hard on himself for this game to merit a higher ranking.

Total Score of Kraai vs Sadorra: (15th Place, 43 Points)

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Stay tuned for thirteen more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2011 Game of the Year!

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Week 7: WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article

Week 8: GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article

Week 10: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article

Semifinals: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article

Championship: GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article

Wildcard #1: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #3: IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #5: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #6: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #7: GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article

Eliminated:

15th Place (43 Points): GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

16th Place (43 Points): GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

17th Place (42 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

18th Place (32 Points): GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 16th Place

2012-01-02T23:16:00.000-08:00

This is the fifth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 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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16th Place: GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0

A wild tactical series of blows began with 18... Qxe5, with GM Sadorra eventually getting the upper hand after a long battle.

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 Victor Shen (2nd Place, 19 points): I really liked this game and wanted to give it first place for awhile. It was very creative by both sides and certainly exciting. Unfortunately, Black made a huge error with 17... Re8 which could have been decisively punished by 18. Nb5 Qe5 19. Bxf4 Qxf4 20. Nd6, winning in all variations due to Black's tied up pieces. It seemed very natural and essential to play something like 17... Nc5 instead to unravel and develop. Sadorra's 18. e5 was second best; after a flurry of tactics he ended up wtih a Rook and two pieces vs. a Queen. He found the right set up for his pieces and overcame Black with the cute 46. Kh3!, threatening mate. Had it not been for Black's strange 17th move, and White's subsequent failure to find the correct punishment, I may have bumped this game up. It was a rich game full of complications, and Sadorra has to be complimented for his nice handling of such unusual and complex positions.

FM Ron Young (8th Place, 13 points): One of the “bataille royale” category of nominees and a fun game with a lot of nice points. Black’s Queen could perhaps have held against the RNB, but it is easier to work together than to work alone.

FM Ingvar Johannesson (17th Place, 4 points): Some Pawn sac line in the Ragozin that I am not familiar with. White sacrifices a pawn but has the Bishop pair and some attacking chances. White seemed to miss 18. Nb5 which seems to win either a piece or give White an overwhelming position up the exchange. 23. Rxa8 is also an interesting moment; White elects to have two Rooks vs Queen and two Pawns but later it is Rook and two pieces vs Queen and Pawns. Instead White could have gone for being a piece up with some practical problems. In the
endgame it somehow felt to me like Black should be ok, but he somehow never got his Queenside Pawns rolling, and Sadorra skillfully used his minor pieces to create problems for the King and managed to win.

FM Alisa Melekhina (17th Place, 4 points): As soon as the players exited theory around move sixteen, the game was plagued with inaccuracies such as 23. Rxa8 instead of 23. f3 and missed opportunities such as 26... Nxf3. While this game certainly featured interesting imbalances easy to get lost in during analysis, neither player was able to successfully navigate them, and the final mate seemed like it was more of the result of a time-scramble than a deserved win. Black had many chances for a draw such as 24… Nf4+, but like in the Nakamura game he over-pushed and lost.

GM Alex Lenderman (18th Place, 3 points): Nice fighting game and probably entertaining for the fans but too many mistakes, especially early on. Black played the opening rather poorly, gave White a big initiative, a nice Nxd5! resource, and then did not defend the initiative well.
Still, 17... Nc5 would have kept the game level instead of the incorrect 17... Re8? (Queenside has to be developed!). Also, 14.Qf3 for White looks like it would give White's initiative more power, for example, 14... N7b6 15. Rab1 Qa3 16. e4!. And on 15... Qc3 16. Be4! is strong. White's next few moves also didn't seem most accurate, which in fact allowed Black's Nc5. But after Black's 17... Re8?, if White found 18. Nb5! followed by Nd6, he is already winning as Black's pieces are too tangled up, and White would have too many threats.

18. e5?! should also be good enough, but later White played 23. Rxa8?. Why not 23. f3 Rxe8 24. fxg4, just leaving White up a piece? Instead, by move 29, Black was already slightly better with the Queen and a few passed Pawns, and after 29... g6, taking away some key penetration squares, Black is not really in danger of losing. White then did a good job maintaining the pressure and keeping the position equal until Black, with a few inaccuracies, got a worse position, and then 39... b5? was a losing move (time pressure).

