The United States Chess Championship, 1845-1996

The United States Chess Championship, 1845-1996 SECOND EDITION

by

Andy Soltis and Gene H. McCormick

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers JefJerson, North Clro/ina. Ilnd London

Table of Contents Introduction ONE

Two THREE FOUR

FIVE SIX

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1845: A Champion Is Crowned 1857: Paul Morphy 1871-1889: The King Is a Captain 1891-1906: The Years of Confusion 1907-1936: The Champion Who Enjoyed It The Reshevsky Years (1936-1942)

3 10 20 27 37 45

Between pages 66 and 67 there are 8 pages ofplates containing 16 photographs

The Post-War Years (1944-1954) The Fischer Era (1957-1969) Primus Inter Pares (1972-1979)

NINE TEN The Russians Are Coming! (1980-1985) ELEVEN Champions Galore (1986-1991) TWELVE The Talent Wheel (1992-1996)

67 91 127 157 180 201

US. Championship Summary Individual Records Openings Index ECO Openings Index General Index

223 225 227 228 229

SEVEN EIGHT

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Introduction Several days after the tournament was over, I was eating Christmas dinner at the home of my girlftiend's boss ... Seated immediately to my left was Charles Fried, the former Solicitor General in the Reagan Administration. We were exchanging pleasantries when he asked me what I "do. " What I "do, " of course, is play chess ... But if I try to explain this to someone I find that his eyes will glaze over. I had come to falling back on what I "am"- that is, a chess grandmaster. This time I responded for the first time in my life, "I am the U.S. Chess Champion. " Ah, of course. To merely "play" chess is silly. But ifyou are U. S. Champion, then it all makes sense. -Patrick Wolff in American Chess Journal

For more than a century and a half, people have been defining themselves by way of the United States Chess Championship. The world's oldest national championship remains a unique and exceptional event more than a century and a half after its start. Begun as a challenge match in 1845, the u.s. Championship has been decided by tournament play for most of its long history. In fact, the First American Chess Congress of 1857 appears to be the first tournament for an American championship in any sport. (There were earlier U.S. boxing and checker champions based on winning matches.) The idea of a national chess championship, whether decided by match or tournament play, spread abroad - to Germany in 1879, Russia in 1889, Spain 1902, France 1914, Sweden 1917, Yugoslavia 1935 and so on. Nearly 200 players have competed for the title of U.S. Champion in matches and tournaments held during its first 150 years. The

cast of characters included the expected number of bankers and professors, doctors and lawyers, computer programmers - as well as others as diverse as a professional soldier (George Henry MacKenzie), an inventor (Edward Lasker), a movie censor (Sidney Bernstein), a cattle rancher (Jackson Showalter), and a priest (William Lombardy). Forty years ago almost all the players were amateurs for whom the championship was a hobby; coday, virtually all are professionals for whom the championship promises prestige, prize money and possible advancement towards the world championship. And as the tournament became more professional, it also became more competitive. For example, there was only one match - and no tournaments - for the national title be(ween 1910 and 1935. This was in part a commentary on the lethargy of organizers and in part a reflection of the superiority of one player, Frank Marshall, during that era. But

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, Introduction

since 1983 it has been held on an annual basis - and every worthy U.S. player dreams of winning the nation's most prestigious tournament. Today the struggle for the title begins months before the opening ceremony, as players strive to obtain a high rating to win an invitation. As late as the 1960s as many as five of the 12 or so invited players might turn down their invitation to the tournament - and the players who made the grade often included a few past-their-prime masters in their 50s or

60s. By the mid-1990s such situations were rare. The competition for a spot in the 1994 championship was so intense that even John Fedorowicz, at 36 close to his prime, found himself left out. Gata Kamsky couldn't accept his invitation in 1995 - if only because he would be playing a match for a higher title, world champion, at the time. This book is intended to remind all of us what the championship has been - and what it can be.

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Chapter One

1845: A Champion Is Crowned chess. At the Cafe Rousseau had narrowly lost an enormous lOO-game match to the great Livonian gambiteer Lionel Kieseritsky in 1839 and had also played a series of offhand games with Adolf Anderssen, the German schoolteacher and problem composer who would later be hailed as unofficial world champion. About 1842 Rousseau emigrated to the New York and quickly made a name for himself by defeating Benjamin Oliver and John W Schulten in serious matches. This was an achievement. The German-born Schulten was then a New York-based wine merchant whose frequent trips to Paris and Berlin helped him secure games with several of the (Op Continental players of the day, including the famed Parisians Pierre Saint-Amant, Louis de la Bourdonnais and Arnous de Riviere. A contemporary described Schulten as continually "sleeping and dreaming chess" and, in a career of 30 years of offhand and serious games, he managed to lose brilliantly to just about every great player in the world. By defeating Schulten and Oliver, Rousseau was soon recognized as the leader of the New Orleans club. The club was then one of the most active and competitive in the country and included a number of talented amateurs including Ernest Morphy, D.A.P. Ford and Charles Le Carpentier. (A number of Rousseau's victims, and Rousseau himself, turn up in the Frances Parkinson Keyes novel,

Ninety-nine out of 100 knowledgeable chess players would readily identify the first United States champion as Paul Morphy. And they would be wrong. That lOOth player might know the name, but probably nothing else about the first man to win a competition for national supremacy in America. So, to set the record straight - and to appreciate the play and spirit of the times before Morphy - the search for a United States champion begins in 1845. In the 1840s America was a growing nation but it remained for some time a country of distinct regions. Travel was difficult - the first passenger steam railroad had just been chartered in 1827 - and there was little contact between centers of chess activity. The leading center was Philadelphia, and this was demonstrated by a well-publicized trouncing of arch rival New York in a postal match by the score of 2-0. The other cities of note were Chicago, Washington, Baltimore, Cincinnati and New Orleans - ranking approximately in that order and each with its own local champion. But none stood higher in national regard than Charles Henry Stanley, the secretary of the New York Chess Club, and Eugene Rousseau, doyen of the New Orleans Chess Club. Rousseau was a member of a notable French family that in Europe had included assorted artists and poets and the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Eugene had received a thorough grounding in chess in his native Paris at the famous Cafe de la Regence, a gathering place for the nomads of early 19th century

The Chess Players.) Stanley (1819-1901) dominated New York and the North in much the same way that Rousseau ruled New Orleans and the South.

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The United States Chess Championship

Stanley also was an emigre, having arrived from London in 1842 to find work in the British Consulate. This left him plenty of time for chess and he soon gained a national reputation as editor of the first regularly scheduled newspaper chess column in America. He was also a problem composer (although not a very good one) and publisher of a brief-lived chess magazme. But he was best known as a player. As a teenager in London, Stanley had frequented the various "divans," or chess clubs, and was considered one of Britain's rising stars when he defeated Howard Staunton, then the acknowledged world champion, in a match at odds. (Staunton gave odds of "pawn and two," meaning he took Black in every game, let Stanley play two moves in a row at the start and played without a king's bishop pawn. Still, Stanley won the match so easily that it was considered a great loss to English chess when he left for America a short time after this match.) Soon after he arrived in the United States, Stanley found the New York Chess Club, at Barclay Street near Broadway, and defeated everyone there with ease - except Schulten. They eventually played four serious matches, the first three going to Stanley and the last to Schulten. The former Briton also knocked off Charles Vezin (11 wins, seven losses, three draws) and it was clear there was only one other man in America who could match him - the player who also had beaten Schulten: Rousseau. In an age of sectional rivalry, the North versus South appeal of a Stanley-Rousseau match must have been great. Supporters were able to drum up $1000 for a winner-take-all contest - an enormous sum in 1845. By contrast, that same $1000 figure was still the top prize in the United States championship of 1960 when it was won by Bobby Fischer. Match rules were drawn up in the manner of the day: Victory would go to the first man to win 15 games, draws not counting. The games were to take place on Rousseau's home ground at the New Orleans Chess Club in the famous Sazerac Coffee House. There would be

no time limit and no strict scheduling of rounds. Both players being gentlemen, it was assumed that no one would abuse the privilege of taking too long for a move, nor would he deny his opponent the opportunity for revenge by refusing to start a second game after the first game of the day had been decided. The match began December 1,1845, and quickly caught the attention of the country, much as Fischer versus Boris Spassky would 127 years later. The match rules didn't specify it bur it was clear that the winner would, by popular acclaim, be the number one chess player in America, the champion. Moreover, to a nation that hadn't taken the game seriously, the 1845 match was something of a breakthrough. It was clearly the first organized chess event of significance in the United States. Until the New Orleans match, chess competition meant casual meetings, usually on a Sunday afternoon in someone's sun parlor and concluded in a single day in the most relaxed of circumstances. But after 1845, chess was regarded as something that men could take seriously.

The Match That Stanley was the superior player was evidenced by the margin of his victory, 15 wins against just eight losses and eight draws. It is interesting to note that Rousseau developed what has become the standard loser's disclaimer: he was "indisposed." After falling behind 2-0 after the first day's play, Rousseau immediately took ill for several days. he resumed the match December 5th with a game that Stanley also won, which did nothing to cure Rousseau's discomfort. Stanley supports Rousseau's claim of illness in a book the winner compiled, unimaginatively titled ThirtyOne Games at Chess, Comprising the Whole Number of Games Played in a Match Between Mr. Eugene Rousseau, ofNew Orleans, and Mr. C.H Stanley, Secretary of the New York Chess Club. In the introduction, justifying the spotty quality of play, Stanley says, "It must be remembered ... that the thirty-one games now published form the whole number occurring

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1845: A Champion Is Crowned in the late match, and are not, as is usually the case with published games, a mere selection of the finest specimens of play. It must also be borne in mind that chess players, like the rest of mortality, are subject ro occasional ailments, both bodily and mental, which, ro a certain degree, with deteriorate from their capabilities of intellectual exertion. For Mr. Rousseau, in particular, allowance should be made on these grounds, it being well known among his acquaintances that on commencement of the very laborious underraking on which he had embarked, he was still suffering from the effects of a previous indisposition." Priced at 50 cents, Stanley's book was nonetheless a poor seller; it is now the rarest of United States match or tournament books. Perhaps the most important feature of the match was a contribution to opening theory. In the sixth and 16th games of the match Stanley answered Rousseau's Ruy Lopez (I e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5) with 3 ... a6, the first time the move had been tried in serious, recorded play in the United States. And one of the spectarors, barely eye-level with the chess board, was eight-year-old Paul Morphy, who had been taken ro the match by his uncle Ernest Morphy, Rousseau's match second. Taking into account Morphy's prodigious memory we can assume he made a mental note of Stanley's third move. Thirteen years later he would use it successfully against Anderssen in the match that would gain for Morphy the recognition as number one in the world-and, incidentally, to establish the opening as "The Morphy Defense." Stanley, on the other hand, lost both of the games in which he introduced 3 ... a6and soon both he and his contribution to chess theory were forgotten. To get the flavor of this historic match we'll examine a few games. Be forewarned: the quality of play is not high, particularly in the openings. C50 Giuoco Piano First Match Game, New Orleans December 1, 1845 white Stanley, black Rousseau

1 e4 e5 2 Bc4 Nf6 3 Nc3 Bc5 4 Nf3 d6 S h3?! 0-0 6 d3 Be6 7 Bb3 Typical strategy of the time. Players almost always opened a game with 1 e4 in the 1840s and their opponents almost always answered 1 ... e5. Then the two sides rushed [Q get their bishops to the popular diagonals b3f7 and e3-a7 and maneuver knights to the kingside. Today we see this primitive policy, and the devotion [Q early h3s and ... h6s, as quaint - but it is the absence of ... h6 that eventually costs Black this game. 7 ... Nc6 8 Ne2 Qe7 9 Ng3 Nd4 10 Nxd4 Bxd4 11 c3 Bb6 12 0-0 d5? 13 Bg5!

After 13 Bg5

Stanley-Rousseau, 1845 {Ist}

In the book of the match Stanley writes: In consequence of the cramped position of the Black queen and knight, White has from this early period, a winning game. The threats are 14 Nh5 and 14 exd5. 13 ... c6 14 NhS dxe4 15 dxe4 Bxb3?

16 Qf3! "Very well played," writes Stanley, who had no lack of modesty. "Nothing can withstand the overwhelming attack which is now developing." Translated into moves, this means 17 Bxf6 gxf6 18 Qg3+ and 19 Qg7 mate is a brutal threat. 16 ... Bc4 17 Bxf6 Qe6 18 NXg7! Much better than 18 Qg3, which seems

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The United States Chess Championship

18 ••• Be2 19 NXe6 Bxf3 20 Nxfs and Black resigns

ously compromises a decision he has ruined by locking in his bishop (12 ... Bxe3!) and refusing to castle. Now the New Yorker must use a coffeehouse-style attack along the g-file to stay alive.

As poor as Rousseau's play is judged by modern standards, it might compare favorably with some of Stanley's losses - such as the historic introduction of 3 ... a6:

14 Ng3 Ng6 15 Nh5 Nf4 16 Bxf4 gxf4 17 Nxf6+ Qxf6 18 Bd5! Rb8 19 Bc6+? Ke7! 20 Qh5 RgS 21 Nf3 Be6 22 Kh2 Rg6 23 Rgl c4! 24 Raft Rbg8 25 Qh4 Rg5!

to mate after 18 ... g6 19 Qg5 but allows Black to defend with 18 ... Bd8.

C70 Ruy Lopez Sixth Match Game white Rousseau, black Stanley After

1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6!?

25 ... Rg5

It is safe to assume that after the game Rousseau discussed this last move with his second, Ernest Morphy - as young and impressionable Paul looked on. The move was not totally new: it had been analyzed as early as 1750 by the Italian amateur Ercole del Rio. And it was known that White could not now win a pawn with 4 BXc6 dXc6 5 Nxe5 because Black responds 5 ... Qd4. What Stanley can be given credit for is bringing 3 ... a6 into the world of serious chess at a time when the right-thinking masters of the world knew that 3 ... Nf6! or 3 ... Bc5! were the proper moves. What we can't give Stanley credit for, however, is understanding 3 ... a6. He used it as a manner of harassing the White bishop, but only succeeded - as he did in this game - in weakening his queenside pawns. It would be Paul Morphy in 1858 who demonstrated the importance of keeping ... b5 in reserve, so that it could be timed accurately for the appropriate point in the late opening. 4 Ba4 b5? 5 Bb3 Nf6 6 d3 h6 7 Nc3 Bc5 8 0-0 d6 9 Be3 Ba7 10 h3 Ne7 11 a4! b4 12 Ne2 c5 13 Nh2 g5?! Stanley calls his last move "a bold and effective means of preventing the threatened advance of the f-pawn." Actually it danger-

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Rousseau-Stanley, 1845 (6th)

White correctly plays for an exchange of queens but Black finds a tactical way to keep them on the board (26 Nxg5 hxg5 27 Qh5 g4 and ... Rh8 traps the Q). Now Black threatens to disengage his pieces with 26 ... Kf8 and 27 ... Qg7. 26 g4 KfS? 27 Rg2 After this, White re-establishes his positional superiority. Black's golden opportunity was 27 ... fxg3+ 28 Rxg3 Bxf2! 29 Rxf2 Rxg3. 27 ... Bb6 2S Rdl BdS 29 d4! Be7 30 dxe5 dxe5 31 Bd7! Bxd7 32 Rxd7 Qe6 33 Rd5 Kg7 White's penetration along the central files is imminent. Stanley's annotation is quaint: '~t this juncture it might appear that Black could, with safety, take the KNP with R; in that case, however, White would play rook to Q8ch and wins easily." Or as we would put it, if33 ... Rxg4 then 34 Rd8+ Bxd8 35 Qxd8+ or 34 ... Kg7 35 Qxg4+ wins for White.

. 1845: A Champion Is Crowned 34 Rgl Qg6 35 ReI Rh8 36 Rd7 Qe6 37 Ridl ReS 3S RId5 Rg6 39 Qh5 f6?? "The object of this move, it would be somewhat difficult to penetrate; it may however, be in some measure accounted for by the fact of its originator being under the combined influence of calomel and stomach-ache. It is probable that Black's best course of play would be to draw the game by perpetual check on his adversary's queen." This last comment is a bit overoptimistic but Stanley is correct in seeing that 39 ... Rg5! forces White back again because 40 Nxg5 hxg5 again traps his queen. 40 Nh4! and White wins If this seems clumsy by modern standards, we'll save you from seeing the second Morphy Defense game, the 16th of the match. In it, Stanley won the exchange on the 18th move, misplayed the endgame horribly, and was lost on the 56th move - when Rousseau left a rook en prise. But Stanley didn't see it and he fully deserved his eventual loss. Rousseau's best effort of the match may have been the 19th game, when the score stood 10-5 against him, with only four draws having been played. B21 Sicilian Defense 19th Match Game white Stanley, black Rousseau

1 e4 c5 2 f4 This was the "book" way of treating the Sicilian, circa 1845. It's popularity stemmed in large part to its appearance 16 times in the la Bourdonnais-Macdonnell match, played 11 years before. 2 ... e6 3 Nf3 Ne6 4 c3 d5 5 exd5? exd5 6 d4 Nf6 7 Bd3 Be7 S 0-0 0-0 9 Ne5 Qb6 10 Nxc6 bxc6! 11 Be2 Ba6 12 Rf2 RfeS 13 h3 RacS 14 Be3 cxd4 15 Bxd4 c5 This could be mistaken for a modern

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game between a Class C player and a master so far. Stanley confirms his previous bad play by foolishly grabbing a pawn and leaving his queens ide undeveloped. 16 Bxf6? Bxf6 17 Qxd5? ReI+ IS Kh2 c4 19 Qd2 RceS 20 a4 BM 21 g3 Bxg3+! Make that Class C-versus-International Master. Rousseau finishes off with a devastating combination. 22 Kxg3 RSe3+ 23 Kh2 Bb7 24 Na3 Otherwise 24 ... RbI mates. Now 24 ... Rxal wins because 25 Nxc4 RbI is the same mate. But many players in 1845 preferred to give up rooks than capture them if it could be done brilliantly. 24 ... Rxh3+! 25 Kxh3 Re3+ 26 Kg4 Or 26 Kh2 Qh6+. Black could have announced mate in seven here. 26 ... BcS+ 27 f5 Qg6+ 2S Kh4 Qg3+ 29 Kh5 g6+ 30 fxg6 hxg6+ 31 Kh6 Qh4 mate. But in the end it was Stanley by a wide margin: 15 wins to eight, with eight draws. The 31 Stanley-Rousseau games were a landmark of their day. (Only 35 other games played anywhere in the world in 1845 have been preserved. according to the Oxford Encyclopedia of Chess Games.) There was no doubt then who was the best American chess player. The New York Courier referred to Stanley as the United States chess champion. So did the New York Illustrated News, The Family Herald and Porter's Spirit of the Times; The [N Y.J Albion called Stanley the most skillful amateur on the continent. And in the book of the First American Chess Congress (1857), chess historian Daniel Fiske recognizes that Stanley was "for many years the champion of America." He was, in fact, the first.

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The United States Chess Championship

Before we leave Stanley we should mention an event even more obscure than the New Orleans match of 1845. This was, in effect, the first defense of the United States championship tirle. But at the time it was called simply "The Great Match." In 1847 Stanley issued a challenge to any player in England (with the exception of Staunton, whom he still held in the highest regard). There were no takers and Stanley contented himself by meeting whatever visiting master that the great transatlantic sailing vessels brought to New York. He met Johann Lowenthal and Saint-Amant on equal terms in casual games but revived his serious approach to the game only once after 1845. This occurred when he was challenged by].H. Turner, a gentleman farmer from Mount Sterling, Kentucky, whom Lowenthal, a visiting Hungarian master, described as an amateur "of great natural talent and strong imagination, but somewhat too liable to be carried away by a brilliant combination or a dashing coup." Turner's vivid imagination led him to believe he had discovered an invincible variation of the King's Gambit and that by using it against Stanley he would win at least half the games of the match. In this he resembled another gentleman farmer of another era: Weaver Adams of Dedham, Mass., who in the 1930s and '405 tried to prove his claim that White always wins by force if he plays the correct line in the Bishop's Opening. A master of considerable talent, Adams failed in several bids to win the United States championship although he did take the 1948 U.S. Open tirle. For Turner's challenge another $1000 stake was arranged, with victory going to the first player to score 11 wins. The "Great Match" took 17 games but only four days (February 11-14, 1850) to complete. Contrast that with the 18-game world championship match between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi in 1981 that took six weeks and was considered unnaturally brief. Unfortunately for Turner, his invincible King's Gambit was refuted in the first game he got to use it. Stanley went on to win five games and concede one draw in the first few sessions

of play and then coasted to victory (11 wins, five losses, one draw). Here is one of the less flawed games: C50 Vienna Game "The Great Match," Washington, D.C. February 1850 white Stanley, black Turner 1 e4 e5 2 Bc4 Nf6 3 Nc3 Bc5 4 Nf3 d6 5 d3 h6?! 6 Bc3 Bb6 7 Ne2 Be6 8 Bb3 c6 9Ng3 Neither player wants to exchange bishops and open a file for the enemy. Stanley liked his game: "White's game is now well opened, and his position very commanding, his forces being so concentrated that they are alike available for the purposes of attack or defense." 9 ... Nbd7 10 0-0 0-0 11 Qe2 Re8 12 Radl Qc7?! 13 Nh4! NfB 14 N45 Ng6 15 Qd2 Bxe3 16 fxe3 Kh7 17 Qf2 Rh8?

After 17 ... Rh8

Stanley- White, 1850

"This does not give relief where the shoe pinches," wrote Stanley. "Black's position was critical even prior to this move: but now this case is quite hopeless." Little better was 17 ... Ng8 because of 18 NhS!. 18 Nxg7! Ng4 19 NXe6! The move Black overlooked (19 ... Nxf2 20 Nxc7). Resignation would not be our of order here.

1845: A Champion Is Crowned 19 ... fxe6 20 Qf7 + QXf7 21 Rxf7 + KgS 22 Bxe6 ReS 23 Re7 + Kfs 24 RXeS+ KxeS 25 Bxg4 and Black resigns Stanley led 2-1 after that game and was lucky to draw, a knight down, in the fourth game in 55 moves. But he ended the struggle with two crushing defeats. Here is the final game. C3S King's Gambit "The Great Match," Sixth Game Washington, D.C., February IS50 white Turner, black Stanley 1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Nf3 g5 4 Bc4 Bg7 5 0-0 h6 6 c3 d6 7 d4 Ne7 8 g3! g4 9 Nh4 f3 lO h3 hS Black's kingside pawns are over-extended and 11 Nxf3!? was later recommended. Bur Turner goes after the traditional target of the King's Gambit, the f7 square. 11 Qb3 0-0 12 BgS Qe8! 13 Bxe7? Qxe7 14 Ng6?

Wins the exchange, but Stanley has seen further. 14 •.. Qxe4 15 Nxf8 dS! Now 16 Bxd5 Qe2 17 Rf2 Qel+ 18 Rfl Qxg3+ is death. 16 Nd2 Qe3+ 17 Rf2 dxc4 IS Nxc4 Qe4 19 Nd2 Qc6 20 dS Qb6 Black can afford to trade queens since the f8 knight is trapped. 21 Qc2 Bxfs 22 ReI BcS 23 ReS+ Kg7 24 Ne4 Bf5 25 Qd2 Be3 and White resigns

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With no further chess worlds to conquer, Stanley's enthusiasm for the game began to wane and his level of play atrophied from near total neglect and from what soon developed into a serious drinking problem. His contemporary Fiske noted the champion's weakness for the bottle: "While we must admire the extent and success of his achievements, both as a practicioner and as an author, we cannot repress a sense of regret that an intellect so eminently fitted by inherent genius and careful culture for greater results should have so feebly resisted the terrible ravages of a melancholy intemperantia bibendi." Fred Reinfeld, a historian of more recent vintage, was more succint, referring to the first champion as "Stanley the drunkard." For whatever reasons, he was a shell of his former self when he decided to enter the First American Chess Congress Tournament of 1857. Stanley's attempt at a comeback was aborted quickly when he was ignominiously eliminated by a fellow New Yorker, Theodor Lichtenhein, in the very first round of the knockout event. (Lichtenhein, however, was no slouch: he finished third in the event, losing only to Paul Morphy.) The full extent of Stanley's decline was apparent when, at the end of the tournament, Morphy played a short match with him at odds of "pawn and move" - and beat him 4'h-Y2. There was a stake of $100 riding on the match outcome, but Morphy sent it to Stanley's wife because, as a friend said, "Stanley would have drunk it all up, but now his wife and children will be benefited by the money." The Stanleys had a daughter about that time and the father, who lost a title to Morphy, paid him a different kind of compliment. The baby girl was named Pauline, in honor of his successor as United States champion.

