PRO Chess League - Week 2 Preview: Battle of the Bay!
It's the Battle of the Bay, as Week 2 of the PRO Chess League will feature the San Francisco Mechanics vs. San Jose Hackers facing off today at 6:40 PM Pacific. Both teams are powerful, ambitious, and contain enough talent to win it all. Here is this week's line-up, featuring a few substitutions by both teams:
Rounds 1 & 2
| San Francisco Mechanics | San Jose Hackers |
| GM Sam Shankland | GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov |
| GM Vinay Bhat | GM Daniel Naroditsky |
| FM Cameron Wheeler | GM Cristian Chirila |
| IM Teddy Coleman | NM Ivan Ke |
Rounds 3 & 4
| San Francisco Mechanics | San Jose Hackers |
| GM Sam Shankland | GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov |
| GM Vinay Bhat | GM Zviad Izoria |
| FM Cameron Wheeler | IM Kostya Kavutskiy |
| FM Rayan Taghizadeh | NM Faik Aleskerov |
The trash talking already began last week, after both teams won their first match in convincing fashion. NM Siddharth Banik (SF) posted the following controversial status on Facebook (uploaded with permission):
This incendiary post quickly went viral, and led to this heated exchange, featuring several PRO Chess League members:
As you can see above, IM Keaton Kiewra (manager and player for the San Diego Surfers) also chimed in. The PRO Chess League may be a worldwide battle for dominance, but right now it's unclear who is even the best team in California. Hopefully the match tonight will clear things up!
It was also surprising to see GM Sam Shankland in San Francisco's lineup, considering just a week ago he wrote the following on his public Facebook page:
"I'm enjoying watching this all new Pro Chess League! Maybe I'll have to play next season. Props to chess.com for putting it all together." - Jan 11, 11:24 AM.
Did San Francisco sign one of the biggest free agents in the U.S. during the week, or was it all a deliberate ploy?! Questions, questions...
Since I am playing the match, I will not be streaming live on Twitch as I did last week. However, there will be a live stream on my channel conducted by other team members of Bay Area Chess (official sponsor of the San Jose Hackers) -- make sure to tune in to www.twitch.tv/hellokostya to follow all of the action live!
Do you have a prediction on tonight's epic match? Let me know in the comments 
The San Jose Hackers are a professional chess team in the Red Division of the PRO Chess League, sponsored by Bay Area Chess. To connect with the Hackers, please visit our Facebook, Twitter, and Official Site.
