Rochelle in the New York Times

oh yeah

things I'm excited about:

1. Kramnik Anand-- starting very soon!

2. the Tate Lenderman game! Do you know that Tate publicly locked himself into playing board two because he wanted to throw down the gauntlet to Lenderman? How utterly hilarious is the concept of their personalities doing battle? I cannot wait for this monumental clash.

By the way, readers, Tate turned me down when propositioned for an interview. (I tried for your sake, poll voters. I would ask Ilya Krasik, because that would obviously be the greatest interview ever, but I feel like it's asking to be shot down even more brutally. Anyone have any* suggestions/ feel like trying to talk either one of them into an interview?)

3. Religulous -- the Bill Maher movie. Brilliant. My only criticism, and this is minor, is that I disliked the direct light behind him in the closing scene. I definitely liked that he gave his take at the end, and tried to offer a viable social philosophy of atheism/agnosticism, but I think the way the light was shining made him seem as if he were trying to appear messianic.

While we're talking about movies, I just saw Crash (2005) and loved it. Interesting vignettes of intersecting strangers' lives and close ups of emotional human behavior.

Also Towelhead (in theaters), a nuanced portrayal of a Muslim girl growing up in Texas, living with her divorced-but-dating totally unreasonable father and next to a married Army reservist about to be shipped off to Iraq who sexually abuses her. After the abuse she starts sleeping with a boy from school, whom her father hates because he's black. The movie tries to look at where/how several issues intersect: sexual abuse, age of consent, the respect for the armed forces in society, the tolerance or not in the US towards Muslims, the Iraq war, Texan culture. thoughtful + provocative = interesting.

4. the debate Wednesday. I'm happy they will be sitting at a table together (presumably they won't be able to avoid talking) and that the moderator has promised to insist they actually answer the questions.

5. My students are playing their first rated tournament of the year against other schools tomorrow. I'll be seeing a lot of new kids games.

6. election day!

*g-rated, thanks

apocalypse, disappointment, Dwight Schrutt

a few more random thoughts from me....

I was talking to a friend of mine last night who works in the financial markets and I asked him what the worst case scenario is and how likely it was to happen. His response was pretty astonishing-- the worst case scenario is the complete collapse of the economy. As in, no electricity, no government, no running water, no power, no food, people roaming the streets with weapons. And that no one had any idea how likely this was, but it seems at least possible.

And this leads to a lot of new thoughts. Most of which I can't articulate yet.

Actually, the first thing I thought was how surprising. I'd figured I had seen every possible apocalptic scenario in movies: alien invasion, nuclear war, a disease that is both lethal and highly contagious. But not this one. So good job to life for being (potentially) unpredictable.

Another friend of mine said he would be ok with that because he is highly adaptable and would consequently have a big advantage over other people. Which of course made me think of Dwight Schrutt and laugh.

On a totally different topic, I'd like to request that comment makers stop expressing "disappointment" in me. It feels condescending. Disagree all you want, that's great, but please don't put the agency for your emotional reactions on me. I'm not trying to be antagonistic, but I don't know you, you don't really know me, and I am not writing this to fulfill the arbitrary expectations of total strangers. It's just my blog.

I also want to mention that I love this headline, which seems overtly sarcastic in a way I am not used to from MSNBC: Palin pre-empts state report, clears self

Rochelle/ Darrian/ Kasparov

Chessbase reports on the Kasparov simul in Harlem and describes Rochelle's game (Rochelle, bottom left) as the toughest. Former IS 318 student Darrian Robinson (top left) is also mentioned.

looking for my lost shaker of salt

a couple thoughts:

1. Warren Buffet: Obama's answer to the question, "Who would you choose as Treasury Secretary?" What a fabulous answer! And what a novel but brilliant attitude towards filling the Cabinet: ask yourself "Who is the biggest genius and most innovative thinker in this field?" and PICK THAT GUY. Imagine if it was done routinely: figure out who is the most modern, competant leader in the field of transportation and name them transportation secretary!! And education! And everything! hurray! basic common sense!

