Live Blogging: Week 3 vs. Carolina

10:54

Joel Benjamin wins it at board 1! The win improves the Knockouts record to 3-0 and Benjamin's record to 2.5 out of 3. Next match is next Wednesday September 23 as they rematch against the New York Knights with hopes of the season sweep.

10:52

Arthur Shen resigns on board 4 after a tough battle. Its all up to Joel Benjamin now.

10:51

Benjamin is tense as he looks to finish the match with a win.

10:48

In time trouble, Arthur Shen loses his queen for a rook on move 35.

10:45

Joel Benjamin looks to finish off Schroer at board 1. Both have atleast 3 minutes of time.
Arthur Shen and Jones are in a close battle with both in time trouble.

10:43

Its up to Joel Benjamin and Arthur Shen, should either one win or draw, the Knockouts will be 3-0 for the season! The webcam now focuses on Benjamin and Shen, watch them battle it out at http://www.blogtv.com/People/bioniclime

10:40

NJ 2-0 Dean Ippolito defeated Ron Simpson on board 2. Ippolito's win improves his record to an impressive 2.5 out of 3 games, the win also ensures that the Knockouts are undefeated after 3 games! The Knockouts need at least a draw to win the match.

10:38

Ippolito has promotes his pawn to queen on move 43!

10:37

Joel Benjamin flinched as Schroer played Kg2.

10:34

Ippolito moves his pawn to h2, that pawn will be a queen really soon.

10:32

Ippolito moves rook to a7 to block Simpson's "a" pawn.

10:31

Ippolito moves his h pawn to h4, knowing that pawn can not be stopped!

10:30

Getting close to the end here, the player's times looks like this.
On board 1 Joel Benjamin has 3:18 left against Schroer's 8:21
Boris Gulko defeated Zaikov on board 2 giving NJ a score of 1-0
On board 3 Dean Ippolito has 11:34 left against Simpson's 8:00
On board 4 Arthur Shen has 4:40 vs Jones 11:37

10:26

Ippolito and Simpson trade rooks, leaving Ippolito with a Rook and 4 pawns vs 5 pawns. Things looking good for Ippolito.

10:23

On move 32 Simpson plays Kb3? allowing Ippolito to play c5! taking advantage of the pinned bishop and pinned b4 pawn! Ippolito would win the bishop on d4 and has the game under control!

10:21

Joel Benjamin make a bold move on move 24, playing fxe4.

10:17

Game between Ippolito and Simpson appears to be getting more closer than Ippolito wanted.

10:13

Gulko wins his game on board 2 with a Zaikov resigning. Gulko seemed really excited about his nice win, which certainly is one of the most exciting matches this season. 1-0 NJ

10:09

Gulko uses time to his huge time advantage on move 40 with hopes to find a winning combination.

10:01

3 hours in and no game has been determined yet. Ippolito holds a lead against Simpson, while Gulko is playing one of the most exciting games of the night.

9:55

Gulko's game is getting very interesting, on the board and on the clock. Gulko has an enormous time advantage of 43 minutes against 3:44 as well as a nice bishop pair.

9:49

Ippolito and Simpson trade queens. Things look good for Ippolito.

9:40

Boris Gulko trades his queen for 2 rooks!

9:36

On board 4 for Carolina has disconnected, giving Arthur Shen an extra 2 minutes
Zaikov down to 8 minutes against Gulko's 51

9:30

2 hour 30 minutes into the match and the Knockouts up on time big on the top 3 boards. Gulko has the biggest lead in time, having 51 minutes against Zuikov's 14 minutes.

9:24

Arthur Shen plays Nc5 on move 20, forking the queen and bishop of Jones.
Gulko responds to 28.....Qe6 with 29.Qxb7

9:18

Carolina disconnected on boards 1 and 3, Benjamin and Ippolito both receive an extra 2 minutes.

9:14

Everyone takes a look at Gulko's game, while Gulko may be down the exchange he has a manageable position as well as some nice opportunities on the board if Zaikov isn't careful.

9:12

In a comfortable position, Dean Ippolito has Simpson's knight pinned at e7 after making Re8 at move 17.

