[imagefield_assist|fid=15473|preset=fullsize|title=GM Ben Finegold is helming the top board for the Arch Bishops this year.|desc=|link=none|origsize=|align=left|width=700|height=505]
By Alex Marler and Matt Barrett
The United States Chess League is a competitive Internet-based chess league played on the Internet Chess Club (ICC) and Chess.com. Cities from across the country field teams of four players to do weekly battle throughout the fall. Each team has a total of 10 players who will participate in a rotation throughout the season. Most of the teams are comprised of expert-level to grandmaster-level players, so the competition is pretty tough and the players take the games quite seriously.
This season, Saint Louis offers a team with a diverse roster of collegiate, international, and local players. There are representatives from India, Georgia, Belarus, Ecuador, Wisconsin and Saint Louis. The team is headed by Grandmaster Ben Finegold, a 2011 3rd-Team All-Star with a season performance rating of 2719, who sports an excellent record in past leagues. Lindenwood University has provided several strong additions, including India's IM Priyadharshan Kannappan, Georgia's IM Levan Bregadze, Belarusian WGM Anna Sharevich, and Ecuadorian WIM Carla Heredia Serrano. Boards 3 and 4 will be comprised of FM Doug Eckert, NM Nolan Hendrickson, Washington University's Expert Nick Karlow, and Matthew Larson.
The first match of the season pitted the Saint Louis Arch Bishops against the Miamis Sharks. This was a fairly equal matchup as far as rating was concerned, and the games proved as much. The first tally was scored in favor of Saint Louis when IM Kannappan defeated SM Robert Perez on Board 2. The score was evened when Finegold went down at the hands of GM Becerra. Boards 3 and 4 presented opportunities for both sides. Ultimately, Miami won out in both cases despite the best efforts of FM Doug Eckert and NM Nolan Hendrickson. Check out the games below for analysis and be sure to check in on Chess.com next Wednesday at 7 p.m, Central time for Saint Louis' match against the Baltimore Kingfishers.
