In This Issue: From The Skittles Room Games Analyzed, by GM Aleksandr Lenderman Marshall Team Tournament Winners 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.
This week, we are thrilled to host the 2025 NY Marshall Summer Six-Day Invitational, a 9-round, Round Robin Norm event with 5 sections: GM A, GM B, IM C, IM D, and IM E. The games for the top sections can be followed on our broadcast on lichess and chess.com.
In just a few days, one of the biggest chess events on our calendar will kick off with $10,000 in prizes! The 13th NY International Super Swiss will take place July 16-July 20, right here at our historic townhouse in the West Village, located at 23 West 10th Street. The Super Swiss will feature many titled players, and accordingly, norms may be possible! Please direct all questions about the event to our Executive Director, Carlos Chavez, who can be reached at carlosc@marshallchessclub.org.
We were thrilled to see so many Marshall Chess Club members come together to celebrate the July 4th holiday in the best way that we know how: to play a chess tournament! The event had 56 registrants and no fewer than 3 Grandmasters.
In other club news, Summer Camps have officially started! Thanks to the Tournament and Membership Committees, we are excited to share that for kids who register for multiple weeks of camps, we will have special prizes!
If you have any questions about our camps, you can email Kevin at kevinf@marshallchessclub.org.
Looking back over the last two weeks, we have had a plethora of events for our members to participate in.
The Rated Beginner Open on July 6 had 14 players registered and was won by Anderson Antoine, who scored 3 out of 3 to win $98. Wesley Chen and Solomon Boyd scored 2.5 out of 3 to win $32.50 each.
The Under 2000 Morning Action on July 5 had 20 players registered and was won by Xan Meister and Nikita Shapiro who scored 3 out of 3 to win $100 each. The following 8 players won $6.25 each for their 2 out of 3 score: Omar Ibrahim, Kenny T Bollin, Victory Kenny-Maheux, Arjun Murti, Sean Huang, Hugh Verrier, Dario Golden, and Aaron Reyes.
The Independence Day Action on July 4 had 56 players registered and was won by GM Aleksandr Lenderman, GM Andrey Maksimenko, GM Mark Paragua, Vladimir Bugayev who scored 5 out of 6 to win $220.25 each. Jackson Brinckerhoff scored 4.5 points to win $100, while Arko Chakrabartiroy also won $100 for a 4 out of 6 score.
The Afternoon Game 50’s on July 3 had 8 players registered and Rohit Jagga and Garold Minkin scored a perfect 2 out of 2 to win $15 each.
The Thursday Action on July 3 had 32 players registered and was won by GM Mark Paragua, IM Michael Song, and Mark DeDona scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $81.67 each. Nico Alvarado-Yoshida scored 3 points to win a class prize of $57, while Jude Kazan and Avaan Chamadia scored 3 out of 4 to win $28.50 each.
The Rated Beginner Open on June 29 had 38 players registered and concluded with the following 3 players scoring a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $154.33: Caleb Rakestraw-Morn, Camila Barutcu, and Kenneth Stalkfleet.
The Sunday Quads on June 29 had 17 quads and 1 small swiss section of 6 players, and had a long list of winners. The following players won their quad outright, netting a $50 prize: Elliot Goodrich, Ariv Debmisra, Hunter Quirk, Sourya Gurram, Owen Pang, Sharlene Yang, Winnie Tsuchida-Tomash, Niccolo Dalmasso, Kenny Ho, and Akiva Dovid Yampel. The following players shared the prize in their quad, winning $25 each: Suvan Baranwal, Lucasl Lu, Julian Ma, Ari Drucker, Isaac N Lui, Daisy Yuen, Jeremy Yoon, Armaan Jain, Caleb Garcia, Sebastian Goodrich, Kai Waters, Harrison Cai, Atticus Chew, Brandon Li, Chase Yuen, and Sophia Qin.
The Under 2000 Morning Action on June 28 had 31 players registered and was won by David Campbell, Will Nieder, and Kenny T Bollin who scored 3 out of 3 each to win $93.33. Aaron Reyes scored 3 points too, to win a class prize of $120.
The Saturday Game 50 Under 1800 on June 28 had 55 players registered and was won by Manish Suthar and Liam Kim who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win $275 each. Riju Bhattacharjee, Samarth Boodhoo, and Vinayan Parameswaran scored 3 out of 4 to share in a class prize, winning $55 each.