Chapter Two

1857: Paul Morphy recognized as the birth of US tournament chess. The "National Tournament" as it was originally called, captured the imagination of Montgomery and other well-placed chess organizers. They appreciated the need for an event. The enthusiasm built up from the Stanley-Rousseau match had long since dissipated and American chess had sunk, in Fiske's words, to "one of those periodical fits of inaction to which every art and pursuit are subject." There was only one regular newspaper column on the game to be read in 1857 and Stanley's magazine had been discontinued. (Stanley himself had lost his sinecure at the British Consulate in a minor diplomatic scandal.) There was simply no chess activity outside of occasional club get-togethers. Fiske - citing the impact on British chess of the impressive London invitational tournament six years before went into a whirlwind of activity. With the aid of the New York Chess Club he formed committees, helped raise money and won consent from Montgomery and his allies to have the Congress held in New York. He then went about inviting the best known players of the day, identifying them largely by word of mouth. Firming up the tournament was not easy because several players were reluctant to travel several hundred miles to New York in October just for a chess tournament, and the event was eventually scaled down from its proposed 32 players to 16. Nevertheless it was an impressive event when play began October 6, 1857, in a large

In January 1857 a former postmaster of Philadelphia by the name of Hardman Phillips Montgomery wrote to his friend Daniel Fiske, a professor of languages at Cornell University who also happened to share his love for the game of chess. Montgomery, a pretty fair amateur player, wanted to stage a team match between the three best players of the then-dominant New York and Philadelphia clubs. But Fiske had a better idea. What Fiske proposed was a National Chess Congress, a sort of convention of fans from across the country. The Congress would serve several purposes: Players could agree on a standard set of rules - an important step because rules often varied from city to city in those days. Also, the Congress could lay the groundwork for a national association of chess enthusiasts to promote the game. And most important, Fiske wrote back to Montgomery, the Congress would be the setting for a major tournament, in fact the first true tournament to be held in the New World. The very word "tournament" still held its medieval meaning - a jousting contest for knights - as late as the 1830s. According to R.J. McCrary in his "The Birth of the Chess Tournament," the word took on its modern meaning from chess writings, particularly after a London knockout event in 1849. There had been knockouts - in which players were eliminated after losing - as early as 1832 in Germany, and there may have been something organized along the lines of a tournament at a club in lower Manhattan around 1842-44. But the event proposed by Fiske was widely

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. 1857: Paul Morphy apartment complex known as Descombe Rooms at 764 Broadway. Today the site is occupied by a commercial bank a few blocks from the campus of New York University, but more than a century and a quarter ago it housed a neatly appointed private room that a contemporary wrote had been fixed up for chess so that it "excited general admiration." It is worth describing that first playing hall in some detail. It was 80 feet long with a raised platform at one end, over which hung a bust of Benjamin Franklin, "the first known chess player and chess writer of the New World." Along each wall were suspended flags. There was the French tricolor, adorned with the name of the strongest Frenchman of the first half of the century, Louis Charles Mahe de la Bourdonnais. This was followed by the English banner of Sr. George, bearing the name of la Bourdonnais' noted rival and unsuccessful opponent in a highly publicized match in 1834, Alexander McDonnell. After that came the German flag of Berlin master Paul Rudolf von Bilguer, the Italian flag of the 18th century theoretician Ercole del Rio, the Neapolitan banner representing another early writer, Alessandro Salvio, the Ponuguese flag for the 16th century analyst Damiano, the Hungarian flag saluting master Josef Szen and even a Turkish flag for the influential Syrian master Phillippe Stamma. And, of course, there were American flags at the foot of the hall as well as busts and banners for all sorts of famous European players known only in the U.S. through their published games. The tournament was organized along the lines of the London tournament of1851, under , the so-called knockout rules. This meant that players would be paired randomly with one another for a series of mini-matches. In the first round, for example, the first player in each match to win three games would advance to the next round. His defeated opponent would be eliminated. (Round robin tournaments, in which each player eventually is paired with every other, were not introduced into America until the 1870s.) The 16 invitees sat down that first day at two rows of marble-topped tables that ex-

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tended through the playing hall, each with large inlaid chess boards and Staunton design pieces. The contestants seemed to possess a certain gentility that was in keeping with their surroundings. None could by any stretch of the imagination be considered a chess professional: Paul Morphy, for example, was fresh out of school and was waiting to come of age so he could begin a law practice; Louis Paulsen was an Iowa tobacco broker; James Thompson was a London-born restaurant owner whose love for the game had led him to organize the New York Chess Club 18 years before; Theodor Lichtenhein was a 28-year-old Prussian immigrant who had studied medicine at one time but in 1857 was a leading New York merchant; Alexander Meek had been attorney general of the southern district of Alabama and was then a judge; and Napoleon Marache, who had the distinction of learning the game late in life - at 26 - but claimed to have given his teacher rook odds after three weeks of instruction, was a French-born laborer. Also, there was Frederick Perrin, a modern languages professor at Princeton and later a prominent New York banker; Dr. B.1. Raphael, a practicing surgeon formerly of London, Paris and Kentucky; and W].A. Fuller, perhaps the most interesting of the group. He had attended Harvard and then set sail for a life of adventure with a series of trips on whaling ships and cargo runs around Cape Horn, and learning the intricacies of hot-air ballooning, before settling down to make money as a New York lawyer. Quite a remarkable group. With the exception - a big one - of Morphy and Paulsen, the players were fairly evenly matched. Each had the capacity for the occasional brilliant sacrifice that was most appreciated in 1857. And none, save Morphy and Paulsen, had a real understanding of positional chess. The following game is one of the better examples of the playing level of the also rans: A80 Dutch Defense

white Raphael, black Marache

1 d4 f5 2 Nc3

12

The United States Chess Championship

Anticipating Browne-Byrne, U.S. Championship 1977! You might suppose that this move, as opposed ro the modern 2 c4, was typical of this era. Actually the "book" moves of the day were 2 c4 and Staunton's 2 e4. In fact, this game appears to be the first recorded example of 2 Nc3. 2 ... Nf6 3 NO e6 4 Bg5 Be7 5 Bxf6 Bxf6 6 e4 fxe4 7 Nxe4 0-0 8 Bd3 Nc6 9 c3 d6 10 Qc2 h6 11 0-0-0 Kh8 12 h4! White has accomplished what he wantedthe opening the bl-h7 diagonal- and he will try to clear the kingside further with Nfg5!. 12 ... e5 13 d5 Ne7 14 Nfg5! Nxd5? 15 Bc4 c6 16 Bxd5 cxd5 17 Nxf6 e4 Otherwise, mate is delivered on h7. 18 Nxd5! hxg5 19 hxg5+ Kg8 20 f4 Bf5 21 Ne3 Bg6 22 g3 Qa5 23 Rxd6 Bf? 24 g6! BxgG

c6! when Black won a piece. There were no major upsets in the second round either. Paulsen beat Montgomery twice and the latter then went home to Philadelphia. Dr. Raphael narrowly knocked off Marache 3-2 while Morphy and Lichtenhein were disposing ofJudge Meek and Perrin by 3-0 shutouts. But there was something to mark the MeekMorphy match. The Judge, then one of the South's strongest players, had met Morphy ten times before and had lost all ten games. Duly impressed, he predicted the Louisianan would win the tournament, but he prepared a bit of psychology to stop him. If Morphy had a weakness, Meek knew, it was in closed positions. So he deliberately chose an inferior, offbeat version of the French Defense. B06 French Defense Second Round, Second Game October 16, 1857 white Morphy, black Meek 1 e4 e6 2 d4 g6!? 3 Bd3 Bg7 4 Be3 Ne7

5 Ne2 b6 6 Nd2 Bb7 7 0-0 d5? If the bishop goes elsewhere White gets to be brilliant with 25 Rh8+! and 26 Qh2+. 25 Rxg6 QXal 26 Qxe4 Qal + 27 Kc2 Qa5 28 Rxg7+! Kxg7 29 Qh7+ Kf6 30 Rh6 mate. Pairings throughout the tournament were drawn by chance, and there were few surprises in the first round: Paulsen eliminated S.R. Calthrop of Bridgeport, Conn., in three straight games; Morphy easily beat Thompson 3-0; Dr. Raphael had a rougher time, winning 3-2 from H. Kennicott of Chicago; Judge Meek scored 3-2 to oust WlA. Fuller; Lichtenhein won from Stanley by the same 3-2 score as did Marache over Fiske. The games reflected the openings then popular, with plenty of Scotch Gambits, King's Bishop Gambits, Giuoco Pianos, Evans Gambits and what was called a "Center Counter Gambit in the Knight's Game." This was the third game of the Calthrop-Paulsen pairing and it ended shortly after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 d5 3 exd5 e4 4 Bb5+??

The tournament book blamed Black's loss on his second move (instead of 2 ... d5) and his 13th ("a waste of time"). Actually Black's choice of opening is astute when one understands Morphy's preference for wide-open positions and "book" openings. Had Black continued 7 ... d6 and then struck at the center later on he might have enjoyed the middlegame. For example, 8 c3 0-0 9 f4 Nd7 is not unpleasant for him (10 Qc2 c5 or 10 f5 exf5 11 exf5 Nd5!) 8 e5 0-0 9 f4 f5 10 h3! Nd7 11 Kh2 c5 12 c3 c4 13 Bc2 a6 14 Nf3 h6 15 g4! The attack on the base of the enemy pawn chain was explored by Fran<;:ois Philidor a century before - then largely forgotten. Black is preparing ... b5-b4 and White has already achieved g2-g4. But the tournament book felt it necessary to express support for White's 15th move with "Perfectly safe .... It is too much the fashion to denounce this move as risky."

13

1857' Paul Morphy

C55 Two Knights Defense Semifinals, First Game, October 22, 1857 white Lichtenhein, black Morphy 1 e4 e5 2 NO NcG 3 d4 exd4 4 Bc4 Nf6 5 e5 d5! G Bb5 Ne4 7 Nxd4 Bd7 8 NXc6?

After 15 g4

Today this variation, usually reached by way of 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 d4 exd4, is considered positionally solid for White after 8 Bxc6! and a rapid f2-f4-f5. Morphy-Meek. 1857

15 ... Kh7 16 Rgl Rg8 17 Qel Nc6? 18 Nh4 Qf8 19 Nxg6! A fairly simple combination that strips Black's kingside of all serious protection. Had Black left his knight at e7 White would probably have won a longer game after doubling rooks on the g-file. 19 ... Kxg6 20 gxf5+ Kf7 21 fxe6+ Kxe6 22 f5+ Ke7 23 Qh4+! Ke8 24 f6! Bxf6 25 exf6 Rxgl 26 Rxgl Nxf6 27 Bg6+ Kd7 28 Bf5+ Ke8 29 Bxh6 Qh8 30 Rg7 Ng8 And in the fashion of the day, Morphy "announced mate in three" - meaning 31 Bg6+ Kf8 32 Qf4+ and mate next move. Luck-of-the-draw pairings matched Morphy against Lichtenhein and Paulsen against Dr. Raphael in the third, or semifinal, round. Lichtenhein put up a good fight, as could be expected of the best New York player of his time. He was known for a stodgy style "more remarkable for its sondness than its brilliancy" and characterized by "careful analysis ... and certain maneuvering of his forces," according to a contemporary, who said Lichtenhein was very reminiscent of "the great German masters." This should not have been a surprise since Lichtenhein had been an officer in the Prussian army before arriving in the United States five years before. Still, ,he managed only one draw from Morphy, who played his first truly brilliant game of the tournament:

8 ... bXc6 9 Bd3 BcS! 10 Bxe4 Qh4! 11 Qe2 dxe4 12 Be3

After 12 Be3

Lichtenhein-Morphy, 1857

If White trades off the dark-squared bishops and castles he will have a structurally superior game. Remarkably enough, however, Morphy now has a forced win. 12 ... Bg4! 13 Qc4 BXe3!! 14 g3 White can win two rooks with 14 Qxc6+ Bd7 15 Qxa8+ Ke7 16 Qxh8 but he gets mated by 16 ... Qxf2+ and 17 '" Bg4. Lichtenhein, a fair calculator. may have seen the inbetween move 16 g3! in that line but rejected it because of16 ... Bxf2+! 17 Kxf2 e3+ 18 Kel Qb4+ and wins. 14 ... Qd8! 15 fxe3 Qdl+ 16 Kf2 Qf3+ 17 Kgl Bh3! 18 Qxc6+ Kf8! 19 Qxa8+ Ke7 and White resigns Paulsen, meanwhile, was disposing of Dr. Raphael easily and that set up the final match

14

The United States Chess Championship

that everyone had expected. It was to be Morphy with his dazzling style and score of nine wins and one draw versus Paulsen the plodder with eight wins and one draw. The latter's brilliance shone in a different setting: Before the final match Paulsen gave two simultaneous blindfold exhibitions with a total of nine games. Morphy was convinced to play one of the boards against Paulsen - and achieved the only win, playing blindfolded himself. The special rules for the tournament finals called for five victories, draws not counting. At first Paulsen seemed to be the one who could solve the Morphy puzzle. After four games they had each scored one win and two draws. But Morphy was inwardly seething at Paulsen's slow play. According to one account, the young Louisianan had tears of frustration rolling down his face at the conclusion of the interminable second game, which took 15 hours to reach 56 moves. But this was Paulsen's style. He had come to America from his native Germany at age 2.0, following in a brother's footsteps, and had settled in Dubuque, Iowa, as a wholesale produce seller. He had already been seen as a talented master in Europe but gave his first indications of depth in the United States. Paulsen was, in fact, the first American to deeply understand closed positions and the first opening theoretician in the States. (He was the first to analyze the Goring Gambit, for example, and did it in the pages of a Chicago newspaper shortly after this tournament.) Later he returned to Europe and beat many of the top players of the day, winning matches from Ignaz Kolisch of Poland and Adolf Anderssen and taking first prizes in strong tournaments from 1861 at Bristol, England) to 1880 (Brunswick, Germany). He never lost a match and appears to have abandoned tournament play only because of the introduction of chess clocks. But there were no clocks in use in 1857 and no time limits. While Morphy rarely took more than five minutes per move, Paulsen consumed 75, 49, 41, 36, 35 and 27 minutes on different moves during one of his games from the final match. It was because of this that

Morphy vowed after the fourth game to end matters as quickly as possible. He proceeded to win four games in a row and end the first national championship tournament with a flourish. We'll examine two key games: B40 Sicilian Defense Finals, First Game, October 29, 1857 white Morphy, black Paulsen 1 e4 c5 2 d4 cxd4 Morphy later switched to 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 which makes little difference unless Black tries to hold onto the pawn here with 3 Nf3 e5. Even in 1857 they knew that 4 Nxc5?? would lose to 4 ... Qa5+. But they also knew that 4 c3! dxc3 5 Nxc3 was an excellent gambit for White. 3 Nf3 e6 4 Nxd4 Bc5!?

After 4 ... Bc5

Morphy-Paulsen, 1857 {1st}

Paulsen also tried 4 ... Nc6 and 4 .. , a6 on occasion, anticipating the modern European masters by a century. The move Black adopts was widely denounced as "foolhardy," and worse, for many years. But as so often happens, it was not the merits of 4 ... Bc5 that were weighed by the annotators ~ it was Paulsen's sloppy play later. Only in 1972(!), when this opening system was successfully revived by British master Michael Basman, was this move appreciated.

5 Nb3

1857: Paul Morphy In a later game Morphy played S Be3 (threatening 6 Nxe6) and was rewarded by Paulsen's 5 ... Qb6 6 Nc3 Qxb2??, after which 7 NdbS! wins with its threats of8 BxcS, 8 Nc7+ and, worst of all, 8 RbI!. But 6 ... Nc6! is a simple improvement of Basman's that should equalize and may even draw immediately (7 Na4 QaS+ 8 Nc3 Qb6) as he pointed out in a playoff for the 1973 British championship. For Paulsen this was exoneration - but four generations too late.

15

17 Bh3 Qh4 ... which he immediately drops. Why didn't Paulsen continue with 17 ... gS, the move he presumably prepared? The answer is that Morphy could safely sacrifice with 18 g3 g4 19 BXg4 hXg4 20 Qxg4, e.g. 20 ... f3 21 Nbd2 Nd4 22 c3 NdfS 23 Nxf3 and White's pieces begin to take over on the kingside. 18 Nf6+ Kh8 19 Qe4 QgS 20 g3!

5 •.• Bb6 6 Nc3 Ne7 7 Bf4! White can also take advantage of ... Ne7 by playing QhS at some point now that ... Nf6 is impossible. But Morphy's plan is simpler - and clearly superior to 7 BgS 0-0 8 Be2 fS 9 exfS? Bxf2+! as played in another 1973 Basman game. The point of Morphy's move is to occupy d6 with a piece and to meet ... f7-fS with e4-e5. Paulsen's system doesn't work well ifBd6 is played and this is why 7 ... dS is essential. (Later in the match Paulsen varied with 6 ... Nc6 7 Bf4 eS?, giving Morphy another hole to exploit, dS.) 7 ... a-a? 8 Bd6 f5?! 9 e5 a6 10 Be2 Nbc6 11 0-0 Rf7 12 Khl What Basman could not revive, in 1973 or thereafter, was the positional viability of such a crippled shell of a game. Morphy has taken all the right precautions (12 ... Ng6 13 f4!) to proceed now with either a slow buildup of g2-g4 or a gradual enlarging of pressure in the center (Qel, Rad1, Nd2-c4). 12 ... f4?! 13 Ne4 NfS 14 Bh5! g6 15 Bg4 After this, Morphy can occupy f6 at will, another major concession. All he needs to win is an open file.

Mrer 20 g3

Morphy-Paulsen, 1857 {Ist}

Morphy understood instinctively where his advantage lay and where he could inflict the quickest damage (20 ... fxg3 21 fXg3 NfS could be met by 22 Rf4 followed by 23 Rail and eventually g3-g4). 20 ... f3!? 21 Nd2! The knight was not doing anything on b3 and is immune here (21 ... Qxd2 22 Qxg6). 21 ... Bd8 22 Nxf3 Qh6 23 Rgl! Bxf6 24 exf6 White is rcady to make the final push with g3-g4. For instance, 24 ... Rxf6 2S g4 hXg4 26 RXg4 NfS 27 BeS and penetration along the g-file with Ragl.

15 ... Ng7 16 Qf3 hS 24 ... Ne8 25 Bf4 NxfG Paulsen could also play incomprehensible moves on occasion. This virtually abandons all hope of kings ide defense in favor of an idea ...

The position has been lost for several moves, but this makes it clear even to the

16

The United States Chess Championship

passersby on East 8th Street. The choices for Paulsen were (a) losing a piece of 25 ... Nxf6, (b) conceding he was hopeless with 25 ... Qh7 26 Ng5, or (c) resigning. 26 Qxc6! Qxf4 27 Qxc8+! A simple desperado device. White makes the last capture and remains a piece ahead. Characteristically, Morphy finishes off with a mating attack: 27 ••• Rxc8 28 gxf4 Rxc2 29 Racl! Rxf2 30 Rc8+ Ng8 31 Ne5 Rg7 32 Nxg6+ Kh7 33 Nf8+ Kh6 34 Nxd7 Rxd7 35 Rcxg8 Rxf4 36 Bxe6 Re7 Here Morphy announced mate in four moves: 37 R8g6+ Kh7 38 Bg8+ Kh8 39 Rh6+ etc. The game lasted 5lh hours, of which Paulsen consumed more than 5 hours. Then came the flawed, sloppy little game that made Morphy famous. "Just before this game," recalled Fuller, a fellow competitor who was also a chess columnist, "Morphy went down to the restaurant with me and took a glass of sherry and a bisquit. His patience was worn out by the great length of time Paulsen took for each move. His usually equable temper was so disturbed that he clenched his fist and said: 'Paulsen shall never win another game from me while he lives.'" "And he never did," added Fuller.

pie, would appear to be a good source. The great German master and fan of Morphy's was getting the moves secondhand but gave this ) move order: 1 e4 e5 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 Nf3 Bc5 4 Bb5 Nf6. Who knows? 50-0! A good move, which prepares 6 Nxe5 Nxe5 7 d4 without risking 5 Nxe5 Nxe5 6 d4 Bb4 7 dXe5 NXe4.

5 ... 0-0 Now 5 ... d6 would have avoided the favorable simplification that follows but would have allowed 6 d4 exd4 7 Nxd4 Bd7 8 Nf5 with a fine game. We know now that Morphy is getting into trouble here. But let's see how the contemporary analysts viewed the game. 6 Nxe5 After this Black has to work very care:. fully to avoid a passive game. Lowenthal says of 6 NXe5 "We cannot favorably incline to thi!; move; it allows the second player to develop his game while that of the attacking party is cramped." But he misevaluated the consequences of what happens next. 6 ... Re8

C48 Four Knights Game Finals, Sixth Game, November 8, 1857 white Paulsen, black Morphy 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bb5 Bc5?!

Mter

6 ••• ReS

This is the most natural move order and the one most often given for this game. Paulsen selects a Four Knights' Game and Morphy defends with the rare offshoot, 4 ... Bc5. But did this really happen? Early chess history is filled with questionable moves - not just bad ones, but imaginary ones - and it is often impossible to tell what really happened. Max Lange, for exam-

•

Paulsen-Morphy, 1857 (6th)

"6 ... Knight takes knight, instead, would have been advantageously replied to

1857: Paul Morphy with 7 d4," is the way Lange put it and he was right (7 ... Bd6 8 f4! Nc6 9 e5 Bb4 10 dS!). "The correct reply," added Lowenthal, about Morphy's sixth move. But Steinitz, coming several years later, suggested the superior 6 .. , N d4 after which 7 Be2 can be met by 7 ... Re8 8 Nf3 Nxe4 when Black is only slightly worse (9 Nxd4 Bxd4 10 Nxe4 Rxe4 11 c3 and 12 d4). 7 NXc6 "The advantage of the pawn might have been retained by the playing of the knight to d3," was Lowenthal's Victorian-style annotation. "But this would have given him for some time a constrained position, and the move was prudently rejected." True, but 7 Nf3! was good enough for an advantage after 7 ... Nxe4 8 d4. Note the 7 Nf3 Nd4 fails to 8 eS! (8 .. . Nxf3+ 9 gxf3! c6 10 exf6 cxb5 11 d4 or 9 .. . Rxe5 10 d4). 7 ... bXc6 8 Bc4 b5?! Black couldn't get the pawn back immediately (8 ... Nxe4 9 Nxe4 Rxe4 10 Bxf7+! Kxf7 11 Qf3+)but he could have secured a very good game with 8 .,. Ng4!, which threatens 9 ... Qh4. The main point is that 9 h3 can be met by a double capture on f2 and 11 ... Qd4+, picking up the bishop. 9 Be2 Nxe4 Black gets the pawn back after deeper calculation than it seems. Modern players often fail to appreciate that this famous game was played in a highly competitive situation. The score stood only 2-1 in Morphy's favor and the issue was very much in doubt. One slip might have turned the tide in the championship finals. Fortunately, Morphy had calculated that 10 Bf3, which appears to favor White, can be met by 10 ... Nxf2! 11 Rxf2 Qd4, winning outright (12 Ne4 RXe4! l3 Bxe4 Qxf2+ 14 Khl Bg4 15 Bf3 ReS! or 12 Qfl Qxf2+ 13 QXf2 Rel mate).

17

10 Nxe4 Rxe4 11 Bf3? Re6 Paulsen had probably visualized a position with a bishop on f3 and pawns on c3 and d4 when he played 7 Nxc6, and he would have been right in evaluating it as favorable. But he makes a slight error in move order that ends up deciding a national championship. 12 c3? Qd3!! Suddenly Black has a chokehold on the enemy center. Without d2-d4 White cannot develop his pieces normally and Black has time to exploit the kingside tactically. How long might Paulsen have thought about 12 c3? An hour? How long might Morphy considered 12 .. , Qd3 - a minute? 13 b4 Bb6 14 a4 Lowenthal recommended Bg4 around this point to break the chokehold (14 Bg4 f5 15 Qf3!). But Paulsen had already figured out another way of developing his queenside. 14 ... bxa4 15 Qxa4 Bd??! There are two possibly better alternatives, which stop 16 Qa6!: One is 15 ... Bb7, and the other is IS ... as with the idea ofl6 ... Qxfl+! 17 Kxfl Ba6+. 16 Ra2? Rae8! Now this threatens mate by 17 ... Qxfl+. The best defense is 17 Qdl but the chokehold remains after 17 ... cS 18 bS c4. 17 Qa6? Too late. "White cannot be blamed for not seeing the most wonderful combination that the opponent had prepared," wrote Steinitz, who used this position on the cover of his Modern Chess Instructor.

