Interview With Miami Shark FM Marcel Martinez

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

Kasparov's Predeccessors books... they are the best books in the history of the game

b. 5 albums

I enjoy R&B music... soul and Jazz so I would say Lionel Richie stuff, Ray Charles,Kenny G, Andrea Boccelli etc

c. 1 chess player

Kasparov

d. 1 member of the USCF executive board and

Szuza Polgar..... I will support her in anything she does as I think she is trying very hard for chess to be recognized

e. 1 luxury item,

a laptop with a wireless card

What would you choose? (The island already contains a chessboard and clock)

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

I love playing against San Francisco as all the guys in the teams I consider to be good friends of mine and is nice to play nice people like them whether you win or lose. I hate playing against Tennessee Tempo's since we are always expected to win even in our worst year in the USCL's history and I really don't enjoy putting up with this kid Andrews comments whether he does well or bad... always talks some non-sense

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

Miami again.... I am very much in love with my city!!... and we all get along great in the team

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

Well we don't do a whole lot of preparations since most of us or all of us work in different fields etc... so we don't get so much time... sometimes over the phone we discuss things (ex: Becerra, Blas and myself are in touch on the daily basis as we are like best friends) we all share Becerra's files which by the way when they go on ebay they should be kind of expensive!!) Gilberto Luna been the team manager is been great as he is also in charge of bringing us red bull and ice cream from the gas station next to the club while we play

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

Los Angeles since I get along with armenians great... and they have GM's Akobian Kachiyan and former buddy of mine who was very interested on playing given the right time Harutyan Akopyan

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

chessbase.com chesscafe.com e3e5.com crestbook.com www.uschess.org

7. Are there any openings that give you special pleasure to either play or play against?

I guess pleasure comes to me thru any opening as long as I feel I played well whether I win or lose

8. If you had to pick name on type of ending that you are especially good at, what would it be?

None since I suck at chess period

9. Do you dream about chess, and if so, describe a dream you’ve had.

When I was young I always dreamed of representing my country (Cuba or USA later on) in the World Juniors Championships and even when I won the US Junior Championships in 1999 I was not allowed to do so which was the biggest dissapointment in my life overall uptodate

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

Miami
b. what format would you choose,

Open
c. who would you invite, and

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

None.. leave chess the way it is!

11. 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 love chess.. I wish I could do it all day all night.... unluckily circumstances do not allow me to do so..... It is kind of difficult for me to talk about an average week since due to work it changes constantly... I am out on the street all day long... driving.. visiting stores (I am in charge of the Wine Division of my company Gold Coast Beverage Distributors in the county I live so I have a lot of responsabilities when it comes to sales) I don't get to play period.... if I play 3 tournaments in a year I can consider myself lucky since due to the vacation time I am allowed at work I can only dedicate to chess so much... ( I have a wife... family etc.. they also should get some of my time don't u think?) But I would definitly like to be more obsessed.

12. 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)?

The day Kasparov quit chess I enjoyed since all these interviews allow u to draw some conclusions about chess and chess players and the author is awesome.... I always look up to him.... his writing style is awesome.... a little bit short of the "dream team" (Jenn,Liz,Greg) but not bad at all

13. Of all your games this year, which are you proudest of?

vs Zilberstein last week since Becerra prepared me for it a week in advance as we knew he was going to go for this some time. It was all preparation till move 28!!

14. How did the members of the Miami team get chosen? How do you determine the line-up each week?

Gilberto Luna as team manager chooses the line-up checking on our availability but u know sometimes to do work issuess of different people we have to get penalized badly because of last minute changes

15. In your earlier match this season, Dallas beat Miami. What are your plans to make sure this does not happen again?

I don't really care about what happened earlier.... we are going to put up a fight and expect to be victorious.... I like this whole cinderella story idea.. coming from deep down under

16. Are there any lineups from Dallas you especially fear or want to see? They seem to play Boskovic and Kuljasevic pretty consistently; any special strategy for either of those two?

Not at all.... we will all try our best whether they line up Kasparov in the team

17. Were you surprised Dallas agreed to postpone your match?

It was nice from them but that also allowed them to make up a bit stronger team especially in board 4 where I think we have the edge regardless

18. If you make it to the playoffs, how do you see your chances against Boston? What line up do you expect they would use?