The Saturday Game 50 Open on June 28 had 35 players registered and was won by GM Mark Paragua, GM Michael Rohde, and Hoang Huynh, who scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $90 each. David Campbill won $81 for his 3 out of 4 score.
The Morning Masters on June 28 had 9 players registered and was won by Paris Prestia and GM Michael Rohde who scored 2.5 out of 3 to win $44 each.
The Afternoon Action on June 27 had 24 players registered and was won by David Campbell and Daniel Ray, who scored 3 out of 3 to win $125 each.
The Women and Girls’ Open on June 27 had 7 players registered and was won by Chloe Stark, who scored 3 out of 3 to win $42, while Tayler Boyke-Darbouze and Emmi Gaskins scored 2 out of 3 to win $10.50 each.
The FIDE Blitz on June 27 had 53 players registered and was won by GM Mark Paragua who scored 8 out of 9 to win $260 each, while IM Artiom Samsonkin scored 7.5 out of 9 to win $130. FM Marcus Miyasaka, Neil Samant, and Aarun Kudryavsky won $65 each scoring 7 out of 9, 6.5 out of 9, and 6 out of 9 respectively, while Neel Yerramilli, Michael Glick, and Leandro Nicolas Ulloa scored 6 out of 9 to win $21.67 each.
The Afternoon Game 50 on June 26 had 9 players registered and was won by David Campbell and William Culbertson who scored a perfect 2 out of 2 to win $20 each.
The Thursday Action on June 26 had 57 players registered and was won by Vladimir Bugayev who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win $207. Morris Stranger and Matthew Shirvell scored 3.5 out of 4 to share in a class prize, winning $104 each, while Paris Prestia, GM Michael Rohde, and IM Jay Bonin won $80.67 each for their 3.5 out of 5 score.
The Rated Beginner Open on June 22 had 48 players registered and concluded with no fewer than 5 perfect scores. Joaquin Parker, Nathan Eppel, Leonhard Hientzsch, Kenny Ho, and Beck William Vilas Boas all won $120 each for their perfect 3 out of 3 performance.
The Monthly Under 2400 that concluded on June 22 had 65 players registered and was won by Jin Ma, who scored a near perfect 4.5 out of 5 to win $1,048. FM Aditeya Das and Justin Dalhouse scored 4 out of 5 to win $379.50 each, while Jeremiah Beckles and Theodore Shin shared in a class prize, winning $162.50 each for their 3 out of 5 score. The following 7 players won $38.71 for their 3.5 out of 5 performance: Jack Levine, Mark DeDona, Nkosi Nkululeko, Ethan Kozower, Kylan Huang, Yegna S Jandhyala, and Anson Leong.
The Monthly Under 1800 that concluded on June 22 had 33 players registered and was won by Alexandra Liu, Nishka Doddapaneni, and Brian Liu who scored 4 out of 5 to win $311.67 each. Kara Chan and Aileen Lou won $69 each for their 3.5 out of 5 score. Plato Zhang won a $165 class prize for his 3 out of 5 score.
We look forward to seeing you at the club soon!
Games Analyzed, by GM Aleksandr Lenderman
This month's edition of the Marshall Premier was smaller than it usually is, most likely because it overlapped with World Open, which many players went to instead, and some people were simply traveling during Independence Day, in general. The first round was a relatively quiet one, without any big upsets, but in the second round, we already had a big clash on board 1 between GM Mark Paragua and the Iron Man, IM Jay Bonin. While Mark was putting the pressure throughout most of the game, Jay defended very resiliently and was able to snap the draw from the jaws of defeat deep into the endgame.
You can play through the games with annotations here.