At the very end of the game White also missed a very nice win, although it was indeed very hard to see. 42. Ne5!! was a winner as after 42... Qf1+ 43. Kg4 Qh1 44. Rf7+ Kh6 45. Rf6! Qh5+ 46. Kf4 Qg5+ 47. Ke4, and the key is 47... Qxf6 fails to 48. Ng4+ - this looks like a study! While we can't blame the players too much for missing that, the earlier moments were already enough to rank this game low. Black's last mistake was 44... Qe1?, allowing Be4 and Rf6. 44... Qa1! instead still kept Black in the game, looking for counterplay through qe5-h5, and White probably had nothing better probably than 45. Rf7 Qe5 46. Nf4, where White would probably be winning in the long run, but it's far from clear. True, maybe I could have ranked this game higher for its fighting spirit, but to me the early part of the game really spoils it.

Total Score of Sadorra vs Battaglini: (16th Place, 43 Points)

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Stay tuned for fourteen more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2011 Game of the Year!

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Week 7: WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article

Week 8: GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article

Week 9: GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article

Week 10: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article

Semifinals: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article

Championship: GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article

Wildcard #1: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #3: IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #5: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #6: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #7: GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article

Eliminated:

16th Place (43 Points): GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

17th Place (42 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

18th Place (32 Points): GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 17th Place

2012-01-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

This is the fourth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 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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17th Place: GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0

With the nice zwischenzug, 20. h6!, White gained the upper hand in this wild line eventually scoring a nice tactical victory with three pieces versus a Queen.

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 Alisa Melekhina (7th Place, 14 points): I would have been more impressed with this game had I been convinced that the incredible 22. Qxg4 sacrifice was completely original. Unfortunately, it seems that this move order had already been played a month earlier in Ivanov, Bor – Enchev, I (26th Teteven Open). Thus, half of the game seems to have been prep, but that doesn’t mean that Mesgen shouldn’t be commended for his remaining play finishing off Black with three pieces vs. Queen in style. Especially impressive was the well-calculated 31. Be3 tactic.

GM Alex Lenderman (10th Place, 11 points): Very interesting game but a lot of the excitement was actually just book and preparation. Even if it was preparation it turned out to maybe even be more successful preparation from Black than White because Black had at least one improvement (forced draw) and maybe even more than that. Key mistake was 29... Rd8?. Instead, 29... Rxd6! forces a draw as 30. Nxd6 Be5! 31. fxe5 Qxh4+ 32. Kg1 Qd4+ Or 30. Nxb5!? Rxf4! 31. Bxf4 Bxf4+, and it is perpetual or even more for Black. All in all, White seemed to play well, but since a lot of it was preparation and not even a completely succesful preparation, and a lot of the moves were forced, I ended up putting this game only as high as tenth, making the top ten list due to the fact that it was relatively high quality.

FM Ron Young (14th Place, 7 points): The immortal no-relation game. Though much of this game was theory, extending several moves beyond the Queen sacrifice, some of it wasn’t theory, and think how hard it is to make a single good move in a game, and how many games are effectively decided, and not for the best, by the first original move.

FM Ingvar Johannesson (15th Place, 6 points): Of course this game looks exciting on the surface, but this has all been seen before. I have misplaced my Avrukh book somewhere in my pile of books so I don‘t know how long they are following theory, but I believe this line is just supposed to be good for White. Nevertheless White still had to win the game and even though I think that this game demonstrates how much easier it is to play with the minor pieces, the method of victory was still pretty nice and overall this is an exciting game to watch. Unfortunately the lack of originality kills it a lot.

FM Victor Shen (17th Place, 4 points): A very interesting game, but it's unfortunate to me that most of the brilliance of the game was Avrukh's analysis. Of course, GM M Amanov cannot be faulted for playing the correct moves that he studied, but it just seems unfair to award this a high ranking when most of the strong opening moves were published. White played a nice game (minus a slip following the opening), but it seemed as if Black just cooperated a little too much.

Total Score of M Amanov vs Z Amanov: (17th Place, 42 Points)

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Stay tuned for fifteen more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2011 Game of the Year!

