After a pause of more than one week, play resumed yesterday in the Progressive Chess Club Quadrangular Masters' Tournament at the Cafe Monopol, with Prague's Oldrich Duras and United States Champion Frank J. Marshall recording victories. Duras, playing Black in a Queen's Gambit Accepted, escaped from a dangerous position to defeat Charles Jaffe, while Marshall, also handling the Black pieces, pushed hard against Oscar Chajes in a Queen's Gambit Declined, at last overcoming his opponent's resistance in an endgame of Rook and Knight against Rook and Bishop. After two rounds of play Duras leads the event with 2 points, followed by Marshall with 1 and Chajes and Jaffe with 1/2 point each. The Labor Day holiday having now passed, play will continue on a more regular basis, with the third round set for tomorrow, September 6, and succeeding rounds scheduled for every second day thereafter. Yesterday's contests took place before a sizable number of spectators, a good sign that, even after the conclusion of the recent Rice Chess Club Masters' Tournament, New Yorkers still retain a healthy appetite for top-notch chess.
Jaffe built up a powerful attacking position vs. Duras, only to see the entire carefully-constructed edifice come crashing to the ground in the space a few moves. We leave to the analysts the determination of the spot where White went wrong.
Marshall as Black played in his usual uncompromising style vs. Chajes' Queen's Gambit, sacrificing a pawn in the endgame in the interest of applying constant pressure to his opponent's position. White seemed to hold the balance through much of the contest, but at last succumbed to Marshall's relentless assault. In the final position Chajes' King stands defenseless against the small army of invading pieces.
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