GOTW Too!! BB vs NJ draw
(Beat Reporter: Mark LaRocca)
They say that you could have a thousand monkeys pound on keyboards for thousands of years and, eventually, they would produce the works of Shakespeare… well, maybe with a few typos. And so it is in chess, if a Krasik makes enough moves in enough USCL games over enough years, he will win Game of The Week… But, two GOTWs?... consecutively? Impossible!
Now, don’t get me wrong, Ilya is a lot smarter than a monkey, well, maybe not a thousand monkeys, but a handful of monkeys for sure. But, come on you USCL judges… two GOTWs in a row? Do you know the odds on that? Oh sure, it was a great game, and, by my analysis, a clean, unblemished (except for the two move mate thing), masterpiece. I couldn’t even spot the losing move. Is the Grunfeld refuted? Did I miss a memo? Really! You guys probably think electrons can be in two places at once, and don’t even get me started on the Many Universes theory.
Ah well, let us accept what is, even though we can’t prove it, Ilya and Magnus, separated at birth.
And now on to a short recap… Ilya got us off to a nice lead in the match. Chris began his study of the intricacies of the Caro-Kann with a small setback and evened the match. Then Denys and Steven did their job and drew. Boston (2 – 2)
Ok, lets get this recap on the move with the GOTW by the league’s greatest star. Take a look, you tell me if the Grunfeld will ever be played at the top levels again. Grischuk beware… 5.h4!…
Great game Ilya!! Boston (1 – 0)
Wait… my phone is ringing. It’s Naka. He wants to know if the King’s Indian is still ok? He must have seen Ilya’s round 4 game. And I suppose Grischuk will want to know Ilya’s plan after 12. Nc6… The price of fame.
And now, for something completely different. Chris and the Caro-Kann, a match made in Heaven… Not! But, I give him points for trying… and he didn’t miss by much. Let’s take a look.
All I can say is, Karpov had to start somewhere. I think a little too much Kann and not enough Caro. What say you all? Boston (1 – 1)
Denys was drawing, for the fourth time? Yes, he has forgotten how to win. Hard to do you say, not when you have a lot of practice. In his defense, he plays on board 2 and has no easy opposition. Yet, we expect more from our new IM. He faced the King’s Indian. Didn’t he learn anything from Ilya’s round 4 refutation? Who is the King’s Indian anyway? Why not name him? How does the Sitting Bull defence sound? Ah, who cares, let’s check it out.
Not much to be done in this final position. Boston (1.5 – 1.5)
Denys and Chris finished around the same time, leaving the whole team free to follow one of the great Rook endings of all time, at least from the Blitz side. And this game is the real reason why I am so late with this article. I became fascinated with its intricacies and nuances… and so, I had to look up those words, and that takes time. Steven mentioned that he has no easy draws, par for the course on Board 1. Try this one on for size…was it really a draw?... when?... If we knew What? And Who? Would that tell us Why?
Very nice save by Boston’s stalwart. Boston (2 – 2)
And Steven, next week, nothing solid… I’m tired of draws too.
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As the Blitz take on the Miami Sharks. No predictions again; I’m late… for a very important date… no time to say Goodbye… Hello… I’m late, I’m late, I’m late.
Sorry, my brain went to Bermuda for a moment (Steve Martin, 1970’s)
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