In This Issue: From The Skittles Room King's Kibitzes, by FM Alex King Chess Toons En Passant Problems, Problems, curated by Alexander George Editor's Note
Welcome back, fellow chess players, to this edition of the Marshall Chess Club's fortnightly bulletin, The Marshall Spectator.
We are happy to continue expanding opportunities for our members to play FIDE rated events. Going forward, there are several additional events that will be FIDE rated, including the Wednesday Under 2200, the Monthly Under 2400, and the Thursday Weekly Open. In addition, there are several new and exciting events on our calendar looking ahead. We have a Game 15+10 USCF Rapid event on Friday January 19, an ALTO Adults only tournament on January 27, and once again a new monthly team event will begin on February 13.
We were thrilled with the enormous turnout to celebrate the new year with music and art on Tuesday January 2nd at the Marshall Chess Club. More than 100 people gathered to see the artwork of Nistal Mayorga, which is still on display in our club, from her recent book "Look of the Champions." This compilation chronicles the stories of World Chess Champions over the past 135 years, starting from Wilhelm Steinitz in 1886 to the current champion, Ding Liren.
Adding to the festive atmosphere was the music of Carnegie Hall Soloist FM Nathan Resika, who performed classic songs in an operatic style to a packed house.
Additionally, Laila Faerman and her band played wonderful music, setting a festive backdrop for the attendees who enjoyed casual blitz games, pizza, wine and a charcuterie board with an assortment of cheese and desserts. The club’s board of governors and staff would like to extend our heartfelt wishes to all members for a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2024!
The Under 2000 Morning Action on January 6 had 68 players registered and finished with a 7-way tie. Sergey Nizhegorodtsev, Maxwell Massiah, Ella Sharpe Papanek, Levon Tadevosyan, Mouhamadou Tall, Claudio Martin Mariani and Lucas Fugate all won $85 each for their perfect 3 out of 3 score. There was also an 8-way tie for a class prize, shared by Adurami Lasile, Terrain Wu, Aileen Lou, Aziz Abdijalilov, Bryan K Carlson, Alexander Soll, Vicente Gomez and Hudson Mazur who all scored 2 out of 3 to win $31.88 each.
The Andre Harding Action on January 4 had 42 players registered and was won by IM Kevin Wang who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win the $197 first place prize. FM Tanitoluwa Adewumi and FM Leif Pressman shared in 2nd place, scoring 3.5 out of 4 to win $49.50 each, while Kyle Dong and Timothy Abbot won $99 each as a class prize for their performances.
The Monday Under 1800 that concluded on January 1 had 14 players registered and was won by Michael William O’Donnell who scored 5 out of 6 to win the $100 first place prize. 2nd place went to Dyan F Yu who scored 4.5 out of 6 to win $75, while Jephson Mathew and Valery Zajkov won $50 each for their performance. Dmitriy Guller and Reginal Denis shared a class prize, taking home $12.50 each for their 2.5 out of 6 score.
The FIDE Monday that concluded on January 1 had 22 players registered and concluded with 6 players tied for first place with a score of 4 out of 6 points. Evan S Rosenberg, Jacob Vogel, Ethan Kozower, Steven Rand, Nkosi Nkululeko and Ari Bluffstone won $81.67 each for their performances, while Chase Knowles won a class prize of $35 for his 3.5 out of 6 score.
The New Year’s Action on January 1 had 46 players registered and was won by Brewington Hardaway, who scored 9 out of 10 rounds to win the $460 first place prize. Kiren Nasta scored 8.5 to take the second-place prize of $230, while third place went to Kyle Dong, who scored 7.5 points to win $154. Miles Hinson, Daniel Wang, Alec Hyunmook Choi, and Leo Cohen Solal shared in a class prize, winning $38.50 each for their 6 out of 10 score. Finally, Isaac Statz won a class prize of $154 for his 5 points.
The Under 2000 Morning Action on December 30 had 48 players registered and concluded in a 3-way tie, with Hoang Huynh, Rochelle Ballantyne, and Levon Tadevosyan scoring a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $137.33 each.
