Shhhh

Shhh, quiet please.

US Division Championships

I'm very sad after watching the collapse last Wednesday by San Francisco. I really enjoyed watching them all season sad it had to end this way. I will say that they almost had possibly a worse collapse last year against New York in the playoffs. At some point it looked like they were destroying new york and then they had to win in the tiebreak after some missed opportunities to put it away there too.

Who's going to win this week?
Who cares? Oh, I guess I still do, a lot of exciting chess left.
Boston over NY 2-2
Dallas over Miami 3-1

Nuff said.

US Chess League: Playoffs wildcard

Playoffs!!!!!! Well, I didn't even realize there would be predictions into the playoffs and thanks to my opponents picking opposite sides of the bets I believe I'm now officially theoretically eliminated from winning (Not really that big of a deal, I'll be back next year better than ever).

However this week we have some serious excitement in the form of first round madness.

Philadelphia Inventors vs New York Knights
Nakamura has greatly underperformed in the league, but just came off of 2 amazing results in Europe, which Hikaru will we see this week in the league? Whichever one we do see will likely have a huge impact on this match. Edge to Nakamura.
Krush-Smith didn't turn out too pretty a few weeks ago, but I don't see that game repeating itself so I give Krush a slight edge with white.
Costigan-Bonin two players who have been performing well this year, I think I slightly prefer Bonin who has found some impressive ways to score so far this year.
Zenyuk - Wilson, Wilson got the wrong end of this one last time, but I think he still looks to have a slight edge here this week.
2-2 tie (Phi advances)

Miami Sharks vs San Francisco Mechanics
The most important match of the week (of course) pitting the defending champs against the team that eliminated them from the playoffs 2 years ago.
Becerra - Wolff: Wolff I think is greatly underestimated in this game, he's rusty, but really hasn't show bad form, the game against Christiansen was a tough fight I give Becerra a slight edge in this match.
Bhat - Lugo should be good for Bhat, I don't even think he has a draw with white so far in the league and Lugo can get in some trouble sometimes with some superficial ideas which Bhat can be particularly good at punishing.
Martinez- Zilberstein
Supposedly Martinez has the better score, but I think Zilberstein's shown quite a bit of maturity in his games these past 2 seasons I pick Zilberstein.
Young-Barredo Young had one big collapse this year, I think if he learned from that game he'll be a much stronger player. I like Young with the white pieces.
SF ove Mia 3-1

USCL Week 10 Predictions

I actually gained nominal ground next week, this week will likely not be as good. I'm busy tonight so only very quick predictions.

Boston over Phi 3-1
Strong line-up for Bos and riding the sox winning the series should be good for them.

Queens over Bal 2.5-1.5

NJ over NY 3-1
Mackenzie should be key.

Carolina ties Ten 2-2
What do you do when you're finally not the underdog?

SF over Dal 3-1
Because I'm a pro-SF prediction hack.

Sea over Mia 2.5-1.5
Bringing out Lee should turn out to be a clutch move.

USCL Rest of Week 9

Already 1/1 this week, feels good, hasn't happened to me too often. Now on for the rest, I have to try to gain some ground just to finish with a respectable score in the league.

Philadelphia Investors vs New York Knights
I think this is Lapshun's debut in the league, I don't know too much about him other than a good story from my friend Eugene Yanayt who before playing in his first New York Masters had nightsweats fearing 1.b4 from Lapshun. I think NY has a slight edge net from the top 3 boards and Philly a slight edge on the Bottom. I think I like NY a little more overall.
NY over Phi 2.5-1.5

New Jersey - Baltimore
A lot of really close games in this match, but I think I like NJ on board 1 just a little better and don't have anything great to say elsewhere, that said, NJ has underperformed quite a few times.
NJ ties Bal 2-2

Queens Pioneers - Boston Blitz
Big guns lineup for the blitz, a strong squad. The key here is that Krasik will have to be much quieter when the rest of his team plays if he loses so he'll manage not to.
Bos over Queens 3-1

Carolina Cobras - Miami sharks
With Miami bringing out a weakened lineup this weak I don't think they stand much of a chance against a Carolina team needing to make a strong push to a shot at a playoff spot If Carolina can with 4-0 they'd actually be ahead on tiebreaks form what I quickly read on the league site, this seems like an absurd prediction, but remember Miami was the team to originally end Tennessee's no-win streak last season when bringing a weak lineup in week 9.
Car over Mia 4-0

