TMC Cash League Round 6 & 7 Overview

With the regular season ending, I figured writing about the last 2 matches in 1 blog is probably the most efficient thing to do. I'm also really behind schedule (we just finished round 1 of the playoffs), so I need to get caught up asap.

Round 6 was against a team that was 2nd in our division. After coming off a tough loss, our team had to regroup and really put our 100% into this match.

Even though we were 4/5, qualifying into the playoffs would still be difficult. Our team was placed in arguably the best division in the whole league, and that means there were many competitors trailing behind us with 3 points, such as the team we are playing now.

Board 5: RobertKM1 vs rapturousrhinoceros

Robert came in as the underdog. Nobody really knew what to expect from him- especially after he lost 0-2 to an 1800 last round. To make matters even worse, his opponent was also 100+ points higher than him.

Game 1:

Game 2:

Robert takes game 1 in an extremely sharp game where white struggled to find the right moves in a time scramble rook endgame. With this momentum, Robert also leads in game 2, completely outplaying his opponent from the start, and even though he may have miscalculated 42. Qc7, his opponent was unable to find the winning line due to low time.

Robert wins his match with a huge 2-0 against a stronger opponent.

Match score: 2-0 D1 throwers

Board 4: PersonallyGabe vs Unease

Gabe was in for an interesting match. His opponent was slightly higher rated than him, but not enough to say that he is the favorite for this match. As long as Gabe doesn't lose 0-2, the chances of our team losing this match would be very slim.

Game 1:

Game 2:

This was probably the most exciting match that any of my team members played this whole league. First of all, what even happened in game 1?? It starts with Gabe in a crushing +3 position, then both players start blundering like crazy (understandably, it was really sharp), and when it seemed like the dust was starting to settle, Gabe blunders mate in 1!

Definitely not the best Game 1, however it was really entertaining to watch. I'd expect Gabe to be extremely titled after blundering M1 in a winning position, which was likely why he was just completely losing after 10 moves. However, in a miracle, the endgame becomes sharp, and Gabe started to have chances. Even though he was down on time, he managed to take away all of whites chances, and now it was blacks turn to try and win. His opponent eventually timed out, and Gabe managed to secure the win.

Match score: 3-1 D1 throwers

Board 1: Misterfox120 vs Andrei_Kharitonov

There wasn't a favorite coming into this match. Misterfox's opponent is a solid NM who is around 2600 on chess.com, so this match is even to begin with.

Game 1:

Game 2:

Both players played really solid chess, leading to both games resulting in draws. This was the ideal result, as now we are up 4-2 with 2 games remaining.

Match score: 4-2 D1 throwers

Board 2: ProjectNaoki vs Tremil_2

Naoki is the favorite to win for sure in this match, however he really only needs 1 point as I'm up against a 2000 next round.

However, in the event of a winning score, we would have already won the match without my contribution, securing us a playoff spot.

Game 1:

Game 2:

Naoki escapes with a win in game 1 after miraculously converting an endgame down an exchange. However, his luck eventually runs out, and in a time scramble endgame Naoki misses 41. Rxg5 giving Tremil the ability to promote, making Naoki lose game 2.

The match score is now standing at 5-3 for us.

Board 3: BTRex2010 vs ChessWarriors12

Me, a 2400, against a 2000. Should be a piece of cake to get at least 0.5 points right? That's what I was thinking coming into this match. I shouldn't have thought that.

Game 1:

Game 2:

I don't know what I was thinking in both games, maybe it was underestimating my opponent, or perhaps I was just on drugs. Missing 9. Qxg7 in the first game tells you all you need to know about my performance in both games. These 2 games were probably the worst games of chess I have played in months. However, I do have to give credit to my opponent who played pretty well for his rating, saving his team from a loss.

Round 6 Conclusion

All of our boards performed pretty well (except me obviously), leading us to a 5-5 draw against a tough team.

Of course, we should've won if I wasn't high on 20 different substances, but at least we didn't lose.

Unfortunately, drawing this round surprisingly does not auto qualify us for playoffs, as there is a scenario where we come 5th in our division due to low tiebreaks.

Round 7 vs Vanguard Legion

Our last round is against a team that should not be taken lightly- in fact, they are part of the 5 teams that are all fighting for a playoff spot.

To qualify for playoffs, you need to place top 4 in your division. In the division we are in, we're currently 1st, but not by a lot. In fact, we are standing at a solid 4.5/6 while there are 3 teams at 4 points, and 1 that is at 3.5 (the team we are currently playing against.)

