The Marshall Spectator
In This Issue:
From The Skittles Room
King's Kibitzes: V for Victory, by FM Alex King
Across the Table: NM Alex Fikiet
Chess Toons
En Passant
Problem of the Week
Editor's Note
Welcome back, fellow chess players, to this edition of the Marshall Chess Club's fortnightly bulletin, The Marshall Spectator.
Last Tuesday On May 9th, we had the pleasure of welcoming The Jim Ferraiuolo Jazz Trio, with Ayodele Maakheru on bass and Michel Ligonde on guitar. They played a wonderful set playing everything from jazz standards, latin jazz, the classic Roberta Flack made famous, "Killing Me Softly with His Song" as well as an original tune written and sung by the guitarist, Michel Ligonde. The well-attended event was followed by a lot of casual chess play. This was a really fun event and we hope to make these music and chess events a more regular occurrence so keep your eyes out for more in the future.
Looking further ahead, we will be hosting a conversation with ICCF GM and World Correspondence Champion Jon Edwards on the impact of Artificial Intelligence on Correspondence Chess on Tuesday, May 23 and 7:00pm.
We're thrilled to announce complimentary game analysis by Grandmaster Raven Sturt at our club each Thursday. After washing up on our shores a few weeks ago, GM Raven Sturt began doing game analysis at the club each Thursday from 5-7pm. GM Sturt will analyze games of any member lucky enough to walk by his table holding a score sheet. Be warned, after months in Brazil he now has a penchant for quips in Portuguese!
For more details about these events or to register in advance please visit our website. We look forward to seeing you soon.
In the last few weeks, we have had a plethora of rated chess events at our historic club.
The Blitz on May 12 had an even 30 players registered, with first place going to GM Fidel Corrales Jimenez who scored a perfect 9 out of 9 to win $120. Clear 2nd place went to GM Raven Sturt, who scored 7 out of 9. FM Brewington Hardaway scored 6.5 out of 9 to take home a $30 prize, while the remaining prize funds were shared by Gary Leschinsky and Charles Hua who scored 6 points out of 9 to earn $30 each.
The Women and Girls’ Open on May 12 had 6 players registered, and was won by Laura Montanari who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win the $36 first place prize. The remaining prize money was shared by Nala and Emmi G, who both scored 2 points to win $9 each.
The Premier Under 2000 that concluded on May 8 had 44 players registered and was won by Ciprian Solomon, who scored 4.5 out of 5 to take home the $440 first place prize. 2nd place went to Dominic Paragua, who scored an even 4 out of 5 to win the $183 2nd place prize. Leqi Han won a $146 class prize for scoring 3.5 points, while Isaac Statz won a $110 class prize for his 2.5 out of 5 performance.
The FIDE Premier that concluded on May 8 had featured 37 chess players, and was won by IM Mykola Bortnyk who scored a perfect 5 out of 5 to win the $700 first place prize. Clear 2nd place went to IM Kevin Wang, who won $400 for scoring 4 out of 5 points. There was a 5-way tie for the class prize, which was shared by Kiren Nasta, Jasmine Su, Alex Sinnott, Jason Jiang, and Roger Zhang who all scored 3 points to take home $40 each for their performance.
The Rated Beginner Open on May 7 had 43 players registered and featured a 4-way tie for first place. Rayane Chertouk, Arsh Arora, Manish Suthar and Pablo Trueba scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $106 each for their flawless performance.
The Nick Conticello Action on May 4 had 35 players registered to play, and was won by GM Raven Sturt who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win the clear first place prize of $140. Clear second place went to Jack Levine, who scored 3.5 out of 4 and earned the $70 2nd place prize. Aditeya Das, Kole Moses and Daniel Wang scored 3 points each to share in the class prize, winning $23.33 each for their performance.
To see these and all recent results, please visit the results page.
In the last few weeks, we have had 5 chess players gain more that 150 rating points in a single tournament. Jacob Van Elken saw his rating shoot up by 152 rating points after playing in the Action tournament on May 11. Aditeya Veer Singh gained a whopping 167 rating points after playing in an Under 2000 Action and Lucas Fugate gained an eye-popping 178 rating points after playing in the same event. Matthew Biancuzzo had an incredible rating gain of 193 points after playing in an Open event on May 13, and finally Owen Morrow gained an incredible 251 rating points after competing in the Rated Beginner Open on April 30.
