The Marshall Spectator
March 4, 2026
In This Issue:
From The Skittles Room
Endgame Corner, by IM Silas Esben Lund
Blizzard Brilliancy, by FM Marcus Miyasaka
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, the 2026 New York State High School Championship was held in Saratoga Springs, and we would like to congratulate the 2026 Championship team from Hunter. Led by top scorer FM Bryan Lin who managed a near-perfect 5 out of 6, Hunter finished in clear-first place, half a point ahead of the 2nd place team from Bronx Science. We would also like to congratulate FM Megan Paragua, who achieved first place as an individual on tie-breaks with an undefeated 5 out of 6 performance.
In other news, we are thrilled to congratulate Marshall Chess Club Members Tanitoluwa Adewumi and Liam Putnam on earning GM norms at this past week’s elite event in Missouri, the 2026 Saint Louis Masters. For Tani, this was an impressive first norm with a commanding score of 6 out of 9 in a very strong field, while Liam achieved his 3rd GM norm and completed the final requirement to attain the GM title. Liam Putnam’s first GM Norm was earned not too long ago here at the Marshall Chess Club, and we are proud to have been part of his development along the way. We celebrate his tremendous achievement and look forward to following his continued success as he begins the next chapter of his professional career.
Looking ahead, we are excited to celebrate Women’s History Month this March with a special Panel on Women & Girls Chess. Please join us Tuesday, March 10 from 6:30-8:30 for a very special event.
On the topic of Women’s History Month and chess, if you haven’t seen the documentary Queen of Chess, featuring the legendary Judit Polgár yet, you should! 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.
With Nationals just around the corner, sign up for our spring break camps to get in some more practice! Registration is open - 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 FIDE Blitz on February 27 had 54 players registered and was won by GM Maxim Dlugy who scored a near-perfect 8.5 out of 9 to win the $265 first-place prize. CM Alejandro Saez scored 7.5 out of 9 to win $133, while Viyaan Doddapaneni scored 7 out of 9 to win $67. Joseph De Villa and Jack Boyer-Olsen also won $67 for their 6.5 and 6 out of 9 performance respectively, while Jude Kazan and Elizabeth Zhou won $33.50 for their 5.5 out of 9 performance.
The Afternoon Action on February 27 had 9 players registered and was won by FM Arun Dixit who scored 3 out of 3 to win the $68 first-place prize, while Kyle Cheng and Joel Martin scored 2.5 out of 3 to win $22.50 each.
The Women and Girls Open on February 27 had 8 players registered and was won by Dhruthi Rao who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win the $48 first-place prize. Emmi Gaskins, Grace luo and Zaaria N Khaqan won $8 each for their 2 out of 3 score.
The Thursday Action on February 26 had 36 players registered and was won by IM Kevin Wang, FM Leif Pressman, and IM Jay Bonin who scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $97.67 each. FM Olson Ortiz and Austin Zhao scored 3 out of 4 to win $34 each, while William Culbertson, Gabriel Negussie, and James Maslen shared in the remaining prize funds winning $22.67 each for their 2.5 out of 4 score.
The Weekly Under 2200 that concluded on February 25 had 40 players registered and was won by Quan Anh Le and Rochelle Ballantyne who scored 5 out of 6 to win $333.34 each, while Jose De Villa scored 4.5 out of 6 to win $133.33. Charles Ho also won a class prize of $133.33 for his 3.5 out of 6 performance, while the following players won $13.33 each for their 3 out of 6 score: Thomas Lay, Chris DeDona, Scott Xue, Jonas Zeutzius, and Jake Exkorn.
The Weekly Under 1600 that concluded on February 25 had 29 players registered and was won by Rayane Chertouk who scored 5 out of 6 to win the $241.67 first-place prize. David Shenk and Dario Golden won $120.84 each for their 4.5 out of 6 score, while Chiyeung Lau won a $96.67 class prize for a 3.5 out of 6 performance.
The Rated Beginner Open on February 22 had 35 players registered and was won by the following players who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $82.60 each: Jude Mahmoud, Ted Chang, Ryan Chen, Priyanshu Deshraju and Ahmai Chaney-Smith.
The Monthly Under 2400 that concluded on February 22 had 66 players registered and was won by FM Marcus Miyasaka and FM Aditeya Das who scored 4.5 out of 5 to win $770 each. Milo Su won a $330 class prize for his 3 out of 5 score, while the following players shared in the remaining prize funds winning $201.67 each for their 3.5 out of 5 score: Gregory Gong, Rochelle Ballantyne, and Kevin Xu.
