Game of the Year -- 1st Place

This is the final part in a series of articles which has counted down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 USCL Game of the Year. For more information on exactly how this process worked and the prize information, please refer to: Game of the Year Contest


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






















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


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



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



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



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



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



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

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

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

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



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


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Game of the Year Final Standings:



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Game of the Year -- 2nd Place

This is the final part in a series of articles which has counted down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 USCL Game of the Year. For more information on exactly how this process worked and the prize information, please refer to: Game of the Year Contest


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






















In his typical style, SM Sammour-Hasbun finished off the creative game with the nice tactical blow 31. Rd7!


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



FM Ingvar Johannesson (1st Place, 20 points): A great game by Sammour-Hasbun. This seems like the type of opening that should suit Sammour-Hasbun brilliantly. He just seemed to outplayed Milman completely, and yet it's hard to find any big mistakes by Black, White just kept on making good move after good move!

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



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



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



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



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



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


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Game of the Year Final Standings:



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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Game of the Year -- 3rd Place

This is the eighteenth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 USCL Game of the Year. For more information on exactly how this process works and the prize information, please refer to: Game of the Year Contest


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






















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


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



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



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



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



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



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

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

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

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



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


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


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

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



Eliminated:


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Game of the Year -- 4th Place

This is the seventeenth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 USCL Game of the Year. For more information on exactly how this process works and the prize information, please refer to: Game of the Year Contest


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






















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


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



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



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

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



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



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



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



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


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


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

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

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



Eliminated:


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Game of the Year -- 5th Place

This is the sixteenth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 USCL Game of the Year. For more information on exactly how this process works and the prize information, please refer to: Game of the Year Contest


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

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


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



FM Ingvar Johannesson (2nd Place, 19 points): A great positional game from Shulman. I love this game for its instructional value. White just plays the opening solidly, centralizing his pieces and then takes advantage when Black allows him to exchange and obtain good Knight vs bad Bishop and complete domination. Perhaps Black's only opening mistake was surrending the e5 square and allowing Ne5. After closing the Queenside, Black left White with a freeroll on the Kingside. Shulman built up slowly but after maneuvering and setting up Rh3/Qh4, forcing the further weakening 42... g6, and Black was drawing dead! The way Shulman then wrapped it up was very nice, the somewhat sadistic maneuvre of the King to d4, putting a stop to any counterplay based on sacking the d5 pawn and freeing the Knight to join the party on the Kingside. Then the eventual buildup on the h-file followed by a nice finishing tactic.



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



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

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



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



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



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


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


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

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

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

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



Eliminated:


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Game of the Year -- 6th Place

This is the fifteenth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2011 USCL Game of the Year. For more information on exactly how this process works and the prize information, please refer to: Game of the Year Contest


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






















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


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



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



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



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

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

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



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



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



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


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


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

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

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

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

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



Eliminated:


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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