New England the 2010 USCL Champions
Saturday, November 20, 2010 at 10:37PM
Dennis Monokroussos in USCL

It was a good match that could have gone either way, despite the 3-1 score and despite that the fact the first "game" to finish never started. For whatever reason, Miami's board 3, Charles Galofre, never showed up, which clearly didn't help. Miami struck back on board four in very impressive style, as Nicholas Rosenthal obliterated Alex Cherniack even though he was almost 250 points lower rated.

The result of the other two games were in doubt until very near the end. On board 1, Sam Shankland stood better in an opposite-colored bishop ending that many spectators thought would be drawn (I was much less sure, but I wasn't positive that it was a win, either), but Miami's Julio Becerra failed to hold it: 2-1 New England.

In the last game to finish, Miami's Marcel Martinez had a couple of extra pawns against Robert Hungaski, who had earlier declined a draw. Hungaski had compensation, but it seemed that all three results were possible until near the end. The final move of the game, the match and the USCL season was a nice crusher, and with that the New England Nor'easters were the champs.

(USCL website here.)

Article originally appeared on The Chess Mind (http://www.thechessmind.net/).
See website for complete article licensing information.