Philadelphia Inventors eliminated from the Playoffs

Well, it is not much of a shock that they wouldnt make the playoffs, but it is too bad that they are now actually mathematically eliminated. They lost 2.5-1.5 to Baltimore. They still have 2 more matches, though, and can maybe try and build up something going into next year.

Taking a look at the standings, one very interest stat just jumps out of the page at me. The Philadelphia Inventors have a 41% winning percentage games wise, but are dead last in match standings. Yep, there were a lot of close but losing matches over the course of this season. The Inventors game wise are tied with Manhattan, which is currently in 5th place with 3.5-4.5 and fighting for a playoff spot. That is just the way match chess goes, the team has to click at the right times.

Looking forward, though, this is pretty promising. Depending on roster moves, I dont think anyone can count out the Inventors from the get go next year. They are much closer to a playoff spot then their match record indicates, and that is nice silver lining.

I am not sure if they actually have team MVPs in the US Chess League, but my nominee would be Tom Bartell. He has an 4 out of 7 (2 wins, 4 draws, 1 loss), was undefeated up until this past week, and has fairly consistently been playing higher rated players. Indeed, his only loss of the year was against GM Sergey Erenburg, who is rated 200 points higher than him. His memorable win over GM Boris Gulko was a great way to start the season for the Inventors. It has been a bit of an unfortunate year for the Inventors, but Bartell has done a great job holding his own on the top boards, often against higher rated opponents. Unless I am missing something, the only game Bartell had against a lower rated opponent was his draw against Chicago's IM Angelo Young. That makes his 4 out of 7 pretty impressive, in my opinion. Nice work, Tom Bartell!

There are still two more matches, though, so maybe another Inventor will make a case for himself.

For Week 9, the Philadelphia Inventors will play the Manhattan Applesauce. I like the name by the way. Good luck to the Inventors!