Game of the Year -- 7th Place

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


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






















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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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


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


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

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

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

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

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

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



Eliminated:


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

Game of the Year -- 8th Place

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


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






















How many could win this famous endgame with the match result hanging in the balance with only one minute left on their clock? IM Ippolito managed to do so without difficulty and scored a nice match victory for his team.



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.



WFM Tatev Abrahamyan (7th Place, 14 points): Another game where one side outplays his opponent, gets space advantage, shuffles his pieces around, and bam! wins the game. I'm starting to see a pattern here. Even without the craziness that happened in the end, a high quality game. It's difficult to point out the big mistakes Black made, yet White managed to get a positional advantage. But even if that wasn't the case, how often do we get to see a checkmate with two Knights??



GM Robert Hess (8th Place, 13 points): Ehhh. Not totally my type of game. I give credit where credit is due: Dean played a good game. However, I feel like Black should not have lost this game. Pascal tried to activate his weak light squared Bishop with 21… c5, but his position was far inferior. The move should have been made a move earlier when Black's position would have been fine. Further on, I think Black should have held a draw, but Dean showed exquisite precision in finishing the game off. Nicely done.



GM Alex Yermolinsky (9th Place, 12 points): The joint winners of the Semifinal GOTW also had a remarkable regular season encounter. Dean applied his trademark positional squeeze on the White side of the KID. Pascal seemed to have an off day as he didn't demonstrate any of his tactical ingenuity. The game rolled into an ending which Black could have tried defending by staying put. Pascal, however, decided to give up his pieces for the two remaining White pawns, thus setting up the notorious two Knights vs Pawn ending. Under different circumstances it could have worked, as it is very difficult to win a theoretically winning position because it requires intricate maneuvering. In the given situation though, the Black King was already confined to a mating net, besides, Pascal didn't play the more tenacious 56... Kh8. The way it went the finish was trivial.



FM Ron Young (12th Place, 9 points): Together with Serper vs Van de Mortel, this game shows that fianchettoing is best left to the Bishops. Black perhaps should not have lashed out with the double piece sacrifice at the end, but it may have been a reflexive response to strangulation. That's some dangerous stuff.



GM Gregory Kaidanov (12th Place, 9 points): A very nice positional game with a cute two Knights vs King endgame.



Total Score of Ippolito vs Charbonneau: (8th Place, 57 Points)


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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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



Eliminated:


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

Game of the Year -- 9th Place

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


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






















IM Van de Mortel played a very interesting sacrifice in 17... Rc5?! leaving IM Bartholomew with a very tough defensive task which he could not seem to quite manage, and Black eventually broke through with a nice Queenside 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 Robert Hess (4th Place, 17 points): Extremely interesting sacrifice by van de Mortel. Although at first the exchange sacrifice looks a bit odd, it does seem a bit hard to completely refute. In a worse position, he found a clever try that ended up working in his favor. Bartholomew did not play his best here, but I'm always appreciative of a hard fought Sicilian win.



FM Ron Young (8th Place, 13 points): Typically, part of the appeal of an exchange sac is the crunching sound it makes so the soundless 17... Rc5?!? must have had a higher motivation. Perhaps White would have stood well had he returned some material sooner, but it is natural, when one has a windfall, to wallow in one's sudden wealth for a bit before the thought of giving something back surfaces. When Black played 30... Rxb4, I was reminded of a time in junior high school, when I was playing a kid named Robinson, and he said, "You lead in points. I lead in strategy."



GM Gregory Kaidanov (10th Place, 11 points): Very interesting exchange sac (second by van der Mortel!), and 30... Rxb4 is a very cute idea.



WFM Tatev Abrahamyan (13th Place, 8 points): An intriguing game. From the first glance it seems that White should just make a few accurate moves and win the game, but Black's attack looks scary. Judging from White's 23. Rhe1 followed by 28. Rh1 a few moves later, White probably felt the same way. Still, without looking at the game thoroughly, I think Black shouldn’t be able to get a counterattack so easily.



GM Alex Yermolinsky (14th Place, 7 points): Yermolinsky only provides commentary for his top ten games.



Total Score of Bartholomew vs Van de Mortel: (9th Place, 56 Points)


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


Week 1: IM Dean Ippolito (NJ) vs GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) 1-0 Article

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



Eliminated:


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

Game of the Year -- 10th Place

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


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






















The maneuvering game, which had suddenly turned into a tactical melee, had it's most salient moment here, where GM Christiansen could have turned the game and the whole match around with the incredible 50... Rbd8!



