WSA's First Annual Chess Exhibition With Grandmaster Dlugy A Memorable Success!

9 Year Old Conor Liao plays Grandmaster Dlugy into a draw! The most stunning performance of the exhibition!

On Sunday, October 24, 2021, the WSA held our inaugural Washington Square Chess Exhibition. Grandmaster Maxim Dlugy gave a riveting chess strategy lecture and then proceeded to play against 23 chess enthusiasts at once! Erika Sumner, WSA Chess Exhibition Event Director said, “We are so pleased to host this monumental chess event in what are New York City’s most famous chess tables. From Bobby Fischer to Magnus Carlsen to Josh Waitzkin, the tremendous history of these tables play out daily in our park and center what’s known as NYC’s Chess District. We are excited to celebrate our park’s history and create some new history of our own.”

Grandmaster Dlugy teaches a Washington Square crowd the secrets of “maneuvering” in chess.

Players got a chance to play against Dlugy whose numerous honors include winning the Junior Chess Championship, placing top 3 in the US Chess Championships multiple times, being president of the US Chess Federation and being ranked the top chess player in the world by World Blitz Chess Association. What a memorable opportunity made possible by your donations and WSA memberships (hint, hint).

Washington Square Park Players Vs. GrandMaster Dlugy

We had a wonderfully diverse group of players including two septuagenarians, two six-year-olds, students from schools like PS41, Hunter High School, Dalton, and Saint Bernards, and several of the Chess Plaza regulars. Players ranged in strength from novice to master level.

We were delighted to partner with the Marshall Chess Club which was willing to offer a two-month membership to any player able to defeat GM Dlugy and a one-month membership to any player able to draw against him. So how did our Washington Square Park players do?

Although nobody beat him, both Anthony Kozokowski and Connor Liao made draws. Connor’s achievement was particularly impressive given that he is only 9 years old.  GM Dlugy also awarded Connor a free chess lesson at his Upper West Side chess school, Chess Max Academy. Other players who provided formidable challenges included: Aaron Blau, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Theo Dienstag, one of our six-year-olds, all of whom remained in the simul almost until the very end.

We are excited to share that we’ve already received quite a number of requests to do the event again so you can expect another installment again next year!

This year’s event was dedicated to the memory of longtime Greenwich Village resident, Washington Square Music Festival Committee Member, and community activist, Doris Deither.

2021 Washington Square Chess Exhibition Players

Thank you to each of our players: Sarfaraz Ahmed, Marcel Anderson, Simon Austen, Daniel Basov, Jean Pierre Beltran Beltran, Erik Bergren, Aaron Blau, Emilio Coslovsky,Theo Dienstag, Howard Donowitz, Sheldon "Eggs" Edmond , Reece Jackson, Anthony “Cheese” Kozikowski, Dominik Landowne, Connor Liao, Caitlin Liao, Matthew Liao, Ted Lopez, Laura Montanari, David Blue Reed, Eli Rogers, Alan Stolyarov, Jameson Wong

Special Thanks To All Those That Supported This Memorable Event

We would like to give a special thanks to Max Dlugy for creating such a memorable experience for our WSA players. And to Erika Sumner and Maria Passannante-Derr for all your efforts in making this such a wonderful event. And of course, to Ed Feldman, avid chess player and Parks Dept Chief of Financial Resources and Budgets, this couldn’t have been done without all of your help. You were amazing throughout the process and we are so appreciative of all that you did. Lastly, thank you to William Morrison, Washington Square Parks Administrator, for your continued partnership in helping WSA events positively impact our community.

WSA Board Member And Chess Exhibition Director introduces the event to the crowd in Washington Square Park

Parks Dept Chief of Financial Resources and Budgets Ed Feldman introduces Grandmaster Dlugy

WSA’s Erika Sumner poses with our Parks PEP officers whose presence makes the park safer for all of us. Thank you!!!

WSA Board Members Sugar Barry and Ashley Schlag pose while chess players behind them contemplate their next moves.

WSA President Trevor Sumner poses with Chess Exhibition Director Erika Sumner as Ed Feldman and Max Dlugy prepare the chess lecture on meaneuvering.