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Week 6: GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article

Week 7: WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article

Week 8: GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article

Week 9: GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article

Week 10: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article

Semifinals: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article

Championship: GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article

Wildcard #1: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #3: IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #5: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #6: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #7: GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article

Eliminated:

17th Place (42 Points): GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

18th Place (32 Points): GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 18th Place

2011-12-31T19:52:00.000-08:00

This is the third part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 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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18th Place: GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1

In an already wild game, rather than taking the perpetual, GM Nakamura boldly pressed forward with 35. Rg1, leading to an exciting finish in one of the biggest upsets 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 Ingvar Johannesson (9th Place, 12 points): This game started as a reversed Leningrad. Having played 1. f4 myself several times I thought Khachiyan's opening play was very classical, and he had no problems in the opening and might even claim to be slightly better. It felt like Khachiyan then took over as Nakamura's position felt overextended and weak. Then Khachiyan sacked the exchange (he also did in Week 5, I have a very educated guess about who his favourite player is, starts with P and ends with etrosian!). Then I think he went a bit overboard sacking another exchange (26... Be7 followed by some normal moves, and I place this top three for sure) which probably wasn't necessary but I guess he was all-in for glory at that point. Overall a good game by Khachiyan but slips a little because of the fact that he messed up a bit, and Nakamura could have taken a perpetual but went a little crazy trying to win.

FM Victor Shen (13th Place, 8 points): One of the biggest upsets of the season. It's not often that you see a World Top Ten player lose with White period. Of course it was an imperfect game as Nakamura optimistically spurned perpetual check but later blundered in the ensuing unbalanced endgame. Though the quality of the game may not have been as high as one might have hoped from these strong players, it was an impressive and unexpected upset nevertheless.

FM Ron Young (15th Place, 6 points): Ah, December. Christmas carols, year-end lists, Shahade family birthdays, and deciding how much weight to assign the Nakamura factor in the GOTY voting. Black did play well, and if he was guided at all by White's well-known aversion to draws, all the more admirable. It did seem that Hikaru thought of nothing but winning, up to but not beyond the moment he realized he had to resign.

FM Alisa Melekhina (16th Place, 5 points): Undoubtedly one of the reasons this game was chosen as a Wildcard was because of the caliber of the player on the White side of the board. However, it seems that Nakamura just didn't take this game seriously enough, to his own detriment, and underestimated the strength of his GM opponent. Known for playing the Dutch with Black, his experiment of using the same set-up for White did not succeed. After losing objectivity in his desire to win and haughtily refusing to force a draw, this game ended on a dubious note with a Pawn race favoring Khachiyan.

GM Alex Lenderman (20th Place, 1 point): This game might very well be one where the fans were most excited about, not only about the upset factor, but also because of so many turning points!

But in fact the upset factor seems like the only intriguing factor for me in this game, nothing else. I won't go too in depth, but in simplest terms: White didn't develop his Queenside pieces until move 18 and by that time was already much worse. Then 23. Qxc5 was not very accurate, 23. Bd5+! was better first to take away 23... Kh8. (23... Kh8?? 24. Nxg6+). After 23. Bd5+ Be6 Black's Bishop is passive and then 24. Qxc5 would have left White slightly worse but managable. But for some reason White played 23... Qxc5 in a couple of seconds (thanks ICC). 25. Bd5+? was also a huge lemon, self-pinning himself and misplacing the Bishop while 25. Rxe5 pretty much forces a Queen trade. 24... Rd8 25. Ng2 g5 was probably better than 24... Re5?!, keeping more of an advantage, and Black would be in control. But 25. Bd5+? validated Black's inaccurate 24... Re5, and after 25... Kg7 Black is simply winning.

26... Be7! looked just winning also as after the only move 27. Qc4 (or 27. Qb5 a6 doesn't change much) then 27... Qb6+ 28. Kh1 Rh5! with a simple mating attack. White's King is too exposed, and Black has too many pieces attacking. The second exchange sacrifice seems too extreme, I wonder if it was a bailout to make sure to secure a draw, or if Black missed something. But Black did play that move relatively quickly in three minutes in a tough position, just like White played 25. Bd5+ in thirty seconds, also very mysterious. So the logical outcome after White's very poor opening and Black's poor execution should've been a fighting draw, and should've ended in a perpetual check.

Those factors would already be enough for me to rank this game low. Add to that that White overpressed not once, but actually twice and then did not find the drawing continuation in the endgame, 45. c5= and once again 46. c5= after spending less than a minute for each move, and that Black squandered his advantage at least a couple of times, as exciting as this game was, and as much of an upset it was, all these negative factors about it left me an easy decision to rank this game last.

Total Score of Nakamura vs Khachiyan: (18th Place, 32 Points)

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Stay tuned for sixteen more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2011 Game of the Year!