The Monthly Under 1800 that concluded on February 22 had 30 players registered and was won by Hillel Doron-Repa, Leo Malcolm, and Mikey Verberkmoes who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win $275 each. Anderson Chen and Dhanyasri Saravanakumar Vidhya won a $150 class prize each for their performance in the event.
The Morning Under 1600 on February 22 had 31 players registered and was won by Carlos Chavez, Maddie Moradi, and Jonathan Katz who all scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $116.67 each.
The Under 2000 Morning Action on February 21 had 71 players registered and was won by the following players who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $122.60 each: Jack Yang, Will Nieder, Gavin Liu, Sebastian Goodrich, and David Gelpi. James Maslen also scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win the class prize of $263.
The Morning Masters on February 21 had 15 players registered and was won by FM Aditeya Das who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win the $113 first-place prize. FM Arun Dixit scored 2.5 out of 3 to clinch the second-place prize of $75.
The Friday Afternoon Action on February 20 had 21 players and was won by FM Arun Dixit and Nikhil Shah, who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $131.50 each.
The Friday FIDE Rapid on February 20 had 28 players registered and was won by FM Megan Paragua, Lev Shangin, and Aston Roberts who scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $70 each, while Dominic Paragua and Armaan Jain scored 3 out of 4 to win $17.50 each. The following players shared in the remaining prize funds, winning $35 each for their performance: Denys Bashmakov, Arlo Joshua Scherr, and Maximus Britton.
The Thursday Action on February 19 had 43 players registered and was won by FM Leif Pressman who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win the $162 first-place prize. IM Kevin Wang and IM Justus Williams scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $94.50 each, while Nathan Booncharoen and Kristian Jacome scored 3 out of 4 to share in the remaining prize funds winning $81 each.
The Marshall Masters on February 17 had 19 players registered and was won by FM Aditeya Das who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win the $227 first-place prize. IM Liam Putnam, IM Florian Kaczur, GM Irina Krush, and IM Justus Williams won $56.75 each for their 3 out of 4 score, while Joseph Otero and Misha Raitzin shared in the remaining prize funds winning $28.50 each for their 2 out of 4 performance.
The President’s Day Action on February 16 had 40 players registered and was won by Jason Jiang who scored 5 out of 6 to win the $334 first-place prize, while James Plotkin won a $134 class prize for his 3.5 out of 6 score. The following players shared in the remaining prize funds, winning $107 each for their 4.5 out of 6 performance: FM Arun Dixit, Matthew Shirvell, Alvin Lou, Harper Wallace, and Hunter Quirk.
The Rated Beginner Open on February 15 had 36 entrants and was won by the following players who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $87.60 each: Leo Byala, Logan Shmulenson, John Thomas McDowell, Stefan G Boyd, and Robert Allen.
The Sunday Game 50 Open on February 15 had only 5 players but 4 prize winners! WIM Tianhao Xue won $75 for a 3.5 out of 4 score, while Winsely Wu won the $50 second-place prize for a 2 out of 4 performance. Isaac N Lui and Samuel Pozen scored 1.5 out of 4 to win $19 each.
The Morning Under 1600 on February 15 had 30 players registered and was won by Brendan Seamus Currier, Santiago Rondeau, and Atreya Marballi who scored 3 out of 3 to win $125 each.
The Sunday Game 50 Under 2000 on February 15 had 45 players registered and was won by Farirai Gumbe who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win the $270 first-place prize. Marko Scekic and Dena Wang scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $90 each, while Alexander Park scored 3 points to win a $135 class prize.
We look forward to seeing you at the club soon!
Endgame Corner
We will continue with opposite-colored bishop (OCB) endgames. This time, focus will be on the strategic nature of these positions, and I will show 2 games where it is possible to look many moves ahead, 10 or more. The first game is annotated, the second is given as an exercise to solve. The solution will follow towards the end of the article.
You can play through the positions with analysis here.
Verlinsky, Boris vs. Alekhine, Alexander
Black to move and win.
42... a2 (Or 42... Bxb4 first.) 43. Bb2 Bxb4 Not the only way to win, but the clearest approach for a human. After this exchange, the OCB endgame can be planned to a win! 44. cxb4 Kg6
Black plans to transfer the king to the queenside to win the bishop for the a-pawn. White can temporarily stop it, but ...Kg4 forces White to defend the g3-pawn. Then Black can push the f-pawn, break on f4, and eventually break through on the queenside as the white king must deal with Black’s h-pawn. All in all, it is possible to foresee the next 10+ moves, and Alekhine no doubt saw the win after transforming the position into one with OCB. 45. Bc3 Kg5 46. Ke3 Kg4 47. Kf2 f5 48. Bb2 f4 49. gxf4 Kxf4 A classic example of how to use the principle of two weaknesses (a2-pawn and h-pawn) for a technical win. 0-1
Thibaut, Georges Pierre vs. Moller, Baldur
Exercise: White to move and win.
