The Marshall Spectator
August 7, 2024 edition
In This Issue: A Special Message From Executive Director Carlos Chavez From The Skittles Room Impressions of the 1924 New York Centennial Tournament, by GM Andrew Tang Creating History & Art: Marshall hosts 1924 Centennial Tournament, by: FM Davis Zong Aileen Lou's Win Against IM Jay Bonin, notes by Aileen Lou Chess Toons En Passant Problems, Problems, curated by Alexander George Editor's Note
A Special Message From Executive Director Carlos Chavez
Dear Club Members,
It has now been over two weeks since the conclusion of the 1924 Centennial. I want to take this opportunity to thank all the players for their participation, congratulate the winners and norm achievers. One of our goals was to provide a competitive tournament with the required number of foreign titled players and foreign FIDE rated players to make norms possible. Congratulations to Liam Putnam for achieving his 5th IM Norm and crossing the 2400 FIDE rating requirement, Akira Nakada for achieving his 3rd IM Norm, and Andrew Tang for winning the tournament finishing in 1st place.
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all the American and foreign players for making the 1924 Centennial a special and prestigious tournament. We had players from nineteen federations and five continents. It was truly a New York International tournament of the 21st Century.
I would also like to give a very special recognition to the Marshall Chess Club team for organizing and officiating our greatest tournament of the year. Special thanks to IA Oscar Garcia as Chief Arbiter, FA Miguel Garcia as Deputy Arbiter, FA Greg Keener, NA’s Kevin Feng and Yifeng Zheng as Assistant Arbiters. You all made the Centennial a remarkable and rewarding experience. Finally, I would like to thank our supportive Tournament Committee Chairman and Vice President, Ed Daley, and our President Sarathi Ray.
We look forward to bringing great tournaments and special events to our members and contributing to the legacy of the Marshall Chess Club.
Regards,
Carlos
Welcome back, fellow chess players, to this edition of the Marshall Chess Club's fortnightly bulletin, The Marshall Spectator.
We are thrilled to congratulate NM Jessica Hyatt on crossing the 2200 rating threshold. A remarkable achievement on its own, this result is made even more special by the fact that she is the second African American Female Chess player to become a chess master. She achieved this result just this past weekend in the FIDE Premier at the Marshall Chess Club, just two weeks after the first African American Female Chess player to cross 2200. We look forward to her continued chess trajectory and to the many female chess players who are now likely to follow in her footsteps.
Over the last two weeks we have had a plethora of events for our members to play in.
The Weekly Wednesday Under 2200 that concluded on July 31 had 52 players registered and was won by Alisher Podavonov who scored 5 out of 6 to win the $500 clear first place prize, while the following 3 players scored 4.5 out of 6 to win $221.67: Aleksandr Gutnik, Alexander Golosovker, and Simone Morden. Jun Xiang, Liam Kim and Mao Nozaki scored 3.5 out of 6, sharing in a class prize and winning $20.75 each.
The Weekly Wednesday Under 1600 that concluded on July 31 had 47 players registered and was won by Atharva Washimkar who scored 5.5 out of 6 to win the $383 first place prize. Matt McColgan won $230 for his 5 out of 6 points, while Yidong Chen and Thyge Knuhtsen won $153 each for their 4.5 and 4 point score respectively.
The Weekly Monday Under 1800 that concluded on July 29 had 27 players registered and was won by Cameron Hull, who scored a near perfect 5.5 out of 6 to win the $167 first place prize. Laeho Youn and Dmitry Guller scored 4.5 out of 6 to win $104.50 each, while Rayane Chertouk scored 4 points to win $84 and Ryan Dugre scored 3.5 out of 6 to win $42.
The Weekly Monday FIDE that concluded on July 29 had 43 players registered and was won by Ethan Kozower who scored 5.5 out of 6 to win $430, while the following 3 players won $143.67 for their 4.5 out of 6 score: John Hardin, Michael Ocido, and Bryan Weisz. Austin Zhao scored 4 out of 6 to win a $144 class prize, while Stephen Hrop and Daneil Yasky scored 3.5 out of 6 to win $36 each.
