Monday Night Predictions -- Week 5

To begin this Monday Night, the subway match between red hot Queens and reeling New York kicks things off. While the records of the respective teams (4 – 0 and 1 – 3) might lead one to a natural conclusion, this is definitely a league where nothing can ever be taken for granted, and like many sports when you have a match such as this, records and statistics can often be completely irrelevant as it's always a "backyard brawl". In the other matchup, we have Miami taking on Tennessee, both desperately needing a win this week, having both lost their last two, and the Tempo certainly aren't fooling around bringing in their big gun, Ehlvest, once again while Miami has reverted to a more balanced lineup, something which served them so well in Week 1. Let's look at each match board by board.


Queens vs New York


Board 1: Stripunsky vs Fedorowicz. You can never tell anything with these tricky GMs, you can only rest on the assumption that having White in such games is a much bigger advantage than it tends to be at the lower levels. (Slight Edge QNS)

Board 2: Krush vs Schneider. Ok, well maybe it's not right to use the same logic I used on Board 1 for this game as these two aren't GMs, but IM is the next best thing isn't it (not counting my fake title, DM, of course), and I really can't see any other way to find an edge here so there you go. (Slight Edge NY)

Board 3: Vovsha vs Bonin. Ah hah! Finally, one where I can make a reasonable call (but so could a five year old probably so maybe nothing to cheer about). But rating edge, White pieces, and better league record all belong to one of those two players so it's easy to tell where I anticipate this game to be at. (Edge QNS)

Board 4: Zenyuk vs Ostrovskiy. Another fairly easy one to call, as we have last year's top All Star on this board, facing off against a much lower rated player making his league debut. Of course, he is a youngster, and those youngsters can often surprise you, but you still know who has the advantage here. (Edge NY)


So like always, over the board there doesn't appear to be much of an edge anywhere, but I certainly can't in good conscience pick a draw, as this season has seen an extreme scarcity of those. Add to that the fact that we know which team is hot and which is not, and I'll pick Queens 2.5 – 1.5



Miami vs Tennessee


Board 1: Lopez vs Ehlvest. I can't deny that I'm somewhat disappointed to not see a Becerra vs Ehlvest showdown here, but I suppose there are some chess commitments which might be more important than the USCL (shocking, yes I know) so this will have to do. These two did meet however, back in 2006 in the shortest game in league history since Season Two so hopefully, for our audience's sake, this one goes a bit farther. While I would have called Lopez an underdog in Week 1 also, he suprised me there, and could well do so again here, but I still definitely can't bet against Ehlvest. (Slight Edge TEN)

Board 2: Burnett vs Lugo. These two definitely seem to have a contrast in styles with Burnett mostly playing solid setups while Lugo goes all out to attack. One can never really be sure what will happen when worlds collide, but you have to prefer the one with White pieces when you aren't sure. (Slight Edge TEN)

Board 3: Perea vs Bereolos. A time penalty for Miami rears its ugly head again, something I'm sure which they would have preferred to keep a distant memory from last season. However, in this instance the change that brought this about comes with a rating addition rather than a deficit and along with the White pieces, we all know what that means. (Edge MIA)

Board 4: Bick vs Rodriguez. A fairly tough one to call as Bick seems to vary greatly in strength from week to week, naturally making his games tough to call. Rodriguez has been as consistent as a Board Four reasonably could be expected to be probably, and aside from his most recent game, he's been very impressive also. I think I have to call this a wash. (Even)


Once again, this seems very even over the board, but for the reason mentioned above, I definitely can't predict a tie. At the same time, Tennessee has yet to deliver for me when I've predicted them to win (as I did last week), and I don't react well to disappointment (or being in last place) so I'll go with Miami 2.5 – 1.5


(FM Ron Young also predicts both Queens and Miami to win 2.5 – 1.5).

Prediction Results -- Week 4

Well after predicting two correct results to start the week on Monday, I suppose going 0 – 5 on Wednesday to put myself in dead last again was the only fitting thing to happen given my general record this season. The other predictors generally fared a bit better, but with shocking results like Carolina sweeping New York, it seems that maybe only Ed Scimia's dice have a realistic chance of getting that elusive perfect week. Here's how things stand now.


Totals after Week 4:


Ron Young: 31 Points (+7 This Week)
Bioniclime: 26 Points (+6)
Ed Scimia: 26 Points (+9)
Arun Sharma: 24 Points (+6)



QNS over BAL 3 – 1


BL/ES/AS: Correct +4
RY: QNS 2.5 – 1.5 +2



SEA over CHC 2.5 – 1.5


ES/RY: Correct +3
AS: SEA 3 – 1 +2
BL: CHC 2.5 – 1.5 +0



NJ over BOS 3 – 1


RY: NJ 2.5 – 1.5 +2
ES: Tie +0
BL/AS: BOS 2.5 – 1.5 +0



CAR over NY 4 – 0


ES/RY: NY 2.5 – 1.5 +0
BL/AS: NY 3 – 1 +0



DAL over MIA 2.5 – 1.5


BL/AS: Tie +0
ES/RY: MIA 2.5 – 1.5 +0



SF over PHI 3.5 – 0.5


ES: SF 3 – 1 +2
BL: SF 2.5 – 1.5 +2
AS/RY: Tie +0



ARZ over TEN 2.5 – 1.5


BL/ES/AS/RY: TEN 2.5 – 1.5 +0

Power Rankings -- Week 4

As always, several surprising results have kept everything in fair chaos in the East as none of the three playoff teams from last year is even above 0.500 right now, and the Pioneers continue to pull away. In the West, things are more orderly with not nearly the amount of surprises as in the East, but certainly no less amount of chaos in the Standings as teams continue to jockey for position.



1st: San Francisco Mechanics (3.5 – 0.5) (+0 from last week). Not a whole lot to say here as the Mechanics keep performing in the way that made me think they were (and still are), the best team in the league. This week's showdown against a reeling Boston team (a match I predicted to happen in this year's Finals) should be a very interesting test for them. (Win Division: 37%, Make Playoffs: 95%)


2nd: Queens Pioneers (4.0 – 0.0) (+0). Once again, I can't give Queens the top spot until they actually go 10 – 0 (ok, ok maybe I'll change that to when they clinch a playoff spot). Of course, that "when" might well be next week, only halfway through the season as a 5 – 5 record is more than likely to make the post-season and even a 4.5 – 5.5 might do so. But I'm sure that matters little to the Pioneers whose sights have to be firmly set on the division crown and having a massive 1.5 match lead this early in the season, it's sure hard not to like their chances in that regard. (57%, 98%)


3rd: Dallas Destiny (3.0 – 1.0) (+2). Once again, the Destiny continue to defy everyone's expectations with few picking them to win this week again (especially with the last minute replacement and time penalty), and yet they continue to do just that over and over. Having weathered two very tough challengers in the past two weeks, the Destiny now get matched up against three teams, none of whom are currently over 0.500, and if they can take advantage of that potential opportunity, it will be interesting to see if they can give the Mechanics a serious challenge for the division title. (29%, 84%)


4th: New Jersey Knockouts (2.5 – 1.5) (+3). I always had trouble envisioning the Knockouts as being division champs or going especially far in the playoffs as they've never really seemed to have the firepower to pull off a long string of consecutive victories, especially against the top opponents. They definitely put a chink in that assessment this week, with a nice win over their Blitz adversaries to give them clear control of second place in the division. Being matched in the next couple of weeks with two struggling adversaries, the Inventors and Kingfishers, scoring well will be paramount to them maintaining their position before their rematch in Week 7 with the red hot Pioneers. (23%, 72%)


5th: Miami Sharks (2.0 – 2.0) (-2). After two such dominating victories, two razor close losses for the Sharks have to be a fair let down as their overall game results really seem to indicate them to be much better than a 0.500 team. But despite that potential letdown, the Sharks really have exhibited a tremendous amount of consistency this season both in their lineups and in the way they're playing, something that they definitely have had issues with at various times in the previous two seasons. Though they might have a bit more ground to make up than they'd like, I still seem them likely to be a dangerous foe in the playoffs. (10%, 59%)