2. Am I right that McCain walks really, really strangely? He looks almost battery powered.

3. Did you see the lady unable to restrain herself from laughing at the voice of the woman in front of her who asked Obama a question? But other than that, no one in the audience ever moved?

4. Anyone else notice that they loaded the front row with totally bald but not-so-old guys? Sneaky.

USCL Results for Chinese Folks

Monday, October 6th, 2008

Boston Blitz (3.0-3.0) vs New York Knights (1.0-5.0)
All Time Series Record (Series tied 4.5-4.5) Starts at 7:00 PM ET
Time Control - Game 90 with 30 second increment
Boston Blitz New York Knights
GM Larry Christiansen: 2670 0.0 1.0 GM Pascal Charbonneau: 2524
GM Eugene Perelshteyn: 2619 0.5 0.5 GM John Fedorowicz: 2540
NM Marc Esserman: 2307 1.0 0.0 IM Jay Bonin: 2370
NM Ilya Krasik: 2144 0.0 1.0 NM Matthew Herman: 2271
Avg Rating: 2435 Avg Rating: 2426
Boston Total ----- 1.5 2.5 -------New York Total

Queens Pioneers (5.0-1.0) vs New Jersey Knockouts (4.0-2.0)
All Time Series Record: (Queens leads 2.5-0.5)Starts at 7:15 PM ET Time Control - Game 90 with 30 second increment
Queens Pioneers New Jersey Knockouts
GM Alex Stripunsky: 2601 0.5 0.5 GM Joel Benjamin: 2644
IM Eli Vovsha: 2532 0.0 1.0 GM Boris Gulko: 2618
IM Alex Lenderman: 2528 1.0 0.0 IM Dean Ippolito: 2500
Aleksandr Ostrovskiy: 2042 0.5 0.5 Andrew Ng: 2175
Avg Rating: 2426 Avg Rating: 2484
Queens Total ------- 2.0 2.0 -------New Jersey Total

Tennessee Tempo (2.0-4.0) vs Chicago Blaze (3.0-3.0)
All Time Series Record: (Chicago leads 1-0)Starts at 8:00 PM ET Time Control - Game 90 with 30 second increment
Tennessee Tempo Chicago Blaze
IM Ron Burnett: 2412 1.0 0.0 GM Nikola Mitkov: 2601
FM Todd Andrews: 2350 0.0 1.0 IM Jan van de Mortel: 2460
FM Peter Bereolos: 2304 0.5 0.5 FM Mehmed Pasalic: 2375
FM Jerry Wheeler: 2204 0.0 1.0 Ilan Meerovich: 2131
Avg Rating: 2318 Avg Rating: 2392
Tennessee Total ------- 1.5 2.5 ------- Chicago Total

Wednesday, October 8th, 2008

Baltimore Kingfishers (1.5-4.5) vs Carolina Cobras (3.5-2.5)
All Time Series Record (Carolina leads 3-2)Starts at 7:15 PM ET Time Control - Game 90 with 30 second increment
Baltimore Kingfishers Carolina Cobras
GM Sergey Erenburg: 2592 IM Lev Milman: 2502 0.5 -0.5
FM Tegshsuren Enkhbat: 2446 IM Jonathan Schroer: 2441 0-1
FM Ralph Zimmer: 2328 FM Oleg Zaikov: 2376 0-1
NM Aaron Kahn: 2291 Udayan Bapat: 2179 0-1
Avg Rating: 2414 Avg Rating: 2375
Baltimore Total ------- 0.5 3.5 ------- Carolina Total

