10/06/2005

  Carolina and Philadelphia tie after a see-saw battle.
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by IM Greg Shahade                       
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Philadelphia vs Carolina

1. FM Norman Rogers (PHI) vs IM-elect Lev Milman (CAR)  0-1
2. FM Matthew Hoekstra (CAR) vs IM Richard Costigan (PHI) 0-1
3. NM Matthew Bengtson (PHI) vs NM Craig Jones (CAR)  0-1
4. David Pecora (CAR) vs NM Elvin Wilson (PHI)  0-1


This was a crucial match for both Philadelphia and Carolina, as they both came into the week on the outside of the playoff picture and were hoping to squeeze back in. Things started off with a bang for the Masterminds as FM Matthew Hoekstra, whom neglected his development last week, repeated the same tendencies this week. IM  Richard Costigan wasn't going to let him off the hook, and he scored a nice tactical victory for the Masterminds.


Hoekstra-Costigan   black to move

Hoekstra must have overlooked Costigan's powerful blow 16...Nxe3! which led to an immediately winning position for black. After 17. Qe2 Qa5! 18.Qxe3 d4 19. Qd2 dxc3 20.Rxc3 Bxh3 21.Bf6 (D)



White is threatening Qh6, but after 21...Kh7  22.Qg5 ( threatening Qxh5)  fails to the crushing 22...e4, blocking the bishop on b1 and threatening to trade queens. Hoekstra tried 22.Be4 to stop this idea but lost quickly after Qb6 (threatening ...Qg1). Note that 21....Qb6 was winning even faster than Kh7 (as Qh6 allows a long mate), although I can understand Costigan's reluctance to have to calculate such variations in a winning position.

 Philadelphia was now off to a quick 1-0 lead, but the score was evened quickly as IM-elect Lev Milman's passed kingside pawns were too much for FM Norman Rogers. Things were confusing at this point, as Philadelphia seemed to have the better position on board 3 and Carolina seemed to have the best of it on board 4, however both teams lost on the board that they were expecting to win! Bengtson let things get out of control against Carolina manager/player Craig Jones, who was making his first USCL appearance tonight. Meanwhile David Pecora was one move away from a simple win that would have given Carolina their first win...


Pecora (CAR) - NM Wilson (PHI)  white to move

 White is up two pawns but black is attempting to attack the white king. Pecora could have finished things immediately with the cute tactic 34. Qxg7! Kxg7 35. Nxf5 Rxf5 36. Rxc4, with an extra three pawns in a rook endgame. Instead Pecora was unable to find the tactic with only a minute on his clock and played 34. Re2?? Rf1 35. Re1 Rxe1 36.Qxe1 Qxd4, giving Wilson an extra piece which he was able to convert shortly.

 Elvin Wilson continues to be the saving grace of the Philadelphia Masterminds, as he now has a record of 5-0. What's even more impressive about this record is that Elvin has had the black pieces all five times! I think Elvin may demand a trade after this season is over. His impressive play thus far has earned him a tie for first place in the MVP ranking system alongside IM Pascal Charbonneau of Baltimore and GM Julio Becerra of Miami.

 Incredibly for the Carolina Cobras, they picked up ground in the playoff race by drawing this match, as Dallas and San Francisco, their main rivals for the second playoff spot in the West, were both defeated. This leaves Carolina only a half point out of the playoffs which is pretty incredible considering their record of 1.5/6. The Cobras have a key matchup next week against San Francisco, in which a win would actually put them right back in the hunt.

 The Philadelphia Masterminds have a much tougher road to the playoffs, as New York and Baltimore are just playing too well for Philadelphia to compete right now. The Masterminds have actually exceeded expectations with their performance thus far, as with the lowest ratings in the league by quite a margin, they have been extremely competitive and stand at 2.5/6. Philadelphia will have a tough task ahead of them in Week 7, as the blazing hot Baltimore Kingfishers are their opponents. Baltimore defeated Philadelphia in Week 3 by a 3-1 margin, and the way the Kingfishers are playing, Philadelphia is going to have to be clicking on all cylinders to score in this match.


 

Philadelphia Masterminds			Carolina Cobras
FM Norman Rogers - 2307	0.0	1.0	FM Lev Milman - 2474
IM Richard Costigan - 2295	1.0	0.0	FM Matt Hoekstra - 2407
NM Matthew Bengtson - 2264	0.0	1.0	NM Craig Jones - 2270
NM Elvin Wilson - 2239	1.0	0.0	David Pecora - 2097
Avg Rating - 2276			Avg Rating - 2312
Philadelphia Total -------	2.0	2.0	----- Carolina Total

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