Tennessee Tempo - Dallas Destiny
Dallas knows not to relax when the season is coming down the final stretch, bringing out a talented lineup to take on the tough tempi(is that right?). I think tennessee will hold tough, but number one rule for the Tempo, 3-1, 2.5-1.5, it's all a loss, they keep pushing.
Dal over Tenn 3-1

USCL Monday Night Week 9

San Francisco Mechanics vs Seattle Sluggers
This has become a good rivalry in the league, especially on board 1. White has won all 4 encounters between Serper and Friedel and it looks like there's a good chance for it to happen again especially with Friedel's results with white (despite his claim otherwise).
Board 2 also looks good with Bhat at the helm and his tremendous record, I don't want to oversell him, but I will say what's really helped him this season is tough fighting always looking for strong ways to defend and continue fighting for points in tough positions.
Board 3 features Donaldson the other SF MVP candidate (I'm speaking in terms of the league MVP, every player is valuable to the Mechanics) I think his chances with white are quite good.
Board 4 is the rematch of Naroditsky and Sinanan, even though Sinanan has a fantastic first name and got the better of it last time I think this match will be very even and Naroditsky has been playing well looking at recent results (and now even holds the higher rating).
I know it's sounded like my predicitions have been one-sided for SF, and well things actually look good for the Mechanics.
SF over Sea 3-1

USCL Week 8 Predictions

First, I would like to explain what makes a good prediction. Sometimes predictions have to be a little controversial and what's more controversial that just being wrong? I certainly can't think of anything so I'm glad you all agree.

New Jersey vs Boston
Boston should be the favorite, but somebody didn't tell New Jersey that, both teams stacking the top of their lineups. If Boston wins on 1+2 I will likely look foolish, but I'm going to predict a tie here, looks like there are too many close games that have a good chance of being decisive.
NJ ties Bos

Baltimore vs Philadelphia
Another match that looks evenish down the line, I particularly like Philly's bottom 2 boards in this match (yes, more than I like Boston's bottom 2 in their match) and since my Diamondbacks failed where the 2004 Redsox succeeded (coming back from a 3-0 defecit) I have not grief over this either.
Phi over Bal 3-1

Miami - Tennessee
If Miami can beat San Francisco, they can beat anybody (even if they haven't), but by how much, but they've got a pretty nice situation board by board here.
Mia over Ten 3-1

Carolina Cobras vs San Francisco Mechanics
Bhat takes board 1 to get revenge for Friedel. The key for SF is going to be boards 2 and 3 where Carolina puts up some traditionally strong performers. Looks good for them though.
SF over Car 3-1

Dallas vs Seattle
Seattle seems to really like it when I pick them to lose, mostly by ripping on me whenever I do. Take this seattle.
Dal over Sea 2.5-1.5

Week 8: Monday Prediction

Surely by now this season some of you have come to notice my impressive prediction ability this season capped last week by my 0-6 record. I will not defend my actions, in fact I place the blame on myself. Last season I was a regular watcher of the league and while I accept the high likelyhood that I was merely lucky, I did it with authority. This year I can't claim any authority, I don't watch San Francisco play live every week (sadly) and in fact quite often I don't get home until after the days' games are over. I certainly don't have time to replay them and my chess and predictions have both suffered from this overworking (the latter of course being of much greater importance). Either way, I encourage you take these predictions with an extra grain of salt.

New York Knights vs Queens Pioneers
Some fairly close matchups down the boards, I think it is again the anticipation of the league to see if Nakamura can notch his first USCL win, I think it's becoming quite a burden on him, it's difficult to imagine he would struggle this badly. I do remember a poor start to the 2006 US Championships after going into the event as the defending champion, but he did come back in a fierce rally to almost tie for first in his division (on which I believe he would have lost on tiebreaks). Maybe that's his plan here, he probably has to start soon or never. I think it'll be soon. On other boards it's hard for me to make strong statements, I can say that the Queens do have 2/3 whites on these boards where the edges are unclear. Overall I think the knights have a small edge.
NY over Queens 2.5-1.5

Rest of Week 7 Predictions

Boston - New York
Boston taking some time off celebrating their large lead? No, I don't think that's it. I think this is going to come down to Naka taking some time on his clock to make some critical decisions, so far the internet forum hasn't proved to be the place for him so I think I still like Boston here. (That and last season I picked them almost every week and did well, I gotta mix something up).
Bos over NY 2.5-1.5

