Primates crash out the first round of the playoffs, lose to “the Lucky Ones” 2.5 – 1.5

As I told the team after the match, we were so close --- and that went especially for me. Tom and Bob were the first to play and while Tom drew in a Rook and Pawn endgame, Bob did not fare as well; so it was up to Curt to draw us level. To his credit, he played his best game of the tournament and perhaps one of his best games I have seen him play in the 45 45 league. I immediately nominated it for Game of the Week; frankly if Curt doesn’t win it, I would be surprised.

Thus, it was up to me – and we had drawing odds, having the better tiebreaks. My opponent, an FM from Canada who had White, would have to win the game for the Lucky Ones to advance.
The early portion of the game went very well for me, but it was not to be as I completely fell apart in time pressure (again). And while I was slightly upset for not being able to win the won game (unquestionably one of my weaknesses), I had a great tournament overall and am already looking forward to Tournament 44. As it stands now, the entire team is returning, so we should be competitive to do well.
Again thanks to Tom, Trond, Curt & Bob for being great teammates and making my job as Captain very easy.

Again we had no forfeits, we made the playoffs and most importantly we enjoyed the royal game.

One final note: The OTB version of the Primates will be heading to Parsippany, New Jersey, to play in the US Amateur Team East in February. Don is taking the year off, so Tom and I will be pairing up with a couple of old friends. For those unfamiliar with “USATE”, this tournament is not one to play in if you wish gain massive points (I think on average I tend to play incredibly underrated kids in 4 of the 6 rounds), but it is tournament where you play for the enjoyment vice the money purse. In fact I am looking to play a bigger tournament sometime this winter as I feel I have made significant improvement and want to “cut my teeth”. Not sure where yet, but stay tuned!

Late Breaking News: Trond wins Round 5 GOTW!

I completely forgot to mention in the last installment, but Trond won Game of the Week honors for his critical win in Round 5, despite the fact that:
a) he had black
b) he was a 200+ point underdog
c) he was shaking off rust faster than a 1957 Chevy Nova at the beach after taking the summer off

For those interested in the game, here is the link:
http://team4545league.org/pgnplayer/pgnplayer.php?id=33294

Of note is that Curt’s aggressive victory in Round 6 is also up for GOTW. If you want to see how aggression can pay off, here the link to that game:

http://team4545league.org/pgnplayer/pgnplayer.php?id=33308

Round 6: Primates win 3.5 – 0.5, qualify for playoffs on tiebreaks

I never thought the division would end up as close it would; nor did I expect that we would qualify for the playoffs on tiebreaks. Truthfully I figured that if we won, we would qualify – and that was my only goal. However (to our benefit), things are never as simple as it would first appear, especially when it comes to the great game of chess. First we came out smoking, winning our first three games, while the division-leading Team Zwishenzugs struggled, trailing 1 – 2 with a game to go. They had to win in order to win the division outright, while we had to await to see how other teams did in their games in the case that we didn’t win the division. As games for Round 6 continued to wrap up and make the playoff picture clearer, I figured that all Tom would have to draw his last game to ensure we made it – which is what Tom did with ease. Thus we captured the last playoff spot with 4.5 match points.
We now face the #1 seed, Team “The Lucky Ones”, in Round 8 (Playoff Round 1). I actually think we have a reasonable shot at advancing.

On a completely different note, my old man soccer team crashed out of the playoffs on Penalty Kicks after dominating the entire 90 minutes. Grrrrrr. We even had 2 goals disallowed on rebounds for (incredibly) offsides. I also had my header blocked on the goal line on a corner kick by a defender with his hands (ala Terry Henry). We had more shots skitter away or hit the post, while the opposing team never even got a shot on goal. Unbelievable.

Round 5: Primates triumph over Division-leading Zwishenzugs 2.5 – 1.5

In the final game of the match with the match tied at 1.5, Trond produces a clutch win over Superpeon. Trond had Black against an opponent rated 200 points higher, and this represented his first of Tournament 43. With my "Grandmaster Draw" versus SuperJEM and Curt's odd forfeit win (his opponent just "defaulted"), we earned a critical match win in our pursuit to make it to the playoffs. If my math is correct, we are still in the hunt for one of the two playoff Wildcard spots. Round 6 against Team Capablanca will prove to be the deciding round – win and we are in! This match win inched us closer to team Zwishenzugs; now we trail them by only half a match point with one round to go.

Tom’s win in Round 2 earned Game of the Week (GOTW) honors. Additionally, his exciting win in Round 4 earned Runner-up honors for GOTW. Well done, Tom! Here is a link to the game:

http://team4545league.org/pgnplayer/pgnplayer.php?id=33266

I nominated Trond’s win over Superpeon for Round 5 GOTW. Here is the link to the game and decide for yourself.

http://team4545league.org/pgnplayer/pgnplayer.php?id=33294

Round 4: Primates triumph over Team “4HoursLife” 3 - 1

We had a very nice, solid performance in Round 4. Bob earned a really nice win as Black when his opponent rashly sacrificed a bishop for a truly speculative attack. To Bob’s credit, he calmly accepted the piece, then proceeded to negate White’s counterplay and converted the full-point. On the complete opposite side of the chess spectrum, Tom’s game was a truly scary affair, with Tom as Black defending v the English attack in a Schevenigen-type position. It boiled down a race to mate the other guy, and Tom was just one move quicker than his opponent. I gotta tell you, Tom has had some fantastic results lately – even the game he lost to a much higher rated opponent in Round 3 was very interesting. Trond had the unfortunate luck to face an opponent 200 point higher rated than him. I haven’t looked closely at the game yet, but watched the tail end of it. So going into my game, we were up 2-1 and only needed to draw to win the match – and I used that fact to great advantage. We went into an interesting Tarrasch --and I don’t play 1.d4, but I am getting more and more Queen Pawn’s Openings -- then got into what I thought was a pretty even position where I offered my opponent the opportunity for draw by repetition or possibly go astray. He of course could not accept the draw as his team would lose, so he bravely opted to try and mix it up. Unfortunately for him, it left him dangerously unguarded on the kingside and I managed to convert with an interesting attack. So we won 3 – 1.

