The Marshall Spectator
February 18, 2026
In This Issue:
From The Skittles Room
Recent Games Analyzed, by GM Aleksandr Lenderman
Across the Board, with Caressa Valdueza
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 past weekend, we hosted the NYC Chess Norms President’s Day Round Robin Norm Tournament. If you were unable to follow the games live, you can review them here. Congratulations to all the chess players who participated, as well as top scorers. IM Florian Kaczur achieved an impressive 8 out of 9 in the IM A group, while IM Mykola Bortnyk scored an impressive 7.5 out of 9 to come in first place in the IM B group.
We are proud to share that our Board Member Vladimir Bugayev has generously donated his time to remotely teach chess to the Kibera Knights, a scholastic chess program founded by Marshall Chess Club Member and accomplished educator Ken Kaplan. He founded the program by visiting the schools in Kenya and has been an active ambassador of chess there ever since first launching the clubs just a few years ago with help and support of the Marshall Chess Club. Below, see some photos of the recent lessons in action. When asked about how it went, Ken Kaplan added “…we had the lesson with Vladimir Bugayev today. It went great! He was excellent, and the kids acquitted themselves quite well! At one point he asked the kids what are some tactics they know, and the first player said Zugzwang!”
Have you seen the documentary Queen of Chess, featuring the legendary Judit Polgár yet? It is available to stream on Netflix now. We’re thrilled to announce that her sister, Sofia Polgár, will be joining us on May 19th, along with renowned chess photographer David Llada for our inaugural Chess and Arts Fair. It promises to be a memorable event, and we look forward to celebrating this special occasion with all of you.
As we approach the national scholastic championship season in the spring, join us at our Marshall Chess Academy camps during midwinter break! For the list of dates and registration information, please check out this link.
Lastly, our hoodies are finally ready! If you attended more than four days of camp since Fall of 2025, we will be in touch soon regarding a Marshall Chess Academy hoodie with the option for more customization :)
Looking back over the last two weeks, we have had a plethora of events for our members to participate in.
The Morning Masters on February 14 had 13 players registered and was won by FM Arun Dixit, Armaan C Jain, and Sam Nemiroff who scored 25 out of 3 to win $54.33 each.
The Under 2000 Morning Action on February 14 had 42 players registered and was won by Jack Yang, Alexis Donnersmarck, Amiel Urilov, and Terrance Zeng who scored 3 out of 3 to win $90 each, while Aaron Zhang scored 2.5 out of 3 to win a $154 class-prize.
The FIDE Blitz on February 13 had 57 players registered and was won by IM Maximillian Lu who scored a near-perfect 8 out of 9 to win $280, while Ashvin Sivakumar and FM Aditeya Das scored 7 out of 9 to win $105 each, and CM Alejandro Saez and Theodore Pimanoff scored 6.5 out of 9 each to win $70 each. The following players won $23.33 each as a class prize for their 5.5 score: Samuel Pozen, Shiv Dubey, and Neal Thio Hong, while WCM Wan Qin Li, Nathan Peyton, Maddie Weber, and WIM Tianhao Xue scored 6 out of 9 to win $17.50 each.
The Afternoon Action on February 13 had 17 players registered and was won by FM Arun Dixit and WIM Tianhao Xue who scored 3 out of 3 to win $106.50 each.
The Thursday Action on February 12 had 32 players and was won by WIM Tianhao Xue who scored 4 out of 4 to win a $120 first-place prize. IM Jay Bonin and William Aepli scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $70 each, while Alec Choi and Grant Rheingold scored 3 out of 4 to win $30 each and the following players won $15 for their 2.5 out of 4 score: John Mehler, David Gelpi, Xinlong Zhong, and Ezra Masri.
The Thursday Open that concluded on February 12 had 19 players registered and was won by FM Marcus Ming Miyasaka who scored 5 out of 6 to win a $380 first-place prize, while Aleksandr Gutnik and Rochelle Ballantyne scored 4.5 out of 6 to win $114 each. Ruari Morrison won a $76 prize for a 4 out of 6 performance, while Gabe Wecht won $38 for a 3.5 score and the following players won $12.67 each for their 3 points: Daniel Yates, Joshua Shou, and Ryan Lefkowitz.
The Premier Under 2000 that concluded on February 8 had 51 players registered and was won by Adrian Sommerstein who scored 5 out of 5 to win $834, while Hillel Doron-Repa and Myles Sussman scored 4 out of 5 to win $292 each. Kavin Vairavan won a $250 class prize for their 3 out of 5 score and Isabella Cheng won a $209 class prize for a 2 out of 5 score.