The Saturday G/50 U1800 on December 30 had 26 players registered and concluded in a 3-way tie for first with Justin Rosales, Paulo Paz, and Michael Rapaport winning $112.67 each for their 3.5 out of 4 score.
The Saturday G/50 Open on December 30 had 63 players registered and was won by Joseph Zeltsan and IM Kevin Wang, who both scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win $290 each. Leo Shen won a class prize of $174 for scoring 3.5 out of 4.
The FIDE Blitz on December 29 was sold out with 40 players registered and was won by Joseph Zeltsan, who scored 8 out of 9 to win the $200 first place prize. FM Brewington Hardaway and GM David Brodsky scored 7 points winning $75 each, while Max Mottola, Kiren Nasta and Bryan Lin scored 6 points to win $16.67 each. Jack Levine won a class prize of $50 for his 6 point score, and Aston Roberts won a class prize of $50 for scoring 5.5 out of 9.
The Andre Harding Action on December 28 was sold out with 40 players registered, and was won by GM Michael Rohde who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win the $188 first place prize. IM Jay Bonin and Vladimir Bugayev scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $47 each, while Dylan Kang and Timothy Abbot shared in a class prize, winning $47 each for their 3 out of 4 score. Jessica Hyatt, Nura Baalla, Kyle Chan and Leo Shen scored 3 points to share in a class prize, winning $23.50 each, and the upset prize went to Anthony Wang.
The Weekly Under 1600 that concluded on December 27 had 18 players registered and was won by Victor Omilabu who scored 4.5 out of 6 to win the $150 first place prize. Daniel John Fusco and Zor Gorelov scored 4 out of 6 to win $75 each, while Micah K Jameson won $60 for his 3.5 score.
The Weekly Under 2200 that concluded on December 27 had 47 players registered and was won by Chase Knowles, who scored 5.5 out of 6 to win $383.33. Dwight Dans, Rochelle Ballantyne and Matthew Slesinksi scored 4.5 out of 6 winning $127.78 each. Michael W. Odonnell, Paul Cruz and Jephson Mathew shared in a class prize, winning $51.11 each for their 4 out of 6 performance.
Nearly two-dozen players gained more than 100 rating points from a single tournament in the last few weeks. To see the full list of the biggest rating gainers, look here. Want to see your rating soar? Sign up for a tournament!
We look forward to seeing you at the club soon!
King’s Kibitzes: Marshall Premier Highlights
This month’s Marshall Premier saw a struggle for first place between top seeds IM Mykola Bortnyk and untitled-but-IM-strength Joseph Zeltsan. You can play through all of the games here.
Zeltsan started the tournament with a patient grind as Black:
James Marsh (1987 FIDE) - Joseph Zeltsan (2439 FIDE) Marshall Premier (1), 5 Jan 2024
1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. O-O Be7 5. c4 O-O 6. d4
After a transpositional opening sequence, White commits to a Catalan.
6…dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4 Bd7 9. Rd1 Bc6 10. Bg5
The main line is 10. Nc3 to oblige Black to part with the bishop pair with 10…Bxf3, since 10…Nbd7 as in the game would run into the uncomfortable 11. e4.
10…Nbd7 11. Qxc4 h6 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. e3 Bd5 14. Qe2 c5 15. Nc3 Bc6 16. dxc5 Qa5 17. Nd4 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Qxc5
Black has emerged from the opening with a fully comfortable position.
19. Qc2 Rac8 20. Qb3 Qb4 21. Rac1 Qxb3 22. Nxb3 Rc6 23. Rd3 Rb6 24. Na2 Ng4 25. Rc2 Bf6 26. Na5 Ne5
Eschewing the complications of 26…Bxb2 27. Nc4.
27. Rb3 Rxb3 28. Nxb3 Nd3 29. Rc7 b5 30. Nc5 Nxb2 31. axb5 axb5 32. Rb7 Rc8 33. Rxb5 Nd1 34. Ne4
Losing a pawn, which could have been avoided with 34. Nb4.
34…Nxe3+ 35. fxe3 Rc2+ 36. Kf3 Rxa2 37. Nxf6+ gxf6
This endgame is still drawn, but White soon commits a decisive error.
38. h4 f5 39. g4?
