Several USCL pundits (including USCL Commissioner IM Greg
Shahade and IM Alex Katz) touched on an interesting puzzle regarding the
Inventors surprising success in the first five games of USCL 2014 season. What is the secret sauce for the team's performance?
In an unprecedented attempt to squelch speculations,
the team decided to lift the curtain and reveal highlights from the rigorous training
sessions prior to the first five matches:
The home of the Inventors is the Franklin-Mercantile (FM)
Chess Club, located next to the fashionable Rittenhouse Square in downtown Philly. The FM Chess Club was founded in 1885 and is
the second oldest Chess Club in America, second only to San Francisco’s Mechanics
Institute. Fans of the team (and the city of Philadelphia) will have noticed in
the video clip many of Philly’s most memorable places including the Museum of
Arts, Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Constitution Hall, the Liberty Bell and the
Schuylkill River Park along Kelly Drive.
In game 5, The
Philadelphia Inventors faced their toughest opponents to date, the Rio Grande
Ospreys, one of the USCL elite teams. The
Ospreys featured two strong GM’s and an up-and-coming WGM on the top three
boards. The various pre-match
predictions suggest a clear win for Rio Grande. However, from an early stage of the match, it
was clear the Inventors had a completely different idea about the final score.
The Inventors lineup included IM Tom Bartell, FM Rodion
Rubenchik, IM Richard Costigan, and NM Todd Bryant. All four games displayed fighting chess and
after the smoke had cleared, Philly coasted to a 3 – 1 win and a kept their
surprising first place standing in the GM-heavy East division.
Philadelphia
Inventors
|
Rio
Grande Ospreys
|
||
1.0
|
0.0
|
||
1.0
|
0.0
|
||
1.0
|
0.0
|
||
0.0
|
1.0
|
||
Average
Rating: 2317
|
Average
Rating: 2412
|
||
Philadelphia
Total
|
3.0
|
1.0
|
Rio Grande Total
|
Following are recaps of the games:
Bartell,Tom (2448) - Stukopin,Andrey (2631)
[A43]
USCL Week 5 Internet Chess Club, 23.09.2014
1.d4 c5 2.d5 d6 3.e4 g6 4.c4
e6 5.Nc3 exd5 6.cxd5 Bg7 7.h3 a6 8.a4 Nd7 9.Nf3 Ne5 10.Nxe5 Bxe5 11.Bd3 Qh4
12.Be3 f5 13.exf5 Bxf5 14.Bxf5 gxf5 15.0–0 f4 16.Bxc5 Bxc3 17.Bxd6 Bf6 18.Re1+
Kf7 19.Rc1 Nh6 20.Rc7+ Kg6 21.Qd3+ Nf5 22.Rc4 Rhe8 23.Rxe8 Rxe8 24.Rxf4 Qh5
25.g4 Qg5 26.Rxf5 Qc1+ 27.Kg2 Kg7 28.Rxf6 Kxf6 29.Qf5+ Kg7 30.Qd7+ 1–0
Following two fantastic performances with Black against GM Emil Anka
and prodigy IM Samuel Savien, IM Tom Bartell has done it again. Tom faced the strong GM Andrey Stukopin
leading the USCL MVP race. Stukopin used
an unusual move order to reach a Benoni setup.
The plan with f5 seems a little suspicious as Black’s pawn structure was
not optimal and his king was still in
the center. On the other hand he
enjoyed some activity and controlled several key squares.
15… f4? is clear mistake (N-f6 is better with an unclear
position). White’s 16. Bxc5 is an
intuitive and strong piece sacrifice as White gets two pawns for the piece and
Black’s king is in the center while his other pieces are undeveloped and his
position lack any harmony. After 22.Rc4 White won a third pawn as Rxf4 can't be
stopped and finished the game with the aesthetic 28.Rxf6 combination.
Excellent performance by Tom and a game worthy of its GOTW nomination.
Hernandez,Holden (2582) - Rubenchik,Rodion
(2329) [D31]
USCL Week 5 Internet Chess Club, 23.09.2014
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c6
4.Nf3 dxc4 5.g3 b5 6.Bg2 Bb7 7.0–0 Nd7 8.e4 Ngf6 9.Bg5 h6 10.Bxf6 Nxf6 11.Ne5
Be7 12.Qd2 0–0 13.a4 b4 14.Ne2 c5 15.d5 exd5 16.exd5 Bxd5 17.Bxd5 Qxd5 18.Qxd5
Nxd5 19.Rad1 Nb6 20.a5 Bf6 21.f4 Bxe5 22.fxe5 Na4 23.Rd2 Rfd8 24.Rc2 c3 25.b3
Nb2 26.Nxc3 bxc3 27.Rxc3 Nd3 28.Rd1 Nxe5 29.Rxd8+ Rxd8 30.Rxc5 f6 31.b4 a6 0–1
Rodion used his Semi-Slav / Noteboom variation against GM Hernandez. White chose to avoid the most popular lines with
the Fianchetto setup. 9. B-g5 seems
inferior to 9.e5 and White compensation for the sacrificed pawn seems to evaporate
quickly as Rodion responded accurately.