9:07

Boris Gulko sacrifices the exchange against Zaikov on move 27.

9:01

The NJ Knockouts cam now focuses on GM Boris Gulko as he plans his 27th move. Also in sight is Dean Ippolito. Angle will change at 9:30
http://www.blogtv.com/People/bioniclime


8:57

Ippolito looks like he was in deep thought as he makes the move Nxd4

8:55

Very quiet and composed room right now, Gulko and Ippolito both are on their move right now.

8:50

After making his 18th move Arthur Shen gets up and walks around. Also standing is Joel Benjamin

8:44

Here is some information on moves made and time remaining for each player
17 moves in Joel Benjamin has 52 minutes while Schroer has 47
23 moves in Boris Gulko has 66 minutes while Zaikov has 38
14 moves in Dean Ippolito has 48 minutes while Simpson has 47
17 moves in Arthur Shen has 49 minutes while Jones has 49 as well

Unusual, since the Knockouts tend to be behind on time.

8:40

No players standing up right now as all of them on the clock.

8:33

Live NJ webcam shows one of our spectators, an iguana!
http://www.blogtv.com/People/bioniclime

8:28

Boris Gulko appears to be relaxed while playing. After thinking about his move for 7 minutes he plays 20. e4 and responds to Ne7 with 21. d4 in 6 seconds.

8:23

After 26 minutes, Dean Ippolito has decided to play Bxg4 gaining a pawn and gets up from his seat as he waits for Simpson's next move.

8:20

The computer room where they normally play chess has been known to be freezing cold, today's game had to be played in a different room and has not been anything close to freezing.

8:17

Dean Ippolito has been deciding his 13th move for quite a while, he's been thinking his next move for about 20 minutes and hasn't gotten up from his seat as he thinks his move.

8:14

Joel Benjamin makes his move a5 and gets up to walk around.

8:06

Rob Bernard performs an amazing act of stuffing 5 donuts into his mouth on web cam. Of course the Knockout players don't notice as they are concentrating on their games closely.

7:58

While Joel, Dean, and Arthur have gotten up to walk around while playing Boris Gulko has been sitting the entire time. He looks determined to win this match.

7:56

Dean Ippolito took a good look at the board before playing Be6.

7:51

The Knockouts are playing in a other than the room the normally play in. Unfortunately, the server in the room they play in wouldn't stop beeping creating a room unsuitable for chess. Fortunately the room they're in now is perfect to play in.

7:45

Fans can view the New Jersey Knockouts live via webcam! Just visit http://www.blogtv.com/People/bioniclime

7:37

On board 1, Joel Benjamin has played the Kings Indian Defense vs Schroer.
Board 2, Boris Gulko decided to play the English Opening
On board 3, Dean Ippolito has elected to play the Petrov's Defense against Simpson
Finally on board 4, we see Arthur Shen has faced the French Defense


7:14pm

Games all just started and Jonathan Schroer sent a draw offer, this might have been a mouseslip, who knows?

4:48pm

Live blogging tonight from the New Jersey Knockouts' match against Carolina! Stay tuned!

PREVIEW: Knockouts to Charm Cobras Monday

by Joseph Criscuolo

If the New Jersey Knockouts want to go to 3-0, they will have to make life miserable for the 0-2 Carolina Cobras. The Knockouts appear to really want to go 3 for 3, with the Knockouts out-rating the Cobras significantly on the top 3 boards. The exciting lineup for the Knockouts has 2 GMs, the always dangerous Joel Benjamin and the legendary Boris Gulko at board two. If that isn’t enough, we get to see the NJ State Champion Dean Ippolito on the third board! Finally, young and upcoming star for the Knockouts Arthur Shen will be playing on board 4.

Certainly the Knockouts want this match - the playoffs may not be enough for them - they definitely want more. Certainly, they won’t be completely satisfied until they win the United States Chess League Championship. Looking at the playoff picture, last year the Knockouts would have needed 5 points to make the playoff, they had 4.5 and failed. This year, having 3 wins in the first 3 games would give them 7 games to get only 2 more, which is something they easily can achieve.