6th: Boston Blitz (2.0 – 2.0) (-2). A very unfamiliar position for the Blitz who undoubtedly had grown accustomed to jumping out to a huge division lead, but currently sit in the middle of the pack almost midway through the season. Although Queens, especially in their current form, may be much farther out of reach than they'd like, Boston is still a very good team as especially with Esserman's recent play, having him as a Board 3 or 4 is an indisputable edge. If Boston can settle down and regain their usual form, expect to see them quite a bit above 0.500 as usual quite soon. (15%, 64%)


7th: Arizona Scorpions (2.0 – 2.0) (+4). Although the Scorpions couldn't have been pleased to see Ehlvest making his debut against them, the fact that they managed to still win the match, against what was obviously a very tough lineup should be a huge confidence boost after two disappointing losses. This week's showdown with the Cobras who had a similarly encouraging (but even more so!) result this week should be very telling for both teams. (9%, 56%)


8th: Seattle Sluggers (2.0 – 2.0) (+2). So Seattle brings out the big guns which is their double GM lineup, and it doesn't disappoint, notching them their first victory of the season. The question naturally is, if this can be a constant thing to occur. If so, this week's tough matchup with the surging Destiny obviously would be another good time to showcase it. (9%, 55%)


9th: Chicago Blaze (1.5 – 2.5) (-3). A close loss to a very tough Sluggers lineup is hardly a reason to be very down as Chicago continues to look quite strong despite their early season difficulties. If they just continue to do what they've been doing and have a little luck on their side, there's no reason they shouldn't be in the playoffs. (5%, 45%)


10th: Carolina Cobras (2.0 – 2.0) (+3). After chastising the Cobras for being unable to play consistently last week, they definitely sent a dogcatcher to put a muzzle on me. It's never a surprise when someone pulls an "upset" in the ultra balanced league, but a 4 – 0 shellacking of the Knights was a bit more than I think anyone would have anticipated. If the Cobras can put together more performances like that one, we'll see a completely different team, but it's definitely not going to get any easier for them as they still must face Queens twice this season. (2%, 45%)


11th: Baltimore Kingfishers (1.0 – 3.0) (-3). A fairly dominating loss to the red hot Pioneers isn't the end of the world, and Baltimore definitely has to like the way their GMs are performing up top, but their lower boards need to add a bit more to the cart if they want to have any real chance. Like most teams, they obviously have it inside of them to do that, they just need to find a way to do so sooner rather than later, before the situation becomes irreparable. (1%, 42%)


12th: Philadelphia Inventors (1.0 – 3.0) (-3). The Inventors are having a much harder time finding the groove that served them so well last year, seeming unable to really perform consistently as a team so far. Like the Kingfishers, they've demonstrated on many an occasion that they are capable of doing so, but have to find a way to do so fairly soon as the second place Knockouts loom on the horizon for next week and then the Blitz, a team who they've had little success against throughout the league, come up the week after. (1%, 40%)


13th: New York Knights (1.0 – 3.0) (-1). I mentioned last week that New York could breathe a sigh of relief after scoring their first win, but unfortunately they seemed to have breathed in and not let it out as they didn't show up to play this week at all. Any team can of course have such an off match, but this really is their second this season, not something they can afford to keep doing, especially given their next week's big showdown with Pioneers. (1%, 39%)


14th: Tennessee Tempo (0.5 – 3.5) (+0). Well Ehlvest did make his long awaited debut and had the result the team was clearly hoping for, but unfortunately the rest of the team couldn't quite deliver, and the Tempo suffered a tough defeat in a match they clearly had to feel they had very good chances to win or at least draw. Even when they manage to play with their best lineup, the league's balance never promises a victory to any team so one can only hope that they can continue to play at full strength and have some results go their way very soon before the situation becomes untenable. (1%, 6%)

Week 4 Game of the Week

This year we have three judges for Game of the Week, each ranking their top five games. The games are then given from one to five points, based on these rankings, and whichever game receives the most total points wins the award. First place each week will receive a $100 bonus prize, second place $50, and third place $30. Our three judges are: IM Greg Shahade, NM Arun Sharma, and NM Jonathan Hilton. Click here for more details.

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**Due to Jonathan Hilton being out of the country currently, for this week and this week alone we will have only two judges, Greg and myself.


1st Place: IM Lev Milman (CAR) vs GM Alex Shabalov (NY) 1-0


Arun Sharma: Like last week, despite giving this game the top ranking, I have to admit I wasn't especially enthralled by it as once again this week seemed to have real lack of good candidates. I eventually went with this one since it did seem like a very well played game by Milman throughout, utilizing a slight endgame edge quite well and ending the game with a nice mating net. (1st place: 5 points)


Greg Shahade: Milman played very well, but you have to admit this wasn't the most swashbuckling affair you've ever seen. I think the following factors are all very important in choosing a GOTW winner:

1. Quality
2. Excitement
3. Drama due to match situation etc.
4. Upset (If a lower rated player surprises a higher rated player etc.)
5. Whether it was an "event". This might be similar to number two or three, however last year's win by Bhat over Nakamura was a good example. That was clearly not a perfectly played game by any means, but everyone was talking about it for so long that it simply had to win. GOTW does not = most perfectly played game of the week, however I do like to avoid games with hideous blunders.

Anyway, those are some of the factors I think are important. This game basically only qualified for the 1st + 4th criteria so that's why I gave it only three points. (3rd place: 3 points)


Total Score of Milman vs Shabalov: 8 points

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2nd Place: NM Denys Shmelov (BOS) vs IM Dean Ippolito (NJ) 0-1


Greg Shahade: Since Mr. Hilton is out of the country, I suppose Arun felt he had to say twice as much to make up for his loss. I agree with a lot of Arun's points, in the sense that I was probably more impressed with Shmelov's play this game than Ippolito's. However Ippolito never broke, he only bent, and I just found that there were a lot of interesting moments in this game. Even Shmelov's main mistake of 34. f6, while bad, was not hideously losing or anything. It just gave Black a very pleasant position, whereas instead White would have had a very pleasant position. Mistakes are obviously going to happen, and I thought this game showed a lot of fighting spirit by both players (ok, that's a bit unfair since Dean was basically happy with a draw at many points, but it made sense given that Benjamin was up a Queen on move 9). Anyway, I definitely wasn't jumping out of my seat to give this game the top prize, but given the other games I decided to. Also, since I fully expect to get blasted for this pick, if you feel like doing so please give an alternate game that should have won and a detailed explanation as to why, thank you! (1st place: 5 points)


Arun Sharma: First off, I apologize in advance for the length of this comment. While I was watching this game, I felt it would be a strong candidate for GOTW honors, but the way the game ended really turned me off of ranking it. From my assessment, it seemed like White was much better, maybe even close to winning before the blunder 34. f6 which completely turned the game around. It turns out that assessment wasn't quite correct as White may only have been a bit better at that point and was likely quite far from winning. But the real problem to me was that when watching a game and feeling during it that it's a good GOTW candidate, it's often the play of one of the two players who's inspiring you to think as such. For me, in this game that player was Shmelov, both for the way he bravely turned down the draw earlier, and the way he seemed to be pressing a very minuscule edge to the brink of victory before he blundered (once again, "brink of victory" was almost certainly a bit of an over assessment). When the player you feel has exhibited most of the play which makes the game a good candidate ends up losing to a one move turnaround, it's hard to justify still ranking the game. Perhaps that's not a fair thing to detract for, as after all a game I did rank, Friedel vs Smith, had a colossal blunder by both sides near the end (White's 47. Kh2 and Black's 48... Kg7), and had Smith found 48... Kxg5 and went on to win or draw that game, I probably would not have ranked that game either. Again, that might be a ludicrous thing to downgrade a game for (as in some sense I'm rewarding the Friedel game for having the additional blunder 48... Kg7), but as a spectator, when the player who's really impressed you with their play ends up losing the game due to a 180 turn in one move, it's hard psychologically to still feel that game is worthy. I should also note that I really didn't like ranking the Nakamura vs Mitkov contest, as considering the caliber of those two players, that game was obviously not anywhere in the realm of being a "quality" game. As earlier noted, I felt then (and now) that there was a real lack of good candidates this week, and that game, while obviously not a high quality game, was definitely quite a crowd pleaser with many interesting turns, twists, and important moments and that along with the fact that Nakamura did seem to play the endgame very well was enough to push the game up to that fifth spot for me. In retrospect though, I think I definitely should have either picked this or the Ehlvest game to be in my Top Five instead. (NR: 0 points)