To see these and all other recent big point gainers, click here.
— Greg Keener, Editor of the Marshall Spectator
King's Kibitzes: V for Victory
This month I returned from a six-month absence from OTB play to win a small local tournament here in Tennessee where I live. The following position is from my Round 2 game:
Alex King (2405) - Athiyan Senthil Kumar (1659)
Murfreesboro Open (2), 6 May 2023
I was pleased with my V-shaped pawn structure, and planned to extend it with h4-h5-h6. My opponent did not allow this, but I eventually won anyway:
35.Ke2 Rd8 36.Kf2 Rh8 37.Kg3 h5 38.gxh6 Rxh6 39.h4 Bf6 40.Rh1 Ra6 41.Rbh2 Ra7 42.h5 Kg8 43.hxg6 Rxg6+ 44.Kf2 Rf7 45.Ke2 Bb7 46.Bh5 1-0
During the game I was thinking about an even bigger V by Capablanca:
Jose Capablanca - Karel Treybal
Karlsbad (10), 11 August 1929
If this position looks striking, check out what happened later:
40.Ra1 Rc8 41.Qb4 Rhd8 42.Ra7 Kf8 43.Rh1 Be8 44.Rha1 Kg8 45.R1a4 Kf8 46.Qa3 Kg8 47.Kg3 Bd7 48.Kh4 Kh8 49.Qa1 Kg8 50.Kg3 Kf8 51.Kg2 Be8 52.Nd2 Bd7 53.Nb3 Re8 54.Na5 Nd8 55.Ba6!
The chessboard was truly Capablanca’s canvas. I would have been tempted to resign right here, but Treybal played on for a few more moves:
55…bxa6 56. Rxd7 Re7 57. Rxd8+ Rxd8 58. Nxc6 Qc8 59. Nxe7 Kxe7 60. Rxa6 1-0
Marshall member IM Jay Bonin once told me that this was his all-time favorite game. Other players have apparently been influenced by it as well:
Sam Shankland (2580) - Rafael Prasca Sosa (2420)
Philadelphia Open (4), 6 April 2012
39…Qd8 40.Qa5 Qc8 41.Be1 Qd8 42.Kb4 Be6 43.Bc3 Bd5 44.Bd1 Be6 45.Qa4 Bd5 46.Qa5 Be6 47.Be2 Bd5 48.Ka3 Ke8 49.Kb2 Kf7 50.Qa4 Ke8 51.Bc4 Kf7 52.Bb3 Kg8 53.Rxb7 Rxb7 54.Qxc6 Bxb3 55.Kxb3 1-0
Here White managed to achieve both Capablanca’s V formation and his decisive blow Ba6:
Gunnar Hedin (2195) - Roland Kutschenko (2043)
European Senior Championship (7), 12 Apr 2019
Sadly, he later spoiled his winning advantage and only drew:
31.Ba6 bxa6 32.Rxh7 Be7 33.Ba5 Kd7 34.Rf7 Rb7 35.Rh7 Rf8 36.Ke2 Kc8 37.Rb3 Bd8 38.Rxb7 Kxb7 39.Rb1 Rf7 40.Kd2 Rh7 41.Rh1 Be7 42.Rh3 Bf8 43.Ke2 Be7 1/2-1/2
Of course, V for victory can also be achieved on the Black side:
Anton Bilchinski (1774) - Michael Gayer (1985)
Bayern (6.8), 6 February 2011
Rather than prepare …Bh3 a la Capablanca, Black effects a different, equally strong breakthrough:
58…Nhxf3! 59.Nxf3 Nxf3 60.gxf3 Bxf3 61.Ke1 g2 62.Nxf4 exf4 63.Bd3 Rh1 64.Kf2 Rxg1 65.Kxg1 Kf6 0-1
This wide V is more common in inverted form, as in the following composed problem:
Steven B. Dowd
The Problemist, 2006
Mate in 5
The solution relies on the fact that while the piece arrangement is symmetrical, the board is not:
1.Ng2! Kd4 2.Re3 Kc5 3.Ba5! (Asymmetry - this move does not exist on the kingside, because there is no i-file.) 3…Kd4 4.Bb4 Ke5 5.Bc3#
The “inverted V” is more common because it has one peak rather than two, so only one pawn has to travel the longest distance. In fact even a maximally wide* V has occurred right in the opening:
*see end of article
Carla Borda Rivera (2088) - Evelyne Gichuru Wanjiru
Olympiad (women) (4.1), 18 October 2004
1.e4 e6 2 d4 Nf6 3.e5 Nd5 4.c4 Nb6 5.Nc3 c6 6.f4 Bb4 7.Nf3 h6 8.a3 Be7 9.b4 d5 10.exd6 Bf6 11.c5 N6d7 12.Ne5 Nxe5 13.dxe5 Bh4+ 14.g3
The bishop is trapped, and White went on to win.
