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!

--------------------------------------

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.

Round 6: Primates 3.5 -- Tomato Paste 0.5

The Primates finished up in fine style, winning 3 and drawing one. I took the week off to go travel out of town for Thanksgiving weekend, and Tom stepped up to board 1 for the first time, drawing SonofFlash; while Don, Kristian and Trond all won their games. Well done, Gents.

So we finish up second in the Magnolia Division, but still played pretty solidly throughout. I am planning already for tournament 40, which starts in January. Watch for the Primates!

On one final note: We never did hear back on the protest. Or perhaps in fact we have. Hmmmm.

Also....For an early Christmas present, I picked up Garry Kasparov's "Kasparov v Karpov 1975 - 1985". I am not much for chess books, but I have always considered that rivalry as big as any in sport (if you consider chess a sport, but that is another discussion). I have to say "Kasparov v Karpov 1975 - 1985" is amazing. Wow. No punches pulled and the way he describes not only the variations but the emotions too are top-notch. My goal is to go through this book in the next couple of weeks.

Round 5: Primates v Runners

Here is the belated lineup:
Chiiwen (2069) White -- Campagnolo (2035) Black: Sunday, 23 Nov @ 2100
Martineden (2035) -- Nosalt (1994) 0-1
KarloTurk (1994) -- livis (1944) 1/2 -1/2
chess9397 (1845) -- dnmuscg (1930) 1-0

Please note that chess9397-dnmuscg game is under protest. More to follow after the final game on sunday and result of the protest is determined.

Round 4: Primates 2 -- LeChess Maestros 2

What a weird round this was. In the first game, Tom played an amazing game against Fegary... and drew! Both players were at their best, and the end result was one of the best games I have seen in this league. Then it was my turn and I played Chessduke (I had Black). We went into a rather innocuous line, where I have not lost in tournament play. I knew the entire line all the way to move 16, where Chessduke offered a draw. I accepted. You could call it my "Grandmaster Draw"; I think I have 2 of those in this tournament.

Then bizarro things started to happen. Nosferatu1 showed up an hour late for his game -- and forfeited. Then the very next day, Don's opponent also was a no-show and forfeited. End result: match tied 2-2. Looking back at the match -- 2 draws and 2 forfeits.

Round 5 (the next round) against the Runners arguably is going to the critical round. We are tied with LeChess Maestros and the Runners in match points, but behind a half point in total games won to the Maestros and ahead a half a point in total games won to the Runners. This is a very competitive division and every game now counts -- no grandmaster draws!

One final note: I have noticed an amazing amount of forfeits in tournament #39. Not sure what the cure for that problem is, but I would be interested in seeing some statistics on it.

Round 3: Runners 3 -- Primates 1

It was bound to happen. After 10 rounds of being undefeated, we finally succumbed to the inevitable and lost a round. I knew we were in for a tough fight when Tom, cruising in a superior position, overlooked a pin and hung a rook. Then Kristian fought hard, but went down swinging in a Rook and Pawn endgame. I was the third game to play, and at this point I had to win even to give us a chance to split the match. But it was not to be, as my erstwhile opponent deftly played the Black side of a Maroczy Bind and I could not make a dent into his defensive formation and we drew. As it turned out Trond also drew the final game, and we were left on the short side of a 3-1 decision.

Round 4: Primates v LeChess Maestros
Now we face arguably our biggest match in this tournament as we face LeChess Maestros for the second time, with whom we are tied with 2 of 3 match points but trail them by 1 game point.

Here is the line up:
Chessduke (2108) White -- Campagnolo (2035) Black : Time TBD
Fegary (2038) Black -- Nosalt (1994) White: Friday, Nov 14 @ 09:15
Smitty120 (1936) White -- Dnmuscg (1930) Black: Monday, Nov 17 @ 15:00
Chessateer (1833) Black -- Nosferatu1 (1876) White: Sunday, Nov 16 @ 12:00

Chessduke and I are still trying to work out the times as he resides in India with a 10.5 hour time difference.

Round 3: Primates v Runners

Here are the Round 3 pairings. Don is taking the week off and Trond is filling in. I think we match up pretty well on paper, let's see how it goes over the board (as it were).

Campagnolo (2035) White - Chiiwen (2069) Black: Sat 8 Nov @ 2100
Nosalt (1994) Black - Martineden (2035) White: Sat 8 Nov @ 1000
Livis (1944) White - KarloTurk (1994) Black: Fri 7 Nov @ 1500
Holm (1899) Black - Chess9793 (1781) White: Tues 11 Nov @ 1230

All times are Eastern Standard Time. Once Tom & Trond get their times posted, I will update.