The Marshall Spectator
September 3, 2025
In This Issue: From The Skittles Room Labor Day Invitational Round Robin Games Analyzed, by GM Aleksandr Lenderman The 35th NATO Chess Championship in Poland, by Vladimir Lionter 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.
The Editorial Board of The Marshall Spectator is thrilled to congratulate the Marshall Members who traveled to Ontario, Canada, to participate in the North American Youth Chess Championships this past weekend. The 1st-place winner in the Girls Under 10 section was our very own Abigail Zhou, pictured below.
There were no fewer than 29 Americans who brought home medals, and many of those were members of our historic club.
In other news, we were once again thrilled to host NYC Chess Norms and the 2025 Labor Day GM/IM Round Robin Invitational this past weekend. The event was a 5-day, 9-round FIDE-rated event with norms possible in the top two sections, and we had 3 sections of 10 players each featuring many foreign, titled players. Click here to see the games.
The Marshall also had some famous streamers this week - visitors WFM Alessia Santeramo and GM Noel Studer - who stopped by the club to take on all challengers live on stream. Marshall Chess Club president Luka Glinsky sat down to challenge our guests to a friendly blitz game live on stream.
They also participated in our Friday night Blitz event.
Looking ahead, be sure to mark your calendar for our upcoming club BBQ, featuring GM (grill master) Cameron Hull. Last year the attendance was limited to families with children, however, this year we are opening up the event to all members. The event will begin at 5:30pm when our doors will open to the garden, followed by a Q&A with club president Luka Glinsky.
Looking further ahead on the calendar, please save the following dates for our upcoming championships:
Rapid and Blitz Qualifier, September 26
Rapid and Blitz Championship, October 11-12
Mona Karff Memorial Women's Championship, November 7-9
Senior Championship, November 7-9
Jerry Simon Memorial Amateur Championship, November 21-23
109th Edward Lasker Memorial Club Championship, December 3-6
Prizes and registration info will be published in mid-September.
Looking back over the last two weeks, we have had a plethora of events for our members to participate in.
The Under 2000 Morning Masters on August 30 had 25 players registered and was won by Asher Collins and Max Mulholland, who scored 3 out of 3 to win $110 each, while the following players won $23.50 for their performance in the event: Dario Golden, Rayyan Sayeed, Shaan Raut, and Noah Gladney.
The Morning Masters on August 30 had 5 players registered and was won by Surya Suresh, who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win the $38 first-place prize. Kenneth Fernandez scored 2 out of 3 to win the $25 second-place prize.
The FIDE Blitz on August 29 had 51 players registered and was won by IM Aleksandr Ostrovskiy, who scored a near-perfect 8 out of 9 to win the $245 first-place prize. IM Maximillian Lu scored 7.5 out of 9 to win the $122 prize, while GM David Brodsky, CM Sasha Schaefer, Tommy Kozlek, and Keyla won $62 each for their performance in the Blitz event.
The Thursday Action on August 28 had 38 players registered and was won by Vladimir Bugayev, who scored 4 out of 4 to win the $143 first-place prize. Tim Shvarts and Leandro Nicols Ulloa scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $83.50 each, while Wan Qin Li and Jeremy Yoon scored 2.5 out of 4 to win $36 each. Thomas Knoff, Dylan Kank, and Grant Rheingold scored 3 out of 4 to share in the remaining prize funds, winning $24 each.
The Weekly Under 1600 that concluded on August 27 had 26 players registered and was won by Jonathan Gordon, who scored 5.5 out of 6 to win $216.67, while Edward Bull won $130 for his 5 out of 6 score. Robert Ferrero and Dheeraj Prasanth won $86.67 each for their 4 out of 6 performance.
The Weekly Under 2200 that concluded on August 27 had 35 players and was won by NM Anthony Levin, who scored 5.5 out of 6 to win the $320 first-place prize. Ryan McHale scored an impressive 4.5 out of 6 to win $214, while David Shenk and Matthew Chan won $80.50 each for their 3.5 out of 6 performance. The following players won $26.75 for their 4 out of 6 score: George Berg, Jeffrey Tannenbaum, David Deng, and Warren Liang.
The Rated Beginner Open on August 24 had 31 players registered and was won by Alex Chrisman, Timur Rakhimov, and Willie Zhou, who scored 3 out of 3 to win $129.33 each.