The Sunday Quads on July 28 had no fewer than 17 complete quads with 68 players total. The following players won their quad outright, netting a $50 prize: Kiren Nasta, Anthony Levin, Gregory Nolan, Phineas Weingarten, Boris McCoy, Mason Zhou, Liam Kim, Aarush Bandreddi, Jacob Bleiberg, Akira Endo. The following players tied with the other top performer in their quad, winning $25 each: Alice Chovanec, Suvan Baranwal, Alexandra Lussie, Robert Weyman, Nune Melikian, Darren Wu, Will Nieder, Takki Tanaka, Jeremiah Beckles, Ashton Bellur, Jesse Lee, Robert Thorstad, Chase Yuen, and Maximus Phillips.
The Adults Only Tournament on July 27 had 9 players registered and was won by Benjamin Graham Linsk scored 2.5 out of 3 to win $90, while Dzmitry Kharchykau, Alexander Wang, and Chris Weldon scored 2 out of 3 to win $7.67 each.
The Saturday Game 50 Open on July 27 had 47 players registered and concluded with a 4-way tie. GM Michael Rohde, Lucas Lu, Maximilian Mills-Wren, and Aileen Lou won $118.25 each for their 3.5 out of 4 score. The following 3 players scored 2.5 each to win a class prize of $28.67: Noni Hardaway, Manuel Najera, and Jared Froom.
The Under 2000 Morning Action on July 27 had 28 players registered and was won by Zachary Yu and Jack Wen, who scored 3 out of 3 to win $118.50, while the following 4 players scored 2 out of 3 to win $25.50 each: Noni Hardaway, Hillel Doron-Repa, Manish Suthar, and Jacob Bleiberg.
The FIDE Blitz on July 26 had 53 players registered and was won by IM Nico Chasin, who scored 8 out of 9 to win $265. GM Christophe Sochacki scored 7.5 out of 9 to win $66.25, while FM Tanitoluwa Adewumi scored 7 out of 9 to win $66.25. FM Jonathan Subervi scored 6 out of 9 to win $66.25, while the following two players won $33.13 each for their 5.5 score: Luc Hoffman and Nirvaan Bharany.
The Brother John McManus Action on July 25 had 47 players and was won by NM Joseph Zeltsan and IM Yury Lapshun who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win $147.50 each. FM Tanitoluwa Adewumi scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $89. The following 4 players scored 3 points to win $22.25 each: Hursh Mehta, Tianhao Xue, Paul Schepel, and Andrew Colwell, while the following 3 players won $29.67 for their 2.5 out of 4 score: Mike Ching, Cameron Hull, and Aileen Lou.
The Morning Masters on July 23 had 49 players registered and was won by NM Joseph Zeltsan who won first place with a perfect 4 out of 4 score to win the $653 first place prize. GM Christophe Sochacki, IM Yury Lapshun, and Bryan Lin scored 3.5 out of 4 to $217.67 each. Alan Morris-Suzuki and Mark DeDona scored 3 out of 4 to win $81.50.
We look forward to seeing you at the club soon!
Impressions of the 1924 New York Centennial Tournament, by GM Andrew Tang
(1) What was your impression of the event, did you expect to win when you entered?
I really enjoyed the event! I thought it was well organized, and also liked the strength of the field. It was pretty strong, but definitely a field I could compete for first in. I also definitely wasn't expecting to win when I entered! Objectively it's hard to expect to win a tournament with so many GMs in it, plus I feel that I play better when my expectations aren't too high.
(2) Were there any opponents you were happy to avoid? sad you didn't get to play?
I try not to think about who I'm playing too much, unless Magnus or somebody was playing there's no one in particular that I would've really wanted to play. However, I can't say I'm too disappointed about avoiding Alex Lenderman, I find him very difficult to beat.
(3) I notice you've been playing at the Marshall lately in some other events as well. How do you balance your streaming with a day job and playing so regularly?
It's definitely tough! Since I've been busy, I have been streaming pretty infrequently, and I also took a pretty long break from playing OTB chess, so this was my first tournament in a while. I've been trying to de-rust a bit by playing at the Marshall Masters and the FIDE blitzes, since those are just one evening long, and hopefully I can play decently at the World Rapid and Blitz in New York this year!
You can play through the game with notes by GM Andrew Tang here.
Round 9: Tang, Andrew - Raja Harshit
Going into the final round, Raja Harshit and I were tied for the lead with 6/8, with a pack of 9 players chasing us on 5.5/8. I wanted to keep the game under control as a draw would at least secure a tie for first, but I also very much wanted to become sole champion and intended on applying maximum pressure to my opponent.