Total Score of Shmelov vs Ippolito: 5 points

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3rd Place: IM Davorin Kuljasevic (DAL) vs GM Julio Becerra (MIA) 1-0


Arun Sharma: Like the Milman game, I can't say I was enthralled about picking this game so high as it too wasn't exactly a very exciting affair (and had the added detraction of having a fairly big blunder, 25... c4, from the losing side). But, like the Milman game, it seemed like a very well played game by the victor (Kuljasevic in this case) who really just played very cleanly and solidly throughout in knocking off a very tough player in the two time MVP in the only decisive game of the match and helping Dallas to such an important win over Miami. (2nd place: 4 points)


Greg Shahade: Nice game by Kuljasevic but really nothing too exciting happening here. Kuljasevic wins a few pawns, goes on to win with relative ease, not deserving of a top ranking IMO, even against the two-time MVP. (5th place: 1 point)


Total Score of Kuljasevic vs Becerra: 5 points


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Other Considered Games (judges' scores in parenthesis)


4 points (Greg 4): GM Jaan Ehlvest (TEN) vs IM Rogelio Barcenilla (ARZ) 1-0

3 points (Arun 3): FM Ralph Zimmer (BAL) vs NM Parker Zhao (QNS) 0-1

2 points (Arun 2): IM Josh Friedel (SF) vs IM Bryan Smith (PHI) 1-0

2 points (Greg 2): FM Daniel Naroditsky (SF) vs NM Elvin Wilson (PHI) 1-0

1 point (Arun 1): GM Hikaru Nakamura (SEA) vs GM Nikola Mitkov (CHC) 1-0

Remainder of Week 4 Predictions

A much more promising start to this week than last having predicted both results correctly. Not that I've made much headway in the contest (if any) as a result of this, but still hopefully something to build on.


Boston over New Jersey 2.5 – 1.5

New York over Carolina 3 – 1

Dallas ties Miami 2 – 2

San Francisco ties Philadelphia 2 – 2

Tennessee over Arizona 2.5 – 1.5

Monday Night Predictions -- Week 4

Once again, two very good matches for Monday this week, with the only undefeated team, Queens, taking on the perhaps rejuvenated Kingfishers as well as two other hopefully surging teams, the Sluggers, who managed to draw as underdogs last week, and the Blaze, coming from having drawn against the powerful Mechanics and sweeping the Tempo, also squaring off. Let's jump right into examining both matches.


Baltimore vs Queens


Both times these two teams met last season, a fairly dominating 3 – 1 victory for Queens occurred, and if ratings are at all reliable, there may well be a repeat of that in this match, but let's look at it board by board.


Board 1: Blehm vs Vovsha. These two did meet in one of those two matches last year where they fought to a standstill. Rating-wise, I find little to find any advantage in, but just a slight one to the White pieces as normal. (Slight Edge BAL)

Board 2: Lenderman vs Enkhbat. Well Lenderman is 3 – 0 in the league thus far, has a large rating advantage, and the White pieces so you can probably guess how I'll score this one. Enkbhat is defintely a very solid player though and certainly one who could pull a surprise here so I doubt anyone should count this one before it actually ends, but you know where the advantage goes nonetheless. (Edge QNS)

Board 3: Zimmer vs Zhao. A very tricky game to call (and no, it's not because both players' last names happen to start with a Z and how rare that might be). I feel that way since I sort of have the sense that both players are really capable of playing at drastically different levels in the league. Zimmer, I think has shown that simply from his actual league play as he's had some tough games in the past, but last week had a spectacular effort against a player who very rarely loses in the league. I feel Zhao is probably similar due to his general style and the fact that he's a young player so that really makes this game quite an enigma. Zimmer does have the current rating advantage and the White pieces, but given Zhao's recent super impressive play (including last week's near GOTW winning game), I think I'll call this a wash. (Even)

Board 4: Thaler vs Harris. Not as much to really say here as Thaler has the rating advantage and the White pieces, but this time I'm hard pressed to find any hidden edge for the opposing side (the fact that this is Harris's USCL debut could have something to do with that). Once again, you know where the advantage is here. (Edge QNS)


So obviously I think Queens has the over the board edge. Typically I would then pick this as the narrow victory for them, but given their current hot streak, the fact that this match scored this way twice last year, and that I really need to change something if I want to remove the shame I feel from how badly I'm doing in the Prediction Contest, I'll go ahead and pick Queens 3 – 1



Seattle vs Chicago


Board 1: Nakamura vs Mitkov. First off, I should mention that Hikaru friendly contending that my last week's prediction about his team was stupid nearly traumatized me into not making a prediction about him or his team this week. Unfortunately, my employer didn't buy that the psychic trauma I endured as a result of this was a viable excuse to get out of work so I'm stuck doing it again this week regardless of the further consequences. Ok, now that I've cleared that up (so that everyone knows who's to blame if something goes wrong this week, and I end up in an institution), Hikaru has White and beat a very strong opponent last week, and history can often repeat itself. (Edge SEA)

Board 2: Van de Mortel vs Serper. Serper has been a near All Star in both his USCL years on the top board, and now Chicago is treated (for lack of finding a more appropriate term) to being the first team to see him on Board Two. Van de Mortel certainly won't be easy to take down especially with the White pieces, but I have to like Seattle still here. (Slight Edge SEA)

Board 3: Lee vs Tate. A game very similar to the Board Three of the other match, with a young player take on a player who's results can really vary. Obviously one can't really accurately call such a match, but one side has a bit of a rating edge and the other has White so I'll chicken out with the exact same thing I went with in the other match. (Even)

Board 4: Strunk vs May. A near mirror match we have here. How so? Well both these players are making their near league debuts (only one previous game for Strunk), their ratings are nearly identical, and they were born in the same year! What do you do when you have such symmetry in a game? Oh yeah, slight advantage for the one with White. (Slight Edge CHC)


Once again, I definitely think Seattle has an over the board edge, but as always it's never a very big one which might lead me to predict the usual 2.5 – 1.5 for them, but again I want to make some headway in predicting and since 3 – 1 has been the most common match score this year, why not here? Seattle 3 – 1


(FM Ron Young predicts both Queens and Seattle to win 2.5 – 1.5).

Prediction Results -- Week 3

After I mocked all of us predictors (myself included unfortunately) for none of us being able to get more than a paltry six points last week, who would have thought that not a single one of us would manage to get even that this week?? Clearly, there is something tremendously wrong with all of us or with the league players. The obvious way to win this contest now seems to be to make all predictions based on one's instinct and then turn around and do the opposite on each. Which one of us predictors will take the plunge and go with that approach? I'm not sure, but here's a hint: it probably won't be me. Here is how we stand right now.