The Rated Beginner Open February 8 had 40 players registered and was won by Pierson Dodd, Andrew Yicong Shao, Connor Tjernstrom and Kristina Pyfrom who scored 3 out of 3 to win $122 each.
The Morning Under 1600 that concluded on February 8 had 51 players registered and was won by the following players who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $150 each: Atticus Chen, Damian Hernandez, Idan Zablocki, and Gregory Thomas McLain.
The Premiere Open on February 8 had 50 players registered and was won by IM Tanitoluwa Adewumi and IM Justin Sarkar who scored 4.5 out of 6 to win $750 each, while GM Mackenzie Molner scored 4 out of 6 to win a $250 prize. CM Luc Hoffman and James Marsh won $125 each for their 3.5 out of 6 score.
The Morning Masters on February 7 had 16 players registered and was won by Armaan C Jain who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $120, while Tim Shvarts scored 2.5 out of 3 to win $80.
The Under 2000 Morning Action on February 7 had 76 players registered and was won by the following players who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $131.40 each: Farirai Gumbe, Anay Varma, James Plotkin, Hudson Belelieu, and Aidan Amin, while Gabriel Negussie and Charles Wang won $94 each as a class prize for their 2 out of 3 score.
The Afternoon Action on February 6 had 7 players registered and was won by WIM Tianhao Xue and FM Arun Dixit who scored 2.5 out of 3 to win $44 each.
The Thursday Action on Feb 5 had 39 players registered and was won by Alec Choi who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win the $147 first-place prize. IM Jay Bonin scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $98, while Leon Lee won a $74 class prize for a 2.5 out of 4 performance. The following players shared in the remaining prize funds winning $21.14 each for their 3 out of 4 score: William Aepli, Alan Stolyarov, Mulan Jiemin Zhang, Oliver Chernin, WIM Tianhao Xue, Kenneth Fernandez, and Lucas Lu.
The Monday U1800 that concluded on February 2 had 24 players registered and was won by Ernesto Tobar who scored 5.5 out of 6 to win the $154 first-place prize. Kevin Reim won clear second for his 4.5 points, winning a $115 prize, while Jahmar Opley won a $77 class prize for scoring 4 points and Valery Zajkov won a $39 class-prize for scoring 3.5. The following players shared in the remaining prize funds, winning $25.67 each for their 4 out of 6 performance: Andrew Ferrante, Daniel Yates, and Christopher Weldon.
The Monday FIDE that concluded on February 2 had 22 players registered and was won by FM Grant Xu and IM Justin Sarkar who scored 4.5 out of 6 to win $175 each, while WFM Abby Marshall scored 4 out of 6 to win $70. Samuel Pozen won $70 for his 3.5 out of 6 performance, while Andrew Colwell, Cameron Hull, and Rochelle Ballantyne won $11.67 each for their 3 out of 6 performance.
The MCC Junior Championship that concluded on February 1 had 63 players registered and was won by IM Tanitoluwa Adewumi who scored a near-perfect 4.5 out of 5 to win the $1,400 first-place prize. IM Nico Chasin, CM Jamison Edrich Kao, Winsley Wu, and CM Luc Hoffman won $425 each for their 4 out of 5 score, while Grayson Xiang won a $500 class prize for his 3.5 out of 5 performance.
The MCC Junior Championship U12 that concluded on February 1 had 42 players registered and was won by Max Mullholland and Aarav Singh who scored 4.5 out of 5 to win $575 each, while Kevin Xu won $250 for his 4 out of 5 performance. Kimerly Duong also won a $250 class prize for her 3.5 out of 5 score, while the following players won $30 each for their 3.5 performance: Aileen Lou, Myra Nigam, Kabir Mutha, Kai Waters, and WCM Kara Chan.
The Morning Under 1600 on February 1 had 29 players registered and was won by the following four players who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $84.50 each: Charlie Rozenfeld, Daniel Zahzouhi, Hudson Kemnitzer, and Alex Jacobs.
The Rated Beginner Open on February 1 had 35 players registered and was won by the following players who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $106.25 each: Caleb Lu, Alex Chrisman, Vida Sanquiche, and Julien Kulla.