So now we have played four of the six rounds and it cannot be said that our division in Tournament 43 even remotely resembles our division in T42. Not even close. In the last tournament, all four teams were tightly packed; any team theoretically would or could capture the #1 slot and advance to the playoffs. You could never predict how each round would end up, we were that closely matched. In fact the division winner was not determined until the last 2 games of the division were played. Tournament 43 is just the opposite. Team “Zwishenzugs” remain undefeated at 4 – 0 heading into the penultimate round. We trail them by a full point and half but are solidly in second place. For us to capture the division, we must beat them this round, then beat our last round opponents AND have Team “Zwishenzugs” lose or draw. A tall order, if you ask me. I think our best chance rests with capturing one of the wildcard slots.

One note: The Game of the Week for Round 2 has not been determined (yet). We patiently await whether Tom’s game is selected. Also, someone (not from our team either) nominated Tom’s win from this round for GOTW. Very nice!

Primates lose 1 – 3 to “Team Zwishenzugs”

Out top three boards all went down in flames as we faced the #1 team in our division, “Team Zwishenzugs”, with Bob earning the sole victory on Board 4. I felt especially badly for Trond, who had a fantastic game and looked like he was on course to win his first game after an extended layoff, when he went astray. Tom also had a great game early on, only to succumb to the greatest of endgame dangers – connected passed pawns. The game is worth looking at as it provides an interesting study of unbalanced material (in this case Tom had 2 rooks + 3 minor pieces v Queen + Rook + minor piece). The computer loved Tom’s position for a long time, but I felt it was one of those positions where it would coordination of his pieces could prove to be problematic.

Couple notes:
- Curt rightly nominated Tom’s smashing win in Round 2 for Game of the Week. We are still awaiting final determination, but I truthfully cannot see any other game earning the accolades (biased or not).

- I was cruising through various stuff on ICC Sunday night and noticed that Darren still has not logged in since September. Nor has he responded to previous emails. I hope all is well. If anyone has any info, please feel free to drop me a note or comment. Thanks.

Round 2 Wrap up: Primates tie with Team “4hourlifes”

I would argue that Tom’s spectacular win which earned us the 2 – 2 tie made up for the other three rather less than spectacular results from myself, Trond and Curt. Curt and I both had great positions, almost crushing positions, and we both were unable to translate to a win due to overlooking ONE MOVE. In fact, my game went from crushing to me having to hang on and draw a pawn down Rook+Pawn endgame. Meanwhile Curt made his poor opponent suffer for as long as he could, but could not crack the position open and convert. Trond, though, suffered from a tactical blindspot in a completely even game and suffered the loss for it.

So going into Tom’s game, we were trailing by half a point and needed him to win just to draw. Unlucky for his opponent, Tom was in top form and completely dominated the game. Here it is:

http://team4545league.org/pgnplayer/pgnplayer.php?ID=33266

After 2 rounds we are securely in 2nd place, just half a point off the lead. We square off against the #1 team, team “Zwishenzugs” in our division in Round 3. I am taking the week off, so good luck to all!

T 43 Round 1: Primates 3 - Team Capablanca 1

Tournament 43 has arrived and the Primates have returned more or less intact. Trond has returned after taking the summer off and visiting Norway (welcome back, Trond!), and Darren has not been heard from nor signed up for T43. I hope all is well and we hear from him soon. Other than that, Tom, Curt, “The Other Bob” & I are all “tan, ready and rested” for T43 with Round 1 commencing this weekend.
We are in the Maple Division and face “Team Capablanca” in Round 1. The other teams included in our division include: “Zwishenzugs”, whom we have never faced and team “4hourslife” against whom we have squared off in a previous tournament. The Division looks to be pretty tough as 2 teams have an average above 1990 (max average is 2000), and we have an average at around 1980.

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Round 1 Wrap up: Primates 3 - Team Capablanca 1

Speed kills. That should be the theme for the last game in our match, which pitted Tom v Bgolev. What an unlikely result, but not in the way you would think. We were leading 2 - 1 going into the last game. Tom had Black v Bgolev and they played a g3 variation of the King's Indian in the most Karpovian style (which I always hated and one of the reasons I never played the King's Indian - that whole variation is such a. well. it should be banned along with the Petrov). Tom got a great position, but then he went off the rails and dropped a piece. Should have been game over at that point, but his opponent went deep into time trouble and gifted the piece back. The seesaw battle continued until Tom pinned Bgolev's queen with a rook and it was game over. Wow.

So we head into Round 2 tied for first, which really isn't notable except for the fact that historically we are slow starters and tend to pick up speed as the tournament progresses. Perhaps this is a good sign for T43. For Round 2 we are paired against "Team 4hourslife", whom we have faced in T41. This will be the first game back for Trond after taking the summer off. Welcome back , Trond, and good luck!

Playoff Semi-finals: Primates lose to Discovered Mates

We square off against the Discovered Mates and for me I play against Andres Hortillosa, an expert from Minnesota.

