The Knockouts have one task this week -- to beat the Baltimore Kingfishers.
And not just beat them... utterly destroy them by a score of 4-0.
Because unless the ultimate destruction occurs, there will be no more United States Chess League season for the Knockouts. A 4-0 win by New Jersey will propel the Knockouts into the playoffs. Any other score will send the Knockouts to the phones to set up their tee times.
Watch all the action on the Internet Chess Club, Monday October 25, 2010, at 7:45pm.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Webcam: Oct 10 versus Manhattan
Live webcam of NJ site in match versus the Manhattan Applesauce...
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Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Knockouts vs Seattle LIVE Webcam
Live webcam from the NJ Knockouts playing site... match versus Seattle.
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Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
IM Kapengut Annotates
Last week, IM Albert Kapengut scored a win against Carlito Agner of the Carolina Cobras. Kapengut has played three games in the USCL and has won all three. This week, he plays again against Vadim Martirosov of the Boston Blitz. Can IM Kapengut win again?
Of course he can!
He has generously annotated last week's game and presents it below.
Albert KAPENGUT (2372) [New Jersey Knockouts] - Carlito AGNER (2251) [Carolina Cobras]
US Chess League, Week 4 (15 Sep 2010)
Internet Chess Club: G/90+30"
Annotations by IM Albert Kapengut
1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Qe2 Nc6 5. c3 e5 6. dxe5
(6. d5 Nb8 (6... Ne7 7. f4 exf4 8. Bxf4 Bg7 9. Nf3 Nh5 10. Be3 O-O 11. O-O f5 12. e5+= {Farges,Y-Weeramantry,S /Philadelphia 1993}) 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 O-O 10. Nbd2 Qe8= {Margulis,I -Grefe,J /California 1997})
6... Nxe5! 7. Bb3 Qe7 8. Bg5
(8. f4 Nc6 9. Nd2 Bh6! 10. g3 O-O 11. Ngf3 Re8 =+ {Wachinger,G -Blodig,R /Bayern 2000})
8... h6 9. Bh4?
(9. Bxf6 Qxf6 10. Nd2=)
9... g5 10. Bg3
10... Nxe4! 11. Bxe5 Qxe5 12. Nf3 Qe7 13. O-O Nc5=+ 14. Qd1 Qf6
(14... Bg7 15. Re1 Be6=+)
15. Re1+ Be7 16. Nd4 O-O
(16... Bd7 17. Nd2 O-O-O=+)
17. Bc2 Be6?! 18. b4 Nd7 19. Qd3 Qg7
20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Rxe6+= Ne5 22. Qh3?!
(22. Qe4!?)
22... Rf6
(22... Qf7!? 23. f3 Qf4 (23... g4? 24. Qxh6 gxf3 25. Bb3+-) 24. Na3 g4 25. Qg3 Bg5 26. Qxf4 Bxf4 27. fxg4+=)
23. Rxf6 Bxf6 24. Nd2 Nf7?!
(24... g4!? 25. Qh5 Rf8 26. Rd1 Qg5=)
25. Ne4 Be5
(25... d5 26. Nxf6+ Qxf6 27. Re1+=)
26. Rd1 b5?
27. Qd7!+- a5 28. Qc6! Qf8
(28... Ra7? 29. Qxb5+-)
29. Bb3! axb4 30. cxb4 Qe8
(30...Kg7 31. Bd5 Rc8 32. Qxb5 c5 33. bxc5 dxc5 34. Bxf7 Rb8 35. Qc6 Qxf7 36. Nxc5+-)
31. Qxc7 Ra3
(31... d5? 32. Qb7+-)
32. Qb7 Rxb3 33. axb3 Qe6 34. Qd5 Qg4 35. g3 Kg7 36. Rc1 Qd7 37. Rc6 Qb7 38. Rxd6!
Black resigns.
(38. Rxd6 Nxd6 39. Qxe5+ Kh7 40. Nxd6+-)
1-0
Of course he can!
He has generously annotated last week's game and presents it below.
Albert KAPENGUT (2372) [New Jersey Knockouts] - Carlito AGNER (2251) [Carolina Cobras]
US Chess League, Week 4 (15 Sep 2010)
Internet Chess Club: G/90+30"
Annotations by IM Albert Kapengut
1. e4 d6 2. d4 g6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Qe2 Nc6 5. c3 e5 6. dxe5
(6. d5 Nb8 (6... Ne7 7. f4 exf4 8. Bxf4 Bg7 9. Nf3 Nh5 10. Be3 O-O 11. O-O f5 12. e5+= {Farges,Y-Weeramantry,S /Philadelphia 1993}) 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 O-O 10. Nbd2 Qe8= {Margulis,I -Grefe,J /California 1997})
6... Nxe5! 7. Bb3 Qe7 8. Bg5
(8. f4 Nc6 9. Nd2 Bh6! 10. g3 O-O 11. Ngf3 Re8 =+ {Wachinger,G -Blodig,R /Bayern 2000})
8... h6 9. Bh4?