The Morning Masters on January 31 had 7 players registered and was won by Chase Knowles who scored a near-perfect 2.5 out of 3 to win the $53 first-place prize, while the following players won $11.67 each for their 2 out of 3 score: FM Arun Dixit, Aditeya Das, and Alan Stolyarov.
The Under 2000 Morning Action on January 31 had a whopping 68 players registered and featured a number of perfect scores. Dylan Amaro won a $255 class prize for his perfect 3 out of 3, while the following players shared in the remaining prize funds winning $119 each for their perfect 3 out of 3 score: Gavin Liu, David Gelpi, Kenny T Bollin, Hudson Belelieu, and Alexi De La Nuez.
The Afternoon Action on January 30 had 6 players registered and was won by FM Arun Dixit who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win the $45 first-place prize. Sean Keenan won clear second and $30 for his 2 out of 3 performance.
The Thursday Action on January 29 had 41 players and was won by IM Jay Bonin who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win the $150 first-place prize. FM Aditeya Das and Alec Choi scored 3.5 to win $87.50 each, while the following players won $37.50 each for their 3 out of 4 score: Alisher Podavonov, Christian Kavouras, Akeil Williams, and Kenny T Bollin.
We look forward to seeing you at the club soon!
Recent Games Analyzed, by GM Lenderman
The February edition of the Marshall Premier ended in a tie for first between two IMs Justin Sarkar and Tani Adewumi. For Justin, it was an impressive performance of 4/4 with a half-point bye, including a big last round win over the rating favorite and GM David Brodsky. For Tani, who also won the Junior Championship earlier in the month, it was a continuation of very strong form. When I asked Justin, which game(s) he was the most happy with, he mentioned his miniature win against young junior player, Jack Boyer-Olson, his win against Julian Ma in round 4, and his last round win against GM David Brodsky. He was happy with these games for different reasons. In this game against Jack, Justin played an opening he hasn’t played before and it worked to perfection for him.
You can play through the games with annotations here.
Round 3: Sarkar, Justin - Boyer-Olson, Jack
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Qb3!? The first surprise of the game, a move that Justin hasn’t previously played. This move got Jack to pause for a few minutes.
4… dxc4 5. Qxc4 Qd5?! A very instructive inaccuracy. It seems like the move Qd5 “gains” a tempo, since white isn’t that interested in trading queens here, relinquishing his chances for a big advantage, but in reality, the white queen on c4 wasn’t that well placed anyway, and wants to go to a4-d1 potentially, while the queen on d5 will end up being exposed. (5... Bf5 6. g3 e6 Would be the main line for black which should equalize with precise play.)
6. Qa4 Bd7? Mistake. Nbd7 was best. This is a mistake, since the bishop is simply misplaced here, blocking the b8 bishop, and c5 will likely not work for black due to Nb5 in most positions, and because white can play Qb3 if needed. (6... Nbd7)
7. Nc3 Qf5 8. Ne5 (8. Qb3!?)
8... e6?! (8... Ng4 Justin thought this gave black the best survival chances, though, even here, White should have a big advantage.) (8... c5 9. Nb5 Would also not be fun for black, but black might be able to fight on in various ways.)
9. f3! A very strong idea, allowing white to get a huge center.
9... Qh5?? Blunder. c5 was best.
This loses the game due to an unexpected tactic, which Justin spotted. (9... c5 10. Nb5 cxd4 11. Nxd7 Nbxd7 12. Nc7+ Kd8 13. Nxa8 Bc5 Black should be lost here, but has some practical chances despite being down a rook due to White’s lack of development.)
10. h4! Suddenly, the Black queen will simply be trapped.
10… c5 11. Nb5 cxd4 12. Bg5! The simplest. This seals the Black queen’s fate, and kills all of Black’s practical chances. (12. Nxd7?! Nbxd7 13. Nc7+ Kd8 14. Nxa8 Qe5 Would still be winning for white, but does give black some practical chances.)
12... Nc6 13. g4 Nxe5 14. gxh5 a6?! Inaccuracy. Nd5 was best.
15. Nc7+ Kd8 16. Qxd4 Nc6 17. Qb6 Bb4+ 18. Bd2 Bc5?! Inaccuracy. Bxd2+ was best.
19. Nxe6+ A strong case of an opening choice going as well as it can possibly go. 1-0
Round 4: Ma, Julian - Sarkar, Justin
This game, Justin was happy because he was able to navigate a complex opening well, as well as finding an unexpected tactic in the middle game to win the game.