Dallas Destiny (3.5-2.5) vs Philadelphia Inventors (2.0-4.0)
All Time Series Record (Series tied 1.5-1.5)Starts at 8:00 PM ET Time Control - Game 75 with 30 second increment
Dallas Destiny Philadelphia Inventors
IM Marko Zivanic: 2552 GM Sergey Kudrin: 2600 1-0
IM John Bartholomew: 2488 FM Thomas Bartell: 2386 0-1
FM Igor Shneider: 2396 NM Daniel Yeager: 2349 1-0
WFM Bayaraa Zorigt: 2217 IM Richard Costigan: 2288 0.5 - 0.5
Avg Rating: 2413 Avg Rating: 2405
Dallas Total ------- 2.5 1.5 ------- Philadelphia Total

Arizona Scorpions (2.5-3.5) vs Miami Sharks (3.0-3.0)
All Time Series Record (this is their first match)Starts at 9:00 PM ET Time Control - Game 60 with 30 second increment
Arizona Scorpions Miami Sharks
IM Rogelio Barcenilla: 2560 GM Julio Becerra: 2640 0.5-0.5
FM Danny Rensch: 2411 FM Osmany Perea: 2453 0-1
FM Robby Adamson: 2377 FM Charles Galofre: 2326 0-1
NM Leo Martinez: 2209 NM Eric Rodriguez: 2242 0-1
Avg Rating: 2389 Avg Rating: 2415
Arizona Total ------- 0.5 3.5 ------- Miami Total

San Francisco Mechanics (4.5-1.5) vs Seattle Sluggers (3.5-2.5)
All Time Series Record: (San Francisco leads 3.5-1.5)Starts at 9:00 PM ET Time Control - Game 75 with 30 second increment
San Francisco Mechanics Seattle Sluggers
GM Vinay Bhat: 2481 GM Hikaru Nakamura: 2742 1-0
IM John Donaldson: 2422 FM Slava Mikhailuk: 2437 0-1
FM Sam Shankland: 2364 FM John Readey: 2296 1-0
FM Daniel Naroditsky: 2321 Andy May: 2134 1-0
Avg Rating: 2397 Avg Rating: 2402
San Francisco Total ------- 3.0 1.0 ------- Seattle Total

Kasparov - Smyslov, 1984

I have a new chess project:
I'm going to study the games from the 1984 Kasparov -Smyslov match. I'm very excited about it. First of all, it's an awesome awesome match with lots of classic middlegame structures and some rocking endings. Plus it's the old guy against the new guy in the Candidates Final. Great openings: some Tarraschs (I'm trying to learn this), some super-sophisticated Slavs, some isolated d-pawn positions. And I've never studied anyone's games, so a match seems like a nice, managable place to start. Don't you think?

This is how I'm going to do it:

1. For each game, first I'm going to guess the moves for one side.

2. Then I'm going to go through and stop at 3-6 points in the game and try to predict what Rybka's assessment of the position is. Just to see if I'm on the right track about the trends of the game. Doesn't that sound like a fun little exercise: "What does Rybka think?"? I can give myself rewards for guessing close to the right number.

3. Then I'm going to try to annotate it by myself a little. Just fill in important calculations or candidate moves.

4. Then I'm going to read some annotated version and have rybka running to answer any questions I have. I think Kasparov describes the games in something I read recently.

Interview with San Fransisco Mechanic FM Sam Shankland

EV: It seems like the SF Mechanics are all good friends, and in particular you, Vinay, Josh, and David seem close. Describe the influence (both how and to what extent) these three have influenced your chess development or style.

SS : Well we have studied a lot together. I was Vinay's student when I was around 1900 or so, and took lessons with Josh when I was 2150 or so. Now that I can at least pretend to be as strong as them, we can have good analysis sessions, especially over the summer when we would all analyze at Josh's place. They have all been a huge help in the league as well-- for example Vinay showed me the line I used in round 1 against Igor Schneider, and the preparation proved to be useful.

EV: Would you say Vinay has had the biggest influence on your chess? Can you see anything specific of his chess style in yourself?

SS : I guess in pure USCL games, yes, although don't count Josh and David out. David saw me at my first state championship when I was about 1000 and he has kept a watch on me ever since. I think our playing styles are very similar. But I think since analyzing with Vinay, my positional sense and defensive skills have also improved.