As stated in prior entries, one of the best benefits to the 45 45 league is that it provides you incentive to study/prepare for specific games. For example, if you know your opponent plays a certain line in the Dragon, you can really prep for the game, which will (hopefully) translate over into stronger OTB play. In this match, I knew Andres plays the mainline Ruy. Now let me digress for a second: I am fascinated by the Ruy from both sides (same with the King’s Indian). I find the richness and variety that these defenses produce truly intriguing and can spend hours poring over games and analysis – which I cannot say the same about other defenses (Petrov’s & Queen’s Indian for example). So, when I saw that Andres would go for the Ruy, I leapt at the chance to play it. And the game was memorable, but not the way you would think. We delved 19 odd moves into theory, got into a very interesting middlegame with chances for both sides, and then he tragically “mouse-slipped” his queen (meaning he had a mouse slip and placed his queen accidently where he would lose it for no compensation) and resigned. Really not the way I wanted to win.

Our 2 lower boards have both lost, Darren in an interesting Scandinavian where his opponent’s 2 bishops proved to be stronger than Darren’s Bishop+Knight combination. Curt also lost in another interesting Ruy Lopez, this Ruy being a Marshall attack, where Curt could have sacrificed his queen for incredible winning chances (but in fairness to him, I never would have seen it either – only after having Fritz look at it did I see the idea). So we sit at 1 – 2 with Tom’s game tonight. So in fact we may draw, but I have to check the tiebreak situation.

Well Tom played his game and could not quite pull off the victory. His opponent, knowing that Tom needed to win, played the Berlin variation of the Ruy. Tom responded with the Worrall Attack, sacrificed the exchange, picked up a pawn and was threatening to grab another when he hung a piece. I suspect Tom was overpressing as he had declined his opponent’s earlier draw offer. So another season closes with our defeat in the quarterfinals. Not bad as we had to claw out of the cellar after the first 2 rounds in the tournament in order to qualify for the playoffs. I have 3 goals for every tournament:
No forfeits
Make the playoffs
Most importantly: Have fun & enjoy the camaraderie of team match play.
We achieved all three goals and I am already planning for Tournament 43, which will start in about a month’s time.

Quarter-finals Round up: Primates 3.5 – Runners 0.5

Playoff Quarter-finals: Primates v Runners U2000

It figures. If we are playing in the 4545 League, we at some point should play the Runners (I believe we have played them a total of 5 times in three tournaments). Pairings will be up on Tuesday, but I suspect that I will face “Chiiwen” again, against whom I have never won (but most if not all the games have ended in draws).

So, you may ask, how did things go?
Everything seemed to go right for us in this round; I am not sure whether that bodes well for the rest of the playoffs --- or not. I played arguably my best round in T42 against an old time nemesis (that is meant in a friendly, jocular sort of way), Chiiwen, We have played 3 times prior and I have yet to notch a win against him (2 draws and 1 loss). In fact the 2 draws were both with me as white and I could not dent his super solid Accelerated Dragon setup. So, knowing that we more than likely would play another Accelerated Dragon AND I would need to push for the win, I spent some extra time coming up with a sharper line to play against it. It seemed to catch him by surprise and I came away victorious in a very tense struggle. Once my game was over, Tom quickly followed suit with a win, then Darren’s opponent forfeited the game, sealing the match victory. In a somewhat ant-climatic finish, Curt and his opponent agreed to a draw before the game started but couldn’t figure how to work out the mechanics to do a “GM draw”, so they played one move and then agreed to split the point.

Round 6: Primates beat Kingfischers57 & make the Playoffs

You could almost say Primates “backed” into the playoffs. This division has been incredibly tough every round, and the top three teams have had the same score (or within a half point of each other) since the first round. Even the fourth ranked team, XXXXX, won as many games as the second placed team. Little wonder then that the Primates would have to win the round to assure qualifying for the playoffs. If the Primates drew our final match, then we would require some assistance in the form of the other match drawing 2 – 2 in order to qualify based on better tiebreaks. I started off first, playing the black side of the Ruy Lopez Worrall attack against Eurander. Unfortunately for Eurander (and fortunately for me), I had anticipated the line we would play and I had also played a game that went down an analogous position. As a draw was my initial goal, I was never in real trouble and even took a draw being a pawn up. In retrospect I should have pushed for the win, however, the last thing I wanted to do was blow the position, lose the game and put my team in a hole – especially given the fact that Eurander, rated at 2250, was a solid 200 points higher rated than me.
But then things got ugly as Tom had game #2 and lost against another 2200 rated player, putting us in a 0.5 – 1.5 hole and requiring Darren and The Other Bob to win both their games. Darren was the first to play, winning in convincing style and leaving it up to the Other Bob in the finale, which he did in a tense battle.

Round 5: Primates 2.5 – 1.5 Point-Blank

Well I finally won a game, but not in the way I had wanted or asked for. I was matched against David Barnesly again, having lost to him just a couple rounds ago in a completely winning position (that is meant as a compliment to David, who hung incredibly toughly in a grim position and ultimately and deservedly won). So I tried to set up a mutually acceptable day & time for the match, David was out of town and could not respond in a timely fashion. After a bit of negotiation, we failed to agree on a time and I was awarded the forfeit win.

Round 4: Primates draw with Masagatsu Agatsu 2 – 2

I took the week off (work travel) and the team again drew the match, which should have been the result given how closely everyone was paired in ratings – 3 of the 4 boards were within 10 to 15 rating points. Bob was the odd man out, playing his opponent 120 points higher than him. Tom had the one victory of the match, easily winning.

