Match Preview: Queens vs. Baltimore + New Team Member

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I hope everyone had a great 3 day weekend. This week the Queens Pioneers will meet the Baltimore Kingfishers and we will have white on boards 1 + 3. A quick glance at Baltimore's roster tells you they are a very strong team that will quicky improve on last season's performance. However, after a tough loss last week the Pioneers look to rebound with a win against Baltimore. Lets take a look at the match-ups.

Board 1: IM Dmitry Schneider 2510 (QNS) vs. GM Sergey Erenburg 2616 (BAL)

Dmitry will make his season debut on board 1. Given that Dmitry has the white pieces here I think the advantage Baltimore has is minimal and Queens will earn at least a draw in this game.

Board 2: IM Tegshsuren Enkhbat 2430 (BAL) vs. IM Yury Lapshun 2504 (QNS)

I agree with Ian Harris that this is an important game for the match. While both players have been active recently, I think it will be hard for Enkhbat to prepare for Lapshun since he can play just about any opening --- what off-beat opening will he employ? Advantage Lapshun.

Board 3: FM Andrei Zaremba 2398 (QNS) vs. FM Shinsaku Uesugi 2354 (BAL)

Coming off his nice victory over SM Marc Esserman and earning 2nd place in the GOTW voting, Zaremba will look to continue his success over his less experienced opponent. With the white pieces the advantage clearly goes to Zaremba.

Board 4: WIM Tsagaan Battsetseg 2265 (BAL) vs. WFM Elizabeth Vicary 2106
(QNS)

It is true that Battsetseg has both a rating advantage and a win in their last encounter. However, as Harris mentioned in his earlier post, Vicary has already stated her intentions for revenge. I am not sure she is out for revenge though--- Vicary "let's just say I hope to improve the quality and consistency of my play in our second encounter." Slight advantage for Battseteg, but the game in my opinion can go either way.

Prediction: Queens Wins 2.5 -1.5 or 3-1

Check back on Wednesday for a report on our match.