On Sunday, March 30, 2014 the Inland Empire Chess Team played an exciting online cross-cultural team match against a very strong team from Israel. 10 players on each team matched up for two 5 minute blitz games and one G60 game.  Games were contested on ICC.  

The Inland Empire team logged on at Catch Up – Not Just Coffee, an innovative coffee shop, multi-cultural meeting place and staunch chess supporter on Route 66 in Rancho Cucamonga, California. 

Most of the Israeli team played at the US Embassy American Center in Jerusalem.  The match attracted local media attention for its unique pioneering scope and format.

Due to a few unavoidable connections issues, not all games were completed in a timely manner.

However in the end, the match ended up even.  Inland Empire dominated the blitz games with a score of 7.5 – 3.5, while the Israel Team prevailed in the longer games with a score of 6.5 – 2.5.

Both teams were comprised mostly of junior players.  The Inland Empire team included such local rising stars as Albert Lu 2302, Yusheng Xia 2288, Alexander Xie 2177, Richard Yang 2054, Ryan Chen 1916, Joaquin Perkins 1884, Julia Sevilla 1823 and Malik Coleman 1712.  The two adult players in the Inland Empire line-up were Ashok Ramados 2198 and Chris Pensoneau 2161.

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The Inland Empire team has been in existence for over 2 years and has successfully played local matches against Hemet, Riverside, San Diego (twice) and La Palma. The La Palma match was reported on USCF online as well as in Rank and File.  The team plans to continue expanding its international scope in the future.  Already in the planning stages are matches against teams from the Philippines and Russia.  For more information, contact this author at [email protected].