The pivotal Semifinal game was praised for its excitement and nice finish but both players missing a huge, albeit subtle, shot seemed to prevent this game from getting a higher ranking.
This is the fourth part in a series of articles which will count down to revealing what game was voted as the 2014 USCL Game of the Year. For more information on exactly how this process works and the prize information, please refer to: Game of the Year Contest
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17th Place: GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs IM Jeffery Xiong (DAL) 0-1
IM Xiong nicely finished off his strong counterattack with 35… Ng4+!, leading to a quick mate and sending his team into the Championship Match
GM Alejandro Ramirez (9th Place, 12 Points): Kids nowadays play with very cold blood. The deflection of the attack with the King escape to the center was nice, and the counterattack was very well executed.
FM Ron Young (9th Place, 12 Points): It’s supposed to be good to impose one’s own will on the struggle, and it didn’t seem either player was particularly able to so here, as both seemed just to do their own thing. Which is cool, man, but chess is a zero-sum game (or one-sum, depending on how you add), and it does seem that White would have won had he found 29. Rxg7. Still, I judge the move to be not that obvious, nor the fact that Black’s King could just walk away the way it did.
FM Ingvar Johannesson (16th Place, 5 Points): White seemed to take too many liberties in the opening with moves such as h3, Kh1 and Bf1-e2-d3. Black seems to be close to equality rather early, and ok the finish is nice but for top honors I found White’s play to be uninspired.
IM Priyadharshan Kannappan (17th Place, 4 Points): White’s opening was not only unambitious, it gave Black a more comfortable position. Xiong, after trying to show aggression on the Kingside, castled there which was baffling to me. This gave Charbonneau good targets to attack, but at the pivotal moment he failed to deliver the knockout with 29. Rxg7.
FM Alisa Melekhina (18th Place, 3 Points): Although Pascal no longer regularly competes in tournaments, he is still dangerous. Here, he presents an unusual set-up against the Sicilian to prepare for a full onslaught.
However, the execution reminds me of a diver bouncing confidently off the edge of the springboard, but never quite taking the plunge. Everything was ready to go, but at the last minute Pascal shied away from the decisive 29. Rxg7. Meanwhile, Xiong calmly brewed his own counterattack with a maturity well beyond his years. In the end, he didn’t forgive his opponent’s reservation.
It was a good fight, but since the game hinged on the execution of one move, I can’t rank it as highly.
Total Score of Charbonneau vs Xiong: (17th Place, 36 Points)
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Stay tuned for sixteen more such articles as the field shrinks by one game almost every day to see which of the following games will be the 2014 Game of the Year!
Week 1: GM Anton Kovalyov (RIO) vs GM Daniel Naroditsky (SF) 1-0 Article
Week 2: GM Varuzhan Akobian (STL) vs GM Renier Gonzalez (MIA) 1-0 Article
Week 3: GM Mackenzie Molner (ARZ) vs GM Eugene Perelshteyn (BOS) 1-0 Article
Week 4: GM Wesley So (STL) vs GM Alex Lenderman (CON) 1/2-1/2 Article
Week 5: GM Alex Lenderman (CON) vs GM Gata Kamsky (NY) 1-0 Article
Week 6: GM Niclas Huschenbeth (BAL) vs GM Wesley So (STL) 1/2-1/2 Article
Week 7: GM Joel Benjamin (NJ) vs GM Holden Hernandez (RIO) 1-0 Article
Week 8: GM Daniel Naroditsky (SF) vs GM Conrad Holt (DAL) 1/2-1/2 Article
Week 9: GM Julio Becerra (MIA) vs GM Julio Sadorra (DAL) 1-0 Article
Week 10: IM David Vigorito (NE) vs FM Andrew Shvartsman (MAN) 1/2-1/2 Article
Quarterfinals: GM Daniel Naroditsky (SF) vs GM Conrad Holt (DAL) 1-0 Article
Semifinals: GM Wesley So (STL) vs GM Julio Becerra (MIA) 1-0 Article
Championship: GM Wesley So (STL) vs GM Conrad Holt (DAL) 1-0 Article
Wildcard #1: GM Niclas Huschenbeth (BAL) vs GM Julio Becerra (MIA) 1/2-1/2 Article
Wildcard #4: GM Anton Kovalyov (RIO) vs GM Gata Kamsky (NY) 0-1 Article
Wildcard #6: IM Jeffery Xiong (DAL) vs GM Varuzhan Akobian (STL) 0-1 Article
Eliminated:
17th Place (36 Points): GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs IM Jeffery Xiong (DAL) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
18th Place (32 Points): GM Pascal Charbonneau (NY) vs GM Conrad Holt (DAL) 0-1 Article Elimination Article
19th Place (20 Points): IM Georgi Orlov (SEA) vs GM Alex Stripunsky (NJ) 1-0 Article Elimination Article
20th Place (19 Points): IM Kassa Korley (CAR) vs GM Julio Becerra (MIA) 0-1 Article Elimination Article