Round 3: Primates 2 - Team Poinblank 2

Here was the lineup :
Campagnolo (2061) 0 - 1 DavidBarnsley (2060)
Nosalt (2051) 1/2 - 1/2 topadyarpov (1930)
Ivanson (1859) 1 - 0 Nosferatu1 (1864)
Budzo (1697) 1/2 - 1/2 Brainwave (1741)


We split the point with Team Point Blank, but I play the worst game humanly possible, making 2 incredibly stupid errors: getting in time trouble (I mean really bad time trouble) and avoid getting mated trying to avoid a draw. Bleah. I overpressed in a winning position, but failed to negotiate the tactical nuances of the position and realize that I can either drop a rook or get mated. But the worst part of the whole game is that I had drawing possibilities even after losing the rook (Thanks, Fritz, for showing how bad I can play. On a side note, computers can be a wonderful tool to analyze and research, but sometimes they can really depress you with their flawless ability to show the obvious).

So after Round 3 we sit tied in 2nd - 3rd spot, trailing the leaders by a match point. Not worth stressing at this point, however we need to start "firing on all cylinders" if we want to make the playoffs.

Round 2: Primates get back on the winning track

After losing a close one in round 1, we roared back in round 2, winning 3 – 1 against Team “Masagatsu Agatsu U2000”. Curt and I both drew our games, but our middle boards --- Darren and Tom --- played in convincing style, both bringing home the full point. Darren did so with a nice combination, and Tom played a game which I thought is “Game of the Week” material, playing the White side of Dragon Yugoslav attack.

See for yourself:
http://team4545league.org/pgnplayer/pgnplayer.php?id=26022

Standings-wise we are on top of the table temporarily as there is still one game in the other match to play in our division. Best case, we’ll be a half point off the lead, worst just a point. Next round we’ll be facing Team “Point-Blank”. More to follow on that.

Round 1 Primates lose out to Kingfischers57 2.1 – 1.5

On paper I thought this round would be, well much easier than it turned out. Here was the lineup:

Campagnolo (2061) vs.eurander (2271)
nosalt (2051) vs. PrincessChess (1812)
Speedy-Reedy (2022) vs. tourettes (1703)
ivanson (1859) vs vollmerj (1632)

While I would be facing Eurander, rated 2271, the rest of the team would be playing opponents on average 200+ points lower. So I figured a 3 – 1 final score would be about right, but not as a loss. It did not bode well when Tom lost in a desperate time scramble after successfully trotting out the Alekhine as Black. (Alekhine, Tom, really the Alekhine? The Alekhine is not a real opening. And that is not opinion, but true fact). Then Darren and Curt both fought hard but had to settle for draws (Darren for example pushed unsuccessfully for well over 100 moves to try and get the win). I was also not successful, having a bit of pressure but overlooking a nice resource which converted the position to a dead drawn opposite colored bishop endgame. ThusKingfischers57 won 2.5 – 1.5.

Round 2
Next Round we face the Masagatsu Agatsu, and again we match up pretty well.

Here is the lineup:
Ptzz (2039) White vs Campagnolo (2061) Black
Zumbi (2038) Black vs. Nosalt (2051) White
Alexdb (1972) White vs. Speedy-Reedy (2022) Black
PaulKaspar (1921) Black vs. Ivanson (1859) White

T42 Commences and Primates Return

Tournament 42 kicks off on Tuesday, 28 July, and the Primates return for what should be another action-packed tournament full of great chess. I would hope that all the bad luck we suffered in T41 is gone forever and we are primed to return to our winning ways.

We have a couple changes to the team. First off, Darren joined us as the newest member of the team, Darren. Welcome, Darren! Don is taking a break to pursue academia again (good luck, Don!) and Trond is taking the summer off (enjoy your well-earned break, Trond).

As we get set to start another season, first and foremost to be a Primate is to remember that on this team :
- We play to enjoy chess and to improve.
- We support each other by “observing” each other’s games (schedule permitting of course). Post-Mortems are encouraged (another great learning tool).

We are seeded in the Magnolia Division, with what I think is a very competitive group of folks. But if everyone plays to their ability, we should well.
http://team4545league.org/tournament/t42/t42teams.html#Arbor

Stay Tuned!
- Bob

Updates on Rounds 3 & 4

The Primates are having the oddest tournament so far in Tournament 41. Well, when I say oddest, I mean bad but in a truly bizarro fashion. And the bizarre was in grand fashion in Round 3. Mind you, I knew we were having "issues" in the first two rounds, drawing games from winning positions and just losing games for no apparent reason. I told the team that we in some sense were overdue for some bad "luck" as things had gone so smoothly for us in tournaments 38, 39 & 40. So, while we had lost the first two rounds by the respectable same score 1.5 -2.5, I figured that a good solid victory would be just the medicine the chess doctor ordered. Man, was I wrong.

First, Trond misread his start time and showed 2 hours late -- forfeited. Again, this was Trond's first ever forfeit loss in a ton of tournaments. Did I mention this was his first ever forfeit? But Tom evened it right up in smashing fashion, leveling the score 1-1. So Bob and I were playing at near identical times; but Bob had to take a quick draw due to family emergency (everything turned out OK), and I managed to resign in an even position -- a first for me ever, OTB, ICC, correspondence. Incredible. So we go down in flames 1.5 - 2.5 for the third week in a row.

So halfway through T41 and we have lost more matches than in the first 3 tournament we played combined. To be fair, it will take a major miracle to get in the playoffs now.

OK, Round 4. We are playing team "Opening Drive". Here is the lineup.

Opening Drive v Primates of the Caribbean
Merciful (2137) - Campagnolo (2100): TBD
Hubris123 (2003) - Nosalt (2063): TBD
Kabrindra (1796) - Ivanson (1833): Monday, May 25 1600
Badmove (1522) - Budzo (1708): Monday, May 25 1000

Updates on Rounds 1 & 2

I got a little behind in my reporting, so this will be a combination of a wrap up of Round 1 plus a look ahead to Round 2.