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Week 6: GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article

Week 7: WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article

Week 8: GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article

Week 9: GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article

Week 10: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article

Semifinals: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article

Championship: GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article

Wildcard #1: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #2: GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #3: IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #5: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #6: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #7: GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article

Eliminated:

18th Place (32 Points): GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 19th Place

2011-12-30T13:32:00.000-08:00

This is the second part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 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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19th Place: Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0

With the calm 28. Rxg7!, despite allowing the capture of his Queen with check, NM Wu quickly finished off a nice mating attack

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 Alex Lenderman (11th Place, 10 points): Christopher Wu definitely did his homework and demonstrated that he knew the straightforward plan following the opening theory in the Paulsen g3 line. But Black simply made it too easy. 19... d5 was very much called for to blunt White's attack and to pressure the e4 pawn, thus trying to gain a grip on the f5 square. If White then plays 20. f5, seemingly the only topical line, then after 20... gxf5 Black is up a pawn and seems fine and defending. So perhaps White's 19. Nd1?! didn't turn out too well after all even though it is very topical - perhaps 19. Qf2 was instead called for. Either way White's opening shouldn't have been a success, but White got what he wanted after 19... b5?! 20. Ne3.

Black could've still played 20... d5 instead of the lemon 20... Kh8? though with less effect because the f5 square is already guarded by the Knight. But what really got this game out of the top ten was the fact that White botched a clear win and let Black get back into the game. If White found 22. Nf6! or 22. f5!? first, then 22... Bxf6 is forced (mate on h7 is threatened) after which 23. gxf6 Ng8 24. f5! exf5 25. Bh6! with mate coming, then this game probably would make the top ten though probably not top five. But unfortunately this was missed and after 22. Bc3? e5 23. fxe5?! (even here 23. f5 was stronger and probably winning though more complicated), 23... Bxg4! 24. Qxg4 if Black had found 24... b4! instead of 24... dxe5?, the game would have been still unclear. If White tries 25. Bd4!? then 25... Qc4! holds f7 and now very importantly, the Bishop is deflected into a bad square, d4, where now exd6 is impossible due to Bxd4+ winning for Black. Therefore, Black will simply regain a Pawn with a fine game! Most White can hope for here is a slight advantage after 25. c3!? dxe5 26. Bf2. 25... Nc6 besides the natural dxe5 is also possible. White can also try 25. Be1!? Bxe5 26. Rxf7 but of course this is a much better version for Black with the Bishop nice and active instead of being behind a Pawn on e5. 26... Kg8 for Black after 26. Rxf7, and Black has good play. If 27. Rf1, then 27... Qxc2, and if 27. Rf2?! then 27... a4! and Bd4. Finally White can try the most principled 25. exd6 Qa7+ 26. Kh1 bxc3 27. dxe7 Rxe7 28. bxc3, and again most White can hope for is a slight edge and the game is still very much in doubt 27. Rxf7? fails miserably to 27... cxb2, and the Pawn will be a problem for White.

With this stuff being missed, and Black's defense also not being ideal, after 24... dxe5? 25. Rxf7, White won with a nice mating pattern, a beautiful finish. The fact that it was a nice finish and not GMs playing, I bumped the ranking up a little bit to eleventh, but with all the inaccuracies and the straightforward nature of it, it wasn't good enough for me for the top ten.

FM Ingvar Johannesson (14th Place, 7 points): Another sharp Sicilian. White's attacking scheme is well known, and this had been played before up to 18. Rf1. Black seemed to somewhat voluntarily place his head on the guillotine with the seemingly redundant move 20... Kh8. White could have been more clinical with 22. Nf6 which is just crushing after 22... Bxf6 23. gxf6 Ng8 24. f5. So overall bad play by Black, and White even missed some stuff. The rest of the game was rather straightforward but even though somewhat obvious, we must give White a cookie for allowing his Queen to be captured with check, nice finish.

FM Alisa Melekhina (14th Place, 7 points): Amongst the other choices, this Board Four game did not seem out of place at all. After being on the offensive, White martyred his Queen to finish Black off in a study-like fashion. Black should have put up more resistance by playing 19... d5, possibly following up with Nf5. White blazed through with a thematic attack, but it most likely would not have succeeded against better defense. This reminds me of some of my own earlier (and even current) games when I used to play the Closed Sicilian or Grand Prix attack and would score quick victories over unwitting opponents, but this style of chess is a bit immature, and I look forward to seeing these players grow out of it as they progress.

FM Ron Young (16th Place, 5 points): Letting one's Queen go with check is not an everyday activity, but once White got to land his Rook on f7 with capture, it was clearly time for the Black King to start writing his memoirs.

FM Victor Shen (20th Place, 1 point): A nice attacking effort by the young Wu. Unfortunately, as Black didn't put up very much resistance (Wu could have even ended things as early as move 22 with Nf6!), I couldn't give this a higher ranking. Leaving the Queen en prise (with check!) was a nice touch though.

