Pardon our Blunders recap for 11/10!
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We are back with another weekly recap of the flagship Chess.com/TV series Pardon our Blunders with your Hosts IMs David Pruess and Danny Rensch. This week’s episode was open to the Platinum/Diamond members.
This will be the second to last show before Thanksgiving but to make up for it, there is some great coverage coming up on Chess.com/TV of the 2011 Tal Memorial. Make sure you check the schedule in the group under the NEWS section, the Chess.com/TV page itself at the bottom, or my thread in the Chess.com Community category for all the latest updates.
The TV Group also is celebrating an anniversary of sorts tomorrow as it’s been one year since the group was formed by the great Admin team we have here. December 15th is the 1-year anniversary of the actual opening of the group. For those of you who want to view the Grand Opening show from last year, just go the Chess.com/TV page, click “Videos” and scroll down to the PoB December 15th show. What a great day that was.
As for today, here are the topics that will be discussed in this order:
· Retractions-- none.
· 1. Can you touch the Chicago Blaze? http://www.uschessleague.com/CurrentGames.html
· 2. Do underdogs have a psychological advantage in USCL when there is a large mismatch?
· 3. E-chess books better than chess books? Future of chess literature... http://vimeo.com/31392381
· 4. Topalov leads Bulgaria over Russia; the Bulginnings of a Comeback? http://www.chess.com/news/bulgaria-lead-euro-team-champs-7587
· 5. Ukraine loses to Switzerland-- greatest choke in sports history? (btw Ukraine lost 3.5-.5 to Germany before 3-1 to Swiss) http://www.chess.com/news/azerbaijan-regain-lead-at-euro-team-champs-2628
· 6. European Mario-Kart Championships in Greece. Does anyone want to win this tournament? http://www.chess.com/news Russian women unstoppable? Go Natalia!
· 7. Tal Memorial Preview Kaspy-Naka marriage? Carlsen wins again? Anand redemption? http://www.chess.com/news/tal-memorial-2011-line-up-announced-8549
· 8. Is American Chess Culture holding back American talents? http://main.uschess.org/content/view/11460/141/
· 9. is David turning over a new leaf in predictions?
· 10. Blunder of the Week: Martirosov http://www.uschessleague.com/games/hermanmartirosov11p.htm
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Topic #1: Are the Blaze burning out? - Favored to win the USCL Title, mainly because of the players on the team and their regular season record, they squeak through the 1st round of the playoffs by beating Dallas. They next meet L.A., who took out David's SF Mechanics. But they are still the best team, on paper, but could show some vulnerability in the next round. As for the eastern Division, if N.Y. can make it to the finals, anything can happen. It's not a clear runaway winner right now.
Topic #2: Underdogs having an edge in mis-matches in USCL? - The psychological advantage doesn't outweigh the chess skill advantage and the higher rated players are expected to beat the lower strength players. But if a higher players lowers their guard, an upset can definitely happen as it shows in the match of SF vs. LA on boards 1 and 2. Does the lower rated player have a great psychological edge going into the games? But usually the greater knowledge of chess expertise wins.
Topic #3: E-Chess books better than print? - Is the future of chess literature all on the tablets and IPads and the looks and feel of books a thing of the past? Personally, technology is not always a good thing but I'm in the minority here I think. I'd rather carry the weight of books around and enjoy the look, feel, and smell of books. Technology is going to advance whether we like it or not, so where is the stance on this?
Topic #4: Topalov comeback! - After leading Bulgaria over Russia in the 2011 ETCC, he still has a way to go before he makes a full return, but it's basically his swan song. Afte rhis humiliation of losing to Anand last year, he hid in the shadows. Is it a preview of what's to come for Topa, but the beginning of the end in his career?
Topic #5: - Swiss crush Ukraine! - The Ukraine did not bring their A-game against the Swiss and played, as Danny said, like turdmuffins. It wasn't so much an upset by the Swiss but a choke by the Ukraine team..
Tiopic #6: ETCC "Mario Kart" Champs! : Constant lead changes in the ETCC are making this seem like a "Mario Kart" race. As soon as one team gets the lead, every other team plays madly to claim the lead and every team that's in the lead going into the next round loses their match. No team has remained in 1st for more than a round. With a round to go, the Russian women team have already clinched the Championship
Topic #7: Storylines at the Tal Memorial! - What will you be concentrating on? The Kaspy/Naka marriage? Mag-Town wins again? Perhaps Gelfand vs. Anand for a WCC preview? It's going to be such a brutal tournament with an amazing line-up.
Topic #8: Is American chess culture holding back U.S. talents? Is the obssession with ratings, and results destroying the young players that are coming up through the ranks in American chess. This country's need for top 10 players, let alone an American World Champion can hinder the natural development of the child in question. Are we more focused on norms and ratings? Does the U.S. put too much pressure on the result of every game played? Is it "World Champion or Bust?"
Topic #9: David's new leaf in life on predictions? - Correctly predicting Magnus for the Grand Slam and Armenia for the ETCC, David's saying it's just the luck of the draw and everything just lined up this time. He also predicts Chicago to win the USCL Title as well. Could it be 3-3 and possibly get better?
Topic #10: B.O.T.W. - New York vs. Boston - http://www.uschessleague.com/games/hermanmartirosov11p.htm
That's it this week guys. All of the links should work in this recap. Have a great night everyone!
It’s Chess.com/TV’s reporter, ChessMarkstheSpot, signing off. So, ‘til next time—same Chess Time—same Chess Channel.
-Mark