The Unfinished Chronicles Edition 2

The PRO Chess League Quarterfinal is later today* and I’m going to make my predictions of who goes to San Francisco. Let’s start with the Eastern Division, where Magnus Carlsen’s team didn’t reach the playoffs! 

Armenia Eagles (1 seed) vs. Mumbai Movers (3)

Armenia has been the perfect team in this division. Hrant Melkumyan isn’t a bad player to have on Board 1, but he hasn’t been the star of the team. Armenia is a team where they don’t have a 2700 player, but they do have a lot of super strong players, including Bds. 2 and 3 Zaven Andriasyan and Karen Grigoryan. To finish off their amazing lineup, their manager Artak Manukyan has hugely overperformed on Bd. 4. Mumbai is going for a GGgg strategy (two >2500 players and two <2500 players). This is usually a very balanced lineup where the lower boards do very well. However, Mumbai has a different version of this strategy where they have two super strong players on the top two boards, Vidit and Adhiban, and two lower rated players on the lower two boards, Sadhwani and Karavade. The match may come down to how Sadhwani does and if he can pull off upsets. It will be very close, as the predicted score is 8-8, but Armenia does have draw odds.

Predicted Score: Armenia Eagles 8-8 Mumbai Movers**

Marseille Migraines (2) vs. Ljubljana Turtles (4)

Ljubljana is a long shot for an upset in this match. If they had a half point head start, it would a different story, but Marseille is the big favorite with a GGGg strategy. Vachier-Lagrave, Bacrot, and Gozzoli line the top 3 boards, all capable of 4/4 scores. Ljubljana is your classic underdog as they have a solid team with Sebenik and Borisek on Bds. 2 and 3. Lenic, who has made many large upsets and been one of the league leaders, is a good Bd. 1. Skuhala, an unpredictable young player, is on Bd. 4. One thing Ljubljana will try to do is win all games against Maurizzi, the slow youngster for Marseille on Bd. 4.

Predicted Score: Marseille Migraines 8.5-7.5 Ljubljana Turtles

St. Louis Arch Bishops (3) vs. Minnesota Blizzard (4)

This Week 1 upset match is back, and the winner goes to San Francisco! Minnesota having the Gggg strategy in the quarterfinal seems to rely on upsets. Gurevich, Bd. 3, is the star of this lineup, having clinched the win for Minnesota in their last match. Bd. 1 Flores hasn’t had the best season, though, and Minnesota is a bit of a long shot against the GGGg Arch Bishops. Bd. 3 Zherebukh has had many 4-0 performances and blocking him out would be how Minnesota wins. Bds. 1 and 2 Fedoseev and Akobian will need about 4.5 points between the two of them. Minnesota will try to not let Bd. 4 Chen get any points. I think the match will come down to Akobian’s performance and his games against Bd. 2 Tang and Bd. 4 Mitkov.

Predicted Score: St. Louis Arch Bishops 8.5-7.5 Minnesota Blizzard

Chengdu Pandas (2) vs. Australia Kangaroos (4)

The Pandas have been the team to beat all season, and only two teams did it: both previously eliminated  teams with top 10 players. Bd. 1 Yu Yangyi has been one of the League Leaders and is predicted to get close to 4-0. Bd. 2 Ni Hua is very strong and Bd. 3 Xu Xiangyu has been a big over-performer. Australia, with a GGgg lineup is hoping for upsets from Bds. 1 and 2 Sarana and Smirnov and good results from Bds. 3 and 4 Kuybakarov and Clarke. Clarke, Australian Blitz Champion, is Australia’s young special weapon. Australia will try to nab 4 points from Bd. 4 Ruotong, but will need to get 4.5 more points from a super strong team.​

Predicted Score: Chengdu Pandas 9-7 Australia Kangaroos**