On board 1 we have GM Joel Benjamin as black facing off against IM Jonathan Schroer. Joel Benjamin has been great for the Knockouts, winning on board 1 last week against GM Sergey Kudrin. Benjamin is worried about being considered the favorites for every game, but this is a game where if everyone gets the job done, the Knockouts will be 3-0.

On board 2 we have the legendary GM Boris Gulko as white facing off against FM Oleg Zaikov. This is Boris Gulko’s first game of the season. Last year he had three wins in three games. With such a rating difference between Zaikov and Gulko, look for Gulko to do what the Knockouts need him to do.

On board 3, we have IM Dean Ippolito as black facing off against FM Ron Simpson. Ippolito has been solid this year, with 1 win and 1 draw. A player like Dean Ippolito at board 3 is never a good thing for an opponent, and ratings suggest Ippolito may be too much for Simpson.

On board 4, we have Arthur Shen, as white, facing off against NM Craig Jones. This is the second match for the young Shen, who looks for his first win in the USCL. This is the only board where the Cobras have a rating advantage, but the young Shen is ready for the challenge.

The game is on Monday September 14 at 7:00 pm on ICC as always. Be there to see if the Knockouts can do what they should do, win their third match of the year.

The Knockouts are sponsored by the New Jersey State Chess Federation.

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Inventing a Path To Victory

by Joel Benjamin

The Knockouts win again! It sure didn’t look that way for a long time. Dean, after getting a very good opening, found himself in a potentially desperate situation before holding the balance with some nimble bishop maneuvers. Aviv had a terrific opening as well, but hallucinated once to lose a pawn, and a second time in what looked to be a drawn rook ending. Anna actually had the best winning chances for a good while, but her position looked only even until she took control of the d-file and the game. And finally, there was a bit of thievery off Route 23.

Joel Benjamin -Sergey Kudrin [B52]

USCL (2), 08.09.2009

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Bd7 4.Bxd7+ Nxd7 5.0–0 e6

Until this game I wondered why Sergey always did this in

stead of the more obvious 5…Ngf6.

6.c4 Be7 7.Nc3 a6 8.d3 Rc8

He’s trying to deter the typical kingside attacking plan after 8…Ngf6 9. Ng5 h6 10.Nh3 0-0 11.f4. To that end, the best way to wait might be 9.Be3.

9.b3 Bf6 10.Bb2

Originally I planned 10.d4 cxd4 11.Nxd4, intending to meet 11…b5 with 12.Ndxb5!? axb5 13.Nxb5. Alas, after 13…Rc6 DIAGRAM, I just didn’t see enough compensation for the piece.

It can be a bit embarrassing to sack all your pieces and resign in a team event. Unfortunately, the bishop doesn’t really belong on b2, where it can create pin opportunities for Black.

10...Ne7 11.d4 cxd4 12.Nxd4 0–0 13.Qd2 Nc5 14.Rad1

I didn’t agonize over whether I should prevent d6-d5, because I didn’t notice the possibility until after I made this quick move.

14…d5

Grrr. Now I have to start calculating already.

15.exd5 exd5 16.Qe2

I thought 16.b4 Ne6 (16...Ne4 is playable, but perhaps weaker) 17.Nxe6 fxe6 18.cxd5 exd5 would be about equal, and I wanted more.

16...Qd7

I didn’t see this move at all. I calculated 16...dxc4 17.Ne6 Nxe6 18.Rxd8 Rfxd8 19.bxc4 Nd4 and then I move my queen somewhere and play 20.Ne4—I can only be better in that position. Also 16...Re8 17.Qf3 dxc4 18.Nf5 Qc7 (18...Nd3 19.bxc4) 19.Nd6 is better for me.

17.Nc2?!

17.Nf3 was a safer choice, as after Qe6 18.Qxe6 Nxe6 I can simply play 19.cxd5. I had visions of this knight coming to e3 and doing damage, but… 17...Qe6!

Ouch. For some reason, I can never predict what Sergey is going to do. If 18.Qxe6 Nxe6 I’m a pin cushion. And 18.Ne3 d4 19.Ncd5 dxe3 20.Nxf6+ gxf6 21.fxe3 Ne4 just loses a piece for nothing. 18.Qf3 dxc4 19.Rfe1 Qf5 is also bad. I think I found the best move.