Totals after Week 3:


Ron Young: 24 Points (+5 This Week)
Bioniclime: 20 Points (+4)
Arun Sharma: 18 Points (+4)
Ed Scimia: 17 Points (+4)



DAL over BOS 2.5 – 1.5


BL: Tie +0
ES/AS/RY: BOS 2.5 – 1.5 +0



SF over MIA 2.5 – 1.5


RY: Correct +3
BL/ES/AS: Tie +0



NY over PHI 3 – 1


BL: NY 2.5 – 1.5 +2
ES/AS: Tie +0
RY: PHI 2.5 – 1.5 +0



BAL over CAR 3 – 1


AS: BAL 2.5 – 1.5 +2
BL: Tie +0
ES/RY: CAR 2.5 – 1.5 +0



CHC over TN 4 – 0


ES/RY: CHC 3 – 1 +2
BL/AS: CHC 2.5 – 1.5 +2



QNS over ARZ 3 – 1


ES: QNS 2.5 – 1.5 +2
BL/AS/RY: ARZ 2.5 – 1.5 +0



SEA ties NJ 2 – 2


BL/AS/RY: NJ 2.5 – 1.5 +0
ES: NJ 3 – 1 +0

Power Rankings -- Week 3

A very topsy-turvy set of results for the second straight week has kept everything in fair disarray with a whopping six teams all having 1 – 2 records. Once again, there will have to be a fair amount of opinion and speculation throw into these rankings if I hope to differentiate between such teams, but I'll give it a try nonetheless. Given the recent discussion about teams' chances to make the Finals or make the Playoffs, it seems like a reasonable time for me to begin including with each team what I think their chances of winning their division's regular season title as well as their chances of being in the post-season.



1st: San Francisco Mechanics (2.5 – 0.5) (+2 from last week). Even though there is still an undefeated team in the midst, I think I still must give San Francisco the top spot this week as I continue to really like the strength of their lineups along with the fact that they have played a very tough set of opponents, with Miami and Dallas both having defeated their other two opponents. That, along with the fact that one of their big weapons, Naroditsky, finally displayed what he's really capable of in their most recent match after tremendously strugging in the previous week could be a big turning point also. (Win Division: 29%, Make Playoffs: 85%)


2nd: Queens Pioneers (3.0 – 0.0) (+2). So when will I give Queens the top spot one might ask? Well, after they go 10 – 0 in the regular season, maybe I'll consider it but until then I can't do it. On a more serious note, the Pioneers seem to really be clicking on all cylinders with all of their players playing quite well which gives them some nice choices for lineups to use in their two upcoming feature Monday matches. It certainly still won't be easy for them as both of their opponents, Baltimore and New York, are likely to be rejuvenated after their big wins this week. Those matches should be very telling as to how dominant the Pioneers might really be this year. (34%, 87%)


3rd: Miami Sharks (2.0 – 1.0) (-2). Well the Sharks inevitably had to cool down somewhat, but of course they obviously were not hoping to do so in the form of a loss. Not exactly a big worry, as like their counterparts Dallas, with their only loss being one to the Mechanics by the narrowest of margins, it's hardly a reason to panic. Their big showdown with Dallas this week may well determine which of them will be fighting hard to win the division and which is likely to be a middle of the pack playoff team. (22%, 72%)


4th: Boston Blitz (2.0 – 1.0) (-2). So no revenge for the Blitz in their Finals rematch, but fortunately for them, they don't need to wait until next season to get back into the action. While they don't get a crack at the team they may be chasing for the division lead until the final week, Queens, the team currently on their heels for second place is on the agenda for next week, followed by the always stiff Mechanics. (26%, 73%)


5th: Dallas Destiny (2.0 – 1.0) (+0). Once again, the defending champions continue to impress as most felt they were the underdogs in their grudge rematch against the Blitz. The Destiny have clearly erased any doubts about them that might have cropped up after their opening match loss, but again the role they will really take in being a division contender or being in the middle of the pack could well be largely determined in this week's showdown with Miami. (20%, 70%)


6th: Chicago Blaze (1.5 – 1.5) (+3). The pre-season and first match worries that cropped up for the Blaze definitely seem to have been silenced with them holding the tough Mechanics to a stiff draw and then claiming a resounding sweep of the Tempo. While like everyone else, they still have a very long way to go, I think it's safe to say things are looking up for them rather than very down as they did in the earliest part of the season. (13%, 60%)


7th: New Jersey Knockouts (1.5 – 1.5) (+1). A somewhat disappointing draw this week as the Knockouts, bringing out the big guns of their double GM lineup were clearly hoping to make a statement and scoring a full point. While they didn't manage to do the latter, they clearly have little reason to be concerned as the logjam of teams with a 1 – 2 record in the East really makes anything possible, but I think they would definitely prefer to stay a leg up on most of those teams this week, but that means having to score against the tough Boston Blitz. (17%, 60%)


8th: Baltimore Kingfishers (1.0 – 2.0) (+3). This sort of result was why I felt the Kingfishers 0 – 2 start wasn't a reason to be hugely troubled. To me, it was clearly just a matter of time before their middle boards turned their results around which is what helped lead them to victory this week. Though their later opponents may provide a slightly bigger challenge, if Erenburg can keep scoring at the rate he's done so far, the Kingfishers will be a mighty force. (9%, 54%)


9th: Philadelphia Inventors (1.0 – 2.0) (-3). A tough loss for the Inventors with their rock Kudrin losing for the first time in the league. While that was naturally inevitable, I'm sure they were hoping for it to do so at a more convenient time as falling to a 1 – 2 record with a showdown with the Mechanics upcoming, this clearly wasn't the best of times to slip into such a hole. (7%, 52%)


10th: Seattle Sluggers (1.0 – 2.0) (+2). A definite bright spot for Seattle this week in managing a draw. Though they still are obviously not at the point they would have liked to be at this stage, holding the powerful double GM New Jersey lineup to a standstill, along with Nakamura knocking off the rarely beaten Benjamin are both definite causes for optimism. One can only hope that Seattle might take the Knockouts' hint and trot out their own double GM lineup in Monday's feature against Chicago to try to make their own big statement. (8%, 52%)


11th: Arizona Scorpions (1.0 – 2.0) (-4). Another frustrating result for the Scorpions as once again, despite appearing to be favorites in most players' eyes, they fell for a second straight week. I'm not sure if it's simply the first season jitters / unfamiliarity with the league which is causing many of their players to perform clearly below what their real strength is, but the Scorpions need to turn things around quickly before it gets too out of hand. Fortunately, for them, they are facing two of the lowest ranked teams in the next couple of weeks in Tennessee and Carolina, but no match is ever a certainty, and the Scorpions need to get back on top of things to have the results they really need there. (7%, 49%)


12th: New York Knights (1.0 – 2.0) (+2). Another team which can breathe a big sigh of relief as starting 0 – 3 might have created an extreme panic the likes of which one can only dream of. Once again, on a more serious note, the Knights simply need to start performing as they did this week on a more consistent basis so as to stop digging themselves into such a big hole to begin with. This week's match against a reeling Carolina team would be a good time to demonstrate that as the following week's challenge against league leading Queens' is likely to be quite stiff. (6%, 50%)


13th: Carolina Cobras (1.0 – 2.0) (-3). Another tough match for the Cobras, falling when they seemed to have a very real chance to score. It just seems that none of their regular team members so far has really demonstrated the ability to play consistently with each of them having a very off game. If they can all play at their near best at the same time, we would see a very different team emerge, but that's obviously far easier to say than do, and until they find a way to accomplish that, they unfortunately will likely stay down here. (1%, 24%)


14th: Tennessee Tempo (0.5 – 2.5) (-1). Once again, after a very positive result, a very forgettable one for the Tempo. As usual, one match is just one match and generally not a reason to panic; they simply must remember how competitive they've been in nearly all their matches recently and must find a way to get back to that way of competing. Certainly, one could guess that the appearance of Ehlvest in a lineup might be a nice tool for jump starting just that, but if that mysterious happening doesn't occur soon, I fear it may be too late for them by then. (1%, 12%)

Week 3 Game of the Week

This year we have three judges for Game of the Week, each ranking their top five games. The games are then given from one to five points, based on these rankings, and whichever game receives the most total points wins the award. First place each week will receive a $100 bonus prize, second place $50, and third place $30. Our three judges are: IM Greg Shahade, NM Arun Sharma, and NM Jonathan Hilton. Click here for more details.