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bf4 I know a depressingly large amount of theory in the London, and it also suits my objective of playing a long game.
3... d5 4. e3 Bd6 5. Nbd2 O-O 6. c3 b6 7. h4!?
This AlphaZero-esque move may seem a bit odd, but has some nice logic to it. One of Black's main ideas in this setup is to trade the light squared bishops, so instead of spending a tempo playing Bd3 which could be met by Ba6, I try to save a tempo and simultaneously plan to create a weakness and gain space on black's kingside by pushing h4-h5-h6. (7. Bd3 Bxf4 8. exf4 Ba6! And it is hard for White to create many chances with both bishops off the board.)
7... c5 8. h5 Bxf4 9. exf4 Qd6 10. h6! (10. Ne5? would fall for 10... cxd4 11. cxd4 Qb4 which is an unusual way for two pawns to be forked, but White cannot protect both b2 and d4.) (10. g3 the other natural way to protect f4 would be less precise, as after 10... h6 Black is relatively safe. White would like to play for g4-g5, but has already spent a tempo playing g3.)
10... g6 (10... Qxf4 Grabbing the pawn is too greedy, for example 11. hxg7 Kxg7 12. Rh4 Qf5 13. Ne5 White's attack looks unstoppable. 13... Ba6 14. g4 Qf4 15. Bxa6 Nxa6 16. Nd3 Qg5 17. Nf3 Qg6 18. Nde5 Qe4+ 19. Kf1)
11. g3 Ba6 12. Bxa6 I was very pleased by the outcome of the opening at this point — my position appears to be very solid, and I can slowly improve my position as I have more space.
12... Nxa6 13. Qe2 Nb8 14. Kf1 Nc6 15. Kg2 Nd7 16. Rhe1 Rfe8 17. Qe3 Qf8 Trying to keep an eye on the kingside/g7 square, but it's not so easy to take the h6 pawn.
18. Ne5 Ndb8 19. Ndf3 Slowly completing my development while making sure Black cannot actually take the h6 pawn.
19... f6 Black's lack of space and slightly passive play has made it difficult for him to continue maneuvering, making f6 probably a necessary evil, but now e6 will become another weakness. (19... Qxh6? 20. Nxf7! Kxf7 21. Rh1 Qg7 (21... Qf8 22. Rxh7+ Kg8 23. Rah1) 22. Rxh7! and White wins.)
20. Ng4 Nd7 21. Re2 Kf7 22. Rae1 Rac8 23. Qd2 cxd4 24. cxd4 Qb4 25. Qd1 Na5 Instead of turtling, Black tries to create some counterplay on the queenside, but this leaves his king vulnerable.
26. Ne3 Preparing f5 slowly, but… (26. f5!? attacking Black's kingside weaknesses was already very strong, as Black's kingside falls apart if he accepts the pawn: 26... exf5 (26... gxf5 27. Ne3 with ideas of Nh4, Nexf5 and bringing the queen to h5 should give White a near decisive attack.) 27. Ne3 Qd6 28. Nxf5! gxf5 29. Nh4 With f5 dropping and White's queen coming to g4/h5, Black cannot protect his king without losing material, for example 29... Nf8 (29... Rxe2 30. Qxe2 Nf8 31. Nxf5 Qd7 32. Qe7+ Qxe7 33. Rxe7+ Kg8 (33... Kg6 34. Nd6 Rd8 35. Rg7+ Kxh6 36. Nf5+ Kh5 37. g4#) 34. Rg7+ Kh8 35. Nd6) 30. Rxe8 Rxe8 31. Qh5+ Ng6 32. Rxe8 Kxe8 33. Nxg6 and White's h pawn wins the game.)
26... Qd6 27. Nh4 (27. f5 Again this was possible, and I calculated it for a while, but since I couldn't calculate all lines to a win I decided to take less risk and prepare it for one more move.) 27... f5 The good thing about preparing f5 slowly is that Black didn't have a great defense anyways. The computer actually dislikes this move, but against almost any other move I would still play f5 and Black's position would be hanging by a thread.
28. Nf3 After f5, my knight has gained a new outpost on g5, allowing me to put further pressure on e6. Black's position looks desperate with no counterplay and clear weaknesses on the kingside.
28... Nc6? A mistake since now Black essentially loses by force, but his position was barely holding together. 29. Ng5+ Kg8 30. Nxf5!