18.Rfe1 Qxe2 19.Rxe2 dxc4 20.bxc4 Rfd8 21.Rxd8+ Rxd8 22.g3

Black has an optical advantage because my pawns are split, but b7 can be attacked, too. Still, it’s hard to see at this point how Black can lose.

22…Nc6 23.Ba3 Bxc3 24.Bxc5 f6 25.Ne3

25…Rd2?!

It doesn’t appear that Black has done anything wrong until this move, but there are a lot of better moves. 25…Nd4 26.Bxd4 Rxd4 27.Nd5 is dead equal. Black can probably still press a bit with 25…Ne5. Kudrin may have been simplifying in view of the match situation, which probably looked good for them at that moment. But it only makes White’s position easier.

26.Rxd2 Bxd2 27.Nf5

Now 1-0 at least becomes a realistic possibility. Still something like 27…Bb4 looked like a sure draw to me.

27…b5??

Within a minute or so I realized that this move is so bad White may already be winning. I don’t think the endgame is Sergey’s specialty, but I feel his pain. A few days earlier I took a superior bishop v. knight endgame against Jay Bonin and butchered in so badly on the way to making the time control that I was immediately lost. I resolved to learn from my mistakes and channel my inner Bonin.

28.cxb5 axb5 29.Nd6 b4

29...Bb4 30.Bxb4 Nxb4 31.a3 simply costs Black a pawn, so now I have a juicy target to go for.

30.Kf1 Bc3 31.Nb5 Ba1 32.Ke2

I considered 32.f4 Kf7 33.Ke2 ( 33.f5!?) Ke6 34.Kd3 Kd5? 35.Bf8 g5 36.Nc7 and checkmate, grandmaster! But 34…Kf5 didn’t seem so easy, so I decided to Keep It Simple, Stupid.

32...Kf7 33.Kd3 Ke6 34.Kc4 Ne5+ 35.Kxb4 Kd5 36.Be3 Ng4 37.h3

It didn’t occur to me at the time, but I guess 37.a4 is even simpler, because the a-pawn should queen if he grabs my a-pawn.

37...Nxe3 38.fxe3 Be5

There’s no time to penetrate: 38...Ke4 39.a4 Be5 40.a5 Bxg3 41.a6 Bb8 42.Kc5 and a new girl is on her way.

39.Nc3+

Get back!

39…Kc6 40.g4 g6 41.e4

No pawn trades, please.

41…Bd4 42.Kc4 Be5 43.Nb5 Bg3 44.a3!?

I wanted to see where he would put his bishop. Black has a good plan to draw this game: Run the king over to grab/trade pawns and sac the bishop for my a-pawn. The problem is, I’ll never let him give up the bishop for the pawn!

44…Bf2 45.Nd4+ Kd6 46.Nf3 Kc6 47.a4 Bb6 48.Ne1

I’m starting to see why Bonin likes those knights so much.

48…Bc7 49.Nd3 Bd8 50.Nc5 Bb6 51.Ne6 h5 52.gxh5 gxh5 53.Ng7 Kd6 53...h4 54.Nf5 Bf2 55.a5 Black has to let my king come to b5 due to Zugswang.

54.Kb5! Bf2 55.Nxh5 Ke5 56.a5 Bd4 57.a6 f5

Or 57...Kxe4 58.Nxf6+!

58.exf5 Kxf5 59.Ng3+ Ke6 60.Kc6 1–0

I have just one request for all the prognosticators. Please pick Carolina to win 3-1! So far that has been our good luck charm. Don’t anybody say we’re going to win next week. We like being the underdogs.

Knockouts Patently Infringe Inventors, 2.5 - 1.5

by Robert N. Bernard and Joseph Criscuolo

In the computer room of the Chapel Hill Academy in Lincoln Park, New Jersey (photo, right), the New Jersey Knockouts took down the Philadelphia Inventors Tuesday night by a score of 2.5-1.5 with wins coming from captain Joel Benjamin and upcoming star Anna Matlin. Dean Ippolito drew his game at board two. The win puts the Knockouts on top of the East with a 2-0 record, while putting the inventors at the bottom, looking up, with a 0-2 record. The Knockouts look to go 3-0 next Monday when they face the defending Eastern division champion Carolina Cobras in week three of US Chess League action.