18

The United States Chess Championship sensible caution. He prefers the forcing sequence that is easier to calculate and which guarantees that he will regain his queen. 24 Khl Bx£l

After 17 Qa6

This takes away gl from White's king and he has only one way out of the mate threatened on g2. 25 Qfl Bxfl 26 Rxfl Re2 27 Ral Rh6 Paulsen-Morphy, 1857 (6th)

17 ... QXf3!! "When he made the move," Fuller recalled," "we all thought he had made a mistake, especially as he had taken so little time (12 minutes) for the move. Paulsen, with his usual caution, deliberated long - over an hour - before he took the queen." Analyzing on a board elsewhere in the hall the spectators could not see what the point of the Louisianan's play was. 18 gxf3 Rg6+ 19 Kh 1 Bh3 Black's rooks are so powerful he finds himself with several ways to win. For example, 20 Rg1 could be met by 20 ... Bg2+ 21 Rxg2 Re1+ or by 20 ... RXgl+ 21 Kxgl Rel+. The main question is what would have happened had White played his Q to d3 in order to capture on g6 as soon as a discovered check was given. The answer: 20 Qd3 f5!. 20 Rdl Bg2+ 21 Kgl Bxf3+ 22 Kfl Bg2+ Here Black could have won more quickly with 22 ... Rg2 as Steinitz, and also Johannes Zukertort, discovered (23 Qxb6 Rxh2! or 23 Qd3 Rxf2+ 24 Kgl Rg2+ 25 K moves Rgl mate). 23 Kgl Bh3+ And here there was a faster win with 23 ... Be4+! 24 Kfl Bf5 25 Qe2 Bh3+ and ... Rgl mating. But one can appreciate Morphy's

Morphy still plays for mate. Paulsen's next is 16 moves too late. 28 d4 Be3! Some sources say White resigned here, ending a relatively short game of four hours. Other sources give 28 ... Be3 "and wins." And still others give 29 Bxe3 Rhxh2+ 30 Kgl Reg2 mate as the true finish to the game. It was a great example of Morphy ingenuity - and the decisive point in the match. Paulsen was so upset he lost a second game that day in 26 moves and was unrecognizable in the final game. Because of its brevity, it is easy to sum up Morphy's chess career: he never lost a tournament or match and in his entire record of serious play he lost just eight games. Unfortunately for Morphy, his success story begins and ends with chess and the rest of his life was a case study in failure, frustration and rejection. Things had come too easily and too early for the sensitive Louisianan. As a youngster he enjoyed all the benefits that his wealthy Southern heritage permitted. His prodigious memory enabled him to graduate from law school at 18 - memorizing the entire Civil Code of his state. During the three years he would have to wait until he was old enough to practice law, Morphy had turned to chess, his adolescent passion and it proceeded to consume him. After his impressive victory in the First American Congress, Morphy, without much difficulty, was persuaded to travel to Europe to challenge the acknowledged world-class players. He could not coax the prickly, pompous

• 1857: Paul Morphy

19

First American Chess Congress, New York, Oct.6-Nov. 10, 1857 James Thompson Paul Morphy Judge A.B. Meek WJ.A. Fuller

Morphy +3-0=0 Morphy +3-0=0 Meek +3-2=0

Morphy +3-0=1 Charles H. Stanley h h Lic ten ein +3-2=0 Theodor Lichtenhein h h Lic ten ein +3-0=0 Frederick Perrin Perrin +3-2=2 Hubert Knott Morphy +5-1=2 Hiram Kennicott Raphael +3-2=1 Dr. B.1. Raphael Raphael +3-2=2 D.W Fiske Marache +3-2=0 N. Marache Paulsen +3-0=1 WS. Allison Montgomery +3-1=0 H.P. Montgomery Paulsen +2-0=0 (1) S.R. Calthrop Paulsen +3-0=0 Louis Paulsen Playoff for 3rd (1) Montgomery withdrew before completion of match. Lichtenhein over Raphael +3-0=0

Howard Staunton out of retirement but he met and defeated just about everyone else of note, including match victories over Adolf Anderssen (seven wins, two losses, two draws), Johann Lowenthal (9-3-2) and Daniel Harrwitz (5-2-1). Returning home in 1859, he was an instant American folk hero. Products were named after him (the "Morphy Hat," the "Morphy Cigar") and in Brooklyn a baseball team, "The Morphy Baseball Club," was inaugurated in his honor. He was paid a then-astronomical fee of $3000 to write a chess column for the New York Ledger, and otherwise engaged in occasionallectures and exhibitions, always conceding odds. ($1 in 1857 equals about $35 today.) But Morphy could never adjust after his 1858-59 European tour to "real life." He found himself at odds with the Southern position in the Civil War and avoided the accusation of being a traitor by returning to Europe for

much of the rest of the fighting. He played no serious chess during this period, supposedly because of a promise to his mother to begin a more respectable career. Morphy's competitive chess had actually ended in 1859 and he played infrequently after 1864. There followed a series of personal disappointments: Morphy's law practice in New Orleans failed; he met resentment for his absence during the War Between the States; he engaged in a series of apparently unhappy love affairs, never marrying. He began to withdraw within his family and a very small circle of friends. One of the few outsiders to see him in his last year was Wilhelm Steinitz, who described him as a "thorough gentleman" - but adamantly separated from chess. When he died - of "congestion of the brain," on July 10,1884 - he was only 47. Paul Morphy's serious chess career in the United States began and ended with one tournament, 18 games.

Chapter Three

1871-1889: The King Is a Captain No one challenged Morphy in his lifetime and it can be argued that he was the United States champion until his death in 1884. But there were several others who can be said to have held the title in the 37 years after New York 1857, masters who assumed a central role after Morphy withdrew to New Orleans. The first and finest of these successors was Scottish-born George Henry Mackenzie. Mackenzie (1837-1891) was the antithesis of the overly sensitive Morphy. While Morphy considered chess an intellectual exercise between gentlemen who wouldn't think of playing only for financial reward, Mackenzie was the early image of a rough-and-tumble chess professional- making a living from the game for his last 30 years. While Morphy exiled himself in Europe during the Civil War, Mackenzie thrived on combat and had come to America to serve in the Federal Army as a private. Despire his milita;y reserve and Scottish brevity, Mackenzie was much closer in nature to a modern champion such as Robert Byrne or Boris Gulko than to the often impenetrable Morphy. Physically, the differences continue: Morphy was small, five foot three, with delicate, cleanshaven features and affected mannerisms. Mackenzie was quite tall, ruggedly handsome and sported a van Dyke beard. It appears that bachelorhood and chess ability were the only things that these two great champions had in common. Mackenzie, like Morphy, was one of the most popular players of his day. He was born

near Aberdeen in 1837, the same year as Morphy, into what was described as a "high class" family. When he turned 19 he joined the Queen's Army, 60th Rifles, and began a lifelong fascination with combat. After five years, much of it in India, Mackenzie resigned his commission as lieutenant and turned to chess in London. But his zest for real conflict was not quite satisfied and in 1863, at age 26, he came to America to fight on the Union side. At the end of the war, a captain in charge of a unit of Northern blacks, he retired with numerous war wounds and a heart condition. He then embarked on a chess career rarely matched in his century and grossly underrated even now. In Britain Mackenzie had been considered one of the most talented young players, first earning a reputation in Irish clubs and later in London where he won the first tournament he entered. This was a handicap event in 1862 in which he defeated the once and future world champion, Adolf Anderssen, in the final round, receiving odds of pawn and move because of his opponent's reputation. And shortly before leaving Europe Mackenzie defeated one of the strongest amateurs around, the Reverend G.A. MacDonnell, in a match (six wins, three losses, two draws). Bur in America he found he was recognized -like the Soviet emigres of the 1970s as not only a talented competitor, but as just about the best player available. He defeated, according to contemporary accounts, "literally every player in America" in match play, and

20

..

• 1871-1889: The King Is a Captain won, with only minor difficulty, the Second, Third and Fifth American Chess Congresses during the 1870s to 1880. (Mackenzie did not play in the Fourth Congress, which was won by James Mason, an Irishman who professed no interest in becoming a U.S. citizen. In the logic of the times Mason was never considered an American "champion," as we shall see.) During this era there was little question of Mackenzie's primacy. Steinitz's International Chess Magazine stated simply (March 1891) that Mackenzie "won the chief prize in every tournament he entered in America" and went on to list eight New York events won by him in addition to the three national congresses. The magazine also cites four matches, all won by Mackenzie: He defeated Gustavus Reichhelm of Philadelphia in 1866 - a match later reported in The British Chess Magazine as being for the U.S. title - by a score of five wins and one draw; he knocked off Reichhelm again a year later by seven wins and two draws; he beat off a tough challenge by Max Judd ofSt. Louis (seven wins, five losses, three draws) in 1880 and, in his last major American event, he defeated Solomon Lipschutz, one of the many championship claimants that followed Mackenzie, 5-3 with five draws in 1886. Mackenzie's only failures in America were match defeats - perhaps at odds - to Reichhelm and D.M. Martinez of Philadelphia. Mackenzie's streak of domestic successes began in Cleveland in December 1871 when a double-round-robin event, the Second American Congress, was held. Only nine men sought to succeed the then-retired Morphy and this was probably due to the after-effects of the Civil War and the paltry $100 first prize being offered in that period of postwar inflation. Also, it gets cold in Cleveland in December. Mackenzie's superiority was obvious in this unbalanced field. The Captain, then living in New York, finished a full two points ahead of the obscure H. Hosmer, and four points ahead of Max Judd, who eventually parlayed a brilliant legal career into the U.S. consul generalship in Vienna. Preston Ware, Jr., of Boston finished fifth, earned $30 for his

21

trouble, and was named president of the American Chess Association. The total prize money for the championship, incidentally, was $290. Here is an indication of how clearly Mackenzie outclassed most of his rivals, including the second- and third-place finishers. C84 Ruy Lopez Second American Congress, Cleveland December, 1871 white Mackenzie, black Elder 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 d4 This, and the Evans Gambit, were Mackenzie specialties. In this early day of theory for the Ruy Lopez it is not surprising that Black is positionally lost by move 12. 5 ... exd4 6 0-0 Be7 7 e5 Ne4 8 Nxd4 Nxd4 9 Qxd4 Nc5 10 Bb3

Mter 10 Bb3

Mackenzie-Elder, 1871

Black should simply castle and then play 11 ... d6. If White restrains him with 11 Bf4, Black eliminates one of the enemy bishops with 11 ... Ne6. 10 ... Nxb3? 11 axb3 O-O?

Poor planning - but much better than 11 ... d6 which Hosmer had played in his first meeting with Mackenzie. After 12 exd6 Qxd6 13 Qxg7 Black had a very bad game and after 13 ... Bf6? 14 Re1+ Kd8 15 Bg5! he was lost.

22

The United States Chess Championship Second American Congress, Cleveland, Dec. 4-15, 1871 Totals M

X Hosmer, H. Olhl Elder 1h0I 00 Judd Ware 00 Smith, H.D. 00 Harding OY20 Johnston 00 Houghton 00

l. Mackenzie

2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7. 8.

9.

H

E

J

W

S

H

J

H

W

D

L

lY20

11210

11

11

11

PI21

11

11

3

2

11

14 12

2

4

11 11

11 10

3 3

5 6

X 00 OY20

11 10 00

11

X 10

1lhl 00 o 1 Y2Y201

X

Y2Y2IO 00

o1

00 00

Y200

00

00

Y200

00

00

00

o1 11

11

10

X 10 o1 00 00

o1 X 00

11 11

11 11

Yzll Ihll

10 11 X

11 11 o1

11 11 11

9 9

2 0

7 7

4

2

12

00

10

X

11

3

00

00

00

X

0

13 0

16

(Draws did not count and were replayed) Elder's choice also leads to disaster because of his fatal next move. 12 Bf4! fG? 13 Qc4+! Kh8 14 exfG Bxf6 15 Bxc7 Qe8 16 Bd6 Rf7 17 Nc3 b6 18 Rael Qg8 19 Qe4! and Black resigns This was the tournament that can be said to have begun Mackenzie's reign. His superiority was confirmed three years later in Chicago at the Third American Congress. It was played at a then-vigorous time schedule of 15 moves per hour and at least one game a day. Again there was little financial incentive and only eight players showed up at the tournament site, the Chicago Chess Club, 114 East Madison Street, that July to compete for what turned out to be $450 in prizes. The players even had to pay a $20 entry fee. These national congresses were regularly held in order to form new organizations for players and promoters, and in 1874 the American Chess Association was transformed into the National Chess Association. A Pennsylvania businessman named J.A. Congdon was elected president of the new body and showed his ability by defeating Frederick Perrin, a veteran of the Morphy days, in the tournament. (Unfortunately it was the only game Congdon won.)

Mackenzie finished with the impressive score of 10 wins, one loss and one draw bur this was just a half-point more than Hosmer, whose hopes of a national tide were drowned in a late-round loss to Judd. The tournament was a noticeable degree stronger than the Second Congress, as indicated by the poor showing by Perrin and his fellow survivor of the First American Congress, Hiram Kennicott, who withdrew after losing four games badly. A85 Dutch Defense Third American Congress Chicago, July 1874 white Perrin, black Mackenzie 1 d4 f5 2 e3 NfG 3 c4 eG 4 Nc3 bG 5 Nf3 Bb7 G a3 Be? ? Be2 0-0 80-0 Qe8 9 h3? NcG 10 b4 aG 11 dS! Nd8 12 dxe6? Johannes Zukertort, a world championship contender during this era, blamed Perrin's loss on being frightened at the reputation of his adversary. White should maintain his strong point at d5 which blocks two lines that now fall to Black's control, the d-file and the long light-square diagonal. 12 •.. dxeG 13 Bb2 Qg6 14 Khl Nf7 15 Rgl Rad8 IG Qc2 QhG!

. 1871-1889: The King Is a Captain

23

the games "shall be the exclusive property of the Association for publication in book form" - one of the first attempts to copyright a game. Only one of the Philadelphia games was worth the effort:

After

16 ... Qh6

COl French Defense Fourth American Congress Philadelphia. August 1876 white Mason, black MartInez Perrin-Mackenzie, 1874

Perrin had tried to neutralize the attack on g2 with a rook bur now sees ... g5-g4 as well as 17 ... Ne5 18 Nxe5 Qxh3 mate coming up. Mackenzie handles the concluding phase with dispatch.

1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 exd5 exd5

17 RgfI Ne5! 18 Ngl Qg6 19 f3 Nh5! 20 Rfdl Ng3+ 21 Kh2 Bd6 22 f4 Ne4!

Black's Winawer Variation was still very young - Simon Winawer of Poland was just starting his chess career at the time - and not much respected. The 1876 tournament book says 3 ... Nf6 "is now considered the better move" and later blames Black's downfall on the misplacement of his QB in what is essentially a symmetrical position.

Here 23 fxe5 will be met by 23 ... Bxe5+ 24 Khl Nf2 mate.

5 Nf3 Nf6 6 Bd3 0-0 7 0-0 Bd6 8 Bg5 c6 9 Qd2 Be6?

23 Nxe4 Bxe4 24 Bd3 Nxd3 Bxd3 and Black wins

The bishop is misplaced here and encourages f2-f4-f5. Better was 10 ... Re8 or 10 '" Bg4 11 Ne5 Bh5 and 12 ... Bg6.

25 Rxd3

Bur as soon as he had established himself as the number one player in the country, Mackenzie confused the issue a bit by passing up the Fourth American Congress - or, as it was alternately known. the "Grand International Centennial Chess Congress" - in Philadelphia, August 17-31,1876. It would have been a good test for him since the tournament was the strongest held in America up to that time and paired the country's talented amateurs with several visiting Europeans. The visitors included the eccentric English master Henry Bird, described in the tournament book as the "knighterrant of chess," and James Mason, a native Irishman who had spent most of his later life in England and was known for a style of "soundness and brilliancy. qualities rarely united." The champion of Cuba. D.M. MartInez, also was scheduled ro compere but had ro withdraw after four games because of an illness in his family. One of the tournament rules stated that

10 Rael Nbd7 11 Ne2! Qc7 ]2 Ng3 Rfe8 13 Bxf6!? Nxf6 14 Ne5 Nd7 15 Qg5! f6 16 Qh5 fXe5? White's attack is imaginative but would there have been little to assault after 16 ... Nf8!. Black, however, overlooks an exceptionally deep 20th move by White. 17 Qxh7+ Kf8 18 Bg6 Bg8 19 Qh8 Re6 20 f4!! (see diagram) This reopens the kingside for White's rooks, e.g. 20 ... e4 21 f5 Rf6 22 NhS! and wins, or 21 ... Re7 22 Bh7 Nf6 23 Bxg8 Nxg8 24 f6! 20 ... Rxg6 21 fxe5+ Nf6 22 exf6 gxf6 23 Rxf6+ Rxf6 24 Qxh6+ Bf! 25 Nf5! Bxh2+ 26 Kh] BeS 27 RXe5 and Black resigns

24

The United States Chess Championship Third American Congress, Chicago, July 7-16, 1874 Totals M

1. Mackenzie X 2. Hosmer o1 3. Judd O~ 4. Bock 00 5. Elder 6. Perrin 00 7. Congdon 00 8. Kennicott 00

H 10

J 1 Y2

B 11

X

10

E

P

C

11 11 11

11 11 11 J~

o1

X

11 1 1/2

00

o Y2

X

1~

o Y2

X

11 o1

00

00

10

X

00

O~

00

o1

00 00 00

K 11

W

11

10 6 4

11 10 X

L 1

Points lOY2-1 Y2

0 2

2 2

10-2

5

5Y2-6~

2

3Y2-2~

10

3 2

X

D

3 0

1

1

0

0

7-3

2-10 10 10 lY2-10Y2 0-4 4

(For the first time, draws counted. The forefeitures of Elder and Kennicott were not counted, however.)

After 20 £4

Mason-Martinez, 1876 As mentioned earlier, Mason's citizenship denied him a claim on the national title. The tournament, designed to attract foreign masters to America for the first time, was never intended to be for the recognition as best player in America. It was to be for $300 first prize and the "Governor Garland Silver Cup." Mason took the money, the cup and a few years later, went home to London.

1880: The Great Scandal The Fourth American Congress did not have Mackenzie. The Fifth did, as well as a dramatic race for first prize, the first-ever tie and playoff for an American tide - plus evi-

.

dence of subterfuge and quite a juicy little scandal. Did James Grundy really doublecross an opponent in order to make himself U.S. champion? We may never know the full story but this is what we do know: The Fifth American Congress returned the event to New York City where on January 6,1880, a field oflO assembled at the Congress Hall, 60 East 14th Street. There were a number of strong, local amateurs including businessmen such as Albert Cohnfeld, Charles Mohle, Eugene Delmar and Grundy. But there were also some regional representatives of quality - Judd of St. Louis, back for his third congress; Congdon of Washington, D.C.; Preston Ware, the enterprising Boston master, and Alexander Sellman, the 24-year-old star of Baltimore. Yet there was no doubt as to the pretournament favorite. "It had been generally conceded, both by the contestants and the chess laity of the land," said the tournament book, "that Captain Mackenzie would march triumphantly and irresistibly to the goal of first prize." But it wasn't that easy. In the first game of the second round he was completely outplayed by Grundy, a reasonably strong player but one never before considered a threat to the Captain. Several weeks earlier, in fact, Mackenzie had been able

• 1871-1889: The King Is a Captain to spot him "pawn and move" odds at the Manhattan Chess Club and win two straight games in a handicap tournament. The second Grundy-Mackenzie game of the congress was drawn and that proved significant because most of the other players in the tournament were far below their strength. Grundy and the Captain then ran off a string of victories and Grundy held his one-point lead with two rounds to go. But in the semifinal round Mackenzie pulled even by crushing Delmar while Ware defeated Grundy with the Black pieces (even though the Bostonian used one of his patented eccentricities to open: 1 e4 as?!). Now, with one round to go Mackenzie and Grundy were tied at 12lh-4lh, with Mohle close behind. Being a double-round event, the tournament schedule called for Mackenzie to again play Delmar, this time with Black, while Grundy would have Black against Ware. Mackenzie ground down his opponent with what would later be called Nimzovichian positional strategy. But Ware-Grundy lasted "far into the evening," requiring a dinner break. At adjournment Ware was much better and had what appeared to be a winning position. But then, the tournament book says: "Upon resuming the game in the evening, by some apparently purposeless moves - which may be inferred ... to have been a deep and disgraceful design - Mr. Grundy was permitted to retrieve his position from the threatened danger and eventually - though not precisely a part of that design - to win the game, and secure a tie with Captain Mackenzie for the first prize." What happened was this:

After 41 ••• gxh3

Ware-Grundy, 1880

25

Mter interminable maneuvering White could clinch the point with 42 Qa2+ Kg7 43 Bf6+!, e.g. 43 ... Kf8 44 Rd8+ Be8 45 Rxe8+!. But inexplicably he played 42 g3?? e3 43 Qa2+ Kg7 44 fXe3? and Black was soon on top with 44 ... fxg3 45 Bxg3 Kh7 46 Rh6+ Kg7 47 Qe6 Qxe6 48 Rxe6 Kf7!. Grundy won on the 64th move. Incensed by the turn of events, Ware cried foul to the tournament committee. In a special hearing he told the committee that earlier that Sunday he had been walking "down the Bowery" with Grundy and talking about their previous game: "He remarked to me that he was poor, and really needed the second prize [$300]; I had, in beating him, knocked him out of the first prize [$500] ... and it would not make any difference to me if I played easily in our next game, so as to give him the second prize; ... he would be willing to give a consideration for it. 'I suppose you mean for us to play for a draw.' He said: 'Yes' and I agreed to do it, and $20 was agreed upon as the consideration. "We agreed to play on very slowly until the other games were terminated, and to move back and forth ... and after I had done so, perhaps three or four times, I observed he was making desperate efforts to win, and finally did so, perpetrating an infamous fraud upon me." Not to mention upon Mackenzie and the rest of American players. When questioned about this, Grundy, of course, denied all. The tournament committee had nothing but one man's word - and some unusual movesagainst another's and they were forced to render a verdict of "not proven" on Ware's charges. This meant there had to be a twogame Grundy-Mackenzie playoff and on the following day the Captain easily confirmed his tide, getting, as the tournament book recalls, "slight resistance from his opponent in the two hasty and unentertaining games that brought the Grand Tournament to a close." Grundy got his second place money and took off for England, where he next shows up in 1910, playing lowly sixth board for Manchester in a match with City of London. He lost.

26

The United States Chess Championship Fifth American Congress, New York, Jan. 6-26, 1880 Totals

1-2. Grundy

G

M

M

S

X

1\12

~\12

10

X

10

V2 1

111111

1 V2

01

X

I '/2

1011

11

1 I

1-2. Mackenzie 0 V2 3. Mohle

~ V2

4. Sellman, A.

0 1

\l2Vz 1 \12

5. Judd

0 V2

~

0 0 V2

J 1

~

D

R

W

C

11

1~

01

11 11

D L

Points

11

5 2

13V2-4~

1 11

5 2

13 V2-4 V2

11

4 3

13-5

5 3

12V2-5V2

1 I

X

10

IV2 11

OV2

1 1 1 1 10

o1

X

V21

II

II

0111945

I 1

11

~1

11

8

37

9V2-8V2

XII

o1

11

5

12

5V2-12V2

Y211~4

6. Delmar, E.

00

o0

0 1

o V2

V20

X

7-8. Ryan

0 V2

00

00

00

00

00

7-8. Ware

10

00

00

1 V2

00

00

00

X

9. Congdon

00

V20

00

00

10

~O

01

O~

10. Cohnfeld

00

00

00

00

00

00

00 OV2

Throughout his championship years Mackenzie had shuttled across the Atlantic and earned a considerable reputation there. During this period he took a number of top prizes (such as for his ties for fourth place at Paris 1878 and Vienna 1882) and achieved many plus scores againt top players (such as Henry Bird, Louis Paulsen, Siegbert Tarrasch, Max Weiss, Simon Winawer, Joseph Henry Blackburne and Johannes Zukertort). His greatest achievement was winning the Frankfurt tournament of 1887 ahead of 20 masters with a score of15-5 that placed him 1\12 points ahead of his closest competitor. Yes, Mackenzie was a remarkable player.

•

C W

11-7

311

5V2-12V2

X

00

2

3 13

3~-14~

11

X

2

15

2V2-15Y2

But his health became increasingly fragile and the Fifth American Congress was his swan song in American chess. He died in his New York hotel room on April 14, 1891. Contemporary accounts blamed tuberculosis but Steinitz claimed Mackenzie killed himself with an overdose of morphine. His death came at a time when many chess enthusiasts believed his successes had made him the unofficial world champion. Mackenzie made no such claim himself and his own modest estimation of his place in chess history might have come when asked to describe his playing style. "If I were to describe myself at all," he replied, "I should call myself a small Morphy."

Chapter Four

1891-1906: The Years of Confusion Over the years the United States championship has been determined in three ways: by popular acclaim, by match play and by designated tournaments. The first three titleholders (Stanley, Morphy and Mackenzie) won matches and tournaments but are considered champions by acclaim. The chess publie and press clearly recognized their superiority and that made them champions. But after Mackenzie's death there was no clear number one. The quality of play in America had improved mightily during the 1880s and this encouraged several equally talented men to make claims on the title. At least four masters can be said to have actually held the title during this next period and several others claimed it. Moreover, there were at least nine and arguably as many as 13 events at which the tirle can be said to have been at stake. Not until the 1980s and '90s, when the United States Chess Federation committed itself to an annual championship, would there be such uncertainty over the identity of the nation's strongest player. In the 1880s, as a century later, the question seemed to have a different answer each year. At any given moment during this era there was likely to be two different "champions," each with supporters and detractors. Matches were followed by rematches and sudden retirements. The muddiness of this time is illustrated by the case of one legitimate champion for whom we have two spellings of

his surname - and three different given names. In fact, only one good thing can be said about the period: It was during these years that latter-day historians were able to pinpoint a specific U.S. championship title and identify a method for selecting the tirleholder. After 1909 there would never again be a champion by acclaim. The confusion began in 1887 when Max Judd, then a wealthy St. Louis judge, defeated Albert Hodges, a New York master, in a match by 5-2. Judd promptly claimed the title of national champion. Clearly this was without basis since Mackenzie was very much alive and, in the absence of another national congress, still considered the champ. A year later, a major tournament was held in Cincinnati and because of forfeitures and bad play Judd finished sixth - dead last. The 1888 tournament added fuel to future controversy because it was the first success ofJackson Whipps Showalter, "The Kentucky Lion." The main purpose of the tournament was another attempt at reorganization of American chess, this time with the formation of the "United States Chess Association." But by finishing ahead of Judd and four other state champions (Major James M. Hanham of New York, Charles Mohle of Minnesota, ].M. Tomlinson of Indiana and James F. Burns of Ohio) Showalter used the event to establish a reputation as an up-and-coming talent. A contemporary report said he had "proved his ability to play on even terms with

27

28

The United States Chess Championship

anyone in the U.S., except probably, Steinitz and Mackenzie. He is a rapid, cool, pleasant player, fond of an open game, and his sacrifice of pieces almost invariably proves to be sound." But Showalter was not the only new face. A year after the 1888 tournament there was a move afoot to bring major international chess to America. With contributions of nearly $5000 being solicited, chess fans in New York, had wrung commitments from several European masters to cross the Atlantic for what was officially called the "Sixth American Chess Congress," better known as the New York International of1889. Mackenzie, apparently ailing, was not available and this seems to mark his retirement from chess. Therefore, the American player who placed highest in this mammoth 20-player, double-round-robin event, could claim to be de facto champion. The surprise top finisher was not Showalter, or Eugene Delmar or James Mason or Major Hanham or anyone mentioned so far. After two months of play it was clear that a score of 22 wins, seven draws and nine losses gave the obscure Solomon Lipschutz clear possession of sixth place, behind five foreigners. Lipschutz, a Hungarian-born printer, had beaten three of those foreigners (Mikhail T chigorin, Joseph Henry Blackburne and Isidor Gunsberg) and had played a sure-handed conservative game, exploiting his overambitious rivals: C29 Vienna Game New York 1889 white Lipschutz, black W.H.K. Pollock 1 e4 e5 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 f4 d5 4 fxe5 Nxe4 5 Qf3 Nxc3 6 bxc3 Be6 7 d4 c5 8 RbI Qc7 9 Bb5+ Nc6 10 Ne2 O-O-O!? 11 0-0 Be7 12 Be3 h5? Black is dreaming of a kingside advance with 13 ... g5, which if played on the 12th move would allow white to paralyze his forces with 13 Qh5! Lipschutz was an uninspiring player - a short, quiet mustachioed positional master - but he could transform a slight enemy weakness into a concrete advantage .