The start of a very nice sequence that I fully calculated from here, if I'm allowed to gas myself up.
30... gxf5 31. Rxe6 Qf8 (31... Rxe6 32. Rxe6 Qf8 33. Qb3 does not offer much more resistance than the game: 33... Nf6 (33... Ne7 34. Qb4 Ng6 (34... Re8 35. Qd6) 35. Qb5 { and after the d5 pawn falls the rest of black's position will too.) 34. Rxf6! Qxf6 35. Qxd5+ Kh8 (35... Kf8 36. Nxh7+) 36. Nf7+ Kg8 37. Nd6+)
32. Qb3 The d5 pawn is the last thing standing between me and the Black king.
32…Nf6 33. Rxf6! Qxf6 34. Qxd5+ Kh8 35. Nf7+ Kg8 36. Nd6+ Kf8 37. Qxc6!! The flashiest way, and let's appreciate all that the h6 pawn has done for me this game.
37... Red8 (37... Rxc6 38. Rxe8#) 38. Qb7! Necessary to see before playing Qc6, otherwise the d6 knight would have been lost. 38... Rc2 (38... Rxd6 39. Qxc8+) (38... Qxd6 39. Qg7#) 39. Re6!
One last flourish, the queen cannot protect e7 and g7. What a high to win the tournament with one of my best games, and thanks to the club for hosting such a great event! 1-0
Creating History and Art: Marshall hosts 1924 Centennial Tournament
By: FM Davis Zong
100 years ago, during the era of the roaring 20s, history was made in the Alamac Hotel of New York when eleven of the top chess players of the world participated in the famous New York 1924 tournament, a double round-robin event that lasted just over a month. The 1924 field was packed to the brim with legends, including the then reigning world champion Jose Capablanca, who hadn’t lost a game in eight years, Emanuel Lasker and Alexander Alekhine, his predecessor and successor to the World Championship title, respectively, Richard Reti, who has both an opening and an endgame study named after him, and Frank Marshall, the founder of the Marshall Chess Club (MCC) himself. The inaugural event was won by Lasker with a commanding 16/20 score, with Capablanca finishing right behind him on 14.5/20, the Cuban world champion suffering his only loss in the tournament to Reti.
Now, 100 years later, in a colonial brownstone in the West Village just a few miles downtown of the original event, the MCC hosted the “1924 Centennial,” honoring the one century anniversary of the legendary New York 1924 tournament. As MCC’s manager Kevin Feng remarked, the club’s recruitment efforts for the event began months in advance, sending out mass invitation emails to high-rated members and offering conditions for foreign GMs and IMs upon completion of all nine rounds. Thanks to the persistent and thorough outreach initiatives, the 1924 Centennial was not only one of MCC’s highest prize-fund tournaments, but was also attended by players from 19 different federations, making it eligible for the “Super Swiss” status and allowing norm seekers to checkmark the foreign federation requirement for their norms.
Thanks to the “Super Swiss” status, the 1924 Centennial saw both the achievement of a norm and the crowning of not one, but two new International Masters, with FM Akira Nakada achieving his final IM norm and FM Liam Putnam crossing the crucial 2400 threshold for the first time. The organizer of the tournament and current Executive Director, Carlos A. Chavez also achieved his first International Arbiter norm.
To truly encapsulate the spirit of New York 1924, players of all levels, from titleless to Grandmaster, were treated with the same amenities and strictness as professional chess players. Metal scanners, which were acquired more than a year in advance of the event, scanned incoming players and spectators before every round, and phones and personal belongings were stored in a secure checking room away from the playing hall. Over a third of the games each round were broadcasted live via DGT boards and clocks, with the whole downstairs room of 15 boards being fully transmitted and filled with cameras to capture both the moves and the expressions of the players. As a reward for staying until the last day, players were treated with a nice lunch of pizza, pasta, salads, and beef as well as thoughtful closing remarks by MCC President Emeritus Dr. Frank Brady.
At the end of five days and nine rounds, GM Andrew Tang emerged victorious, the 2023 US Open winner ending on clear first with 7/9 points and winning the first place prize of $4,000. Right behind Tang were FM Akira Nakada, IM Nico Chasin, FM Liam Putnam, and GM Mark Paragua, tying for 2nd place with 6.5/9 points and each winning $1,725. Although Tang is well-known for his sharp tactical vision in blitz and bullet online, his round 9 win showed that he can do it equally well both over the board and in classical chess. If the brilliancy prize from the 1924 tournament was implemented here, this game would have been a likely candidate. See the game below:
GM Andrew Tang - GM Raja Harshit Position after 6…b6.