The match started strangely, with Phildelphia's manager Alex Lenderman foregoing his advantage of the first move, by playing 1. a3 (photo, left, taken a few moves later). New Jersey's board two, IM Dean Ippolito had just won the New Jersey state championship the night before, calmly won a pawn, but then got into somewhat uncomfortable position, despite the material advantage. With Ippolito's time running down, Lenderman quixotically offered a draw, which Ippolito declined, but then made an offer, which, after a few minutes thought, Lenderman accepted. The draw gives Ippolito a season record of 1.5-0.5 in two games.

New Jersey's alternate Aviv Friedman, scraped off the rust, and began his season for the Knockouts with a loss on board three against Tom Bartell, who had tied with Ippolito in the New Jersey state championship the previous day. Friedman would battle on to the very end, resigning after move 60 after being unable to promote a pawn before Bartell did (see photo below, clockwise from top, Friedman, Ippolito, Matlin).

The score was then 1.5 - 0.5 in favor of the Inventors. But, the tides would soon turn.

Fourth board, and USCL and New Jersey rookie Anna Matlin would prove to be the difference maker in this match. Playing the first USCL game in her promising chess career, she would defeat Rahul Swaminathan. Matlin played a Sicilian Kan and was in a tough position after the opening, having to concede that her dark-squared bishop was badly placed, as Swaminathan enjoyed a confortable space advantage. Matlin ground hard in the middle game, eventually winning the pawn she needed in the endgame on move 34. She exchanged into a won king-and-pawn endgame, with Swaminathan resigning after move 50. This game would prove why a team needs to be good on all boards!

The match was then tied 1.5 to 1.5. It was all up to the veteran captain Benjamin.

Benjamin and Kudrin played a tight game (photo, right). The spectators on the Internet Chess Club were commented that one slight misstep on either side would cost the game. The game was equal in material until Benjamin gained the pawn he needed on move 35. Benjamin would win another pawn in the endgame. On move 60, with his pawns on the a-file and h-file, and a knight against Kudrin's lonely bishop, Kudrin realized that his time was up and resigned. Thus, the match was clinched for New Jersey.

After the match, Benjamin proclaimed that the Knockouts resilient and tenacious play carried the day, as only Matlin had decent winning chances for the majority of the match. The Knockouts were all smiles after the match (see photo below, left to right, Aviv Friedman, Anna Matlin, Joel Benjamin, Dean Ippolito).

The Knockouts take on the Carolina Cobras Monday September 14 at 7:00 pm on ICC. Going 3-0 would be big for them, as a strong start can help the Knockouts cause of solidifying their first playoff bid. Last year the Cobras defeated the Knockouts in week 8, a loss that would cost them the season. The Knockouts look to avenge that defeat in what should be an exciting matchup!

Week 2 Preview: Knockouts to Steal Inventors' Intellectual Property

by Joseph Criscuolo and Robert N. Bernard

In week two, the New Jersey Knockouts look to floor the Philadelphia Inventors in what should be an exciting matchup, this Tuesday, September 8th, at 7:00 pm. The Knockouts began their season on the right foot, defeating the New York Knights 2.5 to 1.5. The Philadelphia Inventors, on the other hand, started with a defeat by the Tennessee Tempo by an indentical score, and hope not to go to 0-2 this week. Now, the battle of New Jersey vs. Philadelphia is in gear, with the all-New Jersey studded lineup going against the team apparently representing Philadelphia. New Jersey will keep their first two boards intact with Joel Benjamin and Dean Ippolito on boards one and two. With boards three and four, New Jersey will have FM Aviv Friedman and young Anna Matlin.

On board one, Joel Benjamin faces off against GM Sergey Kudrin. Those two have played two draws previously in the USCL (in 2007 and 2008). Benjamin will look to change that for the better when he puts up a good fight against Kudrin. Benjamin will be playing as white.

