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Team 45 45 League provides team competition to internet chess players who like slow time controls, on the premier place to play chess on the net, the Internet Chess Club.  Join the friendly but serious competition and team spirit for players of all ratings!

Questions?  Start by reading the Quick Guide, then learn more in the Player Handbook, and the FAQ

Comments? Send to webmaster@team4545league.org 

T86 - Tournament team entries now open

Team entries are now open for T86 and will remain open until Sept. 15. Players wishing to join the tournament must fill out a profile at the Player Page.

Notice.--The Steering Committee has approved an amendment to the tiebreak process that affects how ties are to be broken in hex divisions when more than two teams are tied for a potential playoff spot at the end of six rounds. Such a tie has never happened in the 20 plus years of this league, but we had the potential in T85. The addition (currently in red text) is found in Section 13.B.ii.b.3 of the statutes.

T85 - Games Of The Week

Megasus continues as our GOTW guru. If only one or no nomination in a round, guru will also choose a game from all the games he looked at from all sections, titled Guru's Pick

R1 ghostfire v THE-WARRIOR Black's pawnchain on d and e plus Rs on open c and f columns help him control the middle. W defends well, but in the end would be hampered by doubled pawns on e. Except Black's decision to chase W's Qside pawns becomes a poison pill. W's Q making it to the still open f column while Black's Q is now out of position to defend seals Black's fate.

R2 kidcobra v janh A good example of creating a small opening in the opponent's defenses and then sacrificing all you have in pursuit of the attack. W shreds his own Kside defense to keep the pressure on Black's weak Kside. Two missteps by Black allowed W to mount middle pressure also, in the end leading to Black's K having nowhere to go.

R3 JPSVI v timothysmall56 White uses an opening few would know and secures a solid attacking chance on Kside, even with blowing up his own Kside pawn protection in the process.  Black misses the intent of the passive p-e3 opening and over-commits to Qside pressure that is stalled by W's defense there.

R4n Nominee Pick Portola v KidRattler  The players get into an evenly-traded game, where all 8 pawns for each are still on the board until move 64! Black stalls the Kside pressure W was trying to bring, and then gets his K all the way around to W's Qside, in order to gain the winning advantage  

R4g.Guru PickVictorRed v Tjet Like the Nominee Pick, another one of the 11 games that lasted somewhere between 64 and 74 moves. Black also battled W evenly here, each stalling the middle and threatening/defending flank attacks. Until one Black misstep as they went into the move 40s , after close to 2 hours of thought, gives W too much momentum to overcome.

R5 g8wrb v sdcohle One of the well played long games this week. Black was more aggressive, kept the game equalized longer, and has a possibility to win for longer than in the other Picks. This actually should have been a draw; Black's aggressiveness costs him in the end, leading him to think his K by itself can grab one of W doubled pawns. Instead he is trapped by his K being the only piece than can move, in order to try defend W's winning middle pawn push.

R6 kabindra v ascoli W's control of Q side allows him inroads into Black's back rank, and wins him the commanding piece advantage in the endgame. Black does have a passed pawn, but proper play by W renders its advance ineffective.

P1n Nominee Pick Kingofknights v VictorRed W puts his Ns and Bs to good use along the b1-h7 diag, destroying Black's Kside . And then holds on while a piece down until his pawn ad(vantage) on Kside can be exploited fully. Black has the power ad in the last half of the game, but after losing his R to stop W's 1st potential Q , Black's N can't escort his Qside pawns safely down to Q. Black's K can't commit to Qside and stop W's last two Kside pawns.

P1g Guru Pick KidRattler v liujf  A very positional game early that breaks down after trades. W is left with a dominant pawnchain in the middle of the board , and his black B anchored to the front of it keeps Black's K vulnerable in the corner. Black tries to attack the flanks, but because W controls all the black squares on his side of the board Black can't punch thru. Once W locks down Qside, he uses his Rs and Q on Kside to squeeze an advantage in the attack. Black must commit all his pieces to Kside defense, and eventually can't stop the a pawn from Q-ing.

P2 kidcobra v fishhead A Closed Sicilian led to a draw. W tried a Kside attack with somewhat more success, and Black tried Qside. Then it switched, and W's K had to hold on to defend against 2 pawns from Black on Kside, while the W Ns were attacking Qside. It ends because W has too many pawns for Black's B and K to account for, but W is not assured of Q-ing any of his pawns.

P3 Guru Pick Manas v Goli A Modern Defense led to a lot of early trading in the middle of the board. Once we get to the 2 Rs endgame, W uses his better and has a passed pawn on Qside that draws Black's K away from his Kside pawns. Once Black makes the decision to take that Qside pawn and force a trade for the second set of Rs, he has no chance of winning the game, and must beat W's K and last pawn to the h corner to stop a Q and force the draw.

What we are about

Sections for Teams of Experts, Novices, and Between!

Four to six players band together as a team, and compete in divisions of 4 – 7 teams in one of four ratings sections.  One round is played per week, for six weeks, from Tuesday to the following Tuesday.  Before each round, each captain decides which four players will play that week against players from the opposing team.

Paired players use a message board ("Game Forum") to discuss the day and time to play their game.  The game is played with a time control of 45 minutes + 45 second increments, rated, with assigned colors. After the round, the team with the most wins (Game Points) wins the round, and earns a Match Point. After six rounds of regulation play, the team with the most Match Points in each Division advances to the playoffs (1-4 more rounds) to determine the Section champions. Division and Section champion teams each earn one-month account extensions donated by ICC.  To join, follow the steps in:  Quick Guide.

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Fun Stuff

Explore Here Often.  Don't Miss Out!

Check out how your rating will change with the  League Rating Calculator. Enjoy this feature.

History of the league.

Older Games Of The Week!  See these older samples of League action!

Past League Champions  Who won previous events?  Check out the Archives, and download PGN's of league games dating back many tourneys.

Most Games  Who played the most games? Most tourneys?

Upcoming Tournaments: See Future Tourney Dates for expected dates.

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Tournament Statistics (current Tournament)