In this final practical example, Black has five pawns for a rook, but the (inverted) V is decisive:
Judit Polgar (2671) - Etienne Bacrot (2592
Bastia (rapid) (2), 4 November 1999
51.Rxa6 c3 52.Rc6 c2 53.Rc7+ Kf6 54.Rc6+ Kf7 55.Rc7+ Kf6 56.Rc6+ Kf7 57.Rc7+ Ke6 58.Rh1 d2 59.Rxc2 d1=Q 60.Rxd1 Rxd1 61.Rc6+ Rd6 62.Rc5 Rd2 63.Rxb5 Rxg2 64.a4 g5+ 65.Ke3 Rg3+ 66.Kd4 Rd3+ 67.Kc4 Ra3 68.a5 g4 69.Rb8 g3 70.Rg8 Ke5 71.Kb5 f4 72.a6 e3 73.Kb6 Ke4 74.a7 e2 75.b5 0-1
The inverted V can even ensure victory for the opponent, if that’s what you’re into:
Thomas R. Dawson
The Chess Amateur, 1924
Selfmate in 2
In a selfmate White forces Black, against his will, to deliver checkmate within the stipulated number of moves. Similarly to the Dowd problem above, here White must leverage the asymmetry of the chessboard:
1.h4!
The only move to keep the bishop trapped - the pseudo-symmetrical 1.b4? would allow 1…Ba4!. But as I mentioned before, there is no i-file, so now Black must hang his bishop, and then on the following move must play either 2…d2# or 2…f2#.
Regarding my “maximally wide V” comment from the Borda Rivera game above, while the pawn structure in that game is indeed maximally wide as measured by number of files…
…as the crow flies, this V is even wider:
There are no examples of the latter formation in Mega Database. But surely it would guarantee victory - see if you can reach it in one of your own games!
Until next month…
— FM Alex King, Spectator Columnist
Across the Table: NM Alex Fikiet
Q: When did you start playing chess and how did you learn?
I learned to play chess from my dad at the age of 4-- My dad is about a 1000 rated player and never let me win a game. Needless to say, I stopped playing until around age 9 where I played with my friends at school. Soon after I played in my first chess tournament, won a "Top Unrated player" trophy, and never stopped playing since.
Q: How long have you been a member of the club?
I have been an off and on member since I was teenager-- Living in Connecticut, I still found lots of time to play in Marshall tournaments during the summer, where it was my base of operations for chess playing and training during my school vacation.
Q: What's your favorite opening trap?
I have alway enjoyed wild, weird, and unsound openings, so there are many. Though not a trap per say, I have played the Latvian Counter Gambit (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 f5!??!) as black starting at around 1600 USCF until I reached the high 2000s. It is definitely an opening with a lot of strange tricks and traps, so I think it classifies, and it has a lot of nostalgic value.
(Pictured right: NM Alex Fikiet with former Marshall Member and fantasy sports betting celebrity Liam Murphy, left.)
Q: Any great game you've played at the Marshall you'd like to share?
I have an interesting win against FM Rubens Cezila at the Marshall when I was playing in one of their IM norm tournaments-- In an interesting line in the Reti, white was able to compile some positional trumps (outside passed pawns, better structure), but in the meantime I used dynamic play to reach an endgame where the Rook and Knight dominated the Rook and Bishop.
