GM Mark Paragua. Photo from the 08 National Open, Betsy Dynako
Can you find tournament winner Paragua's move in the following position, from his third round battle against IM Milos Szecic?
Position after 25.Qf3
Alejandro won a nice final round game against GM Sergey Erenburg.
IM Norm Scoring
Elliott Liu narrowly missed a GM norm; he needed to win his final round game against tournament winner Paragua. In his attacking win over GM Carlos Garcia-Palermo that clinched his IM norm, Elliott found himself in the following position. Black just played 27...Qd7, which looks like a great defensive move at first glance. How does White avoid the queen trade?
Liu-Garcia-Palermo, Position after 27...Qd7
Mackenzie Molner's key win was an attacking Italian game against Julio Becerra, which ended brutally, with 44.Rh-g6!
Marshall International Quiz by Elizabeth Vicary
1. When did GM Alejandro Ramirez first hear about the Marshall International?
GM Alejandro Ramirez in the Marshall Chess Club's backyard. Photo Elizabeth Vicary
2. How did Ramirez know that his sixth round opponent, GM Mark Paragua, would accept his draw offer on move 9, despite having the white pieces?
3. In which specialized aspect of video game design, Ramirez’s intended career, does the grandmaster feel his real talents lie?
4. What move did GM Julio Becerra play in this position, causing a chill to run down Ramirez’s spine and the thought “Oh my God, I really suck” to flash through his head?
5. Which IM exclaimed loudly after round five, “Beating a sucker is the greatest thrill there is!”?
6. Which young talent (and runner-up for the USCL 4th Board All Star Award) lamented his recent tournament results, calling his play “a shadow of what it used to be”?
7. What characteristic does Ron Burnett warn new students that they will “almost certainly need” in order to become a strong chessplayer?
8. What New York chess legend convinced the two Columbia Journalism graduate students who shot this interview to help him clean his apartment?
GM Jaan Ehlvest and the bust of Frank Marshall. Photo Elizabeth Vicary
9. What’s peculiar about the bust of Frank Marshall on display at his namesake chess club?
10. What surprising incentive did TD Steve Immit report that organizer Bill Goichburg was giving out for free to first-time tournament players at last weekend’s New York State Open?
11.
This position looks suspiciously like White has made six moves, while Black has only made three. What standard opening variation did this come out of, and which two players reached it in round six?