Round 1. At the risk of repeating myself, “we matched up well against our first round opponents.” Actually, Tom and I were higher rated than our opponents, while Curt and Bob were lower rated. And to Curt’s & Bob’s credit, they acquitted themselves quite well, drawing both games. But then… the wheels came off the cart, as Tom drew after being 2 pawns in an opposite colored bishop ending (as he states, “I got complacent.”). I however played the worst game of chess in a long time, get in horrible time pressure then blow a completely even game. Argh!!!!! So we lose the first round 2.5 – 1.5 to the team “4hourslife”.


So, onto round 2.
Here is the lineup: Primates of the Caribbean v Opening Drive
Campagnolo (2100) v Merciful (2137): Wednesday, 13 May @ 2100
Nosalt (2063) v Hubris123 (2003): 0-1
Ivanson (1833) v Upsan 1826: ½ - ½
Budzo (1708) v cityprosecutor (1806): Wednesday, 13 May @ 2000

T41 has arrived!

Just a quick note in order to keep every up to speed on T41. It has seemed like years since the end of Tournament 40.In T41, we have been placed in the U2000 Willow division with the teams “4hourslife”,” Opening Drive” & “OWNAGE” --- 3 other teams we have never faced. As for the team, the lineup consists of Myself, Tom, Trond, Curt & Bob. Don is taking a break and Trond will be serving as the “Official Sub”. Of note Kristian will be playing for his old team, "Marvelous Moves Clique II in the Magnolia Division. Good luck, Kristian!

Our team averages a respectable 1988, so I believe we should be pretty competitive. As Round 1 will be starting this Tuesday, we are soon to find out. As soon as the round 1 pairings are posted, I will follow up.

Lower Primates crash out in Semis

It was not meant to be. I guess that it how I should phrase our semi-final match against the team “Fischer Disciples”. On paper we matched up quite well, but once we got to the “practical application” we just couldn’t put our erstwhile opponents away. It had started auspiciously enough with Tom winning quite easily on Board 2. With the first set of tiebreaks being even, the second set would be taking the score of the top 3. So, all it required was for the team to get one point between the two of us and we would go to the finals. However, I knew that I faced a very tough match against Ser-Enigma, who was undefeated in this tournament. Plus I had Black. Ooof. Don would also have Black, but he possessed a higher rating than his opponent, so I estimated Don’s chances to win better than mine. Curt’s game on Board 4 would only matter if Don and I failed, but Curt would be facing an opponent over 200 points higher, so he had a pretty formidable challenge on his hands.
Ser-Enigma surprised the heck out me by playing this offbeat Benko-line (anti-Benko line?), the third guy I have faced in a row with Black that has chosen to play against my Benko (and the third guy to whom I have lost). It was a bit frustrating; each time getting a reasonable position then missing some form of tactic. Argh. I guess I should expect folks to tee up against my Benko and I just need to play it better (and isn’t that the whole point?).
The Curt also lost, but as long as Don won, we would advance. And Don played a beautiful game, had a completely crushing position, then got into time trouble. From there it all went awry as his opponent could exchange sac and get a perpetual, which he did. So we lost 2.5 – 1.5. Oh well.
Still, we had a great tournament, we made the playoffs (which was my goal) and we got to the semi-finals.
So now, I am making preparations for Tournament 41, so stay tuned!

Semi-Finals Lineup posted

Board 1: Sunday, Mar 29 @ 0530
Campagnolo (2097) Black – Ser-enigma (2119) White

Board 2: Friday, Mar 27 @ 1300
Nosalt (2047) White – DeLaSalle (1976) Black

Board 3: Monday, Mar 30 @ 1900
Dnmusg (2002) Black – Charles-Allen (1960) White

Board 4: Sunday, Mar 29 @ 1700
Ivanson (1788) White – McPlayerus (1910) Black

Lower Primates clinch in early victories, roll on to Semi-Finals

On Sunday we had three games in rapid succession against team “Assassin the King”. I had a game at 0530 (I know, but I am an early riser by nature and with 2 young sons, the only quiet I ever seem to get is when they are asleep!), then Don played at 1300 & Bob at 1400. With tiebreaks favoring us, Don and I scored the first 2 wins and secured our place in the semi-finals with The Other Bob’s game still being played out. And although Tom plays this AM (Tuesday), the league has already posted the next round of the playoffs. So we face off against “Fischer Disciples”, a team we have faced off in the regular season of Tournament 38. Again, and I have said this before, but I think we match up pretty well.

Of note, Don’s game has been nominated for Round 8 Game of the Week. Here is a link to the game:
http://team4545league.org/pgnplayer/pgnplayer.php?ID=8738&Board=3

I’ll post the lineup tomorrow when we know who plays whom (the teams’ lineups get posted at 2200 on Tuesdays).

Lower Primates square off against Team “Assassin the King” in first round of playoffs

This coming Saturday is a HUGE day as three of the games will be played, leaving only Tom to play on Tuesday. We roll into the first round as the #4 seed, squaring off against the #5 seed. In my estimation, we have a fair shot to advance to the next round as we match up ratings-wise pretty closely with the opposition. Curt is taking the week off with family obligations, so Bob, aka “the Other Bob”, has Board 4 duties. Without further ado, here is the lineup (as always all times are ICC Server time):

Lower Primates of the Caribbean v Assassin the King
Campagnolo (2097) v Puuntuupaaja (2044): Saturday, Mar 21 @ 0530
Nosalt (2047) v Shakkimestari (2028): Tuesday, Mar 24 @ 0930
Dnmuscg (2002) v Speedy-Reedy (1967): Saturday, Mar 21 @ 1300
Budzo (1676) v Shakkiipe (1788): Saturday, Mar 21 @ 1400

Lower Primates roll through Round 6, qualify for playoffs!

