USCL on a Friday Night!: Rabin's Predictions for 11/2/12

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On Wednesday night, I correctly predicted that the Boston Blitz would defeat the New England Nor'Easters. To the contrary, there was definitely luck involved as I only got 1/4 game predictions right:)

We are getting to the end of the road of  the 2012 USCL Season!

The Match that May Determine who will the 2012 USCL Eastern Division Champions: The Philadelphia Inventors vs the New York Knights
GM Erenburg- GM Kacheishvili 1/2-1/2 
GM Gelashvili- SM Fisher 1-0 
FM Gorman- SM Herman 0-1 
Checa- IM Costigan 0-1 
and New York Will Surpass Philly in the USCL Standings- NY Wins 2.5-1.5 
The First Date Between the New Jersey Knockouts and the Connecticut Dreadnoughts 
GM Stripunsky- GM Hess 1/2-1/2 
GM Kekelidze- GM Benjamin 1/2-1/2
IM Kappengut- Harris 1-0 
Chandran- Balaskrishnan 1-0 
and we shall see a Drawn Match 2-2 

Rabin Predicts the Results of The End of the Western Division's 2012 USCL Regular Season

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I did a very poor job for last Friday's rare USCL action, getting 0/2 match and 2/8 game predictions correct. Let's see how I do tomorrow night for the end of the Western Division's regular season tomorrow night!

It is now once upon a time in the West!



Two Teams That Secured Playoff Spots Duke it Out: The 1st Place Dallas Destiny vs the 2nd Place Saint Louis Arch Bishops

The Dallas Destiny doesn't have all that much to play for as they secured clear first place; however the Saint Louis Arch Bishops has to win or at least draw to maintain its second place position.

IM Holt- GM Diamant 1-0

IM Kannappan- IM Wang 1-0

Gater- IM Bregadze 0-1

Hendrickson- Guenther 1-0

and Saint Louis will Likely Secure Second Place (depending how Seattle does), Saint Louis Wins 3-1

Two of the Teams that are Eliminated from Playoff Contention Bring Sub-2300 Lineups: The San Francisco Mechanics vs the Miami Sharks

IM Naroditsky- GM Becerra 1/2-1/2

Recio- FM Liou 0-1

FM Lee- Rosenthal 1-0

Salisbury- Ebrahimi 1-0 I don't know either of these players but I looked at their MSA pages and while Ebrahimi has been consistent in the 1800s, Salisbury is on a sharp rise, having made expert recently.

and a weak San Francisco Team shall defeat a weak Miami team, San Francisco wins 2.5-1.5

The Arizona Scorpions Who May with a Little Luck Rise to 3rd Place vs the Potentially Spoiling Carolina Cobras 

IM Molner- IM Schroer- 1-0 a draw is the second most likely result!

FM Simpson- IM Altounian 0-1 Altounian will handle a lot of Simpson's complications and simplify to get the full point!

IM Ginsburg- Jones 1-0

Timmel- Martinez 1/2-1/2

 and for a change, I won't take any margin of error! Arizona Shall win 3.5-.5! 

The Los Angeles Vibe Shall Attempt to Maintain its Lifetime Record against the Seattle Sluggers (Current Score 2-1)

I give LA a lot of credit for utilizing a strong 2400+ lineup, even though they are already eliminated from playoff contention. To be honest, it's a little disappointing that some of the other teams sort of threw in the towel, brining subpar lineups.

IM Amanov- FM Mikhailuk 1-0

FM Milat- IM Kiewra 1-0 Milat won their 2010 encounter with the black pieces. Kiewra is definitely stronger now with a higher rating and IM title, but my instincts tell me Milat will win again!

FM Kavutskiy- FM Collyer 1/2-1/2

Sinanan- FM Yanayt 1-0

and we shall see Seattle Win 2.5-1.5

Rabin's Predictions for the End of the USCL's Eastern Divsion's 2012 Season!!