The Sunday Game 50 Open on August 24 had 43 players registered and was won by IM Kevin Wang, IM Justin Sarkar, GM Michael Rohde, and IM Jay Bonin, who scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $92.50 each, while Farirai Gumbe and Rohan Sehgal scored 3 out of 4 to win $82 each for their performance.
The Morning Masters on August 23 had 5 players registered and was won by IM Liam Putnam, who scored 3 out of 3 to win $38, while Winsley Wu scored 1.5 out of 3 to win $25.
The Saturday Game 50 Open on August 23 had 45 players registered and was won by IM Liam Putnam and GM Michael Rohde, who scored 4 out of 4 to win $220 each, while Sascha Mayers scored 3.5 out of 4 to win the $132 third-place prize.
The Saturday Game 50 Under 1800 had 45 players registered and was won by Chris DeDona, who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win $264, while Kyle Cheng, Charlotte Chang, and Luoxi Lin scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $102.67 each.
The Under 2000 Morning Action on August 23 had 23 players registered and was won by Alec Hyunmook Choi and Adam Gordon, who scored 3 out of 3 to win $101 each. Avya Chopra and Rayyan Sayeed scored 2 out of 3 to win $43.50 each.
The Women & Girls’ Open on August 22 had 13 players registered and was won by Gloria Sun, who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $78, while Dhruthi Rao and Scarlett Kong scored 2.5 out of 3 to win $19.50 each.
The FIDE Blitz on August 22 had 53 players registered and was won by GM Aleksandr Lenderman and FM Tanitoluwa Adewumi, who scored 8 out of 9 to win $187.50 each. FM Bryan Lin scored 6.5 out of 9 to win $63, while Luis Manuel Ulloa and CM Jed Sloan won $63 each for a 6 out of 9 score. FM Linxi Zhu, and NM Kiren Nasta shared in the remaining prize funds, winning $31.50 each for their 6 out of 9 score.
The Thursday Action on August 21 had 56 players registered and was won by FM Tanitoluwa Adewumi, who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win the $207 first-place prize. Christopher Williams won $104 for his 3.5 out of 4 score, while IM Kevin Wang, IM Justin Sarkar, and GM Michael Rohde won $80.67 each for their 3.5 out of 4 score. Finally, the following players shared in the remaining prize funds, winning $26 each for their 3 out of 4 score: Andrew Colwell, Kristian Jacome, Nikhil Shah, and Samuel Pozen.
The Marshall Masters on August 19 had 13 players registered and was won by IM Aaron Jacobson, NM Nathaniel Mullodzanov, NM Bryan Weisz, and IM Jay Bonin, who scored 3 out of 4 to win $87.25 each. Daniel Wang won $44 for his 2.5 out of 4 score.
The Monday FIDE that concluded on August 18 had 47 players registered and was won by Aleksandr Gutnik, who scored 5 out of 6 to win the $460 first-place prize, while Anthony Levin scored 4.5 out of 6 to win $207 and clear second place. Alexander Golosovker and Stephen Hrop scored 4 out of 6 to win $115.50 each, while the following players won $25.67 each for their 4 out of 6 performance: Thomas Kung, Tim Shvarts, Luka Glinsky, David Timmerman, Naveen Paruchuri, and Thomas, Jr Knoff.
The Monday Under 1800 that concluded on August 18 had 36 players registered and was won by Matthew Chan, who scored 5.5 out of 6 to win the $240 first-place prize. Ilan Schwartz, Philip Bowen, and Konrad Klinkner scored 4.5 out of 6 to win $140 each, while Aden Deng won $60 for his 4 out of 6 performance.
The Rated Beginner Open on August 17 had 23 players registered and was won by Atlas Rivera and Kevin Liam Collins, who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $144 each.
The Monthly Under 1800 that concluded on August 17 had 21 players registered and was won by Hillel Doron-Repa, who scored 4 out of 5 to win the $350 first place prize, while the following players won $83.25 each for their 3.5 out of 5 score: Ilan Schwartz, Axel Peters, Gennadiy Reznikov, Charlotte Chang, Mingyang Li, and Aarav Singh.
The Monthly Under 2400 that concluded on August 17 had 58 players registered and concluded with Aritro Chakravarty, GM Michael Rohde, Jude Kazan, and Luis Manuel Ulloa winning $471.50 each for their impressive 4 out of 5 performance. Michael O’Donnell won a $290 class prize for his 3 out of 5 score.