45. f5
The game continued: 45. c6 bxc6 46. bxc6 Be8 47. Bb4+ Kd8 48. Ba5+ Kc8 49. c7 Bg6 {1/2-1/2. Draw agreed. Black places the bishop on f5 where it securely defends the weaknesses e6 and h7, and White is unable to break down this fortress.) 45... exf5 46. Bd4 (46. c6 first is also possible.) 46... Kd7 (46... Be8 meets with the same reply: 47. c6 bxc6 48. b6 etc.) 47. c6+ bxc6 48. b6
The pawn sacrifice with f4-f5 is designed to create a passed e-pawn and take the square away from the black bishop. Potentially, this gives Black a breakthrough option in the center with counterplay, but even after f5-f4, all the black pawns are stopped on the g1-a7 diagonal by the white bishop. Meanwhile, the white king can walk up the board to f6 to support the e5-pawn. Also, both f5 and h7 are targets now, and the pawn push h4-h5 can chase away the bishop on g6. Black’s only hope for counterplay is to get the king to b5 to play c6-c5.
Let’s follow this idea: Kc8 49. Kf2 Kb7 50. Kg3 Bf7 51. Kf4 Be6 52. Kg5 Ka6 53. Kf6 Bc8 54. e6 Kb5
It is not hard to see that Black’s plan is too slow, and White would win even if Black were granted a few extra moves. White promotes in the diagram position: 55. e7 (55. b7 Bxb7 56. e7) 55... Bd7 56. b7
IM Silas Esben Lund, Marshall Spectator Contributor
Blizzard Brilliancy, by Marcus Miyasaka
This game was played in the final round of the Marshall February U2400. As a major snowstorm rolled through New York, an astonishing 44 out of 66 players were unable to play the final round, dramatically reshaping the field. Going into the last round, I was tied for first with 3.5/4 alongside Aditeya Das, whom I had drawn earlier in the event. As a result, I was in a must-win situation as Black against strong opposition if I wanted to guarantee first place.
You can play through the game with my annotations here.
Pressman, Leif vs. Miyasaka, Marcus Marshall U2400, Round 5
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. d3
Not the opening I had hoped for. The symmetrical structure leads to quieter, more drawish territory, although White retains a slight pull by virtue of the extra tempo. The strategic idea behind this setup is clear: if Black continues symmetrically with 5...d6, White can immediately claim the bishop pair with 6.Na4. This explains my next move, which saves my dark-squared bishop by opening the a7 square.
5…a6 6. Be3 Bb4
I was skeptical of the objective evaluation of this move, but the more straightforward 6...Bxe3 followed by ...d6 and ...Be6 did not strike me as a promising way to play for a win. Instead, I chose to introduce imbalance into the position. By introducing the idea of Bxc3, I was happy to concede the bishop pair in exchange for long-term structural targets, namely the doubled pawns on c2 and c3, which would serve as a persistent source of pressure.
7. Qd2 O-O 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 d6 10. a3 Bxc3 11. Qxc3 Bg4 12. Nd2 Qe7
In retrospect, this mistake was almost entirely psychological. My intention from the outset was to play 12...Nd4, but as the tension of the tournament situation mounted, I began to second-guess myself. After 13.f3 Be6 14.f4, I correctly identified the critical continuation: 14...Nxe4 Bxd8 15.Nxc3 bxc3 16...Nxc2+ 17.Ke2 Nxa1. Despite seeing the line, I hesitated, unsure how to assess the resulting material imbalance over the board. The real issue was not calculation, but commitment. The variation is highly forcing, and I was reluctant to enter a position where precision was mandatory and retreat was no longer an option. In a must-win final round, that sense of irreversibility proved unsettling—particularly given the fear that declining 14...Nxe4 might leave Black worse. Ironically, post-game engine analysis evaluates the final position at roughly -5, confirming that the line I avoided was not only playable, but decisively winning for Black.
13. h3 Be6 14. Bxf6 A move I was happy to see, as I no longer have to worry about the annoying pin. More natural was 14.0-0, after which I had planned 14...Nd4 followed by ...c5, although the engine points out that 14.f4! was best.
14…Qxf6 15. Nf3 Qg6 16. Rg1 Kh8 17. O-O-O f5 18. Kb1 fxe4 19. dxe4 Bxc4 20. Qxc4 Rf4 21. Rde1 Raf8
At this point, I knew I was much better. However, Leif and I had both burnt through a lot of time getting to this point, and I struggled to come up with a concrete plan of how to win. As a result, much of the upcoming moves are spent shuffling pieces, trying to take advantage of the 30-second increment while I think.