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1st Place: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Sergey Kudrin (PHI) 1-0


Greg Shahade: Call me Mr. Negativity, but even though I gave this game the top ranking, I really wasn't excited about any of the games this week. This one sort of won by default because there was a relatively cool tactic at the end against a player who was previously undefeated in the USCL after twelve games. The early stage of the game wasn't super exciting, but Charbonneau showed a lot of grit by refusing a middlegame draw offer and eventually breaking down Kudrin's defenses. I do suspect that Kudrin got a little overly ambitious due to the fact that it seemed like he might have to win to salvage the match for his team. In any case, congrats to Charbonneau for winning, but I do believe this was one of our worst weeks for GOTW in the past two years. (I don't remember so much before that because I wasn't a judge and with no money involved the prize wasn't so serious!) (1st place: 5 points)


Jonathan Hilton: Although I was originally impressed with the way Kudrin closed the center and took control of the dark squares, I was even more amazed by the way Charbonneau simply snuck around and took all the light squares in return! He finished the game by taking the light squares around the Black King with his amazing time-pressure tactics, landing his Bishop on h5. Although I can't personally vouch for the accuracy of Black's defense this game, I can say Charbonneau pulled this game out in fine style, keeping his calm through the locked shuffling and looking for a chance to penetrate. (2nd place: 4 points)


Arun Sharma: I was really unsure what sort of ranking this game deserved. While the ending to it was quite exciting and contained some nice tactics, the earlier portion wasn't especially inspiring to me as it seemed for most of the game that a lifeless draw was the most probable outcome. In addition, as often seems to happen in the league, a combination of time pressure and overextending seemed likely to be a large reason for the end result. Hopefully based on all of that, this ranking is appropriate. (3rd Place: 3 points)


Total Score of Charbonneau vs Kudrin: 12 points

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2nd Place: GM Hikaru Nakamura (SEA) vs GM Joel Benjamin (NJ) 1-0


Arun Sharma: I had a much tougher time picking my first place game this week compared to the first two weeks as I really didn't feel any game truly stood out. In the end, I decided to go with this game since it was quite well played and had such an unusual opening. Plus, it also seemed that in a fairly tame looking ending that Nakamura really outplayed Benjamin, a player who doesn't lose in the league very often, and as such it seemed to be the most deserving of the top spot to me. (1st place: 5 points)


Greg Shahade: Another game that I had a hard time getting excited about but still ranked in second place! I found it incredible that Hikaru could play such an unorthodox opening and win with relative ease against someone of Benjamin's caliber. Because of this I gave it second place, but I can't imagine that it would fare any better than eighteenth or nineteenth place in the twenty game, Game of the Year Contest and due to its second place finish this week, I highly doubt it will even make the contest as a Wildcard. (2nd Place: 4 points)


Jonathan Hilton: I wasn't particularly fascinated with this game because it appeared to me that Benjamin simply was having an off day; unless I missed something in my analysis, Nakamura didn't have to do anything too spectacular to defeat his lower-rated opponent; he just mopped up the pawns and converted. I don’t think Benjamin would have ever castled Queenside if he had seen the position on move 24. Black had a few cheapos maybe, but no more. Although this certainly was a well-played game by Nakamura, and I wouldn’t strongly disagree with ranking it in one of the bottom three places, I think there were many more exciting games for the top two prizes. (NR: 0 points)


Total Score of Nakamura vs Benjamin: 9 points

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3rd Place: NM Parker Zhao (QNS) vs FM Daniel Rensch (ARZ) 1-0


Jonathan Hilton: In my book, there was simply no competition for this game. With Queen's victory over Arizona just within reach, it was up to Parker Zhao to pull out an upset against the 2400-rated FM Daniel Rensch. And guess what? Zhao completely out-classed his higher-rated opponent the entire game through! Rensch sacrificed an exchange to get some complications, but Zhao defended and kept the material, and then converted to a winning Rook endgame, effectively using zugzwang tactics with his 62nd move. By move 75, Black was forced to resign. Nicely played, Zhao and way to play your heart out for the team! (1st place: 5 points)


Greg Shahade: I agree that Zhao played relatively well but there just wasn't anything that drew me to this game in order for me to rank it higher. This is another game that I feel would have almost zero chance to crack the top fifteen in our Game of the Year contest. We will see how this week's winner ends up faring... (5th place: 1 point)


Arun Sharma: This was the only other game I seriously considered for my top five, but eventually I decided against ranking it. It was certainly a nicely played game by Zhao but just didn't really strike me as being anything special. (NR: 0 points)


Total Score of Zhao vs Rensch: 6 points


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Other Considered Games (judges' scores in parenthesis)


6 points (Arun 4, Greg 2): FM Todd Andrews (TEN) vs IM Jan Van de Mortel (CHC) 0-1

4 points (Greg 3, Arun 1): IM Angelo Young (CHC) vs FM Peter Bereolos (TEN) 1-0

3 points (Jon 3): IM Mark Ginsburg (ARZ) vs IM Alex Lenderman (QNS) 0-1

2 points (Arun 2): FM Osmany Perea (MIA) vs IM Josh Friedel (SF) 1/2-1/2

2 points (Jon 2): NM Eric Rodriguez (MIA) vs FM Daniel Naroditsky (SF) 0-1

1 point (Jon 1): WFM Bayaraa Zorigt (DAL) vs NM Ilya Krasik (BOS) 1-0

Remainder of Week 3 Predictions

Well given my flying 0 – 2 start to the week after Monday's action, I suppose things can only go up on Wednesday? After all as they say when you can't win, might as well settle for moral victories.


New York ties Philadelphia 2 – 2

Baltimore over Carolina 2.5 – 1.5

Chicago over Tennessee 2.5 – 1.5

Arizona over Queens 2.5 – 1.5

New Jersey over Seattle 2.5 – 1.5

Monday Night Predictions -- Week 3

So we have two very exciting matches for Monday night this week, a rematch of last year's epic Finals Battle between Boston and Dallas which also includes a rematch of the struggle which won Game of the Year last season, along with the two current West leaders, the red hot Miami Sharks and my preseason favored San Francisco Mechanics. Let's attempt to break each match down.


Boston vs Dallas


Board 1: Sammour-Hasbun vs Kuljasevic. The rematch I alluded to above should be a very interesting encounter. In terms of who has the advantage, well Sammour-Hasbun has White, is still undefeated in the league, and got the better of last year's encounter so I think you all can guess what that adds up to me. (Edge BOS)

Board 2: Bartholomew vs Vigorito. Well both of these players have a bit less league experience to judge things by than Board 1, but rating wise it's pretty close so slight edge to the player with White. (Slight Edge DAL)

Board 3: Shmelov vs Schneider. This seems to be another fairly easy one to call to me based on the numbers. Shmelov has White, has the much better league record, and has only been defeated once in all his league play so again you know where I stand here. (Edge BOS)

Board 4: Zorigt vs Krasik. I think this one is harder to call as both of these players' league performances seem to vary a bit with both seeming capable of performing at both ends of the spectrum. Zorigt does have White and the slight rating edge though so advantage to her. (Slight Edge DAL)


So once again based on where and how big I judge the board advantages to be, it's probably easy to guess what I'm going to be picking. This slight advantage along with a probable huge desire for revenge, I think I have to pick Boston 2.5 – 1.5



San Francisco vs Miami


Board 1: Wolff vs Becerra. A tough one to call for certain. Typically I never call any GM in the league an underdog when they have White, but at the same time I also have a very hard time calling the two time MVP an underdog either so going by the middle route seems best. (Even)

Board 2: Perea vs Friedel. Perea, despite a very successful first game in the USCL, is still for the most part an unknown personality in the league. Friedel does have a fairly significant rating advantage, and based on having such little information about his opponent, that really seems to be the only thing I can base a guess on. (Slight Edge SF)

Board 3: Shankland vs Galofre. Shankland, despite a disappointing game last week, is still one of the most successful league players statistically, has a rating advantage here, and has the White pieces so I know how to call this one. (Edge SF)

Board 4: Rodriguez vs Naroditsky. In one sense, a tricky one to call as Naroditsky does have the current rating advantage. However, all other factors seem to point the other way as Rodriguez has had two very successful league games this season while Naroditsky must be trying hard to forget his last week's performance. Also, Rodriguez got the best of their last year's struggle and has the White pieces so I have to give him the advantage. (Edge MIA)


So as pretty much always with this lineup, I think statistically San Francisco has the advantage, but I think it's only a slight one, and based on Miami's current momentum, they're a hard team to bet against right now so once again I'll choose the middle route, San Francisco ties Miami 2 – 2



(FM Ron Young predicts both Boston and San Francisco to win 2.5 – 1.5).

