TMC Cash League Round 5 Overview

Our team is currently at 4/4. The only team in the league to have a perfect record at this time, and this game would decide if we secure a spot in the playoffs.

As the regular season is approaching the end, everyone is eyeing the playoffs. Out of the 25 teams, 16 make it to the playoffs where it is knockout format- 1 loss and your out for good.

Because our team is doing incredibly well, if we win this round we wouldn't have to worry about the next 2 rounds- it would be a smooth ride to the playoffs, even if we lost the next 2 rounds 0-10!

To make things even better, the team we are playing, even though half decent, should be light work for us.

Board 1: Misterfox120 vs Lblitz78

Because the league is based on average ratings, there is obviously going to be multiple smurfs. I'm sure you guys are aware that Misterfox is a 2600 blitz FM, but what you might not know is his opponent, Lblitz78, is also around his rating. Could misterfox still 2-0? Of course. But the chances of that are significantly lower than if he played a regular 2300.

Game 1:

Misterfox is known for his solid play, and he showed it in this game. He gets a nice smooth draw with black, and is headed to game 2 with no problems.

Game 2:

Misterfox comes into game 2 with the same mindset- play solid and hope for a draw. This was going well up until move 27. 2 moves prior, black offered a draw, but misterfox decided to play on. This backfired 2 moves later, and he blundered a queen due to a tactic he missed.

Game score: 0.5-1.5
Match score: 0.5-1.5

Not the best start for us, but a comeback is very much in reach.

Board 3: BTRex2010 vs MrBeastKid

My opponent is around 2200 rated, so winning this match for me wouldn't be that hard. However, getting too confident could seriously backfire, and there is a big chance that he could take some points off of me.

Game 1:

I missed a tactic, resulting in me being down an exchange, and after that he converted too well for me to get chances again. I ended up losing the game, which was a huge upset, but I still had to keep my head up for game 2 for a possible comeback by my teammates.

Game 2:

I ended up with a great position out of the opening, and he eventually blundered a piece leading me to win game 2.

Game score: 1-1
Match score: 1.5-2.5

Board 5: RobertKM1 vs Subniif

With us currently losing the match, we really need our bottom 2 boards to perform. Robert is playing an opponent who is around his strength, so anything could happen.

Game 1:

Although coming off a nice position out of the opening, robert goes into an endgame on blacks favor and his opponent was able to convert. Robert loses game 1, and it's not looking too good for our team.

Game 2:

In game 2, Robert actually played pretty well, but was unable to get an advantage. This led to him being in immense time pressure, and even though his position started looking more and more comfortable, he ended up blundering his queen and losing the game.

Game score: 0-2
Match score: 1.5-4.5

This match really isn't going our way, and we needed Gabe and Naoki to both 2-0 in order to win, which isn't impossible, but will certainly be a challenge.

Board 4: PersonallyGabe vs ItsVenomous

Again, both opponents are relatively the same strength. However, Gabe has to deal with the pressure of winning this game 2-0, because if he doesn't, we won't be able to win.

Game 1:

An extremely shaky game- the middlegame was extremely back and forth with both sides committing blunder after blunder. After the dust settled, gabe was left with a drawn rook endgame and was actually able to trade the rooks and get into a winning king endgame. However, gabe missed some key moves and white won by a miracle.

This loss marks our teams first defeat in the league.

Game 2:

With little to no motivation, it seemed Gabe didn't perform his best. He completely blew a +3 position, missing multiple ways to win blacks bishops, and lost the game after time pressure.

Game score: 0-2
Match score: 1.5-6.5

An absolute horrible outcome to say the least, and with 1 game left, there was no saving us.

Board 2: ProjectNaoki vs SarthakGattani

Naoki knew there was no coming back from this match, so he decided to not try and simply just offer a draw in the opening in both games.

You can look at the games if you want, but theres really nothing special about them.

Game 1:

Game 2:

Game score: 1-1
Match score: 2.5-7.5 (yikes)

Conclusion

This was by far our worst performance yet, and to make matters worse, it was a team that we easily should've beaten.

My team and I simply need to take this match as motivation towards future rounds, and even though we may not have secured playoffs, with a positive mindset we certainly will in the final stretch of the regular season.

Thanks for reading, and see you in the next overview!