chess in 2008, IM norms and top finishes followed quickly. He was a co-winner at the Eastern Class Championship in Sturbridge (2009), the New York State Championship (2010), and the Liberty Bell Open in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2011). He tied for 3rd at the Miami Open (2008) with 6½/9 and reported on the top performances, including his own in the Smith–Morra Gambit against fellow IM Justin Sarkar. He tied for 2nd at the Wunsiedel Schachfest in Wunsiedel, Germany (2011). On June 20, 2010, he achieved an upset in the New York Invitational Tournament against former U.S. champion Joel Benjamin. In August 2011, at the 112th US Open, he defeated Loek van Wely in a spectacular game that has been widely republished in chess database top game selections, in print, in chess videos, and in chess blogs. In particular, GM Kevin Spraggett prefaced his game analysis by observing that "Esserman had already established a reputation for producing some Tal-like masterpieces." Due to a late round loss, Esserman finished in a multi-way tie for 8th place with 7/9, a half-point behind a 7-way tie for 1st. Esserman's games have been featured for their instructional value and deep tactical ideas in Larry Christiansen's popular Internet Chess Club broadcast, "Attack with LarryC" on 11 March 2009, 25 November 2009, and 17 August 2011. In February 2016, Esserman competed in the prestigious Gibraltar Masters chess festival. There he defeated former world championship challenger Nigel Short. Later in the tournament, he had the opportunity to face five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand . As White, Esserman played his favorite Morra Gambit. The players agreed to a draw after a repetition of moves, but many commentators felt that Esserman could have won. A few weeks later in the Capelle-La-Grande International, Esserman defeated Grandmaster Yuri Vovk, again with the Morra Gambit, and drew world champion candidate Artur Yusupov. In March 2016, during the Reykjavik Open, Esserman drew grandmasters Richárd Rapport and Alexander Beliavsky. Teaching and writing Esserman has given lectures and simuls in his specialty opening, the Smith–Morra Gambit, at various chess clubs. He is the author of the book Mayhem in the Morra!, published in 2012. He is an occasional contributor to Chess Life, and frequent contributor to the United States Chess League news blog. Marc Esserman continues to teach on the streaming platform, Twitch, where he gives lectures on various chess games and concepts. Other interests Esserman is