The Marshall Spectator
May 27, 2026
In This Issue:
From The Skittles Room
Endgame Corner, by IM Silas Esben Lund
Marcel Duchamp at MoMa, by Dr. Frank Brady & Maxine Brady
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.
Last weekend in Round Rock, Texas, US Chess hosted the K-8 National Championships and many New York teams and Marshall Members were in attendance. Congratulations to the team from Hunter who won clear first place, led by top scorer Bryan Enming Lin who finished with a perfect score of 7 out of 7 to also win the title of national champion as an individual.
Looking abroad, the Pan American U7-U17 Championships were held in El Salvador, and many Marshall regulars represented their home country at the event. In the Under-15 Girls, WCM Allyson Yu won the gold with a 7½/9 score, picking up 76 rating points. With this result, Yu crossed the 1900 rating threshold and earned her direct WFM title. Allyson Yu captured the U-15 girls’ gold medal at just 9 years old, making her the youngest WFM in US history. Several MCC members delivered outstanding performances at the recent XV Pan-American U7-U17 Chess Championship. For a comprehensive overview of the results, you can check out this USChess article, which also features Allyson’s own annotated game analysis.
Other outstanding results include Charlotte Chang earning silver in the U-11 girls’ section, Eric Liu achieved an impressive 4th place finish in the U-11 open, and Chloe Chan who tied for first but won the silver medal on tie-breaks, representing her home country of Canada admirably.
Looking ahead to this weekend, there is an exciting event in Trumbull CT, where Chess For Wishes will be running an event to raise funds for the Make A Wish foundation. If you’re able to attend, please support this effort to help with a wonderful cause.
Last week we enjoyed a visit from Sofia Polgár along with renowned chess photographer David Llada for our inaugural Chess and Arts Fair. The event was moderated by IM Rusa Goletiani and Vivien Schweitzer. It was a memorable event, and we look forward to making it an annual tradition.
Looking further ahead on the calendar, we are looking forward to a Lecture and Book signing with Shernaz Kennedy on Tuesday June 2.
Just a few days after the Shernaz Kennedy book event, we will have another author visit the club for a book signing: Legendary Chess.com Chief Chess Officer Danny Rensch. He will visit the club to sign copies of his book “Dark Squares.”
Our old friends, GM Andrew Soltis and IM Jay Bonin will also be presenting at the club in June!
Looking further ahead to this summer, we’re thrilled to announce our annual Super Swiss will once again be held at 23 West 10th Street.
The tournament will be held from July 15-19, 2026.
Prize Fund: $10,150, Norms possible!, Rating floor: 2000+ FIDE
Escalating entry fee: $550 Now through June 30th, $650 July 1st-12th, $750 July 13th-15th.
Registration is now live on our event webpage. You can register HERE.
Looking back over the last two weeks, we have had a plethora of events for our members to participate in.
The Rated Beginner Open on May 24 had 38 players registered and was won by Bruno Naor, Miles Schill, Ben Bar, and Brooks Harris who scored 3 out of 3 to win $118.75 each.
The Morning Under 1600 on May 24 had 28 players registered and was won by Jayden Ross Chan, Andrew Yicong Shao, and Brandon Sweet who scored 3 out of 3 to win $163.33 each.
The Morning Masters on May 23 had 20 players registered and was won by Richard Yi, FM Arun Dixit, and Winsley Wu who scored 2.5 out of 3 to win $105 each.
The Saturday Game 50 Open on May 23 had 44 players registered and was won by GM Brewington Hardaway who scored 4 out of 4 to win the $328 first-place prize. FM Leif Pressman scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $222, and the following players won $56.33 for their 3 out of 4 score: Arhan Javeri, Derek Zhang, and Alvin Lou.
The Under 2000 Morning Action on May 23 had 40 players registered and was won by Milo James Kong, David Ologunleko, and Salah Al-Din Bouillon who scored 3 out of 3 to win $159.67. Laksh Metha, Atreya Marballi, Ophelia H Guan, and Andy Lin scored 2 out of 3 to win $51.25 each.
The Saturday Game 50 Under 1800 on May 23 had 52 players registered and was won by Ben Davar who scored 4 out of 4 to win $408, while Jia Rui Weng and Kyle Tse won $138 each for their 3.5 out of 4 score, while Brandon Li won $211 for his 3.5 out of 4 score.
The Afternoon Action on May 22 had 17 players registered and was won by FM Arun Dixit and Pat Sukhum who scored 3 out of 3 to win $106.50.
The FIDE Blitz on May 22 had 72 players registered and was won by IM Bryan Enming Lin and Tim Shvarts who scored 8 out of 9 to win $367.50 each. CM Luc William Crim Hoffman scored 7 out of 9 to win $123, while CM Alejandro Saez Coma won $123 for his 6.5 out of 9 score. The following players won $61.50 each for their 6 out of 9 score: Sasha Arthur Kagle, Corin Gartenlaub, Charlotte Tai-En Chang, Gabriel Negussie.
