Grandmaster Teams with Brooklyn Theatre Company

The Cadre, an emerging theater company, today announced that Alex Lenderman, renowned Grandmaster chess player, will lead a fundraiser for Art of Attack, the company's upcoming original play about two Russian brothers' addiction to chess. The event will take place on Sunday, August 22nd, from 1 PM - 5 PM, at Holley Plaza in Washington Square Park and will give attendees the opportunity to compete against Lenderman for $10 per game. Prizes include tickets to see Art of Attack as well as chess sets and free lessons courtesy of the New York Chess and Game Shop. Tickets for Art of Attack are available at http://www.fringenyc.org/basic_page.php?ltr=A#ArtofA. The play is part of the annual New York International Fringe Festival (http://www.fringenyc.org/) and can be seen at the First Floor Theater of La Mama (74 East 4th Street, New York, NY).

In Art of Attack, a hopeful reunion of the long-estranged sons of a chess master turns into a nightmare, as their obsession with chess renders reconciliation impossible and madness inevitable. Merritt's fast-paced drama questions the strength of familial bonds to resist the appeal of an all-consuming passion.

Playwright Asa Merritt graduated from Columbia University in 2006 and has also studied at the Moscow Art Theater. His short play Kids on Ice premiered at the Centerstage Rebel Verses Festival. Director Joshua Brody is a 2007 graduate of Yale University and will be starting his MFA at the University of California - San Diego in the fall. He assistant directed the Tony-nominated revival of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming, directed by Daniel Sullivan and originated the role of "Boy" in the world premiere of Neil LaBute's The Distance From Here at The Almeida Theatre, UK, directed by David Leveaux. Producer Sarah Wansley is the Artistic Director of Aporia Theater, with whom she produced The Disappearance of Jonah as part of the NYC Fringe 2008, and current works as the Assistant to the Producing Director at The Flea Theater.

The cast includes Patrick Barrett, Jared Houseman and Cordelia Istel. Patrick Barrett has appeared in Proof (Minor Latham Playhouse), Romeo and Juliet (Riverside Theater) and The Disappearance of Jonah (D.C. Fringe Festival). Jared Houseman's theater credits includeThe Woman, Uncle Vanya, The Tamer Tamed, Alphabet City VI, A Mysterious Way and Emily (NY); Scarecrow, The Great Pretenders, Halal El Mashakel (Adelaide Fringe Festival), and Unpeople (Australia). Cordelia Istel is a recent graduate of Yale University, where she performed in over 16 productions, also serving as the Co-Director of control group, Yale's only experimental theater ensemble.  Past NYC productions include Combustion at the BAM Hillman Attic Studio, Boro Tales: Brooklyn at HERE Arts Center, and The Privilege of Death at the Gene Frankel Theater.
For more information, please visit www.artofattackplay.com or http://www.facebook.com/artofattack.

Aleksandr "Alex" Lenderman is a Russian-American chess player who won the U16 (under 16 years old) division of the 2005 World Youth Chess Championship with a score of 9/10 (+8 =2 -0). He holds a title of Grandmaster (GM). On the July 2009 FIDE rating list, he held an Elo rating of 2504, ranking him 736th in the world and 28th in the United States. Lenderman was the first American to win a gold medal at the World Youth Chess Championship since Tal Shaked became World Junior Champion in 1997. This gave him the title of World Champion Under 16 (years old). His USCF rating as of March 2010 is 2640. Alex plays on the Internet Chess Club under the handle 'manest' and gives free simuls periodically. In 2009, he announced after completing his second year at Brooklyn College, he planned to end his studies there and become a professional chess player.

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