The US Chess League final is set for Sunday November 20th, at 3 PM EST! Tune in to the Internet Chess Club to watch the games live. Check out Kostya Kavutskiy's semifinals recap and see all games, line-ups and details on uschessleague.com. UPDATE 11/20: The Knights capture the USCL title. Full story coming soon! Chicago Blaze vs. Los Angeles Vibe 2.5-1.5
The match looked good for Los Angeles at first, with GM Melikset Khachiyan equalizing against GM Yury Shulman on board one and Albert Lu beating the higher rated NM Sam Schmakel on board four.
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But in the end Chicago showed the inherent strength of using a triple-GM lineup. GM Josh Friedel and GM Dmitry Gurevich were simply too much for IM Zhanibek Amanov and WGM Tatev Abrahamyan, earning the Blaze their first ever chance at the USCL Championship.
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Manhattan Applesauce vs. New York Knights 1.5-2.5
The all-New York eastern semifinal started with New York's NM Justus Williams scoring a fine positional victory over NM James Black.
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After this Manhattan's FM Farai Mandhiza was unable to convert an endgame advantage and the game ended up in a draw, giving New York a 1.5-0.5 lead.
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Manhattan didn't go down without a fight. GM Alex Stripunsky won an opposite colored bishops endgame against GM Giorgi Kacheishvili which for a very long time was equal and seemed drawn, to tie the match up at 1.5-1.5.
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But IM Irina Krush came through for the Knights and defeated IM John Bartholomew.
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With this win, the Knights advanced to their third USCL Championship match.
Game of the Week
IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) - GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1
GM Friedel found a very strong pawn sacrifice with 26...e4 in the seemingly equal position above and organized a winning attack against the white king. You can read the whole article on the USCL blog.
Best Move
IM Zhanibek Amanov (LA) - GM Josh Friedel (CHC) 0-1
Black to Move
This Sunday the 7th USCL Championship Match will take place on ICC at 3PM EST, featuring the Chicago Blaze, the hottest team all season, versus the New York Knights, who have a powerful team each year and hold plenty of championship experience. Browse line-ups and most importantly, do not miss it!