The Under 2000 Morning Action on August 16 had 24 players registered and was won by Riju Bhattacharjee, Chris DeDona, and Jacob Bleiberg, who scored 3 out of 3 to win $70 each, while Avya Chopra and Andrew Zeng won $45 each for their 2 out of 3 performance.
The Morning Masters on August 16 had 8 players registered and was won by FM Aditeya Das, who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win the $45 first-place prize. Alisher Podavonov scored 2.5 out of 3 to win $30.
The Thursday Action on August 14 had 46 players and was won by WFM Tianhau Xue, who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win the $162 first-place prize. GM Michael Rohde, Mr. Daniel Levkov, and Aakaash Meduri won $90 each for their 3.5 out of 4 performances, while the following players shared in the remaining prize funds winning $11.57 each: Andrew Colwell, Adam Gordon, Kristian Jacome, Kameliia Sharuda, Luca Buratti, Rohith Pillai, and Wan Qin Li.
We look forward to seeing you at the club soon!
Labor Day Invitational Round Robin Games Analyzed, by GM Aleksandr Lenderman
Adewumi, Tanitoluwa vs. Lenderman, Aleksandr
In the first round I played against Tani, a young improving player who has had a great year so far, including getting to IM. You can play through the games in this article with annotations and an engine here.
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 c5 A slight surprise for Tani, as he started thinking here, although I've played it before a year ago a few times.
4. cxd5 cxd4 5. Nxd4 (5. Qxd4 Is a bit more common, where the main line goes 5... Qxd5 6. Nc3 Qxd4 7. Nxd4 With a lot of theory. Hikaru Nakamura and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave are top players, who are the regular practitioners of this opening as Black.)
5... Nxd5 6. g3 (6. e4 Is more common) 6... g6 (6... e5 Is likely, more principled. As it turned out, my former coach had a game a long time ago with white here, where he got nothing, but I didn't remember this game. 7. Nb5 Qa5+ 8. N1c3 Nxc3 9. Nxc3 Nc6 10. Bg2 Be6 11. Bd2 Rd8 12. O-O ½-½ Kacheishvili,G (2585)-Karavade,E (2353) Caleta 2011)
7. Bg2 Bg7 8. O-O O-O 9. Na3 (9. Nc3 This is a more common way white usually tries to play for an advantage here.) (9. Nb3 Can also be challenging for black.)
9... Nb4 (9... Nc6 Could've been my choice if I wanted to be ambitious but generally, I was ok with a draw with black in the first round against a player close in rating, giving me a chance to settle into the tournament after 9 grueling weeks of teaching camp.)
10. Be3 Nd5 11. Bg5 Potentially trying to probe a weakness h6. 11... h6 12. Bc1 Nb4 13. Be3 Nd5 14. Bc1 Nb4
Was effectively a draw offer, since he could've claimed 3-fold with Be3. Given that he was surprised in the opening, and was down about 30 minutes on the clock by this point without an objective advantage, I thought he might take the draw here. However, lots of credit goes to Tani's fighting spirit. Even under unfavorable circumstances for him, he still chose to fight, and even risk being worse. It didn't pay off for him in this game, but his fighting spirit and willingness to take risks paid off for him in some later games in this tournament. I think this approach will help Tani go far in chess. (14... Nc6)
15. Ndb5?! Unfortunately, in this position, Tani already didn't have great options to play for a win, but anyway, Ndb5 was not the way to do it. There were several safer alternatives to continue the game. (15. Be3) (15. Nab5!? Was a very interesting try, but white had to see some unusual ideas. 15... a6 16. Qa4! The point. White isn't losing a piece. 16... Bxd4 (16... N8c6 is safer) 17. Nxd4 Qxd4 18. Be3 Now, black has several options, but everywhere, white will have good compensation for 1-2 pawns. 18... Qxb2 (18... Qc4 19. a3 N8c6 20. axb4) 19. Rab1 Qxe2 20. Qxb4) (15. Nac2 Nxc2 16. Nxc2 Nc6 17. Ne3 Might be very slightly worse for White, but the problem is that it is also very hard to generate winning chances for White.)
15... N8c6 16. Qa4?! a6 Here, I thought I was at least slightly better, since I thought his coordination was poor, and at this point I was already fully determined to play for the win the rest of the game.