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I finished predicting the Western Division's 2012 season with a  bang, getting 3/4 matches and 11/16 match predictions correct. There were two last minute lineup changes that I did not account for ( Byambaa playing for SF instead of Ebrahimi and Mu playing for Carolina instead of Simpson). My stats are actually on the conservative side as I truthfully would have probably predicted Byambaa to beat Salisbury and Altounian to beat Mu. To the contrary, both games were draws.

Tomorrow night will be a very exciting end to the Eastern Division's as seven out of eight are still in playoff contention. See http://uschessleague.com/wp/2012/11/06/eastern-division-playoff-scenarios/ for a summary of playoff scenarios. Let's see what the results shall be!!

As three of the seven surviving teams will be eliminated, we shall definitiely see some stiff competition tomorrow night!



The Potentially Spoiling New England Nor'easters vs the Likely-to-be 2012 USCL Eastern Division Champions, the Philadelphia Inventors

GM Ivanov- GM Erenburg 1/2-1/2

FM Bartell- IM Vigorito 1-0 In 2010, they drew when Vigorito was white. In 2008, Bartell won with the white pieces.. I think he'll win again!

Theil- Gorman 1/2-1/2 While Gorman has been on fire lately, Theil hasn't played in the USCL since 2010's Week 10. While part of me wants to say Gorman will win, I think Theil will keep things solid with the white pieces.

Daly- Goldberg 0-1

and Philadelphia will be secured the first place spot in the East! Drawn Match 2-2

The Connecticut Dreadnoughts Needs to Defeat the Manhattan Applesauce to Have a Good Chance to Make the Playoffs!

GM Hess- IM Vovsha 1-0

IM Schneider- GM Kekelidze 0-1

IM Sarkar- IM Milman 1/2-1/2

Smith- Tanenbaum 1-0

and both teams will likely make the playoffs; Connecticut Wins 2.5-1.5

Two Teams Near the Middle of the Pack Duke it Out for Playoff Spots: The New Jersey Knockouts vs the New York Knights

GM Stripunsky- GM Gelashvili 1/2-1/2

SM Herman- GM Gulko 0-1

FM Shen- FM Bodek 0-1

Katz- Burke 1-0

and NY will end NJ's 2012 USCL Season! NY Wins 2.5-1.5

The Baltimore Kingfishers and the Boston Blitz Shall Fight to the Bitter End for A Potential Seat in the Playoffs

GM Margelashvili- Shmelov 1-0

FM Gulamali- GM Kaufman 0-1

Defibaugh- Matirosov 0-1

Krasik- Zimmer 1-0

and a Drawn 2-2 Match will make Baltimore's playoff hopes tiny and Boston's absolutely none!

Rabin Predicts the Results of the 2012 USCL Season's Eastern Division Quaterfinals

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I will give a detailed analysis of my stats for the regular season, but that'll have to wait. My music readers will have lots to read this week as I have two concerts coming up this week! Tuesday night I'm going to Phil Lesh and Friends at the Roseland Ballroom and Wednesday I'm seeing the Who play the Quadrophenia album at the Barclays Center.

For my youtube video, here's a rendition of "St. Stephen" the band did in Monclair last week:



Without further ado, here's the expected results of tomorrow's night quarterfinal matches!

The Manhattan Applesauce Shall Attempt to Seek Revenge for its 2011 Semifinal Loss to the New York Knights 

GM Romanenko- GM Gelashvili 1/2-1/2 Gelashvili got upset by Romanenko earlier this season. However, I don't think Gelashvili will crumble this time!

SM Herman- IM Vovsha 0-1 A toss-up in a wild game! With his back-to-back victories against IM Enkhbat and GM Hess, Vovsha seems pretty scary though!

Shvartsman- FM Bodek 0-1 Instincts here!

Katz- King 1-0 While objectively I think King is a stronger player than Katz, I think preparation will do Katz justice here and he will pull off a slight upset.

and my beloved knights shall defeat my second favorite team, New York Wins 2.5-1.5

The Philadelphia Inventors Shall Attempt to Make Use of Its 1st Place Finish Against The Baltimore Kingfishers

Last year Philadelphia also got the first place seat, but got knocked out in the quarterfinals by Manhattan Anyway... Shall it help them out this year?

