The Marshall Spectator

June 12, 2024 edition

In This Issue: 
From The Skittles Room
Marshall Under 2400 Games Analyzed, by GM Alex Lenderman
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 looking forward to the FIDE World Corporate Chess Championship 2024 being held in New York City this weekend, in partnership with the Marshall Chess Club. Are you ready to witness the minds of the business world clash on the 64 squares? The World Corporate Chess Championship brings together the sharpest strategic thinkers from leading companies across the globe. Tickets start at just $26, and special guests will include super GM Hikaru Nakamura, GM Nona Gaprindashvili and IM Levy Rozman.

Another exciting event that we are planning is a lecture by famous chess player and commentator GM Maurice Ashley. Drawing from his award winning Chessable course, GM Maurice Ashley will discuss principles of chess tactics in ways you may have never heard before. Beginning with the principles of collinearity, concurrency, and the Matrix board, GM Ashley sets the stage for more advanced ideas such as the Novotny theme, the deadly Zig-zag and more. Enjoy a fresh look at tactics with mind-blowing examples in a fun and entertaining evening.

Another important event that is fast approaching is the Marshall Chess Club’s Annual membership meeting and election for the board of governors. This event will be held on Tuesday, June 25, and members are welcome to cast their vote in this upcoming election. A full list of the candidates and their statements can be seen here. Instructions for voting will be emailed to members before the election.

Looking further ahead on the calendar to the month of July, we are eagerly anticipating the New York 1924 Centennial. This will be a 9 round, FIDE rated Swiss event held in July. For full details and an updated list of confirmed players check here. Also, be sure to check our teasers on youtube about the event too.

Towards the end of summer, be sure to mark you calendars for these exciting events: On August 6, we will hold the Marshall Chess Club barbecue, featuring chess and music. The following month, on September 24, we will have a Chess Parents Workshop on effective ways to support your child in chess. Please keep an eye out for more details on these events as the dates approach.

Over the last two weeks we have had a plethora of events for our members to play in.

The Under 2000 Morning Action on June 8 had 36 players registered and finished with Vasilev Arkadii, Sebastian Butts, and Jayden Feng scoring a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $105. Manish Suthar, Ethan Deng, Noah Lee, Kevin Pierson, David Huang, and Michael Shea scored 2 out of 3 to win $22.50 each.

The Brother John McManus Action on June 6 had 43 players and was won by IM Maximillian Lu, who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win $158. IM Jay Bonin and Aakaash Meduri scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $92, while Mark DeDona, Aditeya Das, Alec Hyunmook Choi and Harper Wallace scored 3 out of 4 to win $19.75. Anthony Bennet and Mike Ching also shared in a class prize, winning $39.50 each for their 2.5 out of 4 performance.

The Sunday Quads on June 2 had 13 quads, 53 players total, with the following players winning prizes in their quads: Logan Brain $50, Joshua Block $50, Leo Shen $12.50, Jack Yang $12.50, Naveen Paruchuri $12.50, Riley Duda-Thomson $12.50, Harper Wallace $50, Leah Yang $25, Ean Fish $25, Anna Radchenko $50, Jesse Lee $50, Melanie Liang $50, Miles Stringer $16.67, Liam Siu $16.67, Eli Blei-Gantz $16.67,Charles Bernstein $50, Skylar Lin $25, Cory Dowd $25, Luke Guan $50, Warren Liang $50

The Rated Beginner Open on June 2 had 38 players registered and concluded with a 5-way tie. August Malueg, Milan Dev Chadha, Abilseit Marat, Arlan Marat and Harmeet Singh Bagga scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $95 each.

The Under 2000 Morning Action on June 1 had 38 players registered and concluded with a 4-way tie for first. Joseph Otero, Andrey Pichugov, Arkadii Vasilev and Davin Chen scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $83.25 each.   

The Saturday G/50 Under 1800 on June 1 had 24 players registered and was won by Reginal Denis and Marissa Lu, who scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $120 each. Ryan Wang, Liam Kim and Andrew Iparraguirre scored 3 out of 4 to win $24 each.

The Saturday G/50 Open on June 1 had 25 players registered and was won by Evan S Rosenberg and Jessica Hyatt, who scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $120 each. Leo Xiaohang Shen scored 3 out of 4 to win $72.

The Morning Masters on June 1 had 18 players registered and was won by Bryan Enming Lin, who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win the $128 first place prize. WFM Megan Paragua won second place, scoring 2.5 points to win $64.

The Friday Rapid on May 31 had 29 players registered and was won by WFM Megan Paragua who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win $145. FM Marcus Miyasaka and Linxi Zhu finished with 3.5 out of 4 to win $36.50 each. Alex Pakh and David Shen scored 2.5 out of 4 to win $37 each.