Round 2: Paragua, Mark - Bonin, Jay
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. b3 Bg7 4. Bb2 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 6. O-O O-O 7. c4 c5 8. d4 Na6 9. d5 e6 10. Nc3 exd5 11. Nxd5 Nxd5 12. Bxg7 Ne3 13. fxe3 Kxg7 14. Qd6 Qc7 15. Rad1 Rad8 16. Ne5 Qxd6 17. Rxd6 Bxg2 18. Kxg2 Nb4 19. Nxd7 f5 20. Rfd1 Rf7 21. Ne5 Rxd6 22. Rxd6 Rc7 23. Rd2 Re7 24. Nd3 Rxe3 25. Nxb4 cxb4 26. Kf2 Re7 27. Rd5 a5? Mistake. Kf6 was best. (27... Kf6 28. Rb5 Re4 29. Rxb4 f4 30. Rb5 fxg3+ 31. hxg3 h5 32. Rd5 Re7 33. Rd6+)
28. Rd6 Rb7 29. e4 fxe4?! Inaccuracy. a4 was best. (29... a4 30. Ke3)
30. Ke3 Kf7 31. Kxe4 Re7+ 32. Kd5 Re2 33. Rxb6 Rxh2 34. c5 h5?! Inaccuracy. Rd2+ was best. (34... Rd2+ 35. Kc6 Rd3 36. g4 Rc3 37. Rb5 h5 38. gxh5 gxh5 39. Rxa5 h4 40. Rb5)
35. c6 Rd2+?! Inaccuracy. Ke7 was best. (35... Ke7 36. Rb8 Rc2 37. Rb7+ Kd8 38. Kd6 Rd2+ 39. Kc5 Rxa2 40. Kb6 a4 41. Rb8+) 36. Kc5 Ke6 37. Rb8 Rxa2 38. Re8+ Kf7 39. Re4 Rc2+ 40. Kb6 a4 41. Rxb4 axb3 42. Rxb3 g5 43. c7 h4
Throughout most of the endgame, White has applied pressure, and was able to build up a winning position. However, Jay found some practical chances to make the conversion not as simple for Mark, and now, we have a critical moment. Here, GM Mark has spent over 12 minutes, but still didn't find the right path to win, which proves how difficult endgame calculation can be, even if there are only a few pieces left on the board. 44. g4?? Blunder. gxh4 was best. (44. gxh4! The only winning move here. 44... gxh4 45. Kb7 Not the only way to win but probably the simplest, since in other lines, at least black can get rook against queen, which at least gives Black practical chances to hold even if it is objectively lost. (45. Rh3 Rc4 (45... Rb2+ 46. Kc6 Rc2+ 47. Kb7 Rb2+ 48. Kc8 Rb4 49. Kd7 Rd4+ 50. Kc6 Rc4+ 51. Kd6 Kf6 52. Rxh4) 46. Rxh4 Rxh4 47. c8=Q) (45. Rb5 h3 46. Rh5 h2 47. Rxh2 Rxh2 48. c8=Q) (45. Rb4 h3 46. Rh4 h2 47. Rxh2) 45... Kg6 46. Rb5! This move is key, and perhaps the one that Mark might've overlooked, since it's the only move to win. Cutting off Black's king is essential. (46. c8=Q? Rxc8 47. Kxc8 Kg5 48. Kd7 Kg4) (46. Rb6+? Kg5 47. Rc6 Rb2+ 48. Kc8 Rf2!) 46... h3 47. c8=Q Rxc8 48. Kxc8 h2 49. Rb1 Kg5 50. Rh1) (44. Kb7 Would however be erroneous due to 44... hxg3 45. Rxg3 Kf6 46. c8=Q Rxc8 47. Kxc8 Kf5)
44… Ke6 45. Kb7 Ke5 It turns out that Black has enough counterplay to draw here.
46. Rf3 Ke4 47. Rf5 h3 48. Rxg5 Kf4 49. Rg8 h2 50. Rh8 Rb2+ 51. Kc6 Rc2+ 52. Kd6 Rd2+ 53. Ke6 Rc2 54. Kd7 Rd2+ 55. Ke6 A very good escape by Jay, the Iron Man. 1/2-1/2
Round 3: Knowles, Chase - Paragua, Mark
In round 3, we had a very exciting round, where the top seeds both went down, shaking up the standings. In particular, the game between a strong expert and adult improver, Chase Knowles against GM Mark Paragua was a very interesting back and forth encounter.
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. d4 O-O 6. Be2 e5 Mark goes back to the Kings Indian, which was served him very well in round 1 of this tournament.
7. d5 a5 8. Bg5 h6 9. Be3 Ng4 10. Bd2 f5 11. h3 Nf6 12. Qc1?! Inaccuracy. exf5 was best.