For those who were unaware, this team was a last second decision to put together. Previously the Primates played in the U2000 division, but after last season our team average was over 2000, thus placing us in the next division up. On a whim Don, Tom & I decided that we could swing 2 games a week; we then sought out and found Curt and “The Other Bob” to complete the team. Voila! The “Lower Primates” were born.

Now fast forward to Round 6 (the last round), we needed to win this match to make the playoffs. We faced the Runners, whom we faced off against in the last round last tournament and failed to beat, but this time the team responded by ripping through the competition (with me yet to play). I must admit, it felt good to win the match and make the playoffs.

So now we await the final seeding to determine whom we face. As it stands now, we are slated to square off against team “Assassin the King”, but that might change dependent on how the final couple games finish (including mine). As I can best figure out, we are tied for 3‑5 place with team “Assassin the King” and team “Discovered Mates”, and I have yet play and Discovered Mates’ Board 1 also has yet to play. Lineups will be posted by Tuesday night and we shall see how it shakes out.

On a personal note, I am 4-1-1 playing second board for the Primates in the U2200 section, but only 1-0-2 playing first board for the Lower Primates in the U2000 section (although I have been gifted at least one game in the U2200 section).

Finally, I wanted to thank all my teammates for their professionalism and conduct during the course of the tournament. We finished the entire tournament without a single forfeit! They also took care of all their responsibilities of scheduling and playing without me having to lift a finger. But most importantly we truly enjoyed the team aspect; guys watched each other’s games and supported each other throughout the season.

Thanks, guys!

- Bob (Alpha Primate?)

Lower Primates: Win & they’re in

While the Primates wrapped up their round 5 with a valiant effort and 1.5 – 2.5 loss to Team “To Be Determined”, the Lower Primates continued their good form with a resounding 3.5 – 0.5 win over the Team “Long Live the King”, giving them a half Match Point lead over their closest rivals, Team “Mistaken Identity.” Round 6 has the Lower Primates facing Team “Runners”, who also possess a chance to make the playoffs, only trailing the leaders by 1 Match Point.

Here are the current standings after 5 rounds (and 1 round to go):
1. Lower Primates 3.5 (12.5 game points)
2. Mistaken Identity 3.0 (11 game points)
3. Runners 2.5 (10 game points)

Of note, Curt had a fantastic game in a crushing miniature, playing the white side of Center Counter, so good that I nominated for Game of the Week. Here is a link to the game:
http://team4545league.org/pgnplayer/pgnplayer.php?ID=22368

And here is the lineup for the critical Round 6

Campagnolo (2097) v Chiiwen (2002): Saturday, Mar 14 @ 2100
Nosalt (2047) v martineden (1963): Monday, Mar 9 @ 1100
Dnmuscg (2002) v chess9397 (1805): Monday, Mar 9 @ 1930
Ivanson (1788) v chess9793 (1750): Wednesday, Mar 11 @ 1800

As for the Primates, their last round opponents forfeited en masse and in effect have a bye, finishing in the Everest Division in a respectable 3rd place.

Round 4 wrap up & looking forward to Round 5

The Primates continue to take it on the chin in the U2200 division, while the Lower Primates are now tied for 1st in their division – both with only 2 matches to go.

One of the best displays of sportsmanship I have seen was between Tom and his Round 4 opponent (BigTweed), the latter’s wife was due during the round – and actually gave birth during the weekend. Tom and BigTweed continued to correspond on scheduling the game, a difficult prospect as the baby could have arrived at any time and caused a forfeit. Both players were eager to play and finally played their game after the arrival of BigTweed’s baby daughter – congrats on your family’s addition and kudos to both players for their ability to keep the whole thing in the proper perspective.

So here we are for round 5:

Primates v To Be Determined
TheChessKid (2137) v easycure (2332): Monday, Mar 2 @ 1800
Campagnolo (2097) v Blade (2163): Sunday, Mar 1 @ 0500
Nosalt (2047) v Slimedog2 (2142): Tuesday, Mar 3 @ 0830
Dnmuscg (2002) v Ser-Enigma (2119): 0-1

Lower Primates v Long Live the King
Campagnolo (2097) v Trophyking (2313): Tuesday, Mar 3 @ 2100
Nosalt (2047) v Alexdb (2005): TBD
Dnmuscg (2002) v Wheels (1870): Saturday, Feb 28 @ 1100
Ivanson (1788) v Philly-Boy (1782): Saturday, Feb 28 @ 1800

Round 3 Round up & looking forward to Round 4

Lower Primates top of the division after 3 rounds. Primates in 3rd.

We knew the games were going to be tough in the U2200 section. What we really did not take into account is the fact that we would be soooooo underrated (or maybe the better term is “overmatched”). For example, Tom on Board 3 plays a FIDE Master. Wow – Board 3! I guess we should be happy to get such tough and ultimately enriching games, but hot diggity. But kudos to the Lower Primates, especially, Curt and The Other Bob (who tongue in cheek calls himself “TOB”) have pulled out some fantastic results and ensured that the Lower Primates are undefeated and top of the table halfway through the competition. And after 3 rounds neither team has had a forfeit. I am justifiably proud of the guys for making sure that they schedule their games on time and show up to play. I have to do very little to remind them, everybody takes care of it on their own. Thanks, guys!