.

13 Nf4! Bg5 ]4 Nxe6 Bxe3+ 15 QXe3 fxe6 16 Bxc6 Qxc6 17 Rf7! Rd7 Here White should trade rooks and begin to work on the weakened kingside pawns. But he overlooks Black's ability to capture at c2 and thereby threaten checks on the first rank. 18 RbO Rhd8 19 Qg5?! cxd4 20 cXd4 Rxfi 21 Rxfi Qxc2! 22 Rfl Qh7?

Mter

22 ... Qh7

Lipschutz-Pollock, 1889

A dreadfully defensive move that leaves White's queen and rook in possession of all the key squares. Lipschutz now sets up a murderous threat of a check on the c-file. 23 Qe7! Qh6 24 h3 h4 25 Kh2! The plan of 26 Rf3 and 27 Rc3+ wins new squares for White's heavy pieces. 25 ... Qe3 26 Qxe6+ Rd7 27 Rf3! Qel 28 Qf5! Another fine move. Black's queen cannot move because of 29 Rc3+ or 29 e6. 28 .•• Kc7 29 Qc2+ Kd8 30 Qe5! and Black resigns There is no defense to 31 Rf8 and mates. While Lipschutz' Eastern supporters were advancing the idea - highly disputed at the time - that his New York 1889 result conferred champion status on him, Showalter was adding to his laurels in the Midwest. In Feb-

.. 1891-1906: The Years of Confosion ruary 1890 he won the Third Congress of the United States Chess Association at St. Louis and a strong tournament in Chicago. The gentleman farmer from Minerva, Kentucky, then crowned his success in a short match with Lipschutz and it was on the basis of this that he would later say he was U.S. champion. The match also was interesting because for the first time since Morphy two Americans could produce a game of depth. Here is one (with some annotations of the day in quotations marks): C26 Vienna Game Match, Louisville 1890 white Lipschutz, black Showalter 1 e4 eS 2 Nc3 Nc6 3 g3 This was Paulsen's idea, but it was disappearing from master practice about this time, only to be reintroduced by Vasily Smyslov in the 1960s. A contemporary note said Adolf Anderssen "came to the conclusion that the second player could do no better than to imitate White's example and also play 3 ... g6, as the KB will not be well posted on cS." 3 ... Nf6 4 Bg2 BcS 5 Nge2 d6 6 d3 a6! 70-0 Bg4!?

29

On the previous move 13 hxg4 would have been met by 13 ... hxg4+. Now Showalter has a strong attack, something White could have averted with 11 BgS!. 14 f5!? ''An ingenious variation pointed out by Mr. Showalter is worthy of notice," wrote a contemporary: 14 hxg4 Qxg4 IS d4 exd4 and now 16 cxd4 allows the brilliant 16 ... hxg3+ 17 Kgl Qxe2!!. Then 18 Qxe2 Nxd4 and a discovered check wins for Black. And if 18 dxcS Black continues 18 ... Nd4!!, threatening 19 ... Rh2 or 19 ... Nf3+! (e.g. 19 Qxd4 Rhl+!! 20 Bxh1 Qh2 mate or 20 Kxhl QhS+). 14 ... hxg3+ 15 Kxg3 BhS 16 Qel 0-0-0 17 Kh2 "Useless precaution. 17 Ngl at once gained important time." Lipschutz apparently wanted to play 18 N g3 and then changed his mind. 17 ... Rh7 18 Ngl dS!? 19 exdS Ne7 20 Qe4! QxdS 21 b4?

A deep idea: Black means to provoke h2h3, force White into Kh2 and then play ... hS-h4, Lipschutz responds well.

A typical judgment of the day: "In spite of Black's ingenious conduct of the attack, White still has a little better game on account of his passed h-pawn and owing to his opponent's doubled pawns. 21 Bd2 was the right move." Now Showalter gets his chance.

8 h3 Be6 9 Kh2 hS 10 NdS! Qd7 11 Nxf6+ gxf6 12 f4 Bg4! 13 c3 h4!

21 ... Bb6 22 a4 Qxe4 23 BXe4 Bg4! 24 Kg3 Bxf5! "Very fine play, but all this could not have happened if White's QB had been developed as suggested in above note." Meaning that White's knight would have been protected after 25 BxfS+ NxfS 26 RxfS Rg8+ 27 Kh2!.

After 13 ... h4

25 Rxf5! Rg7+ 26 Kf3 Rxgl 27 Bb2!

Lipschutz-Showalter, 1890

"The sacrifice of the exchange was his only resource in order to make a long fight of it. If27 RhS the reply 27 ... Rfl+ followed by ... Rf2 or ... fS would soon win with ease."

30

The United States Chess Championship

27 ... Rxa1 28 Bxal Nxf5 29 Bxf5+ Kb8 30 c4 Bd4! 31 Bxd4 Rxd4 32 Kg3 c6! 33 h4? "Too impetuous. 33 a5 would still have made the issue very doubtful. For example, 33 ... Rf4 34 Bg4 Rfl 35 Kg2 and the pawn races on. Or 33 ... Kc7 34 h4 KdS 35 h5 Ke7 36 h6 Kf8 37 Be4 threatening Kg4-f5."

After 33 h4

Lipschutz-Showalter, 1890

33 .•. b5!! "This fine rejoinder gives him a passed pawn that ultimately wins." The rook can be sacrificed for White's passed pawn just in time.

34 axb5 axb5 35 cxb5 cxb5 36 h5 Rxb4 37 h6 Rd4 38 h7 Rd8 39 Kh4 Kc7 "Black has made his calculations with deep accuracy and plays the ending accordingly."

40 43 46 49

Kh5 Kd6 41 Kh6 Kd5 42 Kg7 Kd4 Kxf7 b4 44 Kxf6 Rh8! 45 Kg7 Rxh7 + Bxh7 b3 47 Bg8 b2 48 Ba2 Kxd3 Kf6 e4 50 Bbl+ Kd4 51 Kf5 e3 and

White resigns The inactivity of Mackenzie, coupled with Showalter's successes, established the tall, amiable Kentuckian as champion and "The Kentucky Lion" - a nickname reflecting both his aggressive style of play and hair style - was to figure in championship play for the next eighteen years. As a wealthy farmer, Showalter was

able to devote considerable time to chess, a game he became serious about in his midtwenties after his college education had been interrupted by a brief fling at running the family cattle ranch on a Texas border town. Showalter had given up ranching for farming and returned to Lexington, Kentucky, where he was later given credit for having developed baseball's "curve ball." While Showalter was considered a leading player in his era ("Exceedingly strong," according to historian Hermann Helms) with a modern-day equivalent of a 2470 rating, it is a fact that Showalter lost more matches for the championship than any other player: to Harry Nelson Pillsbury (twice), to Frank Marshall, to Hodges and to Lipschutz. But you have to be good to begin with to be in a position to even compete in such upper strata, and Showalter easily balanced the debit side of his career with U.S. title victories and strong showings abroad. Among the international set his victims included Wilhelm Steinitz (twice), Joseph Blackburne, Geza Mar6czy, Mikhail Tchigorin (three times) and world-champion-to-be Emanuel Lasker. Showalter lived a long life (1860-1935) but retired from competitive chess rather early- being remembered for his friendliness and good humor. The normally acidic Steinitz left probably the best eulogy of Showalter: "Showalter is one of the six people in the world from whom I would accept a cigar." In late 1890 Showalter's string of successes was spoiled by the loss of a match to Judd, 7-3, but for once the Missouri master made no claim on the national title. Showalter returned to Lexington in 1891 to win the Fourth Congress of the United States Chess Association, beating a British visitor, W.H.K. Pollock, in a playoff. But a year later Lipschutz got his revenge. The Hungarian-born master of technique had garnered enough financial support to sponsor a rematch with Showalter and this time it was a one-sided rout. Lipschutz scored seven wins to Showalter's one, the other seven games ending in draws. He then did something quite unexpected: The frail 28-year-old Lipschutz gave up his New York business and

1891-1906· The Years of Confusion his chess career to move west to California where he would be better able to nurture his failing health. Showalter naturally reclaimed the vacant title and confirmed his position in 1893 by taking third prize in a very strong international tournament in New York behind Emanuel Lasker - then just a year away from the world championship - and Adolf Albin, a Rumanian business speculator then seeking his fortune in America. Later that year Showalter finished third in another strong New York event, but this time it was behind two Americans. One of those was Harry Pillsbury, then 20, who had little interest in challenging Showalter to a match. But the other high-finisher did and this is where Albert Hodges re-enters the story. Hodges, born July 21, 1861, had come to New York with a good deal of natural talent and quickly landed a job as the human "mechanic" inside a pseudoscientific device called "Ajeeb." This was a chess automaton, that is, a matchine that allegedly played masterful chess and checker moves while on display at the Eden Musee in Manhattan. Judd had recommended the job to Hodges when they both lived in St. Louis but he tired of the work after a year or so and disappeared from chess. Lipschutz rediscovered Hodges just before his departure to California and recruited him for the Manhattan Chess Club where in 1891 he was soon recognized as one of the very best players around, if not the best. Hodges' success in the 1893 New York tournament led him to challenge Showalter early the next year. In a long, gruelling struggle, Showalter edged out an 8-6 victory. But Hodges demanded and got a rematch and later in 1894 he used it to score a 5-3 victory. For the third time in the four years since Mackenzie was recognized as retired, there was a new United States champion. The progression of Showalter to Lipschutz to Showalter to Hodges became more confused when Hodges announced shortly after winning the championship match that he had fulfilled his ambitions in chess and was now ready to pursue a career in business. (Un-

31

like Morphy, Hodges proved to be both a commercial success and a friend to the game after he withdrew from chess and would be a welt-liked visitor to U.S. championship tournaments as late as the 1930s when he was well into his seventies but remained an avid fan.) So in late 1894 the championship was vacant once again and Showalter naturally claimed it. He strengthened his posicion by finishing third in yet another New York international in 1894, behind two foreigners, Steinitz and Albin. Showalter also managed to beat young Pillsbury in this tournament and with his 5th-6th place finish, the Massachusetts master didn't seem to be getting any better. In fact, there didn't seem to be any strong upand-coming players who would be able to challenge Showalter - when suddenly Lipschutz returned in early 1895, in good health and claiming he had never relinquished his tide. It didn't really matter: Showalter promptly beat him 7-4 in what proved to be Lipschutz's last tide match. He returned to Berlin and died there in 1905. Meanwhile, Showalter, determined to give his championship claim more credibility, defeated two of the strongest amateurs of the day, Emil Kemeny of New York and John F. Barry of Boston, in matches that were clearly defined as being for the championship. But impressive as the Kentuckian's performances were in 1895-1896 they were overshadowed by what a quiet New Englander was doing across the Atlantic.

Enter Pillsbury Harry Nelson Pillsbury was 22 when he became world famous, and lived only 11 more years. Even more remarkable was his rapid rise in 1895, coming as it did only six years after learning how to play the moves. Edward Lasker later compared him with his friend Frank Marshall. Both were "interesting examples of a strange mental phenomenon. They successfully concentrated all their faculties of chess, to the exclusion of every other intellectural

32

The United States Chess Championship

interest. Trying to draw them into a conversation on any subject other than chess was a hopeless task." Pillsbury's instant celebrity came from winning the Hastings, England, invitational tournament of 1895, arguably the strongest large event of the 19th century. Paired with two world champions and the best players of England, Germany, France, Russia and Austria, Pillsbury duplicated Morphy's European success and won a clear first place. He topped this off with impressive results the next year in St. Petersburg, Nuremburg and Budapest and on his return from Europe his backers at the Brooklyn Chess Club gave him a reception that one viewer said "would have thrilled a war-scarred general on his triumphant return from battle." By contrast, the lone international appearance by Showalter, the official United States champion, was a rather dismal 5Yz-lOYz at Nuremberg. It is easy to appreciate his interest in atoning for that result and this explains why, in a reversal of roles, champion Showalter challenged his young rival to a match in 1897. Pillsbury, who seemed to be the first man in 25 years who didn't care to be U.S. champion, was coaxed into playing for stakes of $1000. The money would go to the first man to win seven games. If the score were to reach 6-6, the match was to be extended to a required 10 wins. And if the score were to reach 9-9, the match would be declared drawn. (These are strikingly similar to the provisions Bobby Fischer sought and subsequently forfeited his world title over in 1975.) Pillsbury accepted Showalter's challenge, but added: "I was not seeking the match, and even ifI should win, I shall leave Showalter in possession of his championship title. I am not in search of any title but one" - meaning Emanuel Lasker's world title. And when Pillsbury eventually won by a 10-8 score, with three draws, his margin was regarded as unimpressive: "The result was somewhat disappointing for Pillsbury's admirers," wrote The American Chm Magazine, "especially for those who want to bring about a match between him and Lasker. ... As for Showalter he has proven

a better player than he had been given credit for." Here is a good example of Pillsbury's superiority in planning and execution on a grand scale: C84 Giuoco Piano Match, Third Game, New York February 17, 1897 white Pillsbury, black Showalter 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 Nc3 d6 5 d3 a6 6 Be3 Bxe3 7 fxc3 Na5 8 Bb3 Nxb3 9 aXb3 Nh6 10 0-0 c6 11 d4! Pillsbury contributed many ideas to the openings bur did not really work at them. He preferred to find a simple system for developing his pieces and to concentrate on them after the 12th or 15th move. 11 ... Qe7 12 Qel 0-0 13 Qg3 f6 14 h3

Be6 15 Rf2 Rae8 16 Raft Bc8 Now what? After a humdrum opening Pillsbury has a slight initiative but no targets for his rooks and knights. He realizes he needs a change in the pawn structure and, since Black is unwilling to accommodate him with exd4 he finds a new plan. 17 Nh4 Kh8 18 dS! cS?! 19 NfS! BxfS 20 exfS White gets e4 for his knight as well as a simple winning idea: g2-g4-g5. Black should try to hold this up with ... Nf7 bur he bets on ... c4 instead. 20 ... Rc8 21 Qh4 Qf7?! 22 g4! Qe7 23 Ne4 Nf7 24 QhS Kg8 25 h4 h6 26 Rg2 Rc7 27 Khl c4 28 Ragl cxb3 29 cXb3 Rfc8 (see diagram) Pillsbury's victories often gave the impression of effortlessness, of having selected the correct plan and letting the pieces work for him. That's the case here.

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1891-1906: The Years of Confusion C84 Ruy Lopez Match, 12th Game, New York April 1, 1898 white Showalter, black Pillsbury After 29 ... Rfe8

1 e4 eS 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6 4 d4 exd4 5 0-0 a6 6 Ba4 Be7 7 ReI 0-0 8 eS

Pillsbury-Showalter, 1897

30 g5 hxg5 31 hXg5 Nxg5 32 Rxg5! fxg5 33 Nxg5 The threat is a pair of queen checks on h7 and h8. After 33 ... Qf6 White wins with 34 Qh7+ and 35 Ne6+. 33 •.. g6! 34 Qxg6+ Qg7 35 Qe6+ Kh8 36 Rg3! The threat of Rh3+ is decisive. All Pillsbury needs to clinch the point is a place to sheld his king from perpetual checks.

At this time 7 Rel was just coming into vogue and replacing 7 e5. Showalter has a strange positional plan in mind. 8 ... Ne8 11 b4?!

9 Nxd4 Nxd4 10 Qxd4 d5

Modern theory regards 11 exd6 Bd6 as equal. But Showalter wants to monopolize the dark squares and needs to restrain ... c5. Kemeny writes: "The play is somewhat novel, but not satisfactory. It weakens the Queen's wing without affording a safe retreat to the KB. Much better was 11 c3, followed eventually by Bc2, Be3 and Nd2." 11 ... c6! 12 Bb2 Nc7 13 a3 as! 14 c3

36 ..• Rc1+ 37 Kg2 R8c2+ 36 Kf3 Rfl+ 37 Ke4! Rhl 38 Qe8+ and Black resigns With the beginning of 1898 there came another topsy-turvy situation: the official United States champion (Showalter) was widely recognized as being the second-best American player and eagerly seeking the rematch that Pillsbury had offered. The rematch prize fund and rules were the same as the first meeting and so was the name of the winner. The only real differences were the margin and the provision that the title of u.s. champion was clearly at stake. Play began February 25 at the Postal Telegraph Building on Broadway and Murray Street in lower Manhattan. At the relaxed pace that came to about two games a week, Pillsbury clinched victory after 12 games with seven wins, three losses and only two draws. Here is the final game, with quoted notes by Emil Kemeny, one of the strongest Americans of the day.

Mter 14 c3

Showalter-Pillsbury, 1898

"He could not well play 14 bxa5," Kemeny noted, giving 14 ... b5! 15 axb6 Ne6 or 15 Bb3 c5 and ... c4 "with a superior if not winning position for Black." 14 ... Bf'S 15 Qb6 "Premature play, which compromises the White game. White in all probability attempted

34

The United States Chess Championship

to win the a-pawn which, however, would have proved fatal, since ... Ne6-c5 might have followed." He recommends 15 Nd2, a move Steinitz might have rejected because of 15 Ne6 16 Qe3 Bg5 and ... Nf4-d3. 15 ... Qc8 16 Nd2 Ne6 17 NO Nf4 18 Bb3? Kemeny says only 18 Qe3 or 18 Bdl would have averted immediate disaster. The normally alert Showalter has overlooked 18 ... Nxg2! 19 Kxg2 Bh3+ and 20 ... Qg4, which wins. 18 ... Nxg2! 19 Redl Be4! 20 Nd2 Here 20 Kxg2 would have allowed 20 ... Qg4+ followed by ... Bxf3. 20 ... Ra6! 21 Qd4 Nf4 The rest is a rout as White has no adequate defense to ... Ne2+ or ... Qg4+. 22 Qe3 Qg4+ 23 Kfl Bd3+ 24 Qxd3 Qg2+ 25 Kel Nxd3+ and White resigns How does a 16-year-oJd beginner develop into a U.S. champion and contender for world championship honors in just six years? Pillsbury's total focus on chess had a lot to do with his rapid development, as did his prodigious memory. His memory feats were legendary at the time, and no wonder. He was able to play up to 22 simultaneous blindfold games while, at the same time, playing whist. In addition, at the end of such exhibitions, he could recite with total recall, in correct order, a list of 25 or 30 words given to him beforehand - forwards and backwards - and then recite the moves from all the games. His memory feats graduated from mere parlor tricks to a road show that saw Pillsbury making at least five transcontinental tours giving such exhibitions. Such a mind would have little trouble retaining the first 16 moves of a Queen's Gambit or Ruy Lopez, and during his formative chess years Pillsbury studied every available chess book and assiduously played over all the games of the leading European players, retaining what he considered important. It's no wonder that

.

he possessed what contemporaries called a "machine-like concentration" at the board, and an "absolute stony calmness in his face" while conducting textbook-type attacks where the position demanded. It was Pillsbury's tremendous memory feats and blindfold play that many believed caused his mental and emotional problems, which ultimately led to his death in 1906, at the age of 33. To this day, blindfold exhibitions are frowned on in Russia because of the apparent mental strain. Yet another theory is offered by Walter Korn in his book America's Chess Heritage. Korn documents numerous symptoms that would indicate Pillsbury actually was suffering from an aneurysm, which would have caused his erratic, sometimes suicidal behavior. (From Lasker's Chess Magazine, April, 1905: "Mr. Pillsbury was operated on at the Presbyterian Hospital, Philadelphia, on March 27, and a few days later, while in a high fever, he tried to jump from a fourth story window. He was finally controlled and returned to bed. The character of the operation is not mentioned in the accounts of the incident. The patient has recovered from his illness and at this writing is expected to take part in the cable match for the Newnes Trophy, on April 15.") The truth was Pillsbury contracted syphillis, then frequently fatal, and his health slowly but inevitably declined. Pillsbury never actually defended the championship that he won from Showalter. As a matter of fact, he was never officially challenged. There was an apparent gentleman's agreement among the leading contenders not to take advantage of Pillsbury's mental condition. After all, what could it mean to win the championship under such circumstances? A near exception to this understanding occurred when Max Judd, the perennial contender, helped organize the Seventh American Chess Congress in St. Louis in 1904. The tournament announcements proclaimed that the winner would be American champion. Pillsbury, who had periods of lucidity, objected. He prevailed on his good friend Walter Penn Shipley, a Philadelphia lawyer and strong chess amateur, to protest .

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1891-1906: The Years of Confusion Judd disputed the Pillsbury/Shipley claim, saying that Pillsbury was basing his tirle on events that had evolved from Lipschutz's invalid claims in 1889, when Lipschutz assumed the championship through his finish as the highest placed American player in the Sixth American Chess Congress. Judd's point was that Pillsbury could not be the champion since he won the title from Showalter, who won from Lipschutz who was not the champion to begin with and therefore could not lose what was not his. It was an argument reminiscent of the dynastic disputes of the Middle Ages. The Seventh American Chess Congress would clear up the matter, Judd argued. But popular opinion, logic and the authority of the respected Shipley were all against Judd, and the first issue of Lasker's Chess Magazine (November 1904) summarized the era. The magazine argued that both tournaments and matches had been used to determine champions in the past "but the accepted theory today is that a match between the aspirants is the better" since "the element of chance" is less than that to be found "in a promiscuous gathering of players." The magazine went on to trace the title from Morphy's victory over Paulsen in 1857 to Captain Mackenzie's wins in the Congresses of the 1870s and through the various matches, retirements, disretirements and rematches of the Lipschutz-Showalter-Hodges period. The magazine even argued that when Showalter played Emanuel Lasker a short match in 1893 the U.S. tide was at stake and that the veryGerman Lasker had, like Lipschutz before him and Hodges after him, relinquished the title by default (!). The article concluded that there was a clear line of succession since the second Showalter-Lipschutz match in 1895: "There was no further questioning regarding the right of Showalter to the championship, and his defeat of Kemeny and of Barry in the same year clinched his hold on it. Pillsbury's victories over Showalter in their matches of 1897 and 1898 gave the tide of United States Champion to Pillsbury, and as such he stands today." The management committee of the St.

Louis event reluctantly agreed and changed their promotion to say that the Seventh American Congress was for the "American Chess Tourney Championship." The eventual tournament book declared the winner, Frank Marshall, to be "Champion, Seventh American Chess Congress" adding that his tide "has no reference whatever to the United States Championship held by Harry N. Pillsbury, whom Marshall acknowledges as holder thereof." Any lingering hopes Judd may have had about pressing his claim to be champion byacclamation were dashed in the seventh round of the St. Louis tournament: 021 Queen's Gambit Accepted Seventh American Congress, St. Louis October 1904 white Marshall, black Judd

1 d4 dS 2 c4 dxc4 3 NO Bg4 4 NeS Bf5? Black's third move had been tried previously but the idea behind it is to retreat to h5, pinning the enemy e-pawn. Judd's next two moves are even worse. S Nc3 f6? 6 e4! Be6? With 6 ... fxe5 7 exfS Black would face threats of 8 Qh5+, 8 dxe5 and 8 Bxc4. Judd, perhaps realizing that Marshall was running away with the tournament, tries a little combination here but overlooks his opponent's ninth move. The game, in effect, is over by the 11th.

Mter

6 ... Be6

A1anhall-Judd, 1904

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The United States Chess Championship

7 QhS+ g6 8 Nxg6 Bf7 9 QbS+! c6 10 Qxb7 hxg6 11 Qxa8 Qc7 12 dS cxdS 13 NxdS QeS 14 Bxc4 e6 15 Bb5+ Kd8 16 Bf4! Qxe4+ 17 Kfl and Black resigns There is little Black can do about IS QxbS+.