Here, most likely, white has confused his prep, and meant to play Qc1 after including exf5. (12. exf5 gxf5 13. Qc1 Is a very interesting idea, which I first remember was tried by GM and former World Champion, Vladimir Kramnik against top GM Hikaru Nakamura back in 2014. 13... f4 14. g3 e4 15. Nh4 e3 16. fxe3 fxg3 17. Ng6 Rf7 (17... Re8) 18. Qc2 Nfd7?! (18... Na6!) 19. O-O-O Eventually, white came out on top. However, modern computers, nowadays are saying that black is objectively fine in several ways against this line. 19... Ne5 20. Rhf1 Rxf1 21. Rxf1 Bxh3 22. Rg1 Qf6 23. Rxg3 Nxg6 24. Rxg6 Qf7 25. Rg3 Bf5 26. e4 Bg6 27. Bg4 Qf1+ 28. Nd1 Be5 29. Bh3 Qf6 30. Rg1 Kh7 31. Bf5 Bxf5 32. exf5 Nd7 33. Rg6 Qf7 34. Rxh6+ Kg8 35. Rg6+ Kf8 36. Nf2 b5 37. Ng4 bxc4 38. Qxc4 Qxf5 39. Rg8+ Ke7 40. Bg5+ Bf6 41. Qe2+ Kramnik,V (2769)-Nakamura,H (2775) London 2014)
12... f4 (12... Nxe4!? Would also be totally fine for black.) 13. g4 (13. g3 Qe8) 13... Na6 14. Qc2 c6 15. O-O-O?! Inaccuracy. Rg1 was best. (15. Rg1 cxd5)
15… Nb4 16. Qb3?! Inaccuracy. Qb1 was best. (16. Qb1 cxd5 17. cxd5 Nd7 18. b3 Nc5 19. a4 Bd7 20. Kb2 Qb6 21. Ka1 Nca6)
16... cxd5?! Inaccuracy. Nd7 was best. (16... Nd7 17. Na4 b5 18. cxb5 cxb5 19. Bxb5 Rb8 20. Bf1 Nf6 21. Re1 Bd7 22. g5 Qc8+) 17. Nxd5? Mistake. exd5 was best. (17. exd5)
17... Nxe4?! Inaccuracy. Nbxd5 was best. White has misplayed the opening and early middle game. However, now, black goes for extreme complications, which were likely, unnecessary, as black had simple ways to be much better and maintain initiative without allowing white unnecessary counterplay. (17... Nbxd5! 18. exd5 Ne4 19. Be1 Nc5 20. Qc2 e4 21. Nd4 f3 22. Bf1 Qe7 23. Bc3 Bd7) 18. Nxb4 Nxf2 19. Nd5 e4 20. Nxf4 a4 Now, the position is very complicated, a truly 3-result game.
21. Qb5?? Blunder. Qa3 was best. (21. Qa3 exf3 22. Bxf3 Rxf4 23. Bxf4 Qf6 24. Bxd6 Be6 25. Rhe1 Nxd1 26. Bxd1 Qd4)
21... a3?? Blunder. exf3 was best. Unnecessarily complicated. (21... exf3)
22. Nd4! Maybe this move was missed by black? 22… e3 23. Bxe3 Ra5 24. Qb3 Nxh1 25. c5+ Rf7?? Blunder. d5 was best. Black totally loses control of the game. (25... d5 Was now, the only way to maintain the balance. 26. Nde6 Bxe6 27. Nxe6 Qf6 28. Nxf8 Ng3 29. Bd3 Qxb2+ 30. Qxb2 axb2+ 31. Kb1) 26. Nde6! (26. Bc4 Rxc5 Is maybe what Black considered.) 26... Bxb2+?! Inaccuracy. Qe8 was best. (26... Qe8 27. Nxg7)
27. Kb1 Qf6?! Inaccuracy. Qe7 was best. (27... Qe7 28. cxd6 Qf6 29. Bc4 b5 30. Bd5 Ng3 31. Nc5 Ra7 32. Bxf7+ Qxf7 33. d7)
28. Rxd6 Be5 29. Rd8+ Kh7 30. Rxc8 Bxf4 31. Nxf4 Ra4 32. Nd3 Re4 33. Ne5! A very nice tactical idea. 33... Rg7? Mistake. Nf2 was best. (33... Nf2 34. Qxf7+ Qxf7 35. Nxf7 Rxe3 36. Bc4 Re7 37. Nd6 Nxh3 38. Rb8 Ng5 39. Kc2) (33... Rxe5 34. Bd4 Is the point.) 34. Nd7! Here I thought the game will be over any moment, but now, white started to miss some straightforward wins.