Baltimore Kingfishers - Queens Pioneers
Baltimore brings out the big guns trying to close the gap on Boston, this won't be the week, but I like the effort.
Bal over Queens 3-1

...... here is where my internet died last night, only have time for some quick predicitons, sorry:

Carolina vs Tennessee
Tennessee brings out their strongest lineup ever, there should be chances for all 3 match results, but I think Carolina is still slightly favored.
Car over Tenn 2.5-1.5

SF vs Miami I like SF on boards 1,2,3 closer on board 4, having played both board 4s I'll say that they're both tough, but probably Miami has a slight edge here.
SF over Mia 2.5-1.5

Seattle vs Dallas
Seattle faces their kryptonite, it's really very close, but I think I have to give the edge to Dallas.
Dal over Sea 2.5-1.5

USCL Monday Night Week 7

Monday Night Prediction:
Philadelphia Masterminds vs New Jersey Knockouts
Philadelphia leads out not quite with their traditional lineup but one that should be strong I would look for very close fights on boards 1-3 with maybe a slight net edge for New Jersey and then and edge for Philadelphia on Board 4, I predict a tie.
Phi TIES NJ 2-2

USCL Week 6 Predictions

I think finally I had a week that was worthwhile in predictions but still not up to the standards I've started to expect for myself. Anyways, SF plays Boston this week so obviously there's a lot to talk about.

New Jersey Knockouts vs Carolina Cobras
New Jersey is coming out this week with their full-metal lineup it looks like, fresh off their first win they're looking to keep the trend going.
Benjamin - Milman: New Jersey should have an edge on this board, Benjamin has looked good this season Milman struggled a little bit against GM opposition.
Schroer - Ippolito
I would say the biggest risk for NJ here is that Ippolito tries a little too hard avoiding his more solid opening choices and ends up getting stuck somewhere unfamiliar. However, I think NJ should have a slight edge here.
Friedman-Zaikov
Zaikov has struggled a little more this season than last, but I think he's still looking to preform well, this should be an even match.
Jones- Lian
I like Jones in this matchup, I don't expect him to lose to another kid so soon and his rating advantage here is much more significant.
New Jersey over Carolina 2.5-1.5

Miami Sharks vs Queens Pioneers
Becerra -Stripunksy is a very strong encounter, I expect Becerra to have the edge as he can be very tough with the white pieces.
Vovsha -Martinez I like Vovsha a little bit better with white, slight edge for Queens.
Moreno Roman -Zhao Definitely a clear edge for Miami here.
Bierkens - Socorregut
Slight edge to Queens here, but I think draw is more likely.
Miami's edges seem better than Queens
Mia over Queens 2.5-1.5

Dallas Destiny vs Philadelphia Inventors
Boskovic - Kudrin
Looks pretty even, no edge to either.
Smith - Kuljasevic Slight edge for Smith, but all 3 results possible in a relatively even matchup.
Stopa - Costigan Costigan should be solid, but Stopa is strong enough he should have a substantial edge.
Wilson - Zorigt: Edge to Wilson with the white pieces.
Dal TIES Phi 2-2

Baltimore Kingfishers vs Tennessee Tempo
Enkbhat - Burnett: A close matchup, I won't give either player an edge.
Andrews- Kaufman : Edge to Kaufman as Andrews feels the (justified) burden to overextend himself to try to score a point for a team where he is probably the best chance to score at the top.
Rohonyan - Wheeler Wheeler has struggled a bit lately giving his opponents extra chances to try to win, I like Rohonyan's chances.
Larsen - Battsetseg Slight edge for Batsettseg.
Bal over Tenn 3-1

Boston Blitz vs San Francisco Mechanics
This is definitely a highlight of the season for me. The match between the East and West's best regular season records from last season.
Christainsen - Wolff
Wolff has looked fine in his 2 performances so far and I imagine will continue to rebuild his form, that being said Christiansen has white and is no fish, I think Christiansen has a slight edge.
Bhat - Kelleher
Until I see otherwise I'm not going to predict anything for Bhat other than a strong result, Bhat gets the edge.
Shmelov - Donaldson
Edge to Donaldson even with the black pieces.
Young- Williams
Williams is probably slightly stronger, but Young is a tough opponent and has the white pieces (I've suffered a few times myself on this end of this tough opponent), probably very slight edge for Young.
SF over Bos 2.5-1.5

