Final Predictions

I'm in a gloomy mood today. That's probably because my mood is copied by Krasik, a dark day is coming. Dallas has used Zivanic/Kuljasevic/Schneider/Zorigt, which is the most predictable roster for Dallas in my humble opinion. Although without popularity during the regular season, Dallas won both post season matches with this roster. Their record with this line-up is currently 3/4, only losing to the Mechanics in the first week. Dallas got their revenge in the quarterfinals and week 9.

This is Marko Zivanic's first year for the Destiny, playing against many GMs, scoring a respectable 4/8. He has 6 draws, and a loss against Cuban Grandmaster Julio Beccera, but beating Philly's Sergey Kudrin. Larry, my only suggestion is to play d4 against Zivanic's Phillidor. My prediction is that Larry will win, and crush Zivanic with a super aggresive opening. 1-0 Boston

It's a rematch on board two as Dallas's 2007 and 2008 MVP Kuljasevic faces the Rookie of 2007, Jorge Sammour-Hasbun. Kuljasevic has an undefeated record of 5.5/7, with 4 wins and 3 draws playing on boards 1 and 2. Ironically, he has beaten Beccera even though Zivanic lost to him. Jorge hasn't been doing so well this season and maybe a third time is a charm, but not the whole way. Draw 1 1/2- 1/2 Boston

Unfortunately, Dallas doesn't have Stoopa this year, so Schneider had to take his place. While not as good (again, in my opinion only), he does have an even score, for a high rated board 3 with 4.5/9. While the Boston MVP will gambit as white. I believe that Esserman will win. 2 1/2- 1/2 Boston

Bayaraa Zorigt has definitely been my second choice for team MVP, without her, the Dallas wouldn't have done so well. She has an incredible 7/9, undefeated. Although Ilya has been on a streak, but however, I believe that the streak will end now. 2 1/2- 1 1/2 Boston

Krasik, if you win I'll get you a milkshake from Herrell's. :-)


However, if the Blitz go into another tiebreak, I believe that they will win. Also, please answer the poll.

P.S. Did anyone notice that on the week one, Zorigt's name is spelled wrong? Click here to see (on the bottom).

P.P.S. Greg's probably gonna modify it so the P.S. would look strange.

Player Recap for 2008 Boston Blitz

It's been a long time since 2005 when the US Chess League started. I think we need to reevaluate the players in order of usefulness for the Boston Blitz.

For 2008:
1. Marc Esserman
2. Ilya Krasik
3. Larry Christiansen
4. Jorge Sammour-Hasbun
5. Denys Shmelov
6. Eugene Perelshteyn
7. Charles Riordan
8. David Vigorito (I'm sorry. :-( )

Marc Esserman - 1 year on the team

Marc has had a spectacular undefeated season for the Blitz with a 7/9 record scoring 5 wins and 4 draws (77.8%) and a decent (albeit short) season for the Miami Sharks in 2007, drawing a Sergey that Jorge seems to have tons of trouble with. He is also an underrated player, being used as a 2265, now he is over 2400. He has 16.5 MVP points total, (15.5 from this year, 1 from last year) playing on boards 3 and 4.

Ilya Krasik - 4 years on the team

I'd say every even year, Krasik does well. He has had decent seasons in 2006 and 2008 playing on board four. Krasik's the type of guy where he has a tendency to mess up, so when we are watching at home and he is winning, he makes us say things like, "Krasik, if you mess this up, then I'm gonna haunt you for the rest of your life." It has happened. This year he has a 6.5/10 record (65%), a pretty decent one with 3.5 MVP points and 6 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses. His total record of 14.5/29 (50%) with a grand total of 4.5 MVP points. If he wins the first time he plays, he does well after a shaky mid-season. Also, an interesting trend Mark La Rocca pointed out. The team has followed Krasik's results. Quite true, with 7 wins and 3 losses.

My Coach Larry Christiansen - 4 years on the team

Ilya Krasik has just over taken him with the most games played (29 to 28). 2008 hasn't been Larry's best season with 3 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses (one loss was to his nemesis Pascal Charbonneau who he hasn't beat yet. Larry was winning, but blundered lost) with a 4/7 record (57.1%) garnering 2 MVP points. His total record is 17.5/28 (62.5%) and he definitely has the most MVP points on the Blitz (34). This is probably Larry's worst season as his other averages were 60% (6/10), 64.3% (4.5/7), and 75% (3/4) by playing on the very competitive board 1.

