NCL (National Chess League)

[camly]

Very cool idea. I will follow! This seems like it could take a real long time though. I hope you stick with it.

[FunnyHeadlines]

Very cool idea. I will follow! This seems like it could take a real long time though. I hope you stick with it.

Planning to. I've created various files on my laptop to keep it organized.

[FunnyHeadlines]

So far, Jedidiah Peter, Dallas Mathews, and Ivan Blackbourne are the only un-defeated-or-drawn players. Ridley Quigley, Lonny Foss, and Todd Stoddard have all do not have a win or a draw.

[FunnyHeadlines]

September 21, 1877, New York Kings at Toronto Whales (at Royal Bank Plaza)

Going in as the underdog, the Kings looked to prove themselves against the top team in chess with their gamble in Stephen Pryce. The first game to finish was Blackbourne-Ryers, which ended in a draw due to 3 move repetition, ending Blackbourne's win streak. Then came the board 3 matchup, in which Todd Stoddard continued his losing streak, resigning after losing his queen for a bishop in the mid-game. On board 4, Mathews offered a draw in the early mid-game, however Jedidiah Peter did not accept. If he had, the Kings would have won, since Mathews smothered checkmated Peter late game. The last match to finish was the anticipated Paul-Pryce matchup. This game ended late game in a draw that Paul offered. Pryce accepted, being down a minor piece in capture points. In an interview afterward, Paul was asked why he offered a draw while in a good position to win. Paul answered, "I was getting tired and wasn't performing at the best of my ability. He [Pryce] had a string of moves he could have played to win my rook in exchange for a pawn. However, I would have had a superior position. It would have been game on from then and my concentration was deteriorating, so I decided that offering a draw and not taking a risk would be the best decision, considering we were tied with them coming into this match." Pryce later admitted that he did not see the string of moves that Paul was referring to. The teams drew 2-2. Dallas Mathews stays un-defeated-or-drawn, and Todd Stoddard still has yet to get a win or draw. Jedidiah Peter's un-defeated-or-drawn season came to an end.

[FunnyHeadlines]

September 23, 1877, Chicago Chill at Philadelphia Liberty (at Fairmount Park)

In the battle of the two 3rd place teams, Philadelphia got home board advantage. All boards were very tight, with a battle between two players without a win or draw on board 4. It was the first to finish, with Quigley winning in the fashion of discovered checkmate with his bishop. Next to finish was Akers-Simpkin, in which neither player got ahead by more than 2 capture points. Akers won late game with a back rank mate with his rook. Within two minutes, the board 1 matchup of Becker-Teel finished when Teel resigned after blundering the second of his two rooks, leaving him with only a blocked pawn to protect his king. At this point the board 3 game did not matter since the Liberty already had 3 out of a possible 4 points, so Rounds resigned to Dennell, down 2 capture points. The Liberty won 3-1. Ridley Quigley got his first non-loss, a win, against Lonny Foss, who has yet to do something other than lose.

Halfway through the season it is still anybody's trophy (probably not Chicago's though). The standings:

1. New York Kings 2.0-1.0

1. Toronto Whales 2.0-1.0

3. Philadelphia Liberty 1.5-1.5

4. Chicago Chill 0.5-2.5

[grant1woods]

Go Phily! Also, fun fact, used to live in Wallingford!

[qwerty]

Amazing job so far

[FunnyHeadlines]

September 24, 1877, The commissioner and board of directors hold discussions in Madison, WI with various developers and city mayors regarding expansion. The commissioner thinks that it is a good idea this early in the league’s life since there is a growing popularity throughout the country, especially in the West and Southeast (and the CCSLC forums;)). No announcements are made afterwards regarding the meeting.

[FunnyHeadlines]

September 28, 1877, Chicago Chill at New York Kings (at Central Park)

In round 2 of the Kings-Chill series, Stephen Pryce defeated Boris Teel yet again to make him 2.5-1.5 on the season. He did this by checkmating him late game with a knight and 2 rooks in the last game to finish. Elsewhere, Zephaniah Boyce defeated his opponent Dennell very early in the game after forking his king and queen (forking is when a player attacks two pieces so that one has to move, resulting in the capture of the other. It is most commonly done with knights.). On board 2, Barclay Ryers continued an underwhelming season with the Kings only loss of the match. Simpkin pinned Ryers' knight to his king late game and continued to attack it until he was able to achieve 'mate. Similarly, on board 4, Jedidiah Peter of the Kings pinned Lonny Foss' bishop to his king, taking two moves after to achieve back rank 'mate. The Kings win 3-1.