New York Knights vs Seattle Sluggers
Nakamura - Serper
My guess is Nakamura will go right into Serper's favorite sicilian. It fits his style well and Serper likes to get himself in time trouble, should be good for Nakamura if he can begin to concentrate a little better in some of the more critical moments of his games in the league.
Orlov - Krush
Orlov has white and is a particularly tough opponent he should have the edge with white.
Bonin - Readey
Bonin has been playing well so it's temping to give him my vote for this one, but... Nevermind I will.
Sinanan - Zenyuk
This should be close, I think it should slightly favor Sinanan, but should be relatively even.
NY over Sea 2.5-1.5

Rest of Week 5 predictions

What has happened to me? My luck coming to an end? Tired work weeks impairing my prediction judgement? Mechanics not the 4-0 I've predicted? Whatever it is, it must come to an end.


New Jersey Knockouts vs New York Knights
Benjamin-Charbonneau
Charbonneau definitely has some advantage in youth and activity, but I will not sell Benjamin short, he should have the edge with white.
Hess-Zlotnikov
Hess has a lot of talent, can at times be inconsistent, but youth and rating give him the edge.
Molner-Arnold
A battle of youth on board 3, I don't know too much about either of them, but I know I've seen some impressive games from Arnold that give me confidence to give him the nod with black.
Zenyuk- Ju, should be close probably a slight edge for Ju, but not much.
Close, better chances for NY who still seems to have some fire left.
NY over NJ 2.5-1.5

Boston Blitz vs Baltimore Kingfishers
Christiansen - Blehm should favor LarryC, he lost last time, but not before developing a strong position with black.
Enkbhat - Sammour-Hasbun : Hasbun defended well in 2 games, Enkbhat probably won't try to take of off the board so drastically, but either way I like his chances.
Martiorsov - Rohonyan Should be pretty even, 3 results possible and decisive likely, but still even.
Battsetseg - Krasik : Krasik seems to have trouble in games like these, honestly don't like his chances much as he can get a little overconfident. That being said, he can play and his chances can't be so bad.
Boston over Baltimore 2.5-1.5

Queens Pioneers vs Philadelphia Inventors
Stripunksy-Kudrin Stripunksy has been playing very well in the last year while Kudrin is probably past his prime form edge to Stripunsky.
Smith-Vovsha: Both players who show good classical knowledge and aggressive style should be a balanced game.
Critelli - Costigan: Costigan has a strong lineup in front of him this week and doesn't need the same kind of opportunities, he's performed well in the league and I give him a slight edge.
Wilson-Thaler: I'm a fan of wilson's play in the league, what can I say, I give him the edge.
Phi over Queens 2.5-1.5

Tennessee Tempo vs San Francisco Mechanics
Burnett - Wolff: The question for this game is if Wolff can find good form. He didn't look bad in his first game so I give him the edge.
Donaldson - Andrews
John looked very good last week, solid, not afraid to take some chances and showed a good nose for blood, he can be quite poisonous with white especially against a relatively inexperienced opponent.
Wheeler-Shankland
Shankland can be really tough, is vulnerable, but he's been playing well and I give him the edge.
Naroditsky - Wu
Naroditsky lost in an unfortunate manner last week but I think his mistake was going away from his normal style, no need for him to try to play unfamiliar positions this week for him so I give him the edge.
Tennessee has made some things close this year, but I think SF is in a good position to try to regain some ground
SF over Tenn 3.5-0.5

Carolina Cobras vs Seattle Sluggers
Milman - Serper
Serper is tougher with white than with black where his predictable repetoire can make him vulnerable, I like Milman here.
Mikhailuk - Schroer
Mikhailuk has been more active (I might be wrong) I believe and the rating difference is not so big so with with white I think he's preferred.
Zaikov - Schmidt
I think this game should be a close one, Zaikov was quite strong last year, he's had some tough games against some tough opponents this year.
Michael Lee- Craig Jones:
Lee was quite solid last year for Seattle, Jones can also be quite good, but especially with white I like to favor youth.
Slight edge for Seattle.
Sea over Car 2.5-1.5

Maybe you're safer predicting the exact opposite though.....

