Whether we win or lose, there is absolutely no way we could produce a blog as obnoxious as Boston’s. This year, the otherwise indecipherable prediction blog produced by Boston actually has the nerve to predict a 4-0 win. Sure, Boston…in your dreams! Last year, right after their win over Philly, they wrote: “Ahhh! What a night. The weather was calm and cool… there was a hint of pizza in the air… and our team revealed themselves as the true geniuses that we all knew they were. Yes, Boston was back as they opened a ‘Can of Whupass’ and spread it all over the Philadelpia Inventors. (Oh come on, after our last match, we deserve to brag.) Sure, inventors are smart, but they’re no match for real genius. Each game a work of art… it was a truly spiritual experience…” No one should presume a win over the strong Boston Blitz, but there is definitely a chance for Philly, if not a likely win. Boston will go DOWN and Philadelphia will do everything in its power to make sure its team sends them there.
Board 1: The game between former U.S. Champion GM Larry Christiansen and GM Magesh Panchanathan will be Philadelphia’s toughest, and Christiansen has White to boot. Panchanathan has felled many other GMs before though, and may well start his season with Philadelphia off by drawing Christiansen’s blood.
Board 2: IM Smith’s matchup against GM Perelshteyn revisits an old rivalry between two friends well acquainted with each other’s playing style, as the two attended UMBC together and were even roommates for a while. Although their games are often competitive (their record in the league is 1-1), let’s see if Smith can keep up with the latest developments and preparations by Perelshteyn and prevail. This game is impossible to predict in advance, and surely it won’t be easy for the Inventors here, but one thing is for sure: a result will emerge only after a good fight.
Board 3: Who is Denys Shmelov? Philadelphians are not very familiar with the man or his chess play. He may not play in many tournaments in the Mid-Atlantic area right now. However, his rating is around fifty points higher than Bartell’s. He also will play White, giving him a further advantage. Still, based on Bartell’s performance last week, it’s safe to say he has a good chance for a draw or even a win against Shmelov this week.
Board 4 looks like a fairly even opposition between two young players, so it will be interesting to see which of these two youths, Sivakumar or Xu, will win.
The Inventors are in good form and raring to go. A draw or a win for Philadelphia is within the realm of possibility, but I wouldn’t predict the point spread precisely. Just to spite Boston though, I am predicting an overall win for Philadelphia.
IM Bryan Smith has brainstormed a new professional direction, which he will use as a financial cushion, in case he does not win both the World Open and U.S. Championship this year (the only way one could comfortably rely on income from chess playing in this country.) He has noted that many people hate to clean their own refrigerators. He has some revolutionary business practices in mind. First, he will become the world’s first and only Professional Refrigerator Organizer, establish the Association of Professional Refrigerator Organizers, and issue APRO licenses to franchisees. He also has some advertising slogans that he plans to utilize:
1. “Eeww, your fridge is nasty, you better clean it.” (TM)
2. “That cheese would be better over there.” (TM)
3. “Let me help you with that beer.” (TM)
If you are interested in engaging IM Smith’s services as a Professional Refrigerator Organizer, you may contact him directly at: orgyourfridge@gmail.com
Schwog Blog 
What a bunch of lies, only an a completely illiterate person could think that the BCC blog speaks for our team. With a new team in town, the NE NOrEastas the BCC blog and its posters are required by law to kiss their behinds . If you are desperate for motivational material guys, just let me know. For coverage of our team, read http://www.boston-blitz.com May the best team win.
Goooooo
Please note that the commentary on the Boylston Chess Weblog, although fans of the Blitz, are not directly affiliated with the team. The Boston Blitz webpage is affiliated with the team.
Sorry for my 4-0 sweep prediction, but the crystal ball sees what she sees. In this case, the crystal ball was the first useful quotes from Google searches of Christiansen-Panchanathan, Inventors vs Blitz, Smith vs. Blitz, Grant Xu and chess, etc. Blame Google for the 4-0 prediction, not me. I’m just the medium through which all chess predictions flow.
How obnoxious– my previous comment was deleted!
Let me repeat, the Boylston Chess Weblog is not affiliated with the Boston Blitz. We just cover them.
As for my predictions, the crystal ball, she sees what she sees. In this case, the crystal ball was Google.
OH! How obnoxious of me. There it is. Sorry about that.
The Boston Blitz have no affiliation with, and in fact usually strongly disagree with any Blitz related posts at the Boylston Chess Club blog.
Jason Rheil does NOT speak for the Blitz.
-Matt Phelps
Blitz Assistant Manager
Nope. I don’t speak for the Blitz.
Unfortunately, Ilya speaks for the Blitz. And what he speaks are direct physical threats to other people in public that are, if not condoned, at least tolerated by the Boston Blitz.
It was a low moment for the Blitz, and I actually expect an apology from Ilya. One from the team that allows this behavior to go unchecked would probably be nice, too.
I apologize… for misspelling your name so badly.
🙂
Anyway, we won, but not 4-0. I learned after predicting a 4-0 sweep, completely as a joke, that people tend to freak out about humorous blog posts. See the comments to http://boston-blitz.com/2009/09/2009-week-three-preview-2008-finals-rematch/
-Cheers,
-Matt
Yeah- spell my name right!
Wow, that was a lot of comment generation on that 4-0 prediction. But I was pretty sure you were serious– all the way down to the move by move outcomes!