[FunnyHeadlines]

September 29, 1877, Chill Head Coach Herman Leighton announces that the win-and-drawless Lonny Foss will be replaced at 4th Board by Rob Wray.

[FunnyHeadlines]

September 30, 1877, Philadelphia Liberty at Toronto Whales (at Royal Bank Plaza)

Ivan Blackbourne gets his first loss of the season in the second game to finish, losing to the Liberty's 2nd Board Jamie Akers during the mid-game after blundering both of his rooks early. However, his teammate Dallas Mathews, in the third game to finish, continues his un-defeated-or-drawn season with win late game over Ridley Quigley, who missed an obvious 3-move 'mate for Mathews. In the first game to finish, on board 3, Todd Stoddard offered a draw to Woody Rounds, who accepted, being even in position and capture points in the mid-game. On board 1, David Becker came through for the Liberty, winning late in the game with a brilliant, 2-move mate with his knight and queen that neither Paul nor anyone watching the game saw coming. The Liberty pull out a close one, 2.5-1.5.

After the 4th week, here are the standings:

1. New York Kings 3.0-1.0

2. Philadelphia Liberty 2.5-1.5

3. Toronto Whales 2.0-2.0

4. Chicago Chill 0.5-3.5

The Chill, statistically, still technically have a chance to make it to the NCL finals, however they need to win both their remaining games against the Liberty and Whales and for the Liberty to lose to the Kings and the Whales to either draw or lose to the Kings. The Chill's fans have just become huge New York King fans.

PS, if I didn't mention it earlier, the tiebreak for two teams tied going into the playoffs/finals is a neutral site match, where finals tiebreaks are used in case of a draw. In case of a three way tie, marathon round robin tournament is played at the remaining team's site. It repeats until a winner has come out.

[FunnyHeadlines]

October 5, 1877, Toronto Whales at New York Kings (at Central Park)

Two big story lines come out of the match today. 1. In an astonishing game that was the first to finish, Dallas Mathews lost for the first time this season to Jedidiah Peter, resigning during development (the early stages of the game) after blundering his queen. His coach reprimanded him later for resigning, saying that he could have still one but his ego took him over. 2. Ivan Blackbourne bounced back after a loss in the previous week in a marathon of a game in which his opponent, Barclay Ryers, ran out of time. In the other two games, the first to finish was Pryce-Paul, in which Paul smothered Pryce's queen in the mid-game and eventually won in the late game, ahead by 19 capture points. Also in a blowout, Zephaniah Boyce defeated Todd Stoddard, ahead by a total of 15 capture points. The game was never close, but Stoddard was able to avoid being beaten until the late game. The match ends in a draw, 2.0-2.0.

The Chill still have a slight chance if they can beat the Liberty on Sunday and the Whales next week, with the Liberty losing to the Kings next week also. Upon hearing the news that the Whales and Kings had drawn, head coach Herman Leighton said, "Our men are just going to go and sit at the boards focusing on their own games. I know these men, and they're not going to focus on what other teams are doing, they're going to focus on what they're doing. Because we can only control what we can control, so that's what we're going to do." When asked about how he thought Rob Wray was going to do in his debut, Leighton commented that he was optimistic.

[JMurr]

Looking good. Not sure who to support yet.

[FunnyHeadlines]

October 7, 1877, Philadelphia Liberty at Chicago Chill (at McCormick Place)

Even though the match ended in a 2.0-2.0 draw, no game in it was close. It sets the first recorded record for shortest match in NCL History, only lasting 1 hr 12 min. Boards 1 and 2 both went to the Chill with early mid-game discovered checkmates. Simpkin moved his knight, allowing his rook to check and consequently 'mate Akers. On board 1, Teel won a little more unconventionally. Teel moved his pawn, putting Becker in check by the rook behind it. This would not have been 'mate had the pawn not moved on to the back rank. Receiving a promotion, Teel cleverly went with a knight, which then guarded what would have been the only square Becker's could could have moved to, making it checkmate. On board 3, Woody Rounds of the Liberty won during development in a magnificent fashion: taking Dennell's queen while forcing checkmate at the same time. And on board 4, Rob Wray was dominated in his debut (even though it was the last board to finish), losing in the mid-game in a smothered mate. The Chill no longer have a chance to make it to the Finals.