USCL Monday Prediction

Just realized I forgot to post a prediction for monday:
Dallas over Miami 2.5-1.5

USCL Monday Night Week 4

In case I don't get time to make another aweful prediciton, I predict boston over NY 3-1.

Update:
So I'm sure some of you out there might be shocked by my bold prediction. Well the key is take whatever you expect Boston to do and add at least 1 point to it. Sure, board by board it doesn't look too impressive for Boston. Nakamura should have an edge on board 1, Perelshteyn counters with an edge on board 2. Bonin on board 3 should be a bit better and Williams on board 4 should have the edge. Looks like the perfect line for a 2-2 tie, but you have to remember that Boston has the team factor, I really think this is what drove both them and San Francisco to such strong results in the regular season last year. I have been overlooking this so far this season. So really this just gives Boston much better chances of holding/ winning on boards where they should be worse.

Queens vs NJ
A rematch of the week 1 tie. A few changes for both teams and a color flip. This time I can more confidently predict something at least slightly offbeat by Stripunsky against Benjamin. Board 1 is pretty close Board 2 should favor the Queens, but boards 3 and 4 I like NJ so I give NJ the slight edge in the match.
NJ over Queens 2.5-1.5

Phi vs Bal
Philadelphia is missing Kudrin this week and Baltimore debuts their top GM. Baltimore should have an edge on board 1, I trust Costigan to keep it close on board 2 but ultimately he should be on the worse side of thigns, but Philly looks good on boards 3/4 which should give them good chances to hold the match.
Phi TIES Bal 2-2

Tennessee Tempo vs Miami Sharks
If you remember, Tennessee scored their only historical team win against Miami at the end of last season, this week however Miami is showcasing a tougher line-up. Miami has a substantial edge on boards 1 and 4 and less so on boards 2/3, but still very promising. I predict a 3.5-0.5 victory for Miami.
Mia over Ten 3.5- 0.5

Dallas Destiny vs Carolina Cobras
This looks very close on Paper, Carolina has been playing with a large core of its original members from season to season. This experience in making good team judgments should help them.
Car over Dal 2.5-1.5

Seattle Sluggers vs San Francisco Mechanics
Obviously the most important match of the week (since it involved the Mechanics). It features one of the most exciting matchups of last season in Serper-Friedel. These 2 played 3 matches last season. This produced 2 games of the week and 3 decisive results. Friedel got quite a bad position in his one game as black, however it was shown here:
http://chessquest.blogspot.com/2006/10/mechanics-clinch.html
that Serper did slip up at one point. I think over the last year watching Friedel's games he's become a much tougher defender and I expect this to be a pretty balanced game with my bias going towards Friedel.
On board 2 we have Orlov-Pruess. Last season Orlov got his taste of Bhat, this time around he's looking at Pruess who has had a somewhat disappointing couple of weeks, he seems to do better when he's playing stronger opponents though so this should be a good chance to turn that around with the white pieces.
Board 3 there is an interesting match Readey-Donaldson. Donaldson was a long-time resident of Seattle and I'm guessing has had quite a bit of experience with Readey. My guess is his stronger level of play and experience against this specific opponent should make things quite difficult for Readey.
Board 4 features Daniel "kid" Naroditsky against Seattle's young player Sinanan. Naroditsky has white against a lower rated player so this looks quite good for him.
This week looks quite promising for SF.
SF over Sea 3-1

Rest of USCL Week 3 Predictions

Miami Sharks vs. Carolina Cobras
Should be an interesting board 1 matchup, Becerra an established GM against Milman a strong talent of american chess. Slight edge to Becerra with white.
Board 2 features Schroer vs Lugo with Schroer still trying to score his first point in the league while lugo has been solid, I feel like I need to give Lugo the nod.
Board 3 is Martinez-Zaikov. One of the tougher opponents Zaikov has faced, then again, it doesn't seem to matter that much for him, I give Zaikov the nod.
On board 4 Jones-Maderos Jones gets the nod over the relatively unproven Maderos with the lower rating.
Looks pretty even, roughly equal chances for each side to break through.
Mia TIE Car 2-2