As a side note, Tom, Don & I ventured into northern New Jersey this past weekend for 3 days of the US Amateur Team East, one of our collective chess highlights of the year. Overall we did well, finishing with 4 points out of a possible 6, but lost out Top Military honors to our rivals “Ernest Goes to Parsippany” on tiebreaks (our team name of course was “Primates of the Caribbean”). The best game award goes to Don, who played a very impressive game against an Expert, sacrificing 2 pawns in rapid succession for the initiative, then sacrificing/trading his rooks for his opponent’s queen. He orchestrated his queen and 2 connected passed pawns against the 2 rooks and converted the full point. Also, kudos to Steven Rollins, who played on Board 4, scoring 4.5 points of 6 despite his claims of rustiness.

OK, here are the lineups for Round 4

First, Justin still has a Round 3 game versus the Massachusetts State Champion & 2400 USCF rated Senior Master Denys Shmelov on Sunday.
TheChessKid (2137) v Easycure (2332): Sunday, Feb 22 @ 1200

Primates of the Caribbean v Les Goolie Crushers
TheChessKid (2137) v Pandorasbox (2309): TBD
Campagnolo (2097) v onslaught (2246): TBD
Dnmuscg (2002) v izit (2184): TBD
Holm (1998) v Jonesey (2060): Sunday, Feb 22 @ 0400

Lower Primates v Mistaken Identity
Campagnolo (2097) v Folgers (2115): Friday, Feb 20 @ 2100
Nosalt (2047) v BigTweeds (2050): TBD
Dnmuscg (2002) v MeanMrMustard (1925): Monday, Feb 23 @ 2000
Ivanson (1788) v Jcdios (1906): Sunday, Feb 22 @ 1800

Catching up on Rounds 1 & 2; Looking ahead to Round 3

Due to a late schedule, Curt finished up his round 1 match in the second week (which is entirely legal) with a victory and providing us with the match draw against the Runners in the U2000 Division. His was a nice win when we needed it in the clutch.

In the Round 2 match, Justin had the Grandmaster Draw of grandmaster draws, when his opponent, who has white and was rated higher over 200 points, offered a draw at move 1. Tom and I subsequently drew our games, only Don lost. We lost a close match 2.5-1.5, despite all for of our boards being heavily outrated. We now trail in second place in the U2200 Everest Division, a match point adrift.

In the U2000 Division, the other Bob pulled out a tough draw as black to secure the match victory against the team “Mistaken Identity” 2.5-1.5. As a result, after 2 rounds we sit atop the leader board in the U2000 Magnolia Division in what looks to be a highly competitive division. Not bad.

This week is going to be interesting as Don, Tom & I all head off to play in the US Amateur Team East. For those who have never played in the USATE, it is a unique, wonderful experience where players range from the Grandmaster to the brand new school kid learning to play. I am hoping that all the hard work that Don, Tom & I have put into studying and playing in the 45 45 league pays off in our OTB games.

Finally, here are the line ups for Round 3:

“Primates” v “To be determined”
TheChessKid (2137) v Easycure (2332): TBD
Campagnolo (2097) v Blade (2163): Tuesday, 17 Feb @ 1500
Nosalt (2047) v Slimedog2 (2142): Wednesday, 18 Feb @ 2000
Dnmuscg (2002) v Ser-Enigma (2119): Tuesday, 17 Feb @ 1400

“Lower Primates” v “Long Live the King”
Nosalt (2047) v trophyking (2313): Thursday, 19 Feb @ 1900
Dnmuscg (2002) v Alexdb (2005): Friday, 13 Feb @ 2100
Ivanson (1788) v Wheels (1870): Monday, 16 Feb @ 1600
Budzo (1676) v Fuzzie (1777): Saturday, 14 Feb @ 1000

Round 2: Here we go!

Primates v Les Goolie Crushers

After 1 round, we sit atop the Everest Division, but now have to face some serious competition where all four boards are higher rated than we are (once again, Justin has it worst at an ~180 point difference). Here are the pairings, only Don has played his match so far:

Les Goolie Crushers v Primates of the Caribbean

Pandorasbox (2309) v TheChessKid (2137): TBD
Izit (2184) v Campagnolo (2097): TBD
Kingcapture (2181) v nosalt (2047): TBD
Jonesey (2060) v dnmuscg (2002): 1-0



On the Lower Primate side of the house, round 2 has us matched against “Mistaken Identity”, where I think we match up pretty well. Curt still has his round 1 game to play, so he has the bye. Don and Tom played yesterday (Thursday), with both coming away victorious. Here are the match ups:

Lower Primates of the Caribbean v Mistaken Identity

Campagnolo (2097) v Folgers (2115): Saturday, 7 Feb 2100
nosalt (2047) v BigTweeds (2050): 1-0
dnmuscg (2002) v MeanMrMustard (1925): 1-0
Budzo (1676) v azbycx (1827): TBD

Results from Round 1

I think the theme of Round 1 is “endgame”. Ironically in the 45 45 League, I am sure that opening preparation plays an important role in the game, and obviously positional and tactical themes run rampant, but as I watched some of our team’s games, I saw a common theme of endgames impact. I think the major difference is that you can recover from bad positional play, or poor opening preparation or even missed tactics, but endgame play is technique which will directly cause a win/draw/loss. I have studied endgames a bit (nowhere near enough, but I do feel pretty comfortable). I am not an endgame expert, but I do play one on TV. For those who want the greatest return on an investment (meaning you don’t want to spend too much time on endgames), my first recommended book is Glenn Flear’s Improve Your Endgame Play. It is only 160 pages and you can plow right through it. You’ll get the basics, just play Fritz in some of the test positions and Bingo! My other recommendation if you have more time is Jeremy Silman’s Complete Endgame Course. Jeremy’s book is much longer and it is divided into what to know at whatever your rating/expertise is vice thematically like Glenn’s.

