In This Issue: From The Skittles Room Endgame Corner, by IM Silas Esben Lund 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.
As of January 1, 2024, USChess has launched new SafePlay guidelines and standards that were promulgated to ensure a safe playing environment for everyone. We invite you to learn more about these standards. In accordance with the new Safe Play guidelines, our Tournament Directors are in the process of completing the necessary training on the safe play hub that covers issues related to child safety in the context of tournaments, coaching, and competitive events.
In other news, you may have noticed that the club has recently been broadcasting certain tournaments on DGT boards. In the near term, we plan to broadcast the top 5 boards of the monthly FIDE Premier and the Under 2400. Please note, if you play in these events and find yourself on the top 5 board you’re likely to have your game shared live with the world.
On Tuesday, February 13 we will start a new cycle of our monthly team event. This was a popular team event the last cycle, and we anticipate an excellent turnout for the event.
Looking ahead to Women’s History Month in March, our Executive Director, Carlos Chavez, will be moderating a panel discussion on Tuesday, March 5 at 7pm. We are thrilled to host several esteemed panelists for this event:
GM Irina Krush - Chess as a Professional; eight-time U.S. Women's Champion - at 14 years old became the youngest U.S. Women's Champion ever! 2023 Marshall Chess Club Women's Champion.
IM Rusudan Goletiani - Chess and Finance - 2005 U.S. Women's champion; foreign exchange trader at BlackRock
WIM Fiona Steil-Antoni - Chess and Commentary - 2006 Turin Olympiad - individual gold medal; currently a commentator with chess.com.
WFM Ana Izoria - Chess and Education - Experienced chess teacher and Special Education teacher at Beacon High School.
The Rated Beginner Open on January 21 had 46 players registered and finished in a three-way tie for first: Dave Vaval, Sofiya Hodzhamkulyyeva, and James Leigh won $191.67 for their perfect 3 out of 3 score.
The Monthly Under 2400 which concluded on January 21 had 56 players registered and was won by Max Manuel Rosenthal who scored 4.5 out of 5 to win $933.33. IM Jay Bonin and Jason Jiang scored 4 out of 5 to win $303.33, while 7 players won $80 each for their 3.5 out of 5 score: Ethan Kozower, Jeremy Larsen, Leo Shen, Chance Deas, Leandro Ulloa, Whitney Tse, and Richardson Jingsi Qiao.
The Monthly Under 1800 which concluded on January 21 had 19 players registered and was won by Lucas Lu, who scored 4.5 out of 5 to win the $300 first place prize. The following four players scored 3.5 out of 5 to win $48.75 each: Cameron Hull, Leah Yang, Luis Manuel Ulloa and Takki Tanaka. Emma Phu, Erica Rong, and Nikola Stojsin scored 2.5 out of 5 to win $30 each, while Sean Rong won a $90 class prize for the same score.
The Under 2000 Morning Action on January 20 had 74 players registered and concluded with 8 perfect scores. Jack Yang, Rai Mukherji, David Ologunleko, Mingrui Ju, Alvin Lou, Jaime Jariton, and James Leigh scored 3 out of 3 to win $92.86 each. Aileen Lou, who also had a perfect score, won a class prize of $282.
The Friday Rapid on January 19 had 22 players registered and was won by FM Brewington Hardaway, IM Justin Sarkar and Gunnar Andersen who scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $52.50 each. Kameliia Sharuda and Sankash Shankar scored 3 out of 4 to share in a class prize, winning $26.25 each, and Zack Arnold also won a class prize of $26.25 for his 2 out of 4 score.
The Andre Harding Action on January 18 had 30 players registered and was won by IM Kevin Wang, who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win the $136 first place prize. Linxi Zhu scored 3.5 out of 4 to win the second place prize of $68, while Jessica Hyatt, Aditeya Das and Aakash Meduri won $22.67 each for their 3 out of 4 score. Isaac Statz won a $68 class prize for his 2.5 out of 4 score, while the upset prize went to Daniel Winn.
