in 1877 and was the second-oldest chess club in the U.S. until it closed in 2002). Marshall led the club until his death in 1944; for quite some time after that, his wife presided over the club.

Lisa Lane, an American former chess player, playing in the Marshall Chess Club

In his 1942 autobiography, My Fifty Years of Chess, Marshall wrote, “Here we are glad to greet old friends and help to develop the young players of today. Many of the leading players of the country are members and new talent is constantly being encouraged.” This is just as true today as it was nearly 80 years ago when he put those words to paper.

Stellar Reputation and Extraordinary Achievements

When a world-class chess player founds a chess club in one ofthe largest cities in the United States, other elite chess players take notice. That’s why the Marshall Chess Club in NYC has attracted some of the foremost players from around the world. Over the years, its members have included noteworthy names such as Fabiano Caruana, Reuben Fine, Arthur Drake, Hikaru Nakamura, Bobby Fischer, as well as filmmaker Stanley Kubrick and talk show host Howard Stern.

In 1965, Bobby Fischer participated in the Capablanca Memorial Tournament that was held in Havana, Cuba; he played via Teletype from the Marshall Chess Club. It was also the location of the “Game of the Century” – the 1956 match between Fischer, then 13 years old, and a 26-year-old Donald Byrne. Fischer prevailed over Byrne, making chess history.

Magnus Carlsen at the Marshall Chess Club

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