17. Nc3 Be6 18. Be3 (18. Rd1 Qc8 Doesn't equalize for white since he has problems with his queen now, which forces an awkward move like Rd2. 19. Rd2 b5 20. Qd1 Rd8)
18... b5 19. Qd1 Rc8! I liked this move since it keeps the tension and gets my rook off of the long diagonal and into the open file. I also saw that after Qc1 with the idea of Rd1 (a potentially annoying idea), I had a strong Nd4, so I can play my strong stategic idea Rc8 anyway (applying the Shankland rule). 20. Qe1 (20. Qc1 I also had to see that I had a very strong 20... Nd4!)
20… Qa5 21. Bc5?! Inaccuracy. Rc1 was best. 21... Rfd8 22. Kh1 Bd4 A minor miscalculation, since I thought that after taking on d4, he couldn't play Ne4. (22... Nxa2! 23. Nxa2 Qxe1 24. Rfxe1 Bxb2 Was apparently very strong but I underestimated this idea, also thinking that Bd4 was stronger than it was.) (22... Nd4 Would only lead to a repetition after Ne4. 23. Ne4 Ndc6) (22... Rd7 Was a good move to keep the tension.)
23. Bxd4 Nxd4 24. Ne4!
The best practical chance. Here I went into a tank since my original calculation was flawed. This is why it is very important to recheck your lines.
24... Bg4! I was very happy with this move, which was played after a long think of about 20 minutes. The idea was to prevent e3, and to try to disturb his harmony a bit. (24... f5?! This was my original plan, but as it turned out, it doesn't quite win for me. 25. e3! The first very important intermediate move in this variation. (25. Nc3 Ndc2 Is the obvious point. If he moves his knight, he loses material.) 25... Ndc2 This was the main move I was calculating. (25... fxe4 This is the best move, but I wasn't so happy with the position after 26. exd4 Rxd4 27. Qe3! Where I'm still better, but clearly, he's getting more counterplay than I'd want him to.) 26. Nxc2 Rxc2 27. a3! Intermediate move number 2. (27. Nc3? Nd3) 27... Nc6 Was the main move I tried to make work, but again, I wasn't satisfied with this, as it seemed too murky to me after 28. Nc3 (28. b4 As it turned out, this is even better since after 28... Qb6 (28... Qc7) 29. Qb1!! Intermediate move number 3, and White now totally fine suddenly. (29. Nc5 Bc4 30. Rg1 Rdd2 Is something I vaguely saw.)) 28... Ne5 29. e4 Seemed too messy for me.)
25. Rd1 Inaccuracy. f3 was best. I think, a decent practical chance, a move that I expected him to play. (25. e3 The point of Bg4 mainly gets revealed in this line after 25... Nf3) (25. f3 Be6 Here I would simply go back, and it is hard for him to find moves, while I have managed to bury his bishop on g2 and potentially weaken his king and the e3 square.)
25... Nbc6 Inaccuracy. Bxe2 was best. I thought this was a good practical choice, which more or less guarantees me winning a pawn, while limiting his counterplay. (25... Bxe2!? Is a bit stronger according to the engine, but it seemed kind of murky to me, and I couldn't quite evaluate this line properly. 26. Rxd4 Bxf1 27. Rxd8+ Qxd8 28. Bxf1 Qd4 29. Nc3 I thought I'm better here, but still, he has two pieces for a rook, and if he can consolidate, I might lose my advantage. However, it turns out I have concrete tactics. 29... Nxa2 30. Nxa2 Qxb2 )
26. f3 (26. Rd2 Was what I expected, in which case I'd play 26... b4 27. Nc4 Qxa2 And I thought I should be close to winning, but I thought here, with queens on the board he'd have better practical chances.) 26... Be6 27. Nc5?!
27…Qxe1 28. Rfxe1 Bxa2 29. Nxa6?! Bh3 was best. b4 30. Nb1 Bc4 31. Nc5 Bxe2 32. Rc1 Bxf3.
Now, I've managed to simplify into a winning endgame up two pawns. From here on, I think my conversion might not have been perfect, but more than good enough. Having said that, a lot of credit goes to Tani for being resourceful, and at one moment, if I wasn't careful, I could have blundered into a very common endgame drawing trick.