34… Qf7 (34... Rxd7 35. Qg8#) 35. Nf8+ Kg8 Checkmate is now unavoidable. Qxf8 was best. (35... Qxf8 36. Rxf8 Ng3 37. Bf3 Re5 38. Bd4 Nf1 39. Kc2 Rxc5+ 40. Bxc5 h5 41. gxh5) 36. Nxg6+ Kh7
37. Nf8+?! White misses the first open goal. (37. Rh8+! Would obviously end the game immediately after 37... Kxg6 38. Rxh6#)
37... Kh8 38. Ne6+? Lost forced checkmate sequence. Ng6+ was best. (38. Ng6+ Kh7 39. Rh8+ Kxg6 40. Rxh6#)
38…Rg8 39. Qc3+ Kh7 40. Rxg8?! Inaccuracy. Rc7 was best. Another missed open goal. (40. Rc7 Would also, likely lead to an immediate resignation. 40... Qxc7 41. Nxc7 Ng3 42. Bd3 b6 43. Nd5 bxc5 44. Nf6+ Kg6 45. Nxe4 Rb8+)
40…Kxg8 41. Bc4 This is also winning, of course, but now I was thinking there can be a decent chance of Black saving this game, since often after missing very easy open goals, it is easy to completely lose control of the game. However, White to his credit never relinquished his advantage, and kept good control of his nerves from this point on. 41... Rxe6 42. Bxe6 Qxe6 43. Qb3 Kf7 44. Qxe6+ Kxe6 45. Kc2 Ke5 46. h4 This is a technically winning endgame.
Ke4 47. Bxh6 Nf2 48. g5 Kf5 49. h5 Ne4 50. g6 Kf6 51. Bf8 Ng5 52. g7 Kf7 53. Kb3 A huge win for Chase, putting him in the shared lead of the tournament with two rounds to go. 1-0
Round 4: Gartenlaub, Corin - Cheung, Kyle
In round 4, we had some fireworks on board 2 in the game between young rising stars, Corin Gartenlaub and Kyle Cheng. The game featured an exciting attack after a very interesting piece of opening preparation by Corin.
1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Nf3 Bg4 The main line here. 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Qb3 Bxf3 9. gxf3 e6 10. Qxb7 Nxd4 11. Bb5+ Nxb5 12. Qc6+ Ke7 13. Qc5+!? The first interesting wrinkle. This is essentially a piece sac which leads to a strong initiative for White. White is scoring very well in the master games in the database, which makes me believe it's a very strong idea practically speaking. (13. Qxb5 This has been the main line throughout the history of opening theory, and usually it leads to a slightly more pleasant endgame with white, which black generally holds. 13... Qd7 (13... Nxc3)) 13... Nd6 Seemingly forced if Black wants to avoid a worse position. (13... Qd6 14. Nxd5+ exd5 15. Qxb5) (13... Ke8 14. Qxb5+ Qd7 15. Nxd5! exd5 (15... Qxb5 16. Nc7+) 16. Qd3 Bb4+ 17. Kf1 Qh3+ (17... f6 18. Kg2 Kf7 19. Bf4) 18. Ke2)
14. Nxd5+ exd5 15. Qxd5 (15. O-O Is the more common move order but probably there is no big difference.)
15... Qc8 16. O-O Qb7 Here based on the time usage, white's prep either ended or white was trying to recall his prep.
