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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!

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T-97 Update

As round 6 begins many teams still entertain hopes of reaching the playoffs, by winning 1^stPlace and “Home” advantage, or 2nd Place and a shot at the Section title. 

Quite often we see 3^rd place teams move up by winning their match while 1^st or 2^nd lose ground with a draw. Speaking of draws, I have seen cases where, with an earlier match already won, the last pairing agrees to a draw, giving up on a possible full point, and miss the playoffs by that half a point!

Check out the Standings and track your favorite team. 

*** The STC 90 30 Tourney Starts at the end of Round 6 -  Go to: http://www.90m30s.org/ to sign up! ***

                                T-97 - Games Of The Week

Click the highlighted round number for link to game. Go to GOTW to see all nominated games, all rounds, all tourneys for more detailed guru commentary.

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, entitled Guru's Pick (GP).

R1 ChessG2011 0:1 julesraider - W gains a power advantage early, but loses most of his pawns in the process. Black's efforts at defense take us into a R vs B endgame where W must spend another 40 moves figuring out out to stall Black's 3-pawn chain on Kside. In the end Black's K is forced away from those Kside pawns. Once W sees the correct sequence, his K moving into Black's side of the board limits where Black K can go, Leading to Mate before a Black pawn can Q.

R2 Lawkeito 1/2 bobhill - W sets up a Kside attack, but Black forces the action back to Qside. After the Qs are traded the game becomes very positional and tactical, but the trading stays even throughout. Neither player can gain a clear advantage. With both making all the right decisions the game stays in doubt until the Draw becomes obvious. 

R3 QuieroAprender 0:1 ARMANDO2019 - The game was contested with early trading in the middle, but decided by action on the flanks. W could have resigned after losing a R in the move 30's, but kept giving his team a chance by making smart decisions. The game does eventually even out in power and piece, but Black's position of a pawn 2 steps from a Q is too much to overcome. K finally is trapped in the corner.

R4 fhunfi 0:1 QuieroAprender - A game that was NOT a French but did follow the other pattern from many games this week, of furious trading in the move 20's. We end up with a 2Ns vs 2Ns endgame and a very positional stretch of moves. W appears to have the better of it but a bad N move takes it out of position to stop Black from Q-ing a pawn. W has a chance to possibly force a draw later, but another bad move gives Black the path for a 2nd Q.

R5 Denis240964 1/2 kingofknights - W's early aggression gets his Q in trouble, but he is willing to trade it for both of Black Rs. W wants to use his extra piece to help escort a pawn down to Q , but a Mistake loses one. The other must be traded for a Black pawn that must be stopped. Q vs R-B is a struggle that neither player can find the answer to, and they must Draw. 

R6, P1, P2,