Queens Pioneers vs Dallas Destiny
Board 1: Stripunsky - Broskovic
Stripunsky has rating, experience in the format and the white pieces, looks good for him.
Board 2: Vovsha - Kuljasevic
Should be pretty close, but Vovsha looked very sharp in his first match in the league season so I'm giving him the nod.
Board 3: Stopa- Zhao
Stopa has a substantial rating edge and the white pieces, I'm picking him to take the board with a steady edge.
Board 4: Zorigt-Thaler
Zorigt looked a little shaky in her league debut, but nothing that can't be overcome with a second shot, she's got the rating edge and the white pieces.
Again close, but I think the boards 3 and 4 edge for Dallas seems more substantial than Jersey's higher board edge, I give Dallas the nod.
Dal over NJ 2.5-1.5

Seattle Sluggers vs Tennessee Tempo
The famous week 1 matchup from last year which had the leagues first ever 4-0 sweep. However, Tennessee has looked a lot stronger this year and I wouldn't expect such a route.
Board 1: Tangborn-Burnett
Tangborn might have what it takes to contain Burnett's active style and has looked solid when he holds the white pieces. I'm going to give him the nod.
Board 2: Andrews -Schmidt
Schmidt didn't impress me particularly in week 1, feel free to prove me wrong but Andrews hasn't looked too bad in spite of his 0.5-1.5 record.
Board 3/4: Seattle has loaded up the bottom of their lineup with a fairly balanced team, looks like they're giving themselves good chances on both of these, clearly favored on both boards.
Sea over Ten 3-1

USCL Week 3 Predictions

I haven't done well so far with my predictions, but I blame a vast conspiracy against me by over/underperformers in the league being unpredictable.... so far.

San Francisco Mechanics vs New York Knights
Even though this pits a 1.5-0.5 team against an 0-2 team this is probably the week's most exciting match-up.
Board 1: Bhat (SF) - Nakamura (NY)
An interesting matchup. Bhat has been hot lately in all of his chess and has had amazing results in the league. Nakamura has a solid 200 point rating advantage. However Bhat is a Mechanic which gives him that something extra (oh yea, my biased prediction). I'd say given the white pieces and recent performances the chances are about equal.

Board 2: Krush (NY) vs McCambridge (SF)
Krush has had a slightly better performance in the league and has the white pieces, she should have a slight edge but McCambridge can be tricky and sometimes Krush can be overly predictable.

Board 3: Pruess (SF) vs Bonin (NY)
If you think Pruess is dangerous on board 3, wait until you see him the week after a loss. Edge to SF on board 3.

Board 4: Young (SF) - Herman (NY)
Their ratings are actually fairly comprable and Young has had some good results lately and I wouldn't underestimate the tough kid at all.
My prediction: SF wins 2.5-1.5

Philadelphia Masterminds vs Boston Blitz
Battle of the undefeated teams. Philadelphia has built on their experience without a true board one to form a tough team this year with a regular board 1. Boston continues to rally on the strong regular season they had last year.
Board 1: Kudrin(Phi) - Perelshteyn(Bos)
Kudring with the white pieces vs Perelshteyn with black, should be a pretty even matchup, slight edge to Kudrin with white.
Board 2: Sammour-Hasbun (Bos) - Smith(Phi)
Boston should have an edge here, but this is the board where I think Phi could potentially steal the match.
Board 3: I dont' know too much about these players, but Boston's board 3 has looked solid in his 2 games so far. Edge to Boston here.
Board 4: Elvin Wilson continues to perform well in the league so I think I need to give Philly the edge on board 4.
My prediction: 2-2 Tie

Baltimore Kingfishers vs New Jersey Knockouts
Board 1: Blehm is solid, but Benjamin should have a slight edge even with black.
Board 2: Ippolito didn't look so strong last week, but I don't expect a repeat performance, edge to NJ here as well.
Board 3: Rohonyan has played well so far this season but ran into a tough opponent in week 2, I expect this to continue. Edge to Baltimore.
Board 4: Edge goes to youth and rating on board 4 despite colors, edge to Baltimore.

It looks very even, but overal I think Baltimore has a much better chance of breaking through
Baltimore over NJ 2.5-1.5

Rest of Week 3 predictions coming soon.....

USCL Week 2 Predictions

So week one was a weak performance by me, also it seems the scoring system has been changed a little, but I'm not going to complain as I think in general it's a better system.