(9. Bxf6 Qxf6 10. Nd2=)
9... g5 10. Bg3
10... Nxe4! 11. Bxe5 Qxe5 12. Nf3 Qe7 13. O-O Nc5=+ 14. Qd1 Qf6
(14... Bg7 15. Re1 Be6=+)
15. Re1+ Be7 16. Nd4 O-O
(16... Bd7 17. Nd2 O-O-O=+)
17. Bc2 Be6?! 18. b4 Nd7 19. Qd3 Qg7
20. Nxe6 fxe6 21. Rxe6+= Ne5 22. Qh3?!
(22. Qe4!?)
22... Rf6
(22... Qf7!? 23. f3 Qf4 (23... g4? 24. Qxh6 gxf3 25. Bb3+-) 24. Na3 g4 25. Qg3 Bg5 26. Qxf4 Bxf4 27. fxg4+=)
23. Rxf6 Bxf6 24. Nd2 Nf7?!
(24... g4!? 25. Qh5 Rf8 26. Rd1 Qg5=)
25. Ne4 Be5
(25... d5 26. Nxf6+ Qxf6 27. Re1+=)
26. Rd1 b5?
27. Qd7!+- a5 28. Qc6! Qf8
(28... Ra7? 29. Qxb5+-)
29. Bb3! axb4 30. cxb4 Qe8
(30...Kg7 31. Bd5 Rc8 32. Qxb5 c5 33. bxc5 dxc5 34. Bxf7 Rb8 35. Qc6 Qxf7 36. Nxc5+-)
31. Qxc7 Ra3
(31... d5? 32. Qb7+-)
32. Qb7 Rxb3 33. axb3 Qe6 34. Qd5 Qg4 35. g3 Kg7 36. Rc1 Qd7 37. Rc6 Qb7 38. Rxd6!
Black resigns.
(38. Rxd6 Nxd6 39. Qxe5+ Kh7 40. Nxd6+-)
1-0
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Match In Progess: Carolina Week 4
Match is currently in progress. Here's a picture!
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Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Victor Shen Annotates Win Over Getz
by Victor Shen
edited by Robert N. Bernard
Editor's note: We are honored to have Victor annotate this beautiful victory over Alec Getz of the New York Knights.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nf3 h6 8. O-O Be7 9. Re1 O-O 10. h3 Be6 11. Bf1 Rc8 12. Nd5 Bxd5 13. exd5 Nb4 14. c4 a5
I was pretty happy about my position at this point, as I have two bishops and slightly more space. However, I found it more difficult than I thought to make progress.
15. a3 Na6 16. Bd2
I thought this was better than Rb1, as the rook may potentially be wanted on c1. Also, I had strange dreams of attacking the a5 pawn.
16...Nd7 17. b4 f5
18. Qb3
I spent way too much time playing this natural move, perhaps because I was frustrated that black had counterplay. The computer suggests the move 18. Qc2 as the road to advantage, which to me looked odd but actually is quite interesting as it stops a piece from coming to f6.
18...Bf6 19. Bc3 Qb6 20. Nd2
Apparently the retreat 20. Qd1! is the only way to make progress, as black's queen is slightly misplaced on b6. If e4, Nd4. This would have a been a cool solution to the problems of the pin on my queen and e4
20... axb4
My idea was 20... e4 21. Bxf6 Nxf6 22. c5
21. axb4 e4 22. Bxf6 Rxf6 23. Rab1 Ne5
24. Qc3
I was happy with this move. This is a position with not much going on, and so strategical maneuvering begins. My idea is c5, and I simply wait to see what black will do.
24...Qc7 25. Qe3
Now I gain the diagonal, but more importantly the d4 square for my queen.
25...Qf7 26. Kh1
I'm not sure how to assess this move, but I wanted to see what he would do. If he commited with Qh5, I would be free to break on the queenside, and I believed that with only 3 pieces he could not stir up much of an attack
26...Qh5 27. Rb3
Multipurpose: I protect h3 and the kingside, while at the same time may double on the c-file in the future.
27...Qh4 28. Kg1
...Ng4 ideas were scaring me.
28...Rg6 29. Rc1 Nc7 30. Qd4
Around here we were both down to about 5 minutes, but I thought that my position was easier to play. His c7 knight is clumsy, and my plan of c5 is simple. The computer says equal, but under the circumstances white should be preferred.