The Thursday Action on May 21 had 36 players registered and was won by IM Alexander Katz, IM Gus Huston, and FM Arun Dixit who scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $133 each. FM Olson Ortiz and Sasha Arthur Kagle scored 3 out of 4 to win $46 each, while Benito Kestelman, Farirai Gumbe, and Sam Sharf scored 2.5 out of 4 to win $30.67 each.
The Weekly Under 1600 that concluded on May 20 29 players registered and was won by Alex Jacobs who scored 5.5 out of 6 to win the $241.67 first-place prize, while Nathaniel Neveu scored 5 out of 6 to win $145. The following players won $48.42 each for their 4 out of 6 score: Jeffrey Robert Horn, Daniel Ogorchock, Shreyo Banerjee, and Dario Scotto D’Abusco.
The Weekly Under 2200 that concluded on May 20 41 players registered and was won by Quan Anh Le who scored a perfect 6 out of 6 to win the $410 first-place prize. Aleksandr Gutnik scored 4.5 out of 6 to win the $273.33 second-place prize, while Matthew McColgan won a $137 class-prize for his 4 out of 6 score. The following players won $27.33 each for their 4 out of 6 performance: Navee Paruchuri, George P Berg, Robert Donald Olsen, Ciprian Solomon, and Jose De Villa. Finally, the following players won $17.25 each for ther 3.5 score: Cameron Hull, Alexander Hrithik Soll, Richard Koppenaal, and Justin Blachman.
The Morning Under 1600 on May 17 had 37 players registered and was won by Teddy Giuliano and Brandon Sweet who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $324 each.
The Rated Beginner Open on May 17 had 28 players registered and was won by Mila Schultes, David Cartagena, and Russell Goychayev who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $116.67 each.
The Monthly Under 2400 that concluded on May 17 had 73 players registered and was won by FM Joshua Colas who scored 4.5 out of 5 to win the $1,184 first-place prize. GM Sergey Kudrin and FM Haari Muthukumar scored 4 out of 5 to win $385 each, while the following players won $88.75 for their 3.5 out of 4 score: Yegna Sairam Jandhyala, Samuel Pozen, Isaac Noah Lui, and Premsai Nallapareddygari.
The Monthly Under 1800 that concluded on May 17 had 22 player’s registered and was won by Alexander Park who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win the $350 first-place prize. Mingyang Li scored a near-perfect 3.5 out of 4 to win $140, while Satyarjit Jandhyala won a $105 class-prize for their 2.5 out of 4 score, and the following players won $38.60 each for their 3 out of 4 performance: Sadiq Sekou, Oscar Naoki Finkin, Sophia Qin, Irene Lin, and Jacky Zheng.
The Under 2000 Morning Action on May 16 had 55 players registered and was won by Aaron Kudryavsky, Ben Assa, Kyle Leigh Clayton, and Dayra Jamileth Toala Velelz who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win $168.75 each, while Olivia Kivitidi and Vincent Zhu shared in a class prize winning $144.50 each for their 2 out of 3 score.
The Morning Masters on May 16 had 10 players registered and was won by Godron S Arai Lee who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win the $100 first-place prize, while Corin Gartenlaub scored 2.5 out of 3 to win $75.
The Afternoon Action on May 15 had 11 players registered and was won by FM Arun Dixit who scored a perfect 3 out of 3 to win the $83 first-place prize, while Arthur W Tollefson scored 2.5 out of 3 to win $55.
The Friday FIDE Rapid on May 15 had 12 players registered and was won by GM Brewington Hardaway who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win $60, while the following players won $15 each for their performance: Naveen Paruchuri, FM Olson Ortiz, Sasha Arthur Kagle, Arlo J Scherr, and Daniel Antalics.
The Thursday Action on May 14 had 30 players registered and was won by FM Leif Pressman who scored a perfect 4 out of 4 to win the $153 first-place prize. IM Jay Bonin and Anthony R Arena scored 3.5 out of 4 to win $89.50 each, while Kenny Bollin scored 3 out of 4 to win a $77 class prize. James Altucher and Etan Lankri scored 3 out of 4 to share in the remaining prize funds, winning $38.50 each.
We look forward to seeing you at the club soon!
Endgame Corner, by Silas Esben Lund
This is our fifth and last treatment of opposite-colored bishop (OCB) endgames, and this time we will look at positions where the additional piece on the board makes the difference. While OCB endgames have a high drawing tendency, OCB middlegames favor the player with the initiative, who can attack on the opposite color of the opponent. In a middlegame, there are (many) additional pieces on the board, but the logic applies even for complex endgames with just one additional piece. We shall see two such examples.Try to solve the exercises first, the solutions will be given at the end of the article.
Tautvaisas, Povilas vs Sorensen, Ernst C
Exercise 1: White to move. 
Koch, Berthold vs. Gligoric, Svetozar Exercise 2: Black to move.
Solutions to Exercise 1:
White wins by keeping the rook on the board and bringing the king forward, supporting the advance of the g-pawn while playing for mate as well. The extra rook helps supporting the light squares, and creates mating threats.