Total Score of Wu vs Black: (19th Place, 30 Points)

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Stay tuned for seventeen more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2011 Game of the Year!

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Week 6: GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article

Week 7: WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article

Week 8: GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article

Week 9: GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article

Week 10: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article

Semifinals: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article

Championship: GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article

Wildcard #1: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #2: GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #3: IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #4: GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Wildcard #5: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #6: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #7: GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article

Eliminated:

19th Place (30 Points): Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Game of the Year -- 20th Place

2011-12-29T13:50:00.000-08:00

This is the first part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 USCL Game of the Year. The entrants are the thirteen Games of the Week along with the seven Wildcards (full list). There are five judges who ranked the games from 1st to 20th. If a game is ranked in 1st place by a judge, it receives 20 points, if it's ranked 2nd place it receives 19 points, and so on with 20th place receiving 1 point, and the games are then ranked by their total number of points. If there is a tie at a certain total, whichever amongst those games have higher individual rankings will win on tiebreak (e.g., a game which gets 1st + 4th rankings is higher than a game which gets 2nd + 3rd).

The five judges are:

FM Ingvar Johannesson
GM Alex Lenderman
FM Alisa Melekhina
FM Victor Shen
FM Ron Young

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20th Place: IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0

The already messy and strange game went up another notch with FM Banawa uncorking 23... Nxd5!? After many complications and twists, IM Holt eventually emerged on top, the first of his many victories in an incredible season.

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 Alisa Melekhina (8th Place, 13 points): As I was looking through this game, I thought that Banawa had overstepped with 19... e4 and was punished for his optimism. However, the game soon became more complex with Black even having winning chances around 29... Rxa3 after Holt's inaccurate 29. Be2. Of course the winning 33... Qb8 followed by the unexpected ... d5 was understandably counterintuitive after having moved the Queen to e8 only a few moves earlier, so it is difficult to reproach Black for faltering at the end.

This game is an excellent demonstration of the practical aspect of chess, and shows what we stand to lose if chess becomes absorbed by play against computers or advanced chess. With so many top level games being either completely one-sided or equal all throughout until a slight advantage is capitalized on, this is a rare, exciting battle that deserves a top ten ranking due to its fighting spirit. The players rallied with the advantage until the final mistake, epitomizing a real chess struggle.

FM Victor Shen (12th Place, 9 points): A very exciting, fighting game. Banawa initiated complications with 19... e4!?, though perhaps out of necessity. Holt then defended pretty accurately and gained a winning advantage despite being under a lot of pressure, until his blunder 29. Be2?? Suddenly the tide swung in Black's favor, but he missed the strong 33... Qb8! to attack f4. After that, the mistake 34... Ra4 allowed White to regain the initiative and mop up. Sure, when you analyze with the computer, you can see all the mistakes, but it was an exciting game nevertheless.

GM Alex Lenderman (19th Place, 2 points): Fun finish, entertaining for the fans, but if you ask Conrad Holt, this might be very well the game he's least happy about from his great first season in the USCL. Maybe nerves were a factor here. White played the opening curiously, with moves like h4 and b4 (generally not recommended to play on both sides on the same time, especially with a space advantage), and White seemed to give Black good counterplay chances as with 19... Ng3 20. fxg3 Nf5, it is a very unclear game.

However, Black self-destructed into a lost position quickly with 19... e4? 20. g4 (maybe Black missed this move or underestimated it). Point is, that Black gave away too many pawns which became actually a good shelter for White's king. 21... Ng3 was also better than 21... Be5?!, after which White can just take the knight on h5, followed by Qc2 and Kd1+-. 22. Nf3 was also probably good enough.

The real problem with this game is of course that White after just getting a winning game self-destructed into a lost position with 29. Be2?? (29. Bg2 was just winning, or even the curious computer 29. h5!? as the escape square e2 is very important. And then if black found 32... Ra2!! instead of 32... Rxh1?!, 33. Qxa2 Qxe4+, all of a sudden Black is having a tremendous initiative and taking all of White's Pawns. Even after 32... Rxh1 33. Ke3, all Black had to do is find 33... Qb8! taking the b-file away from White's heavy pieces, prophylaxis, and on 34. Bxg6 d5!, Black will be on top. Instead the position first became equal and then 34... Ra4? was losing. 34... d5! followed by Ra4 was the only chance, and it would lead to a perpetual check according to the computer. Nice mating pattern for White at the end but in reality just a comedy of errors.

