An Incredibly Long Interview With Boston Blitz Manager Matt Phelps

1. If you were trapped on a desert island for eternity with no possibility of rescue and could choose to have with you:
a. 5 books
b. 5 albums
c. 1 chess player
d. 1 member of the USCF executive board and
e. 1 luxury item,
What would you choose? (The island already contains a chessboard and clock)

Forgetting the personal tragedy of being away from my family and friends, I would concentrate on the amount of time I'd have to occupy myself:

a: · The Oxford English Dictionary - I can read dictionary entries for hours. Finding new words, etymology, etc. fascinates me.
· Laszlo Polgar's "Brick" (5334 Problems) - That should keep me busy for a while.
· Kasparov's "My Great Predecessors" series (does that count as 1?)
· Some random epic historical novel - Preferably 900+ pages
· "Basic Shipbuilding" - To get me off this damn island!

b: · "Revolver"
· Beethoven's 9th performed by the Berlin Orchestra conducted by Von Karajan
· "Solid Gold Hits of the 80's"
· "London Calling" by The Clash
· "The Best Damn Thing" by Avril Lavigne - I confess that I'm addicted to the song "Girlfriend"

c. Larry Christiansen - Great chess stories, and he's a regular guy who can talk about baseball and golf.

d. Sam Sloan - I know he's a former member, but I still want to hit him on the head with a coconut.

e. A yacht.

2. Who are your favorite and least favorite USCL opponents and why? (You may answer individuals and/or teams)

NY and Charbonneau for obvious reasons. Hasn't his visa run out yet?

3. If you had to play for/ manage a different USCL team, which would it be and why?

I guess SF. I like the city, and I know Friedel from his Blitz days. I also knew Wolff back in the day, though he won't remember me. We played about a billion tournaments at the Armenian Cultural and Educational Center in Watertown, Mass. He'll remember that site.

4. Describe your preparations for USCL games, including, but not limited to: opening preparation, pre-game superstitions, and interactions with teammates.

I do what every chess organizer does; I move tables and chairs around. The USCL adds the pleasure of setting up computers at each table too.

5. If you could choose the next USCL expansion team, which city would you choose, which players would you draft, and why?

Anything but another NY team! PLEASE!

6. If you could hand pick any seven people to serve on the USCF executive board, who would they be?

Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride. Oh, did you mean NEW members?

7. If someone were to post on internet newsgroups as “The Fake You,” what kinds of things would they write to discredit you?

That I'm nothing but a middle-aged 1600 player with a paunch who is managing this team so he can hang around good players.

All true.

8. If you could change any one USCF or FIDE rule, which one would it be and why?
I would enact the "Sofia Rules" for every FIDE rated game. I don't mind draws; it's a natural result of a well played game, but the 12 movers completed in ten minutes, total, have got to stop.

9. Any thoughts on Kasparov’s recent appearances on Colbert or Maher?

I wish he still played chess.

10. Which are your top five chess-related websites and why?

http://reassembler.wordpress.com - Derek Slater's blog. Derek is an Mass. Expert, and my US Amateur Team East teammate. There's a lot of chess stuff, but mostly it has eclectic other stuff in it that I like a lot.
http://www.chessbase.com - For the babes
http://www.mterowestchess.org - My "home" chess club.
http://www.uschessleague.com - I like Greg's minimalist approach. No clutter!
http://www.boston-blitz.com - Of course! Chris Bird has done a great job on out team web site.

11. If Bill Gates gave you $500,000 to organize a chess tournament
a. where would you hold it,

In Boston, in an old theater. I love the pictures from the Soviet era with the games on stage in the Hall of Columns.

b. what format would you choose,

Quadruple round-robin

c. who would you invite

Kasparov, Kramnik, Anand, Ivanchuk, Morozevich, and Jorge Sammour-Hasbun.

d. what, if any, special rules would you impose?

"Sofia Rules", and no Petroff Defenses.

12. How obsessed are you with chess? In an average week, how much do you study, play and think about chess? If you could choose to be more or less obsessed, would you choose either and to what extent?

I don't study at all. When I'm not managing the Blitz, I play one night a week at the MetroWest Chess Club. I follow all the news sites, blogs, etc. fanatically though.

If I won the lottery, I would study chess 6-8 hours a day. Maybe then I'd get over 1800.

13. In recent years, a number of prose books about the chess world have been published. Have you read any of the following and, if so, what did you think: The Day Kasparov Quit (Dirk Jan ten Geuzendam), Chess Bitch (Jennifer Shahade), The Chess Artist (J. C. Hallman), Kings of New York (Michael Weinreb), The Art of Learning (Josh Waitzkin), King’s Gambit (Paul Hoffman), Engaging Pieces (Howard Goldowsky), How Life Imitates Chess (Gary Kasparov)?

I liked fellow MetroWest CC member Howard Goldowsky's book a lot. We need more like it! Just go out and buy it right now. I started Kasparov's latest, but it got really boring really quickly. Not enough chess stuff for me. It's autographed though!

14. So New York will be your opponent in the Eastern finals. How do you expect to do? Specifically, if they use the same line up as tonight (Nakamura, Krush, Bonin, Zenyuk), how would you expect to do on each board?

Well, we know it's Naka, Charbonneau, Bonin and Zenyuk now. I expect us to win the match of course! I think we match up well on every board.

15. If you could inflict a sudden food poisoning on any one NY player, so that this person would be replaced with their normal alternate (or that team replaced with the one that makes the most sense without the ill player)?

Charbonneau, no question. Day-old sushi Pascal?

16. If you could pick one normal, mainstream opening and force a New York player to play it, who would you pick, what would the opening be, and why?

As a chess fan, I'd love to see Sammour-Hasbun vs. Charbonneau be a Dragon/Yugoslav Attack.. What a fight that would be!

17. If you win the Eastern finals, who do you expect to see as your opponents in the championship? How do you rate your chances against them (board by board)? Are there any lineups you would hope to play against?

(In my best Bill Belichick monotonic drone) We're just taking it one match at a time. We're only thinking about NY on Wednesday.

18. The Chris Williams/ Ilya Krasik dichotomy has to be one of the funnier aspects of your team. How do you see your two fourth boards, in terms of chess strengths/ weaknesses, personality, and impact on the team? What’s your take on the Bournival / Krasik war?

No comment.

19. There are many strong players in the Boston area. How did you choose who would be on the Boston team? Specifically, I’m surprised by the absence of Vigorito, Macintyre, and Bournival.

It's tough! I've had many players ask me about joining the team. In fact, I lobbied the USCL officials (Greg) to increase the team rosters to ten, with two alternates to try and accommodate them; but it wasn't meant to be.

20. How many spectators do you get, on average?

We get about 5-10 people, not counting the Boston Blitz Dancers.

21. How cohesive is the Boston team? Do you guys regularly hang out after matches? Prepare together?

Not so much this year. Last year we closed John Harvard's Brew Pub most Wednesday nights.

22. What have you seen as this year’s strengths and weaknesses? Are their any players you would consider recruiting for next year to fix these weaknesses?

We don't have many weaknesses. We'll have to see where the ratings for the current team members fall for next year, and go from there.

23. Who would you nominate for MVP?

Everyone has played well, but I'll go with Jorge Sammour-Hasbun at 4.5-0.5 with the only nick by GM Nakamura. Denys Shmelov is a VERY close second. Both rookies have had an awesome year.