And almost all of my openings come from Josh, so they all have had quite a bit of influence on me. There is a stereotype that all people on the west coast do not know their openings. While it’s obviously not completely true, I have definitely seen that east coast players know their openings better. Josh knows more theory than me and David combined, so Josh did quite a bit of work with me on my openings, which I think have improved quite a bit.

One other person you might not expect is Danya Naroditsky. We have played more than 10 OTB games and countless blitz games on ICC. His openings are very strong as well, most notably the Najdorf. His knowledge of the Najdorf is phenomenal, and Josh's is not as amazing because he is a Lopez player. Danya basically refuted my first line against the Najdorf, and his brother employed it against me once.

John has helped me prep a lot too, and he can be credited for some of my success.

EV : Openings mostly?

SS : Yes, but he’s also talked to me about personal issues at school, good workout routines.

EV : And was his advice good? What I mean is, it’s always nice to have someone listen to you and empathize, but did he offer you strong concrete advice?

SS: Yes, he understands how other people’s minds work quite a bit better than I do. For example, one time he talked to me about this expert that I’ve played a few times who I had a personal problem with. And he offered his opinion. I was in general just pissed that the guy would always take a bye if he’d play me with black and whenever he was white he’d play the London system and beg for a draw. So I did not like him very much. But then John told me that he does that as white because he feels it is unsportsmanlike to win on preparation, i.e. ideas that are not your own.

EV : Ideas that are not your own... hmm... strange thing to object to maybe, but ok.

SS : Yeah, I don’t agree, and I still don’t like him, but I understand where he is coming from. Now the byes whenever I’d have white, that’s another story…

EV : I agree it’s nice to have someone who is basically on your side point out the motivations of someone you are angry with. Usually when I’m angry I’m not as good at thinking about the other person and seeing their point of view.

SS: Yeah, same here.

EV: Can you make a comparison of the difference in the type of knowledge you get from working informally in a study group with friends and taking lessons with a teacher?

SS : I actually find that in general working with a study group is much more beneficial, although I could be biased because when I first started analysis sessions with David, Josh, and Vinay (and, at the time, Alan Stein) I was much weaker than I am now and much weaker than all of them. Formal lessons can be good, but there can be a lack of diversity in the instruction you get, and opinions on any one given position can vary drastically in 2 equally strong players.

EV: Of any of these three or four or five guys, can you tell me a story of something you saw them do or something they said to you that had some non-chess influence on you?

SS: Hmm that’s a really good question… lemme think for a second. Ok, I'm going to have to go with something David said to me once. It’s somewhat chess related but not really.

It was back in 2006, right before the finals, and Vinay had consistently been a monstrosity in the league, and our best performer. But we did not know his availability for the championship match, so we did not put him in the lineup. It turned out later that he could indeed play, and I asked David if we should play Vinay and move him down to 3 and take the small time penalty, because it would probably be a stronger lineup.

David gave me a firm "no."

I asked him whether he thought the time penalty would be too much, and he replied “No, it’s just rude.”

And then, as it happens, we won the championship match, and David won a nice game on board 2, where we would have had Vinay. I guess showing that even if manipulating things to your advantage works, use what you have and you can still win.

EV: And this impressed you because you admire his principles, or you admire politeness, or you think he had some special intuitive sense of what would win?

SS: Yeah, principles and how he defended them by preparing hard, playing well, and making the most of our B lineup.

EV: It might be that you have answered my next question with this story, but I will ask it anyway. Which of these guys you admire the most on a personal level and for what quality? Or you don’t have to choose and could answer the question as "what quality of character do you like best in Vinay, Josh and David?"

SS: I think the quality I admire most in those three is how Josh manages to always see the best in people, both as people and as players. I never hear him say anything bad about just about anybody and he very seldom refuses a post-mortem.

EV : Wow, that's such a great thing to say about someone… it's a great thing just to notice about someone, in fact.