Harshit’s sixth move is interesting – deviating from the mainline of c5 in order to fianchetto the bishop and assert control over the e4 square. After a natural 7. Bd3 Bxf4 8. exf4 c5, Black would equalize. However, Tang, an avid London player, finds the correct idea here, seizing the initiative with an aggressive
7. h4!
After: 7…c5 8. h5 Bxf4 9. exf4 Qd6 10. h6 g6 11. g3, the advanced h6 pawn secures a lasting advantage for the first player.
Tang - Harshit, position after 29…Kg8
We revisit the game many moves later, where Tang has amassed a clear advantage due to the open e-file and more active pieces. Now, the first player changes the position from positional to tactical, finishing the game with several stunning sacrifices that would make Alekhine proud.
30. Nxf5! gxf5 (exf5 31. Rxe8+ +- picks up the rook)
The first of many sacrifices, creating an inroad for white’s rooks to penetrate on the e-file.
31. Rxe6 Qf8 32. Qb3 Nf6 33. Rxf6!
Another bolt from the blue. The first player is down a whole rook now, but the queen + knight is a deadly duo.
33…Qxf6 34. Qxd5+ Kh8 35. Nf7+ Kg8 36. Nd6+ Kf8
A position noteworthy of a diagram by itself. Instead of capturing either rook or protecting the en prise e1 rook, Tang uncorks:
37. Qxc6!!,
leaving both of his major pieces hanging. In the case of 37…Rxe1, 38. Qxc8+ Ke7 39. Nxf5+ Kf7 40. d5 is crushing, while capturing the queen leads to a brilliant Arabian’s Mate where the h6-pawn comes in clutch by controlling the g7 square.
Harshit responded with the testing 37…Red8, but the first player finished in style:
38. Qb7 Rc2 39. Re6! 1-0
The rook is taboo due to Qg7#, the queen can’t move due to Qf7#, and 39…Rxd6 40. Rxf6+ Rxf6 41. Qg7+ leaves white up a queen for a rook. A great way to end the Centennial, and certainly a game that will go down in history.
Such a strong and well-run event wouldn’t have been possible without the combined efforts of the MCC community. A big shoutout to Sarathi Ray (President), Carlos Chavez (Executive Director), Ed Daley (Vice President), and the rest of the board of governors for their coordination and management efforts. Thank you to the arbiters Oscar Garcia, Carlos Chavez, and Miguel Garcia for staying until every last game and ensuring that the rounds ran smoothly. And of course, a big thank you to all the players for participating in this historical celebration and creating art on the chessboard. The players of the 2124 Bicentennial Tournament will be proud of the moves you all have played today.
FM Davis Zong, Marshall Chess Club Member & Spectator Contributor
Aileen Lou’s Win Against IM Jay Bonin
IM Jay Bonin vs Aileen Lou Marshall Open, 7/24/2024 Round 4 Queen's Pawn Game: Symmetrical Variation
You can play through the game with notes by Aileen Lou here.
IM Jay starts the game with 1.d4. I was surprised to see this. Maybe I could grip a draw. Still, I was nervous. I lost to him before, and probably would again. 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 c6 4. Qb3 e6 5. Nc3 Nbd7 6. Bg5 Bd6 7. e3
Around here, I was gaining confidence. 1.d4 is a drawish opening, so maybe I can draw?
7... h6 8. Bh4 O-O 9. Bd3 dxc4 10. Qxc4 e5 11. O-O Qc7 12. Rac1 a6
I was pretty passive here, and slowly I was trying to improve. We were both spending more time.
13. Qb3 Re8 14. Bc4 Rf8 I realized here that 13...Re8 was a mistake. I had to bring it back. 15. dxe5 Nxe5 I was stuck in a not-so-comfortable position. I was worried about 16.Bxf6 Nxf3+ 17.gxf3 gxf6 18.f4 Bh3 19.Rhd1 where White has a better position.
