The Marshall Spectator
August 20, 2025
In This Issue: From The Skittles Room Endgame Corner, by IM Silas Lund Outstanding Player Achievement Award, IM Sal Matera 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 Marshall Board Member and former Club Champion, IM Sal Matera, on receiving the Outstanding Player Achievement Award from USChess. He has authored his reflections on this award in an article appearing in this very issue.
We would also like to congratulate our many members who traveled to Peru to play in the Pan-American Youth Championship, including FM Tejas Rama, who won the Under-18 gold with 7½/9, netting the direct IM title in the process. We would also like to congratulate Elizabeth Zhou who got bronze, and Jasmine Su who got gold.
This week, we were thrilled to welcome GM Sam Shankland back to our historic club for a lecture and book signing of his newest book, Converting an Extra Pawn in Chess. The turnout for the event was even bigger than last time he visited, and the simul was a huge success - selling out in advance with 30 entrants and a lengthy waitlist. To see some of the top games from the event - including the game by the only victorious challenger, Noah Gilston, check out this blog post by Marshall Chess Club member William Guskind.
Speaking of simuls, last week we had the opportunity to host a tandem simul featuring U.S. Women’s National Champion, WGM Carissa Yip, and 4-time U.S. Champion and World Senior Champion GM Alexander Shabalov. They took turns in a match-up against more than 30 strong participants, who were pleased to have the chance to meet and play against two luminaries of their respective generations.
Following the event, there was a Q&A with WGM Carissa Yip, hosted by our Board Member and Education Committee Chairman, NM Vladimir Bugayev. If you were unable to attend the event, you can watch the Q&A portion of the event on our Events Replay Page.
Looking ahead, there is still an opportunity to join the Marshall Camps! For the updated camp schedule, lunch menu, and other information, please click here.
As a reminder, if you register for multiple weeks, there will be additional perks - such as one of our stylish camp shirts pictured below. (We will reach out to you over the next few weeks if your child has already attended 2 or more weeks). If you have any questions about our camps, you can email Kevin at kevinf@marshallchessclub.org.
Looking back over the last two weeks, we have had a plethora of events for our members to participate in.
The Adults Only Tournament on August 10 had 8 players registered and was won by Shawn Cimorelli, who scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $48, while Jay Kline scored 2.5 out of 4 to win $32. Jeffrey Ho and Caleb Rakestraw-Morn scored 2 out of 4 to win $12 each.
The Sunday Game 50 Open on August 10 had 29 players registered and was won by GM Mark Paragua who scored 4 out of 4 to win $162, while IM Jay Bonin won $81 for his 3.5 out of 4 score. The following 4 players won $27 each for their 2.5 out of 4 score: Devin Wang, Samarth Boodhoo, Dervin Kouyate, and Dena Wang.
The Rated Beginner Open on August 10 had 21 players registered and was won by Sumanth Reddy Cherupally, and Justin Kulla who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $131.50 each.
The Saturday Game 50 Under 1800 on August 9 had 40 players registered and was won by Riju Bhattacharjee who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win $240. Aziz Abdijalilov scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $160, while Devin Wang and Mihir Subodh Tamhankar won $60 each for their 3 out of 4 score.
The Saturday Game 50 Open on August 9 had 52 players registered and was won by the following 3 players who scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $166.67 each: IM Jay Bonin, GM Michael Rohde, and FM Leif Pressman. The following 7 players shared in class prizes, scoring 3 out of 4 to win $21.43 each: Farirai Gumbe, Jayden Feng, Isaac N Lui, Leqi Han, Shu Chen, Frederick Zhao, and Navid Hakmi.
The Under 2000 Morning Action on August 8 had 14 players registered and was won by Fionn Cavanagh, who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $88. Maximilian Almers scored 2.5 out of 3 to win $35, while Rayyan Sayeed and Jayendra Jog scored 2 out of 3 to win $26.50 each.
The FIDE Blitz on August 8 had 56 players registered and was won by GM Brewington Hardaway who scored a perfect 9 out of 9 to win $280, while IM Alexander Katz scored a near perfect 8 out of 9 to win a $140 prize. IM Aaron Jacobson scored 7 points to win $70, while Leandro Nicols Ulloa scored 6.5 out of 9 to win $70. Armaan Jain and Wan Qin Li scored 6 out of 9 to win $35 each, while the following players scored 6 out of 9 to win $23.33 each: Epiphany Peters, NM Elliot Goodrich, and Daniel Belenky.
The Women & Girls’ Open on August 8 had 7 players registered and was won by the Rao sisters. Dhruthi Rao won $42 for her 3 out of 3 score, while Shruthi Rao scored 2.5 out of 3 to win a $21 prize.
The Thursday Open on August 7 had 25 players registered and was won by George Berg, who scored 5 out of 5 to win $500, while Nkosi Nkululeko won the $200 second place prize for his 4 out of 5 score. Finally, the following players won $60 for their 3.5 out of 5 score: Aleksandr Gutnik, Brian Gilbert, Alexander Lapanowski, Alan McMichael, and Viann Suthar.