OK getting back to Round 1
Primates victorious over “Los Zetas”
Primates 2.5 v Los Zetas 1.5
Don cruised (Don usually makes it look easy), Tom lost, I had a good game, but Justin had THE game of the match, playing a FIDE Master 200+ points higher rated with the white side of a Dragon. It was a very interesting game to watch (Dragons usually are) and it quickly got very messy, with both players missing subtle tactics. It ended as a draw, with Justin up a rook for 3 pawns (I cannot fault him as I ironically also had a draw with a rook v 3 pawns). Besides the draw secured the match and our first victory in the U2200 League. Congrats, Justin! Not bad for your first match.


Lower Primates 1 – Runners 2
With Curt’s game yet to play, we trail the Runners 2 – 1, with Tom and Don both drawing and Bob getting into time pressure and missing a tactic which undid his position. To Bob’s credit, he hung tougher than I probably would have after dropping the pawn, as his position quickly deteriorated. He almost recovered enough to get to a playable Rook & Pawn endgame. Don played magician and wiggled out of a near dead lost endgame, sacrificing his bishop for his opponent’s last 2 pawns, leaving the poor guy alone with a knight. Don, in his typical humorous fashion, told me after the game, “I don’t think my opponent knows how to mate me with his knight.” Tom also drew, after suffering for most of the game, then getting to a King & Pawn ending where he at one point could have pulled out the victory. His position was study-like in nature (If I have time, I will post it). But in the end, Tom got a Queen & Pawn v Queen & Pawn dead drawn ending.

Good luck to Curt, who plays Friday @ 3:00 PM ICC server time.

Probably Wed I will post Round 2’s pairings.

And it begins – Round 1!

Round 1 kicks off with the Primates squaring off with “Los Zetas”. With the exception of Justin, who is outrated by close to 200 points, I think we match up quite well. Here is the lineup (of note, Don & my games are already scheduled for Friday)

Primates of the Caribbean v Los Zetas:

TheChessKid (2137) v Gringo (2313) : TBD
Campagnolo (2097) v GeofDev (2080) : Friday, Jan 30 @ 21:00
nosalt (2047) v SlowDragon (1950) : TBD
dnmuscg (2002) v Tiesto (1725): Friday, Jan 30 @ 10:00

As for the Lower Primates, I selected myself to take the week off (I am trying to “ease” back into the swing of things). We kick off with a grudge match v. the “Runners U2000”, whom we played twice last tournament. The Other Bob (or is Bob “the real Bob” and I am “the other Bob”? Not sure yet on that issue!) and Curt debut for the Lower Primates on Boards 3 & 4. Here is the schedule:

Lower Primates of the Caribbean v Runners U2000
nosalt (2047) v chiiwen (2002) : TBD
dnmuscg (2002) v martineden (1963): Monday, Feb 2 @ 10:00
KarloTurk (1914) v Ivanson: TBD
chess9397 (1805) v Budzo (1676): Monday, Feb 2 @ 19:30

I will update the match times once I they are posted.

TheChessKid joins the Primates

Justin (aka "TheChessKid"), who happens to be a friend of Tom's and from the same town, has agreed to play as Board 1 for the Primates. Welcome to the team, Justin! So we now have 6 players, which to some might seem too many, but Trond is planning on serving as an alternate (he was quite happy to play 2 games in Tourn 39, so he will plan to play about the same this time). Also, Tom, Don and I will be going to Amateur Team East to defend our title in Feb and will need some deserved rest before, during and after. It will be interesting to see how we fare against the unquestionably tougher competition that the top section is sure to offer.

So the lineup is:
- Justin (TheChessKid- 2137)
- Me (Campagnolo - 2097)
- Tom (Nosalt - 2047)
- Don (dnmuscg - 2002)
- Trond (Holm - 1998)
- Kristian (livis - 1956)

Our team average is 2070.75, which is on the low side for the section, but we are good with that. Wish us luck!


And if we weren't gluttons for enough punishment, on a whim Don, Tom & I formed another 45 45 team for the U2000 section, the team being aptly named "Lower Primates o the Caribbean" (I couldn't fit the "f" in the word "of" in the title due to our name having too many letters). So "Lower Primates" we shall be!

For those who think us completely crazy, I would contend that:
1. I truly enjoy this format -- especially the team aspect, which gives me the motivation to do my best for the team
2. One game a week is perfect. As I do not play enough over the board tournament chess, this will reduce the amount of "rust" I usually suffer from
3. As a result of joining the league I play less speed chess, which is addictive but really doesn't do anything positive for your game (and can be very frustrating).
4. I think it has improved my game

One final note: It looks like Gary and I are going to go to play in the Guernsey International tournament in October. I have wanted to play overseas for some time (England or Ireland would have been perfect), but Guernsey is close enough. More to follow on that adventure as it gets closer!

Primates move on up to U2200 for T40!

Congrats to the guys! You worked hard and it payed off.

- Don's rating improved over 50 points

- Tom's rating improved over 40 points

- Trond's rating improved 90 points!! (wow)

So, despite not making the T39 playoffs, the Primates' ratings improved so much so that it created a a small problem. We have done so well that the team's average is OVER 2000.

We had a couple options: break the team up or move up a section. As we truly have a great team chemistry and want to continue to play together -- now in the rarified air of the U2200 division --- there really was only one choice.

Now the reward for all that hard work is tougher competition. Ooof.

Tournament 40 kicks off on Jan 27, so stay tuned for updates!

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On a different note, I finished Garry Kasparov's "Kasparov v Karpov 1975 - 1985" over Christmas holiday. Great book, highly recommended. Reminded me of the Tal's "Tal-Botvinnik 1960." Both are very readable and games can be enjoyed casually or studied deeply.