On the street
hustling in Washington Square Park
230 Thompson Street, Greenwich Village, open 24/7
Two chess shops on one street: Chess Forum is at no.219
blitzing/kibitzing
the ‘Elvis’ sandwich (peanut butter, bacon, banana, maple syrup, optional mayonnaise) is available at the nearby Peanut Butter Company
a popular venue in Central Park
An evening at Marshall Chess Club
Frank J. Marshall
Club President Frank Brady, Fischer’s genial biographer, officiates at the weekly rapidplay
Asa Hoffmann (left) v George Berg. Beside them, Yefim Trego (centre) faces Englishman Rawle Allicock
Chess gladiator Asa recalls a youthful encounter with Edward Lasker
club merchandise
mate in two
Legendary chess player, writer and teacher GM William Lombardy © Kingpin Chess Magazine
Bill’s memoir Understanding Chess: My System, My Games, My Life is an amusing and instructive tour of his career. If you prize humour and clarity in chess writing, this book is for you. As Kevin Spraggett said of him:
‘There was something unpretentious about the GM’s style of writing that made it seem as though he was speaking directly to the reader, one on one as it were . . . I always came away with a feeling that I had actually learned something useful. That I had broadened my understanding of chess.’
You can order an autographed copy of Understanding Chess for US$54 plus US$6 shipping. Send a cheque to:
William Lombardy, 12 Stuyvesant Oval – 6B, New York, NY 10009, USA.
Bill is writing a book about his most famous pupil, Bobby Fischer. Can’t wait to see it.
IM Renato Naranja
Former Champion of the Philippines Renato Naranja is another distinguished Marshall member. Renato represented the Philippines in six Olympiads and at the 1970 Palma de Mallorca Interzonal drew with Fischer, Smyslov and Portisch and beat Reshevsky. He took a long break from chess after emigrating to the United States in 1989 to work as a computer engineer.
Describing himself as a better tactician than strategist, Renato recalls this white-knuckle ride with Milan Matulovic as his most memorable game:
Funny: I’m at the chess shop’s backend, with my laptop.