The Marshall Masters on January 16 had 20 players registered and was won by Joseph Zeltsan and FM Tanitoluwa Adewumi who scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $133.33 each. IM Jay Bonin won a class prize of $66.66 for his 3 out of 4 score, while Michael Li, Aditeya Das, Aakash Meduri and Chase Knowles won $16.66 for their 2.5 scores.
The MLK Action on January 15 had an even 50 players registered, and was won by GM Aleksandr Lenderman who scored 5.5 out of 6 to win the $409 first place prize. James Y Oh took the $245 second place prize for his 5 out of 6 score, while Bryan Weisz, Aakaash Meduri, Avaan Chamadia and Jude Kazan scored 4.5 points to win $102.50 each. The following six players shared in a class prize, winning $27.33 each for their 3.5 out of 6 score: Maximillian Mills-Wren, Eric Liu, Paul Kariuki, Tolani Somefun, Ethan Kurian and Keyla Acevedo.
The Sunday Game 50 Under 1600 on January 14 had 29 players registered and was won by Paul Kariuki and Riju Bhattacharjee, who scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $145 each. Reginal Denis, Nicholas Kan and Asher Collins scored 3 out of 4 to win $29 each.
The Rated Beginner Open on January 14 had 49 players registered and finished with a 3 way tie: Daniel Engi, Robert Babbage, and Jacob Bleiberg won $187.50 each for their perfect scores.
The Sunday Game 50 Open on January 14 had 36 players registered and was won by Jessica Hyatt, who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win the $216 first place prize. IM Justin Sarkar and Jaime Jariton scored 3.5 points to win $126 each.
The Saturday Game 50 Under 1800 on January 13 had 35 players registered and finished with Axel Peters winning a clear first place, scoring 4 out of 4 to win the $210 first place prize. John Silva scored 3.5 out of 4 to win the $140 second place prize, while there was a 4-way tie for the remaining class prize: Tolani Somefun, Hudson Wong, Ethan Louie and Kyle Cheng scored 3 out of 4 to win $26.25.
The Saturday Game 50 Open on January 13 had 32 players registered and was won by Rubens Cezila Junior, FM Rushaan Mahajan, and Avery Hood who scored 3.5 out of 4 each to win $106.67, while Kyle Cheung scored 3 out of 4 to win a class prize of $96.
The Under 2000 Morning Action on January 13 had 74 players registered and finished with 7 players scoring a perfect 3 out of 3: Rilwan Ameen, Mihir Bafna, Rai Mukherji, Rhyan Grennan, Alex Jiang, Misha Raitzin and Ryan Hao won $92.57 each for their perfect scores.
The Friday Blitz on January 12 had 31 players registered and was won by Rubens Cezila Junior and Jason Jiang, who scored 7 out of 9 to win $112.50 each. Aakaash Meduri and David Bernat scored 6.5 out of 9 winning $38 each, while Miguel Omar Garcia and Joseph Otero scored 6 out of 9 to win a class prize of $38 each.
The Women and Girls’ Open on January 12 had 28 players registered and concluded with a three way tie: Jessica Hyatt, Rochelle Ballantyne and WFM Raydily Rosario scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $84 each.
The Andre Harding Action that concluded on January 11 had 34 players registered and was won by IM Justus Williams and FM Marcus Miyasaka, who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win $120 each. Daniel Winn won a class prize of $80 for his 3 out of 4 performance, as wel as the upset prize, while Michael Li, Aditeya Das and Kireet Panuganti shared in a class prize, winning $26.67 for their 3 out of 4 score.
The Thursday Open that concluded on January 11 had 34 players registered and was won by Nkosi Nkululeko who scored 5 out of 6 to win the $340 first place prize. John Towsen, George Berg and Joseph Cuscianna scored 4.5 out of 6, winning $151.67 each, while Tim Walters won a class prize of $57 for his 4 out of 6 score.
The Rated Beginner Open on January 7 had 51 players registered and finished with a 4-way tie: Jonathan Hsieh, Joseph Riley, Atticus Chen and Sing Su scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $159.50 each.