Boston Blitz vs Queens Pioneers
Board 1: GM Christiansen vs GM Ibragimov
This is definitely the power-match of the week, an important board for boston too, if Christiansen can get a half point or a full poin it should be good enough to put the blitz in good position, he probably has a very slight edge too over Ibragimov. Ibragimov is obviously more active as a player, but Christiansen can be a beast with the white pieces.
Board 2: This should be a little closer than it looks on paper, Kleiman can definitely put together some high quality games and his preparation is generally good, but I think the edge goes to Sammour-Hasbun.
Board 3: I'm not really familiar with either of these players, but I think the edge goes to Queens.
Board 4: Krasik personally asked me to trash him a lot here (or maybe not), but either way I will say he's pretty inconsistent so basically are we seeing a Krasik that can play on Wednesday or normal Krasik? I'll give it a 50/50 and call this board a wash.
Boston over Queens 2.5-1.5

Carolina Cobras vs Baltimore Kingfishers
Board 1: Clear edge to Milman, very talented player, also higher rated and has the white pieces.
Board 2: Schroeor's back for Carolina vs Kaufman of Baltimore. Kaufman seems to play a little more so an edge for him especially with white.
Board 3: "You can't stop Zaikov, you can only hope to contain him." Rohonyan impressed me with her smooth win last week, but Zaikov has been a beast in the USCL and I expect this to continue.
Board 4: This is a pretty close match, but I think I need to give the edge to Jones due to Zimmers poor performance so far in the league.
Carolina over Baltimore 3-1

New York Knights vs Philadelphia Inventors
Board 1: Charbonneau seems to do better in situations where he's not such a huge favorite. That being said, what happens when two dragoneers face off? My guess is white doesn't play 1.e4, but then what does he play? Either way I give a very slight edge to Charbonneau.
Board 2: Krush had a frustrating loss last week and is sure to be looking for revenge. Smith so far has had rather poor results in the league, then again he's spent most of his time fighting off board 1 with Ehlvest gone in Europe most of last season. I give him the edge on board 2
Board 3: Hess has clear edge, next.
Board 4: Herman can be tough, but Wilson has had strong results in the league so i'll give him the edge here.
New York Knights tie Philadelphia 2-2

Tennessee Tempo vs New Jersey Knockouts
Edge to Jersey on boards 1,3,4 (although slighter on board 1). I'll pick Jersey to win 3.5-0.5 (corrected)


Dallas vs SF
The matchup everybody's been waiting for (or at least I have).
Board 1: I have no idea what kind of form Wolff's in, but knowing Donaldson he'll make sure Wolff's ready to play at least. Wolff was also former us champion so I think he gets the go ahead here.
Board 2: Bhat gets white on board 2 he also holds the league's highest performance rating to date. That said Bartholemew is no slump, but I think Bhat should have the edge here.
Board 3: Last year Pruess couldn't quite break through Stopa's sveshnikov, but sometimes the white pieces come with this burden. I think slight edge goes to Pruess.
Board 4: A battle of the young guns, unfortunately for Dallas Young is Younger... Okay enough horrible jokes, This should be a close fight, but Young doesn't have the burden of being a full time college student (I assume Zorigt is).
SF over dallas 3-1

Miami Sharks vs Seattle Sluggers
Board 1: Edge to Becerra with the white pieces who has performed pretty well in the league.
Board 2: Slight edge to Tangborn on board 2 where the white pieces and a solid playing style should let him play without too much risk. (Key board!)
Board 3: Edge to Mikhailuk who has performed well in the league and significantly outrates his opponent.
Board 4: Edge to Miami here with the substantially higher rated player.
Miami TIES Seattle 2-2

Rest of Week 1 Predictions

I'm eagerly anticipating the start of the season, here are my thoughts on the week 1 matches:

Baltimore vs NY Knights:
NY is bringing out a tough line-up with punch top to bottom, Clear edges for NY on boards 1 and 4, slight edge on board 2 for NY and a reasonably close match on board 3 I'll slate NY to take this one handily. An important part of NY's results this season will be their results on the bottom 2 boards. Part of the benefit/problem with having talented youth on board 4 is the inconsistency of youth. Arnold could beat a strong IM one weak and look like a weak master the next. I'm sure he'll gain a steady footing as his chess improves, but it's difficult to hold strong results from week to week sometimes. If he can stay strong, the Knights will win their fair share of matches this season.
NY over Bal 3-1