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. h4 This leads to a very complex battle. 3…Bg7 4. Nc3 d6 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bf4 Nc6 7. Nf3 Bg4?! Inaccuracy. O-O was best.
8. d5 e5 9. dxe6 Bxe6 10. e4 Bg4 11. Be2 Qe7 12. Qc2 Bxf3?! Inaccuracy. O-O was best.
13. Bxf3 Nd4 14. Qd3 Nxf3+ 15. Qxf3 (15. gxf3 Was better since the alternative allowed a strong tactic.)
15... Nxe4! In order to play this, Justin had to foresee the game continuation.
16. Nd5?! Inaccuracy. Nxe4 was best. (16. O-O-O Bxc3 17. bxc3 O-O-O) (16. Nxe4! f5 17. c5! Was still somewhat unclear.)
16... Ng5+! 17. Qe3 (17. Nxe7 Nxf3+)
17... Qxe3+18. Bxe3 Ne6! The key point. Now, the Black knight goes back to e6 and is able to guard c7. A slightly unusual pattern, but now, Black emerges up a clear pawn, and Black has converted the game smoothly from here.
19. O-O-O h5 20. Rhe1 O-O-O 21. Nf4?! Inaccuracy. Kc2 was best.
21… Nxf4 22. Bxf4 Rde8 23. Kc2 Kd7 24. Be3?! Inaccuracy. Re3 was best.
24…Re4 25. b3?! Inaccuracy. c5 was best.
25… Rxh4 26. Bg5 Rg4 27. Re7+ Kd8 28. Rxf7+ Rxg5 29. Rxg7 Rxg2 30. Kc3 Re8 31. c5 Re7 32. Rg8+ Kd7 33. f4 Rf7 34. cxd6 cxd6 35. Re1 Rxf4 36. Rg7+ Kc6 37. Ree7 a5 38. Kd3 Kd5 39. Ke3 Rb4 40. Rd7 Rxa2 41. Rxg6?! Inaccuracy. Rxb7 was best.
41…Rxb3+ 42. Kf4 Rf2+ 43. Kg5 Rg2+ A strong effort by Justin, setting himself up for a last-round showdown with GM David Brodsky. 0-1
Round 5: Sarkar, Justin - Brodsky, David
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 d5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. Qxc3 dxc4 The first interesting opening choice by Black. (6... O-O Is the main line.) (6... Ne4 Is the other main line.)
7. Qxc4 b6 8. Bf4 Nd5 (8... Ba6 Is an interesting alternative.)
9. Bg3 O-O 10. Nf3 c5!? Likely, a strong novelty.
11. e4 Nf6 12. O-O-O Ba6?! Inaccuracy. Bb7 was best. (12... Bb7 13. dxc5 Nbd7 14. Ne5 Rc8 Would lead to an interesting fight and would likely be ok for Black.)
13. Qc2 Now, it looks like white gets an upper hand.
13… Qc8?! Inaccuracy. c4 was best. 14. dxc5 bxc5?! Inaccuracy. Bb7 was best. Now, White has a winning attack.
15. Bd6! Rd8 16. e5! Nd5 17. Ng5! White’s attack is very strong here.
17… g6 18. Qe4? Mistake. h4 was best. (18. h4! This was very strong. Justin didn’t like it because of Bxf1, but amazingly enough, White can ignore it.
18... Bxf1 (18... Nc6 19. h5 Nd4 20. Qe4)
19. h5!! The point! White’s attack is simply too strong, but understandably it is very hard to calculate, and risky for White, since White is down a piece here. (19. Rhxf1 Nc6 Here, black would have some counter-play.) 19... Bxg2 20. hxg6 hxg6 21. Nxf7) 18... h6?? Blunder. Bxf1 was best. (18... Bxf1 Would be more tenacious for Black.)