The Brother John McManus Action on May 30 had 39 players registered and concluded with a 4-way tie. The following players scored 3.5 out of 4 to win$95.50 each: Marcus Ming Miyasaka, Aakaash Meduri, Nicholas Karas, and Gordon Li. Nicholas Marino and Cameron Hull scored 2.5 out of 4 to win $36 each.

The Memorial Day Action on May 27 had 56 players registered and was won by IM Jay Bonin who scored 5.5 out of 6 to win the $466.66 first place prize. GM Mark Paragua won the second place prize of $280 for his 5 out of 6 performance, while the following 5 players tied for the remaining place prize, winning $55.80 by scoring 4.5 out of 6.  The following 5 players scored 4 points and won $37.20 each for their performance: Jack Yang, Ciprian Solomon, Isaac Statz, Timothy Abbot and Cameron E Hull.

We look forward to seeing you at the club soon!

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Marshall Monthly Under 2400 Games Analyzed, by GM Aleksandr Lenderman

You can play through the games with the notes from this article here.

Round 4: Sarkar, Justin - Hoffman, Luc

This attacking game that Justin played really impressed me. Prior to this game, his opponent, strong young junior player, Luc Hoffmann was at 3/3.

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. Nf3 e6 5. Be2 c5 6. Be3 Nd7 The third most popular move. (6... cxd4 7. Nxd4 Ne7 Is more popular.) (6... Qb6 Is also very popular)

7. O-O Ne7 8. Nbd2 (8. c4 Is a bit more popular) 8... Nc6 9. c4 Be7 10. cxd5 exd5 11. dxc5 Nxc5?! (11... Bxc5! Would probably be stronger 12. Bxc5 Nxc5 13. Nb3 Nxb3 14. Qxb3 Qb6 15. Qxd5 Qxb2 16. Bb5 O-O 17. Bxc6 bxc6 18. Qxc6 Rfd8 19. h3 h6 20. a4 Rac8 21. Qb5 Qc3 1-0 (35) Dominguez Perez,L (2758)-Artemiev,V (2704) chess24.com INT 2021 Black equalized in this game.)

12. Nb3!

12…Ne6 13. Nfd4 Nexd4 14. Nxd4 Bd7?! (14... Nxd4 15. Qxd4 O-O Was slightly worse but at least, black is safe and has chances to hold.)

15. f4?! (15. Qb3! Was more powerful 15... O-O (15... Nxe5 16. Qxb7) (15... Nxd4 16. Bxd4 Bc6 17. f4) 16. Qxd5 Nxd4 17. Qxd4 Bc6 18. Qxd8 Rfxd8 19. f4 g6 20. Rad1 a5)

15... Bc5 16. Rc1 Qb6? (16... Bb6! Was slightly worse but holding.)

17. Rxc5!! Qxc5 18. Nf5! A very nice combination leading to a very strong attack for White.

18... d4 19. Nd6+ Ke7?! (19... Kf8 20. Bf2 h5 21. Bxh5 Be8 22. Nxb7 Qb6 23. Nd6 Rd8 24. Bf3 Rxd6 25. exd6) 20. Bf2 Be6 21. a3 a6 22. f5 Bd5 23. b4 Qb6 (23... Qc3 Was a bit more resilient 24. Bf3 Qb3 25. Qxb3 Bxb3 26. Nxb7 Nxe5 27. Re1 f6 28. Nc5 Bc4 29. Bxa8)

24. f6+ gxf6 25. Nf5+ Kd7?! (25... Kf8 26. Qd2 h6 27. Nxd4 Nxd4 28. Bxd4 Qc6 29. Rxf6 Be6 30. Bc5+ Ke8 31. Bf3)

26. Nxd4! The most precise. 26... Nxd4 27. Bxd4 Qc6 28. Rxf6 Be6 29. Bf3 Qb5 30. a4 Qc4 31. Bc5+ Kc8 32. Rxe6!

A cherry on the cake. Black resigned due to 32…Qxe6 33.Bg4 or 32…fxe6 33.Bxb7! Kxb7 34.Qd7+ Kb8 35.Bd6 mate. Wonderful attacking clutch game by Justin setting up for his final game against Vincent Yu. 1-0

Round 5: Vincent Yu - Sarkar, Justin

The U2400 tournament in May has been won by IM Justin Sarkar. He had a strong dominant performance of 4/4 after a first round bye, which makes his clear first win even more impressive, having to win every game on demand. I chose his two wins, his last round game and the second-last round game.

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Qd2 Nf6 8. f3 Bb4!?

The first minimum surprise. The line I'm more used to is 8...Be7, and something I studied and played a few years ago several times in my own games. 8... b5 is also one of the main lines.

9. a3 Tempting move but maybe there were interesting alternatives: (9. g4) (9. O-O-O)

9... Be7 10. O-O-O b5 Now, the idea of inducing a3 gets revealed. a3 turned out to be a hook and black will have better attacking chances.

