US Chess League: Week Four Highlights
By Kostya Kavutskiy   
September 26, 2011
USCLmainlogo.jpgWeek four of the 2011 US Chess League season accomplished two things: Established a clear favorite in both divisions and muddied up the race for the 2nd-4th playoff spots.

In the West the Chicago Blaze continued their dominance by winning 3-1 against the Los Angeles Vibe. Once again GM Mesgen Amanov proved that he is one of the best prepared players in the league with a win over IM Zhanibek Amanov that required very deep opening knowledge and an even deeper understanding of the theoretical position reached after 27 moves.

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He blogged about this fascinating game on the Chicago Blaze blog. 

The Miami Sharks, after a terrible start to the season, won their second match in two weeks against the San Francisco Mechanics, thanks to a big upset victory by FM Jorge Pelaez over IM Daniel Naroditsky. Miami moves to 2-2 while San Francisco falls to 2.5-1.5. Joining San Francisco at 2.5-1.5 is the Dallas Destiny, who tied their match with the Seattle Sluggers.

In the Eastern division, the New York Knights took a clear 3-1 division lead after outlasting the Carolina Cobras. The Philadelphia Inventors swiftly decimated the struggling New England Nor'easters to tie for second place in the division with a match record of 2.5-1.5. Tied with the Inventors for 2nd place are the Manhattan Applesauce after a 2-2 tie with the New Jersey Knockouts, as well as the Baltimore Kingfishers who defeated a low rated Boston Blitz line-up 3-1, holding the Boston Blitz at another second place 2.5-1.5 match record.

Game of the Week

NM Christopher Wu (NJ) - NM James Black (MAN) 1-0

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It's not very often at all that a game on Board 4 ends up winning Game of the Week, but it was really hard to top this exciting game and the thrilling finish. Kudos to NM Christopher Wu!

Read the full article on the USCL blog.
 

Most Exciting Match

Seattle Sluggers - Dallas Destiny 2-2

There were several interesting matches this week, but I just really enjoyed playing through all the games in this match. Now it's your turn:

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Best Move
Maybe one of the easiest picks from my end so far:

NM Christopher Wu (NJ) - NM James Black (MAN) 1-0

In the following position, NM Christopher Wu finished his opponent off with...
  wu-black1.jpg


Show Solution

1-0

For more blogs and this week's line-ups and matches, go to the US Chess League homepage. Watch live games on Monday and Wednesday night on the Internet Chess Club. Kostya Kavutskiy will also be posting weekly recaps from his team's perspective at thelavibe.blogspot.com