Thanks to those of you who responded to my request for a sub.  Matt was able to reach Riaz Kahn who played board 4 for us.  We won 4-0 against a very inexperienced team.  The Rochester Knights also won 4-0.  As a result the two Rochester teams in the Bronze are in a 4-way tie for first place.  All I saw of the games of the Rochester teams in the Bronze section were Barry’s win with Black (Modern Defense) in a game where his opponent was playing well.  Barry found a tactic to obtain a winning advantage. Richard said his opponent was playing well early in the game and then started missing tactics. My game began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Bg4?! 4.dxe5.  I was White and of course was hoping to be able to play (repeat actually) a brilliant game played by Paul Morphy versus the Duke of Brunswick and Count Isouard in the Paris Opera House in 1858. That famous game continued 4…Bxf3 5.Qxf3 dxe5 6.Bc4 Nf6 7.Qb3 Qe7 8.Nc3!? c6 9.Bg5 b5? 10.Nxb5! axb5 11. Bxb5+ Nbd7 12.O-O-O Rd8 13.Rxd7! Rxd7 14.Rd1 Qe6 15.Bxd7+Nxd7 16.Qb8+! Nxb8 17.Rd8#.   Morphy was known for “inviting all of his pieces to the party.”  Instead my inexperienced opponent played 4….dxe5 and I had to be content with winning a central pawn for free.  Oh well. 🙂

If we are all healthy the Rookies anticipated lineup for the match on October 24 is Barry, Scott Regener, Dennis, and Richard.  We will have White on boards 2 and 4.  The remaining matches will be on Nov 21, Dec 19, Jan 16, Feb 20, and Mar 6. Please confirm as soon as possible if you are able to play next round.  It is also worth noting that teams are often looking for subs at the last minute (as we were!).  If you want to ride up with us and look for a game, please let me know.

In round two the Rookies are paired against the Ministry of Silly Moves, 4th seed in the Bronze section.  We have White on boards 2 and 4.  This is a team we have to beat or at least draw to keep on track to advance to the Silver section next year.  The rookies are seeded 11th I think.  I will look for some intel about our opponents and get back with you if I find anything.  You can see all of the teams, results, and round 2 pairings on the MSCA web site:  http://minnesotachess.org/tccl_detail.php?id=12

TCCL Bronze section round 2 pairings, October 24

Rookies have White on boards 2 and 4

The Rochester Knights are paired down next round.  They will have White on boards 2 and 4.

The Rochester Ultimates won their match 3-1.  In the Rochester Chess Club camp yesterday, as a quiz Matt showed us his game against an expert on board 2.  It was a complicated Anti-Grunfeld in which Matt had an opportunity to gain an advantage/win in a position that was likely to occur in the game if he had played e2-e3 at one point.  Scott, Rob, and Maor won.  I’ll let them comment if they wish.  I caught the final stages of Maor’s game where he was putting up a stubborn resistance in an endgame where he was a pawn down.  Eventually his opponent made a significant error.  Maor immediately pounced and played several very impressive moves to win the game in fine style.  As Rob was winning on board 4, Maor’s important win helped seal the match for the Ultimates.

The Rochester B2s were promoted into the Gold section after finishing 3^rd in the Silver section last year.  They played NYET the top team in the Gold and lost 0-4.  B2 gets a gold star for bravery. The Gold section is very tough.  The pairings in Gold for round 2 are below.