FM Ingvar Johanesson (19th Place, 2 points): This game was in somewhat new territory in terms of theory early on although it's a well known position type. Seems like the balance was more or less kept till move 19 when Black had to find the computeresque 19... Ng3 to keep the balance. After that some wild play ensued in which it was difficult to find the best moves. White seemed to be on top of things then slipped up, but Black then returned the favour. An exciting game but too many errors for me to put this anywhere but near the bottom.

FM Ron Young (20th Place, 1 point): Back in the day, "rich in vicissitudes" was praise comparable to "the cat's pajamas", but modern chess science frowns on too many vicissitudes. To put it another way, "that swing" is a nice thing, but "those swings" lead to dizziness, and there were a couple pretty big ones.

Total Score of Holt vs Banawa: (20th Place, 27 Points)

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Stay tuned for eighteen more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2011 Game of the Year!

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article

Week 4: Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Week 6: GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article

Week 7: WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article

Week 8: GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article

Week 9: GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article

Week 10: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article

Semifinals: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article

Championship: GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article

Wildcard #1: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #2: GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #3: IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #4: GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Wildcard #5: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #6: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #7: GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article

Eliminated:

20th Place (27 Points): IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article Elimination Article

Wildcard Game #7

2011-12-21T12:09:00.000-08:00

Wildcard #7: GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0

Arun Sharma: This game did have some errors, including an opening move order mishap, but it was a nice effort against the top Board One All Star in his only defeat of the season. A not badly played game overall with an attractive finish makes this game a reasonable addition to the GOTY Contest in my view.

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And with that the twenty games in the GOTY Contest are set! They are:

Week 1: IM Conrad Holt (DAL) vs FM Joel Banawa (LA) 1-0 Article

Week 2: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Lev Milman (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 0-1 Article

Week 4: Christopher Wu (NJ) vs NM James Black (MAN) 1-0 Article

Week 5: GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Week 6: GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) vs IM Gabriel Battaglini (CAR) 1-0 Article

Week 7: WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) vs FM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) 1-0 Article

Week 8: GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs FM Joaquin Banawa (STL) 1-0 Article

Week 9: GM Jesse Kraai (SF) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article

Week 10: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) 1-0 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Yury Shulman (CHC) vs GM Cristian Chirila (DAL) 1-0 Article

Semifinals: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1 Article

Championship: GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) 0-1 Article

Wildcard #1: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #2: GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #3: IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #4: GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1 Article

Wildcard #5: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #6: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0 Article

Wildcard #7: GM Sam Shankland (NE) vs SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) 1-0 Article

Now the Game of the Year Contest is finally ready to begin. The first elimination will be shown within the next few days so be sure to keep tabs on the USCL website so you don't miss any of the action!

Wildcard Game #6

2011-12-19T12:32:00.000-08:00

Wildcard #6: IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) vs FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) 1-0

Greg Shahade: Clearly I like people named Amanov. I thought it was an aesthetically pleasing exchange sacrifice, and it was instructive to see how much White's minor pieces dominated the action.

Wildcard Game #5

2011-12-17T10:20:00.000-08:00

Wildcard #5: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) vs IM Robert Hungaski (NE) 1-0

Arun Sharma: A game which I really felt should have won GOTW in Week 1 in place of the game which wound up nudging it out, Holt vs Banawa. Like many GOTW decisions, whether this opinion is correct is very much a matter of taste, with the two games being very different stylistically.

For me personally, while the Holt game was more entertaining, the Sammour-Hasbun game seemed very, very clean by the winner with not too many mistakes overall which I definitely cannot claim the same for the other game. As such, I personally would have preferred this to be the winner then, and thus it seems appropriate to add this to the GOTY Contest.

Wildcard Game #4

2011-12-15T18:58:00.000-08:00

Wildcard #4: GM Hikaru Nakamura (STL) vs GM Melikset Khachiyan (LA) 0-1

Greg Shahade: It was obviously a sloppy game as Nakamura went completely crazy trying to win, but it was also very exciting and involved one of the top ten players in the world. I'm curious to see where the Game of the Year Judges will rank it.

Wildcard Game #3

2011-12-13T15:42:00.000-08:00

Wildcard #3: IM Marc Esserman (BOS) vs GM John Fedorowicz (NY) 1-0

Arun Sharma: Another game, which like my first pick, finished a close second in GOTW during its time in a decision that I'm still unsure of. It was a very different style than the game which ended up nudging it out, Shulman vs Chirila, and like many things perhaps a matter of taste as to which game was preferable. However, the fact that the Shulman game was the match deciding win while the Esserman game ended up being for naught was also a definite factor as the decision could well have gone the other way if not for that.