58. Kc1! (The game instead ended: 58. Rc5?? Rxc5 59. Bxc5+ Kf7 = the opposite-colored bishop ending without the rooks is an easy draw. 60. Ka3 Ke6 61. Kb4 Kf5 62. Ka5 Bd1 63. Kb4 Be2 {1/2-1/2.}) (58. Re6 Bf3)
58... Ra1+ 59. Kd2 Bf3 60. Ke3! a5 61. Kf4! White’s plan is clear, but there is a race on as White needs to keep tabs on the black a-pawn. 61…a4 62. g4! a3 63. g5 a2 64. Ra6 +-.
White’s coordination is perfect, with the anchored bishop on d4 pointing towards the king and supporting the march of the g-pawn while defending the weaknesses on c3 and f2. The pawn on c2 is not important. The combined force of KRBp is putting Black’s king in serious danger, who either has to allow the advance of the g-pawn or get mated - if he insists on staying in front of that pawn.
Solution to Exercise 2:
White has just captured a pawn on f7 with his bishop.
50... Qg3! (50... Kxf7? leads to perpetual check: 51. Qd7+ Kf6 52. Qd8+! No escape via g5. Kg7 53. Qe7+! Kh6 54. Qxh4+! +- etc.) (50... Qe3! -+ gives lines similar to the main continuation.)
51. Bc4 The only move to stay in the game. (51. Qxg3? hxg3-+ and the pawn promotes.) (51. Kc4 Qxd3+! 52. Kxd3 h3 Black promotes first in this race, and after some preparation, he can safely capture the bishop on f7. 53. b6 h2 54. b7 h1=Q 55. b8=Q Qd1+ 56. Kc4 Qd4+ 57. Kb3 Kxf7 -+)
51... Qxd3+! 52. Bxd3
Black quickly decided to exchange queens and enter an OCB endgame that is winning. He must avoid one pitfall though...} Be3! (52... h3?? 53. Bf1 h2 54. Bg2= White brings the king to f1 with a fortress. Notice how Black lost control of the light squares with the premature push of the h-pawn, and both kingside pawns can be blocked now.)
53. Kc4 Kf6! Black brings the king to f4 and pushes the g-pawn. That way, Black gains control over the light squares and can support the pawns.
54. Kd5 Bd4 55. Bf1 Kg5 56. b6 Kf4 (56... Bxb6 57. Kxe5 Bc7+ 58. Kd4 Kf4-+ is also winning.) 57. b7 Ba7 58. Kc4 g5 59. Kd3 g4 0-1
IM Silas Esben Lund, Marshall Spectator Contributor
Marcel Duchamp at Moma
Together with Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, Marcel Duchamp was one of the great artists of the modern era. In the current show at the Museum of Modern Art, we can see his work not only as an artist but also as a chess player.
Perhaps the most telling of Duchamp’s chess works is a painting titled “The Chess Game” (1910) showing his two older brothers playing chess in their garden.
His brothers taught Marcel to play chess, and he took to the game with what became a lifelong passion that affected not only his chess playing, but also much of his art.
Duchamp was a longtime member of the Marshall Chess Club, a master-strength player who would eventually move to an apartment right across the street, at 28 West 10 th Street, to increase his opportunity to play strong players. He influenced the American artist Man Ray in the emerging Dada movement, and the two played chess frequently at the Marshall.
Duchamp’s favorite activity was playing every Tuesday night at the Club’s Rapid Transit 10-Second-a-Move games in the 1950’s and early 60’s. He had the opportunity to compete with such giants as Bobby Fischer, Bobby’s teacher Jack Collins, and William Lombardy.
MoMa’s exhibit includes the abstract chess set Duchamp designed in Buenos Aires in 1918, and other examples of his paintings and sculpture.
The exhibit runs through August 22, 2026.
Dr. Frank Brady & Maxine Brady, Marshall Chess Club President Emeritus & Member
Chess Toons
En Passant
GM Alireza Firouzja won his first classical game against world number-one GM Magnus Carlsen as Norway Chess 2026 got off to the most dramatic of starts.
The 2026 European Women's Chess Championship kicked off in Batumi with 165 players from 32 federations competing for the continental title and ten places in the next FIDE Women's World Cup.
Chess in Africa has expanded considerably since the 1960s. Out of 54 countries, 51 are members of FIDE. It is no longer about a few strong federations, but about systematic projects in schools, youth events, national and international tournaments, as well as projects for prisons, refugee camps, and women’s chess. The shift towards a greater emphasis on chess in Africa was noted by FIDE’s decision in April 2026, to approve a rotation principle for the Chess Olympiad, giving Africa priority for hosting the 2032 event.
You could fill up a whole chess board with the 64 USA players who took the trip to Playa Salinitas, Sonsonate, El Salvador for the XV Pan-American U7-U17 Chess Championship. There’s power in numbers, as USA won five gold medals across the 12 sections. Overall, USA finished with 12 medals and finished with the most podium points out of the 25 federations in attendance.
Problems, Problems, curated by Alexander George
Hugh Blandford, 1949
White to move and win.
Here, our little pawn trudges all the way across the board only to become ...
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Solution to last issue’s problem (Vladimir Bron, 1958):
White to move and win.
1.Kf1 h2 2.a4 f3 3.a5 f6 4.a6 f5 5.a7 f4 6.a8=R!
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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!
The Marshall Chess Club
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