Mechanics Roll Over LA

Mechanics board 4 Siddharth Banik
(National K-8 Champion)

FM Andy Lee recaps the first week of the 2013 US Chess League season.

It took last year’s Mechanics squad eight weeks to win a match – this year’s group got the ball rolling in week one with a convincing 3-1 victory over Los Angeles. 

Team captain John Donaldson took no chances, sending out the killer kid lineup in round one that clocks in at an average rating of 2452.  A strong move, but I was worried about the plan if we lost or drew the match – there’s no stronger lineup to go to in week two to recover!

Fortunately, the kids (plus GM Vinay Bhat, no longer a kid, although once America’s youngest master) lived up to their ratings, and then some.  

Click here to read the full report.  Let's Go Mechanics!!

US Chess League Kicks Off!

The San Francisco Mechanics kick off the 9th season of the US Chess League on Tuesday evening.  Always competitive, the local team reached the playoffs in six of the previous eight seasons, winning the league championship in 2006.  Over the years, noteworthy titled players included GM Josh Friedel, GM Sam Shankland, GM Vinay Bhat, GM-elect Daniel Naroditsky, IM David Pruess and captain IM John Donaldson.  The San Francisco recipe for success, now copied throughout the league, depends on cultivating underrated young talent to man board 4, thereby opening enough space under the 2401 rating cap for the highly rated professionals on boards 1 and 2.

The 2013 roster for the San Francisco Mechanics consists of 10 players: 6 kids and 4 adults.  The top five, representing the team nucleus, have earned at least 25 caps each.  The next three also saw playing time last season.  The bottom four represent the Bay Area's latest crop of young stars--all age 13 or less and National Scholastic Champions!  The team selected January 2013 as the official rating list for determining a legal weekly lineup.

2013 Mechanics Roster

(January Rating, September Rating, Difference)

1. GM Jesse Kraai (2567, 2567, 0)
2. GM Vinay Bhat (2555, 2555, 0)
3. GM-elect Daniel Naroditsky (2553, 2590, +37)
4. FM Yian Liou (2432, 2492, +60)
5. IM David Pruess (2431, 2431, 0)
6. FM Andy Lee (2294, 2316, +22)
7. FM Cameron Wheeler (2276, 2276, 0)
8. NM Kesav Viswanadha (2213, 2261, +48)
9. NM Vignesh Panchanatham (2191, 2278, +87)
10. Siddharth Banik (2033, 2151, +118)

A glance at the above roster reveals several observations.  The trio of Grandmasters are interchangeable, and, depending on availability, I expect to see them take turns on boards 1 and 2 for much of the season.  Likewise, the three "Chess Punks" (Cameron, Kesav and Vignesh) appear close in strength and will divvy up many weeks on boards 3 and 4.  Finally, if bottom-rated Siddharth simply holds his own against master level opposition, then the team can afford to field a top-heavy power lineup more often.

Check out some of the possible lineups at captain Donaldson's disposal.  Unfortunately, availability may again become a driving factor in determining who can play, as in recent years.

• two of Kraai/Bhat/Naroditsky + Liou/Pruess + Banik
• two of Kraai/Bhat/Naroditsky + two of Lee/Wheeler/Viswanadha/Panchanatham
• Kraai/Bhat/Naroditsky + Pruess + two of Lee/Wheeler/Viswanadha/Panchanatham

One peculiarity of the US Chess League allows captains to submit a lineup rated over 2400 in spite of the 2401 rating cap. Indeed, 60% of the San Francisco team is currently rated north of their "official" January rating.  Consider the lineup of Kraai + Naroditsky + Liou + Banik, rated 2450 on the September list!!  Few teams can equal that.  Even stronger may be substituting Bhat, the club's all-time leading scorer, on board 1--exactly as Donaldson has done for week 1.

The league schedule shows one match per week for the next 10 weeks, on either Tuesday or Wednesday evening.  The Mechanics compete in the Pacific Division and will face the Arizona Scorpions, Los Angeles Vibe and Seattle Sluggers twice each.  The top pair of teams from each of the four Divisions will participate in the league playoffs in November.

In a big change, the US Chess League has moved to Chess.com.  Basic accounts are free, allowing anyone to follow the action live.  The planned coverage includes a live TV broadcast of every round.  The action kicks off with a California Clásico against Los Angeles on Tuesday at 6:15pm!

Youth Movement Continues for SF Mechanics

The 8th season of the US Chess League kicks off this week, with Eastern conference teams facing off tonight and the West playing on Wednesday.  For the San Francisco Mechanics, the new year rekindles a quest for a second league Championship, after the successful campaign in 2006.  Ten weekly matches, played on both ICC and Chess.com this year, will lead up to the Playoffs in November.  As always, the team's home base is the 4th floor at the Mechanics' Institute.

Youth has served the club well over the years, and a precocious trio of preteen masters will have opposing managers cursing about the Bay's waters being Juiced.  Have they not learned over the years?  At the same time, don't count out a pair of successful prodigies manning the top boards--GM Vinay Bhat and IM Daniel Naroditsky--nor the wily engineer GM Jesse Kraai.  With five adults and five juniors on the team roster, I expect captain IM John Donaldson to maintain a steady hand and field age-balanced lineups, two adults to keep two rambunctious kittens in check.

The Mechanics will use the January 2012 rating list.  The four players chosen each week must be rated 2400.75 or less in average.  The +/- number shows any rating change from January to current, including the Labor Day weekend. 

1. GM Vinay Bhat 2555
2. GM Jesse Kraai 2567
3. IM Daniel Naroditsky 2546 (-2)
4. IM Dmitry Zilberstein 2472 (-5)
5. IM John Donaldson 2402 (+6)
6. FM Yian Liou 2354 (+78)
7. SM Sam Sevian 2299 (+147)
8. FM Andy Lee 2273 (+18)
9. NM Cameron Wheeler 2154 (+86)
10. NM Kesav Viswanadha 2134 (+72)  

The first week's lineup of Bhat - Kraai - Sevian - Wheeler seems typical for this year.  Not many teams can match the 2452 average rating while staying below the 2400.75 cap.  The roster appears quite flexible; Naroditsky can substitute for either GM while Liou/Sevian and Wheeler/Viswanadha are both almost interchangeable.  And when the team needs to draw upon more experience, Zilberstein and Lee can drive home the even numbered boards.

Good luck to the San Francisco Mechanics!  Check the US Chess League website for weekly lineups as well as the club's regular season schedule.  To kick off the 2012 season, the local guys dance with the Cobras of Carolina on Wednesday, beginning at 5:30pm Pacific.  Games will be on ICC for Mondays (and tonight) and on Chess.com for Wednesdays.  I believe the moves are relayed back and forth between servers.  However, each site plans independent live (and exciting) multimedia coverage.

Random question: How soon will the USCL include a player rated 2000+ and born after the inaugural season began in September 2005?