Marshall's 8V2-V2 victory ended this confusing era by clarifying how championships were determined. Thcre was one final chapter to be written - a dispute over who was the real United States champion after Pillsbury's death on June 17, 1906.

•

Chapter 5

1907-1936: The Champion Who Enjoyed It Frank James Marshall enjoyed being the United States champion. Like Morphy before him and Bobby Fischer after, he was easily recognized as the best American player of his day. But, unlike his two peers, success at the game never seemed to haunt Marshall: to the contrary, he revelled in his tirle status, wearing it like a badge. Later champions would see the tournament primarily as a source of prize money. Gata Kamsky competed in part to establish his credentials as an American, and not just "former Soviet," star. But to Marshall, the title was more, a virtual facet of his personality. Indeed, a Frank Marshall signature was not complete until he added, as a suffix, "United States Chess Champion." He was born in New York City on August 10, 1877, and lived there for eight years before his family moved to Montreal, where he began his life in chess by watching his father play casual evening games over the dining room table. The future champion did not prove to be a master overnight. Upon learning the moves from his father, it took young Frank at least six months to playas well as he, and "quite a long time" before he won a game. Marshall describes his early chess style: "From the very first, I was an attacking player, forever on the offensive. This often got me into trouble. However. I am glad that my father did not curb this instinct too much .... I have

always liked a wide open game and tried to knock our my opponent with a checkmate as quickly as possible. I subscribe to the old belief that offense is the best form of defense." By the time Marshall had turned 11 he had outgrown his father's abilities and was soon introduced to stiffer competition at Montreal coffeehouses, and eventually joined the Montreal Chess Club which he credits as a major, favorable influence. From then on, Marshall had ample opportunity to develop his style, claiming that from the age of ten until he had long since retired from competitive chess he played at least one game a dayand then took the chess board to bed with him in case he got any middle-of-thc-night inspirations. "Only a pocket set, though." he added. Marshall's monolithic, yet romantic. devotion to the game paid off when, after establishing himself as a force in international competition and the strongest native-born player then active in America, he traveled to Kentucky in 1909 and defeated the on-again. offagain champion. Jackson Showalter. In retrospect, this act cleared up all confusion about the succession of champions since Mackenzie's day. and also gave Marshall the title left apparently vacant by the death of Pillsbury in 1906. The American Chess Bulletin reported at the time a sentiment shared by many U.S. players: "It was indeed a pleasant surprise when

37

38

The United States Chess Championship

word came from Lexington, Ky., the first of November, that play actually had begun in a match between Frank J. Marshall and Jackson W. Showalter for the championship of the United States. The Bulletin had complete faith in the assertion that Showalter had not retired .... But it remained for Marshall to track our chess lion to his lair." One reason it was a pleasant surprise was that the match also put an end to the peculiar dispute that had been raging in American clubs for nearly a year: whether or not the title of U.S. champion had been usurped by the young dynamo Jose Raoul Capablanca. How could the Havana-born Capa be considered as Pillsbury's successor? That requires a bit of digression: After Pillsbury's fatal symptoms became apparent, American chess hopes shifted ro Marshall, who was only 22 when he garnered an impressive tie for third prize at the Paris international of 1900. That was his debut in grandmaster chess and although he finished behind world champion Emanuel Lasker and Pillsbury, Marshall had the pleasure of beating both of them in the course of event. Four years later, in Pillsbury's last, somewhat pathetic appearance, Marshall scored his greatest success by winning the Cambridge Springs International in western Pennsylvania, ahead of Lasker, Pillsbury and a host of strong European and American masters. At the time there was no doubt that Marshall had replaced the soon mortally ill Bostonian as the best U.S. player of the day. But by the time Pillsbury's death this was no longer so clear. Jose Capablanca had come to New York from his native Cuba ro study at Columbia University and he quickly set the local chess scene on fire. Like Marshall, Cap a had learned the moves at an early age from his father and was naturally gifted with remarkable tactical intuition. But he also had an exceptionally deep strategic sense and when he met the New York masters who had styled themselves after Pillsbury and Marshall, the Cuban never had any difficulty. His renown at speed chess - then becoming the new fad at the Manhattan Chess Club - quickly spread beyond

..

New York. Without much coaxing, Capablanca added to his reputation by a series of highly publicized simultaneous exhibitions tours in which he usually won about 90 percent of his games. Inevitably, comparisons between Marshall and Capablanca - the two best players in New York and also the two best players in the Western Hemisphere - were made. A match was also inevitable. Capablanca later recalled: "Marshall was disposed to play in this case where he naturally discounted his victory. How far he was wrong, the result proved." It did indeed, as Capa routed Marshall by winning eight games, losing only one and drawing seven others. The match, held in early 1909, had ostensibly been for a match stakes and also for bragging rights. But the New York State Association had complicated matters by sanctioning the event as being for the U.S. championship tide. After all, the state body reasoned, wasn't Marshall the champion? But after the match Marshall counterattacked. He argued that the Cuban could not hold the U.S. title because he was not a United States citizen (remember the difference between Captain Mackenzie and James Mason?). This argument sounded a bit self-serving, considering that Cuba was then a United States territory and that Capablanca had been living in New York for more than three years and gave every indication of remaining. Moreover, the Cuban said he planned to take out citizenship papers as soon as he came of legal age, which would be in a few months. Capa told the American Chess BuLletin: "I am the undisputed champion of Cuba, and last spring I beat Marshall by the score of 8 to 1. Mr. Marshall has the greatest reputation and the best score in tournaments of any living chess player in the U.S.A., and is therefore considered everywhere as the strongest representative of the United States .... Therefore, I consider myself the 'champion of America,' and stand ready to defend my tide within a year against any American of the U.S.A. or anywhere else, for a side bet of at least $1,000, United States currency. Under these circumstances the question whether I am a citizen of

1907-1936' The Champion Who Enjoyed It the U.S.A. or not has nothing to do with the matter under consideration." But Capablanca tended to overstate his case - he was never "champion of Cuba," for example. Fans quickly took sides, some for Marshall, some for Capa. Once again the chess community turned to a lawyer to sort out the facts and again their choice was Walter Penn Shipley. His line of reasoning came as a surprise, but his conclusion was even more so. The real U.S. champion, Shipley said, was neither Marshall, nor Capablanca. He wrote: "If there is any chess champion of the United States, Jackson W Showalter of Kentucky is the holder of the tide. Since he won it he has never declined any challenge and until he does so, neither Marshall, Capablanca nor any other player has a valid claim." Shipley went on to say that "to be the American champion one must be an American, either native or naturalized." Capa could become a challenger for the tide if he now becomes a citizen, the lawyer ruled. ''And the man he must challenge is Showalter." With that, the New York Chess Association, which had given its authority to back Capa's claim, withdrew support. Marshall, acting with haste, took the train to Lexington and challenged Showalter. Capablanca, seeing his bid thwarted, decided he didn't want to be an American citizen after all. He consoled himself with a comfortable post in the Cuban diplomatic service and a career as a globe-trotting, chess-playing goodwill ambassador for Havana. Marshall would get Showalter but eventually Capa got Lasker: Twelve years after his legal and match-play struggle with the New Yorker, Capablanca became champion of the world.

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front of the Phoenix In the mid- and late 1800s. The tradition has been carried over today in the form of an annual "Phoenix Stakes" race each spring. But the stakes for the Showalter-Marshall match were modest-$500 a side-and the only aspect of it that was in keeping with the Phoenix tradition was its speed. The match was to consist of 15 games and was decided after 12 - taking just 14 days to play. Marshall won two of the first three games, drew the other and coasted easily to victory with seven wins and three draws. Showalter scored only two wins and he seemed long our of shape. C21 Danish Gambit Match, Lexington, Ky., 1909; white Marshall, black Showalter 1 e4 eS 2 d4 exd4 3 c3!? Marshall's choice of opening may seem bizarre but this was his style at the time and it didn't matter whether he was playing in a tournament or a match. In other matches with European masters he offered the Muzio Gambit, which sacrifices a whole piece.

3 ... d3 4 Bxd3 Ne6 5 Nf3 d6?! 6 Bc4 Nf6 7 Bf4 Be7 8 Nbd2 0-0 9 0-0 Bg4 10 ReI

After 10 ReI

Marshall vs. Showalter Marshall-Showalter, 1909

The first United States championship event of the 20th century took place in the now-historic Phoenix Hotel in Lexington, during late 1909. Today the hotel is remembered for a different kind of competition: Many a high-stakes horse race was begun in

After declining the gambit, Showalter has developed just as simply as Marshall. But the difference is that his pieces remain constricted and he now seeks a series of exchanges to free his game.

40

The United States Chess Championship

10 ... Nh5 11 Bg3 Nxg3 12 hxg3 Ne5 13 Bft Bg5 14 Qb3 Bxd2 15 Nxd2 Be6? It is difficulr for White to benefit from his superior pawn structure without minor pieces. But on the verge of equalizing Black has blundered, thinking he can trap the enemy queen after 16 Qxb7. 16 Qxb7! a6 17 Nf3 Nxf3+ 18 gxf3 Qd7 19 Qb4 Rfh8 20 Qa3 as Black does get some pressure against the b-pawn and his ingenuity over the next several moves deserves a better fate. But Marshall's superiority in this match came from his ability to use tactics to consolidate material and positional advantages. Unlike his flashy sacrificial brilliancies from European tournaments, Marshall wins this game - and the match - by watching and waiting. 21 Radl Qc6 22 Re3 f6 23 Rd4! Qb6 24 b3 c5 25 Rd2 a4 26 c4 aXb3 27 Qxb3 Qc7 28 QdJ Rb6 29 f4 Qb8 30 Rb3 Rxb3 31 axb3 Ra6 Marshall spots the tactical weaknessBlack's first rank - and ends the game quickly.

with more pride than any titleholder (with the possible exception of Walter Browne). Despite an almost free-spirited attitude towards chess and life, the title caused Marshall some immediate discomfort. He even told a British newspaper, the Daily Sketch, in December 1909 that he was retiring. "The game is too absorbing," he said. "To play it one must devote to it all of his time. No game in the world calls for such deep study and devotion as chess, and while I love it, there are other things which must occupy my attention. I have private business responsibilities which suffer from the game, so I have quit playing for good." Of course, he didn't retire. Marshall played chess professionally until the day he died, November 10, 1944. The championship tide enabled him to consolidate a position of authority in chess: He wrote several books of his own games and of the leading Europeans. He gave periodic exhibition tours of the U.S. and played private matches with worthy (and sometimes unworthy but wealthy) opponents. And with the help of friends he had known at the Manhattan Chess Club, he founded another club - the Marshall Chess Club - in New York's Greenwich Village, where he lived with his wife Caroline. For perhaps the first time in American history, winning the U.S. chess tide had an important, beneficial effect on a man's life.

Marshall vs. Lasker

After 31 ... Ra6

Marshall-Showalter, 1909

32 e5! Qa7 33 Rxd6 g6 34 Rxa6 and Black resigns Now Marshall was officially the chess champion of the United States, an honor he had doggedly sought and subsequently wore

It's ironic that despite his possession of the title for 27 years and his extensive tournament and match record, Frank Marshall only defended his championship once. This was against Edward Lasker in 1923 and proved to be of exceptional interest. There are no written records but it seems likely that more people saw the challenge match of that year than any other U.S. championship until 1984. This may not be so surprising since it was the most closely contested of any of the tide matches from 1891 to 1952 and because it lasted a record two months and took place before crowds in New York, Chicago, Milwaukee,

. 1907-1936: The Champion Who Enjoyed It Cleveland, Detroit, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Long Island. It was hard fought with seven games lasting more than 60 moves. And it was also an exciting match with the result in doubt until the 18th and final game. This in itself was a surprise because Marshall had been expected to polish off his challenger with ease. Yet while both contestants wrote extensively about the match, it remains one of the secrets of u.s. chess history. Few people remember the most evenly fought championship match or that the challenger in it was Edward Lasker. Lasker (1885-1981), a distant relative of Emanuel Lasker, was one of the many newand foreign - faces that populated the American chess scene in the 1920s. He was born in Berlin of a German father and American mother and had come to the United States in the opening months of World War 1. A small, educated excitable man, he made his way to Chicago - by way of the New York dubs - to earn $18 a week in the shipping room of Sears, Roebuck and Co. But with chess lessons and his first English chess primer he made ends meet and was soon moving up in the business world, from mail order to manufacturing and eventually to inventing a breast pump for mother's milk. His sudden affiuence left Lasker time for an occasional tournament and that usually meant the Western Chess Association's open championship, the forerunner of the modern U.S. Open. He won the event five years out of six, facing opposition from - among others - a Jackson Showalter then heading into his 60s. During this period Lasker took out U.S. citizenship and tested his luck against the New Yorkers. At a small master tournament in 1922 he finished dear first, even though the wellknown European grandmaster, David Janowsky, was then living in America and was invited. Today the tournament is remembered for the good showing by the "ll-year-old wunderkind" Sammy Reshevsky, who knocked Janowsky out of competition. But at the time its significance was to give Lasker an Eastern audience and the support he needed for a challenge to Marshall in 1923.

41

Marshall had not defended his tide in 14 years, largely because he seemed so far ahead of anyone else. But Lasker noticed a flaw in the growing Marshall legend - the championship was decided by match play and Marshall was a "tournament player." That is, his risky style enabled him to score heavily against the minor masters at the bottom of a scoretable, thereby offsetting his problems with his more solid peers. In matches, Marshall had had trouble. Against Capablanca and Emanuel Lasker, the Great Swindler had scored only one win, 16 losses and 21 draws. Edward Lasker, eight years younger than the champion, thought he had a chance. After nearly two years of negotiation on match conditions, play began at 8:30 P.M. March 15, 1923, before the muffied murmur of fans at the Marshall Chess Club, the champion's home ground. The dub telephone had been disconnected to prevent interruption from the outside world, and a generally proMarshall audience awaited the first victory of their champion. But it wasn't to come easilyin fact, it didn't come at all in the three games held in New York. Lasker adopted an unusual match strategy, playing conservatively with White and adventurously with Black-and uncompromisingly with both. The first three games took 28 hours and 235 moves to play, spread over six days. (By contrast, it took Bobby Fischer only 415 moves to win all his 11 games in the 196364 championship). The biggest surprise came in the second game when Marshall was caught in a tactical opening he knew very well: C30 Vienna Game

Second Game, New York, March 1923 white Marshall, black Lasker 1 e4 e5 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 Bc4 Nc6 4 d3 Bc5 5 f4 d6 6 Nf3 Bg4 7 h3 Bxf3 8 QXf3 Nd4 9 Qg3!? Qe7 10 Bb3 O-O-O!! II Rf1 (see diagram) This variation had become famousrather, notorious - after Mikhail Tchigorin won a brilliancy against Pillsbury at the great

42

The United States Chess Championship

Mter 11 RfI

Marshall-Lasker, 1923

Hastings tournament of1895 when the American accepted the piece sacrifice (9 ... Nxc2+ 10 Kd1 Nxa1 11 Qxg7 Rf8 12 fxe5 dxe5 13 Bh6). It had become a Marshall specialty, but Lasker was doing something very new.

the New York Times chess reporter who criticized his "showy" sacrifice as being made to "please the gallery." He also attacked the analyst for the American Chess Bulletin, who denigrated the knight offer and suggested defenses such as 21 Rdl, which loses a piece to 21 ... RXe4+! What Lasker didn't say is that the Times-man and Bulletin annotator were the same persons - and that person was match referee Hermann Helms. Here Marshall misses his opportunity to make a fight of it with 21 Be6+! fxe6 22 fxe6 Qxe6 23 Bxf6 when Black has questionable compensation after 23 ... RXe4+ 24 Kd2 Qd5+ 25 Qd3 Rg2+ and 26 ... Qxd3.

Mter

11 ... Nf5!?

20 ... Rd4

"I could see from the expression on Marshall's face that the sacrifice came to him as a complete surprise," Lasker later recalled. "I remember there was tremendous excitement among the onlookers, most of whom probably saw only that Marshall could not take the knight because the discovered check PxP would win the queen." After the referee restored order, Marshall recovered his composure and played:

Marshall-Lasker, 1923 (2nd)

21 BdS? Re8! 22 Bxf6 Qxf6 23 Rdl c6! 24 Rxd4 Qxd4 25 a3 BXc3+ 26 bxc3 QxdS 27 Qd3 Qxe4+ 28 Qxc4 Rxe4+ 29 Kd2 Rh4 30 Rf3 Kd7

12 Qg5 g6! Another long think by Marshall, as he calculated 13 exf5 h6 14 Qh4 exf4+ 15 Kd1 g5 16 Qe1 Qd7 and 17 ... RheS with a strong attack along the open file. The next series was cleverly played by both sides, with Lasker seeking open lines and pressure on e4 and Marshall defending as best he could. 13 fxeS QxeS 14 Qf4 Qe7! 15 g4 dS 16 gxfS gS! 17 Qf3 dxe4 18 dxe4 Bb4 19 BXgS! Rhg8 20 Bh4 Rd4 In his memoirs Lasker hints that he was slighted by the pro-Marshall press, including

•

This is the adjourned position - and probably a lost one for Marshall because of his bad pawns. 31 Rg3 Rh5 32 Rg7 Ke7 33 Rg8 Rxf5 34 Rb8 RdS+ 35 Kc1 b6 36 Rc8 cS 37 Rc7 + Rd7 38 Rc6 f5 39 Rh6 Kf8 40 Rh5 f4! 41 Rh4 f3 42 Rf4+ Rf7 43 Rxf7 + Kxf7 44 Kd2 Ke6 45 Ke3 Kd5 46 Kxf3 Kc4 47 Kg4 Kxc3 48 Kg5 Kxc2 49 Kh6 Kb3 50 Kxh7 c4 and White resigns But when the match moved to the Midwest in April Marshall came alive. At the Hamilton Club in Chicago, Marshall began

.. 1907-1936' The Champion Who Enjoyed It with his two straight wins, including his most impressive victory of the match. Lasker regained the lead when Marshall tried too hard for a swindle in the sixth game bur lost in back in the seventh. Lasker's account of this last game paints it as the rurning point of the match: Having adjourned a slightly inferior position as White the challenger had breakfast the next morning when "1 was suddenly seized with the most excruciating abdominal pains." Rushed unconscious to Walter Reese Hospital, he found doctors diagnosing his condition as a kidney attack and prescribing several days in bed. From there he asked for a delay, citing the match rules which allowed postponement of scheduled games for up to seven days because of certified illness. But according to Lasker, Marshall objected, saying that the match rules did not apply to adjournments. When the match umpire, Alrick Mana \1arshall Chess Club official- did not respond to a wire from the Chicago organizers, Lasker told his doctor "that r had to leave the hospital at all costs." His account, in Chess Secrets I Learned from the Masters, has him ignoring doctor's advice, ordering a cab and "barely" managing "to drag myself to the chess table" for the adjournment, which he then lost. The account is slightly suspect since, according to other sources, including Helms' Bulletin, Lasker was in the hospital for two days and the adjournment was postponed for three at his request. In any event, the match moved on and Marshall established a twopoint lead with victories in the 10th game at the Cleveland City Club and the 12th at the Detroit Chess and Checker Club. Lasker said his game and health continued to suffer in the match's final stages. But his greatest problem may have been his endgame play, as Marshall repeatedly outplayed his opponent, scoring wins from slightly favorable positions and holding bad ones once queens were off the board. Lasker managed another victory in the 14th game, in Baltimore, but couldn't find the tying point when the match wound up in early May at Washington, Long Island, and, finally,

43

at the Marshall Club, May 11-12. Only then was it appreciated how critical was Marshall's charge in April, when he scored five wins to Lasker's one. It began with this: D34 Queen's Gambit Declined Fourth Game, Chicago, April 2, 1923

white Marshall, black Lasker I d4 d5 2 Nf3 e6 3 c4 c5 4 cxd5 exd5 5 Nc3 Ne6 6 g3 Nf6 7 Bg2 The match seemed at times to be a debate on the merits of the Tarrasch (3 ... c5) Defense, which Lasker championed. He equalized easily with it in the sixth game after 7 ... Be7 8 0-0 0-0 9 Bg5 Be6 10 dxc5 Bxc5 11 Rcl Be7 12 Nd4 Nxd4 13 Qxd4 Qa5 14 a3 Rac8 15 Qd3 h6. Marshall then hallucinated with 16 b4? QXa3 17 Nxd5, thinking he would win material with the twin threats of Nxe7+ and Qxa3. But he overlooked 17 ... Bxb4!, protecting both, and then missed 18 Bxf6? Rxcl which cost him an Exchange. Still, he played it out, seeking swindle, and very nearly had one: 19 Qe4 Rxfl+ 20 Bxfl Bxd5 21 Qg4! g6 22 e4 Be6 23 Qh4 Qf3 24 Be2!? QXe2! 25 Qxh6 Qel+ 26 Kg2 Qxe4+ 27 KgI Qbl+ 28 Kg2 Bd5+ 29 f3 Bxf3+! and White resigns (30 Kxf3 Qfl+ and 31 ... Qxf6; 30 Kf2 Bc5+). Lasker also got the edge in the eighth game but couldn't convert his advantage and was ground down in the tenth. He never returned to the Tarrasch again in the match. 7 ••. Be6 8 0-0 Be7 9 dXe5 BxcS 10 Bg5 d4?! 11 Bxf6 Qxf6 12 Ne4 Qe7 13 Nxc5 Qxc5 14 ReI Qb6 IS Ng5! (see diagram) White's lead in development is substantial and few men knew how to handle an initiative as well as Marshall- even in a "positional" opening. Here he opens up his bishop's diagonal and prepares to hop around with his knight. After the game, Lasker said he should have played 15 ... BXa2 with a "doubtful outcome" after 16 Qd3 h6 17 Bxc6+ bXc6 18 Qe4+ Kf8. But years later he decided 15 ...

44

The United States Chess Championship

After 15 NbS

Marshall-Lasker, 1923 (4th)

0-0 was "the only continuation to consider." What he did, instead, was walk into a fine combination. 15 ... Bf5? 16 e4!! dxe3? 17 Rxc6! bxc6 IS Qd6 Bd7 19 Qe5+ KfS 20 fxc3 The threat is 21 Rxf7 + and if 20 ... BeS there is a knight check at e6. 20 23 26 29

... f6 21 Rxf6+! gxf6 22 Qxf6+ KeS QxhS+ Ke7 24 Qe5+! KdS 25 h4! KcS Nf7 a5? 27 Nd6+ KbS 2S Nb5+? KcS Nd6+ KbS 30 Qe7?

White could have finished off in style with 30 Nc4+ Qc7 31 Nb6! (or 2S Nc4+ for that matter). After the text Black has survival chances with 30 ... Ra7. Lasker later claimed he could have drawn with that move but later changed his mind. In any event, Marshall now chases the enemy king up the board. 30 33 36 39

... Qc7? 31 Qf8+ Ka7 32 Nb5+! Kb6 QxaS Kxb5 34 Bfl+ Kb4 35 Qf8+ c5 Qg7! c4 37 Kh2 Qc6 38 Qc3+ Kb5 Qb3+! and Black resigns

M. 0 0 \12 1 1 0 1 \12 \12 1 Y2 1 \12 0 \12 \12 Y2 \12=9\12 L 1 1 \12 0 0 1 0 Y2 \12 0 Y2 0 Y2 1 \12 Y2 Y2 Y2=8Y2

Within months Lasker had rebounded in health and spirits and wanted a rematch on about the same terms - which included at least 50 percent of the proceeds for the champion regardless of the match result if they managed to raise more than $3,000. But Marshall

•

wanted the challenger to deposit whatever stakes there were with a third party before play began. Lasker responded that no one would put up cash beforehand - and that a mere pledge from the various fundraisers was all that was needed in the IS-game marathon they had played earlier in the year. "Instead of making easier terms, you have made harder ones," Lasker wrote to him in November, "and most of the influential chess people I have interviewed since the receipt of your letter are of the opinion that your terms are equivalent to making a return match with you impossible." But Marshall was seeking his own rematch with world champion Capablanca, who insisted on the same cash-deposit terms for all his challengers. And that was that. In succeeding months all attention was focused on the great international tournament held at New York's Alamac Hotel in the spring of 1924 and the u.s. title was forgotten. Marshall scored a solid fourth place at the Alamac and Lasker, invited almost entirely on the basis of the Marshall match, was outclassed and finished 10th in a field of 11. The genial amateur lost interest in the championship and played less and less. He was soon supplanted as Marshall's chief rival by a young man who first gained attention by winning a problem-solving contest held during New York 1924. That IS-year-old problem solver was Isaac Kashdan. Lasker was never again a major contender - although he did spark a good deal of controversy in 1946 when he and a few other top players nearly took personal control over the new U.s. championship tournament. In his final years Lasker was a benign, grandfather-like figure who took pride in his awayfrom-board achievements - such as being president of the Marshall Chess Club. As for Marshall, there were no more challengers for the title. He abdicated in 1936, after three decades and one defense as champion. Said Marshall of his decision: "Many youthful contenders for the crown had arisen, and I felt they had deserved a fair chance. It was time to step aside and make way for new blood .... " He had enjoyed it all very much indeed.

.