The January Under 2000 that concluded on January 7 had 44 players registered and was won by Leandro Ulloa, who scored 5 points to win the $717 first place prize. Naveen Paruchuri and Luis Ulloa scored 4 points to win $251 each, while Robert Thorstad and Yidong Chen scored 3 out of 5 to share in a class prize, winning $107.50 each. The Mixed Doubles Winners were Audrey Zhou 3.5 and Mihir Bafna for a combined score of 7 points.
The January FIDE Premier Open that concluded on January 7 had 42 players registered and was won by IM Mykola Bortnyk, who scored 4.5 out of 5 to win the $1014 first place prize. Joseph Zeltsan and James Y Oh scored 4 points, winning $285 each. CM Eshaan Hebbar won a class prize of $317 for his 3.5 out of 5 score.
We look forward to seeing you at the club soon!
Endgame Corner, by IM Silas Esben Lund
In this endgame column, we shall look into positions with RB vs RN, that is: bishop versus knight with an additional rook on the board. In general, I do not buy into the idea that RB is stronger than RN, but in positions where the bishop is solidly anchored and control an important part of the board, the RB side is often able to generate play with both king and rook around that bishop. Most examples I have seen as proof that RB is stronger than RN fits this description. For instance, take a look into
Israel Gelfer's "Positional Chess Handbook", and you will see what I mean: The examples are great but all follow the same pattern. This notion is a bit abstract, and I hope that the 3 examples below will make the point more clear. First, as always, try to solve the positions as exercises. The solutions will be given later.
Jerolim, J. v.Rivera, Carmelo Olympiad-11 Preliminaries Amsterdam, 1954.09.05
You can play through the games with commentary here.
Exercise 1: Black to move
Karaklajic, Nikola v. Taimanov, Mark E Olympiad-12 Final A, Moscow, 1956.09.22 Exercise 2: Black to move.
Paaske, Asger vs. Lund, Silas Esben Politiken Cup 25th, Copenhagen, 2003.07.25
Exercise 3: Black to move.
Jerolim, J.....vs. Rivera, Carmelo
Exercise 1: Black to move
Solution: 29... h5 The minority attack with h5-h4 will create weaknesses on the kingside. And capturing on h4 leaves Black with 2 passed pawns in the center. The anchored bishop on c6 is controlling the long diagonal and pointing towards the kingside, and the rook and pawn will target the dark squares over there.
30. Kf2 Rf5+ 31. Ke3 h4 32. gxh4 Other moves are not great either. (32. Ne2 Rf3+ 33. Kd4 Rf2) (32. Rf2 Rg5 33. Kf4 f6 followed by 34. Z0 e5+)
32... Rf3+ 33. Kd4 Rf4+ 34. Kd3 Rxh4 Black has achieved what he wanted: 2 passed pawns in the center while keeping the pieces active and the position under control.
35. Kc2 f5 36. Rf2 f4 37. Kd3 e5 38. b4 a6 39. Rd2 Rh3+ 40. Kc2 Ke6 41. Kb2 e4 42. Ne2 Ke5 43. Nd4 e3 44. Nxc6+ bxc6 45. Rc2 f3 0-1
Karaklajic, Nikola vs. Taimanov, Mark E
Exercise 2: Black to move.
Solution: 32... Rh8 Black needs the additional rook to support the break h5-h4 and target the dark squares on the kingside. Again we see a strong bishop on the long diagonal, albeit not anchored this time.
33. Rg1 g4 34. e4 A desperate try to create counterplay.
34…fxe4 35. Rf1 (35. Ke3 Rf8 36. Nxe4 Rf3+ wins the knight.
35... Rd8 36. Rf4 Rd7 37. Nxe4 Rd4 38. Nd2 Rxf4 A good time to transform the game into a winning endgame B vs N.
39. gxf4 Kf6 40. Nf1 h4 Instead, winning is 40... e5 41. fxe5+ (41. Ke3 h4) 41... Kxe5 42. Ne3 Kd4 Black uses the principle of two weaknesses: He has a potential passed pawn on the kingside, and can target a2 on the queenside as well.