17. Qh5 Re8?! Inaccuracy. Ke8 was best. A novelty which will probably not get too much followers. (17... Ke8 Is the engine's top choice which seems to hold for Black after 18. Re1+ Be7 19. Bg5 Nc8 where White has full compensation for the piece but objectively, the position is equal.) (17... Qb5 Has been played before in practice by a couple strong GMs, but Black hasn't scored well here. 18. Re1+ Kd7 (18... Kd8!? Might be an improvement) 19. Re5 Qd3 (19... Qb4!?) (19... Qc4 20. Be3 Re8 21. Rc5 Qd3? (21... Qe2) 22. Qg4+ Kd8 23. Re1 Qg6 24. Bg5+ f6 25. Rd1 fxg5 26. Rc8+ Ke7 27. Re1+ Kf7 28. Rcxe8 Qf5 29. Ra8 a5 30. Rxa5 Qxg4+ 31. fxg4 h5 32. Ra7+ Kf6 33. a4 hxg4 34. a5 Nb5 35. Rb7 Nd4 36. Re8 g3 37. hxg3 g4 38. Kf1 Kg6 39. Rbb8 Rh1+ 40. Kg2 Ra1 41. Rxf8 Nf3 42. Rb6+ Kh7 43. Rxf3 gxf3+ 44. Kxf3 Rxa5 45. b4 1-0 (45) Shevchenko,K (2661)-Aryan,C (2618) Sant Boi de Llobregat 2022) 20. Qg4+ Kd8 21. Qa4 f6 22. Qa5+ Kd7 23. Qa4+ Kd8 24. Bg5! Qc4? (24... fxg5 25. Rd1) 25. Re8+ Kc7 26. Qxc4+ Nxc4 27. Rxa8 fxg5 28. Rc1 Kb7 29. Rd8 Nd6 30. b4 h5 31. a4 a6 32. a5 g4 33. fxg4 hxg4 34. Rd7+ Kb8 35. Rc6 Nf5 36. b5 axb5 37. Rd8+ Ka7 38. Rc7+ Ka6 39. Ra8# 1-0 (39) Van Foreest,J (2695)-Keymer,V (2690) Berlin 2023)
18. Bf4! Kd7?? Blunder. Kd8 was best. (18... Kd8 Was more tenacious 19. Qa5+ Qb6 20. Qa4 Re6 21. Rac1 a5 22. a3 Qb5 23. Qd4 Qb7 24. Rfd1) 19. Rfd1 g6 20. Qc5?? Blunder. Qa5 was best. (20. Qa5 This move was more accurate as already seen in practice in a GM game. 20... Re2 (20... Re6 21. Rac1 g5 22. Bg3 Rg8 23. Qa4+ (23. Rd3) 23... Ke7 24. Rc6 Ne8 25. Qd4 Qa8 26. Qd7+ Kf6 27. Be5+ Kxe5 28. Rxe6+ fxe6 29. Re1+ Kf4 30. Qf7+ 1-0 (30) Gledura,B (2628)-Nasuta,G (2545) Germany 2025) 21. Qa4+ Qc6 22. Qxa7+ Ke6 23. Rac1 Qxf3 24. Bxd6 Re4 25. Bg3 Kf6)
20… Re6 21. Qd4 f6?? Blunder. Rg8 was best. (21... Rg8 Would still allow holding chances, although black's position would still be difficult to play.)
22. Qa4+ Ke7? Mistake. Kd8 was best. (22... Kd8 23. Rac1 Qd7 24. Qb3 Ke8 25. Rc7 Qxc7 26. Qxe6+ Qe7 27. Rxd6 Qxe6 28. Rxe6+) 23. Bxd6+ Rxd6 24. Rxd6 Kxd6
25. Re1!! White finds the only way to win! Very impressive attacking instincts by Corin. The main idea of Re1 is to cut off the exit route from black (Ke7-f7-g7), and not allow the black king to go to a safe haven. This concept of cutting off exit squares is one of the more important attacking motifs. (25. Rd1+? Would be more straightforward but wouldn't win for white due to 25... Ke7 26. Qc4 Bh6 27. Re1+ Kf8) (25. Qe8? Would also spoil the win due to 25... Qxf3) 25... Qxf3 Other defenses wouldn't help. (25... Be7 26. Qa3+) (25... Bg7 26. Qa3+)
26. Qd4+ Qd5 27. Qxf6+ Kc7 28. Qxh8 Qg5+ 29. Kf1 Qb5+ 30. Re2 Qd5 31. Qe5+ Now, White just simplifies into an easily winning exchange up endgame and the rest was easy technique for White. 31…Qxe5 32. Rxe5 Bd6 33. Re2 g5 (33... Bxh2 34. Re7+) 34. h3 a5 35. Kg2 A very impressive attacking game and very good prep by Corin. 1-0
Round 5: Knowles, Chase - Gartenlaub, Corin
After wins by both, Chase Knowles and Corin Gartenlaub in round 4, we had a showdown in the last round between these two players, with Chase being at 3.5, Corin right behind with 3, and several players at 2.5. This meant that Chase would get a tournament win with either a win or draw, while Corin would need a win with black. Very often, in such tournament situations, the white player would choose a very conservative line to try to secure a draw, but as we will see with the opening, Chase was ready for a very sharp fight, and played very principled chess.