We will see then... now we care about Dallas...

Free Speech Time Is Over

I'm deleting all comments that are ridiculously offensive or totally insane.

some random thoughts .... actually from me....

so despite the manical pace of posting interviews, I haven't actually written anything in a while.....
The interviews are of course absolutely easy-- I don't do anything except write the questions and email them out.... people actually thank me for asking them to essentially write my blog for me.... ok, I called Becerra and actually exerted myself to type what he said, but he is playing in a tournament.

So I had a couple thoughts. .

The first was... wouldn't it be strange if suddenly you had a new name?

If everyone suddenly and simultaneously started calling you Harold, or Phoebe, or Fritz, or Elliot?
And what would be weirder is if you knew that there was one person who made this happen. That, let's say, Steve Immit, or Brenda Goichburg or that 1900 from your local club, the one who's always in time pressure, this person just randomly chooses one day and, not maliciously, absolutely not, in fact, this person feels warmly towards you without a doubt. But not unintentionally either. They just exert some power and change your name.

And then, presto! you are Carmen.

This is of course ridiculous in multiple ways, but it happened to me this summer.
Chris Bird changed my name to Liz.

Now total strangers call me Liz and I just gape at them in disbelief. You should understand, no one has really, ever in my life, called me Liz before. So it startles me. Of course, Chris Bird is a very nice guy, but I know him only in the most casual of ways. Friend of a friend. And then he calls me Liz that on one tournament website and boom. Liz. Liz. Always.

Ok, enough about me. Let's talk about Josh Friedel.
Do you know he just lost on time with a rook vs a knight* in a real tournament game???
Kinda makes you appreciate the USCF, no? At least the rules make sense.

Somehow, I've had this one same thought all the time, basically every day, for the last three or four years.
The thought is: "Are these people f*cking kidding me?"
I worry it's a sign of my disengagement from human society.

Anyway, other news in my life... work is killing me, making me want to be a zombie....I'm starting to have insane ideas like I can run errands before work, at 6:30, 7 am. I can't explain why I think that.
... in more exciting news I'm writing an article for Chessbase.com on the USCL. (Managers: if you have any photos of female team members in bikinis, I need them now.) No, but honestly I'm looking forward to writing the piece in a very breezy, magaziney kind of way. I just need to remember that I decided that exclamation marks make writing seem very girly.

*he had the rook!!

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.

Ten Questions With New York Knight NM Iryna Zenyuk

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 luxury item,

a. “A Hero of Our Time” by Lermontov, “The Brothers Karamazov” by Dostoevsky, “Les Miserables” by Hugo, Bible, “Confessions” by Augustine and “Zurich International Chess Tournament, 1953” by Bronstein

b. I would take Russian Rock band DDT, Kelly Clarkson’ albums, some classical music like Tchaikovsky “The Seasons”.

c. I will take two: Josh Friedel and Tatev Abrahamyan.

d. my laptop

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

I start thinking about my game Sunday night when the pairings are posted. But I usually don’t sit at the board preparing until Tuesday night or Wednesday after my classes. I have no superstitions; I listen to Russian rock, while walking to the club. Sometimes we go to dinner Tuesday night with Irina, it is fun, I find Irina to be very supportive of her teammates.

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

I think Chicago because they have Shulman, Gurevich and many other strong players there or LA with Akobian and Khaciyan.

4. Are there any openings that give you special pleasure to either play or play against?

Kings Indian Defense has been my favorite opening for black for long time, but now I enjoy to play against it with white too, I also like to play Taimanov Sicilian.

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

Chesspro.ru – for their tournament reports and analyses;
Uschess.org – I visit it every day to keep up of what going on in US chess and to see rating updates;
uschessleague.com- I follow the league closely;
Chessbase.com – worldwide chess news;
chesscenter.com- to download TWIC.

6. 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 am pretty obsessed with chess. I used to study chess like 3-6 hours but now I would be happy to study for 2 hours a day. I play every other weekend in Marshall CC and played for the past seven Wednesdays for USCL. Thinking about chess positions comes randomly when I am in train, elevator, during classes, dinners. The positions are usually from the recent games I have played, I replay them in my head and try to find reasons why I made this move or that move etc. Because I don’t have courage to quit chess I would rather choose to be more obsessed with chess, I would love to be full time chess player.