Prediction Results -- Week 2

Not exactly the best of weeks for us prognosticators with no one getting more than six points (after the lowest score was eight in the first week), and three matches being failed to be predicted even semi-correctly by any of us. From a contest perspective this isn't necessarily a bad thing as it ensures the contest itself will remain competitive for now, but in regards to our job security, it could be a definite issue with our employers likely to seek more competent people to fill our roles. Nevertheless, here are the standings.


Totals after Week 2:


Ron Young: 19 Points (+6 This Week)
Bioniclime: 16 Points (+5)
Arun Sharma: 14 Points (+6)
Ed Scimia: 13 Points (+4)



QNS over NJ 3 – 1


ES/AS/RY: QNS 2.5 – 1.5 +2
BL: NJ 2.5 – 1.5 +0



PHI over BAL 2.5 – 1.5


BL: Correct +3
AS: Tie +0
ES/RY: BAL 2.5 – 1.5 +0



BOS over CAR 3 – 1


AS: Correct +4
ES/RY: BOS 2.5 – 1.5 +2
BL: BOS 3.5 – 0.5 +2



MIA over NY 3.5 – 0.5


RY: MIA 2.5 – 1.5 +2
BL/AS/ES: Tie +0



CHC ties SF 2 – 2


BL/AS/RY: SF 2.5 – 1.5 +0
ES: SF 3 – 1 +0



TN ties SEA 2 – 2


ES: SEA 2.5 – 1.5 +0
RY: SEA 3 – 1 +0
BL/AS: SEA 3.5 – 0.5 +0



DAL over ARZ 3 – 1


BL/AS/ES/RY: ARZ 2.5 – 1.5 +0

Power Rankings -- Week 2

So a very unexpected batch of results have really thrown pretty much all theories into the wind since as always, nothing can ever seem to go even remotely like one might predict in advance when it comes to the USCL. My rankings this week will probably be quite puzzling to some, as some teams who won I've moved down from last week and some who've lost, I moved up. Simply put though, the amount of information one can really derive from two matches is fairly limited so a large amount of personal opinion and speculation will have to be mixed in to try to guess what's really going on.



1st: Miami Sharks (2.0 – 0.0) (+3 from last week). Already a ranking which some might find to be unusual from me as typically when two teams have the same result (as Miami did with Boston and Queens), and the latter teams are ahead in the rankings to start the week, I tend to maintain that order in the following week. However, Miami has really come screaming out of the blocks, demolishing two teams who I guessed to be likely playoff bound at the beginning of the season. Add to that the fact that Miami has had a tendency to start slowly (as they did in the previous two seasons, unlike one of their counterparts Boston, who has started 2 – 0 in each of the last three seasons). Given those two facts, their start seems something to take special note of so I'll give them the top spot this week.


2nd: Boston Blitz (2.0 – 0.0) (+0). The Blitz are one of the few teams which have mostly gone as expected, especially this week taking care of business as usual against Carolina. A nice start as normal, but next week will be anything but business as usual when they seek a probably long awaited revenge from the 2007 Final against the Dallas Destiny.


3rd: San Francisco Mechanics (1.5 – 0.5) (-2). A bit of a stumble this week from the Mechanics, but that's all it really seems to be to me at first glance, a small stutter step. Their upcoming Monday showdown with the red hot Sharks who have twice spoiled a Mechanics' playoff run should be quite enlightening in telling us which path each team is really going to take this season.


4th: Queens Pioneers (2.0 – 0.0) (-1). So Queens won, and I still moved them down? Unfair perhaps, but at this point, I simply am not prepared to put them ahead of any of the top three teams. They do seem to be validating my pre-season faith in them in basically the way I expected, but of course still a very long way to go.


5th: Dallas Destiny (1.0 – 1.0) (+2). A big sigh of relief for the defending Champions as most seemed to think they were likely headed to an 0 – 2 start and if they had done so, being in that spot, with a showdown with a Blitz team primed for revenge upcoming, would not have been an enviable position to be in. Like most teams, the next couple of weeks should be very telling as to what Dallas will be fighting for this year as they face the two current league leading teams in Boston and Miami.


6th: Philadelphia Inventors (1.0 – 1.0) (+3). Another team which probably heaved a sigh of relief as they too would not have wanted to ride last year's success into an 0 – 2 start in this one. They also have some very tough tasks ahead, facing a Knights team which eliminated them from the post-season last year and is probably in semi-desperation mode already followed by the always super strong Mechanics.


7th: Arizona Scorpions (1.0 – 1.0) (-1). An obvious disappointment for the Scorpions who seemed on paper to have a very real chance of flying out of the gates with a 2 – 0 start. One of the signs of how good a team really is can often be how well they can respond to adversity as this seems to be the first real stumbling block for them, and obviously they cannot allow it to consume them when they take on Queens next week who will be looking to take the league lead.


8th: New Jersey Knockouts (1.0 – 1.0) (-3). After a powerful display by their youth to hold down the fort when their leader uncharacteristically stumbled in Week 1, unfortunately the Knockouts reverted back to the pattern which left them out of the postseason last year in Week 2. Disappointing of course, but they clearly have what it takes to win in both places, they merely need to find the will to be able to do so and suddenly a very different team might emerge.


9th: Chicago Blaze (0.5 – 1.5) (+4). After a string of adversity, a very promising result for the Blaze, holding a powerful Mechanics lineup to a standstill. Undoubtedly, this was something they really needed to help get themselves back on track, and we can see if they can build on this and perhaps turn in some victories as they next face two of the currently lowest teams in Tennessee and Seattle.


10th: Carolina Cobras (1.0 – 1.0) (+2). My basic stance on the Cobras has been that I need to see them have some good results in situations where they don't go in with a rating advantage before I can establish some real faith in them. While they didn't manage to do so this week, if they had any time to try to convince me of this, it would be when they face the two teams most reeling at the moment in Baltimore and New York in their next matches.


11th: Baltimore Kingfishers (0.0 – 2.0) (+0). While an 0 – 2 start is obviously not a good thing, it still doesn't seem quite like panic time for the Kingfishers. They've still had very positive results on the top board, and this week in particular, things very easily could have gone slightly differently for them to win the match, with some tragic blunders causing losses on the middle two boards (in fairness though, that may also have been the cause of their bottom board victory). Again, not a time to panic, just to try to finish their games off better, and their record will improve in a hurry.


12th: Seattle Sluggers (0.5 – 1.5) (-3). Undoubtedly a huge disappointment for the Sluggers in not being able to score the full point against a team they've dominated in earlier meetings while also enjoying a huge rating advantage. Like Baltimore, I definitely don't think it's time for them to panic, they just need to push things up a notch as in their later matches, they won't have the luxury of a mathematical edge built in to work with.


13th: Tennessee Tempo (0.5 – 1.5) (+1). In contrast to their opponents, a very positive result from the Tempo, snaring a half a point from a team which had thoroughly dominated them in previous meetings, despite missing both of their top players. While a positive result is always good, Tennessee must begin to string together such results if they want to be playoff contenders and naturally starting off at a big rating disadvantage all the time isn't conducive to that. I know they, like me, are eagerly anticipating the arrival of GM Ehlvest to the lineup when the new Tempo team might take the League by storm.


14th: New York Knights (0.0 – 2.0) (-6). Another ranking which might surprise some people. After all, New York starting off the season poorly is more of a habit than a surprise isn't it? While that is true, even when they started poorly, they didn't tend to really get blown out of their matches, which to me is really what has happened in both matches thus, with the overall result never really having been in question. Plus, I've always been a fan of the theory that if you always live on the edge, someday you're going to fall off, and the Knights can't continue to hope a heroic late season surge will always be enough for them to overcome the odds and slip into the post-season.

