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Chess Life Online 2008 November Boston, Carolina, Miami and Dallas Make USCL Semis
Chess Life Online 2008 November Boston, Carolina, Miami and Dallas Make USCL Semis | Boston, Carolina, Miami and Dallas Make USCL Semis |
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| November 11, 2008 | |
 The Boston Blitz, Carolina Cobras, Miami Sharks and Dallas Destiny
prevailed in the U.S. Chess League quarterfinals. On November 19, the defending championship team, the Destiny will face off against the Sharks while Carolina meets the Blitz. After playing through this week's action, be sure to try to answer the following trivia question for your chance to win up to $25 of merchandise from the USCL store. Trivia: Name all the individual matchups that have occured twice already in the 2008 U.S. Chess League season, with the SAME COLORS, up to and including this week's quarterfinal matches. The first person to send the correct answers to [email protected] wins. Include your mailing address and what you want if you win. Sorry, USCL players, previous USCL contest winners and managers are ineligible. The crush of the week This week's action was full of surprises. The Carolina Cobras defeated New York 3.5/4, which was an unfortunate finish for New York, who had an astonishing late season comeback. 2560 2561 The Blitz Advance to Semis The Boston Blitz leaped to victory over Queens with two nice wins from GM Larry Christiansen on board one and Ilya Krasik on board four. This ensured the 2.5-1.5 match win (Queens had draw odds) despite Eugene Perelstheyn's loss to Dmitry Schneider in the Maroczy Bind. 2563 2565 2568  Larry just played 37.Bd3. What's the idea? Dallas Rolls on In the match of former championship teams Dallas Destiny (2007) and San Francisco Mechanics (2006), many USCL pundits gave the Mechanics the edge, especially since they had draw odds. But Dallas prevailed 2.5-1.5, spearheaded by two nice wins by WFM Bayaara Zorigt and IM Davorin Kuljasevic. Remarkably, this victory means that the only two teams on the USCL roster without Grandmasters, Carolina and Dallas, have advanced to the playoffs. Those who are forming their Amateur Team squads now should take note: Balanced teams seem to be on a roll. 2567 2566 Sharks Edge Out Sluggers Miami's 2.5-1.5 win over the Seattle Sluggers can be credited largely to GM Julio Becerra, who bested GM Hikaru Nakamura when the recent Cap D'Adge champion could not find sufficient compensation for a sacrificed piece. Julio has a history of strong USCL performances, and is a two-time Most Valuable Player. 2562 2559 With just four teams left, be sure to tune into the semifinals on November 19 starting at 7 PM EST. See schedules, complete pgn files, lineups and links to video, blogs and more on the USCL homepage. |