Because of our horrible tiebreaks, there is a scenario where we place 5th in our division, however that is very rare.

As Oscar Wilde once said: "To expect the unexpected shows a thoroughly modern intellect."

Our team treated this scenario as the most likely outcome (even though it wasn't), which caused us to lock in and take this match as seriously as we can. Without further adieu, here's the final round of the regular season.

Board 2: ProjectNaoki vs EasyWin123

Even though it says EasyWin123 is 2200, he is infact a smurf and is actually around 2500 blitz on chess.com. I guess this is what you should expect in a league centered around rating averages. However, Naoki is still the favorite by around 200 points, so getting 1 point off him shouldn't be too hard.

Game 1:

Game 2:

Not really much to say in Game 1. Naoki simply just got outplayed, and that tilted him going into game 2. He told me that he "couldn't play theory" against this guy, and instead of playing a sideline or just sticking with your main, he plays a3 f3 kf2. In the most important round of this tournament. Surprisingly, his opponent was unable to take advantage of this dubious opening, and the position started looking better and better for white. However, he still ends up getting outplayed and ends up losing again.

Match score: 0-2 Vanguard Legion

Board 4: RobertKM1 vs BlindBozonic

After Roberts impressive games last round, I theorized that he plays better against stronger opponent. BlindBozonic was 2180 blitz, so getting 0.5 points off him would be an achievement.

Game 1:

Game 2:

In Game 1 Robert takes the lead in an intense position, however the position is still very playable for black. In the attempt of trying to flag his opponent, Robert decides to play 32. Qxf4??? hoping his opponent would premove, but he ended up just losing his queen and the game. In game 2, he plays extremely well and its into a comfortable -2 position, however shortly after he misses 24. Nxd5, eventually leading him to go down an exchange. Then in a completely losing endgame, Robert's opponent somehow flags and losses the game.

Match score 1-3 Vanguard

Board 5: PersonallyGabe vs TheNoobiestNoob

Our position in this matchup is not looking great. Gabe needs to 1-1 or higher in order to keep us in contention for this match due to Naoki's poor performance, but the good news is that his opponent isn't that strong in comparison to him.

Game 1:

Game 2:

Gabe takes game 1 even though his position out of the opening was really sketchy. His opponent blunders 16. Qa4+, leading to Gabe being up a piece and he ends up converting the position. In game 2, Gabe was simply unable to defend his whites attack, leading to him losing his queen and the game. 1-1 is not the worst score here, but it would've been much better if he won this game.

Match score: 2-4 Vanguard

Board 3: BTRex2010 vs MatthewJames

I learned my mistake of underestimating my opponents, and I came into this match fully prepared for a battle. My opponent, even though 2100, certainly had potential of beating me, so I knew I had to take him seriously.

Game 1:

Game 2:

I got into a position I liked out of the opening in game 1, and my opponent ends up blundering 19.. Bc2 leading me to win an exchange. I didn't have to worry about converting this either, as just a few moves later he self-traps his queen. In game 2 I was completely booked up throughout the first 15 moves, and I've studied these positions for years. He ends up playing the inaccurate 18.. D5??, leading me to push more pawns towards his kingside and he was unable to defend, leading me to win.

Match score: 4-4

Board 1: Misterfox120 vs Zadornik

If we get a 1-1 here, its automatic playoffs. If we don't, we run the risk of not qualifying for the playoffs at all. Zadornik is a 2600 blitz player, and should be taken extremely seriously. There isn't really a clear favorite coming into this match, but considering Misterfox's past performances against strong opponents, a 1-1 is definitely in sight.

Game 1:

Game 2:

To say Game 1 was tense is an understatement. Misterfox knew it was do or die, and voluntarily went into a complicated endgame with 5 seconds left on the clock. When the dust settled, both players were hovering around 3 seconds each in a rook endgame up a pawn for misterfox. Although the conversion was a bit shaky, he got the job done and secured us the playoffs with the huge game 1 win. There isn't really much to say about game 2, I doubt he was even trying, but zadornik did have to try and win because it was do or die for his team as well. Misterfox ends up losing game 2 after not being able to defend the kingside attack, but it really didn't matter in a sense as we already qualified for playoffs.

Final match score: 5-5

Into the Playoffs

We are currently seeded as the #10 (out of 16) team in the playoffs, and in the 1st round our team will be playing the only team that has beat us so far.

Stay tuned for the next blog to see if we manage to take revenge, or get knocked out of the league for good. Thanks for reading!