The Chess Mind

It has been up for a few days, but as they hadn't advertised it on the front page I didn't realize that it had been uploaded. So: for those who would like to see my presentation of the runner-up in the US Chess League's 2007 Game of the Year contest, you may do so for free and on-demand. The program can be accessed here.

Jorge Sammour-Hasbun, for his win in the finals against IM Davorin Kuljasevic. It was the culmination of a great year for him in the U.S. Chess League, and his win pushed the final match into a blitz playoff. Unfortunately for him and his Boston Blitz teammates, the Dallas Destiny went on to win that playoff and the 2007 league crown, but Sammour-Hasbun's fine game netted him a very nice consolation price - a $1000 award.

The second place game was from the previous week of the playoffs and featured Dallas IM Drasko Boskovic's feisty win in a topsy-turvy battle with Miami GM Julio Becerra. This game won the tidy sum of $500. Ironically, this game received two first-place votes, while the GOTY didn't win any; the problem was that Becerra-Boskovic also received two eighth-place votes while no one voted Sammour-Hasbun's victory a place lower than fifth.

Sammour-Hasbun vs. Kuljasevic can be replayed here, Becerra-Boskovic here. The judges reports are here and here, respectively. And stay tuned for my coverage of these games on ChessVideos.tv.

The brilliant game Martinez-Zilberstein only finished third in the 2007 US Chess League Game of the Year voting (thanks primarily to Adamson's 10th place vote), but I think the decision to dock it on account of Martinez's heavy prep was an unfortunate decision at best. (Not wrong, exactly, as we judges were given free reign to vote as we saw fit. Theoretically we could award votes to players based on the length of their last names.) I made the argument for the game as #1 during my ChessVideos show, and now USCL Commissioner Greg Shahade has spoken out in its favor as well. (Note that Arun Sharma, USCL blogger and Vice-Commish or whatever his title is, also picked the game as his #1 choice.*) Here's what he has to say:

I think that awarding a game fewer points because one of the key moves was opening preparation is completely unprecedented in voting for "best game competitions". Also even after this novelty, black isn't totally lost, they can definitely put up a strong fight, and the game went on for 20-30 more moves, which Martinez conducted in a glamorous fashion. Imagine how Kasparov would have felt if he played a brilliant game and the judges discredited it because he found one strong and spectacular move at home and then won 30 moves later. I think if the players were Nakamura - Christiansen, instead of Martinez vs Zilberstein, this game would have won in a landslide.

I agree with Greg, but to be "fair and balanced" (to quote a slogan), the effect of the novelty** is a bit stronger than he claims. The game only went another 14 moves, and the last six were unnecessary. Also, it's highly unlikely that Martinez's preparation ended with 22.Bh6; that would be insane. It's reasonably likely that it continued to at least 28.Ng5+ as well, so Martinez might have made every meaningful move in his home prep. (If someone in the know can say exactly when his prep ended, that might be helpful.) I still think it deserved first place, but the amount of prep shouldn't be underestimated.

* Note that I'm happy to use Sharma as a supporting witness on those rare occasions when he agrees with me.

** Actually, it was Zilberstein who made the novelty on move 18, (dis)improving on a game they played the month before, but as everyone is referring to Martinez's 22nd move as the novelty I'll maintain that practice.

Thanks to a goof-up on my part, the video for the 3rd place game in the US Chess League's 2007 Game of the Year contest is in the wrong location (at least for now). Here's the link.

[Reminder: This was probably the best game of the year, not only in my opinion but in that of two IMs I've spoken with, and in USCL blogger Arun Sharma's, too. So it's definitely worth your time to check it out!]

Marcel Martinez's fantastic win over Dmitry Zilberstein. This was my choice for first place, but some of the judges - at least one of them - really punished it for its largely being home prep. We (I'm one of the judges in the contest) were given freedom to evaluate the games as we saw fit, so while I can't really complain about Adamson's decision, I can certainly lament it! You can read the judges' report here, replay the game here, and see my coverage of it on ChessVideos.tv by the end of the week.

In the countdown to the US Chess League's 2007 game of the year, we've reached the second of our prize-winning games, the 4th place contest between Larry Christiansen and Patrick Wolff. The former won a very nice attacking game, which I've covered on my ChessVideos show for this week. It's free and available on demand; just go here and start it up.