SS: Josh is just a great person like that … for Vinay, I like how he’s always polite. Josh is awesome and sees the best in people, but his jokes can sometimes be a bit much. Vinay jokes around too, but he is very good about sensing when it is too much.

And David I just like how dedicated he is to his morals, even though I of course don't agree with all of them. He would never sell his morals out for anything. For example, he refused to give his scoresheet in Las Vegas after he just had a masterpiece against the now 2700+ GM Nakamura, even though it would give him glory and make people see how good he is.

EV: But what's the principle there?

SS : He felt that players losing money from the prize fund so that the tournament could pay Monroi to broadcast games was wrong, and that he shouldn’t have to pay to play the tournament and the one thing he makes there just give away for free.

EV : That’s a complicated issue I think, as broadcasting games does much good for chess?

SS : It is; I’m not taking any positions, just saying I like how he did not sell out his morals.

EV : Makes sense. New question: I’ve seen a couple photos / heard a couple stories about you arm wrestling or doing one handed push–ups with other chess players. Is the rush of beating someone at chess and the rush of beating someone at arm-wrestling the same for you?

SS : Well, the physical stuff is more as a joke. I did not have a rush of energy or a huge desire to beat Dean Ippolito because I knew it would just never happen. To be honest, that arm wrestle started after I asked him if he would resign if I beat him in an arm wrestle. He replied no, but let’s arm wrestle anyways.

EV: But it's still a head to head contest where you slowly overpower someone right? There's still that competitive intensity?

SS : Yes, but I don't take it as seriously as chess, not even close.

EV: And one-handed pushups with Donaldson? HOW DID HE BEAT YOU??

SS : Ok, first off, last I checked, 6>4, so he did not beat me.
Although his first time, he did get more than I did. But if you take the best tries, I got more.

EV : So you claim you are an improving youth, even if he is a more accomplished one-handed-push-up IM? Perhaps you must practice with your study group? They could spot you at the gym?

SS : Lol I guess... I did practice them for awhile, because I could not do 2 handed ones, because of the unfortunate accident at the US Chess School, although now I'm starting to be able to again. David tried, he got 0. Josh probably could not do any. I don’t know about Vinay. John is definitely in good shape for an old man.

EV: Where I’m going with the question is that you've improved a huge amount in the last year, 2220-2420 it looks like, and I’m wondering what was responsible for this besides the study group. Specifically, to what extent you think it was sheer competitiveness/ desire to win?

SS : Increased competiveness is a big thing. Two years ago I was about 2250, and maybe 2200 strength max. And I had 2 wretched tournaments and lost 45 points. I "quit" for about 3 months, but I studied and reinvented myself. Since then I have been improving, and I think around now my rating has caught up. I do not expect to rip through 2400-2500 like I did 2200-2300 and 2300-2400.

EV : How did you convince yourself to return to chess?

SS : In the end, I tried to convince myself otherwise, but I just love this game. And I’m very competitive and didn’t like the thought of people passing me.

EV: Anyone in particular?

SS : Well, just about anybody I play against is my rival, although I still like them just fine. I want to have a + score vs everybody, no matter who they are. But I was thinking of people like John Bryant, Dan Yeager, Evan Ju, and many others on the top 100 list. That is not to say anything about them as a person. I know all 3, and I like them all very much.

Another important factor in my improvement in the last year was Denys Shmelov. We played a lot of training games this summer, and I saw both our play in various openings improve.

EV : Where and what time control?

SS : ICC, 90 0: serious games and we would analyze after.

EV: How many games?

SS: Probably at least 8, though I didn’t keep track. It was nice because our styles are very different and we are very close in strength. He’s positional and has a good sense of plans. My plans are not as good, but my opening repertoire is more versatile, and my calculation may be better, but I don’t know.

EV: How much do you think ICC is responsible for your improvement? I recently read an interview with Nigel Short in which he opines that ICC is the main cause of young players improving more rapidly now at the highest level than was possible in the past. Agree or disagree?

