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By Matt Barrett
The Saint Louis Arch Bishops started week eight of the U.S. Chess League in second place in the Western Division, 1.5 points behind leader Dallas. While they couldn't catch the first place team this week, things are certainly heating up at the right time with the playoffs approaching. After winning 3-1 versus the Los Angeles Vibe, and in light of Dallas' defeat this week, the Arch Bishops sit at 5.5-2.5, just a half game out of first with two matches to play. The critical meeting will be the final regular season tilt with Dallas, which will in all likelihood decide the seeds for the playoffs. Saint Louis is in prime position to make the USCL playoffs for the first time and to challenge Dallas for the regular season division championship.
Board four was decided most quickly, where Matt Larson fell to FM Eugene Yanayt. As usual, Larson was up on his opening theory, managing to keep the game in theory (against an opponent rated 300 points above him!) until move 19. It is really on move 23, when black centralizes his bishop pair, that the advantage becomes obvious for black. With his king under pressure, Larson found himself in trouble after 24.Nd3 h3! where there is no defence.
On board two, it was much the same for IM Priyadharshan Kannappan, who has iced the regular season League MVP award with 7.5 points in 8 games! After taking a huge space advantage in the opening, Kannappan traded and used his control of the c-file and the center to push home the victory and give the Arch Bishops a 1-1 tie at that time.
IM Levan Bregadze continued his brilliant USCL play this week. He is currently number two in MVP points behind teammate and fellow Lindenwood star Kannappan. Bregadze once again played a nice game for the Arch Bishops on board three, this time matched against Kostya Kavutskiy, who was in Saint Louis last week with teammate IM Zhanibek Amanov for the Spice Cup Open 2012. He gained the Bishop pair on move 14, grabbed a key positional advantage after 19.Bg5 with Qd3, encouraging a queen trade and seizing initiative inside the white camp. With white's pieces stuck in defensive roles, Bregadze uncorked a dandy exchange sacrifice with 29. ... Rxd2! after which opponent Kavutskiy played on valiantly, but to no avail. The black pawns posed a big threat on the queenside and Kavutskiy had to give up his knight to stop them. Bregadze's win put the Arch Bishops up 2-1 and left the final match result up to GM Ben Finegold.
On board one, GM Ben Finegold opted for a closed center and a slow positional battle against his lower-rated opponent IM Zhanibek Amanov. After some maneuvering, white played to open the kingside with 24.f4, but ended up with a weak backward e pawn. Finegold quickly piled up on that weakness and after b5-b4, seized an open file, leaving white tied down and with very little play. Eventually, Finegold pressured Amanov into virtual zugzwang. Nevertheless, with the score 2-1 in favor of Saint Louis, Zhanibek found himself in the awkward position of having to continue to try to play for a win. Eventually, Finegold's safer king and active pieces encouraged 51.Qa6, after which black's rook sacrifice is almost automatic, creating a passed pawn and a simple win. From a visual point of view, the conclusion was exciting for some viewers because of the prospect of perpetual check if the king does not find a clear route to safety. By angling through the crevice at f4 and e3, black neatly sidesteps the numerous checks and with multiple mate threats, White was forced to resign.
Tonight Saint Louis will face off against Arizona, which currently stands at fourth place in the west at 3.5-5.5.