7. You have an incredible record in the USCL (current performance rating: 2478!). Is there any special reason for this? Have you been studying a lot recently? Do you play better in the online format of the USCL? Is it because you can prepare for the games?

Today I saw my performance rating in USCL, it is rather good! I can guess that one of the reasons for my good play is that I went back to visit my relatives in Ukraine for August and September. I had a chance to study chess intensively for two weeks there with my past coach Kobylianskyi Igor. I mean like 7 hours per day, 2-3 hours personal training and 4-5 with the group. I was very happy to study so much chess. I also played two tournaments; I did well and got my second WIM norm. This prepared me well for the USCL, I really take seriously the league and want to do my best to help my team. I play better in online format, it is less emotional for me. Also, preparation helps, so far I could guess like 50% of the opponents’ openings.

8. You will almost certainly be playing Chris Williams in the upcoming match with Boston. What do you think of him as a player? Could you name specific strengths and weaknesses? Do you have any predictions for your individual game (result, opening, what the decisive factor will be)?

I think Chris is very dangerous opponent. Looking at his games I see great determination from his side, he is an aggressive player, calculates very well, he is not afraid to go into sharp, double-edged play where the price of tempo can cost you a point. The first game we played was very sharp, at some point I thought I lost the thread of a game, after 21.Nd6 I thought I was just worse, my attack didn’t work and my king was bad. Then, after 21…Nb6 I found nice rook maneuver, of course giving up his bishop was a mistake but we were both in time pressure, so it was hard to find the best moves. I hope for a hard fought game on Wednesday! And btw the song about Chris is great!

9. What’s your life like outside of chess? You are studying at Brooklyn Polytechnic to work in space type research? What exactly are you aiming to do? How long will that take? Do you also work? Do you have any other hobbies?

I will graduate in May 2008 from Polytechnic University with BS in Mechanical Engineering with Aerospace concentration. My dream job would be to work for NASA. So far I plan to go to a grad school, which will take two more years. Outside of chess I like to play volleyball. I played for highschool team and also two seasons for college varsity team. When it is warm outside we go to play to Central Park with my friend, we have a really great time there. I also like running, this is the time when my mind relaxes, I usually go running outside and late when it is dark and not many people around, I don’t like gyms, they are crowded and noisy. I also enjoy reading and playing guitar (beginner level).

10. What are your upcoming chess tournaments/ ambitions? Why didn’t you play in the US Women’s this summer? Do you study with anyone?

My short term goal is to get my third WIM, then in following two years WGM title that is why I am mostly aiming at 9 round Swiss or round robins. I plan to play in December in Marshall Club Championship and in February in Aeroflot Open. It is not that easy to fit chess tournaments during a school year, this semester I missed a month of school, it looks like summer is the best time to play chess. But it is not always so, for example this summer I did two months internship, working for professor in the field of spacecraft formation flying control and couldn’t play in US Women’s Championship. But I followed all the games live during work J . I have been studying chess with my coach Vladimir Lymar for the past six years.

Ten Questions With New York Knight IM Jay Bonin

1. You play an unbelievable amount of chess. How many rated games on average per year? How long have you been doing this? Why? Do you study much as well? Don’t you ever get sick of chess?

Number of games.... Yea ive played an insane amount. 400 500 600 a year. Broke 700 when greg and John ran the nymasters. That was a great experience playing all those gms.
I spend so much time playing I have no time to study lol.

2. It seems likely you will be playing Denys Shmelov in the upcoming match with Boston. What do you think of him as a player? Could you name his specific strengths and weaknesses? Do you have any predictions for your individual game (result, opening, what the decisive factor will be)?

Shmelov is tough, not too many games.

3. Any predictions for the other three boards? (Assuming a line up of Naka Charbonneau Bonin you vs. Christiansen, Zamora, Shmelov, Williams)?

I am really surprised how we beat Philly by such a large margin. Were getting hot at the right moment. Boston is a tough team and they have draw odds so we have our work cut out for us.

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

Favorite team out side of us is Philadelphia. I have a good record personally but I tip my hat to them for improving so much and making it to the playoffs.