GM Erenburg- IM Enkhbat 1-0 Enkhbat is a solid player and Erenburg has had a lot of draws this season... I was tempted to predict a draw, but I think Erenburg will come trough with a win!

GM Kaufman- IM Bartell 1/2-1/2 It's gonna be a relatively peaceful game.

FM Gorman- NM Wang 1-0 Wang shocked the crowds in week 8 as he upset GM Gulko with the black pieces.. However, Gorman has been a beast all season long..... I think Wang will go for complications due to draw odds and end up taking too many risks.

FM Zimmer- IM Costigan 1-0 Instincts!

and Philadelphia will meet New York in the Semfinals, Philadelphia Wins 2.5-1.5

Rabin's Prognostics for the 2012 USCL Western Division's Quaterfinals!

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I did a pretty lame job predicting the Eastern Quarterfinals. I have to give Manhattan some credit for defeating my beloved Knights in a topsy-turvy match. Manager Shaun Smith was talking a lot of smack about the match and I requested I write an apology for predicting New York would win, if they lost. While I refuse to apologize, I thought I'd at least share our conversation!
 I also got a mere 1/8 or 12.75% of game predictions correct but will take the consolation that I least predicted the correct outcome of the Philadelphia- Baltimore match. 
Let's hope things are better for tonight! It's nice to have some competition now with Ron Young being back with his famous jumbles! 
For my acclaimed Youtube video, I give you Phil Lesh and Friends' encore from last night's show, a rendition of "Not Fade Away." Expect a review of that show to a blog near you soon! 

The Two-Time USCL Champions, The Dallas Destiny vs the Veteran Seattle Sluggers Who Never Quite Made it to the End 
GM Sadorra- GM Akobian 1/2-1/2 Akobian will equalize in a theoretical opening and a draw will be the ultimate result! 
IM Orlov- GM Holt 0-1 Orlov is certainly capable of drawing or beating Holt, especially as he shocked the crowds a few weeks ago, defeating GM Kraai. However, Holt is pretty good at creating complications to win with black. I also think Kraai didn't play his best in that game; out of the opening, it seemed as if he lost the two bishops for no real reason.
Safin- Sinanan 1-0 Anything can happen.. Safin has an incredible 4/4 record this season, while Sinanan has an excellent 5/7 record. With a slightly better record, a higher rating and the white pieces I'll give Safin an edge. 
Lessler- Guenther 1-0 
and Dallas will end Seattle's Season, Dallas Wins 2.5-1.5 
The Experienced Arizona Scorpions Take on the USCL Post-Season Newbies, The St. Louis Archbishops 
IM Molner- GM Diamant 1/2-1/2 They drew in week 9, why not draw again?! 
IM Kannappan- IM Altounian 1/2-1/2 I think Kannappan is a slight favorite to win, but Altounian very rarely loses USCL games! 
IM Mohandesi- IM Bregadze 1/2-1/2 Similar note the above game! I thought Bregadze was a favorite in their week 9 match up, and that was with the white pieces. They drew then, so another one seems likely!
Hendrickson- Chakraborty 1-0 Time for Revenge!
and Hendrickson will lead the newbies to victory! St. Louis Wins 2.5-1.5 

ANDREA PIZZICONI AND THE ORIENTE LOPEZ JAZZ ENSEMBLE - LEARNING TO LIVE

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It all started with a bet. Andrea Pizziconi has been a long admirer of Big Picture Learning and their pioneering work to sustain innovative schools that foster real-world learning environments for economically challenged youth around the world. Last fall over lunch, friend and co-founder of Big Picture Elliot Washor said, "Record a jazz album for us, and I'll put together the team to create our first arts-oriented charter school in Harlem, New York." It was an offer Andrea couldn't refuse. From there, Andrea had the great fortune of enlisting Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist and composer Oriente Lopez and his fabulous musical colleagues -- Julio Botti (saxophone), Itaiguara Brandi£o (bass), and Mauricio Zottarelli (drums)-- to lend their talents to an album and a concert, suddenly: SCHOOL IS IN SESSION!