41. Ne3 g3 41... Bf3+ 42. Kf2 e5 now comes too late: 43. f5 Kg5 44. h3 and White is breaking up the kingside.
42. hxg3 hxg3 43. a3 Be4 44. Kf1 Bf3 45. b4 e5 46. f5 1/2-1/2
Paaske, Asger vs. Lund, Silas Esben
Exercise 3:
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Be7 4. Ngf3 Nf6 5. Bd3 c5 6. dxc5 dxe4 7. Nxe4 Nxe4 8. Bxe4 Qxd1+ 9. Kxd1 Bxc5 10. Ke2 Nd7 11. Be3 Bxe3 12. Kxe3 Nc5 13. Nd2 Nxe4 14. Nxe4 Ke7 15. Rhd1 Bd7 16. f4 Rhd8 17. Rd2 Bc6 18. Rad1 Rxd2 19. Rxd2 h6 20. g3 Rg8 21. Nd6 g5 22. fxg5 hxg5 23. Nc4
Our solution starts a bit earlier than the exercise diagram. There was a time where Black wanted to keep the additional rook on the board, to help the bishop support the dark squares: 23…Rh8 (23... b6 is the move I am trying to avoid, for two reasons: 1) I want to be able to defend the b7-pawn with my bishop, and have an anchored bishop on c6 2) The move b7-b6 would give White a 'hook' - a point to break on either a5 or c5. In the latter case, it would be easier for White to create a passed pawn.)
24. Ne5 (24. Na5 Bh1 25. Rd1 Rxh2 is the point of Rh8.) 24... Be8 25. Rf2 f6 26. Ng4 Rf8 Temporary passivity - the bishop will come out soon.
27. c4 Bh5 28. h3 Bg6 With the idea of ...Bf5.
29. Rd2 Rc8 30. b3 a6 Toying with b7-b5.
31. a4 It was possibly better to allow the pawn push b7-b5, but in those situations it is hard to give advice. A choice between two evils!
31…a5 Fixing White's pawns on light squares.
32. Nf2 Rh8 33. Kd4 Looking for counterplay on the queenside. This is our original diagram position for the exercise.
Solution: 33…Rd8+ This time, Black seeks the exchange of rooks, mainly because of the fixed structure a4/a5 on the queenside, and the additional target on b3. This is enough to win the pure bishop versus knight endgame.
34. Kc3 Rxd2 35. Kxd2 Kd6 36. Nd1 Bf5 (An unnecessary loss of time. Better was the immediate 36... f5)
37. h4 gxh4 38. gxh4 Bg6 39. Kc3 f5 40. b4 axb4+ 41. Kxb4 f4 42. a5 e5 43. Nf2 e4 44. h5 Bf5 45. Kc3 e3 46. Nd3 f3 47. c5+ Kc7 48. Nb4 Be4 49. h6 f2 50. h7 f1=Q $1 51. h8=Q Qa1+ 0-1
IM Silas Esben Lund, Marshall Spectator Endgame Columnist
Chess Toons
En Passant
Leonid Ivanovic from Serbia has earned his place in the history books by becoming the first player under the age of nine to defeat a grandmaster in classical chess.
While cheating at the game’s top level is rare, platforms and mathematicians alike work tirelessly to ensure the game’s integrity.
By beating none other than world champion Ding Liren, Alireza Firouzja joined the leading pack at the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk aan Zee.
Problems, Problems, curated by Alexander George
M. Euwe, 1920
Mate in 2.
In an interview with Pal Benko in 1978, Euwe said he had only ever composed this one problem. "I made it only because I needed one for my column and I had none with me," Euwe said. Does anyone know of other problems by World Champions?
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Pal Benko, 1968
Solution to Benko 1968: 1.Bc4! Kf5 2.Qf3+ Kg6 3.Qf7# or 1...Ke5 2.Qd5+ Kf6 3.Qg5#.
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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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