1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nc6 3.d4 Bf5 4.Bg2 Nb4 5.Na3 e6 6.O-O h6 7.c4 c68.Bd2 a5 9.c5 b6 10.cxb6 Qxb6 11.Qa4 Bd6 12.Ne5 Ne7 13.e4 xe4 14.Bxe4 dxe4 15.Nac4 Qc7 16.a3 Nbd5 17.Bxa5 Bxe5 18.dxe5 O-O 19.b4 Qa7 20.Qb3 Nf5 21.Kh1 e3 22.fxe3 Nfxe3 23.Nxe3 Nxe3 24.Rfe1 Nf5 25.Rac1 c5 26.Qd3 cxb4 27.axb4 Rac8 28.Kg2 Nd4 29.Rxc8 Rxc8 30.Re4 Nf5 31.Re1 Qb7+ 32.Qe4 Qa733.Kh1 Ne7 34.Ra1 Qf2 35.Qg2 Qd4 36.Re1 Nd5 37.Qe4 Qb2 38.Re2 Rc1+ 39.Kg2 Qa1 40.Kh3 Rg1 41.Rf2 Qd1 42.Qf3 Qxf3 43.Rxf3 Rb1 44.Rd3 Kh7 45.Rd4 g5 46.Kg2 Kg6 47.h4 Kf5 48.hxg5 hxg5 49.Rd2 Kxe5 50.Rf2 f5 51.Re2+ Kd6 52.Bd8 g4 53.Bg5 Rxb4 54.Ra2 Rb3 55.Ra8 Rb2+ 56.Kg1 Rc2 57.Ra4 e558.Ra6+ Kc5 59.Ra4 Rc4 60.Ra1 f4 61.Re1 Kd4 62.gxf4 exf4 63.Bh6 Kd3 64.Rd1+ Ke4 65.Bf8 Ne3 66.Ra1 Kf3 67.Bd6 Rd4 68.Bc5 Rd2 0-1
Q: What about yourself would you like other members to know, that we may not know! Any surprising facts?
Nothing too surprising-- But recently I have started taking up rock climbing, and would gladly swap some chess lessons for some bouldering tips! Also want to give a plug and shout out to the Prospect Park and Bushwick chess club meetups-- these days that is how I'm playing most of my chess outside of the Marshall, and I truly wish to advertise the camaraderie and community work these clubs have been doing.
— NM Alex Fikiet, Member of The Marshall Chess Club
Chess Toons
En Passant
– GM Fabiano Caruana won clear first at the Superbet Classic Romania 2023 on Monday. Entering the last round with a half-point lead, he drew a sharp theoretical battle in the English vs. GM Richard Rapport. The four players—GM Anish Giri, GM Alireza Firouzja, GM Wesley So, and Rapport himself—chasing him were unable to create serious winning chances, finishing in a four-way tie for second.
– On Wednesday, 18 months after playing his last classical chess tournament, GM Peter Svidler won the 28th edition of the TePe Sigeman & Co Chess Tournament in Malmo, Sweden.
– David Bishop spends the school day as a mild-mannered custodian, but before the final bell rings, he grabs his chess boards and pieces and begins his second role. “The Queen’s Gambit” is playing out in real life in Maine, where this custodian is coaching his schools’ chess teams to acclaim.
Problem of the Week
A. O. Herbstman, 1934
White to move and win
A gem featuring a feast of promotions!
----------------
Fritz 1961
Solution to Fritz 1961: 1.Bh1 Rxh1 2.a8=Q Rd1 (parrying queen checks on d5 and d8) 3.Qh1 Rxh1 4.a7 Rg1 5.a8=Q+ Kb5 6.Qb8+, etc.
- Puzzle submission by Alexander George, Marshall Chess Club Member
Editor's Note
An explanatory note to the Simul featured in our last issue, which can be seen here. Given Justin's hectic tournament and travel schedule (he just landed in JFK on Monday from a tournament in Greece), he naturally became exhausted towards the end of Tuesday night. At that point, GM Alex Lenderman, the coach of panelist Pranav Shankar, graciously offered to substitute for Justin and completed the remaining games. The Marshall Chess Club expresses its gratitude to IM Justin Sarkar and GM Alex Lenderman for conducting a simul for charity.
As always, if you have any feedback, comments, or would like to submit an article please contact us directly at td@marshallchessclub.org.
Enjoy, and thanks for reading!
The Marshall Chess Club
Address: 23 West Tenth Street New York, NY 10011
Contact: 212.477.3716; td@marshallchessclub.org
Hours: Monday 1pm-Midnight; Tuesday - Closed, Weds-Fri 1pm-Midnight; Sat/Sun 9am-Midnight