Leaving White with two vulnerable isolated pawns. Instead White should have traded off his e-pawn with e.g. 39. Rb4 Kg7 40. e4 after which his remaining h- and g-pawns are connected and easier to defend.
39…fxg4+ 40. Kxg4 Ra4+ 41. Kg3 Re4 42. Rb3 Kg7
White can only watch helplessly as Black brings his king up and captures a second pawn for free.
43. Ra3 Kg6 44. Rb3 Kh5 45. Rc3 f5 46. Kf3 Kxh4 47. Rc8 Kg5 48. Re8 h5 49. Re7 Kf6 50. Rh7 h4 51. Rh8 Rg4 52. Rh6+ Ke5 53. Kf2 Kd5 54. Kf3 Rg3+ 55. Kf4 Rg4+ 56. Kf3 Ke5 57. Kf2 Rb4 58. Ke2 Rb2+ 59. Kf3 Rh2 60. Rg6 h3 61. Rh6 Rh1 62. Rh4 h2 63. Kf2 Ra1 0-1
Bortnyk also won in Round 1, but his win in Round 2 “wasn’t that smooth” as GM Maurice Ashley would say:
William Safranek (FIDE 1908) - Mykola Bortnyk (2421 FIDE) Marshall Premier (2), 6 Jan 2024
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. h3 c6 5. a4 a5
The Modern Defense suits Bortnyk’s preference for risky, unbalanced openings.
6. Be3 Na6 7. f4 Nf6 8. Nf3 Nb4 9. g4 d5 10. e5 Ne4 11. Nxe4 dxe4 12. Nd2 Nd5 13. Qe2 f5
14. exf6?
Trading off White’s best pawn for Black’s redundant doubled pawn. Better was e.g. 14. Nb3.
14…exf6 15. Bg2 O-O 16. c3 f5 17. g5 b6 18. Qf2 Ba6 19. Bf1 b5 20. Nb3 bxa4 21. Nc5 Bxf1 22. Kxf1 Qb6 23. Nxa4 Qb5+ 24. Kg2 Rfb8 25. Rhe1 Bf8 26. Qd2 Bd6 27. Kg3 Qc4 28. Qe2 Qb3 29. Qd1 Qb7 30. Qd2 Qc7 31. Rf1 Rb3 32. Rf2 Rab8 33. Ra2 Rd8 34. Ra1 Qb8 35. h4 Kf7 36. Qe2 Qb5 37. Qd2 h6 38. Nc5 Bxc5 39. dxc5
39…h5?
Correct was 39…hxg5 40. hxg5 Qb8! preparing …Rh8! with a winning attack.
40. Kh2?
Missing the chance to untangle with 40. Qd4! since 40…Rxb2? runs into 41. c4!.
40…Qb8 41. Rd1 Nxe3 42. Qxd8 Qxd8 43. Rxd8 Ng4+ 44. Kg3 Nxf2 45. Kxf2 Rxb2+ 46. Ke3 Rc2 47. Rd7+
47…Kf8?
47…Ke8! would avoid the back-rank resource in the following note.
48. Ra7?
48. Rc7! generates enough counterplay: Rxc3+ 49. Kd4 Rd3+ 50. Ke5 e3 51. Kf6! Ke8 52. Ra7! similar to the game.
48…Rxc3+?
Again 48…Ke8! was necessary.
49. Kd4! Rd3+ 50. Ke5 e3 51. Kf6 Ke8 52. Ra8+ Kd7 53. Rxa5 Rd4 54. Ra7+ Kd8
55. Ra2?
Losing a crucial tempo. Instead 55. Ra1 holds after 55…Rxf4 56. Re1 Re4 57. Kxg6 f4 58. Kf5!.
55…Rxf4 56. Kxg6 Rf2 57. Ra8+ Ke7 58. Ra7+ Ke6 59. Kxh5 Rg2 60. Kg6 f4
Now Black is too far ahead in the queening race.