SS : When it comes to young kids, ICC blitz can be very helpful: helps with tactics and pattern recognition. But as they get older, it can develop bad habits of moving too fast, or playing too much on intuition without concrete calculation

EV: That happened to you?

SS: Yes. I moved way too fast for a long time. I still have that problem, but not as bad.

EV: What's your next major area of studying focus? Like do you have plans to learn an opening, or work on queen endings, or prepare for a tournament, or read a particular book?

SS : I don't know, haven’t thought about it much. I don't see myself working on chess much in my first semester. As a second semester senior, I will work a lot more. Once senioritis kicks in, I will probably start with endgames and technique.

EV : I see you are going to Vietnam for the World Youth, later this month. What's your goal? And are you doing any specific prep?

SS : No time for any real prep, my goal is to make the top 10, although based on the entries so far, it will be a longshot, as there are multiple GMs.

EV: So why didn’t you want to play last week?

SS: Mondays in general are very difficult for me. My last class does not meet on Wednesdays and the classes are longer on Mondays. I'm done about an hour and a half later on Mondays and it’s much harder to play, play well, and finish homework.

EV: But you are playing again this Monday. Board by board, rate SF's prospects?

SS : Wolff vs. Naka: Patrick is awesome and a very talented player but I cant ignore 2700 FIDE: I’d give Naka an edge, especially because he seems to be taking USCL more seriously this year.

Serper is always tough with white, but Vinay is a good defender and can hold his own. I'd predict a draw.

EV : And you?

SS : Tough question. I have not seen nearly as many of Readey's games but from what I have seen he can be quite strong.

EV : But you are white and outrate him by quite a bit?

SS: I think based on ratings, past history etc. and virtue of having the white pieces, I'd be a favorite but not a huge one. And if I lose I can look forward to people calling me arrogant!

EV : Oh well, in chess everyone does a weird dance around pretending they are not expecting to win. It's not like I didn’t ask you and you went around shouting "I WILL CRUSH JOHN READEY!!” I don’t think anyone can take offense at an opponent saying they expect to win a game: it’s just normal.

SS : Yeah, I mean, ok, I should be a favorite but the game is far from in the bag

EV : And then Danya's game is must-win for you probably?

SS : Yeah, and I think even with black, Danya is a favorite. I think he is underrated and has performed well in the league this year.

EV : How much interest do you take in matches that do not involve SF?

SS : Based on my competitive nature and wanting SF to win, I take some interest in Dallas and Queens. And I take interest in any game a friend of mine or someone I know or have played/ is playing, although not necessarily their team.

EV : So would you have an opinion, for example, on the outcome of the upcoming Queens - NJ match?

SS: I want NJ to win. Among other things, Joel is my hero. Although if Queens wont get swept, I hope their point comes on board 4. I played Ostrovskiy once, he seems to be a nice kid and reminds me of myself when I was his age.

EV : Yes, I know what you mean about Ostovskiy, in the sense that he's ambitious and loves chess.

SS: Yeah, also he gave me another free analysis game at Kasparov's seminar because he brought our game, so I got 5, not 4.

EV : Any prediction for board 3? Lenderman - Dean?

SS: Lenderman has white? I think dean should be able to hold down the fort; I’m guessing they will get an = position, and depending on how the match is going, someone could lash out and lose. Dean is well booked and very solid, but hard to ignore 5-0 from Lenderman.

EV : Of all the games you've played in the USCL, which is your favorite?

SS : My game with Richard Costigan. I mean, did you see that g file?!?!? Apart from that, I thought it was a very interesting game.

EV : Do you read a lot of the blogs and commentary on the USCL? What's your favorite and what, if any, do you take issue with?

SS : I try to post stuff for our own blog, and read anything about the Mechanics, and I always read Ginsburg's because it make me laugh. Some of the stuff he’s written about me, is irritating as well as hilarious. Like saying I won week 1 because “Schneider did not show up," when I played a fine game. And his h6 move was forced, not bad. And then he analyzed my game with Galofre and criticized my opening bigtime.

