PRO Chess League Summer Series: Baden Baden Steals Group B Lead Heading Into Final Week

Saturday's action in Group B of the PRO Chess League Summer Series saw each of the four teams do just enough to keep their Summer Series Championship hopes alive. With all four teams scoring points in the standings, fans will have to wait until next week's matches to see who make the playoffs in August.

When the Barcelona Raptors entered Saturday's clash with Reykjavik, they expected to take a commanding lead in the standings, but the Puffins' fan club and the Snowballs' top-board GM Dmitrij Kollars had other thoughts. With Reykjavik beating Barcelona and Pittsburgh holding Baden Baden to a draw, the Group B standings saw a last-minute shakeup at the top:

Live Club Match: Reykjavik Pulls Second Summer Series Upset, Briefly Takes Group B Lead

This pairing was intriguing because both the Puffins and Raptors had won their Live Club Matches last week. Barcelona entered the match a heavy favorite, both on top-board with GM Daniel Forcen Esteban and in fan totals.

With Reykjavik's IM Gudmundur Kjartansson starting the match with an unfortunate mouse slip, it seemed like Barcelona was on pace to win the match. Luckily for Kjartansson, the Puffins were quick to respond on their lower boards. Group A's Best Fan winner, Moscatel87, drew first blood on the lower boards:

Reykjavik was quick to build a five-point lead, but the Raptors' experienced fans brought the match within one point when greatgatsby23 converted after a complex game in the King's Indian:

For a moment it seemed like Barcelona would reclaim the lead, but just like last week, the Puffins continued to impress. With his second win of the day, 2kRated pushed Reykjavik in front by handling a Smith Morra Gambit novelty with a nice defensive resource:

The win put Reykjavik out of reach. Even with Barcelona's Forcen Esteban swindling Kjartansson, the Puffins took the match 27.7-20.5:

Knockout Battles: GM Kollars Wins Rematch Against Forcen Esteban

Unlike traditional playoff formats, the Summer Series Knockout Battles offer players only one game each round to progress to the finals. Alongside Forcen Esteban and Kjartansson, Pittsburgh's GM Alexander Shabalov and Baden Baden's GM Dmitrij Kollars completed the four-player knockout:

Making his Summer Series debut, Shabalov needed a win against Kollars to give the Pawngrabbers a much needed jolt. While time trouble saved Kollars in the end, Shabalov's fighting spirit produced one of the most entertaining games of the PRO Chess League Summer Series:

Forcen Esteban won his rematch with Kjartansson that set up a critical third-place match between Pittsburgh and Reykjavik. Shabalov avenged his loss to Kollars with a crushing attack:

The draw meant the first bullet tiebreak between Kollars and Forcen Esteban, where Kollars held on to a bullet advantage for the duration of the game:

Baden Baden's Knockout Battle win earned three points in the standings. Barcelona earned two points, and Pittsburgh earned their second point of the Summer Series. Additionally, Kollars won a first-place prize of $100, Forcen Esteban won $60, and Shabalov won $40 for their performances in the Knockout Battles.

Live Club Match: Baden Baden Ties Pittsburgh in Final Moments, Steals Group B Lead

Unlike last week, Pittsburgh's fans came through this week against a talented Baden Baden team. In what what was the closest Live Club Match of the season, both teams' fans delivered in critical moments.

Pittsburgh took an early lead when NM Artak Manukyan, the Armenia Eagles General Manager, converted a drawn rook-and-pawn endgame:

The Eagles' appearance in the match means he has now played for two teams (San Francisco, Pittsburgh) this Summer Series. With Group C starting in two weeks, the Armenian should be ready for action when he plays for the Armenia Eagles.

For Baden Baden, OptymuS played strong defensive chess to score a point despite Black's queenside attack:

The teams continued to trade blows, but Pittsburgh took a 19-18 lead when Ferd_the_Absurd scored for the "Black and Gold" after grinding a rook and opposite-color bishop endgame:

That meant Kollars needed to beat Shabalov for the Snowballs to avoid a loss. Shabalov had some chances early, but the German teenager found the equalizing point late in the endgame:

The draw meant Pittsburgh and Baden Baden both earned a point towards the standings, with the Snowballs earning a bonus point for the bigger fan growth. Pittsburgh can still make it to the Summer Series Championships, but it will take another top performance from the "Black and Gold" to beat Group B's biggest club, Barcelona.

Next Week's Matches

Next week is the last chance for each of the Group B teams to make the Summer Series Championship. No team has clinched yet, and any of the four teams can find themselves on the outside looking in this time next week.

Tune into the Summer Series this Saturday, July 6, at 8 a.m. Pacific time on Twitch.tv/chess to watch the action live!