19. Nxe6! The most practical solution. 19…Qxe6 (19... fxe6 would also easily lose. 20. Qxg6+ Kh8 21. Qxh6+ Kg8 22. Qg6+ Kh8 23. Bxa6 Qxa6 24. Rd3)
20. Qxd5 From here, Justin easily converted the endgame.
20…Qxd5 21. Rxd5 c4 22. Ra5 Bb7 23. Rc5 Nd7 24. Rc7 Bd5 25. Bxc4 Nb6 26. Bxd5 Nxd5 27. Rc4 f5 28. Rd1 Rac8 29. Rxc8 Rxc8+ 30. Kb1 Nf4 31. g3 Ne6 32. b4 Rc3 33. Kb2 Rf3 34. Rd2 f4 35. b5 Kf7 36. a4 Ng5 37. a5 Ne4 38. Re2 fxg3 39. fxg3 Nxd6 40. exd6 Rf5 41. Re7+ Kf6 42. Rb7 Congratulations to Justin Sarkar on an amazing performance at the Marshall Premier. 1-0
Round 2: Adewumi, Tanitoluwa - Liang, Hairan
Tani also had a very nice tournament, tying for first with Justin Sarkar with 4.5/5. He had a couple of wins I really liked. This win he had in round 2 caught Justin Sarkar’s attention because it had an interesting king walk, which reminded him of an older game he has played, and also won with a nice king walk.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 e6 4. Bxc6 bxc6 5. b3 e5 6. Nxe5 Qe7 7. d4 f6 8. Nf3 Qxe4+ 9. Kd2!? Most likely, preparation, but still, a very creative idea nonetheless. (9. Be3 cxd4 Would be fine for Black.)
9... Ne7 10. Re1 Qf5 A strong novelty, interestingly, deviating from another game Tani has played earlier in Titled Tuesday against a strong GM, where he won a nice game. (10... Qf4+?! 11. Kc3 (11. Ke2!?) 11... cxd4+ 12. Kb2 (12. Nxd4) 12... Qc7 13. Nxd4 Kf7 14. Qh5+ g6 15. Qf3 Bg7 16. Bf4 1-0 (51) Adewumi,T (2351)-Ibarra Jerez,J (2559) Chess.com INT 2024 And White later won in.)
11. Kc3 Ba6? Mistake. Kf7 was best. (11... Kf7! Black had to also do a king walk of his own to maintain the balance.)
12. Ba3! From here on, white always had control of the game and won very smoothly.
12... cxd4+?! Inaccuracy. g5 was best.
13. Nxd4 Qxf2 14. Nd2 Kf7 15. Ne4 Nd5+ 16. Kb2 Qf4 17. g3 Qc7 18. c4 Bxc4 Desperation but black’s position was terrible anyway. (18... Nb6 19. Rc1)
19. Bxf8 Rhxf8 20. bxc4 Rab8+ 21. Nb3 Qe5+ 22. Ka3! Nb6 23. Rc1 d5 24. Nec5 Qd6 25. Kb2 Kg8 26. Re6 Qd8 27. cxd5 cxd5 28. Qd4 a5?! Inaccuracy. Re8 was best.
29. Ka1 Nc4 30. Ra6 Re8 31. Ne6 Qd7 32. Rxc4 Rxe6 33. Rxe6 Qxe6 34. Rc5 a4 35. Qxa4 Qe2 36. Qf4 Ra8 37. Qd2 Qe5+ 38. Qd4 Qe1+ 39. Kb2 Re8 40. Qxd5+ Kh8 41. Rc2 h6 42. a4 Re5 43. Qd3 f5 44. a5 Qb4 45. a6 Ra5?? Checkmate is now unavoidable. Re8 was best.
46. Qd8+ A very nice game by Tani. 1-0
Sarkar, Justin -Hamitevici, Vladimir
This is the game from the Reykjavik Open 2015 that Justin Sarkar mentioned where he had a nice king walk.
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 Same opening line as against Brodsky! 4... c5 5. dxc5 O-O 6. a3 Bxc5 7. Nf3 b6 8. Bf4 Bb7 9. Rd1 Nh5 10. Bc1 Nf6 11. Bf4 Nh5 12. Bc1 f5 (12... Nf6 13. b4 Possibly would be Justin’s choice here.)
13. e4! Bxf2+ Seems principled, but this doesn’t work for black.
14. Kxf2 fxe4 15. Nxe4 Qh4+
16. Ke3! Here comes the king walk. White will keep the piece and his king will be relatively safe.
16... Qf4+ 17. Kd4 Qf5 18. Bd3 Nc6+ 19. Kc3 d5 20. Neg5 Qf6+ 21. Kb3 g6 22. Ka2 Rac8 23. Rhf1 Na5 24. Nxh7 1-0 White wins. A very nice game by Justin! 1-0
Round 5: Adewumi, Tanitoluwa - Putnam, Liam
In the last round, Tani was able to win a nice positional game against strong IM Liam Putnam.