This game's probably most attractive point was the shot 25. Ke2!, likely a bit of home preparation, though it had in fact been played before. How impressive this was, well, there has been more than one debate over the seasons about how high an importance should be placed on home preparation, or how much something having been played before should count against someone, and just as stated earlier, it's very much a matter of opinion.

Whatever anyone might think, it was a close decision to me as to whether this should have won GOTW during its time so, like my first pick, I think it's very appropriate to throw this game into the mix of the GOTY Contest and let the GOTY Judges render the final verdict!

Wildcard Game #2

2011-12-11T20:02:00.000-08:00

Wildcard #2: GM Mesgen Amanov (CHC) vs IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) 1-0

Greg Shahade: Personally I felt this game should have won Game of the Week when it had the chance, but after some discussion we settled on putting it in third place. It's not really important to me whether someone followed twenty moves of theory or made a mistake somewhere in the opening. It was an exciting game which was very complex and interesting, and the fans loved and enjoyed it.

Wildcard Game #1

2011-12-09T22:12:00.000-08:00

Wildcard #1: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (SEA) 1-0

Arun Sharma: This was a game which was very close to winning GOTW during its time but eventually ended up as a close second. I'm really unsure whether the decision which wound up being made was the correct or not - the game which wound up finishing ahead of it, Sadorra vs Battaglini, was a good game as well, though very different stylistically.

While probably the opinions will be extremely varied as to which one should have won - there's no question that this game was a smooth, well played win against a very strong player. So for that reason, and to also allow the GOTY judges to render their own verdict on which game they thought was better, it seems only appropriate to throw this game into the mix that is the Game of the Year Contest.

2011 Game of the Year Contest

2011-12-07T21:39:00.000-08:00

The awards for this year's GOTY Contest will be:

Prizes:

1st: $700 ($600 to the winner, $100 to the loser)
2nd: $400
3rd: $300
4th: $200
5th: $100

The judging panel will, as usual, be somewhat different than last year, with three veterans along with two newcomers:

FM Ingvar Johannesson
GM Alex Lenderman
FM Alisa Melekhina
FM Victor Shen
FM Ron Young

Once more, be sure to keep an eye out on the USCL website for the announcement of the seven Wildcard games which will begin within the next couple of days!

2011 Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Player

2011-12-06T21:48:00.000-08:00

Each of these awards includes a $100 bonus to the winner.

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Rookie of the Year:

NM William Fisher (PHI)

For the Rookie of the Year, there were really only two people who could reasonably be considered for the award, Fisher and IM Conrad Holt (DAL). Both had amazing seasons which normally would have won this award running away, but unfortunately each chose to pull off their amazing feat at the same time as the other, leaving one of them to unluckily be left out. In the end, despite how impressive both were, given Fisher's slightly better record, especially when noting the questionable nature of one of Holt's victories which came about due to an accidental resignation, we felt the nod had to be given to Fisher. Again both players were more than worthy of winning this, but there being only one prize, we did have to choose one of the two.

While no other player was really in the league of either of these two, there were definitely some other rookies who had some great seasons, most notably NM Sam Schmakel (CHC), FM Jorge Pelaez (MIA), and several of the other young Board Four players who turned in very solid seasons. All were impressive, but again not anywhere near the level of the two main candidates.

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Most Improved Player:

IM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ)

This award had several players who seemed to be reasonable candidates - a choice that very much depended on what criterion among the many involved in picking this award one considered to be most important. After weighing all the factors, we felt IM Molner was the most deserving. This being his sixth season in the USCL, and having been very up and down through the years playing entirely on Boards Two and Three, to move to having such a strong performance playing nearly exclusively on Board One we felt to be the most notable improvement by a player in the League this season. His strong season included a nice tactical win over many time League MVP GM Becerra as well as a creative win against IM Naroditsky, with him and IM Altounian really keeping the Arizona team in serious playoff contention until the very end. Only a tough couple of losses to end the season prevented Molner from being both a serious MVP contender and All Star candidate.

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And so, the individual player awards are now complete! Congratulations to everyone who helped make this USCL season so exciting. Be sure to stay in tune with the USCL website to keep track of what is happening with the Game of the Year Contest as the Wildcard games will start being announced soon!