Chapter Six

The Reshevsky Years

(1936-1942) "The advantage of a tournament seems to lie in the fact that several aspirants for the title can have their opportunity to win it and that the issue will necessarily be decided in a comparatively short time. A tournament also is distinctly more interesting .... " With these words in December 1935, Frank MarshaU resigned as U.S. champion and urged the adoption of regularly scheduled tournaments to choose his successors. The idea of a tournament had been kicking around American chess circles for years but no one had a clear idea of what such an event would mean. How many of the nation's best players would be willing to compete - to give up jobs and family for several weeks in hopes of winning a $600 first prize? How would the entrants be chosen? How could the event be financed? And, perhaps most important, wouldn't it mean a new champion every time a tournament was held - a revolving door title? The last question was pertinent because the revival of tournament championships coincided with one of those periodic explosions -like the 1920s and later the 1980s - of native chess talent. There was not just one claimant to Marshall's title, but several. At least three young masters were considered the Old Swindler's equal. Another half dozen were rated of international caliber - the kind who could very easily win a strong round-robin championship tournament if they were the beneficiaries of a strong start and a bit of luck.

45

The idea of a tournament was a logical one but also a necessary way out of the problem posed by Marshall's age and the hard times of the Depression. Since 1931, when 26-yearold Isaac Irving Kashdan was placed ahead of Marshall on first board of the U.S. Olympic team, it had become obvious that the holder of the championship title was no longer the best player in the country. Attempts to arrange a Marshall-Kashdan match were periodically launched and abandoned, aU victims of the economic climate and the champion's conditions. Marshall wanted a guaranteed prize fund of $5,000. After aU, Emanuel Lasker had demanded - and gotten - arrangements for his last world championship match such that he went home with 55 percent of the $20,000 prize fund even though he resigned the match halfway through it. Didn't Marshall deserve a comparable retirement fund, he wondered? But the Marshall-Kashdan match organizers could raise no more than $900. And with the sparkling successes in Europe by Sammy Reshevsky in 1935 and the quick progress of young rivals such as Reuben Fine and Arthur Dake, it made sense to drop the match completely and devote the organizers' energies and treasury towards the first modern championship tournament. In late 1935 Harold Phillips, a veteran Manhattan Chess Club leader whose personal relations with top players stretched back to a close friendship with Wilhelm Steinitz, helped persuade Marshall to step aside and

46

The United States Chess Championship

relinquish his title. The title, and a "Frank Marshall championship trophy," would go to the winner of a round-robin tournament to be held the following spring. All of the contenders on the eve of the March, 1936, event were relatively young. Kashdan was 30, Reshevsky gave his age as 25, Fine was only 21. They were the grandmaster elite of U.S. chess and each would have a series of European successes and some world championship hopes. Just below them in stature were another crop of young masters - 22year-old Arnold Denker, 26-year-old Dake, 28-year-old LA. "Al" Horowitz and 30-yearold Herman Steiner. Of the few others who could be considered of possible champion caliber were Marshall, 58; his 1923 challenger, Edward Lasker, then 50; and Abraham Kupchik, 44, a Manhattan Chess Club regular nearing the end of a vigorous career. Marshall and Lasker declined invitations to play in the tournament, leaving their places to a younger generation that would dominate the championship for 15 years. Of the tournament entrants, the young magazine Chess Review wrote, "none can boast of as imposing a record as Isaac Kashdan." Up to then "Kash" had played in 11 international tournaments, scoring four first-places and five seconds. He led the U.S. Olympic team four times, twice to the gold medals, and had racked up a remarkable personal record in team play - 40 wins, 20 draws and only four losses. He was being talked of as a challenger to champion Alexander Alekhine for the world tide, and had scored six draws and only one loss in his seven meetings with the then almost unbeatable Alekhine. On the other hand, Reuben Fine, fresh out of college, had played just once as an individual abroad. But his easy victory at Hastings, England, three months before the 1936 national tournament was no less impressive than any of Kashdan's victories. Fine, who had won the championship of the Marshall Chess Club three times and the Western Open once, liked to say he had never read a chess book until he had become a master. But he made up for his lack of book knowledge by playing sev-

.

eral hours a day, seven days a week during his high school years. A restless energy characterized his play and it was also revealed by his constant walking back and forth across a tournament hall ("sentry-wise" as it was described) while his opponent was thinking. But if there was a slight favorite in 1936 it was neither Kashdan nor Fine but Sammy Reshevsky. He had been the best-known of the American players ever since his highly publicized tours as a reputed nine-year-old chess prodigy shortly after his family brought him from Poland to America in 1920. The boy had met President Harding, played members of Congress and, as recorded in one memorable photograph, played 20 West Point cadets simultaneously. (Sammy, dressed in a sailor suit, didn't lose a game.) In his new country Reshevsky went into a brief chess retirement and graduated from college with a degree in accounting. Almost all the leading masters held at least part-time jobs - Kashdan sold insurance, Horowitz sold insurance and edited Chess Review, and Reshevsky was preparing for a business career. Yet when Sammy began to play again in 1934 he seemed to have hardly been away from the board. Because so many of the championship contenders lived in and around New York City, his winning a first prize ahead of them in, the state congress at Syracuse in 1934 established Reshevsky as one of the two or three best players in America. Sammy added international laurels a year later when, on his first return to Europe in 14 years, he won a solid tournament at Margate, England, ahead of Capablanca. Physically small, Reshevsky was a scrappy fighter at the chessboard - and a worthy match for Fine's own aggressive nature. Later in 1936 at the great international tournament in Nottingham, England, their individual game dragged on with Reshevsky holding the better of a draw while Fine sarcastically commented on the position. Eventually tournament officials had to intervene to avoid what they feared would end up in a fistfight between the two American representatives. Kashdan, on the other hand, seemed calm and cool, and many of his colleagues would agree with Sidney

The Reshevsky Years (1936-1942) Bernstein who called Kash a "great player, but lacking in the iron determination of a Reshevsky." So Reshevsky was a slight favorite in the first modern championship. But who could say with certainty how a single IS-round event would turn out? Also, it would be followed two years later by another championship, and then another two years after that. Perhaps the rapidly improving Fine would win the first event. Or maybe Reshevsky in 1936 and then Kashdan in 1938. Or one of the others such as Dake, Steiner, Denker or Horowitz? Who would have thought that one man would dominate the championships, winning every tournament (and one tide match) that he entered in the next 10 years?

1936· The First Last Round The first modern championship set the tone and many of the recurring themes of the tournaments of the 1930s and' 40s. The organizers had planned for a substantial number of enrries, to be split into preliminary roundrobins that would select eight qualifiers for the 16-man finals. The eight qualifiers would meet eight seeded players - Reshevsky, Fine, Dake, Kashdan, Kupchik, Steiner, Horowitz and Manhattan Chess Club Champion Alexander Kevitz. But so few advance entries for the preliminaries were received that the organizers had to drop the registration fee from $10 to $5. Eventually 48 players entered. All games, preliminaries and finals, were held in New York, and this was simply a matter of convenience. Eleven of the finalists were from New York and most of the high-placing nonqualifiers were also from the metropolitan area. The few strong out-of-towners included Steiner, Illinois state champion Samuel Factor, Boston's Harold Morton and the colorful New England champ Weaver Adams, who insisted that 1 e4 simply won by force and who had begun to write a never-ending stream of articles and pamphlets to prove it. But a spectator who paid 50 cents at the Hotel Astor grill to see one of the early rounds

47

would have been interested most in the play of two unheralded New Yorkers and of a sometime resident of the city. The New Yorkers were George Nelson Treysman and Albert C. Simonson. Treysman, then 55, had never played in a tournament before but was in fact probably the most experienced player in the event. He was a professional coffeehouse player, earning dimes at speed and offhand games - often after conceding up to queen odds - at one of the many rundown East Side clubs that flourished in Manhattan. Simonson, the youngest player in the tournament, was an unknown who had played almost half of his chess at the Manhattan Chess Club and was recognized as one of the better bridge and backgammon players in the city. The third attraction was Dake. While Treysman and Simonson eventually finished surprisingly well, Dake appeared destined to finish nothing short of clear first. The dapper Portland, Oregon, master already had earned an international reputation (and a special medal) when he amassed the best score -13 wins, 5 draws - in the Olympiad team tournament the previous year in Warsaw. Dake, whose original name was Dakowski, was, like Reshevsky and Kupchik, of Polish heritage and this led another Pole, Savielly Tartakower, to remark about the American victory at Warsaw: "Our victories are everywhere." Dake also had defeated Steiner of Los Angeles, in a match for the Pacific Coast championship a few months before, but was accorded a more impressive role when he visited New York in March. The visitor was asked to play for the Marshall club in the annual match against the rival Manhattan Chess Club - and he was on first board, ahead of Fine, Marshall, and Reshevsky. (A strong team, yet the Manhattanites with Horowitz, Simonson, Kupchik and Kevitz won the match.) Dake and Kashdan took off like a shot in the 1936 championship, winning game after game. Kashdan led at first with a perfect 4-0 score, folJowed by Treysman a half point back. But both men were upset the next day and Dake assumed sole first place. By Round 9 he had collected five wins and four draws, with

48

The United States Chess Championship

no losses, and seemed to he fulfilling his promise.

Where was Reshevsky? "For me," he later wrote, "the tournament will long remain something of a nightmare." Sammy knew he had to win about half his games but also to lose not more than two games. Three losses meant almost certain elimination in the race for first place. Yet after a win and a draw in the first two rounds he blundered badly against the wily Bernstein and was completely outplayed by Horowitz in Round 4. And when Reshevsky did resume his battle for first he was the beneficiary of an extraordinary letdown from one of the main contenders: D45 Scotch Game

white Kashdan, black Reshevsky 1 e4 eS 2 NO NeG 3 d4!? eXd4 4 Nxd4 Be5 5 Bc3 Qf6 6 c3 Nge7 7 Qd2

Reshevsky ptobably counted on acquiring a grip of the light squares after 9 eS Qg6 or 9 Nc3 dxe4 10 Nxe4 Qg6. Now his pieces become seriously dislodged from their mutual support. A third loss in a tournament barely half over would snuff out all hopes of first prize. 10 ... NeS 11 NbS 0-0 There was no real choice. Black is overrun after 11 ... Kd8 12 d6. 12 Nxc7 Rb8 13 Bxa7? Such an obvious and consistent move deserves a better fate. Kashdan didn't consider the full strength of Black's counterattack with two powerfully centralized knights. He should have delayed any material gain in favor of pushing Black around with 13 BgS Qd6 14 NbS! followed by dS-d6, e.g. 14 ... Qd7 15 d6 N7c6 160-0-0!.

13 ... Bg4 14 Bxb8 Rxb8 15 NbS N7g6 16 ReI Nf4! After 7 Qd2

After 16 ... Nf4

Kashdan-Reshevsky, 1936

The Scotch had enjoyed a fling of popularity shortly before this game - as it did after the 1990 Kasparov-Karpov match. Here the move 7 ... clS had been known since the 1860s as an antidote to White's usual 7 Qd2. The theorists believed Black could sacrifice heavily for the attack after 7 ... dS S exdS NxdS 9 NbS Bxe3 10 fXe3 Be6 11 c4 Ndb4! 12 Nxc7 + Ke7 13 NXaS Rd8 or S NbS Bxe3 9 fxe3 0-0. Reshevsky gets the right idea but in the wrong sequence. 7 ... Bxd4?! 8 cxd4 dS 9 Nc3! dxe4 10 dS!

Kashdan-Reshevsky, 1936

White's king is caught in the center and faced with a big knight check on d3. He must try to return material. 17 Rc3 N5d3+ 18 Bxd3 exd3! The winning move. Now 19 ... ReS+ and 20 ... Re2 or 19 ... Nxg2+ will inflict heavy damage. White cannot castle safely because of

The Reshevsky Years {1936-1942} 19 ... Qg5!, which threatens mate (20 ... Bf3 21 g3 Nh3) as well as the queen (20 .,. Nh3+). Kashdan held out for only 11 moves: 19 0-0 QgS! 20 h4 Nh3+ 21 gxh3 Qxd2 22 hXg4 Qe2! 23 Rc4 d2 24 Rd4 Qxb5 25 Rdl Re8 26 R4xd2 Re4 27 f3 Re2 28 Rcl h5 29 Ree2 Qb6+ and White resigns The first of many remarkable Reshevsky recoveries and of several hard fought championship games with Kashdan. Mter his disastrous start Reshevsky became a new man. He won nine and drew only once in the next ten games. Fine, on the other hand, had not been able to extricate himself from a mire of draws, while Dake suddenly fell apart. The Oregonian scored only two points in his final six games - beginning with a depressing loss to Reshevsky in a lengthy endgame grind. But Simonson's late surge was nearly as remarkable as Reshevsky's. His only previous claim to fame was a mediocre performance on one of the U.S. Olympiad teams. But here in the strongest event of his life, the young master defeated Morton, Fine, Bernstein, Horowitz, Denker and Milton Hanauer in successive rounds. Treysman also had a surprising string of successes, beating Denker, Hanauer, Factor, and Kashdan in a row before losing to Reshevsky. On the next to last round he knocked off the fading Dake. And the final round began on May 16th with these standings: Reshevsky and Simonson 11, Treysman 101,6, and Fine 9Y2. The key pairings insured an exciting finish: Kupchik vs. Reshevsky, Simonson vs. Factor, and Treysman vs. Fine. In their brief tournament experience the future grandmasters Fine and Reshevsky had learned how to wait. That day they played cautiously with the Black pieces knowing that a drawn might turn out to be as useful as a win. When Kupchik developed slowly in a quiet English, Reshevsky began to make his move on the kingside. Meanwhile, Fine was neatly repulsing Treysman's bold opening - which, if successful, might have given him first prize.

49

The other leader, Simonson, was not cautious either. He had White and a chance for immortality as well as a six-win streak: Al8 English Opening

white Simonson, black Factor le4e5 2Nf3Ne6 3Nc3f5 4d4e4 5Nd2 Today White's best strategy is known to be 5 Bg5 so that his bishop will be outside his pawn shell after he solidifies it with e2-e3. But Simonson hurries to attack Black's e-pawn with f2-f3 and therefore doesn't want to part with the piece that best defends e3, his QB. 5 ..• Bb4 6 e3 Nf6 7 f3 0-0 8 fxe4 Nxe4! 9 N2xe4 fxe4 White faces the prospect of being overrun on the kingside (10 ... Qf6 or 10 ... Qg5) but hopes [hat winning the e-pawn will solve all his problems. 10 Bd2 Bxc3! 11 Bxc3 d6 12 Qe2

Mter 12 Qc2

Simonson-Factor, 1336

12 .•• Bg4! Now White has no choice but to grab the pawn because he can no longer castle quietly (13 Be2 Qh4+ 14 g3 Qg5). And he has no other plan. 13 Qxe4 Qh4+ 14 g3 Qg5 Here the threats are 15 , .. Bf3 as well as

First U.S. Championship Tournament, New York, April 25-May 16, 1936 Totals R

S

F

1. Reshcvsky

X

Y2

2. Simonson 3-4. Fine

Y2 Y2 0 0

X

Y2 1 X

3-4. Treysman 5. Kashdan 6-7. Dake

0

0

0

1/2

6-7. Kupchik S. Kevitz

Y2 0

Yz 1/2

9. Horowitz 10. Factor 11-12. Denker 11-12. Steiner 13. Bernstein 14. Hanauer 15-16. Adams 15-16. Morton

I

0

0

0 0

1 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 0 0

0 0 Y2

Yz Y2 Y2 Y2 Yz 0 0 0 0 0

T

K

0

1

0 1 X 0 0 Y2 0 Y2 0 0 0 Yz 0 0 0

Y2 Y2

1

X Y2 0 Y2 0 0 0

Y2 X 0 Yz Y2 0 0

0 0

Yz 0

0 0

0 0

K Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 1 1

X 0 1/2

K

H

F

0

S

0

Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 1

X

0

0 1

0

0

Y2 Yz Yz 0 0

0 Y2 0 0

Y2 Y2

B

0 Y2

Y2

0

1

X

1

0

0

X Yz

Yz

X

1

0 1 0 0 Y2

0 Yz 0 0 Yz

X

Yz

M

1/2

Y2 Y2 1

0

A

0

1

Y2 0

H

0

1

Y2 0

0

1/2 0 0

0

Yz Yz Y2 0 Y2 1 X Y2

Y2 Yz 0

Y2 Yz

X 0 Y2

0 1 X 0

Y2 Y2 Yz 0 Y2 1 X

W 0

L

Points

10

1 P/2-3Y2

3

9

4

2 2

7

7

1

9 9 6

3 2

3 4

6

3

5

S

2

5 4

5 6

5

5 4

4

5 2 2

3

3 2 6 5 0 4

5 7 7 8 7 S 12 10

11-4 10Y2-4Y2 10Y2-4Y2 10-5 9-6 9-6 7Yz-7Y2 7-S 1 6 /2-SY2 6-9 6-9 5-10 4Y2-10Y2 3-12 3-12

. The Reshevsky Years (1936-1942) 15 ... Rae8. Simonson makes the best of a bad lot by entering an inferior endgame. Treysman also had a bad endgame with Fine at this point, while Reshevsky was on the verge of winning material in his game. Unfortunately for Simonson, his opponent was one of the best Americans at consolidating a positional advantage. There followed: 15 Qd5+ Qxd5 16 cxd5 Bf3 17 RgI Bxd5 18 Bg2 Bxg2 19 RXg2 Rae8 20 Re2 dS! 21 Kd2 Re4! 22 a4 as 23 Ra3?! b6 24 Rb3 Rf5 25 Kd3 Kf7 26 Bel? Nxd4! And White lost the exchange (27 Rc3 Nxe2 28 Rxc7+ Re7 or 27 exd4 Rf3+) and saw his game and chances for the title end on the 60th move. Reshevsky, watching this, agreed to a draw in a position he could have won if the point were needed, while Fine, looking ahead to 1938, finished off Treysman and tied him for third place. Next time Fine would play more aggressively.

1938: Chess in Radio City When the second championship tournament opened two years later, Fine and Reshevsky were no longer just promising young players. Both had earned international laurels that rivaled, or exceeded, Kashdan's. Fine in particular had made a name for himself in Europe, where he lived much ofI937-1938. After tying for third place with Reshevsky at the great Nottingham tournament of1936, he had finished first at Moscow, Ostend, Margate and Stockholm in 1937 and then tied for first prize ahead of all the world's best players at the AVRO supertournament. Also in 1937 he had been selected by world champion Max Euwe to be his second in Euwe's title defense against Alexander Alekhine - quite a tribute for a 23year-old. Reshevsky had also played abroad, scoring impressive results in 1937 at Kemeri and Hastings. Kashdan, his European exploits in the past, stuck to New York. But Kash was

51

clearly dominant there in the city that then had a virtual monopoly on America's strong players. In 1938 he won the Manhattan Chess Club tournament again and, even more impressively, crushed Simonson 4-0 in a brief match. The three grandmasters - Fine, Reshevsky and Kashdan - were the prohibitive favorites of the 1938 U.S. championship. The tournament was worthy of the players. Organizers had rented out the Radio City Auditorium, a neatly appointed space on the seventh floor of the RCA Building in the glistening new Rockefeller Center complex of midtown Manhattan. From comfortable leather chairs the 17 finalists would make moves that were quickly translated on giant wallboards which became the focus of attention of scores of well-dressed spectators. The lure of seeing top-flight chess played in such an impressive setting attracted an audience that included Emanuel Lasker and three veterans of U.S. title matches - 65-year-old John Barry, 76-year-old Albert Hodges, and Marshall- as well as newsreel cameramen, reporters and chess fans. "No American tournament, I think has ever aroused so much popular enthusiasm," wrote Fred Reinfeld, the prolific chess author who was then fighting for an even score. The finalists were 10 seeded players plus seven who qualified from a confused preliminary stage marred by several withdrawals and forfeited games. The survivors from the preliminaries included Reinfeld, young Marshall Chess Club star Anthony Santasiere, and other youngsters such as 19-year-old Walter Suesman and 20-year-old George Shainswit. But otherwise the field was pretty much the same as had competed two years before - talented amateurs and professionals in their 20s or 30s, most of whom lived in New York. In fact 11 of the 17 finalists had played in the big local event of the year, the Manhattan-Marshall chess clubs match shortly before the championship. Reshevsky avoided the disastrous start of his first title event two years before and soon assumed the lead. The time limit had been speeded up to 40 moves in two hours (a half hour less than in 1936) and Sammy was in time

52

The United States Chess Championship

pressure almost every game. But his play was so firm and sure that it didn't seem to matter: In one early round Harold Morron, playing White, was completely tied up after the opening and as a result had even less time than Reshevsky- just seconds with 10 moves to go. When Reshevsky delivered his 31st move31 ... Qe2 mate- the New Englander grabbed his king to move it, swirled it around wildly looking for a square and only then realized it had none. This year Fine stayed with Reshevsky to the end. His score was uneven - scoring more wins than anyone, 11, but also losing two games. Fine managed to knock off many of the weaker players easily while Reshevsky had to concede four draws to them. Both men also went through the other contenders like machines, each silencing Kashdan and Dakc. But Fine made two slips -losses to Santasiere and to public school teacher Milton Hanauer, who had a horrible position at move 20 but managed to turn the tahles when Fine misjudged the endgame. One move by Fine would have forced the win of two pawns, another would hand over a powerful initiative. Fine miscalculated, overlooking a simple capture in one key variation, and lost a valuable point in 68 moves. The race for first place was close for much of the way. Mter 10 rounds Fine and Reshevsky were tied at 8Y2-IY2 while Kashdan stood at 8-1 with a bye-that is, an earlier free day caused because there was an odd number of finalists. But a loss to Suesman on the Black side of a Bishop's Gambit was the beginning of the end for Kash, who "seemed to be handicapped by a lack of interest," according to Chess Review. In the final week, Reshevsky pulled our ahead with a string of impressive results. Unlike 1936 he didn't lose a game. Also, his play was much smoother, always keeping the position under control. His demolition of Dake, whose business career had left him rusty, was typical of a maturing Reshevsky. In many ways it was the game of the tournament (see diagram). Black's bishop and stronger pawns have

given him an advantage Reshevsky has toyed with for the last 20 moves. Lengthy maneuvering failed to crack Dake's defense of the apawn and of the kingside, especially the key target, White's g2. Bur now Reshevsky realizes where his pieces will be optimally placed. His bishop should not be on the h7-g2 diagonal, but on e6 where it attacks the c-pawn. Then, a frontal assault on the weak a-pawn will force White to give ground.

After 45 Ral

Dake-Reshevsky,1938

45 ... Be6! 46 Qc1 Qf8! 47 Nb2 Qa8 White's two weak pawns cannot be protected on their current squares and Dake is now forced to play a4. While this seems only to enhance his game, actually it grants Reshevsky the big steppingstone he needs - the b4 square. On that point he can attack both weak pawns with a rook and build up pressure. 48 a4 Rb6! 49 Qc2 Rb4 50 Rb3 Qe4! This powerful centralization forces White to turn Black's blocked pawn mass into an offensive force, Dake cannot avoid the exchange of queens (51 Qdl Qxf4; 51 Rcl? Qxc2 52 Rxc2 Rxb3), but worse, he cannot avoid an exchange of rooks that will give Black his third passed pawn. 51 Qxe4 fxe4 52 Rxb4 cxb4 53 h3 h5 54 ReI e3 55 Kfl g5! Whether White captures his pawn or not, Black's king will now have a path of penetration: ... Kg6-f5-e4.

53

The Reshevsky Years (1936-1942) 56 Rdl cS 57 fxg5 Kg6 58 Ke2 Kxg5 59 Rfl

Has White found a drawing line?: 67 ... Ke6 68 e8(Q)+! Bxe8 69 KXe3. 67 ... Ke4! The pawns cannot be stopped and, in fact, White is in danger of being mated when his king is shunted to dl and Black's king advances to support ... e2+.

After 59 RfI

Dake-Reshevsky, 1938

Mter 67 ... Ke4

Black's threat was ... Kf5-e4 followed by breaking the blockade of his pawns with a well-timed ... d3+, e.g. 59 Ral Kf5 60 Rfl+ Ke4 6! Rf6? Bxc4+ 62 Nxc4 d3+ and 63 ... Rxa4. Dake-Reshevsky, 1938

59 ... Rxa4!! One of Reshevsky's finest combination, perhaps his best in a championship. The passed pawns now go through. 60 h4+! Kg4! 61 Nxa4 Bxc4+ 62 Ke1 The point of White's 60th was to divert the Black king (60 ... Kxh4?? 61 Rhl+ and 62 Nxa4 wins) and also help create a passed pawn in this devilish variation: 62 ... Bxfl 63 Kxfl Kf5 64 Nxc5 Kxe5 65 g4! hXg4 66 h5 Kf5 67 Ke2! and White draws since Black must go after the passed h-pawn. 62 ... d3!! Reshevsky had to see this far when he sacrificed his rook. He will remain the exchange down but the force of his passed pawns is unlimited. The first threat, and a continuing one, is 63 ... d2+, queening. 63 Rhi d2+ 64 KdI Bb3+ 65 Ke2 Bxa4 66 e6 KfS 67 e7

68 RbI Bb5+ 69 Kdl Kd4! and White resigns The threat was 70 ... Kc3, but White is almost out of moves anyway, e.g. 70 Rb2 Ba4+ or 70 Ral Kd3! Fine's score was worthy of a first prize, and would have been good enough to earn him the Frank J. Marshall Championship trophy two years before. But Reshevsky had an even better tournament and found himself needing only a draw in the last round once again to take the tide.