Standings going into the final week:

1. New York Kings 3.5-1.5

2. Philadelphia Liberty 3.0-2.0

3. Toronto Whales 2.5-2.5

4. Chicago Chill 1.0-4.0

All teams have a chance except the Chill. The Kings at least are in a tiebreaker, and the Whales need a win and a Philadelphia loss to go outright, while needing a win and a Philadelphia win or draw to go to a tiebreaker. 3.5 is the magic number to get to the postseason. (Tiebreakers are considered postseason)

[FunnyHeadlines]

October 10, 1877, The commissioner and board of directors meet in Wichita, KS regarding a possible roster expansion. Many ideas are thrown up, including a 6 board match with 3 alternates. No announcements are made.

[FunnyHeadlines]

October 12, 1877, New York Kings at Philadelphia Liberty (at Fairmount Park)

Zephaniah Boyce, in the last match of the season, loses his first game! In the late game, he lost his only remaining rook (he had traded his other one for one of Rounds' in the late mid-game) for two pawns, setting up a quick, 4-move mate for Rounds with his knight and queen. In the other games, boards 1 and 4 both drew, board 4 when Peter, who has had a terrific season, accidentally stalemated Quigley late in the game, and board 1 from 3-move repetition. On board 2, Jamie Akers sealed a victory for the Liberty with a surprise 'mate with both his bishops and a rook in the late game. The Liberty wins, 3.0-1.0. The Kings wait to see if they will have to travel to Chicago for tiebreaker should the Whales win on Sunday. The Liberty has clinched a spot in the Finals.

[FunnyHeadlines]

October 14, 1877, Chicago Chill at Toronto Whales (at Royal Bank Plaza)

In the last match of the regular season, the Chill gets blown out on the road. Alexander Paul took it to the house on Boris Teel in the mid-game, winning while up by 9 capture points. Ivan Blackbourne, who is a favorite of many to become a 1st Board next year since he only signed a 1-year contract, dominated Dan Simpkin, who barely managed to stay in it 'til the late game, and eventually won with a smothered 'mate. Todd Stoddard got his first win of the year against Branson Dennell, defeating him with a discovered checkmate in the late mid-game. With three games won and no possibility of the Chill coming back, Mathews offered Rob Wray a draw. After Wray declined, despite being in a bad position and down 3 capture points, Mathews resigned. The Whales won, 3.0-1.0. They will play the Kings in Chicago on October 19 for a spot in the Finals.

The final standings:

1. Philadelphia Liberty 4.0-2.0

2. New York Kings 3.5-2.5

2. Toronto Whales 3.5-2.5

4. Chicago Chill 1.0-5.0

[FunnyHeadlines]

The Chill will have to next season to get the first franchise win, having only gotten one win in the inaugural season from a combination of two draws.

[FunnyHeadlines]

No player finished undefeated. Also, the only player to go without a win or draw was Lonny Foss, however he was pulled in week 5, so he did not finish the season. His replacement, Rob Wray, won his last match, so the Chill's Board 4 was not winless.

[FunnyHeadlines]

October 19, 1877, Toronto Whales vs. New York Kings in Chicago, IL (at McCormick Place, 7pm EST)

The Kings are going to the Finals!!!!! Stephen Pryce came through big and proved that he deserved to be picked #1 against Alexander Paul in the first postseason match in NCL history. The game started out pretty evenly, but by the mid-game it was Pryce's game, for he had skewered Paul's queen via check with his bishop. He ended the game up 7 capture points. On board 4, two players with very good records this season went head to head, but neither came out a winner. 3-move repetition doomed the game to become a draw. Boards 2 and 3 were fairly good game, with Blackbourne winning very late with two rooks and a king over Ryers who had only his king left. Blackbourne however, had never been down capture points the entire game. Board 3 sealed the deal, being the last game to finish. It was late in the mid-game when Stoddard lost his queen for two bishops, which wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't already lost both of his and one of his knights. The game ended late with when Boyce checkmated Stoddard, who only had his king and a pawn left, with his original queen and the queen he received through promotion. The Kings won, 2.5-1.5, and got the second spot in the Finals.

October 22, 1877, The league meets with more possible expansion partners in Concord, NH.