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

I cannot see myself playing for any other team but the knights. But nowadays people move around...eg pascal from baltimore to us, Stripunsky from ny to queens.. Josh FRiedel from Boston to SF. Guess Queens would be next in line...proximity.

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

Preparation.... I go to Chessgames.com plus games from the uscl website.
Guess I am superstitious. We have the sword and the shield. It brings us good luck. It was missing for our first couple of matches. But we found them.... In storage downstairs. And the rest is history.

7. Of your USCL games, which is your favorite and why?

My favorite game this year is against Molner because of the sacrifice and the urgency of the situation. I also played a nice combo vs Pruess.

8. 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)?

Favorite Chess books.....Chess Bitch and Kings Gambit. I pay more attention when I know the authors lol.

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

Chessclub.com Uschess.org Uschessleague.com Thephtest.com Chessgames.com

10. What’s your life like outside of chess? Where do you live? What’s your apartment like? Are you still a messenger? Do you like that? Do you have any other hobbies?

Live in Ridgewood Queens for 3 years. Im a real nomad. Move around alot. A free spirit. Not working right now, but miss the courier work. It kept me limber. Hobbies... Sports, Beer, trying to learn poker.

Nineteen Questions With NM Chris Williams of the Boston Blitz

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- Ultimate Victory, chamillionaire some others, idk I like many diff kinds of music.

c. 1 chess player –my fav ladyd.

d. 1 member of the USCF executive board -oh hell nahe.

e. 1 luxury item, -my ipod

(The island already contains a chessboard and clock)

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

I really enjoyed all of my games, I felt they were tense, like I had really strong opposition, and I have high respect for each of my opponents for putting in the effort, they were all really great games, I suppose I was most impressed all inaccuracys and anaylysis aside, with iryna zenyuks play vs me she was very methodical and took a lot of time and found a very brilliant idea (rg5) and that was quite impressive.

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

I’m very interested in seeing many more teams emerge in the uscl, im particularly looking forward to seeing an Arizona team form I have many friends from there, through national tournaments and also Robby Adamsons Western Invitational chess camp, whom I hold in the highests esteem for all he has done for scholastic chess and my own personal improvement.

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

I usually find out (if possible), the icc handles of my opponents and go eco code hunting in chess base, trying to find a good preparation for that particular player, I do not mind veering off in to unfamiliar territory during the actual game in my preparation warrants me some sort of edge from the opening

5. So New York will be your opponent in the Eastern finals. You lost to Zenyuk last time. What will you do differently in this game? What do you see as her strengths and weaknesses? Percentage-wise, how do you rate your chances?

Well in our last game I really just messed up at the end, I didn’t play my fav move of all time quite possibly, I had my mouse about to release it instead I like just gave her a bishop and was lost the move was Qe6 sacking the queen for 2 pieces some pawns and tremendous dirty potential specially with her time situation. Iryna is a very strong player shes original, solid, and methodical, my game with her will be a hard one im sure I just hope I will be able to keep a consistent mind set throught the entire game.

6. What are your predictions for the other boards? (I have no inside information, but let’s assume a line up of Nakamura, Charbonneau, Bonin and Zenyuk.)

naka-draw, char loses to Necf, dennis beats bonin(maybe draw)

7. If Boston wins 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 specific lineups you would hope to play against?

I think our oppents would be the dallas players, I predict I would play millsits on last board and it would be a good crazy game and possibly a league championship deciding game.

8. I understand you felt unfairly passed over for the Game of the Week award several times. Which of your games do you feel is most deserving and why do you think the judges robbed you so blindly?

Idk I was just being obnoxious, but yeah I was surprised at some of their evals for game of the week especially that Hilton kid’s he seems like a nut

9. What are your upcoming otb chess tournaments/ ambitions? Do you study with anyone?

I’m going to play vegas in December the NAO where I hope to do well and maybe get the u23 prize my rating for it will be 2298, I have studied with Christensen he is a great coach and I credit him for most of my chess abilities he really helped me, I haven’t studied with him for quite some time, I just really haven’t been in the mood for lessons I just kinda have preferred lately going over GM games on chess base and various other places, its an exercise I learned from him and it really does work, kinda like doing push-ups the benefit is seen long term.