Philadelphia vs Miami
Philly fans have something to really be excited about this year, they have a team that could be a legitimate contender. If Kudrin can hold fort on the tough board 1 for them the rest of their lineup is capable of some legitimate results. Miami had trouble keeping things together last season and fell apart towards then end. This match looks fairly even top to bottom I think Philadelphia has the white pieces on the boards where it'll matter a little more, I give them the slight edge as they've always been a legitimate team when they've had a real board 1 playign for them.
Phi over Miami 2.5-1.5

Dallas vs Tennessee
Tennessee really isn't as bad a team as their results suggest on paper. Philadelphia will certainly want to destroy them if they get a chance to this season as an impossible loss was to blame for Philadelphia being left out of the playoffs last year. Dallas again has their united nations team going for them but it's a strong united nations team. Tennessee isn't more than 150 points lower on any board and they even have a slight edge on board 4 on paper. I think it'll be a clean victory for Dallas, but that they'll get dinged somewhere for a point.
Dallas over Ten 3-1

San Francisco vs Carolina
The SF squad this year is quite ridiculous. At least 5 of the 8 players on the team have 2 GM norms or more if I'm not mistaken (and I don't know what exactly McCambridge's status is there), that gives them quite a bit of punch all the way down to board 3. Then on board 4 there'll be time shared between a duo of talented youngsters in the country. It wouldn't be impossible to have 4 GM titles on this team by the end of the season or more. Carolina is putting together a similar squad to last year led by the strong and also almost-GM Lev Milman. Josh Friedel vs Lev Milman puts two of the soon-to-be-GM club in a head to head battle to lead off the season. Edge goes to Friedel here with white, but I know this faceoff has some blood behind it. Boards 2 and 3 have a clear edge to the Mechanics and board 4 is fairly even so the Mechanics can be fairly confident going into this contest.
SF over Car 3.5-0.5

Seattle vs Boston
Missing Orlov on board 2 from their lineup in week one will make things difficult for seattle who boasted an impressive regular season record last year before falling to the eventual USCL champions. Boston had a great regular season run last year as well but is also lacking some of the punch they usually bring week to week with Perelshteyn missing on board 2. Either way this should be a tough match. I think it's pretty close on all boards, maybe a slight edge to seattle on board 3 and a slight edge to boston on board 1, overall I think there will be a pair of decisive games each way and a pair of draws to even it out.
Sea TIEs Bos 2-2

US Chess League: Deserving of a post!

What? Me posting? It's almost as if I dont' even play chess anymore. Another season, a different city for me to watch from and about 1/4 the free time I used to have. This season looks to be exciting, more top players getting involved, more promising youth involved, and lineups juiced more than a certain bay-area slugger.

I wish I was ready for some serious week 1 predictions, but it doesn't seem all the lineups are ready yet. But we have a week one match between two expansion teams that should bring some serious excitement to the league. You would think that the new addition of two new tri-city teams would thin out the talent pool in the league, but if anything it seems to have made it deeper and brought out GMs from their hiding places. The very first match of the season features two GMs on board one, not something that has been too common in past seasons. Anyways, here are the lineups:

New Jersey Knockouts Queens Pioneers
GM Joel Benjamin: 2653 GM Alex Stripunsky: 2626
FM Thomas Bartell: 2386 IM Eli Vovsha: 2501
NM Mackenzie Molner: 2355 FM Teddy Coleman: 2285
NM Evan Ju: 2268 WFM Julia Shiber: 2108


Board 1: I'm familiar with both these players, not too familiar with their individual games. I do remember a few nice games by both of them from the 2005 US championship. I also know I've seen both players play 1.e4 and try a few things BESIDES the open sicilian. I think there's a good chance of seeing something like taht in this matchup. Slight edge to Benjamin who I think is probably the slightly stronger player and has white.

Board 2: I'm not familiar with Vovsha at all, seen Bartell play a few nice games, this one is probably a little closer than it looks on paper, but I think the slight edge goes Vovsha who will have the white pieces this should be one of the most important boards for this match.

Board 3: Molner - Coleman
Molner is a former New York Knight. Coleman and he are both young players, Molner seems to be the stronger player but has had problems in some matches last season. Still I think Molner gets the nod on board 3, especially if NJ wants a real edge.

Board 4: Shiber-Ju
I think even with black slight edge to Ju, he seems to have more experience and his youth suggests he's underrated. Board 4 belongs to the kids this year as it has a few times this year.

Overall should be a good start the season.
My prediction: NJ wins 3-1 over Queens