For board two, IM Dean Ippolito will look to repeat his winning ways against Philadelphia manager and weekly commuter IM Alex Lenderman. Lenderman was last year's USCL MVP. Ippolito won game of the week last week, winning with two knights on the board against a pawn against a previous USCL MVP, GM Pascal Charbonneau, with a limited amount of time left on his clock. Ippolito will be playing as black.

On board three, alternate FM Aviv Friedman takes on FM Tom "Benedict" Bartell. Bartell was a New Jersey Knockouts team member back in 2007 with Friedman, before defecting to Philadelphia. Friedman will be playing his first game since 2007, where he went 1.0/3.0. Expect him to change this when he plays Bartell as white.

On board four, we have the first game of young and talented Anna Matlin (right, photo by Ted Wu), the second player to play their first USCL game this year. Matlin will be playing Rahul Swaminathan as black. With so many young players such as Anna Matlin and Arthur Shen, you can expect the New Jersey Knockouts to keep on getting better.

Game time is at 7:00 pm Tuesday, the games can be seen on the Internet Chess Club as always, and games can always be attended at the Chapel Hill Academy in Lincoln Park, New Jersey, as the Knockouts fully support having true chess fans at our games. As our games wind down and Philadelphia fans mourn, stay tuned on the ICC for more great USCL matchups as fan favorite Hikaru Nakamura’s Seattle Sluggers face off against our week one victims, the New York Knights.

The Knockouts are sponsored by the New Jersey State Chess Federation, and the USCL is generously sponsored by PokerStars.net.

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Joel Benjamin on Week 1's Victory

Captain of the Knockouts, GM Joel Benjamin has published an article in Chess Life Online about the Knockouts' stunning come-from-behind victory over the hapless New York "3-1" Knights.

You can read GM Joel's article here.

Perhaps the Knights would have better luck playing a different game on the USCL's generous sponsor PokerStars.net?

Knockouts Geld the Knights, 2.5 - 1.5

by Joseph Criscuolo

The New Jersey Knockouts opened the season on the right foot, by getting their revenge by knocking out the New York Knights by a score of 2.5-1.5 with two wins coming from Dean Ippolito and Victor Shen and a draw by Joel Benjamin. Also Arthur Shen began his promising career in the US Chess League. The win gives them a team record of 1-0 with hopes of adding another early win against the Philadelphia Inventors next Tuesday who lost by a score of 1.5-2.5 against the Tennessee Tempo. For those who can’t get enough of this rivalry, the Knockouts will make life even worse for the Knights when they play them again on September 23.

Playing as white, Joel Benjamin drew newcomer US Chess League player Giorgi Kacheishvili after 32 moves with both sides in slight time trouble after both took their time in the opening, which is never a bad thing to do in chess. Joel appeared to have the more active position in this game.

The most notable game of the night was when Dean Ippolito defeated New York Knights MVP Pascal Charbonneau as white. Late in the game Ippolito had two pawns and two knights while Charbonneau had one pawn, a knight, and a bishop. With the pawns being up on the board, Charbonneau decided to trade his knight and bishop for those two pawns, hoping that Ippolito would not know how to get a checkmate with two knights on the board. Unfortunately for Charbonneau, Ippolito did know how to win with two knights against a pawn, expanding his school, Internet-wide. This win won the first of many games they will win this season for the Knockouts!

Matt Herman hailed to the Victor on board three... Victor Shen that is! In an exciting fashion, Victor Shen made brilliantly sacrificed a rook for a knight on move 34 (see diagram)! Herman would take the rook and Victor’s next move he played Rd1+ and Herman resigned! At such a young age, Victor Shen will be around a long time for chess fans to enjoy!

Rising star Arthur Shen’s first game in the US Chess League would not be the result he wanted against blitz legend Yaacov Norowitz, but his first win should come pretty soon. Arthur resigned after 35 moves against strong opposition. Arthur’s rating of 2107 is something many chess players can envy, not many players his age can say they have the honor to play in the US Chess League!

Chess fans should tune in next Tuesday on ICC to see the New Jersey Knockouts face another nearby rival, the Philadelphia Inventors. Game time is at 7:00 pm and chess fans will get to see the Knockouts invent Philadelphia’s second lost of the season.