Marc Esserman

Esserman – Stauffer · 2000 · 1–0

US Masters 2000 — the celebrated brilliancy of a sixteen-year-old Esserman: the paradoxical king move 11.Ke2! in the middle of the attack, then 12.Rxh7! and mate in 18 (Alekhine's Defense).

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Esserman – Tsai · 2003 · 1–0

U.S. Championship 2003 — a sharp early-career attack against the Najdorf Sicilian.

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Esserman – Sarkar · 2008 · 1–0

Miami Open 2008 — a sixteen-move Smith-Morra Gambit brilliancy against fellow International Master Justin Sarkar.

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Esserman – Mikhalevski · 2008 · 1–0

Miami Open 2008 — a Four Knights win over grandmaster Victor Mikhalevski.

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Esserman – Martirosov · 2008 · 1–0

Harvard Open 2008 — a Smith-Morra Gambit kingside storm.

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Esserman – Shabalov · 2009 · 1–0

Eastern Class Championship 2009 — Esserman turns the Shabalov–Shirov Gambit (7.g4) against its own co-namesake, four-time U.S. champion Alexander Shabalov.

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Esserman – Hracek · 2009 · 1–0

Marshall Chess Club Open 2009 — a Smith-Morra Gambit win over grandmaster Zbyněk Hráček.

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Esserman – Simpson · 2009 · 1–0

U.S. Chess League 2009 — a sacrificial Open Ruy Lopez brilliancy, the exchange sacrifice 13.Rxc6 and 15.Nxf7 tearing open Black's king, from Esserman's celebrated USCL season.

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Esserman – Bartell · 2009 · 1–0

U.S. Chess League 2009 — a Smith-Morra Gambit win over International Master Thomas Bartell.

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Esserman – Benjamin · 2010 · 1–0

New York International 2010 — an upset of former U.S. champion Joel Benjamin.

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Esserman – Diamant · 2011 · 1–0

Lubbock SPICE Cup 2011 — a Ruy Lopez win over grandmaster Andre Diamant.

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Esserman – Van Wely · 2011 · 1–0

112th U.S. Open, 2011 — the celebrated Smith-Morra Gambit brilliancy "Marc of Excellence", built on the knight sacrifice 11.Nd5 against grandmaster Loek van Wely.

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Gulko – Esserman · 2013 · 0–1

U.S. Chess League 2013 — a win with the Black pieces over former Soviet and U.S. champion Boris Gulko.

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Esserman – Short · 2016 · 1–0

Gibraltar Masters 2016 — a French Tarrasch win over former world championship challenger Nigel Short.

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Esserman – Anand · 2016 · ½–½

Gibraltar Masters 2016 — Esserman wheels out his beloved Smith-Morra Gambit against five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand and holds the draw by repetition, with onlookers feeling he had let a win slip.

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Esserman – Vovk · 2016 · 1–0

Cappelle-la-Grande 2016 — another Smith-Morra Gambit scalp, over grandmaster Yuri Vovk.

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Esserman – Gukesh · 2017 · 1–0

Cannes 2017 — the Smith-Morra Gambit (again 11.Nd5) defeats a ten-year-old Dommaraju Gukesh, seven years before he became World Champion.

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Esserman – Perez · 2018 · 1–0

Gibraltar Masters 2018 — a late-career Smith-Morra Gambit win.

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