2011 Board One All Stars

2011-12-04T14:16:00.000-08:00

For the criteria that was used to determine these All Stars refer to the first post on the subject.

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1st Team: SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS)

This was a fairly easy decision as Sammour-Hasbun had the best record, highest performance rating, and scored two big wins with Black against the player who wound up being the second team All Star, GM Kacheishvili. The first win also won Game of the Week while the second occurred in the Playoffs, signifying the importance of his performance.

While the Quarterfinals win wound up being for naught in the grand scheme of things, it was really an incredible season by Sammour-Hasbun. With the relocation of the Boston team lessening their ability to use their GMs, the importance of the role he played cannot be understated. The Boston team continues to be one of the better teams in the USCL year after year, having made the postseason the last six seasons but have still been unable to quite make it to the very end at the top. But if there are more seasons like this in store for their new top player, that could well change very soon.

Record: 6.0 / 7 (86%)

Performance Rating: 2849

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2nd Team: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY)

This was a closer decision as both GM Kacheishvili and GM Finegold could potentially have laid claim to this position, each having some factors in their favor. In the end, due to Kacheishvili's much tougher opposition (as evidenced by his superior performance rating despite having an inferior record), along with the importance of many of his wins, he was given the nod for the second spot.

Among these important wins obviously none can measure up to the win in the Championship the decisive game there, which won Game of the Week. Another of his many impressive victories with Black was a win which helped New York start the season off right against GM Margvelashvili.

With his performance, Kacheishvili becomes one of the very few heroes of two USCL Championships, being the main key to New York's victory in both the 2009 and 2011 League Championship. Having a strong ability to outplay strong players with the Black pieces is a rare gift indeed, and as long as he leads the Knights, it will be hard to count them out as real Championship contenders in any season.

Record: 7.5 / 11 (68%)

Performance Rating: 2740

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3rd Team: GM Ben Finegold (STL)

After receiving a spot on the third All Star Team on Board Three in 2010, GM Finegold managed to top that in 2011, moving up to doing the same on Board One with a superior record despite tougher opposition.

As noted, Finegold was a serious candidate for the second team also with his great record, but unfortunately the close decision wound up going against him. But his importance in keep the St. Louis team competitive could not be overlooked as he scored many nice wins, a win in opening week against fellow All Star GM Kraai and a nice technical effort against IM Molner.

While his team had a very disappointing season, with the Arch Bishops now having a two time All Star as a core member of their squad, they can still be hopeful of what the future might bring. If they can shore up the weak points of their effort this year, St. Louis could quickly become a very solid team in no time.

Record: 6.5 / 8 (81%)

Performance Rating: 2719

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Other Candidates:

Three other players who had solid seasons but weren't quite impressive enough to make it to the team were GM Yury Shulman (CHC) (4.5 / 7, 2631 Performance), GM Alex Stripunsky (MAN) (4.0 / 6, 2750 Performance), and GM Sam Shankland (NE) (3.0 / 4, 2772 Performance), each of whom scored a big win (a playoff clinching win by the first and wins against one of the top All Stars for the other two). All were also very important to their team, Shulman scoring the decisive win for the Blaze in the Quarterfinals, Stripunsky in leading the Applesauce back to the postseason after a three year hiatus, and Shankland in bringing the Nor'easters back from a terrible start to the brink of the Playoffs. But while all had very nice seasons, none were quite on par with the All Stars in our eyes.

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And so those are the All Star Teams! To recap, they are (using December 2011 USCF Ratings):

First Team:

1. SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun (BOS) (2607)
2. IM Conrad Holt (DAL) (2548)
3. IM Jay Bonin (PHI) (2404)
4. NM William Fisher (PHI) (2348)

Average Rating: 2477

Second Team:

1. GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) (2667)
2. IM Levon Altounian (ARZ) (2493)
3. WGM Tatev Abrahamyan (LA) (2339)
4. NM Sam Schmakel (CHC) (2218)

Average Rating: 2429

Third Team:

1. GM Ben Finegold (STL) (2585)
2. GM Jesse Kraai (SF) (2567)
3. IM Angelo Young (CHC) (2391)
4. Roland Feng (SEA) (2110)

Average Rating: 2413

What remains now is to give out are the Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Player Awards which will be both be announced in the couple of days.

After that comes the main postseason attraction, the Game of the Year Contest, which will start with the listing of the seven wildcard games that will join the thirteen Games of the Week and then the actual contest itself. This will also begin in just a few days so be sure to keep a close eye on the USCL website for all the announcements!