After another inaccurate move by White, Black was able to challenge
White center with a timely 14… c5 and cruised to victory a few moves later
relaying on the power of its Noteboom twin passers in a game which seems too
easy for Black.
Costigan,Richard (2288) - Nemcova,Katerina
(2362) [A45]
USCL Week 5 Internet Chess Club, 23.09.2014
1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5 3.e3 c5
4.Nd2 Nc6 5.c3 Qb6 6.Qb3 Qxb3 7.axb3 Nd7 8.Bb5 e5 9.Ngf3 e4 10.Ng1 a6 11.f3
exf3 12.Ngxf3 Bd6 13.e4 cxd4 14.exd5 Nce5 15.Ne4 Nxf3+ 16.gxf3 Be5 17.cxd4 Bc7
18.Ke2 f6 19.Bh4 Kd8 20.Bg3 Re8 21.d6 Bb8 22.Kd3 Ra7 23.Bc4 Nb6 24.Rhe1 Bf5
25.Kd2 Nd7 26.Nc5 Rxe1 27.Rxe1 Nf8 28.Bd5 Bc8 29.d7 Nxd7 30.Ne6+ Ke7 31.Nxg7+
Kf8 32.Re8+ Kxg7 33.Bxb8 Nxb8 34.Rxc8 1–0
This game featured the return of the Inventors veteran battle horse
IM Richard Costigan playing the strong WGM Nemcova. Richard started with the Trompowsky, a
proven formula against a younger active opponent. Black helped her opponent’s plan by opening
the a file with 6. Qxb3 and a quick expansion in the center. However, the position seems about even until
White gained ground in the center following 11. exf3 and 13.e4. It was clear that Black’s position lacks
harmony and her king was stuck in the center.
After 17 cxd4 White won a pawn and cruised to a victory using energetic
and tactical play against the Black king.
A powerful game by IM Costigan and well deserved nomination for
GOTW.
Serna,Jeffrey (2074) - Bryant,Todd (2201) [B72]
USCL Week 5 Internet Chess Club, 23.09.2014
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4
4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.Bc4 0–0 8.Bb3 Ng4 9.Qd2 Nxe3 10.Qxe3 Nc6
11.Nde2 Bd7 12.0–0 a6 13.h3 b5 14.a3 Na5 15.Rfd1 Nxb3 16.cxb3 Bc6 17.Rac1 e6
18.Qd3 Qh4 19.Qxd6 Bxe4 20.g3 Qh5 21.g4 Qxh3 22.Nxe4 Qxg4+ 23.N4g3 h5 24.Qf4
Qxf4 25.Nxf4 Bh6 26.Nxg6 fxg6 27.Rc6 Rae8 28.Rxa6 h4 29.Ne4 Rf4 30.Nc5 Rg4+
31.Kh2 Rf8 32.Kh3 Rg5 33.Nxe6 Rf3+ 34.Kxh4 Rh5+ 35.Kg4 Rfh3 36.Ra8+ Kf7 37.Nd8+
Ke7 38.Nc6+ Ke6 39.Re8+ Kf7 40.Re7+ Kg8 41.Rd8+ Bf8 42.Ree8 R5h4+ 43.Kg5 Rh5+
44.Kf6 Rf3+ 45.Ke6 Rxf2 46.Ne5 Rhf5 47.Rb8 Rf6+ 48.Kd5 R2f4 49.Re6 Rxe6 50.Kxe6
g5 51.Ng6 Rf2 52.Rxf8+ Rxf8 53.Nxf8 Kxf8 54.Kf5
1–0
Last week NM Todd Bryant won brilliantly against Boston. This game was frustrating for him. Black had a fantastic position following the unorthodox
9. Q-d2. Black had a clear strategic
advantage before 17… e6?! And 18… Q-h4?
(B-e5 or d5 were still better). White
had better continuations later on and allowed Black back to get back in the
game.
Black is a bit better here, but the position is messy. 25… Bxb2 creates a position where Black as four
pawns for a piece and good long-term prospects, while 25… B-h6 created an
unclear position after 26. Nxg6.
Tough loss for Todd, but an excellent performance so far.
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