1. d4 Nf6 c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Bd2 d5 6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. Qc2 b6 8. a3 Bxc3 9. Bxc3 Ba6 10. Qa4 Bb7 11. cxd5 Bxd5 12. Nd2 c5 13. f3 Qc7 14. dxc5 Qxc5 15. Bd4 Qe7 16. Bc3 Bb7 17. Qh4 a5 (17... Rfd8) 18. Bd3 h6 19. O-O Rac8 (19... Nd5)
20. Rfd1 Rfe8 21. Nc4 Rc6?! Inaccuracy. Bd5 was best.
22. Bf1 Black wasn’t able to generate enough compensation for White’s bishop pair, and now, Tani is starting to consolidate and gaining the upper hand.
22… Ba6 23. Ne5 Nxe5 24. Bxa6 Ng6 25. Qd4 Rb8 26. Bf1 Rcc8 27. e4 Rd8 28. Qe3 Rxd1?! Inaccuracy. Nd7 was best.
29. Rxd1 Rd8 30. Rc1 Qd6 31. Rc2 e5 32. a4 Qe6 33. Rd2 Rxd2 34. Qxd2 Kh7?! Inaccuracy. Qe7 was best. 35. Bb5 Qe7 36. g3 Qc7 37. b4 axb4 38. Bxb4 Qc8 39. Kg2 Nf8?! Inaccuracy. Kg8 was best.
40. Qc3! Offering a queen trade since white will be winning in the endgame. Black now has to either lose material or go into a bad endgame.
40... Qxc3?! Inaccuracy. Qb8 was best. (40... Qb8 41. Bxf8 Qxf8 42. Qxe5 Qd8 Was more tenacious.)
41. Bxc3 N6d7 42. Bb4 Kg6 43. Kf2 Kf6 44. Ke3 Ke6 45. Kd3 Nc5+ 46. Kc4 Nfd7 47. a5 Kd6 48. Bxd7 A very nice game by Tani, bringing him to a tie for first with Justin Sarkar. 1-0
Round 4: Bonin, Jay - Bhoopathi, Rishith
When I was watching the games live, there was one position from this game between Jay Bonin and Rishith that caught my attention, where black had an unexpected win.
1. d4 d5 2. c3 (2. Bf4 Nf6 3. e3 c5 4. dxc5 e6 5. b4 a5 6. c3)
2... Nf6 3. Bg5 Ne4 4. Bf4 c5 5. f3?! Probably, not a great line for White since White gets a worse version of a London line mentioned in the variation above in 2)Bf4. (5. e3) 5... Nf6 6. dxc5 e6 (6... Nc6 Was previously played against Jay Bonin, where Black also got advantages.)
7. b4 a5 8. e4 (8. e3 Bd7) 8... axb4 9. cxb4 Nc6 10. Bb5 Bd7 11. Bxc6 Bxc6 12. Nc3 d4! (12... dxe4 Was a safe alternative.)
13. Nce2 d3! 14. Nc3?! Inaccuracy. a4 was best. (14. a4! Engine says this is best for White, but this is a sign that White’s position is already going downhill. 14... dxe2 15. Qxd8+ Kxd8 16. Nxe2 White has some compensation for the piece, but of course, not enough.)
14... Qd4! 15. Bd2?! Inaccuracy. Rc1 was best.
This move was designed to prevent Qxb4 due to Nd5. However, it turns out that Black can apply the Shankland rule, and play it anyway!
15... b6? Mistake. Qxb4 was best. (15... Qxb4!! 16. Nd5 Qd4! 17. Be3 Probably, the most critical. (17. Bc3 d2+ (17... Qxc5)) (17. Nc7+ Kd7 18. Nxa8 Bxc5 19. Nh3 Nxe4!) 17... Qe5 (17... d2+ 18. Kf2 Nxe4+) 18. Bf4 d2+! The key move, disturbing White’s harmony. Now, White loses in all lines. 19. Kf2 (19. Kf1 Nxd5! 20. Bxe5 Ne3+) (19. Bxd2 exd5) (19. Qxd2 Qxa1+) (19. Kxd2 Qd4+) 19... Bxc5+)
16. Nh3 Ra3?? Blunder. bxc5 was best. A very unfortunate mistake for Black, after having played a great game up to this point. Most likely, Qc1 was missed, which turns the tables. (16... bxc5 17. b5 Bb7 Would still leave black with a big advantage.)
17. Qc1! Suddenly, White is given a very important tempo to consolidate, and from here on, white maintained his advantage and won the game.