1940: Fine's Fatal(istic} Flub It was only the third championship but it was already the last to bring Reuben Fine, Sammy Reshevsky and Isaac Kashdan together. All three would remain active during the 19405 but never again would they all be competing in the same tide event. Eventually Kashdan and Fine abandoned the chase and retired from tournament chess, leaving the field to Reshevsky, who held it until a new generation emerged after World War II.

Second u.S. Championship Tournament, New York, April 2-24, 1938

1. Reshevsky 2. Fine 3. Simonson 4. Horowitz 5. Kashdan 6-7. Dake 6-7. Polland 8. Kupchik 9. Bernstein 10-11. Santasiere 10-11. Treysman 12-14. Cohen, S. 12-14. Hanauer 12-14. Reinfeld 15. Shainswit, C. 16. Monon 17. Suesman W.

R

F

X

V2

V2

X

o

V2

S

H

Y2 X

1

1

V2

X Y2

Y2

0

o

o o o

V2

Y2

0 0 Vi 0 0

o

1

Vi

o

0

0

V2

0

o o Vz

0

o o

o

0 Vi Vi

o

0

o Yz

0

o o o

0

0 0

P

V2

V2

V2

K D

Y2 Y2

o

X

0

B

S

V2

1/2

I

Totals D L

10

6

0

3

2

Y2

Y2

862 763 835 664 664

o

Y2 V2

0 0 0

Y2 0 Y2 Y2 Vi Y2 0 0

Y2 Y2

Y2 Y2

1

1/2

0

o o

0

Vi

1/2

0

I/Z

0

Yz

o o

Yz 0

Y2

0

000

o

Vi 0 0 0

Vi

W

0 Y2

o

0

Vi

S M S

11

1

1 X

R

o

0

0

C H

o

Yz Y2 Y2 X V2

X 0

T

1

1 X

0

Y2 Y2 0

Y2

Y2 Y2 Y2

K

0

Vz Y2 V2 X

o

Y2

Y2

V2

o V2 0

1/2

X

Y2

o o

V2

Vz

I/Z

o Y2

Y2 Y2

1

V2 Y2

o

1/2

V2

o

Vi X 1 0 Y2

0

0

X

Vi

0

0 X

o 1/2

o

Y2 V2

1

o

Y2 Vi

o

Y2

Vz

Vi

o

Vi Y2

X

1

Vz

1/2

o

X

0

V2

o

1 X

574 475 385 547 457 376 376 358 349 2 13

Points

13-3 12Y2-3Y2 11-5 10-6 9Y2-6V2

9-7 9-7 8V2-7Y2 7Y2-8Vi

7-9 7-9 6V2-9Vi 6Vi-9Vi 6Y2-9Y2 W2-1DY2

5-11 2-14

The Reshevsky Years (1936-1942) That they remained fervent competitors for so long was a tribute to their thirst for the championship title. There still wasn't much financial reward in the game. The championship prize fund had not grown but in fact had been reduced berween 1936 and 1938, and the organizers in 1940 sought - unsuccessfully - to drop first prize down to $400. (Compare this with the $600 third prize at the Sixth American Congress more than half a century before.) Some players, such as Simonson, found themselves devoting less and less time to chess because of the chronic need for making a living. And when, in 1938, the losing contenders asked the tournament organizing committee to return their $20 entry fees - since the tournament had ended with slight profit on top of total expenses of $3600- they were politely refused. Times were hard. Reshevsky later described the 1940 championship as a personal duel between him and Fine. It is true that their last-round game together was the big story of the tournament, and determined first prize, but calling it a duel would oversimplify. It would overlook, for example, the strong fourth-place finish of A.S. Pinkus, another Manhattan Chess Club regular who was returning to the game nearly a decade after he had scored several fine successes. It would also ignore Kashdan's fiercest challenge to date. The 34-year-old BrookIynite, then raising a family and selling insurance, developed an early lead over another good field. After 12 rounds he still ran slightly ahead of Reshevsky. Fine was some distance back, having lost in the fifth round to the super-solid Kupchik. To maintain his hopes into the final few days Kashdan, with the White pieces, would have to score at least a half point his Round 13 game with Reshevsky. A victory would virtually ice the tournament. The two players gave a good account of themselves to one another in a vigorous Ruy Lopez with Kashdan building upon the kingside while Reshevsky opened up the center. Kashdan then exchanged minor pieces to obtain his beloved rwo bishops, but Reshevsky's

55

two knights were so strong that even at the cost of a pawn he had the better chances. Then, after more exchanges, at move 37 there was nothing left but queens, kings and pawns. A second game was beginning:

Mter

37 ... Qb7

Kashdan-Reshevsky, 1940

Despite the number of pawns and their apparent weakness, it is their nearness to the eighth rank that counts most heavily in queenand-pawn endings. Here Kashdan is in desperate straits because of the pregnant Black dpawn. For example, 38 Qc3 Qa8! 39 b4 permits Black to push his pawn home with 39 .,. Qa2+ and 40 ... Qc2. White needs co unterplay, and in this kind of ending that can come from creating your own passed pawn - roo late here - or from perpetual check. 38 Qd8+! Kg7 39 g5! f5 The perpetual was there after 39 ... fXg5 40 Qxg5+ KfS 41 Qd8+. But now the position of White's own king would kill his chances after, say, 40 Qf6+ Kg8 41 g6 d2! 42 gxf7+ Qxf7 43 Qd8+ Kh7 44 Qh4+ Kg7! 45 Qg3+ Qg6! White was nothing useful to do now but wait and hope that Black misplaces his queen. 40 Kf2 Qxb2+ 41 Kg3 Qb7 42 Kf2! Kh7 43 h4? After denying Black all the natural winning tries (42 ... d2 43 Ke2; 42 ... Qb2+ 43 Kg3 Qe2 44 Qf6+) White gets sloppy. With 43 Qf6 the position is likely to be drawn.

56

The United States Chess Championship

43 ... f4! Again, the number of pawns doesn't count as much as their proximity to a queening square. Black's move threatens 44 ... Qb2+ now that g3 is covered and the move otherwise forces the creation of two passed pawns. The only criticism of 43 ... f4 is that Black would also have excellent winning chances with the immediate 43 '" Qb2+ 44 Kg3 Qe2 45 g6+ Kg7!!. There followed: 44 exf4 d2 45 Ke2 e3 46 Qf6 Kg8 47 Qd8+ Kh7 48 Qf6 Qc7!

After 52 ... KgB White can draw with 53 QeB+ Kg7 54 Qe7+ Qf7 55 h6+!, e.g. 55 ... KgB 56 h7+! Qxh7 57 QeB+ followed by interminable checks at e7, g5, h6 or somewhere on the eighth rank. 52 ... Kh6! 53 Qg5+ Kg7 54 Qxg6+?? A terrible slip for White after such a resourceful defense. As soon as the game was over Reshevsky pointed out 54 Qe7 + Qf7 55 h6+!, which leads to the drawing line mentioned above. 54 ..• Kf8 55 Qd6+ Ke8! and White resigns

... after which Black threatens to check at c4 and queen. He might have been able to promote under similar circumstances but with the queen at c4 Black will also protect f7 against perpetual check attempts. White has one last chance. 49 g6+! fxg6 50 h5! This fine move secures a draw (50 gxh5 51 Qf5+) even though Black may get a second queen. One remarkable line that might have worked was 50 d5 (closing the diagonal that leads to f7) Qc4+ 51 Kxe3 and now Black avoids checks and wins all the pawns with 51 ... d1(N)+! 52 Kd2 Qxd5+ 53 Kel Nb2! 54 Qxb2 Qhl+. 50 ... Qc4+ 51 Kxe3 dl(Q) 52 Qe7 +

Black's king walks to the queens ide and safety. Kashdan was badly unnerved by this last-minute reversal. He lost the next day to a brilliant Weaver Adams attack. Having led the tournament for two thirds of the way, Kash finally ended up two and a half points behind the winner. But there was still Fine. He had overcome the Kupchik loss to pile up 10 wins and four draws - a score comparable to his 193B finish. Reshevsky, who had shaken off an early illness, had rolled up a score oflO wins and five draws. And Sammy had not lost a game in a championship since the fourth round in 1936. All he had to do to earn his third ti de was get by Fine on the final day. C59 Two Knights Defense white Fine, black Reshevsky 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4! Nf6 4 Ng5 d5 5 exd5 Na5 6 Bb5+ c6 7 dxc6 bXc6 8 Be2 h6 9 Nf3 e4 10 Ne5 Bd6 11 f4

After 52 Qe7+

Kashdan-Reshevsky, 1940

Now the significance of 50 h5 is revealed.

Fine began with a good - psychologically good - choice of opening: His opponent needed only a draw. But in this 4 Ng5 variation Black is virtually forced to sacrifice a pawn, and this places Reshevsky in the uncomfortable situation of having to play for sharp positions when he would prefer quieter ones. Also, he must do so in unfamiliar waters.

The Reshevsky Years (1936-1942) The recommended line, which leads to a rough equality, is 11 ... 0-0 which permits Black to regain his pawn after 12 N c3 ReB 13 0-0 BXeS 14 fXeS Qd4+ and 15 ... QxeS. In the line played, however, White doesn't have to spend a tempo on the somewhat useless Khl move. 11 •.• Qe7? 12 0-0 0-0 13 Nc3 BXeS 14 fXeS QxeS 15 d4! exd3 16 Qxd3

Here White is a bit better developed than in the line cited above and has excellent prospects in the form of the two bishops and superior pawn structure. Black's QN is out of play but his other pieces are temporarily active. Reshevsky tries to make the most of the latter while Fine goes after the former.

57

The Black queen would be too far away from the center of action if it retreated to the queenside (20 ... Qb6 21 Qg3!, threatening both 22 Bc7 and 22 Bxh6). 21 Qd6! Bg4? This brings Reshevsky to the brink of defeat. The tournament site was once again the Astor Hotel grill and many of the dozens of spectators there realized after White's next move that the defending champion had erred. 22 Ba6! The Black bishop is needed at e6 to help the knight back to civilization The threat of 23 b4 or a queen attack on the knight costs Black time. Fine plays skillfully on both wings:

16 ... Ng4 22 ... BeS 23 Bd3! Be6 24 Qb4 Qh5 25 Bc7! Nc4 This could almost be called desperation. The knight has been encircled and only tactics can rescue it. According to witnesses, Reshevsky was in tears as he considered the hopelessness of the situation. Reinfeld, his good friend, called it the most miserable moment in Sammy's life.

After 16 .•. Ng4

26 Bxc4 Qh4 Fine-Reshevsky, 1940

17 Bf4?! Now the psychology begins to work against Fine. He sees that 17 Bxg4 Bxg4 18 Bf4 QcS+ 19 Khl would give him excellent winning chances. But the exchange of pieces also creates the possibility of an endgame with bishops of opposite color - a likely draw. To avoid that, and meet the threat of17 ... Qxh2 mate, he makes a promising but unnecessary exchange sacrifice. 17 ... Qe5+ 18 Khl Nf2+ 19 Rxf2 Qxf2 20 Rfl Qh4

Mter

26 ... Qh4

Fine-Reshevsky, 1940

Now 27 Rf4 will win Fine a United States championship. Black may get some counterplay from 27 ... QgS 28 BXe6 fxe6 but Fine

Third U.S. Championship, New York, April 27-May 19,1940 Totals

R

F Y2

2. Fine

X Y2

3. Kashdan 4-5. Pinkus, A.

o o

4-5. Simonson

Y2

6-7. Kupchik

o

1. Reshevsky

•

6-7. Denker 8-11. Bernstein

o

8-11. Polland

o o

8-11. Reinfeld 8-11. Shainswit

Y2 Y2

12-13. Adams

o

12-13. Seidman

Y2 Y2

14-15. Green, M.

K

P

Y2

1

1/2

0

0

X

Y2

0

1 X Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2

Y2 liz X 0

Y2

X

Y2

liz

1/2

X

0

o

o

0

0 0 0

14-15. Hanauer 16. Woliston, P.

o

0

o

0

17. Littman, G.

o

0

D

o

Y2

Yz 0 Y2 0

K

B

P

Y2 Y2

X

S

o

1

Y2 Y2 liz 0 Y2 Y2 o 0 Y2 1 Yz 0 000 Y2 Y2 0 000 000 1/2 0 0

Y2 Yl Yz

Y2

S

1/2

Y2

Y2 Y2 liz 0 Yz 1 X 0 Yz liz

o

liz Yz

Y2

o 1

X

o Y2

o

0 o 0 000

!f2

liz

o

1/2

R

1

000 000

~

A

S

G

H

Yz

Y2

1

W

L

1 liz Yz Y2 liz Y2 Yz 1 X Yz Y2 Y2 Y2 liz Yz 0

0

Y2

liz Y2

liz liz

1

Y2

1

Yz Y2

0

o

0

1

Yz Y2 Yz

0 liz

X

liz

Y2 Yz Y2 liz 0 liz

X 1

0 Y2 Y2

0

Yz Y2 liz 0 X liz

liz

1/2

Y2

0

0

0

0

Y2

X

1

o

Y2

Y2

Y2

W

D

L

Points

10

6

o

13-3

10

5

1

7 6

7 8

2 2

8

4

4

12Y2-3Y2 10Y2-5Yz 10-6 10-6

6

7

3

7

5 5

4

3

9Y2-6Yz 9l1z-6l1z 7 1/2-8Y2 7Y2-8Yz 7Y2-8Y2 7Yz-8Y2

7 6

7-9 7-9

6

6-10

6 12 12

6-10 3-13 2-14

5 4

7

5

13 11

2

liz

Y2

2

Y2 Y2 Y2

1

5 4

Y2

2

0

X liz

Yz X

1

2 2

liz

o

o

X

o

4 6 8 8 2

'*

6

The Reshevsky Years (1936-1942) had consolidated much more difficult positions in his career. However, Fine sees a more intricate winning try, involving three forcing moves followed by an apparent killer. After weighing the two alternatives, he decides against 27 Rf4!. 27 Bf4?? "A miracle happened." - Reshevsky. "I must confess that I was overcome by the fantastic feeling that nothing could possibly win for me." - Fine. 27 ... Bxc4 28 Qxc4 g5 29 g3 Qg4 All foreseen by Fine. Now he intended the knockout blow, 30 Ne4. which threatens 31 Nf6+ and relieves the pin on the fourth rank. That would permit White to keep his two minor pieces for a rook under circumstances more favorable than after 27 Rf4, but. .. 30 Qxc6 ... before he could play 30 Ne4, Fine saw his horror that Black has 30 ... Qe6!! as an answer. After 31 Qxe6 fxe6. for example, there is a new pin, this time on the f-file. And on 31 Qd4 Black plays 31 ... fS! 32 NcS Qe2 33 Rf2 Qel+ 34 Kg2 gxf4. Fine had miscalculated. The win was gone: to

30 ... gxf4 31 Rxf4 Qe6 32 Qf3 f5! 33 Qd5 Rae8 34 Kg2 Qxd5+ 35 Nxd5 Re2+ 36 Rf2 Rxf2+ 37 Kxf2 Kf7 38 e4 as 39 b3 Re8 40 a3 Re8 41 Nc3 Ke6 42 Ke3 Ke5 43 Kd3 Rb8 44 NbS Rd8+ 45 Kc2 h5 46 b4 aXb4 47 aXb4 h4! 48 c5 hxg3 49 hxg3 Kd5 50 Kd3 Rg8 and the game was drawn in another dozen moves after seven hours of play. It was enough to discourage even Fine and he never entered another U.S. championship when Reshevsky was around.

59

1941: The Vagabond Match One man who wasn't around for the third championship was Al Horowitz - he was lucky to be alive. In February 1940 the genial 32year-old publisher of Chess Review had been on one of his periodic national exhibition [Ours with his close friend and coeditor, Harold Morton. One night while driving near Carrollton, Iowa, their car was caught in a tragic accident. Morton was killed instantly. Horowitz was severely injured. Yet Horowitz quickly bounced back and within months had resumed his duties at the midtown Manhattan office of the magazine he had founded seven years before. Chess Review was never a financial success in those daysthe sales of books and sets and Horowitz' tours were essential to keep it from bankruptcy. But it had grown into the nation's most popular chess magazine. Horowitz - "a super coffee house player," according to Sidney Bernstein - had earned a good deal of attention as a player. He won the U.S. Open in 1936 and shared first place in it with Kashdan two years later. Brimming with confidence and rapidly regaining his health, Horowitz decided in late 1940 that his big chance to wrest Reshevsky's more prestigious title was now. Rather than wait for the next tournament, two years off, he challenged Reshevsky to a match in the spring. Reshevsky, of course, was the favorite, and had a slight plus-score against Horowitz in previous games. But the challenger had beaten him in the 1936 tournament and was one of a very few Americans to have defeated Reshevsky anywhere in the previous five years. Besides a healthy prize fund the match may have held another attraction for Reshevsky: His results at home and abroad had made him (along with Fine) one of the half dozen likely candidates for the world championship tide held by Alexander Alekhine. Alekhine was known to be fleeing from the European war zone and was reponed to be on his way to America. It seemed likely at the time that the only world championship match that could be arranged until peacetime would be Reshevsky vs. Alekhine. And Reshevsky had never played any kind of match.

60

The United States Chess Championship

So, Horowitz would at least be good practice, Reshevsky's backers felt. They helped arrange a busy match schedule which would take the two players to seven different playing sites for 16 games in three weeks. Considering travel time, the match was scheduled so tightly that often the players had to rush from one site to another, and the event, as Reshevsky later said, "became a matter of endurance rather than chess generalship." The first game was held at the penthouse home of Maurice Werrheim, a wealthy investment banker and publisher of the liberal monthly, The Nation. Wertheim had just been elected president of the Manhattan Chess Club and he invited most of the city's leading players and several visitors to his spacious apartment to see the first championship match game since 1923. More than 150 players - including the 1923 combatants, Marshall and Edward Lasker - turned out to see a hardfought Queen's Gambit, the opening Reshevsky chose whenever he had the chance. The first game was drawn, as were the next three, played at the Marshall and Manhattan clubs. But Reshevsky drew first blood when the challenger botched a King's Indian Defense in the fifth game. The match moved on to Philadelphia, then Lakewood, N.J., Binghampton, N.Y., and Washington, D.C. All games were drawn except the ninth, when Horowitz hung a pawn in a different position and was ground down in 82 moves. At that point the champion enjoyed a 2-0 lead with only six games left. Horowitz continued to play 1 P-K4 but made little progress in a variety of Sicilian Defenses and Ruy Lopez's. To keep up with the schedule the players had to have a game virtually every day and the strain was beginning to be apparent on both players. For the 11th game the two weary opponents made their way back to New York's Staten Island. 018 Queen's Gambit Declined white Reshevsky, black Horowitz 1 d4 dS 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 dxc4 5 a4 Bf5 6 e3 e6 7 Bxc4 Nbd7 8 0-0 Be7

.

9 h3?! 0-0 10 Bd3?! Bxd3 11 Qxd3 Qc7 12 e4 Despite appearances, White's quiet treatment of this then-popular opening has left him with no advantage and, in fact, he faces the danger of losing the initiative after ... e5. 12 ... e5 13 Bg5 Rad8! Now White's queen is misplaced because of the imminent opening of the d-file and his failure to reinforce d4 with 13 Be3. So far, the champion looks out of form. 14 Qe2?! exd4 15 Nxd4 Rfe8 16 Qc2

Mter 16 Qc2

Reshevsky-Horowitz. 1941

This last move was prompted by threats the e-pawn ( ... Bb4xc3) and by Reshevsky's realization that his misplaced queen was again lined up against an enemy rook. Now with 16 ... Ng4!, threatening mate as well as ... Bxg5, Horowitz could have seized the initiative and made the match a fight. But this is exactly when he seemed to go to sleep. to

16 ... Bd6? 17 Radl h6? 18 Bh4 Be5?! 19 Nde2 Nf8 20 Rxd8! Qxd8 21 f4! Bd4+ 22 Nxd4 Qxd4+ 23 Bfl Qb4 In just a few moves it is White, not Black, who now holds the bishop-vs.-knight and better control of the center. Moreover, Reshevsky has a direct winning plan - the advance of his center pawns. His opponent was already getting into time pressure: The game was being

The Reshevsky Years (1936-1942) played at the home of bookseller Albrecht Buschke and had been delayed from its lateevening starting time when Reshevsky showed up late. The time limit was adjusted to 32 moves in two hours rather than 40 in 2Y2, and Horowitz simply forgot that he had only five minutes left for the next nine moves. 24 e5! Nd5 25 Ne4! Ne6 26 g3 Nd4 27 Qd3 NfS 28 b3 g6 29 ReS QaS 30 g4! Ng7 31 Rd6 Qb6+ 32 Khl as

After 32 ...

as

Reshevsky-Horowitz, 1941

With seconds to spare, Horowitz avoided 32 ... Ne6 because of the complications following 33 f5 N6f4. Actually White would then have had a forced win with 34 fxg6! because 34 ... Nxd3 loses outright to 35 gxf7 + and 34 ... fxg6 35 Nf6+ KhS 36 Qe4 or 34 ... Nxg6 35 Qf3 only prolong the pain. Here the same was adjourned, at 1:45 A.M., and the hosts invited the players and some 50 other guests, including Frank Marshall and Albert Hodges, to a post-midnight buffet supper. After a brief interlude Horowitz and Reshevsky, longtime friends, agreed to finish off the game that night. And so it was resumed at 3:30 A.M. 0) 33 fS! gxfS 34 gxfS Kh8 35 e6! f6 36 RcS Qa6 37 Qf3 Rg8 38 Rgl Ne8 39 Qh5 Rxg1+ 40 Kxgl Ng7 41 Qxh6+ Kg8 Here Reshevsky thought for a while and played 42 BfS! which threatens mate. The bishop cannot be taken because of 43 QhS+ Ke7 44 Qxg7+ and mates. Horowitz consid-

61

ered 42 ... Nxf5 43 Qg6+ and other lines for ten minutes, then tapped the table, smiled and said "Very pretty, Sammy. I resign." It was 5 A.M. The match referee left the playing site ~ and found his car had been stolen. Yet the match had to go on because the players had committed themselves to 16 games regardless of the scores. So on virtually no sleep they dragged themselves that afternoon to Woodside, Queens, for the 12th game - and it turned out to be even more of a marathon than the 11th. A careless blunder in a kingand-pawn endgame threw away Horowitz' only winning position in the match and he had to try to win a queen ending that finally ended after 99 moves and more than 10 hours. A draw. Although the two men had to be off on the noon train for Hazleton, Pennsylvania, and game 13, the last four games were anticlimaxes. Reshevsky deflected all complications and the match ended 3-0, with 13 draws, in his favor. And three weeks later, he got married. May 4-May 29, 1941 R. Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 I V2 '/2 V2 I Y2 I V2 V2 1/2 V2 V2 =9V2 H. Y2 Y2 Y2 V20 V2 V2 V2 0 V20 V2 V2 V2 V2 Y2 =6V2

1942: Chess at war The most controversial championship of the generation began April 10, 1942, just five months after Pearl Harbor. Other countries had known wartime conditions and more than once had seen international tournaments canceled because of the arrival of advancing troops. But this was entirely new to America and there was doubt at first that there would be a U.S. championship for several years. The United States Chess Federation, then just three years old, had become the official organizing body of the national tournament and in January its top officers sent out an announcement canceling the championship set for the spring of 1942. "The United States Government has issued a call for an all-out struggle in a war which has been thrust upon us," the Federation declared. "Our way of life is in great peril ... [and] the present time is not

62

The United States Chess Championship

propitious for holding a championship tour-

nament. " The USCF did hold out hope for a big "Victory Tournament" some time after the war, but this did little to mollify the players and chess fans. Horowitz editorialized against the cancellation in his magazine, pointing out that Washington had encouraged the continuation of professional sports and that other nations at war - such as Great Britain - had continued the traditions of chess despite the fighting. Depriving the public of their forms of entertainment is not a good way to build morale, Horowitz, and others, argued. Under such pressure, the USCF relented. The nation's top players agreed to forego appearance fees and guarantees of prize money that they had come to expect, and agreed to play for modest prizes. Nevertheless, it was a weaker tournament than had been hoped. hne was working for the government in Washington and Simonson was already in uniform. Dake and Bernstein, among others, were unavailable, and in fact, there were only seven true contenders when play began at the Hotel Astor - Reshevsky, Kashdan, Denker, Steiner, Pinkus, Horowitz and 21-year-old Herbert Seidman, the newest star of the Marshall Chess Club. Once again the tournament turned out to be a race between two grandmasters. Reshevsky and Kashdan ran over the field, taking virtually every game, including wins over the third and fourth-place finishers, Denker and Pinkus. The leaders began furiously, scoring 8Yl out of their first nine games, and held a joint two-point lead over the field with five rounds to go. Bur even this remarkable pair of streaks did not escape controversy: In the sixth round Denker was also among the leaders with 4Y2-Yl and faced Reshevsky with the Black pieces. The champion pressed an opening advantage into a heavy-piece endgame as both players began to run short of time. On the 37th move Denker managed to exchange queens but because each side had only seconds left the moves came crashing down as if they were mating sacrifices.