1. Nf3 d5 2. c4!? d4 3. b4!?
These two moves signal a very sharp fight, since White is giving black space in the center, while White is going for queenside initiative. 3…f6!? 4. e3 e5 Corin also doesn't back down. 5. c5 a5 6. Qa4+ Bd7 7. b5 Bxc5 8. Bc4 Ne7 This is still theory, believe it or not, but here, Chase, just like in his game against Mark confuses his line. Again, he plays the right move, but one move too early. 9. Ba3? (9. exd4 exd4 10. Ba3 Was probably the line white was going for. 10... Bxa3 11. Qxa3 c6 12. Nxd4 cxb5 13. Nxb5 Bxb5 14. Bxb5+ Nbc6 15. O-O O-O 16. Nc3 Perhaps, white was going for this position, where almost all games (most of them being correspondence) ended in a draw.) 9… Bxa3 10. Qxa3 c6 Now, Black is better, since after exd4, Black won't take on d4 anymore, but will take on b5 first, and the white knight won't control the b5 square.
11. bxc6 Bxc6 12. Qb3 a4 13. Qb2 dxe3 14. fxe3 Nd7 15. O-O Nb6 16. Be6 Nbd5 17. Nc3 Nxc3 18. dxc3 Nd5? Misses a tactic (18... Qd6) 19. Rad1?
This should've lost the game for White. (19. Nxe5! fxe5 20. Rad1! Here, White would have very strong initiative since Qb6 isn't playable anymore due to 20... Qb6? (20... Rf8) 21. Bf7+ Ke7 22. Qa3+! Kd7 23. c4 (23. Bxd5))
19… Qb6 20. Qf2 Nxc3 Now, Black is simply up two pawns without compensation.
21. Rc1 Bxf3? This move gives up a lion's share of black's advantage. (21... Bb5! Should've won for Black 22. Rfe1 (22. Rxc3 Qxe6 23. Re1 O-O) 22... Qxe6)
22. Qxf3 Qxe6 23. Rxc3 O-O 24. Qxb7 Now, White's heavy pieces are active and white has decent chances to draw this.
24…Rfb8 25. Qf3 Qxa2? Lacking a bit of sense of danger, and another step in the wrong direction. (25... e4 26. Qg3 Rc8! Would challenge the c-file, and would keep black with very good winning chances.) 26. Rc7! Kh8 27. Rxg7! A very nice shot by Chase, which I suspect, Corin might've overlooked, especially from far away.
27... Rf8?? As it often happens, blunders don't happen randomly. In my experience, when I make a blunder, it would usually happen when I would already lose the thread 1-2 moves before the blunder, and this happens to be the case here, too, where black drifted a bit, missed some of opponent's counterplay, and finally, cracked under pressure. Also, one thing that black could've dealt with was rejecting Kxg7 due to a draw, and as a result, just automatically choosing another option as a default, without really considering the consequences of the alternative option. This is a very common thought process where we see two options (A and B), and we sort of eliminate A because we don't like it, and end up playing B as a default, but then, B ends up even worse. To avoid this thought process error, it's best to consider all the options equally critically. Another cause for this mistake might've been that black simply didn't consider the possibility that he might be in danger of losing. (27... Kxg7 28. Qxf6+ Kg8 29. Qg5+ Would of course, lead to a draw, which was a favorable result for White.) (27... Qe6! Would be the only way for black to maintain winning chances, though, now that Black lost the g7 pawn, White will always have a lot of counterplay and practical chances to save the game. 28. Rc7 a3 29. Qe4 Qg8 30. Qh4 Rb6 31. Qe4 Rab8 Is a sample line.)
28. Qb7! Qc2 29. e4!
Not sure which move Corin missed, Qb7, or e4. Either way, now black is busted and is forced to lose a lot of material.