10. If you could change any one USCF or FIDE rule, which one would it be and why?

I wuld get rid of the prize limit rule that was recently put into practice by bill goitchberg and his Continental Chees Association (CCA) which states that a player playing in a section may not win a prize higher than (lets say 2000 when 1st is 10k+) if their rating in the past year has exceeded 20 points over the section maximimum, in my opinion this is not the best way to get rid of sand baggers it just forces them to find alternate more sneaky routes and it punishes good honest players like my self when they genuinely deserve the prize they win, im referring of corse to this past World open in which I was entitled to a nearly 6k prize and received on 2 in the u22 section after having defeated many notorious sand baggers in tense situations, when I was technically if u go back in the msa history entitled to the prize even by their rule it was uscf who messed up my supplements and I was in fact not over 2200 for a whole year previous to the WO, the final decision tho after much discussion by the tds was to give my money to the other people I tied for 2nd with.

11. 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?

Oh yeah im obsessed with chess, chess ****ed up my life and if I culd go back in time I wuld never have started.

12. Are there any openings that give you special pleasure to either play or play against?

I am a Sicilian kan player I find it an apropreitly dirty unsound opening that I have a good record with that players find hard to play against, with white I like playing chess, I do study many diff openings and feel I have a general knowlage of most and really play w.e I want with white depending on my mood.

13. If you had to name on type of ending that you are especially good at, what would it be?

i particularly like displaying the truth in chess, one way ive recently done this si by beating this 2400 dude in an equal material ending in which I had Q+B vs Q+N on an open board with lots of pawns, and compter eval wuld say equal but I proved how much more powerful a bishop can be in an endgame vs a knight technically.

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

Uschess.org Uscl.org ICC Brads Blog Boylston Blog, just cuz I get the most info about chess from them.

15. What’s your life like outside of chess? You probably graduated high school last spring? Going to college? Working? Studying chess full-time? Living with parents? Friends? Where?

I live at home and I graduate this year, going to college next year not sure where yet, weel see

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

I think all these tv programs do their best to discredit him, one example that most upset me was his appearance on channel 2 (GBH) a cuple years back in which they refered to him under his face on the screen as “former chess master, garry kasparov, that kind of ignorance by ******* out side the chess world has always been a thorn in my tush and very upsetting to me, it really discredits all the hard work and stress that chess players go thru day by day.

17. 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)?

Ick I hate chess journalists specially mig greengard, I think icc was dumb to replace paschal with him as chief web caster his a complete dunce.

18. What are your thoughts on the Krasik- Bournival war? Do you feel, for example, that “Ham Sandwich” is comparable in quality to “Chris is Awesome”?

I really am not going to go into this, ill just say I wish it would end because I am good friends with both of them.

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

Well I don’t particularly belive in all the boards comitee nonsense that goes on, but I suppose prolly my closest chess friends who I trust to make the chess world a better place in the US.

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If you got this far, you will want to listen to this:

http://bradenbournival.com/chris_is_awesome.php

A Conversation With GM Julio Becerra of the Miami Sharks

You are playing in the Spice Cup. How’s that going? Who do you think is going to win?

It's a very nice tournament. Susan has done a good job. I think its hard to say who will win because there are many people here who are about the same strength.

You have an incredible personal record in the USCL, winning MVP two years straight. Why do you think you play so well in the league?

I think I try to do the best for my team. I like to play team tournaments.

Of all your games this year, which are you proudest of?

Probably the one with Stripunsky. He played a strange line of the Paulsen with Ne7-c6. He wants to trade knights on d4 and bring the other knight to c6. So I played 7. Nb3 to avoid this. Then the idea to sac the pawn on e5 and play f5 is something typical… it leads to a very strong attack for white. In the end 27. Rd1 was very nice because he can take my queen but then it's mate on d8.

Describe your preparations for USCL games.

I never go early to the club because I think maybe if I go early I will get a bit tired. Also, on that day, I don’t teach any lessons because it's important not to be tired for the game. It's important to be serious for the team.

Aside from yourself, who or what do you think are the keys to Miami’s success?

I think for sure the 4th boards are playing very well in the last 4 – 5 games. They've scored many points.

