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Recap: Naroditsky is Man of Match as Hackers Meet Their (Dallas) Destiny (with Game Analysis)

Posted: 6 years, 1 month ago

By IM Vignesh Panchanatham

After an extremely close loss last week against the Australia Kangaroos, who were in part assisted by a faulty internet connection (ironic, right?), the San Jose Hackers were looking to bounce back against a strong Dallas Destiny team. The Hackers returned to the week one lineup that had won their first match, starting GM Daniel Naroditsky on board 1, GM Zviad Izoria on board 2, GM Cristian Chirila on board 3, and the under-rated junior master Ivan Ke on board 4.

The Destiny came in with prodigy GM Jeffery Xiong on board 1, followed by GM Conrad Holt, who incidentally works for Google in the Bay Area, IM Andrey Gorovets, and WGM Sabina-Francesca Foisor. Their average rating was actually over 2500, but Pro Chess League rules subtract 100 points from the original FIDE rating for female players.

Round 1: 1.5-2.5 Destiny

Ke vs. Xiong (0-1)

Chirila vs. Holt (0-1)

Gorovets vs. Izoria (1/2-1/2)

Foisor vs. Naroditsky (0-1)

 

Neither of the Hacker’s bottom two boards was able to scrape points off of GM Xiong or GM Holt. GM Naroditsky expectedly converted against WGM Foisor, and IM Gorovets took home a half point against GM Izoria. Unfortunately, the best game of this round did not result in a Hackers’ victory, but was rather GM Holt’s spectacular sacrificial attack against GM Chirila’s king.

 

 

Round 2: 3-1 Destiny

Xiong v. Chirila (1-0)

Holt v. Ke (1-0)

Naroditsky v. Gorovets (1/2-1/2)

Izoria v. Foisor (1/2-1/2)

 

Trailing by a point, the Hackers were looking for a strong round. Dallas, on the other hand, were set up to play the spoilers, scoring 2/2 on their top two boards. Neither GM Naroditsky nor GM Izoria was able to make anything against their lower-rated opponents.

 

Round 3: 2.5-1.5 Hackers

Xiong v. Izoria (1-0)

Holt v. Naroditsky (0-1)

Ke v. Gorovets (1/2-1/2)

Chirila v. Foisor (1-0)

 

After the Destiny widened their lead to 3 points, the third round was the chance that the Hackers needed to fight back. GM Naroditsky defeated GM Holt, and GM Chirila beat WGM Foisor. Ivan Ke got another upset draw, this time against IM Gorovets. GM Izoria looked like he was about to beat GM Xiong with a piece up position, but a blunder in mutual time trouble saved Dallas.

 

 

Round 4: 2.5-1.5 Hackers

Naroditsky v. Xiong (1/2-1/2)

Izoria v. Holt (1-0)

Gorovets v. Chirila (1-0)

Foisor v. Ke (0-1)

 

Going into the final round, the Hackers needed a 3-1 result to tie and 3.5 game points to win. Ivan Ke won against WGM Foisor, and GM Izoria defeated GM Holt. The top boards drew, and GM Chirila lost to IM Gorovets. Despite rebounding strongly and winning the last two rounds, the Hackers just barely missed evening the score.

Man of the Match: Daniel Naroditsky

GM Naroditsky’s undefeated performance kept San Jose in the match throughout. He even defeated the always solid Conrad Holt. Congratulations Daniel!

Final Score: 7.5-8.5 Destiny

Standing at 1-2, the Hackers still have every shot to make the playoffs, especially with their high game points. The Hackers will be employing their strongest lineup today in their 8 inter-division matches for Super Saturday. Follow the games live by tuning into

http://www.Twitch.Tv/HelloKostya for commentary with BAC coach, IM Kostya Kavutskiy.