17... Ra7 18. cxb6?! Inaccuracy. a4 was best. 18… Ra8?! Inaccuracy. Rd7 was best.
19. a3 Qxb6 20. Nf2 Rd8 21. O-O Bd6 22. Be3 Qb8 23. f4 Bc7 24. e5 Ng8 25. b5 Ba8 26. Nce4 Bxe4?! Inaccuracy. Ne7 was best.
27. Nxe4 Ne7 28. b6?! Inaccuracy. Rb1 was best.
28… Bxb6 29. Nd6+ Rxd6 30. exd6 Qxd6 31. Rb1?! Inaccuracy. Bxb6 was best.
31…d2 32. Qc3 Bxe3+ 33. Qxe3 O-O?! Inaccuracy. Nf5 was best.
34. Rfd1 Nd5 35. Rxd2 Qc7 36. Qd4 Nxf4 37. Qd6 Qa7+ 38. Kh1 Nd5?? Blunder. g5 was best.
39. Rdb2 h6 40. Qxf8+ Kxf8 41. Rb8+ Ke7 42. R1b7+ Qxb7 43. Rxb7+ Kd6 44. Rxf7 g6 45. Rg7 Ne7 46. a4 e5 47. a5 e4 48. a6 e3 49. Kg1 Nc6 50. a7 Nxa7 51. Rxa7 1-0 White wins.
GM Aleksandr Lenderman, Marshall Spectator Contributor
Across the Board, with Artist & Chess Player, Caressa Valdueza
How long have you been a member of the Marshall?
I was a member from 2022-2024. I then lived in Philadelphia for some time, pausing my membership. However, now that I have moved back to New York, I have restarted my membership this year.
Do you see connections between chess and art? Or do you think that chess lends itself to the fine arts because it is interesting to look at people while they are thinking at the board?
I see many similarities between chess and art. When I sketch, I think about where to direct the beholder’s gaze. I also consider the mood and background. Indeed, the elements of strategy are present in art.
Just like in chess, restraint is also important. It’s easy to get excited with colors, but adding too much or too many can drown the ‘main character’ or subject. Meanwhile, excessive restraint can minimize the joy of painting, and the overall result can be dull. This experience parallels the practice of aggressiveness and defense in chess.
The chess players’ positions over the board are definitely interesting. Sometimes, one can tell if the player is in the opening, middle or endgame without looking at the game itself but at the player’s body language . These thinking postures inspire wonder and awe. Chess players have certainly inspired me.
When did you first learn chess?
I learned to play when I was 9 years old. My Dad taught me. I was living in Manila, Philippines at that time. He was inspired by GM Judit Polgar.
When did you begin making art?
I have been drawing on and off since I was three years old. In the past 6 months however, I have been more consistent with sketching. Art is certainly a good way to express oneself and also destress.
Caressa Valdueza, Marshall Chess Club Member & Artist
Chess Toons
En Passant
GM Zhou Jianchao's extraordinary unbeaten run ended last weekend after 158 classical games. The Chinese-born grandmaster has made it to the history books by achieving the longest known run of consecutive classical games without losing.
Magnus Carlsen is the 2026 FIDE Freestyle Chess World Champion. A draw in the fourth and final game against Fabiano Caruana (USA) was enough to seal a 2.5–1.5 match victory in Weissenhaus, Germany.
This week it was announced Niemann has been handed a dramatic late call-up to the Prague International Chess Festival. It's another reward for his work and his arrival will also instantly supercharge one of Europe’s fastest-rising elite tournaments.
On 16 February 1906, Vera Menchik was born. After the Russian Revolution, her family lost their property, her parents separated, and Vera Menchik moved to England with her mother. As she did not have a good command of the English language, she devoted herself to chess. In this way, she became the first woman to be invited to top tournaments. This week marks the 120th anniversary of her birth.
Problems, Problems, curated by Alexander George
Judit Polgár, 1994
White to move and win.
GM Polgár was trained relentlessly by her father on chess problems and studies. (Some of these have been collected here.) No surprise, perhaps, that she’s composed some studies herself.
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Solution to last issue’s problem (Vasily Smyslov, 2010):
White to move and draw.
1.b6! ab 2.c5! bc 3.Kb2 Kb4 4.h6! Kc4 5.Kc2 Kd4 6.Kd2 c4 7.Kc2 c3 8.Kc1 =
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Alexander George
Editor’s Note
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