30...Ne8
It seems natural to try and get the knight into play, but now white's q-side initiative gives him a large advantage.
31. c5 Nf6 32. Rbc3
32...Ra8?
The losing mistake in time pressure. 32... Nh5 was necessary to quickly create threats with Nf4.
33. c6 Kh7
34. c7
Call me a coward, but with a couple minutes left I didn't want my queen to go too far
away. For example, 34. cxb7 Rb8 35. Qa7 Nfd7 36. Ra3!! followed by Rc8. The a-rook is
needed to guard against e3} (36. Rc8? e3!! 37. Qxe3 Rxb7) Note that 34. b5 is also
better than c7.
34... Rc8 35. b5
With the idea of b6 Ba6.
35...b6!
A good practical try in time pressure. Taking the b-pawn wins, but decided on a "safer" option.
36. Ra1?! Nfd7
Oops. he wants to bring a knight to c5.
37. Ra7 Nc5?
Instead, 37... Qe7 should hold.
38. Rxc5!
Forced, but good.
38...bxc5 39. Qe3 Nd7 40. Nc4 Qe7 41. Qb3 f4 42. b6 e3
With both our clocks running low, this move, though objectively bad, is scary.
43. Bd3?
Instead, 43. fxe3! fxe3 44. Qxe3 Qxe3+ 45. Nxe3 Nxb6 46. Bd3
43... e2 44. Bxg6+ Kh8
45. Ra1
Of course I saw 45. b7!, and of course I considered it. But with a minute on the clock I was seized with the fear of...I don't know... two queens for my opponent? Forgive me, but I didn't want to allow him two queens, lose, and have my teammates kick me. (45...e1=Q+ 46. Kh2 Rf8 47. Qf3!!)
45... e1=Q+ 46. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 47. Kh2 Nxb6
48. Nxd6?!
Winning immediately was 48. Nxb6! Rxc7 49. Qa4!
48... Qxf2 49. Nxc8 Nxc8 50. Bf5 c4 51. Qc3
Um... 51. Qa3! Eeek!
51... f3!
One last trick in time trouble.
52. Qxf3 Qc5 53. Qf4 Nb6
Or, 53... Nd6 54. Bg6 Kg8 55. c8=Q+
54. d6 Nd5 55. Qe5
1-0
edited by Robert N. Bernard
Editor's note: We are honored to have Victor annotate this beautiful victory over Alec Getz of the New York Knights.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. Nf3 h6 8. O-O Be7 9. Re1 O-O 10. h3 Be6 11. Bf1 Rc8 12. Nd5 Bxd5 13. exd5 Nb4 14. c4 a5
15. a3 Na6 16. Bd2
I thought this was better than Rb1, as the rook may potentially be wanted on c1. Also, I had strange dreams of attacking the a5 pawn.
16...Nd7 17. b4 f5
I spent way too much time playing this natural move, perhaps because I was frustrated that black had counterplay. The computer suggests the move 18. Qc2 as the road to advantage, which to me looked odd but actually is quite interesting as it stops a piece from coming to f6.
18...Bf6 19. Bc3 Qb6 20. Nd2
Apparently the retreat 20. Qd1! is the only way to make progress, as black's queen is slightly misplaced on b6. If e4, Nd4. This would have a been a cool solution to the problems of the pin on my queen and e4
20... axb4
My idea was 20... e4 21. Bxf6 Nxf6 22. c5
21. axb4 e4 22. Bxf6 Rxf6 23. Rab1 Ne5
I was happy with this move. This is a position with not much going on, and so strategical maneuvering begins. My idea is c5, and I simply wait to see what black will do.
24...Qc7 25. Qe3
Now I gain the diagonal, but more importantly the d4 square for my queen.
25...Qf7 26. Kh1
I'm not sure how to assess this move, but I wanted to see what he would do. If he commited with Qh5, I would be free to break on the queenside, and I believed that with only 3 pieces he could not stir up much of an attack
26...Qh5 27. Rb3
Multipurpose: I protect h3 and the kingside, while at the same time may double on the c-file in the future.
27...Qh4 28. Kg1
...Ng4 ideas were scaring me.
28...Rg6 29. Rc1 Nc7 30. Qd4
Around here we were both down to about 5 minutes, but I thought that my position was easier to play. His c7 knight is clumsy, and my plan of c5 is simple. The computer says equal, but under the circumstances white should be preferred.
30...Ne8
It seems natural to try and get the knight into play, but now white's q-side initiative gives him a large advantage.
31. c5 Nf6 32. Rbc3
The losing mistake in time pressure. 32... Nh5 was necessary to quickly create threats with Nf4.
