The Dallas Destiny win the USCL Championship! For the second straight year the Dallas Destiny and Boston Blitz faced off in the Finals, for the second straight year it was tied 2-2 in regulation and just as in 2007, the Dallas Destiny emerged victorious.
The match started out great for Boston, as they jumped out to an early 2-0 lead. Christiansen lulled Zivanic into accepting a dangerous pawn sacrifice and punished him for doing so. Esserman also continued his fine play, finishing the season with an undefeated +6 record after beating Schneider.
Even though Boston had the 2-0 lead it was clear that it wouldn’t be easy, as Dallas seemed to have the edge on the other two boards. IM Kuljasevic and WFM Bayaraa Zorigt, the stars of the Dallas Destiny during the playoffs, pushed their playoff records to an amazing 6-0 with two victories.
First Zorigt ended Krasik’s winning streak at five, and then Kuljasevic beat Sammour-Hasbun in the rematch of last year’s Game of the Year, sending the match into the tiebreaker.
In the tiebreaker IM Davorin Kuljasevic was the hero for the Destiny. Boston had eliminated two Dallas players while only having lost one player themselves. Kuljasevic’s first game was against Esserman, and he showed fine technique against Esserman’s Dutch Defense.
Next up was Sammour-Hasbun, whom many believe is one of the best blitz players in the country. Unfortunately for Boston, Kuljasevic stopped him right away with the black pieces, leaving only GM Larry Christiansen standing between Dallas and victory.
First Kuljasevic and Christiansen played to an exciting draw, but in the second game, when many felt that Christiansen had the advantage, Kuljasevic took advantage of a few mistakes and forced checkmate, meaning that Dallas would be USCL Champions for the second year in a row.
Official website: http://www.uschessleague.com/
This league is a joke compare to the European or Asian leagues.