Team 45 45 League

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!

T87 - Playoffs under way

The first round of the playoffs (Playoff 1) in T87 has begun. Second round, where needed, begins March 2.

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

R1 laurenpar v fileman A wide-open game, where W uses Kside pressure to create a hole in Black's middle defense, but has to hold on as his own defense is shredded and his K has to move out. W's N is more effective at the end than Black's B, and W's Rs dominate long enough to advance one of W's linked pawns within a move of Q-ing.

R2 mongmong v eevee11 A well-played and even struggle for 50 aggressive moves. Trading and position stayed even throughout; only a misstep in how Black protected his isolated pawn swung the game away from the draw it seemed headed for. Especially notable given the ratings disparity between the players.

R3 fhunfi v McDreasor An exciting game, where W has good attacking tempo and seems to be poised to take control. But the defensive risk Black takes to weaken W's Qside pawn structure pays off, after some trading. Once the Qs are traded, W can't stop Black from getting a new Q.

R3 Guru's Pick Portola v bobhill Longest game of the week, and the only one where neither player had gained a clear advantage before moves in the 50's and beyond. It had complete opening, midgame and endgame stages. The endgame being a mini-struggle all by itself, to the realized draw.

R4 julesraider v DaveTheRook A highly positional struggle. W finally gets the winning edge on Kside, but has to structure his attack to also defend Black's Qside push. Black does Q a pawn, but getting there gives W too much momentum and space. Black can't simultaneously attack and stop W's push for a Q or the mate.

R5 cadmiumorange v hipopotomas The best positional game of the nominees. This game was similar to the U1900 game nominated in that both were W Kside attacks vs Black Qside attacks. W had the advantage in the U1900 game by move 26, whereas neither player had even traded a piece by the same move in this game. Black here has his winning chances for longer, and finally breaks thru when W's Q chances stall while Black's Q can't be stopped.

R6 KidRattler v QuieroAprender A struggle W was winning, tho Black may have equalized after the Q trade, if a mouseslip hadn't messed it up and allowed W to freely take Black's Q.

R6 Guru's Pick Electryon v mongmong Longest game of the Round; also the game that stayed in contention the longest. Even tho it was definitely in W's favor after the Q trade, from the move 50's on, W made Black work to certify one of his last pawns becoming a Q.

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.

Play fair and Play nice!

To ensure a friendly and safe environment for members to enjoy our team competition, Team 45 45 League issues sanctions of varying severity for behavior that "disrupts the peaceful enjoyment of the league by its participants." All league games are reviewed for possible assistance. Anyone who receives a red card for suspected cheating is reported to speedtrap. League sanctions are summarized in The Docket.

Fun Stuff

Explore Here Often. Don't Miss Out!

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