33. Nd2 Bxg2+ 34. Kxg2 Ne6 35. Ndb3 Ncd4 36. Nxd4 Nxc5 37. Red1 Rd7 38. Rc4?! e5 39. Nc6 Rxd1 40. Ne7+ Kg7 41. Nxc8 Nd3 42. Kf3 Re1 43. Nd6 f5 44. Rc7+ Kf8 45. Rf7+ Kg8 46. Rd7 e4+ 47. Kg2 Ne5
The most practical solution not to give my opponent any chances. (47... Re2+ 48. Kf1 Rf2+ 49. Kg1 e3?? (49... Rc2 50. Ne8 Rc6) 50. Ne8 would suddenly lead to a draw, as Nf6 followed by Nh7 is now unstoppable. This variation shows why you have to fight until the end and it's never too late to mess up, and it's very important to stay very vigilant until the very end. 50... e2 51. Nf6+ Kf8 52. Nh7+ Ke8 53. Nf6+ Kf8 54. Nh7+ Kg8 55. Nf6+ Kf8 (55... Kh8?? 56. Rh7#) 56. Nh7+) 48. Re7 Nf3 49. Kf2 Rd1 50. Rd7 Ne5 (50... Rd2+ 51. Ke3) 51. Rd8+ Kh7 52. Ke2 Rd3 From here, it was simple enough, and I was able to convert this a few moves later.
53. b3 h5 54. h4 Kg7 55. Ne8+ Kf7 56. Rb8 Nc6 57. Rc8 Nd4+ 58. Ke1 Rxb3 59. Nd6+ Ke7 60. Nc4 Rc3 A good win for me against a very strong opponent to start off my tournament. 0-1
Lenderman, Aleksandr vs. Chen, Justin
At this point I had 3/5, having a decent tournament so far, but I wanted to try to get a few more wins, so given that I was white, I was in for a fight.
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. e3 The last time I played Catalan against Justin and he equalized easily (I didn't even get much winning chances that game), so I wanted to steer clear of theoretical battles this time. (4. Nc3 c5 is what he normally plays, and also seemingly knows extremely deeply.)
4... a6 (4... c5 Is mainly what I reviewed for this game, although given that I've played 4.e3 in many blitz and rapid games, I had experience with almost all moves for Black. 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bb5+)
5. Nbd2 Nbd7 At this point, I was out of book. (5... c5 6. cxd5 Was what I expected.)
6. b3 (6. g3 Might be worth a try next time.) (6. c5!? Is also interesting. 6... b6 7. b4)
6…b6 7. Bb2 Bb7 8. Bd3 Bd6 (8... c5 This is probably the most natural and should equalize. 9. cxd5 (9. O-O cxd4 10. exd4 Be7) 9... Nxd5)
9. O-O Qe7 10. Ne5 Now, I have some pressure. Here, Justin ran into some trouble by delaying castling for too long.
10... Ne4 (10... O-O should've been played. Then, I'd have to decide which plan to choose. Even though my position is more pleasant, the game is still quite tense, and all three results are possible.)
11. Nxd7 Qxd7 12. Rc1 Rd8?!
Now, he really gets in trouble. (12... Nxd2 13. Qxd2 dxc4 14. bxc4 c5 Was still playable.) 13. Bxe4! dxe4 14. Qc2 It turns out that now, he cannot defend his pawn very easily without giving me too much play.
14... Qc6 (14... f5 would run into 15. c5 bxc5 16. dxc5 Bxh2+ (16... Bf8 17. Nc4) 17. Kxh2 Qxd2 18. c6 Here, I thought I was much better, given that I shut down his bishop, and I can get back the pawn on g7, and then, park my bishop on e5. White has a lot of initiative in this opposite colored bishop endgame. 18... Ba8 19. Bxg7 Rg8 20. Be5)
15. c5! Another important idea, continuing the initiative. If I don't do something quickly, he can castle and consolidate his bishop pair and strong center.
15... Be7 16. Nc4! f6 (16... bxc5 17. Ne5 (17. dxc5 Was what I was planning, also with initiative.) 17... Qd5 18. Rfd1 O-O 19. h3)
17. Ba3! The last very important move of this sequence. My bishop on b2 was passive, so I needed to make use of it. Now, I get to trade off his strong bishop on e7, and weaken his king some more. (17. cxb6?! Is much less accurate. 17... cxb6 18. Ba3 Bxa3 19. Nxa3 Qxc2 20. Rxc2 Ke7)
17... Qb5 Not the best, but already, it is difficult for black to find a good solution. (17... bxc5 18. Bxc5 Bxc5 19. Na5) (17... b5 18. Na5 Qd5 19. c6 Bc8 20. Bxe7 Kxe7 21. Qe2) (17... O-O Now, it's too late for him to castle. 18. cxb6 Bxa3 19. bxc7! Important intermetzo 19... Bxc1 20. cxd8=Q Rxd8 21. Rxc1)
18. cxb6 cxb6 19. Bxe7 Kxe7 20. Qc3 Now, he's in big trouble with his king in the center with queens on the board, and with my knight better than his restricted bishop.