22. Ka1 R8f7 23. b4
Preventing my original plan of Nd8-e6-c5.
23…Nd8 24. c3 Kh7 25. Kb2 Ne6 26. Qd5 Nd8 27. Qd3 Kh8 28. Re3 Ne6 29. Kb1 Qf6 30. Rge1 Nd8
(30...Ng5 Nxg5 31...Qxg5 Rg3 32...Qh4 would have won on the spot, but I missed this simple continuation under time pressure.) (30... Ng5 31. Nxg5 Qxg5 32. Rg3 Qh4)
31. Nh2 Returning the favor. After this blunder, the remainder should have been straightforward, though my technique became somewhat shaky as the time scramble intensified.
31…Qe6 32. Kb2 Rxf2+ 33. R3e2 R2f4 34. Ng4 Rf8 35. Ne3 R4f7 36. Rd1 Qe7 37. Nf5 Qd7 38. Qe3 b5 39. h4 Ne6 40. g3 Kg8 41. Rf2 Qc6 42. Qe2 Qc4 43. Qe3
The engine points out that 43.Qxc4 bxc4 44.h5 would have complicated my task.
43…a5 44. Qd3 Qxd3 45. Rxd3 Kh7 46. Rfd2 g6 47. Ne3 Rf3 48. Nd1 axb4 49. axb4 Rxd3 50. Rxd3 Ng7 51. Rd5 Rb8 52. Nf2 g5 53. hxg5 hxg5 54. Ng4 Nh5 55. Rd3 Rf8 56. c4 bxc4 57. Rc3 Rb8 58. Ka3 Ra8+ 59. Kb2 Ra4
A final error under severe time pressure. After 60.Rxc4, I had intended to gain time with 60...c5, but it turns out the resulting knight endgame after Kb3 61...Rxb4+ Rxb4 62...cxb4 cxb4 is drawn. I was fortunate that Leif did not choose this critical continuation. Once this chance passed, the remainder of the game was relatively straightforward.
60. b5 Rb4+ 61. Ka3 Rxb5 62. Rxc4 Rb7 63. Rc3 Kg6 64. Nf2 Nf6 65. Rd3 Kf7 66. Rf3 Kg6 67. Rd3 Rb1 68. Rc3 Rf1 69. Rc2 Re1 70. Nd3 Rxe4 71. Rxc7 Re3 72. Rc3 Nd5 73. Rb3 Kf5 74. Ka4 Rxg3 75. Kb5 Nf4
This was far from a brilliant game from my side, but a very human one. Key moments were shaped by hesitation, time pressure, and the difficulty of committing to forcing decisions under tournament stress. Nevertheless, the game reinforced an important personal takeaway: when concrete calculation is available, trusting it early can prevent a favorable position from turning into a prolonged practical struggle. By continuing to apply pressure and remain composed, I was ultimately able to convert the advantage and secure the full point. 0-1
FM Marcus Miyasaka, Marshall Chess Club Member & Spectator Contributor
Chess Toons
En Passant
Grandmaster Jan Timman, a former world No. 2, a three-time world championship candidate and nine-time Dutch champion, died Thursday. He was 74… Jan Timman continued to be a hugely important figure in Western chess outside of his play. He was the first editor of New in Chess (1984), he published The Art of Chess Analysis (RHM 1980), Timman's Selected Games (1995), Timman's Titans (2017) and The Art of the Endgame (My journeys in the Magical World Endgame Studies) in 2011… Timman was by far the best Dutch chess player of his generation, winning nine national titles in total. He was one of the best players in the world for two decades, roughly between 1975 and 1995. He was the world number-two behind GM Anatoly Karpov in 1982, and for a long time known as the Best of the West.
When the game’s world governing body FIDE released the latest ratings update for March over the weekend showing the top 10 players in the world in classical chess it kicked off an almighty firestorm. And then, as quickly as it started, it was gone…At first, FIDE watchers couldn’t believe their eyes when it emerged controversial Russian GM Sergey Karjakin was suddenly back among the world’s best in the longer form of the game.
Mikhail Antipov won the Saint Louis Masters ahead of Fabiano Caruana. The Russian-born grandmaster, playing under the US flag, scored an impressive victory over Andy Woodward in the final round.
Problems, Problems, curated by Alexander George
Emanuel Lasker, 1895
White to move and win.
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Solution to last issue’s problem (Judit Polgár, 1994):
White to move and win.
1.Nc1! Kb4 2.Na2 Ka3 3.Nc3 Kb4 4.Nb1 a3 5.Na3 Ka3 6.Ke6 Kb4 7.Kd6 Kb5 8.c3 Kc4 9.Kc6 and wins.
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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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