61. h5 e2 62. Ra8 f3 63. h6 Rh2 64. h7 Kd5 65. Re8 Rh1 66. Kg7 f2 67. h8=Q Rxh8 68. Rxe2 f1=Q 69. Rd2+ Kxc5 70. Kxh8 Qc1 71. Ra2 Kb4 72. Ra6 Qc3+ 0-1
Bortnyk and Zeltsan both won again in Round 3, and finally faced each other in Round 4 in the deciding game of the tournament:
Mykola Bortnyk (2421 FIDE) - Joseph Zeltsan (2439 FIDE) Marshall Premier (3), 7 Jan 2024
This game was a rematch of the recent 2023 Marshall Chess Club Championship playoff, which Bortnyk won to become the 2023 Club Champion ahead of second place finisher Zeltsan.
1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. Bc4 e6 5. Nf3 d6 6. O-O
Avoiding the main line 6. d4 and aiming simply to “get a position”.
6…dxe5 7. Nxe5 Bd6 8. d4 O-O 9. Nd2 Qc7 10. Ne4 Be7 11. Bb3 cxd4 12. cxd4 Nc6 13. Nxc6 Qxc6 14. Qf3 Rd8 15. Be3 b6 16. Rac1 Qe8 17. Bxd5 exd5 18. Ng3
White aims to trade off the dark-squared bishops and hope to prove that Black’s remaining light-squared bishop is “bad”, at least compared to White’s remaining knight.
18…Be6 19. Nh5 f6 20. Rfe1 Bb4 21. Re2 Qf7 22. a3 Bf8 23. Rce1 Bd7 24. Bd2 Re8 25. Nf4 Rxe2 26. Rxe2 Bc6 27. Bb4 Re8 28. Bxf8 Kxf8 29. h4 Rxe2 30. Qxe2 Qe7 31. Qc2 Qd6 32. g3 Kg8 33. Qf5
33…Bd7?
A shocking blunder; 33…Bb7 was still okay for Black.
34. Qxd5+ Qxd5 35. Nxd5 Kf7 36. Ne3 Ke6 37. f4 Kd6 38. Kf2 f5 39. h5 Ke6
40. g4?
40. Ke2 Be8 41. h6 was the right way to sacrifice a pawn.
40…fxg4 41. Kg3 Kd6 42. f5 Bc8 43. Kf4
43…Ke7?
43…g3 44. Kxg3 Bd7! would have held a draw, but only after further accurate defense: 45. Kf4 h6 46. Ng4 Be8! 47. f6 gxf6 48. Nxf6 Bf7 49. Kf5 Bxh5! 50. Nxh5 Kd5 and Black has enough time to eliminate White’s remaining pawns.
44. Nxg4 Kd6 45. f6 gxf6 46. Nxf6 h6 47. Ng8 Kd5 1-0
This win put Bortnyk a point ahead of the field, giving him draw odds in the final round. He held a draw to secure clear first, while Zeltsan won to tie for second place with James Oh. Another Marshall weekender in the books!
FM Alex King, premier Spectator columnist
Chess Toons
En Passant
China’s world champion, Ding Liren, has become the forgotten man of chess due to his long absence from the board since he won the classical crown Magnus Carlsen abdicated last year. The No 1 has cited a lack of motivation to spend months preparing for title matches.
FM Yosha Iglesias has etched her name in chess history as the first-ever transgender player to fulfill all the requirements for the woman international master title. The title has not been conferred yet and is pending FIDE's approval.
As the new year gets underway, it's traditional to look both forwards and backwards. 2023 saw Magnus Carlsen abdicate his world title, Ding Liren capture the vacant crown after a nail-biting match against Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ju Wenjun retain her world title also by a narrow margin after defeating her countrywoman Lei Tingjie. Jon Speelman looks back to 2023 and forward to 2024.
FIDE January 2024 rating list: Firouzja and Koneru qualify for Candidates.
Problems, Problems, curated by Alexander George
Pal Benko, 1968
White to mate in 3.
This problem was composed by Benko when he was 15. In 1968, he showed it to his friend, Bobby Fischer, who bet him he could solve it within half an hour. Fischer lost the bet.
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Benko 1975
Solution to Benko 1975: 1.Qc5! dxc5 (Rxc5/Bxe4) 2.Re5# (Nd4#/Nf4#).
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Alexander George
Editor's Note
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!
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