Do you help the third and fourth boards with opening preparation?

Usually they don’t have time to prepare because they are coming straight from work. The one I can prepare more is Marcel.

How do you choose the lineups each week?

I think we going to play with the same team for the rest of the season. Before, Blas was unavailable to play, but I think it's clear that the best team is with Marcel playing 3rd board.

In your earlier match this season, Dallas beat Miami. Any plans to make sure this does not happen again?

We going to try to prepare, to do the best for this time. I think anyone can win. It's like in baseball: the important thing is to be in the playoffs. Once you are there, anything can happen.

If you make it to the finals, would you rather face New York or Boston? Why?

I think I want to play New York because, well, ... it's always fun to play against Nakamura.

Do you mean you want to face New York because you personally like playing Nakamura, or do you mean you think Miami has better chances against New York?

Oh, I think we probably have more chances against Boston. Just because if it's 2-2 and goes to the tiebreak, it will be very hard to beat Nakamura in blitz.

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

The first one for sure is LA. They have a lot of good players: Akobian, Melikset Khachiyan, there are people there from Armenia who are very good players. Oh, and Taylor lives there too.

Do you have dreams about chess?

Sometimes, when I sleep I dream that I make 2600 and make the American team.

That's a dream you have when you are sleeping or when you are awake?

Both.

How obsessed are you with chess? In an average week, how much do you study, play and think about chess?

It's different every time, but usually 4-6 hours per day.

What do you do exactly when you study?

A few different things: every Monday I download TWIC: I play through the games, check my openings there. Also I have a friend of mine who tells me some positions-- like checkmates in 2-- that I have to solve blindfold. These are positions with all the pieces on the board, usually from the book by Polgar's father. It's very useful training.

Are there any openings that give you special pleasure to either play or play against?

The Ruy Lopez with both white and black. I enjoy it and I have good results with that opening.

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If you had to pick name on type of ending that you are especially good at, what would it be?

Queen endings. I’ve had a lot of queen endings and I think I play them ok. Maybe its because there are many tactics.

Ok, last question: 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? One year ago I could not say this answer but I've started to read a lot. I read quite a few books in the past years and I liked it. The Secret (Rhonda Byrne), The Alchemist (Paulo Coelhe), The Painted Veil (Somerset Maugham), and then two chess books: Korchnoi's Chess Is My Life and Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual.

b. 5 albums? I like romantic music... in English? ... Air Supply

c. 1 chess player? Anand

d. 1 luxury item? I'd take a baseball; I love baseball very much. A-Rod is my favorite player.

Interview With Me by Ray Cheng*

* author of the fabulous Winning Chess Exercises

So in the comments to my last interview, Ray Cheng posted the questions below for me to answer. It's after midnight, so chances are good I will regret this in the morning, but for the faithful late night readers, here goes:

1. What is it that you enjoy most about chess? Is it the excitement of competing in tournaments; the thrill of winning; the aesthetic pleasure of seeing a well played game or a great move; opportunities for friendship and travel; making insecure male players feel even more inadequate?

Lots of reasons… it’s the only thing I don’t get bored with… it’s the only time I feel truly relaxed -- of course sometimes it’s nerve wracking—but when you are sitting there, you have lots of time, you lose yourself in some problem to solve, that makes me very happy. It’s the only time I don’t feel like there is something else I ought to be doing instead… I have a lot of friends in the chess world, and I like having friendships with people that are based around a shared interest… I admire people who are passionate about something as pure as chess.

2. If you didn't have a career in chess (including teaching, journalism, and playing for the Knights), what would you be doing instead? Assume you had another lifetime to start anew.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a mathematician. It’s hard for me to imagine a life other than the one that happened to me…. I guess I’m not much of a people person, although I’m learning to be one, but in the meantime, this weakness rules out a lot of careers….

3. How long have you hated puppies? What sort of music do you enjoy? Dislike? What are your "desert island" CD selections?

Are those questions really grouped? The anonymous person who said I hated puppies was really Greg Shahade. He was just mocking the guy who posts the nasty stuff on my blog. I’m very boring about music—I like a few things and listen to them over and over. Currently:

Interpol, Our Love to Admire;

Iron and Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days;

Tori Amos, Scarlet’s Walk;

Leonard Cohen, Greatest Hits;

Blonde Redhead, 23.

