The first week of the USCL has passed, and the standings in the Eastern Division are already surprising. The New York Knights, with their 3-1 loss to Baltimore, dwell in the cellar. Their manager, Irina Krush, lost a theoretically interesting endgame, which she was initially winning, and then some slight inaccuracies moved it to a loss. It would be really interesting and instructive to have someone figure out just where the tipping point was from win to draw to loss for Irina.
Unfortunately for the Knockouts, two other teams in the Eastern division won; Philadelphia and Boston eked out 2.5-1.5 victories. Each team has three draws and a win on one of the lower boards.
So, the Knockouts and the Pioneers, are tied for 4th-5th place in the Eastern division, ahead of the Knights. The NY Metro area, center of chess skill in the USA, would be out of the playoffs, if the season ended today. Yes, yes, I know it's early to talk about the playoffs.
Jennifer Shahade's recap of week one is here at Chess Life Online. There's not enough on the Knockouts, but maybe that's just my opinion.
So, if you do want more about the NJKOs, you can read Michael Goeller's annotations of the Knockouts' games at the Kenilworth chess club blog, which is here.
Next week -- I'll review the merchandise I purchased at the USCL online store.
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