This album was put together to support a deep passion we all share to create schools where performance is a measure of not just what you know, but also where you have been and who you are. As you listen, you will hear musicians who have worked thousands of hours to achieve their sense of self, and who have become accountable to themselves and their community. The great jazz composer and pianist Ramsey Lewis said, "When you get to the top, don't forget to send the elevator back down." The musicians performing on this album "send the elevator back down" by helping our young people understand just how much dedication and mentoring it takes to really master something. The songs chosen for this album are a tribute to great jazz musicians like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Phyllis Hyman, who spent decades crafting their musicality even as they continued to share their talent with the public to great esteem. Like the students in our Big Picture Schools, they spent their entire careers being mentored by the great musicians who came before them. Eventually they become the mentors and masters, and sustain the next generation. Big Picture students learn in the same way and are also assessed by what they can do in real-world contexts. They are learning to live. The proceeds of this album support a new Big Picture School in Harlem, where each student will be mentored to pursue personal interests and achieve life goals. Connecting jazz and real-world learning underscores Big Picture Learning's philosophy-marrying inspiration and impact. Enjoy! ~ CD Universe

NEW RELEASES - ESTEREO, LISA TAYLOR, NANCY WILSON

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BOMBA ESTEREO - ELEGANCIA TROPICAL

The best album so far from this up-and-coming Colombian group – a great mix of rootsy elements and more electronic production – served up in the forward-reaching style we've come to love in recent projects from the Soundway label! Bomba Estereo are easily one of the most contemporary groups to hit the imprint of late – and they've got no trouble at all moving between upbeat, soulful styles and more earthy levels of instrumentation – all fused together with the kind of warmth and joy we might expect in some of the older productions from Luaka Bop, but with a bit more edge too. Titles include "Bosque", "Bailar Conmigo", "Pa Respirar", "Mozo", "Pajaros", "Pure Love", and "Caribbean Power". ~ Dusty Groove

LISA TAYLOR - LET LOVE SHINE

From the Big Island of Hawaii, Lisa Lehua Taylor has been singing her entire life. Growing up in a household where she was exposed to Theatre at a very young age and her parents played everything from Led Zeppelin, Joni Mitchell and The Beatles to Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, she was always encouraged to pursue her love of music. Lisa finally started performing at the age of 10 and hasn't stopped since! After years of making a living as a Vocalist in her home state, and performing with some of the best musicians the State has to offer, she's also performed in Japan, Korea and Singapore. Since moving to Santa Cruz, California 8 years ago, Lisa has quickly built a name for herself on the Central Coast and Bay Area. On top of all of the performing, She has lent her vocal talent to many recording projects and completed her debut album "LT" in 2010. Her highly anticipated album "Let Love Shine" was released February 1, 2013. Lisa's main musical influence is, Prince. Other artists that she's inspired by are Kimbra, Andy Allo, Corinne Bailey Rae, Jill Scott, Faith Evans, Justin Timberlake, The Fleet Foxes, Grace Potter, A Perfect Circle.


NANCY WILSON - HELLO YOUR LOVERS

Signed by Capitol in 1960, Nancy Wilson enjoyed her first hit with Guess Who I Saw Today, a single that would prove to be the first of several major hits for the singer. By 1962 Nancy was rightfully regarded as one of the best female singers around, mixing Dinah Washington's jazz stylings with Sarah Vaughan's jazz tone, a mix that proved irresistible on Nancy's collaborative album with Cannonball Adderley. Later the same year Nancy released Hello Young Lovers, her fourth album for Capitol. With arrangements by George Shearing, the album continued her hot streak, hitting #49 on the Billboard chart and earning her a number of monikers, of which Fancy Miss Nancy would appear to be the most apt. ~ CD Universe