Jorge Sammour-Hasbun - this is his 2nd year playing for the team

Jorge hasn't had his best USCL season with only 3/6 (50%) and 0 MVP, by losing to the two Sergeys (Kudrin and Erenburg) Its been harder for him playing on board one, instead of the board 2 that he is used to. His debut season was much better with a startling 6.5/7 (92.9%) with his only draw to the strongest player in the USCL and former US champion, Hikaru Nakamura, getting 14 MVP points.

Denys Shmelov - 2nd year

Denys also had a tougher season playing on second board. Last year he was an underrated 2200, low enough to play on 3rd board having a spectacular 7/11 (63.6%) and 15 MVP points. This year though, he has had an even score with 1 win, 4 draws, and 1 loss (50%), only having 2 MVP points. Denys' total record is 10/17 (58.8%) with 16 MVP points.

Eugene Perelshteyn - 4 years

Eugene is the Blitz's second GM, sharing top board honors with Larry and Jorge. He has a record of 2.5/5, although his regular season record was 2/3 and 5 MVP points. Eugene usually plays about 3-5 games each season, with a total record of 9/16 (56.25%) and 15 MVP points.

Charles Riordan - 3 years

Riordan came back to the team after going to law school. He has a 1/2 (50%) record on board 3, which pales in comparison to his 4.5/6 (75%) in 2006. He has a total record of 8.5/15 (56.7%).

David Vigorito - 1 year

This is Vigorito's first season, albeit, not a good one with only 1/3 (33.3%), 2 draws and 1 loss. However, there aren't enough games to find a trend.


All time best:

1. Jorge Sammour-Hasbun
2. Denys Shmelov
3. Chris Williams
4. Larry Christiansen
5. Marc Esserman
6. Ilya Krasik
7. Eugene Perelshteyn
8. Charles Riordan

1st Chris Williams

Chris is an alternate this year, and since none of the alternates played, I'm not counting him as a 2nd. In 2007, Chris made his debut with a stellar 6/9 (66.7%) only diminished by his blunder in the finals to Zorigt, letting Dallas win in a blitz tiebreaker.

Well, that's all for now. Watch the Boston Blitz play a rematch against Dallas at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Room P-G03, 60 Garden St, Cambridge. I am going to be there cheering for the team!

USCL FINALS

Nation, ever since watching the Colbert Report, I've been obsessed with Stephen Colbert's products. His book, his wrist-strong band, even his ice cream "Americone Dream". Here is a video of Colbert's nemesis, the incoming White House Chief of Staff, Rahn Emanuel, roasting him. Click here

Now, I must talk about the

USCL FINALS

First, I must give a tip of my hat to the Boston Blitz, who made it possible for a wanted rematch with the Dallas Destiny after a shaky mid-season. I give a wag of my finger to San Francisco Mechanics Daniel Naroditsky and Vinay Bhat. These two singlehandedly gave Dallas the momentum to beat the Miami Sharks. And finally, I give a tip of my hat to Carolina Cobras, after being ranked as the team to do the worst in the Eastern Division, came to back stab the leading Queens Pioneers and steal 1st place with the help of the unknowing Blitz. Alas, that trickery led Boston to defeat the Cobras in the Eastern Finals, garnering the Division title.

Now Now Now, what should the Blitz do, should they use Christiansen/Perelshteyn/Sammour-Hasbun, Esserman, Krasik? or should they go with the more balanced Christiansen, Shmelov, Riordan, Esserman. The Dallas Destiny are a more balanced team so I would say, don't *cough cough* use Krasik *cough cough*.

Over-Parenting to Freedom with Responsibility

Yesterday, I went to St. Paul’s School (SPS) for a tour, a school that stresses the maxim of “Freedom with Responsibility.” Coincidentally, today I picked up the November 17th issue of the New Yorker and saw an article about over-parenting, a topic that piqued my interest. At first glance, one might ask, “What does over-parenting have to do with the motto of St. Paul’s School?” Well, they are complete… Wait, you want to know what over-parenting is? It’s a pandemic destroying the world’s youth, usually characterized by a lot of extracurricular activities and excessive academic pressure. This disease comes from strict ambitious parents who force their children to do things that they sometimes don’t like. In the later stages, this leads to a lack of independence.