Also, without specific albums: Magnetic Fields, Massive Attack, Buddha Bar CDs, Suzanne Vega, Sinead O’Connor, Wilco. Music I dislike: a lot of stuff. My boyfriend sets his player to random and it drives me crazy.

4. A quantized entropy fluxoid has disrupted the fabric of the space-time continuum. Do you (a) reverse the polarity of the positronic wave matrix; (b) wrap your head in a damp towel and down a gin and tonic; (c) other (specify). Suppose you have 24 hours of free time - what would you do for amusement?

Um…. this question reminds me of a conversation I had with the random-music-playing boyfriend when we first started dating. We were at some tournament, were walking down this wide tree-lined street towards the art musuem in Philly, for some reason we never got there, but I was telling him about a dream I had where I felt really watched, and I said to him something like “how much time do you think about other people, and how often do you wonder if they think about you?” (it was more specific, honestly, but I don’t want to get into the details) and he replied, “I don’t think about things like that; I think about things like the fabric of time.” Looking back now, it seems like a fairly uncharacteristic remark by him, but at the time it really struck me. I thought, “wow, I feel like such a girl right now.” And then I thought, "maybe I should be more serious and less vain."

If I had 24 hours of free time? I love studying chess. I like running, but only if I can watch my favorite tv shows at the same time. I love the feeling of running, but it really bores me also. I love sleeping. I like wandering around New York. I like just sitting around, doing nothing. Mostly I’m happy when I’m either totally interested in something or hanging out with one of the 4 or 5 people I really really like.

5. What is your favorite TV show? Favorite movies? Favorite breakfast cereal?

TV: 24, La Femme Nikita, Law and Order: SVU, Twin Peaks, Daily Show and Colbert Report except I don't have cable.
Movies: English Patient, Clue, Closer, but there are lots of great movies.
Breakfast Cereal: Raisin Bran for serious mornings, Golden Grahams for silly mornings and very late nights

6. If you could invite any 3 characters (real or fictional, living or once living, historical or hysterical) to play a round of golf with you, which course would you play? Oh, and who would these 3 characters be?

Could it be minigolf?
The narrator from any Murakami novel.
The narrator from Absurdistan.
Greg Shahade

7. Have you ever killed another human being? What about with your bare hands? What sports do you enjoy doing? What sports do you enjoy watching?

No no no. I’m frustrated but I’m not violent.
I like running. I don’t understand sports. I’m not coordinated and I don't play well with others.
I don’t like watching sports, except for the USCL. And then only sometimes.

8. (a) Lightsaber vs. phaser. (b) Spiderman vs. Batman. (c) Kramnik vs. Anand. (d) Ginger vs. Mary Ann.

None of the above. I admire certain chessplayers for their chess alone, but neither Anand nor Kramnik do it for me. The other questions…. I’m not very pop-culture literate…. I was on a different planet when I was a kid, so I missed out on a lot of things like comics, video games, sports, old tv shows

9. What is the most hilarious or embarrassing or frightening moment you have ever experienced? What is the strangest, or most exotic, or most memorable thing you have ever eaten?

Oh, I can’t manage this…. My brain saves itself by erasing the most unpleasant memories….I try to find life funny. I believe that being happy is a conscious choice, and I try to look at everything with humor and enjoyment…. I try to get enough sleep, eat unprocessed food, be around positive people, find things funny, skip the stupid stuff, forget/ignore the bad stuff…. I’m still not great at it, but I have friends to remind me.

10. Tell us more about the hole in your leg. Is it a fashion accessory? Political statement? Medical emergency? If you could magically change your physical appearance to that of some well-known celebrity, who would that be?

Wow, well, Greg broke the news… the truth is that I have a tiny hole in the back of one knee…. I can stick a pin in about an inch ... no, that's a lie ... half an inch without feeling anything…. but it’s not visible, not like a deformity or anything… more a curiosity… I’ve always wondered what it was, but I haven’t looked at it for 5 or 6 years now so maybe it’s gone by now, maybe I imagined it….