20... Kf7? Mistake. a5 was best. (20... a5 Might've been a bit more resistant, but still shouldn't hold after. 21. a4 Qa6 22. b4! Bd5 23. bxa5 bxa5 (23... Bxc4 24. Qb4+! Ke8 25. Rxc4 bxa5 26. Qc3) 24. Nxa5)
21. a4! More accurate than. (21. Nxb6 Qxb6 22. Qc7+ Qxc7 23. Rxc7+ Kg6 24. Rxb7 Rd6 25. Rc1 Which is still probably winning for White but not quite as accurate as the game continuation.)
21... Qc6 22. Qb4 a5 23. Nxa5! Now, I still force the endgame but under much better circumstances, where his b4 pawn will be very weak, and I'll have the outside passed a4 pawn.
23... bxa5 24. Rxc6 axb4 25. Rc7+ Kg6 26. Rxb7 Rc8 (26... Rb8 Would also be hopeless after. 27. Rxb8 Rxb8 28. Rc1 I have a more active rook and a much better pawn structure, in addition to being up a pawn.)
27. Rxb4 Rc2 28. Rb6 Rhc8 29. a5 I liked this solution better than (29. Rxe6 Rb8 30. Rxe4 Rxb3 Which is still winning, but after losing my a4 pawn, I'll have to work a bit harder to win this endgame.)
29... Ra2 30. b4 Kf5 31. a6 Rc3 32. b5 Rca3 33. Rb7 Now, my connected passed pawns are unstoppable. Here, in a hopeless position he made a blunder that lost immediately, but the position was beyond saving by now.
33... Ra5??Checkmate is now unavoidable. Kg6 was best. (33... Kg6 34. g3 h6 35. Rb1 Kh7 36. Rc7 Kg6 37. b6 Rxa6 38. b7 Would be a sample winning plan for me.)
34. Rxg7 h5 (34... Rxb5 35. g4# Is of course, the point.)
35. h3 Here my opponent resigned since after e5, I play d5, and after h4, I can play g4+ followed by fxg3 with discovered checkmate. I was very happy with this game, since it was a clean effort on my part, and I felt much better about my form after losing a very poor game in round 4 to a player from Canada, Sai Krishna who was in amazing form starting at 5.5/6. Unfortunately, he didn't end up getting the norm after losing some rounds towards the end, but he'll still gain some rating, and hopefully, going forward we will see some more great chess from him as he's on his quest to becoming GM. 1-0
Lenderman, Aleksandr vs George, Kevin
After a relatively quick draw in round 7 against a promising young player, Bryan Lin, in round 8, I was playing another young player from Egypt, Kevin George. He was having a tough tournament leading up to this game, and I was White, meaning that I wanted to try to put pressure on him.
1. d4 Nf6 The first mini-surprise since I was expecting the Slav, something he played earlier in the tournament several times.
2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 (3. c4 Bb4+ Was what I was trying to avoid since I vaguely remembered that he played it in the database and I didn't review this before the game.)
3... d5 4. c4 I was happy to force him to play d5 and transpose into my opening against Justin Chen, which has gone quite well.
4... c6 And just like that, we have transposed into something I have originally prepared for (Semi-Slav), but it happened through a slightly unusual move order.
5. Nbd2 Back in my prep. However, here, my opponent threw a wrinkle. 5... c5 (5... Nbd7 Was what he played previously in a classical game, and I mostly prepared for this.)
6. cxd5 exd5 7. b3 Nc6 8. Bb2 Bd6?! Here my prep ended but I was quite happy here, since my play is easy, especially since I can gain a tempo now by taking on c5, and making him move his bishop again. (8... cxd4 9. Nxd4 Bd6 Is what I expected.)
9. dxc5 Bxc5 10. Rc1 Bd6 11. Bb5 Here my position is already quite pleasant and I'm putting lots of pressure on him.