I went for my last school interview at SPS. Standard routine, go on a tour, ask a few questions, and … WHAT, no lights out? So obviously, I sought "Why?!". This is the first school I toured without a lights-out system. The answer lies in their motto, the complete opposite of over- parenting. The school forces students to manage their own lives and well-being, without their parents or too much interference from the teachers. I have to say this is better than over-parenting, as kids actually learn how to deal with real-life problems such as: organizing their schedule, resolving conflicts, etc. Maybe, that’s why some ranked this as the number one high school.

Anyway, why should I care about this? Am I being over-parented? The answer to the latter is no. Although I do a lot of extra-curricular activities, I do them because I enjoy them, not because my parents force me to do them. I care about this topic because I know that I’ll encounter overly obsessive parents in the future. Also, if I grow up and become a parent, it will be important for me, not to over-parent. Is St. Paul’s the school for me? Am I ready for freedom with responsibility? To end with a contemplative quote, “Does the path choose the walker, or does the walker choose the path?”, Garth Nix

Boston wins, New York loses!!!

Well, another regular season come and gone, but now its time for the ...................................................................................................................................................................
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POST SEASON

Cmon, everyones supposed to be excited. :)

Here are the line ups,

1.	GM Larry Christiansen (2670)	1-0	GM Alex Stripunsky (2601)
2.	IM Dmitry Schneider (2508)	1-0	GM Eugene Perelshteyn (2619)
3.	Marc Esserman (2307)	1/2-1/2	IM Eli Vovsha (2532)
4.	Aleksander Ostrovskiy (2042)	0-1	Ilya Krasik (2144)
	Boston Blitz	2 1/2-1 1/2	Queens Pioneers

The first game to finish was a Christiansen specialty in the Paulsen, and I coincidentally had a lesson with Larry yesterday. He showed me what Stripunsky played. Stripunsky blundered and resigned in a lost position.

Esserman and Vovsha duked it out to a hard fought draw. Tactical skirmishes and team thinking was what happened at the end, as Krasik was already winning. Perpetual ensured.

Krasik was the next to win. I was sure the drama queen would blunder and mess it up by drawing. Queens had draw odds and since Eugene was losing, he had to not blunder. However, he won with surprising ease.

Eugene lost to Dimitri. A well fought game with a shaky exchange sac. The game was a toss away since Boston already won.

On the other hand, Carolina beat New York 3.5-0.5, surprising all of the predictors. Everybody assumed that Carolina got lucky winning the division title and New York was hot off 4 straight wins. Also, the Cobras also have what some might say, the weakest roster.

Well, Congratulations to Boston, and a tip of my hat to Carolina for proving that they are not pushovers.

OBAMA WINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was around 11:30 P.M. Tuesday, Nov 4th, 2008. We’ve been watching TV for hours and finally, CNN announced that Barack Obama is the president-elect of the United States of America. For me, a 13-year-old Asian-American boy, I hope this is the symbol of a new epoch in our country. Our nation has come a long way since 1863, when Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth president, freed slaves in his Emancipation Proclamation. This moment belongs to not only Barack, but also the civil rights activists like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr.

How did Barack win this election? I believe that people see Obama as a brilliant and inspiring leader and forget that he is a black man. It did not matter to me what color his skin is because race should not be a factor in making such a major decision. However, during the presidential campaign, some did question his loyalty to our country because of his race, his name, and his father’s birthplace. It seemed very unpatriotic to not vote for him because of those reasons. It is exciting that according to statistics, young voters don’t care what race or gender the candidate is. Obama has energized many new voters with his motto “Change We Need” and his optimistic personality, so there has been record turnout. His ability to raise a lot of money didn’t hurt him either. (On the website Huffington Post, there’s a video of over 1000 students at Penn State University lining up to vote.)

What does all this mean to me? The fact that an African-American, a minority, a person of color was elected as our leader shows that in America, anyone can hold the highest office. We elected Obama because he is the right person for the job. It gives hope to kids like me that we can have a career in politics, and that while there is still racism, our country can evolve out of it.