USCL ranks 2006 Games of the Week

At the US Chess League website, they have started a series ranking the 2006 Games of the Week from 1 through 13. The rankings are a group effort reflecting the opinions of League Commissioner IM Greg Shahade, NM Arun Sharma, NM Dennis Monokroussos and GM Alex Shabalov+WFM Elizabeth Vicary (working as a duo).

Number 12 on the list is Privman-Krasik from the Blitz's week 3 win over the New York Knights. The game featured Krasik's exciting Rook sacrifice 17...Rxe4!?

JG of JG's Master Quest fame takes exception to the ranking and argues that Ilya deserved better:

...I really think this really deserved some more credit in the voting. Imagine the match situation: Boston only won this match 3-1 so a loss for Krasik would have meant only a tie for the Blitz and Krasik still has the confidence to play the fantastic move Rxe4 when the consequences of a miscalculation would completely change the outcome of the match. I think it's a little strange not to take the situation in the match into serious consideration.

Strangely, in the USCL piece, the comments on this game from Shabalov/Vicary were censored by the league. While we'll probably never know why, JG speculates on a couple of possible explanations. My favorite is:

[Seattle Slugger's team manager] Clint Ballard pa[i]d off the judges to make sure Krasik would not finish near the top, but unfortunately this was included in the comment.

A Resurrection?

Back in October Dennis Monokroussos declared his blog closed. Since then we've heard nothing ... until today! Check out four new posts on schedule changes for his ChessBase shows, Blogroll changes, new products, and the current state of the World Championship.

Is this just a last gasp or has The Chess Mind been revived? Dennis, care to enlighten us?

And now for something completely different

To be honest, now that my listings of chess blogs are hovering around 400, it is fairly uncommon that I come across one that is truly unique. I love a new chess improvement blog as much as the next guy but at this point I pretty much know how the story is going to go. Therefore, I was quite interested to come across a chess blog which really is something different. Semyon Gelfer has posted his Chess Stamps and Envelopes Collection which includes the autographs of Lasker, Capablanca, Euwe, Botvinnik, Smyslov, Tal and several others.
*****
I've added about twenty chess blogs to the listings over the past few days. Fans of The 64 Square Jungle may want to check out Scholastic Chess Gateway written by ChessCafe Scholastic Columnist Steve Goldberg. There is also a new training blog from Down Under (Improve Your Chess!), yet another blog from a member of our neighbor the Metrowest Chess Club (Strong Among the Weak), and of course, several new chess improvement blogs.

Francophiles will notice eight new listings in the French chess blogs category including one who looks to be trying to capitalize on Dennis Monokroussos' departure from the 'sphere. Hopefully this will compensate to some extent for the large number of non-English chess blogs that were recently moved to the Inactive listings, including former sidebar residents Duveltje's Schaakweb, Der Schachneurotiker, and Sjakkforum (although now that I'm thinking about it, there really is no reason to believe that readers of Dutch, German or Norwegian chess blogs have any particular interest in French ones).
*****
I came across a blog I was hoping I would get to list but unfortunately it's not about chess. Nevertheless, it does have a good title -- The Coffee & Chess Guy.