Macaspac and Pitts finished their games fairly quickly. Both are entertaining games especially Pitts'. He was behind two pawns but West’s 19…d5 was an error. He underestimated and reacted poorly to Pitts’ king-side aggression. Allowing the queen to stay on g5 allowed the knight fork on h5. West seemed oblivious to the threat because he recaptured on f6 with the queen instead of the rook which would just cost him an exchange.
The battle between co-leaders was decided quickly in round 4. Pitts blundered a pawn without any compensation. The game since then was lopsided in Black’s favor. Macaspac efficiently converted his advantage into a win. Macaspac has one more tough game with Baniel in round 6 tomorrow. If he overcomes him, he will easily become the champion this year.
The remaining games are between the current top four players. The results will likely change the ranking order. The top four after round six will likely make the All-Army Chess Team.
Watch it live.
Essentially, only the last two spots will be fought out in the remaining rounds. Duke, West and King are the heavy favorites for the remaining spots.
Drake won against Pitts. Drake is now in clear second place. Baniel vs. Macaspac was fairly even but now Macaspac has some serious winning chances. Baniel seemed to have overestimated his chances in a drawn game. Now, he is fighting for a draw.
Macaspac won as I predicted. Now, he is 6-0. His path to the crown is now set. He just has to avoid accidents in the remaining five rounds. Drake is now clearly second. Baniel and Pitts follow in third and fourth places, respectively.
Round 3 is underway. It took us (mostly Ron Braud) only two rounds to figure out a way to start the round on time. We try to do things on time that being the Army way. You can watch the ongoing action live here in Monroi. Today, we started exactly at 0800 hours.
I am returning back to Memphis shortly after the start of Round 4 (2 pm). So you will not see any blogging from me until tonight. When I get home, I will blog more on specific games with some light analysis.
West – Corona (0-1), Black won on time in a somewhat even position with Black having the better chances. White failed to execute his 40th move before time control.
