They’re Back! The Arizona Scorpions, that is!

On Tuesday, August 27^th the Arizona Scorpions will kick off the 2013 season, their 6^th year in the league, against the Seattle Sluggers.

We are pleased to welcome back some seasoned players in the likes of: 

Mackenzie Molner who took a liking to the 9^th person on the roster and married Amanda Mateer, the M&M’s are a welcome sight for Scorpion fans. Congratulations to the newlyweds and welcome back!

Mac is without a doubt an exciting player to watch and we are hard pressed to find a better fit for our top board.

IM Levon Altounian is back once again filling in the #2 slot on the roster. Lev has been like a security blanket over the years, having scored some valuable points when needed and being a stumbling block for other teams to take down. Lev's play is very solid and we look for him to have another year of good results.

On board 3 we have Mark Ginsburg returning to play for the 2013 season. Mark is a very cunning player and very creative, I hope we get to see more of him this year than in 2012, but of course, the needs of the team and the particulars of the upcoming opponents will hold sway. With Marc we are almost always sure of seeing an exciting game.

Another returning veteran to the line-up on board 4 is Robby Adamson. Robby is a tenacious fighter. Robby is a gnat’s eyelash from getting his IM title and I feel it is only a matter of more playing time before he gets it. Unfortunately, he is a working man as well, we all have to make a living. Fortunately, none of the regular season matches are held on Saturdays or Thursdays so Robby can place his priorities the same way I do – Go Wildcats!

IM Shahin Mohandesi is coming back on board 5 for his second year. He should be more comfortable with the playing conditions for the USCL. Shahin is also a tenacious fighter and skilled endgame player, he is sure to pull off a point or two from positions that may seem dry and fruitless to others.

FM Pedram Adoufi comes back for another season as well. Also a tremendous fighter Pedram is a tough opponent to face. If he can stay out of time pressure I look for him to have a good year in 2013.

There are only two newcomers to the roster. 

On board 7 we have Bryan Hu. I don’t know much about Bryan’s recent triumphs but I hear he has been doing well of late. My only experience with Bryan was a win I scored against him in the 2008 US Amateur where he made a slight inaccuracy in my pet Najdorf Sicilian. That was six years ago, when the Scorpions first started playing in the USCL. A lot of time has passed and I am sure that Bryan has sharpened up his openings quite a bit in that time frame. Good luck, Bryan!

The other newcomer is Ben Marmont who will be giving his opponents a fit as he slides into roster spot #8. Ben just recently won the US Amateur West. I’ve known Ben for a few years now and am very impressed with him both as a person and as a capable chess player. His opening knowledge should be on par if not superior to the opponents he is likely to face in his rookie year in the USCL. I can’t wait for the action to get started – mow ‘em down Benny!

                             

Last, but definitely not least, it our Princess Bride, Amanda Mateer. Well, at least that’s how the name appears on the official USCL Roster. Amanda, have you hyphenated or converted your last name yet? 

But I digress. 

Amanda has a lot of experience in USCL play and this makes her a formidable opponent even if she were paired against players higher in the roster for any team.

 

A special note to all the Scorpion fans – the games will be carried live on chess.com

Be sure to tune in and cheer on our Scorpions as they march forward to what I expect to be their best year yet, and that can only mean one thing!

The Scorpions will face their first victim this Tuesday, August 28^th at 9:00 PM Eastern.

A word or two about Arizona Chess:

You will notice that we have players from both the Phoenix and Tucson areas. I am absolutely confident that each area could field a team worthy of play in the US Chess League on their own.

It is my firm belief that, in the event that Mac Molner is not able to play owing to a prior commitment else-where, we are not going to lose that much on the overall strength of the team. Yes, Mac is without doubt the anchor of the team, but all the players on this roster are pretty solid, exciting and tenacious.

The reason Arizona is able to field a strong team seemingly out of nothing (well, according to the chess “Mecca’s” of New York, Boston and LA) is due in no small part to the tremendous chess heritage.

This heritage goes back to the late ‘70’s when my father, Lou Farmer, helped brainstorm what quickly became the Southern Arizona Chess Association. In the following years this morphed into a solid organization and has been able to bring in some nice tournaments to the Arizona scene. Instrumental to the growth of chess in Arizona was the emphasis on Scholastic chess as well as furthering the game for adults.

With the possible exception of Shahin, who just recently joined the ranks of the desert dwellers, each of the players on the Scorpion’s team have had a tremendous impact on the scholastic scene. Without the likes of people like Robby Adamson, Lev Altounian, Mac Molner, Amanda Mateer, Pedram Atoufi and Mark Ginsberg to inspire the youngsters to keep with the game; we would not be honored to have two former scholastic players join the ranks of the Master for future apprentices, of course I am speaking of Ben Marmont and Bryan Hu.

Finally, one last word before the season kicks off. A tip of the hat if you will, to Greg Shahade the Commissioner of the US Chess League. It has been a long time in building what I believe will be an enduring classic internet format for American Chess.

  

Be sure to tune in. In pre-season polls the Seattle Sluggers look to be the team to beat, but maybe that’s because more people in Washington have computers or they have one person voting many many many times! Can the Scorpions put a dent in their beliefs on Tuesday?

Tuesday, August 27^th, 9:00 PM EST. Watch live on www.chess.com or via your interface if you are a member of ICC.

I will post highlight videos as soon as possible after the games are done. Please bear in mind that I have a full time job, so it may sometimes not be until the following weekend that the video recaps are posted. I will post them on-line with links on this blog spot as well as posting them on my Facebook page and on www.chessvideos.tv (maybe on chess.com as well if we can work something out in that regards).

If you would like to be updated when the videos are posted, shoot me an email at stoopidbishop@gmail.com or friend me on Facebook, just look for Steve Farmer and send me a request.

GO SCORPIONS!!!