33. c6 Kh7
away. For example, 34. cxb7 Rb8 35. Qa7 Nfd7 36. Ra3!! followed by Rc8. The a-rook is
needed to guard against e3} (36. Rc8? e3!! 37. Qxe3 Rxb7) Note that 34. b5 is also
better than c7.
34... Rc8 35. b5
With the idea of b6 Ba6.
35...b6!
A good practical try in time pressure. Taking the b-pawn wins, but decided on a "safer" option.
36. Ra1?! Nfd7
Oops. he wants to bring a knight to c5.
37. Ra7 Nc5?
Instead, 37... Qe7 should hold.
Forced, but good.
38...bxc5 39. Qe3 Nd7 40. Nc4 Qe7 41. Qb3 f4 42. b6 e3
With both our clocks running low, this move, though objectively bad, is scary.
Instead, 43. fxe3! fxe3 44. Qxe3 Qxe3+ 45. Nxe3 Nxb6 46. Bd3
43... e2 44. Bxg6+ Kh8
Of course I saw 45. b7!, and of course I considered it. But with a minute on the clock I was seized with the fear of...I don't know... two queens for my opponent? Forgive me, but I didn't want to allow him two queens, lose, and have my teammates kick me. (45...e1=Q+ 46. Kh2 Rf8 47. Qf3!!)
45... e1=Q+ 46. Rxe1 Qxe1+ 47. Kh2 Nxb6
Winning immediately was 48. Nxb6! Rxc7 49. Qa4!
48... Qxf2 49. Nxc8 Nxc8 50. Bf5 c4 51. Qc3
Um... 51. Qa3! Eeek!
51... f3!
52. Qxf3 Qc5 53. Qf4 Nb6
Or, 53... Nd6 54. Bg6 Kg8 55. c8=Q+
54. d6 Nd5 55. Qe5
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Knockouts Roster 2010
KNOCKOUTS KNEWS
by Robert N. Bernard, NJKO Manager
The New Jersey Knockouts are getting prepared for their fourth season in the United States Chess League. Last year, the NJKOs had the best regular season record in the USCL, but were vanquished in the divisional final by the eventual USCL champion, the New York Knights.
This year, the Knockouts have returned with many of the same players as last year, and a new face. GM Joel "Señor Sombrero" Benjamin (pictured at right), captain and founder of the Knockouts, once again leads the team on the top board. GM Boris "The Incredible Gulk" Gulko, hopes to continue his streak of eight straight USCL wins on Board 2, which made him a USCL Board 2 All-Star last year.
IM Dean "501" Ippolito, also a 2009 USCL Board 2 All-Star, returns to the team as well, despite preparing for his world record simultaneous exhibition attempt in November. Newly minted IM Mackensie "Big Mac" Molner will capitalize on all his recent tournament successes to take down the Knockouts' opposition.
Also returning are FM Victor "No Longer Eligible for U-2400" Shen, who won the U-2400 section of the World Open this year, and IM Albert "Dr. Theory" Kapengut who returns after his two victories last season.
The team's rookie, FM Gregory "The Fridge" Markzon, will fill a valuable hole in the team's roster, filling the mid-2200 range. FM Arthur "Bro-Bro" Shen, returns as a formidable fourth board.
Finally, we have Sean "Dorsal" Finn, last year's late season replacement, returning to more success. And, finally, Anna "Gonna Drop You To The" Matlin, will anchor the final position.
Currently three of the Knockouts, Victor Shen, Arthur Shen, and Anna Matlin are competing in the North American Youth Championships, for which you can see up to the minute results by clicking here. Anna has all but sewn up her division (Girls Under 16) already, and the Shen brothers are in contention for the top prizes in their divisions as well.
Stay tuned for more Knockouts' Knews!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
NJ Knockouts 2010 Season
The 2010 season schedule for the Knockouts has been posted. You can see it on the USCL website here, or you can simply read the summary below...
Get ready for another season where the pummeling starts!
| Day | Date | Color | Opponent |
| Mon | 8/23 | Black | Philadelphia Inventors |
| Mon | 8/30 | White | New York Knights |
| Wed | 9/8 | Black | New England Nor'easters |
| Wed | 9/15 | White | Carolina Cobras |
| Wed | 9/22 | White | Boston Blitz |
| Wed | 9/29 | Black | Seattle Sluggers |
| Wed | 10/6 | Black | Boston Blitz |
| Mon | 10/11 | White | Manhattan Applesauce |
| Mon | 10/18 | Black | New York Knights |
| Mon | 10/25 | White | Baltimore Kingfishers |
Get ready for another season where the pummeling starts!
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