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.



WFM Tatev Abrahamyan (2nd Place, 19 points): Another great game by Kacheishvili. It is amazing how he managed to win all the crucial games and lead his team to victory. Usually the games on the last boards determine the outcome of the match but not this time. So apparently White missed 47. Rg6! and Black didn't see 50... Rbd8 drawing the game. Still, White completely outplayed Black and got a dominating position. Every move White made in the middlegame was towards improving his position, whereas Black failed to accomplish much. Very nice play in the middlegame – White managed to put his pieces in all the right squares, gain space advantage, and overall just dominate.



GM Gregory Kaidanov (3rd Place, 18 points): This was a nice positional game, which suddenly turned into exchange of tactical blows in the end. I liked it very much.



GM Robert Hess (10th Place, 11 points): Well besides Christiansen missing the saving move, 50... Rbd8, this game was of rather high quality. I would not have played 12... c5 but rather 12... Re8 had I been playing Black in this game. However, this was a normal move and led to chances for both. Kachieshvili did a great job maneuvering his pieces, opening files for his Rooks, and using his two Bishops advantage. 48. Ra7 would have ended the game immediately, but give credit to Christiansen for creating chances for himself. After 50... Rbd8 51. Qa7 Qd3+ leads to a perpetual. Rather fine showing by two leading GMs.



FM Ron Young (17th Place, 4 points): The latter part of this game felt like a baseball game where both teams are at bat at the same time. It is too bad that Christiansen's confusion about the match situation led him to reject the almost-winning 50... Rbd8. Had he managed to turn it around after 48. Rg6+ he might have outdone Antoine Lavoisier, who after all only attempted to speak after losing his head on the guillotine.



GM Alex Yermolinsky (18th Place, 3 points): Yermolinsky only provides commentary for his top ten games.



Total Score of Kacheishvili vs Christiansen: (10th Place, 55 Points)


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


Week 1: IM Dean Ippolito (NJ) vs GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) 1-0 Article

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

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

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

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

Week 9: IM John Bartholomew (DAL) vs IM Jan van de Mortel (CHC) 0-1 Article

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

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

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



Eliminated:


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

Game of the Year -- 11th Place

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


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*This contest will take about a week's hiatus while the Commissioner is on vacation. Be sure to check on the USCL site to see when it resumes, along with keeping an eye out on uschess.org for an article breaking down the final ten games.



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






















GM Becerra continued his creative play with 29. d4! leaving GM Friedel with a very tough position to play, which eventually caused his demise.



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



GM Gregory Kaidanov (2nd Place, 19 points): Very imaginative play by White with exciting, double-edged sacrifices.



FM Ron Young (10th Place, 11 points): I was going to say something like "might be the game of fifty two weeks, but not the Game of the Year". But it did not actually win the weekly prize. So let me try something else. If Wagner's music is better than it sounds, this game is sounder than it holds up. Man, I'll never make Bartlett's at this rate. Anyway, if all these games were my children, this one would be the black sheep but my secret favorite. But they aren't.



GM Alex Yermolinsky (12th Place, 9 points): Yermolinsky only provides commentary for his top ten games.



WFM Tatev Abrahamyan (14th Place, 7 points): A disappointing loss for Black, but a nice way for White to complicate things. A lot of inaccuracies and mistakes; I think Black should have managed to react better to the sacrifices instead of trying so hard to hang on to the piece. Either Black completely underestimated White's ideas or panicked, but either way a nice way to complicate a game.



GM Robert Hess (15th Place, 6 points): Not a fan of this game. Becerra played a very passive opening, only to give Black a decent advantage. After "sacrificing" – it seemed more like Friedel won a piece by the merit of his own strong play, Becerra was losing. 29... Bb4 would have given Black a huge edge; 29... Bb4 30. dxe5 Bxe1 31. d6 Bxf2+ 32. Nxf2 Qb6 33. d7 Rd8 34. Qd3 Bxd7 35. c7 Be6 36. cxd8+ Rxd8 is practically -+.

I do not see a moment where Becerra truly played a nice move. Again, 35... b2 would have been winning for Black. Maybe I am missing something, but it seems that Friedel completely outplayed Becerra the entire game and happened to blunder and lose. If anything, I'd rank this game highly for stressing how to play on the Black side of these types of positions.