11... Bd7?! (11... O-O Is what I expected, since I didn't think taking on c6 would be good for me due to 12. Bxc6?! (12. O-O Is what I planned with a slightly better position, but at least, Kevin would avoid the trouble he had in the game with his king being stuck in the center.) 12... bxc6 13. Rxc6 Bb7 14. Rc1 Ba6 here, my position is quite uncomfortable since despite my extra pawn, I cannot castle very easily.)
12. O-O Qe7?!
Now, he's really playing with fire by not castling on time. (12... a6 13. Bxc6 Bxc6 14. Ne5 Is very nice for White, but at least, he can castle here. 14... Bxe5 15. Bxe5 O-O) (12... O-O Castling here, however, can run into issues, for example 13. Nc4 The move we both considered (13. e4 Was also quite strong.))
13. Bxf6! I strike while the iron is hot, to not let my opponent castle and consolidate his position.
13... Qxf6 (13... gxf6 I thought was the lesser of the evil, but still, I have a raging initiative after 14. e4 d4 15. Bxc6 Bxc6 16. Nc4! (16. Nxd4?! Bxh2+ 17. Kxh2 Qe5+ Is still good for White but less clear) 16... Bf4 17. Nxd4!! Bxc1 18. Nf5!)
14. e4 Ba3?! Interesting practical chance, which almost worked for Kevin in the game, but objectively, it is totally losing. (14... Qd8 15. exd5 Ne7 Was more tenacious, although, down a pawn without any compensation is very depressing to play.)
15. exd5 Bxc1 16. Qxc1? This was my only mistake in the game, which made the win significantly harder for me, and I had to really lock in after this. (16. dxc6 Was my original intension but somehow it didn't seem as clear to me after 16... bxc6 17. Ne4 Qe7 18. Nd6+ Kf8 And here, I only calculated 19. Bc4?! (19. Re1! Be6 20. Nd4!! Amazing quiet move in a crazy position with pieces hanging! Black is lost. A sample line can be 20... cxb5 21. Nxe6+ fxe6 22. Qf3+ ) 19... Be6 Where Black has defensive chances.) (16. Re1+! This intermediate move was the strongest. I'm making black commit to their defense. 16... Ne7 17. Bxd7+ Kxd7 18. Ne4 Qb2 19. Nc5+ White has a winning attack.)
16... Ne5! Somehow, I missed this move. Perhaps, I hallucinated on some lines.
17. Qc5 Played after a long thought. (17. Re1?? Would be an awful blunder which maybe I thought I can play after Ne5 originally, but of course, it runs into a very rude cold shower 17... O-O! Suddenly, I'd be left down an exchange with no attack.) (17. Bxd7+ Kxd7 18. Nxe5+ Qxe5 19. Re1 Was also quite a strong attack, but I thought Qc5 was clearer.) 17... Nxf3+ (17... b6 I expected this more. I was planning 18. Bxd7+ Nxd7 19. Re1+ (19. Qc7 Qd8 20. Qd6 Qf6 Is less clear.) 19... Kd8 20. Qe3 White still has a strong initiative.)
18. Nxf3 Bxb5 19. Re1+ 19... Kd8?! Inaccuracy. Be2 was best. (19... Be2 Was an interesting alternative, which I didn't really consider.)
20. Qxb5 Qb6 (20... Qa6 Also fails after 21. Qb4 Re8 22. Ne5) 21. Qe2 Keeping the attack going.
21... Qf6 22. d6 Rc8 (22... Qxd6 23. Rd1)
23. d7! From here I calculated a forced win. It's not the only move to win but very straightforward.
23... Kxd7 (23... Rb8 24. Qc4 Leaves black quite paralyzed.)
24. Ne5+ Kc7 25. Rc1+ Kd6?! Checkmate is now unavoidable. Kb8 was best. This was a good practical try but it leads to forced mate. (25... Kb8 Was more resilient but I calculated that it led to a forced winning king and pawn endgame.) (25... Kb6 26. Nd7+ Ka5 27. Qd2+ Would also lose for Black.)
26. Qd3+! Here I was able to calculate a forced mate or winning a queen for just a pawn. (26. Rd1+ Kc7 27. Qc4+ Was my safety net variation in case I couldn't find mate after Kd6 (back when I calculated d7). 27... Kb8 28. Nd7+ Ka8 29. Qxc8+ (29. Nxf6 Rxc4 30. bxc4 gxf6 31. Rd7) 29... Rxc8 30. Nxf6 gxf6 31. h4)
26… Ke6 (26... Kxe5 27. Re1+ Kf4 28. Qd5 Would lead to the same thing.)
