A Spring Evening at the Marshall Chess Club- June 3, 2003

The following photos were taken  indoors without flash using a Leica M7 with Ilford Delta 3200 film. At the time it seemed like just another night at the Marshall Chess Club, but with the passing of some 18 years we can appreciate how special it was to have such great chess talent together in one room. Young Fabiano Caruana has become one of the strongest players in the world having contended for the world championship in 2018 where he lost to the once-in-a generation talent, Magnus Carlsen. 

Some interesting characters such as GM Aleksander Wojtkiewicz and IM Emory Tate have since passed on and we miss their brilliant play. 

That evening in 2003 it was a really unusual thing that the championship game would be live streamed over the internet, something that we take for granted today.  Another technological revolution would soon make film photography practically obsolete but there is a wonderful alchemy to these intimate, low light photos that digital photography just can't duplicate. 

In 2020 and 2021 the world has had to contend with the pandemic of COVID-19. That, and the phenomenon of internet chess, has no doubt had a negative impact on the type of chess culture that was taken for granted nearly two decades ago.  Gathering, hanging out, kibitzing and joking; it does seem like a bygone era.

Enjoy, this photo blog and check out some of the exciting chess diagrams below. If you like this blog, please subscribe and share!

As the late, great GM William Lombardy was fond of saying, "always check; it might be mate!"

GM Aleksander Wojtkiewicz

Gregory Shahade

IM Emory Tate and future GM Fabiano Caruana

GM Leonid Yudasin and Lev Gub

Lev Gub

Yudasin looks on as GM Jan Elvhest considers his move.

FM Boris Privman

GM Alexander Stripunsky

IM Emory Andrew Tate Jr. and GM Aleksander Wojtkiewicz 

IM Tate

GM "Wojo" Wojtkiewicz

IM Greg Shahade

Tate and Wojo

Deep think by Tate

GM Pavel Blatny and GM Jan Elvhest

GM Stripunsky and IM Jay Bonin

Elvhest v Stripunsky

Elvhest v Stripunsky

Stripunsky makes his move...

Elvhest v. Stripunsky

Wojo v GM Yudasin

GM Pavel Blatny v. Lev Gub

GM Pavel Blatny v. Lev Gub

IM Jay Bonin

Gub, with Jay Bonin in the background.

GM Yudasin with the black pieces against Gub

GM Stripunsky with the white pieces agains GM Blatny for the championship. 

GM Blatny extends his hand in victory over GM Stripunsky.

Wojo

Yudasin

US Champion from 1909-1936, GM Frank Marshall

IM Tate forms a fist after unleashing ...Bd4+ against FM Privman (see diagram below).

Privman v Tate after ...Bd4+!! Notice Tate's king is naked to the world and can definitely feel a breeze. White can't capture the bishop on d4 because ...N:f3+ will result in the pawn sprouting wings!

Privman unhappily plays the forced Rf2.

Lev Gub looks with consternation at Tate's devastating move R:f7 (see diagram below).

Tate v Gub
Having just sacrificed his queen, Tate eschews the recapture of the opponent's queen and opts for R:f7!!!  Black is frozen and he helplessly watched as his time ran out.