Total Score of Becerra vs Friedel: (11th Place, 52 Points)


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


Week 1: IM Dean Ippolito (NJ) vs GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) 1-0 Article

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

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

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

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

Week 9: IM John Bartholomew (DAL) vs IM Jan van de Mortel (CHC) 0-1 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) 1-0 Article

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

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

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



Eliminated:


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

Game of the Year -- 12th Place

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


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






















GM Gulko made an interesting exchange sac with 27. Rxb3! leading to a very unclear position where he eventually elegantly showcased the power of the two Bishops.



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.



WFM Tatev Abrahamyan (4th Place, 17 points): I was going to rank this game higher until I realized that Gulko was White. Nonetheless, a very enjoyable game. I really like White’s play in an annoying and boring English that I usually struggle against. A simple, quiet position with no concrete plans that is usually so difficult and frustrating. I am not sure how sound the exchange sacrifice was, but I am going to overlook that. My guess is Black wasn't expecting the Queen sacrifice, which is surprising and a little hard to understand, but soon after the strength of two Bishops becomes visible and overwhelming. It is hard to see what exactly Black did wrong or how he could have improved; a few inaccurate moves later his position was hopeless.



FM Ron Young (5th Place, 16 points): Queen + Knight is a famous combination of pieces, but they were outgunned here by the unsung Rook + Two Bishops. It could be a question of where they are in relation to the enemy King. I'll know better after I've seen a few more examples, but that is the way I am leaning right now. Anyway, I don’t know if I'd call this game beautiful, but it certainly has class. And beauty fades, but class endures. I know.



GM Gregory Kaidanov (13th Place, 8 points): An interesting game, but the sacrifices were almost forced.



GM Robert Hess (16th Place, 5 points): No surprise here: Gulko always wins (see his 9 - 0 career USCL record). This game I really did not like, though. Black was better after the exchange sacrifice, and 30... Rb8 was a blunder. 30... Ra7 would have left Black with an edge that more than likely would have put a blemish on Gulko's perfect record.



GM Alex Yermolinsky (19th Place, 2 points): Yermolinsky only provides commentary for his top ten games.



Total Score of Gulko vs Zaikov: (12th Place, 48 Points)


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


Week 1: IM Dean Ippolito (NJ) vs GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) 1-0 Article

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

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

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

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

Week 9: IM John Bartholomew (DAL) vs IM Jan van de Mortel (CHC) 0-1 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) 1-0 Article

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

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

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

Wildcard #7: GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs GM Josh Friedel (SF) 1-0 Article



Eliminated:


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

Game of the Year -- 13th Place

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


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






















After GM Becerra's attack fizzled out, GM Kacheishvili struck back with a vicious counterattack, starting with 30... b3!, and soon brought the USCL Championship home to the New York 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.



GM Robert Hess (3rd Place, 18 points): Wow. Becerra typically plays uninspiring yet solid openings. This game, albeit being a blitz game, was of quite high quality. The importance of this game (which, I have not taken into account for any of the games, including this one) was obvious: Winner takes the Championship. Both players kept their respective "cools", but Becerra's attack seemed flat. In the Sicilian, if White isn't killing Black, a lot of the time it is vice-versa.



GM Gregory Kaidanov (9th Place, 12 points): Very nice Sicilian game but no interesting tactics.



GM Alex Yermolinsky (10th Place, 11 points): This one would have won the MIG (most important game) award hands down, but I'm having a tough time ranking a blitz game higher than this.



FM Ron Young (18th Place, 3 points): The tsunami of emotion that swept up all who followed this match and then the second wave that engulfed those who read Irina Krush's account of Kacheishvili's heroic "Not for me. For them." tiebreaker performance makes it hard to look at this game objectively. In fact, I put off trying to do so till Dick Clark came on to remind me of the passage of time. And now, #18 seems about right. It is a creditable game, but not spectacular, and how many people do I want to dis by ranking their masterpieces below a blitz game?



WFM Tatev Abrahamyan (20th Place, 1 point): After realizing that this was a blitz game, it was a little hard to put it in the same category as the others. A very important game played by very strong players but a blitz game nonetheless. I don't think it would be fair to compare it to the rest of the games.



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


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


Week 1: IM Dean Ippolito (NJ) vs GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) 1-0 Article

Week 3: GM Boris Gulko (NJ) vs FM Oleg Zaikov (CAR) 1-0 Article

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

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

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

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

Week 9: IM John Bartholomew (DAL) vs IM Jan van de Mortel (CHC) 0-1 Article

Quarterfinals: GM Giorgi Kacheishvili (NY) vs GM Larry Christiansen (BOS) 1-0 Article

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

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

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

Wildcard #7: GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs GM Josh Friedel (SF) 1-0 Article



Eliminated:


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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