I’m currently 2425 USCF. Last time he beat someone rated that high in a USCF rated game was 2005. He’s still winless in the USCL and thinks he has any business criticizing my games, including giving a move like b6 3 question marks when I doubt anyone can prove an edge after e5 fxe5 fxe5 bb7 exd6 rac8. Well, b6 is not the most accurate, but I don’t think white can get much of an advantage: it’s not a "lemon." Sure, Kf8 was more accurate but b6 was not a ???

EV : Hahhaha, been checking Ginsburg’s results?

SS : Yeah, I had some free time on my hands wanted to see his qualifications, lol…

EV : And do you generally feel like lower rated players shouldn’t criticize the moves of stronger players? Or that they have an extra obligation to be accurate? Or nice? Or something else?

SS : Accurate, yes; nice, no. And, ok, Ginsburg and I have similar ratings, though my FIDE is a bit higher. At least for me, it’s more about my having never met him and his apparent interest in slandering my games. And he is winless after 5 games and I’m +9 lifetime.

EV: Good stuff. Anything else you want to get out there? A message for USCL fans?

SS : LOOK FOR THE MECHANICS TO BE THE FIRST REPEAT CHAMPIONS

EV : If you make the playoffs and the lineup was up to you, who would you play?

SS : Depends a lot on the opponents, but i think our strongest lineup is Wolff-Josh-me-Danya. Although Vinay can easily step in on 2, and then Josh or Wolff on 1.

Chess in the Parks

The annual Chess in the Parks tournament was today at Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. Below are some of my favorite pictures of my students. More are at http://www.318chessteam.blogspot.com/.

Rebecca
Rochelle, 1750. She was up a pawn against Kasparov in his simul last week. He reportedly had to spend 40 minutes at her board (I couldn't stay to watch; I had to take the other kids home by then) and later called it his toughest game.

Sekou, Alexis, Pobo, Myles: the last three were key scorers on 318 K-6 Championship team. Average rating = 1600. (Sekou is in 6th grade this year.)

Alexis : tied for second at last year's National Elementary.

Carlos

Juan, Adolfo, Cesar, Christopher: new to the team.

Pobo: the happiest kid in the world

Emmanuel: Joel's little brother

JP with Yuri Lapshun

Lisa: touching the rook?

Randy

JieJing

Joel

always the life of the party: Jonathan Corbblah

always picturesque: central park

USCL Results for Chinese Folks

I understand that the USCL site is blocked by the Chinese internet firewall, but that mine isn't, so while the Americans are in China, I will try to keep the USCL results updated here for them.

Monday, September 29th, 2008
New York Knights (1.0-4.0) vs Seattle Sluggers (2.5-2.5)
All Time Series Record (New York leads 2-0)
Starts at 9:00 PM ET Time Control - Game 60 with 30 second increment
New York Knights
Seattle Sluggers

GM John Fedorowicz: 2540 0.0 1.0 GM Hikaru Nakamura: 2742
IM Irina Krush: 2534 1.0 0.0 GM Gregory Serper: 2592
IM Jay Bonin: 2370 0.5 0.5 FM Marcel Milat: 2354
NM Evan Rosenberg: 2222 0.0 1.0 Andy May: 2134
Avg Rating: 2417 Avg Rating: 2456

New York Total ------- 1.5 2.5 -------Seattle Total

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona Scorpions (2.5-2.5) vs San Francisco Mechanics (3.5-1.5)

All Time Series Record: (this is their first match)

Starts at 9:30 PM ET
Time Control - Game 75 with 30 second increment
Arizona Scorpions
San Francisco Mechanics

IM Rogelio Barcenilla: 2560 0.5 0.5 IM Vinay Bhat: 2481
IM Mark Ginsburg: 2410 0.0 1.0 IM David Pruess: 2479
FM Danny Rensch: 2411 0.0 1.0 NM Sam Shankland: 2364
NM Leo Martinez: 2209 0.5 0.5 FM Daniel Naroditsky: 2321
Avg Rating: 2398 Avg Rating: 2411