27. Qd7+ Kxe5 28. Re1+ Kf4 29. Qd5! A key attacking idea, cutting off exit squares from the king.
29... Rhe8 (29... Qf5 Was maybe a better try but I did see Qd2+ ahead of time. 30. Qd2+! The only clear cut win. 30... Kg4 31. f3+ Kh4 32. g3+ Kh5 (32... Kh3 33. Qg2#) 33. g4+)
30. g3+ Kg4 31. h3+ Kxh3 32. Qh5+ I am normally more of a technical player than attacking player, but I was very glad to play a very nice attacking game towards the end of the tournament. I think this game, like the game against Justin Chen show a very important lesson of why it is very important to try to get castled when given a chance, or else you might give your opponent annoying dynamic chances. I was very happy to be able to fully exploit my chances in these games when given the opportunity and also was happy to be able to bounce back from a bad loss in round 4. 1-0
GM Aleksandr Lenderman, Marshall Spectator Contributor
A Firsthand Look at the 35th NATO Chess Championship in Poland
The 35th NATO Chess Championship was held from August 18–22, 2025, at the Polish Air Force University in Dęblin. With 115 service members from across the Alliance competing, this year’s event was one of the largest in the championship’s history, underscoring both the popularity of the tournament and the enduring bond between chess and military tradition.
In August of this year, I was fortunate to take part in the 35th NATO Chess Championship. At Warsaw Airport, teams from various countries were welcomed by two officers of the Polish Air Force. The journey to the academy took about an hour and a half. We were accommodated in a hotel-style dormitory located next to the rector’s office building. Although the U.S. team scored the same number of points as the Polish team, we placed fourth after losing to them in a tiebreaker. Among our players, Christopher Shen and Andrew Peraino stood out, scoring 5.5 and 5 points out of 7, respectively. One of Andrew Peraino’s most successful games in this tournament can be seen here.
The opening ceremony reflected the blend of history and service that defines this tournament. Brig. Gen. Pil. Dr. Krzysztof Cur, commandant of the host institution, was greeted with the rare honorific “His Magnificence.” In his address, he marked the centenary of Poland’s military flight school, noting the symbolic importance of hosting an international chess competition during this milestone year.
A highlight of the proceedings was the recognition of Colonel Sławomir Kędzierski by Radosław Jedynak, president of the Polish Chess Federation, who presented him with the federation’s honorary gold distinction. Colonel Kędzierski closed his remarks by emphasizing chess as a discipline that fosters both critical thinking and NATO solidarity.
On the competitive front, Turkey—led by GM Batuhan Daştan—confirmed its status as the pre-tournament favorite by capturing first place with 23 points. Germany followed with 19.5, while Poland secured the bronze on tiebreaks ahead of the U.S., both with 18.5.
The championship concluded in Dęblin with a ceremony led by Brig. Gen. Pil. Dr. Krzysztof Cur, who joined the Turkish grandmaster in cutting the traditional cake before presenting the Viking ship trophy to Latvia, the next host nation in 2026.
The event once again highlighted how NATO Chess blends high-level competition with international camaraderie. Participants departed Poland not only with their final scores, but also with shared experiences, valuable lessons, and friendships that will accompany them into the next edition in Latvia.
Vladimir Lionter, Marshall Member & Spectator Contributor
En Passant
The Louisiana State Chess Championship became one of the most-watched chess events in the world this week, when the 2nd-highest-rated player in the world, GM Hikaru Nakamura, decided to enter.
GM Wesley So has won the 2025 Sinquefield Cup, his second time winning the elite event he first won in 2016.
FIDE has updated the dress code to allow for the wearing of jeans.
Chess Toons
Problems, Problems, curated by Alexander George
E. Brunner, 1907
White to mate in 3
Another problem involving two rooks. Here, the trick is to find a way for the rooks not to get in one another's way.
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Solution to last issue's problem (Bouma, 1966):
White to mate in 3
1.Rb4 Ka7 (Bb2/Bb3) 2.Rfb3 (Rxb2/Rxe3), followed by a rook mating. Amazingly, all other rook first moves fail.
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Alexander George
Editor's Note
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Thank you. Nice pictures.