Week 2 Game of the Week

This year we have three judges for Game of the Week, each ranking their top five games. The games are then given from one to five points, based on these rankings, and whichever game receives the most total points wins the award. First place each week will receive a $100 bonus prize, second place $50, and third place $30. Our three judges are: IM Greg Shahade, NM Arun Sharma, and NM Jonathan Hilton. Click here for more details.

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1st Place: IM Vinay Bhat (SF) vs IM Emory Tate (CHC) 1-0


Arun Sharma: Once again this seemed to be a fairly easy choice for the top spot as I felt this game was far and away the most interesting of the week, containing tons of really tricky moments where the game's outcome was hanging in the balance. Although the ending part was rather sloppily played by Black (time pressure!), it still was a quite creative display by him and a typical strong performance by Bhat, navigating several very tough moments quite well. (1st place: 5 points)


Greg Shahade: Fun game! Would have been a slam dunk if the end of the game was played better by Black, but before that both sides really made some inspiring moves. I'm not certain this game would have won in a different week, but this week I felt that every other game had bigger flaws than this one. The other games had at least one of the following problems:

1. Too many mistakes
2. Too boring
3. Too one-sided
4. One side was better throughout until a blunder near the end.

This game it was pretty unclear for a large part of the game, and given the time constraints I felt that both sides did a reasonable job of sifting through the complications. This isn't 40/2, 20/1, SD/1 after all. (1st place: 5 points)


Jonathan Hilton: I guess I just never get tired of picking Bhat’s games to win the GOTW competition. Although I thought Bhat was clearly better in the opening, ramming his h-pawn all the way to h6, I was surprised when, somewhere around move 23 or so, Black appeared absolutely fine — perhaps better! Tate’s attack culminated in an intuitive but brilliant knight sacrifice on move 25, giving him two passers in the center. But when more pieces came off the board, Black had to defend these two passers with some additional support — from the King! Bhat turned around and checkmated this aggressive, fighting King. A tough game all around with some wild complications! The San Francisco Mechanics hold the Chicago Blaze to a draw. (1st place: 5 points)


Total Score of Bhat vs Tate: 15 points

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2nd Place: GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) 1-0


Arun Sharma: Although this game might not have had quite the flair that I've come to sort of expect from GM Becerra's many GOTW level performances, it still was a very good game by him. He just completely dominated the game entirely, giving his opponent really no compensation or play throughout, along with giving viewers a textbook display of how to handle good knight vs bad bishop. A very high class performance for sure. (2nd Place: 4 points)


Greg Shahade: A very clean game from Becerra. Believe it or not, this game lost its place in the standings for me partly because Charbonneau resigned so early. Okay, the position is obviously winning for White, but it really harms the aesthetic factor when a player doesn't even play out an even material position so that players who aren't quite as strong can understand what's going on. Maybe that's a weird reason to rank a game lower, I don't know, but it always bugs me. So now you know if you don't want your opponent to win Game of the Week, resign as quickly as possible. In all honesty I probably would have simply given it second place if it was played out a few more moves. (3rd Place: 3 points)


Jonathan Hilton: I thought Becerra played a textbook positional game. Considering the caliber of his opponent, this victory is especially important for Becerra — and gets him off to a great start on his way to recapturing his MVP status for 2008! (3rd Place: 3 points)


Total Score of Becerra vs Charbonneau: 10 points

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3rd Place: FM Slava Mikhailuk (SEA) vs FM Peter Bereolos (TEN) 0-1


Greg Shahade: This game had everything going for it at the end, the drama, the finish riding all on this game, Bereolos never having won a USCL game, and then finding a flashy variation ending in a rook sacrifice that resulted in mate. Unfortunately despite all of those pluses, I feel it doesn't really deserve Game of the Week. The early part of the game was pretty unexciting and White seemed to have an edge for a good deal of the time. The end was great however, so I think second place in a week like this, is quite reasonable. Also, I'd like to formally announce that my fifth place pick was a bad one! Albeit it was only for fifth place, but I should have gone with something else, as white made it too easy on his opponent. Another judge also made a pick that I strongly disagree with, but I'll leave it to you readers to guess which pick I'm referring to in the comments section of this article! (2nd place: 4 points)


Jonathan Hilton: Bereolos, under positional pressure, lures White into capturing the c-pawn with 37. Nxe7? A lengthy, accurate series of moves by Bereolos follows, leading all the way up to White getting checkmated. An awesome and unexpected finish to the game! (2nd place: 4 points)


Arun Sharma: A very nice mating net to end the game and score a huge upset both in the individual game and overall match by Bereolos. I would ranked this game higher for sure if not for the fact that it really seemed to me that White had been pressing, being better, for nearly the whole game, and then managed to lose mostly due to a combination of overextending and time pressure. Once again, Black's method of taking advantage of the opportunity given to him in punishing White's mistakes was very good, but the aforementioned feeling kept me from giving this game too high a ranking. (5th place: 1 point)


Total Score of Mikhailuk vs Bereolos: 9 points


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Other Considered Games (judges' scores in parenthesis)


4 points (Arun 2, Greg 2): GM Joel Benjamin (NJ) vs IM Dmitry Schneider (QNS) 1-0

3 points (Arun 3): FM Florin Felecan (CHC) vs IM Josh Friedel (SF) 0-1

2 points (Jon 2): NM Charles Riordan (BOS) vs FM Ron Simpson (CAR) 1-0

1 point (Greg 1): FM Daniel Naroditsky (SF) vs IM Angelo Young (CHC) 0-1

1 point (Jon 1): NM Daniel Yeager (PHI) vs FM Ray Kaufman (BAL) 1-0

New Game of the Week Prizes

We have decided to extend the Game of the Week prizes this year while reducing the Game of the Year prizes; instead of only giving a $100 prize to first, we will now also give a $50 prize to second and a $30 prize to third in each week of the regular season (including retroactively to Week 1 which has already occurred). During the playoffs, due to the much fewer number of games played each week, for the Wildcard and Semifinal Rounds only the top two prizes will be given and in the Finals only the top prize will be. The Game of the Year prizes will be $500, $300, $200, $100, and $50 for this season.

We hope that this change will make the Game of the Week feature even more exciting for the players and fans.

Week 2 Predictions

Despite how difficult it is to show my face after my shameful Week 1 Performance, I'm still determined to win this contest in the end, and I really hope my comeback begins here


Queens over New Jersey 2.5 – 1.5

Philadelphia ties Baltimore 2 – 2

Boston over Carolina 3 – 1

Miami ties New York 2 – 2

San Francisco over Chicago 2.5 – 1.5

Seattle over Tennessee 3.5 – 0.5

Arizona over Dallas 2.5 – 1.5

Game of the Week Poll

Hey everyone, I figured out how to make a poll! From now on, after each week's Game of the Week winner is announced, you will all have the chance to chime in by voting whether you agree or disagree with the GOTW judges. Just look to the right and there it is. Have fun!

Also if you disagree with the judges, which game do you believe should be the winner? Please leave a comment with your own GOTW. Thanks!

Prediction Results -- Week 1

So again the battle for best guessing the future in regards to USCL Matches begins with Week One being in the books. This year the contest will be amongst myself (picks posted here), Ron Young (last year's Champion), Bioniclime, and Ed Scimia. The same scoring system as last year will be used, with as usual you receiving two points for every correct result (correct team winning or correct draw) and the following bonuses for additionally predicting the correct score.


Each exact score of 2.5 – 1.5 receives 1 bonus point.
Each exact score of 2 – 2 or 3 – 1 receives 2 bonus points.
Each exact score of 3.5 – 0.5 or 4 – 0 receives 3 bonus points.


Unfortunately, my personal quest to regain this title which was so brutally taken away from me last season didn't exactly start off the way I was hoping with myself being in dead last after the first week. After such a promising first match (being the only one to exactly predict Arizona vs Chicago), I was quite optimistic, but when the Commissioner linked to my predictions with the aura of "predicts all draws in the East", I knew I was in for trouble and sure enough, not a single match in all of Week 1 being drawn sort of epitomized the result I was in for. Nevertheless, I do have plenty of time to catch up so I'm far from discouraged.


