Four Of A Kind For Montclair Sopranos
The Montclair Sopranos are one of the most interesting teams in the PRO Chess League. Not only do they have some strong grandmasters on their roster, they also have some of the best poker players in the world.
The top players for the Sopranos are four grandmasters, buttressed by some chess-playing poker players. Let's have a closer look at how this group of players will be placing their bets.
1. GM Alex Lenderman: Lenderman is a veteran of the U.S. Chess League, a staple of the U.S. tournament circuit, and a regular contender in Titled Tuesday. The highest-rated player on the Sopranos, Lenderman is a rock-solid board one.
2. GM Pascal Charbonneau: A financial analyst in his professional life, Pascal is also a multiple-time Canadian Champion. Charbonneau once defeated five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand, at the Chess Olympiad.
3. GM Marc Arnold: Marc is a past U.S. Junior Champion with a distinguished scholastic career. He defeated a grandmaster (Walter Browne) at the age of 10. In 2011, he graduated from the Columbia Grammar and Prep School (CGPS) in New York, and recently graduated from the University of Indiana.
4. GM Mackenzie "Mac" Molner: Mac is a former Denker High School Champion. He regularly coaches the United States World Youth Chess teams. He became a grandmaster in 2013 and underlined his status as he tied for first at the U.S. Open the same year.
Here's a younger Mac when he was still chasing his IM norm!
The Sopranos are holding some other aces too. Also on the roster is world-famous poker player, Dan Smith. Any serious poker player knows about his multiple major tournament victories, and many consider him one of the absolute best players in the world. And then there's Brian Meinders, who has won a World Series of Poker bracelet!
Manager Sean Finn has already said: "If the league was switched to a poker tournament, we'd definitely win."
With a mix of three-of-a-kind strong GMs at the top of the lineup and some psychologically trained poker players, the Sopranos are going to be a fun team to watch in the East Coast U.S. division.
The PRO Chess League welcomes the Montclair Sopranos!
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