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.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
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!
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!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Primates move on up to U2200 for T40!
Congrats to the guys! You worked hard and it payed off.
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.
- 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.
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