So without further ado, these are the actual standings (myself = AS, Ron Young = RY, Bioniclime = BL, and Ed Scimia = ES)


Totals after Week 1:


Ron Young: 13 points
Bioniclime: 11 Points
Ed Scimia: 9 Points
Arun Sharma: 8 Points



ARZ over CHC 2.5 – 1.5


AS: Correct +3
BL/ES/RY: ARZ 3 – 1 +2



BOS over NY 3 – 1


ES/AS: Tie +0
BL/RY: NY 2.5 – 1.5 +0



NJ over BAL 3 – 1


BL/RY: NJ 2.5 – 1.5 +2
ES/AS: Tie +0



QNS over PHI 2.5 – 1.5


ES: Correct +3
AS: Tie +0
BL/RY: PHI 2.5 – 1.5 +0



CAR over TEN 3 – 1


BL/RY: Correct +4
ES/AS: CAR 2.5 – 1.5 +2



SF over DAL 2.5 – 1.5


BL/AS/RY: Correct +3
ES: SF 3 – 1 +2



MIA over SEA 3.5 – 0.5


RY: MIA 2.5 – 1.5 +2
ES: Tie +0
BL/AS: SEA 2.5 – 1.5 +0

Power Rankings -- Week 1

So once again this year, I will be making weekly rankings of all fourteen teams in the league trying to gauge where each team really falls in the grand scheme of things. This will be based on a large set of factors, the main one obviously being their current record, but also things like their future opponents, how their recent matches have gone, and just general other trends about the way things seem to be headed for the team in general. For the first few weeks, I don’t plan to include the percentages (as I did last season) on what I think each team’s chances to win their division or make the playoffs to be as until a few more matches are played (at least three or four), that seems unlikely to be especially meaningful.



1st: San Francisco Mechanics (1.0 – 0.0). By my predicting them to finish with the best record in the league and to win the Championship, I clearly felt before the season that the Mechanics were the best team in the league, and their victory this week really epitomized exactly why. Coming in with a roster which weighs in at a massive 2476 average using current ratings, it seems difficult to find another legal lineup anywhere in the league which won’t be an underdog to that lineup. And they showed why, defeating the defending champions and sending a strong message from the start. At this point, the top is the only place for them to be.


2nd: Boston Blitz (1.0 – 0.0). A very sweet victory for the Blitz against their arch-rivals, despite appearing to be slight underdogs in most people’s eyes and by the numbers, is another affirmation of why I felt Boston to be the most likely team to emerge on top in the East. Boston has really gotten off to a flying start in both of the last two seasons – an obvious key to their regular season victories in those seasons, and this victory could well be the start of another such march. While one match is only one match, in a league with only ten regular season matches, none is of small importance.


3rd: Queens Pioneers (1.0 – 0.0). Another team which seemed to affirm my pre-season faith about them, and once again the lineup style they used is a definite part of the reason why. Simply, being able to use a near 2500 on Board Three is a nice luxury that no other team in the league really has, and in general it just seems the strides Queens has really taken into improving their roster in the off season are likely to be very pivotal.


4th: Miami Sharks (1.0 – 0.0). Miami is always a rather tricky team to gauge as with the two-time MVP Becerra generally leading them, they are always a very strong team when their players step up. I say when since that’s undoubtedly been their Achilles heal at several stages in the past couple of seasons. This resounding first week victory really is a step in both directions as they’ve shown they definitely have the ability to beat a very strong team like Seattle, even without their rock, and also that their players are intent on being dedicated this season. While as always, one match is only one match and perhaps too early to make demonstratives from, I always feel a team’s first match can be very telling.


5th: New Jersey Knockouts (1.0 – 0.0). Another team, who like the Sharks, really may have made some great strides as evidenced by their first match. New Jersey, while never particularly high or low in last year’s standings, really managed to stay in the game mostly due to the superb performance of Benjamin who turned in some huge victories to really keep them in contention. That they could manage such a convincing win even with him uncharacteristically stumbling could definitely be a very good sign for them. Another big positive was the nice performance by Molner, who despite playing some good league games, has really struggled with the Black pieces, and him scoring a resounding victory against the rapidly improving R Kaufman could be a sign of things to come.


6th: Arizona Scorpions (1.0 – 0.0). While their first week’s victory was obviously a nice way to start, the place Arizona seems to be distinguishing themselves with how dedicated they really are with tremendous amount of blogging. While I feel that’s always a good sign for a team, it’s nevertheless probably not something to shoot a team’s ranking up based on. Wins are of course the main ingredient for that, and they got one of those, but in later matches they will almost certainly not have a large rating advantage to work with so until I see if they can fare as well under those circumstances, this seems about the right place for them.


7th: Dallas Destiny (0.0 – 1.0). A loss to the team, who I believe to be the strongest in the league, using a lineup which I think may again be the league’s strongest is hardly a cause for concern. However, the morale issues can come into play as it certainly can never feel good for a defending champion to start off with a loss. The unfortunate larger issue with Dallas is the loss of IM Stopa from the roster, whose ability to be on third board I felt to be one of the Destiny’s biggest assets. Dallas is still a very strong team, but it seems they will have to find something else, something inside themselves, to give them that little edge a team really needs to emerge victorious in the league.


8th: New York Knights (0.0 – 1.0). The Knights early season mojo unfortunately didn’t seem to start off in a better way this season in losing to their arch-rivals. New York always seems to be a team which really needs to take some time to find their groove, and once they do they tend to be a super strong team. However, when they might happen to find it is rather up in the air and until they do, they will probably languish around here.


9th: Seattle Sluggers (0.0 – 1.0). Suffering their worst defeat in league history was obviously not the start the Sluggers were hoping for, especially arriving this season with a fairly rejuvenated roster. Once again, one match is just that, and the Sluggers bounced back well from such an opening loss last season, and I firmly expect them to do so this year as well.


10th: Philadelphia Inventors (0.0 – 1.0). A tough loss for the Inventors, who after last season’s high start, were undoubtedly hoping to start that way again. There is still little reason to be concerned as they certainly remember what it took to get them to that stage last season, it just didn’t happen to fall their way in the first match, but when it does they may well be back to their winning ways.


11th: Baltimore Kingfishers (0.0 – 1.0). A frustrating start to the season for the Kingfishers as their roster really seemed to have been markedly improved from last season, likely with a batch of players who are much more likely to be constantly playing. Their lower boards are clearly capable of much better performances than they displayed in the first week, and under the hope they do so and that Erenburg continues to play for them, especially at his recent level, they could definitely turn things around in a hurry.


12th: Carolina Cobras (1.0 – 0.0). A very nice start to the season for the Cobras, but like the Scorpions they are unlikely to enjoy such a rating advantage in their future matches. Should they score some points in the upcoming matches, their ranking here will shoot up quickly, but until they do, I feel I must keep them around here.


13th: Chicago Blaze (0.0 – 1.0). Chicago’s first match was a myriad of positives and negatives. Obviously, starting off using a much weaker lineup than they are generally capable of as well as losing the match were probably not what the fans were hoping for, but the fact that they were able to be so competitive, as the match could easily have been won or drawn with a single break here or there is reason to be optimistic. Nevertheless, the largest issue to me is the obvious internal problems demonstrated by their pre-season and Week 1 roster issues. While once again those may well be temporary setbacks which will go away soon, but until I see evidence of that, I feel I must keep them here.


14th: Tennessee Tempo (0.0 – 1.0). A disappointing loss for the Tempo who had to have felt they had a very real chance to score in, based on their last year’s results against Carolina on the top two boards. As usual, they seem to have a close but not quite ability to really get the wins they so crave. I’m sure fans are eagerly anticipating the day Ehlvest makes his debut to likely give them a big kick in regards to accomplishing that, but until I know for a fact that it will be sooner rather than later, I think they have to occupy this spot.