The Thursday Action on August 7 had 51 players registered and was won by Mark DeDona who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win $184. Ateez Panjwani won a $92 class prize for their 3 out of 4 score, while FM Leif Pressman, GM Michael Rohde, and NM Kiren Nasta scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $71.67 each. CM Sasha Schaefer and Jude Kazan won $46 each for their 3 out of 4 performance.
The Rated Beginner Open on August 3 had 24 players registered and was won by Christopher Saless and Adam Farhat, who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $150 each.
The Premier Under 2000 that concluded on August 3 had 42 players registered and was won by Ramin Farzaneh-Far who scored a perfect 5 out of 5 to win the $700 first place prize. Hudson Wong and Brian Gilbert scored 4 out of 5 to win $245 each, while Aden Lexian Deng scored 2.5 out of 5 to win a class prize of $210.
The Premier Open that concluded on August 3 had 46 players registered and was won by GM Francesco Sonis, who scored a perfect 5 out of 5 to win $1120, while IM Eshaan Hebbar and CM Kyle Dong won $490 each for their 4 out of 5 score.
The Under 2000 Morning Action on August 2 had 43 players registered and was won by Favor Idemudia and Farirai Gumbe, who scored 3 out of 3 to win $184 each. Hiroki Winter and Eli Sidman scored 2 out of 3, to win a class prize of $79 each.
The Afternoon Game 50 on July 31 had 7 players registered and concluded with a tie between Charles Ho and Ean fish, who scored a perfect 2 out of 2 to win $15 each.
The Thursday Action on July 31 had 45 players registered and was won by IM Augusto Moran and CM Michael Rohde, who scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $137.50 each. Jackson Brinckerhoff and Pranav Reddy Marri scored 3 out of 4 to win $41.50 each, while the following players won $20.75 each for the same score: FM Leif Pressman, Jack Levine, Daniel Wang, Alexander Golosovker, Arhan Javeri, Armaan Jain, Anvith Reddy Marri, and Andrey Pichugov.
We look forward to seeing you at the club soon!
Endgame Corner, by IM Silas Esben Lund
This is part 3 of rook versus pawn, and in this issue, we shall look into what I call 'the magic trick'. It's a specific intermediate check (or series of checks) with the goal of winning a tempo to get the rook on the same file as the passed pawn. At times, it is even possible to win 2 tempos. See the following example for more. Then follows to exercises with solutions at the end of the article.
You can play through the games with annotations here.
Example 1
White to move and win.
1. Rd8+ Kc3 ({Or} 1... Kc2) ({It is rarely a good idea to go in front of the pawn as it slows Black down in the race:} 1... Ke2 White wins after 2. Ke5 e3 3. Ke4 Kf2 4. Rf8+ Ke2 5. Rf3 ({Or} 5. Re8)) 2. Re8 Kd3
We have the starting position, but with the rook on e8 instead of a8. White has 'magically' transfered the rook behind the passed pawn. Notice that the magic trick only works (when it works) if the black king is in front of the pawn. Otherwise, Black would also be able to improve his position/king when White improves the position of his rook. The win is easy now: 3. Kf5 e3 4. Kf4 e2 5. Kf3 1-0
Exercise 1
Exercise 1. White to move and win. 1-0
Exercise 2
Exercise 2. White to move and win.} 1-0
Solution to Exercise 1
1. Re1+ The magic trick also works with the rook on the first rank! Not only behind the pawn... Kd3 (1... Kf3 2. Rd1 Ke4 3. Kc7 leads to similar lines.) 2. Rd1+ Kc4
Black is trying to body-check the white king. As it turns out, it doesn't matter if the black king is on c4 or e4. 3. Kc7 d4 4. Kd6 d3 5. Ke5 Kc3 6. Ke4 d2 7. Ke3 Just in time.
1-0
Solution to Exercise 2
This is the step before the pure rook versus pawn endgame, as White has not yet promoted the pawn to win the rook. However, White needs to prepare for the rook versus pawn race. 1. Rc1+ Kd5 2. Rb1 Kc6
If we compare with the starting position, it is clear that White has won 2 tempos: one to get the rook to b1, and one to force the black king one square backward. White is ready for the race: (2... Re2+ 3. Kd8 Rf2 fails to 4. Rxb7) 3. f8=Q Rxf8 4. Kxf8 b5
White is aiming for the Key Position (pawn and kings on the third rank) as the king has to approach the pawn from the side. Unfortunately for Black, it will be White to move in the Key Position. 5. Ke7 Kc5 6. Ke6 b4 7. Ke5 Kc4 8. Ke4 Kc3 9. Ke3 b3
The Key Position also works with the rook on the first rank: 10. Rc1+ Kb2 11. Kd2 Ka2
12. Rc8 (There are tricks with a knight's pawn:} 12. Kc3 b2 13. Rc2 Ka1 14. Rxb2 is stalemate.) 12... b2 13. Ra8+ Kb1 14. Rb8 With the rook from behind, the stalemate tricks don't work. Ka2 15. Kc2 Ka1 16. Ra8# 1-0
IM Silas Esben Lund, Marshall Spectator Contributor
Outstanding Player Achievement Award, by IM Sal Matera
I learned chess in December of 1958. March of 1959, my parents and I went to Peter’s Backyard, a steakhouse, on West 10th Street in NYC. After dinner, we strolled on West 10th Street and stumbled upon the Marshall Chess Club. Serendipity! My father went in and asked if someone could recommend a chess teacher for his son. This led to me taking lessons from the legendary Jack Collins. In 1967, I won the second US Junior Invitational and was the US representative at the World Junior Championship in Jerusalem. I continued to improve. In 1971, I was Board 1 for Columbia, where we won the Pan American Collegiate championship. In 1973 and 1975, I won the Marshall Chess Club Championship. In 1973, a match was organized between the champions of the Marshall and Manhattan for the Thomas Emery Cup. PBS televised the 4 game match, reassembling Shelby Lyman and his panelists who had covered Bobby Fischer’s match against Boris Spassky in 1972. I beat the Manhattan Chess Club champion, George Kramer, 2 ½ - ½.