I wouldn’t change my appearance at all…. appearances are a huge trick society plays on us… totally random, meaningless, but everyone worships the idea, even smart, conscious people …. I discovered this when I shaved my head for the first time….people treated me completely differently. It turned out to be one of the best things I could have done for myself, in the sense of the development of my character... for the first time in my life I had to actually be interesting and funny.

Thirteen Questions With Carolina Cobra IM Lev Milman

1. Do you feel like Carolina faces special difficulties fielding consistent USCL teams because so many of the players are students at Duke? Any thoughts about how that has worked in the last couple years, or what changes might occur in coming years?

It’s very tough to have a team in North Carolina since there is a lack of players here. We use pretty much the same line-up for all of our matches and have some players on the team who are a few hours commute away. Duke definitely helps attract players but it’s not consistent. Hopefully, we can maintain a team here by attracting more top chess players to Duke.

2. In 2005, you won the league’s top board two award. Since Kaminski left, you’ve had to move up to first board. Have you enjoyed this or has it felt discouraging?

I have enjoyed playing with stronger player on first board. We definitely miss having Kaminski play for our team.

3. You play very sharp openings. How do you manage to keep up on theory while in college?

Preparing for my games in the USCL helps me keep up with theory. I also try to go through some of the latest top-level games to see if there are any novelties in the lines I play.

4. 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?

It’s pretty hard to be obsessed with chess while in college, but I think playing in the USCL helps me stay active. I usually study the most before a big tournament so I haven’t been studying too much lately but I did play two tournaments this summer which I prepared a lot for. I definitely play less chess now than I did in high school. I think I am well balanced in terms of chess and will concentrate more on chess this winter break when I plan to play a tournament or two.

5. What are you majoring in at Duke? Do you like it there? What are you hoping to do after graduation? Are you planning to apply for the Samford?

I am majoring in Economics with a possible minor in Statistics. Duke is a fun school with a good mix between social and academic life. I really enjoy the atmosphere here. After graduation, I plan on getting a job on Wall Street but I am also considering applying for the Samford after I graduate and taking some time off between finishing school and beginning work. It would be fun to take 2 years off after graduation to concentrate fully on chess. During college, it has been hard to improve at chess since there is no time to play.

6. I really enjoyed the tactic you showed at the NE Masters from your game against Fang. Can you tell us something about the game?

28. Ne7+ Kh7 29. Qg6+ fxg6 30. hxg6+ Kxg7 31. Rh7#

My tactic against Fang is the most beautiful one I have ever played. I was trying very hard to win and avoid a repetition so I just kept looking at the position until I found the tactic. The tactic briefly entered my head at first but I didn’t think that it would be possible. But I looked into it further and couldn’t find a refutation. I am very proud of this game.

7. What was your favorite USCL game this year (of yours or anyone else’s)?

None of my games were particularly good but I guess my game against Drasko Baskovic was my best performance. I played solidly and didn’t make too many mistakes.

8. Which of your teammates would you nominate for Carolina’s MVP award and why?

That would have to be Oleg Zaikov. He always plays very well and has been our top performer. We would be a lot worse off without him.

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

I usually do some opening preparation and then help out my team members, especially Schroer to figure out what to play. We have e-mail exchanges between all of our team members to help out before the match and to give each other pointers about what to play against specific opponents.

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

It should be a big city like LA with players such as Akobian and Khachian or Chicago with Shulman and Dmitry Gurevich. It’s tough to have a team in a small city like Durham, North Carolina where there aren’t that many chess players.

11. If you could change any one USCF or FIDE rule, which one would it be and why?

I would love it if the official time controls were even faster. It would make the games a lot more exciting and would also allow tournaments to be quicker. I think this would make chess a more exciting game and help attract more players and more sponsors.

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

I love that Kasparov is getting a lot of attention. It is definitely a good thing for chess. I thought Kasparov’s arguments on Bill Maher’s show were really well argued. Kasparov is bringing a lot of attention to the political situation in Russia and hopefully this will bring about some positive changes in Russia.

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

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I love the new USCF website with its online articles. I like to check Mig’s Daily Dirt Chess blog at chessninja.com and Susan Polgar’s blog is a great way to see what’s going on in the chess world since she doesn’t miss much. The Chessbase site also always has interesting stories.