29… Qxe4 30. Qxe4 Kxg7 31. Qb7+ Kh8 32. Rc1 Rab8 33. Qd7 Rbd8 34. Qxa4 Rd4 35. Qa7 Rfd8 36. Qe7 Rd1+ 37. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 38. Kf2 Rd2+ 39. Kf3 Rd3+ 40. Ke2 With this win, Chase Knowles has completed a very impressive tournament result, going 4/4 after a first-round bye. With this performance, Chase might've gotten himself very close to master, if not already breaking master outright. Congratulations to him on a very strong performance and for exhibiting very good fighting skills in every game! Hopefully, Chase can be a great example for many other adult improvers that hard work and playing regularly with a good attitude will at some point net some very good results, and hopefully this result by Chase can serve as an inspiration to many players. 1-0
GM Aleksandr Lenderman, Marshall Spectator Contributor
Marshall Team Tournament Winners
In the 3rd installment of the Seasonal Marshall Team Tournament, “Still Thinking” won first place with a standout performance from all three players, pictured below left to right: Wan Qin Li, Leo Paas, and Kara Chan.
As an example of their play, the following game was submitted by Leo Paas, which is his win with the White pieces in round 4 of the event.
You can play through the game here.
Marshall Team Tournament Rd4 Leo Paas vs Jesper Liu (1436)
1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Qe2 d4 4. Nd1 e5 5. g3 Nf6 6. Bg2 Be7 7. d3 O-O 8. f4 Bg4 9. Nf3 Nbd7 10. Nf2 Bb4+ 11. Bd2 Believe it or not, Kf1 was a stronger alternative here.
11…Qa5 12. h3 Bxf3 13. Bxf3 Qb6 14. O-O Bd6?! This retreat gives White an edge.
15. Kh2? White returns the favor with this slow move. Better was breaking in the center with 15.c3. 15…exf4 16. gxf4 Be7 17. Rg1 Qxb2 Grabbing this pawn gives White an attack, where Black’s Queen is somewhat isolated from the game.
18. e5 Nd5 19. Bxd5 cxd5 20. Qg4 g6 21. Qxd7 Qxc2 White now has a decisive advantage, and doesn’t allow Black back into the game.
22. Rad1 Bh4 23. Ng4 Qxd3 24. Nh6+ Kh8 25. Rg2 Bg3+ 26. Rxg3 Qe2+ 27. Rg2 Qxd1 28. Nxf7+ This is not a terrible move, but it misses a forcing mating sequence that starts with 28.Qe7.
28…Kg8 29. Ng5 Qh5 30. Qxd5+ Kh8 31. Qxd4 Rad8 32. Nf7+ Kg8 33. Nxd8 Kh8 34. e6+ Kg8 35. Bc3 Rf5 36. Qg7# 1-0 White wins by checkmate.
Marshall Team Tournament Winners, Marshall Chess Club Members
En Passant
Two young chess champions donated their winnings to to help a sick child.
In his continued efforts to promote chess growth across Africa, Grandmaster Nigel Short, FIDE Director for Chess Development, recently visited Guinea. His trip to the West African nation is part of a larger mission to integrate more countries into the global chess family and spark interest in the game throughout the continent.
GM Magnus Carlsen struggled on the final day but still won the 2025 SuperUnited Croatia Rapid & Blitz with a round to spare and a 2.5-point margin. GM Wesley So took second place after winning a crazy game against GM Fabiano Caruana in the final round, which was enough to overtake World Champion Gukesh Dommaraju, who stabilized to finish third. There was no more Gukesh-Carlsen drama, as their third individual clash was a 14-move draw.
Last month we reported on the somewhat-surprising news that an emulated Atari 2600 running the 1979 software Video Chess had "absolutely wrecked" an overconfident ChatGPT at the game of kings. Fans of schadenfreude rejoice, because Microsoft Copilot thought this was a chance to show its superiority to ChatGPT: And the Atari gave it a beating.
Chess Toons
Problems, Problems, curated by Alexander George
Jacob Mintz, 1982
Helpmate in 3
(a) diagram (b) White knight to f5 (c) White knight to g7 (d) White knight to c4
Last week, you had (a) and (b) to solve. (Remember, in a helpmate Black moves first, then White, etc. in such a way that, in this problem, after White's 3rd move, Black is mated. All moves must be legal.) Now for the two final parts (c) and (d). Once you're done, you will marvel at this gem.
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Solution to last week's problem (Mintz, 1982): (a) 1.a1=Q+ Ne1 2.Qb2 Nc2 2.Qb5 Ra3 mate. (b) 1.a1=R+ Rc1 2.Rb1 Nd4 3.Rb4 Ra1 mate
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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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