Thanks to the Fischer boom, I became a chess professional from 1972-1983, playing, teaching, writing articles for Chess Life, lecturing and giving simuls. I had the honor of giving private lessons to Joel Benjamin. I’m not sure how much I actually “taught” him but I shared my love of chess and hopefully that helped him a bit. I was a good will ambassador for the USCF flying up and down the east coast giving lectures and simuls in many cities.
In 1974, I scored 75% on the second board in the World Student Olympiad, where the US team unexpectedly won silver medals. In 1975, I made my first IM norm in Birmingham, England. In 1976, I made my final IM norm in Reykjavik, Iceland. I made my only GM norm in 1978 in a Goichberg tournament.
I went back to Columbia and graduated with a BS in Computer Science in 1983. I had a series of jobs as a technology manager and Vice President for investment banks and financial services on Wall Street. My work was very demanding, and I essentially stopped playing chess for decades. With 20-20 hindsight, I believe my chess skills, such as decision making, analyzing complex systems, and intuition, were key to managing many successful technology/business projects. I retired in 2015.
Ever since, I have dabbled in chess mostly online. The game still brings me joy…well not all the time! Recently, I have tried some over the board tournaments. The results are mixed but that’s to be expected.
One of my great pleasures playing chess is meeting so many interesting people and making friends at tournaments and at the Marshall. The list of people I have played and/or met is very long. A small sampling is Carolyn Marshall, Jack Collins, Herman Helms, Bobby Fischer, Bill Lombardy, Robert and Donald Byrne, Arthur Bisguier, Pal Benko, Jay Bonin, Jimmy Sherwin, Joel Benjamin, John Fedorowicz, Walter Browne, Ken Rogoff, Andy Soltis, Frank Brady, Fred Wilson, George Kane, Orest Popovych, Larry Gilden, Asa Hoffman, Bruce Pandolfini, Bernard Zuckerman, Larry Christiansen, Kamran Shirazi, Jim Tarjan, Nicholas Rossolimo, Jan Timman, Robert Huebner, Julio Kaplan, Duncan Suttles, John Cage, Al Lawrence, Norman Weinstein, Miguel Najdorf, Fridrik Olafsson, Tony Miles, John Nunn, Nona Gaprindashvili, Viktor Korchnoi, Lisa Lane….and the list goes on and on.
I am grateful to US Chess for honoring me with this award for Outstanding Chess Achievement.
IM Sal Matera, Marshall Board Member and Club Champion 1973 & 1975
En Passant
Levon Aronian emerged as the clear winner of the Saint Louis Rapid & Blitz tournament, securing victory with two rounds to spare. The 42-year-old grandmaster demonstrated precise play throughout, prevailing over Fabiano Caruana and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, who took second and third places respectively.
A 10-year-old British girl has made chess history by becoming the youngest female player to ever beat a grandmaster.
GM Vincent Keymer won the Quantbox Chennai Grand Masters 2025 by a full two points after beating GM Ray Robson in the final round to add crossing the 2750 Elo mark to his achievements. GM Anish Giri was the surprise player to sneak into second place, despite starting the tournament with eight draws, by winning a thriller against GM Jorden van Foreest that could easily have gone either way. Giri had better tiebreaks than GMs Arjun Erigaisi and Karthikeyan Murali, who made a tense draw in the last round.
Chess Toons
Problems, Problems, curated by Alexander George
G. J. Bouma, 1966
White to mate in 3
It won't surprise you that the keymove is a rook move - but which one!?
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Solution to last issue's problem (Pospisil 1885):
The key gives Black's king some flight squares: 1.Qd1, threatening 2.Qf3+ Kd4 3.Qxd3 mate. After 1...Kf5 2.Qf3+ leads to 2...Ke6 3.Nc5, a mate which is echoed after 1...Bg4 or 1...Bxg2 2.Qg4+ Kd5 3.Nb4. After 1...Kd4 or 1...Bf5 2.Qa4+ Kd5 3.Nxc7 is a mate which differs slightly in that the guard and block on either side of the king have been swapped. This mate is echoed by 1...Kd5 2.Qb3+ Kc6 3.Nb8.
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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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