Arizona Total ------- 1.0 3.0 -------San Francisco Total

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, October 1st
Carolina Cobras (2.5-2.5) vs Queens Pioneers (5.0-0.0)
All Time Series Record: (This is their first match)
Starts at 7:00 PM ET Time Control - Game 90 with 30 second increment
Carolina Cobras Queens Pioneers
IM Lev Milman: 2502 IM Dmitry Schneider: 2508 .5-.5
FM Oleg Zaikov: 2376 IM Alex Lenderman: 2528 0-1
FM Ron Simpson: 2346 NM Michael Thaler: 2210 1 -0
Udayan Bapat: 2179 Benjamin Katz: 2108 1-0
Avg Rating: 2351 Avg Rating: 2339
Carolina Total ------- 2.5 1.5 ------- Queens Total


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New Jersey Knockouts (3.5-1.5) vs Baltimore Kingfishers (1.0-4.0)
All Time Series Record: (New Jersey leads 2-1)
Starts at 7:15 PM ET Time Control - Game 90 with 30 second increment
New Jersey Knockouts Baltimore Kingfishers

GM Joel Benjamin: 2644 GM Sergey Erenburg: 2592 0-1
IM Dean Ippolito: 2500 FM Tegshsuren Enkhbat: 2446 1-0
NM Mackenzie Molner: 2397 FM Ray Kaufman: 2348 1-0
NM Victor Shen: 2265 NM Aaron Kahn: 2291 0-1
Avg Rating: 2452 Avg Rating: 2419
New Jersey Total ------- 2.0 2.0 ------- Baltimore Total


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Boston Blitz (3.0-2.0) vs Philadelphia Inventors (1.0-4.0)
All Time Series Record (Boston leads 5.5-0.5)
Starts at 7:30 PM ET Time Control - Game 90 with 30 second increment
Boston Blitz Philadelphia Inventors

SM Jorge Sammour-Hasbun: 2576 GM Sergey Kudrin: 2600 0-1
IM David Vigorito: 2431 FM Thomas Bartell: 2386 0-1
SM Denys Shmelov: 2446 IM Richard Costigan: 2288
NM Ilya Krasik: 2144 FM Matthew Bengtson: 2232
Avg Rating: 2399 Avg Rating: 2377
Boston Total ------- 0.5 3.5 ------- Philadelphia Total


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Chicago Blaze (2.5-2.5) vs Miami Sharks (2.5-2.5)
All Time Series Record (this is their first match)
Starts at 8:00 PM ET Time Control - Game 75 with 30 second increment
Chicago Blaze Miami Sharks

GM Nikola Mitkov: 2601 GM Julio Becerra: 2640 0-1
IM Emory Tate: 2392 IM Blas Lugo: 2393 1-0
IM Angelo Young: 2356 FM Charles Galofre: 2326 1-0
NM Jon Burgess: 2263 NM Eric Rodriguez: 2242 0-1
Avg Rating: 2403 Avg Rating: 2400
Chicago Total ------- 2.0 2.0 ------- Miami Total


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Tennessee Tempo (1.0-4.0) vs Dallas Destiny (3.5-1.5)
All Time Series Record (Dallas leads 3.5-0.5)
Starts at 8:15 PM ET Time Control - Game 75 with 30 second increment
Tennessee Tempo Dallas Destiny

GM Jaan Ehlvest: 2668 IM Marko Zivanic: 2552 .5- .5
FM Todd Andrews: 2350 IM John Bartholomew: 2488 1-0
FM Peter Bereolos: 2304 FM Igor Shneider: 2396 .5-.5
NM Brian McCarthy: 2207 WFM Bayaraa Zorigt: 2217 5.-.5
Avg Rating: 2382 Avg Rating: 2413

Tennessee Total ------- 2.5 1.5 ------- Dallas Total