11. g4 b4?! However, here, the follow-up was probably inaccurate, as b4 turned out to be slightly premature. (11... Rb8!? Is a novelty, but probably a very interesting move, and maybe we will see it in future big games. It's the engine's top choice.12. h4 b4 $132 { Looks like black gets counterplay.) (11... O-O { Is the most common move in the position but maybe white can have good attacking chances after } 12. h4)

12. axb4 Bxb4 13. g5 Nh5 14. Nb3? A bit passive. (14. Nxc6! Qxc6 (14... dxc6 15. Qd4 Would give white pretty good initiative.) 15. Qd4)

14... O-O 15. Bc5 Bxc5 16. Nxc5 Ne5 17. Qe3 Rb8 18. Nb3 f6! Opening up the f-file for black's pieces.

19. g6?! A bit desperate. (19. Rg1 Here, white is slightly worse but can manage to fight. 19... g6 20. Nd2 fxg5 21. Rxg5 d6 22. b3 Bb7 23. Kb1 Nf7 24. Rxh5 gxh5)

19... hxg6 20. Rg1?! (20. Be2 Nf4 21. h4 Bb7 22. Kb1 Nf7 23. Rxd7 Qxd7 24. Qxf4 a5 25. Qg3 Bc6)

20... Qb6 21. Qxb6 Rxb6 22. Nd4 Kf7 23. Bd3?! (23. Nce2 g5 24. h4 gxh4 25. f4 Nc4 26. Rd3 Rg8 27. b3 Nd6 28. e5 Nxf4) 23... Nf4 Black is now up a clear pawn with a better position, and converted this smoothly for a clutch last round win for first place.

24. Nce2 g5 25. Nxf4 gxf4 26. c3 Rh8 27. Rg2 a5 28. Be2 g5 29. Kc2 Ba6! Exchanging his worst place piece and fighting for the c4 square.

30. Bxa6 Rxa6 31. Ra1 a4 32. Rf2 Raa8 33. Rh1 g4!? A nice conversion. 34. fxg4 Nxg4 35. Rd2 (35. Rxf4 Ne3+ 36. Kd3 e5 Would be an idea.) 35... Rh3 36. Ne2 e5 37. Rxd7+ Ke6 38. Rg7 (38. Rhd1 Ne3+ Is important.)

38…Ne3+ 39. Kc1 Rd8 40. Rgg1 f3 41. Ng3 f2 Very clutch performance! 0-1

• GM Aleksandr Lenderman, Marshall Spectator Columnist

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Chess Toons

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En Passant

World number-one Magnus Carlsen has won his sixth Norway Chess title after beating GM Fabiano Caruana in armageddon while GM Hikaru Nakamura was held to an incredibly tense classical draw by GM Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu. The young Indian won the armageddon but still takes third place behind Nakamura.   

Women's World Champion Ju Wenjun took the Women’s Norway Chess title and a prize of around $65,000 after scoring a smooth classical win against her great rival GM Lei Tingjie. That allowed GM Anna Muzychuk to climb into second place with an armageddon win over GM Koneru Humpy. 

GM Jose Martinez has won what IM Levy Rozman described as "one of the craziest chess events in history," the Clash of Claims in Madrid. He beat former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik 14.5-11.5, with two games to spare, losing 6.5-7.5 over the board before winning 8-4 online. “I didn’t play my best chess but I think I played decent chess,” said Martinez, while Kramnik called it “an experiment that failed,” since he claimed technical issues invalidated the contest.

The FIDE Ethics Commission caused a stir with a decision over the weekend. At the request of three FIDE members, including Peter Heine Nielsen, it threatened to expel the Russian Chess Federation for violating FIDE guidelines and also reprimanded FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich.

Bodhana Sivanandan is another name on the list of super talents, which you should keep in the back of your head. The 9-year-old girl, playing for England, beat WIM Mariam Mkrtchyan from Armenia. Roughly 300 Elo points, and 10 years of age, separated the two players. Robert Ris shows us how this happened.

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Problems, Problems, curated by Alexander George

V. Smyslov, 2010

White to move and draw

We move on to Vasily Smyslov, World Champion from 1957-58.  Smyslov was the endgame technician of his generation.  This was published in a Russian chess review the year Smyslov died.  (I don't know the history of it—if anyone does, please let me know.)  It doesn't look good for White and yet—through what might seem like self-destructive play!—White can hold on.

(If you have any problems by World Champions—or any feedback—please send them my way: mcc-chess@ahg.slmail.me.)

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Last issue’s problem: Botvinnik, 1939

White to move and win.

Solution to Botvinnik, 1939: 1.d8=Q+ (not 1.Rf2? Rd4 2.d8=Q+ RxQ+ 3.KxR Kc5! and draws) RxQ+ 2.KxR Kc5 3.Rb7! and wins.

Alexander George

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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!

The Marshall Chess Club
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