16. Nxe5?! I was so surprised he took this way. I’m now in a perfectly fine position. (16. Bxf6 Nxf3+ 17. gxf3 gxf6 18. f4 Bh3 19. Rfd1)
16... Bxe5 17. f4 Bxc3 18. Rxc3?! The move 18.Rxc3 allowed me 18...Ne4. (18. Qxc3 Ne4 19. Qc2 Bf5 20. g4 Bh7 21. f5)
18... Ne4 19. Rc2 Re8 20. f5 Nc5?!
There was probably better, but I wanted a draw at this point. I thought that if anyone had chances, it’d be White.
21. Qa3 (21. Bxf7+ I also looked at this variation, of course. 21... Qxf7 22. Qxf7+ Kxf7 23. Rxc5 Rxe3 24. f6 I thought this should be drawn, too.)
21... Ne4 22. Qb3 Nc5 Repeating moves. 23. Qb4 Of course he didn’t want a draw. After all, why would a 2290 want to draw a 1718 rated little girl?
23... Ne4 24. Rf4 Nd6 25. Bg3 Qe7 26. f6? One move ago, I was like, “He’s gonna play 26.e4.” Turned out to be the best move. But he played this. Now I really started to calculate. I had 2.5 out of 3, and if I drew, I probably wouldn’t be getting any prize. Then I realized, if 26...Qxe3+ 27.Bf2 (I knew he’d play that) Qxf4 wouldn’t work because of 28.Bxf7+. But then I found something I think Bonin missed.
26... Qxe3+ 27. Bf2 c5! The only move to stay better in this position.
28. Bxe3 cxb4 29. Bd4 g6 30. Bb3 Be6 31. Rc7
Here I should’ve played 31...g5 followed by ...Nb5, but I missed it. He had 3 minutes and I had 12. From my previous mistakes, I know that when your opponent has much less time, don’t play fast and try to flag them. I took my time.
31... Bxb3 (31... g5) 32. axb3 Nb5 I gave up the pawn. From here, I was thinking, “I’m gonna win! I’m gonna beat an IM!”
33. Rxb7 g5 I played this so that after Nxd4, the f6 pawn can’t be defended. I also have extra room for my king.
34. Rg4 Nxd4 35. Rxd4 a5 36. Rdd7 I got a bit worried here, but I have winning plans for the future here and had them before, too.
36... Rf8 37. Rd6? I don’t get this move. 37... Rfd8 38. Ra7??
I was shocked to see this. I calculated over and over again. My plan from the start of the endgame—
38… Rxd6 39. Rxa8+ Kh7 40. Rxa5 Rd1+ 41. Kf2 Rd2+ Bonin resigned here. The b3 pawn is indefensible. I was so happy. When the pairings came out, I was like, “Oh no, I’m playing an IM! I’m gonna have 2.5/4!” In the middlegame, I thought, “Yes! I’m drawing!” And in the endgame... I saw from a distance that I would win from there. He only had around a minute left! 0-1
Aileen Lou, Marshall Chess Club Member & Spectator Contributor
Chess Toons
En Passant
Former Marshall Chess Club Champion GM Brandon Jacobsen beat top-level player GM Praggnanandhaa in the the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Team event this week in Astana.
The 45th FIDE Chess Olympiad will take place from September 10 through 23 in Budapest, Hungary. Team USA looks to improve on their tied-fourth (fifth on tiebreaks) finish in the Open and tied-third (fourth on tiebreaks) finish in the Women's section of the 44th FIDE Chess Olympiad held in 2022 in Chennai, India.
With just over half the year behind us, 2024 has already treated us to several masterpieces on the 64 squares. In this article, Marshall Chess Club Board member NM Anthony Levin reviews the seven best games of the year so far.
Karsten Mueller on chessbase discusses Botvinnik’s Rule: Knight endings are like pawn endings. Zugzwang, king activity and outside passed pawns are crucial.
Chess Coins & Tokens Capture Numismatic Hearts. Over the years of getting to know many passionate chess players (some of whom were even numismatists themselves!), I learned that many of the things that make successful chess players also make successful numismatists.
Problems, Problems, curated by Alexander George
J. Vancura, 1922
White to move and win.
Another attractive and amusing study from the Czech composer, J. Vancura, who died at the age of 28. But not before making some significant contributions to endgame theory - stay tuned for those.
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Last issue’s puzzle, J. Vancura, 1922
White to win.
Solution to last week’s puzzle: Vancura, 1922: 1.Be4! Kxe4 2.Kg4.
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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