After

44 ••. g5+

Reshevsky-Denker, 1942

What Denker called "the maddest time scramble in which I have ever participated" had only one move to go before the time control. Reshevsky played:

45 Kg3? ... which throws away the only winning chance he had left, 45 Rxg5.

45 ... Rb4! Now Black has an easy draw because his rook is in position to check along the knight file. And this was the last move of time control. But here an extraordinary thing happened: The tournament director, L. Walter Stephens, was standing behind the board and could not see the clock directly. He picked it up, turned it around and examined the faces. Reshevsky's side showed a few seconds past 12 because its clock had been set in motion when Denker made his 45th move. Denker's side still had a few seconds left. But in turning the clock around, Stephens - vice president of the USCF and a high school teacher - made an incredible error. Denker forfeits, he announced. Spectators stunned by this began grabbing at the clock to get a look and it was passed back and forth. Denker shouted for attention, arguments ensued and, according to Kashdan, "a near riot" was breaking out. Finally a semblance of calm was reached and several witnesses pointed our to Stephens

. The Reshevsky Years (1936-1942) what he had done in turning the clock around: It was Reshevsky's side, not Denker's, that had exhausted the extra time. But Stephens would not change his mind. "Does Kenesaw Mountain Landis ever reverse himself?" he asked. And anyone familiar with the then-commissioner of baseball knew the answer. "No." The decision stuck and Denker never recovered. As the tournament continued Reshevsky opened up a lead over Kashdan when the latter overlooked a brilliant queen sacrifice by Steiner. But the next day, against a rank outsider - Herman Halhbohm of Chicago Reshevsky could not win against a King's Gambit. Drawing with the player who finishes dead last is almost always costly and within two days the champion added another error.

63

an easy opponent, the accomplished writer and collector of chess trivia, Irving Chernev. Reshevsky had to meet Horowitz, who had been a tough competitor a year before and was having one of his best championships. After Kashdan won surehandedly he sat down to watch Reshevsky. Horowitz outplayed the champ and adjourned two pawns up:

After

45 ... Bf5

Reshevsky-Horowitz, 1942

After 92 Qf5

Pilnick-Reshevsky, 1942

White was Carl Pilnick, the 19-year-old star of City College who was playing in his first championship. He had been playing for perpetual check for more than 50 moves but the game is just about over. His last hope was a trap.

92 ... g4?? 93 Qf2!! A shocking, as well as embarrassing, reversal for the champion. He must acquiesce to the stalemate after 93 ... Qxf2(Reshevsky would fall into a similar, but more intricate stalemate trap in a championship 22 years later against another City College graduate, Larry Evans}. But by the last round it was Reshevsky at 12-2 and Kashdan at llY2-2Y2. Kashdan had

"It looks all over to the spectators," Kashdan later recalled, "but opposite colored bishops and Reshevsky's better placed king offer drawing chances. I refuse congratulations, wondering what it will be like to be champion .... It has been three long weeks. I am thinking back to 1934 when I challenged Frank]. Marshall to a match for the American championship and the number of times I have tried for the title since. This is my best. Just a few good moves, friend Horowitz .... " Friend Horowitz made good use of his extra pawn in the next dozen difficult moves:

46 Rg8 Kh7 47 Rf8 Be6 48 Be7 Rd2 49 Kc5 b4! 50 Ra8 Rd3 51 Kxb4 Rxd4+ 52 Kc5 Rd3 53 b4 Ra3 54 Kb6 d4 55 b5 Rb3 56 Rxa6 d3 57 Ka5 d2 58 Rd6 "Things go along very nicely," Kashdan was thinking. "Horowitz now has a passed pawn on d2. It's all over. .. "

58 ... Bc4?? "No, wait. The White pawn on b5 threatens to sneak in." (The win was 58 ...

Fourth U.S. Championship, New York, April 10-30, 1942

1-2. Kashdan 1-2. Reshevsky 3-4. Denker 3-4. Pinkus 5. Steiner 6. Horowitz 7. Seidman 8-9. Levin,]. 8-9. Levy, L. 10-11. Chernev 10-11. Pilnick, C. 12-13. Baker. H. 12-13. Lessing, N. 14-16. Altman, B. 14-16. Green 14-16. Hahlbohm, H.

K

R

X Vz 0 0

Yz

0

Vz 0 0 0 0 Vz 0 0 0 Vz

0

Vz 0 0 0 0 Vz 0 0 0

X 0 0 0

Yz

D

P

5

H

S

Yz

Yz

X

1

0

X 0 0 Vz Vz 0 Vz Vz 0 0 0

0

0

0 0

0

I/Z

0 0

0 Vz

0 0 0 0

0

C

P

B

L

A

1 1 X 0 1

0

Ih

0

1 0

0 0 0 0 Vz Vz 0

1

G

H

Vz

Vz

11 10

Vz Vz

V2

0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0

0

Vz Vz

1 X

0

L

Yz

0 1 X 0 Vz Vz 0 1 0 0 Vz

L

Totals W L D

1 X

Vz 0 0 X

VZ

I/Z

Yz

0 V2

Vz

0

Vz Vz Vz Vz

0 0 0

0 0 0

Vz Vz

Vz Vz Vz X

0

1 0

Vz X 0 0

1 Vz

Vz Vz 1 0 X Vz Vz Vz Vz

Vz

Vz Vz 0 0

Yz X 1 0 Vz

(Green withdrew and forfeited seven games.)

Vz Vz

Vz 0 X 0 1

1/2 V2

0 1/2

1 X 0

Vz

Vz Vz Vz 0 1 X

9 10 8 6 6

3 5 3 1 4 6 2

3 5 4 4 2

7 3 4 4 7

3 2 2

5 4 4 6

Points

7 7 6

12Vz-2Vz 12Vz-2Vz 10 Yz-4Yz 10Vz-4V2 10-5 9-6 7-8 6Vz-8Vz 6Vz-8Vz 6-9 6-9 5Vz-9Vz

7 9 9 8

5¥z-9Vz 4-11 4-11 4-11

0 3 4 3 3 7 5 7

. The Reshevsky Years {1936-1942} Ra3+ 59 Kb4 Ra7! and 60 ... Rd7!, getting behind the pawn, e.g. 60 Rxd2 RXe7 61 b6 Kg6. Or 58 ... Ra3+ 59 Kb6 - blocking \Vhite's own pawn - Ra2 and ... Bg4.) 59 Rxd2 Rxb5+ 60 Ka4 Rb7 61 Bd8 The exchange of pawns leaves Black with only the slim possibility of a successful sacrifice of his rook for a bishop that would free his remaining pawns. The game ended with: 61 •.. Kg6 62 Rd4 Be6 63 Ka5 Rb8 64 Be7 Re8 65 Bds Rxd8 66 Rxd8 KXg5 67 Kb4 Kf4 68 Kc3 g5 69 Kd2 g4 70 Ke2 g3 71 Rd4+! Ke5 72 Rh4 Drawn (72 ... Bd5 73 Rg4 g2 74 Kf2 sets up an impregnable blockade). It was another Reshevsky last-round miracle, and it established co-champions for the first time in American hisrory. A playoff was inevitable. It was called a playoff but was in effect a 14-game match for the tirle, much like the Horowitz challenge. The contest began in October and was ro be held at U.S. Army camps for the benefit of the troops - Fort Jay on Governor's Island in New York Harbor, then Plattsburgh Barracks in upstate New York and so on. Fortunately, the pace was more relaxed than in the 1941 match and the result was superb fighting chess. The big surprise came in Game 2. Reshevsky had not lost in 74 straight U.S. title games and he added ro the streak in the first round with a difficult victory with White. The champion had ro think for an hour over his tenth move in Kashdan's Gruenfeld Defense and didn't look happy. But the tide began to turn in the early middlegame and a bold Kashdan counterattack (with moves like ... g5 and ... f5-4) failed. Kashdan's kings ide proved more vulnerable than Reshevsky's and the match stood 1-0 in favor of the champion. But in the second game, held at a service club in Camp Upton, Yaphank, N.Y., Reshevsky's luck ran out. While a theatrical show was going on a few steps away and a noisy

65

dance was held in an adjacent hall, the champion ran into feverish time trouble. He had less than five minutes ro make 20 moves and then barely 30 seconds for six moves. His position deteriorated rapidly and he resigned just after making the time control. The match went back and forth, with Reshevsky retaking the lead on Lake Champlain in Game Three and Kashdan evening it in Game Four. When the match returned to New York City for the fifth game, some 200 fans crowded into the Marshall Chess Club - the largest crowd ever assembled there - to see Reshevsky take the lead he never relinquished: E29 Nimzo-Indian Defense

white Reshevsky, black Kashdan 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 a3 Bxc3+ 5 bxc3 c5 6 e3 0-0 7 Bd3 Ne6 8 Nf3 d6 9 Qc2 e5 10 d5 Ne7 11 0-0 Kh8?! After giving away one of his cherished bishops Kashdan begins to play passively. He wants to advance ... f5 but that would be met by a vigorous opening of the center with e3e4. So, he adopts another strategy, exchanging off one of the enemy bishops in the hope that White will be left with a bad, pawn-bound QB. 12 Ne!! NeB 13 f4! exf4 14 exf4 g6 15 Nf3 BfS 16 Bxf5 NxfS 17 g4 Nh6

After 17 ... Nh6

Reshevsky-Kashdan, 1942

This is the positional crisis of the game. White cannot play 18 g5? Nf5 without

66

The United States Chess Championship

obtaining a bad game. He has only one consistent move and that is the sacrifice of a pawn with IB f5!. On 18 Qg2, for example, Black seals the position with IB ... f5! 18 f5! Nxg4 Black must accept the sacrifice because IB ... NgB would permit White to activate his bishop favorably at g5 or f4.

Black could have taken the f-pawn on move 24 but, more important, he could safely have grabbed c-pawn now. Fine claims a defensible position for Black after 24 ... Nxf6 25 Qxe5 QXfB 26 Rxf6 Rxf6 27 Qxf6+ Qg7 or, in the diagram, 26 ... Nxc4 27 Qe2 Nd6 2B Rael NeB. Kashdan's passive policy leads him into a totally helpless bind in which White can mate even without a queen. 27 Rael h5?

19 h3! Ne5 22 f6!

20 Nxe5 dxe5

21 Bh6 Rg8

Nicely played. Black cannot accept the second pawn because of 23 Bg5. Kashdan must play very accurately now to meet the coming swarm of White pieces. 22 ... g5 23 Qf5! Rg6 24 Bf8 Nd6?! 25 Bg7 + Kg8 26 Qxe5

Once again a knight move (27 ... NeB!) was necessary. 2B Qe7! Black cannot avoid the endgame that follows, an endgame in which White's rooks run all over the kingside. Black must agree to open lines there with ... g4 because otherwise his rook is stalemated on gG. The rest is relatively easy: 28 ... Qxe7 29 Rxe7 Rd8 30 Rfel Kh7 31 Kg2 g4 32 Rle5! gxh3+ 33 Kxh3 Rgl 34 Rxh5+ Kg6 35 R7e5 Rh1+ 36 Kg4 Ne4? 37 Rxhl Nf2+ 38 Kf4! and Black resigns

After 26 Qxe5

Reshevsky-Kashdan, 1942

26 .•• Qd7?

..

Black saw 3B ... Nxhl 39 Rg5+ Kh7 40 Rh5+ Kg6 41 Rh6 mate. The rest of the match was also easy. Reshevsky continued to win with White and held the draw as Black. He finished out with three more wins and three draws and the match 7h-3Y2.

Courtesy of the John G. White Collection. Cleveland Public Library

Above: Paul Morphy (seated, table right) makes move in finals match of First American Chess Congress, New York 1857, against Louis Paulsen, surrounded by New York fans.

Right: Capt. George Henry Mackenzie, recognized as champion from the Second American Chess Congress (Cleveland 1871) until his death in 1891.

Courtesy of the John G. White Colkction. Ckveland Public Library

Court"yofMarshall Archives

•

Two champions - Albert Beauragard Hodges (left) and Frank Marshall- enjoy a casual game in New York before an unidentified sculptor, circa 1920. Hodges retired after winning the title in 1894 but was a frequent guest at the first championship tournaments, begun after Marshall retired in 1936. Note Hodges' signature and good-humored comment at left.

Cour",y of fht John G. White Collution, Clevel4nd Public Library

Harry Nelson Pillsbury, twice champion in match victories over Jackson Showalter (1897, 1898). He held the title until his death in 1906 at age 33.

Courtesy of th< Russ<1I Collection.

Reuben Fine (left) and LA. (''AI'') Horowitz post-mortem their drawn game from the 1944 championship, in which they finished second and third respectively to Arnold Denker. It was Fine's last try for the title and the closest Horowitz ever came to it.

Courtesy of the

u.s. Chess Fderation

Courtesy of the Marshall Archives

Courtesy ofthe RUSiell Collection

Top left: Two generations, that of the 19305 and '405 represented by AI Horowitz (second from left) and of the 1950s-60s, represented by Arthur Bisguier and Larry Evans (right)- joined by the man who won the title in 1936 and again in 1981, Sammy Reshevsky. Top right: Bobby Fischer, 14, analyzing a Queen's Gambit Declined in his Brooklyn home shortly after winning the championship for the first time in January 1958. Bottom: Four veterans of the postwar era: Champion Larry Evans (front left) chats with his successor, Arthur Bisguier, during a round of the 1958-59 championship, one of 10 they each played in. James T. Sherwin (upper left), a contestant in eight championship tournaments, and Edmar Mednis (upper right), a contestant in 11, are deep in thought.

Courtesy ofJohn G. White Collection, Cleveland Public Library

Courtesy ofDon Schultz

Couru,y ofDon Schultz

Courtesy of Don Schultz

Cwckwise from top left: Lubomir ("Lubosh") Kavalek, only winner of both the Czech championship, and, after becoming a naturalized citizen, the U.S.; he shared first place twice (1971-72 and 1973) and was clear winner in 1978. Lanky Californian Larry Christiansen, a contender for the top prize from 1977 on and co-champion in 1980 and 1983, shown in a characteristic middlegame pose. Joel Benjamin shared the record (with Pal Benko) for most consecutive championships played in -14 from 1981 to 1995 - and shared the title in 1987. Yasser Seirawan, America's leading player in the 19805, registered a plus score in nine championships, even more than Fischer.

.. Cour",y Wolf Peter Web" (c)

Courtesy of Don Schultz

Above: The decisive last-round game of the 1990 championship saw John Fedorowicz (left) outplay surprise tournament leader Alex Sherzer in time pressure.

Right: Alex Yermolinsky dominated large Swiss System tournaments in the early 1990s and shared the championship title with ahother former Soviet GM, Alex Shabalov, in 1993.

Courtesy ofDon Schultz

Above: With the help of the demonstration board assistant A.J. Steigman, fans in Key West, Florida, followed play in the 1994 championship, such as in this first-round encounter between Alexander Ivanov (left) and Boris Kreiman.

Right: Walter Browne, a championship contender for more than 20 years (1973-95), won the tournament six times.

Courtesy Ckv~/anJ Public Library Photograph Colkctio"

.

Chapter Seven

The Post-War Years

(1944-1954) the board only by an occasional event, such as the 1945 U.S.-U.S.S.R. radio match. Alexander Kevitz, who had been touted as a coming star in the mid-1930s, became so disappointed by a mere even score in the 1936 championship that he gave up chess for his pharmacy business and didn't return to the board for nearly ten years. Even Denker, who won the 1944 championship, resumed amateur status and played infrequently after 1946. It was, in short, a depleted era - too old for the '30s generation and too soon for the arrival of the '50s generation. Many members of the latter group Larry Evans, Arthur Bisguier, George Kramer, and Robert and Donald Byrne - were just reaching the top master ranks by the end of the period. So, during the IO years from 1944 to 1954 the U.S. title went to five different players during five different tournaments.

By the time the fifth championship arrived, the face of American chess had been altered considerably. Several of the top players were either in uniform or committed to jobs that left little time for chess. Moreover, the class of players that was so young in 1936 was now advancing into middle age and many were no longer so eager to give the time and energy necessary to compete. The result was five championship tournaments that could safely be said to be among the weakest held since the 1870s. Only one or two players of true grandmaster strength competed for the top prize each year and, at the other end of the score table, there were often a half dozen players who would never have survived the preliminary eliminations of the 1930s. (Compare this with the 1990s when virtually every player invited to the tournament carried the International Grandmaster title and at least 15 other GMs would have accepted if their rating were only high enough.) Reshevsky was studying for his examinations to become a certified public accountant and passed up the 1944 tournament. He played (and won, of course) two years later but again failed to play in 1948. Fine played once more, in 1944, but retired when he failed to win. Kashdan tried in 1946 and again in 1948 and then he too gave up on the title chase. Some of the other contenders had also fallen by the wayside. Dake had given up competitive play in 1938 and was tempted back to

1944: Reshevsky-Iess Nine players were seeded for the second and last wartime tournament, but they were a much less imposing lot than had met just two years before. The favorite by Ear was Fine, with Steiner, Horowitz, Denker and Pinkus given only a distant chance of upsetting him. Kashdan would have been a more serious rival to Fine but at the last moment, after making plans to play, he had to withdraw on doctor's orders.

67

68

The United States Chess Championship

There were also nine qualifiers but most were barely of master strength. Only 18 men entered the preliminaries - about a third of the 1936 total- with the result that anyone who scored moderately well ended up in the national championship. One was Louis Persinger, a violin teacher who included Yehudi Menuhin, Isaac Stern and Ruggiero Ricci among his students and was a member of the Juilliard School of Music faculty. Persinger, who was perhaps a 2000 player by modern rating standards, eventually scored only one draw in 17 games of the finalsthe worst championship record up to that time. "The boards were out of tune," he explained. As expected, the five top masters - Fine, Steiner, Pinkus, Horowitz and Denkerbegan with a string of victories and were soon far ahead of the field. Only George Shainswit stayed within reasonable distance - although he finished a full three points from the leaders. The initial pace was set by Denker and Horowitz with 3-0 scores while Fine got into trouble in the very first round and had to work hard to save a lost position against Pinkus. Denker then moved into sole possession of first place when he knocked off Horowitz. The leader was a young, good-looking 200-pound New Yorker who had once divided his interest between chess and boxing. Years earlier Arnold Denker had reached the quarter finals of the Bronx County Golden Gloves, a traditional local event for amateur boxers, and had even managed a welterweight fighter for a while. In his other game, chess, Denker had slowly improved in U.S. title play. He moved up from an unheralded 12th in 1936 to equal sixth in 1940 and then a highly creditable tie for third behind Kashdan and Reshevsky in 1942. And now after six rounds in 1944 he held at least a half point lead over Fine and the rest of the field. The exact size of his lead depended on the outcome of a drawish adjourned game of Fine's. This made the seventh-round meeting with the tournament favorite "my greatest bid for the title," Denker recalled. But he could afford to draw; Fine could not.

...

£43 Nimzo-Indian Defense white Denker, black Fine 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e3 b6 5 Bd3 Bb7 6 Nf3 Ne4 7 O-O!?

After 7 0-0

Denker-Fine, 1944

Prepared analysis? Denker was quite an expert in the queenside openings at the time. But, no, there was no reason to suspect this position would arise. Fine had never before played the Nimzo-Indian against Denker, and the latter was all set to playa Queen's Gambit Declined. The text is a spur-of-the-moment sacrifice of a pawn, reminiscent of a swashbuckling opening of another era (1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Bc5 4 c3 Nf6 5 d4 exd4 6 cxd4 Bb4+ 7 Nc3 NXe4 8 a-a!?). It works superbly on Fine. The idea of the sacrifice was interred by analysts shortly after this game, only to be revived 20 years later. The gambit is now regarded as unsound and Bobby Fischer, for example, says simply that 7 ... Nxc3 8 bXc3 Bxc3 9 RbI Nc6! leaves White with little compensation for his missing pawn. 7 ... Nxc3 S bxc3 Bxc3 9 RbI BaS? 10 Ba3 How will Black castle now? If he maneuvers a knight to e7 (10 ... Nc6 11 dS Ne7) White can play 12 NgS followed by QhS with a tremendous attack. Fine seeks a closed pawn shell as a refuge but Denker shows that it can be opened quickly. 10 ••• d6 11 c5! 0-0 12 cxd6 cxd6 13 e4! ReS 14 e5 dxe5 15 Nxc5

69

The Post-War Years (1944-1954)

Here 16 ... Nc6 would be met by 17 Nxf7! Kxf7 18 Rb5! with lines such as 18 ... e5 19 Qb3+ Kf6 20 f4! and 18 ... Qf6 19 Qh5+ g6 20 Qxh7 + Qg7 21 Bxg6+ Kf6 22 Qh4+. To find these variations in any game is a real treat for an attacking master, and to find them against Reuben Fine, then counted among the five best players in the world, was exhilirating.

After 15 Nxe5

17 Qa4! Qd8 Denker-Pine, 1944

At this point Denker got up from his board, strolled over to Kenneth Harkness, the latest coeditor of Chess Review, and summed up his position: "Right now Fine is busted higher than a kite. But that doesn't mean to say I'll win it. You know me!" The immediate threat is 16 Bxh7+ Kxh7 17 Qh5+ Kg8 18 Qxf7+ followed by Rb3h3+, a familiar theme that Fine must have seen instantly. Yet even with an advance warning there is no easy defense. If Black covers h7 with 15 ... h6 White can answer 16 Qh5 Qf6 17 Nxf7! because 17 ... Qxf7 is met by 18 Bg6.

"It was obvious from the way in which Fine was squirming and twisting in his chair that he did not like his position," wrote eyewitness Harkness. "As time went by his face became redder and redder as he tried to find some way of extricating himself." 18 Rfel bS

This bid for counterplay clears b6 for Black's bishop so that it will no longer be vulnerable on a5 and will gain time by attacking the d-pawn. Denker's sudden shift to the queens ide had eroded Fine's supply of time as well as his position and Black had only 23 minutes for 22 moves now.

15 ... QgS 19 BxbS Qd5 20 f3 Bb6 The queen does a poor job of blocking the kingside and Fine's post-mortem suggestion of15 ... g6!? appears to be Black's last bid for a defense. Both sides had their say in published analysis afterwards. Denker said White is still winning after 15 ... g6 16 Bb5! Qd5 17 f3. For example, he said, 17 ... Nc6 can be met by 18 Ng4! Qd8 19 d5 exd5 20 Bxc6 and 21 Qd4. And 17 ... Bc6 would be handled elegantly by 18 Ng4 Qd8 19 d5 Bxb5 20 Rxb5 a6 21 dxe6!!. But Fine disagreed. He pointed out this line: 16 Bb5 Qd5 17 f3 Bc6 18 Ng4 and now not Denker's 18 ... Qd8? (''Almost the worst move on the board") but 18 ... Kg7! which forces White to fight, e.g. 19 Qc1 Bxb5 20 Qh6+ Kh8 21 Rxb5! Qxd4+! 22 Khl Nd7.

16 g3 g6

Mter

20 ... Bb6

Denker-Pine, 1944

21 RcS!! BXeS 22 BXeS Fine could have resigned her but didn't have enough time to think about it. Besides 23 Bxe8, White's threats include 23 Bc4 and 24 Rxb7.

Fifth U.S. Championship, New York, April 15-May 7, 1944 Totals

D

F

H

S

P

1. Denker

X

2. Fine

0

1 X

3-4. Horowitz

0

I/Z

3-4. Steiner

Yz

o

5. Pinkus

0

Yz

6. Shainswit 7. Altman

Yz Yz

o o

8-9. Adams

0

8-9. Almgren, S.

0

10-11. DiCamillo

0

10-11. Weinstock

0

12-14. Isaacs

0

o o o o o

12-14. Neidich

0

}-2

12-14. Rothman, A. 0

o

15. Stromberg 16. Cherney

0 0

o

o

Yz o Yz }-2 000 000 000 o 0 Yz o Yz 0 000 000 000 000 000

17. Gladstone

0

o

18. Persinger

0

o

Yz Yz X

1

0 X

liz

Yz Y2 Yz X

S

A

Yz

Yz

A

A

D

W

N

R

S

C

G

P

W

D

L

Points

1

14

3

0

13

1 2

15Yz-IYz 14Yz-2Yz

Yz Yz

12

3 2 4

1

11 7

5 7

1 3

13Yz-3Yz 10Yz-6Yz

8

2

7

9-8

liz

6 8

4 0

7 9

8-9 8-9

5 5

4 4

8 8

7-10

13

Yz Yz

Yz 0

Yz

Yz Yz X

1

1

o

X

o

0

1

Yz 000 X Yz Yz liz

Yz Yz

1

o

I

}-2

o

0

Y2

Y2 Yz

o

0 0 0

o

0

o

Yz

0

000

o

0

000

o

0

X

1

o

X

Yz

o

}-2

0

1

1

o

Yz

0

X

Yz

]

1

o 1

o

o

1

0

0

}-2

1

o

X

I

Yz

o

0

X

o

Yz

Y2

14-3

7-10

5

3

9

4

5

8

3 0

9

6}-2-10Yz 6Yz-I0Yz 6Yz-I0Yz

12

5-12

11 14

4Yz-12}-2 2Yz-14Yz Yz-16Yz

o

Yz

liz

X

1

Y2

o

5

010

o

X

1

1

5

Yz

0 0

Yz

o

X

1

o o

0 0

000 o 0 0 Yz o 0 0 Y2

o

X 1 o X

3 2

o

o o

o

14-3

o

3 1 1

16

The Post-War Years (1944-1954)

71

22 ... Rfs 23 Be4 Be6 24 Bxd5 Bxa4 25 BXaS With his forfeiture flag on the tilt and 16 moves to go, Fine resigned, all but conceding his last try at the championship. An unhappy outcome for the strongest player who never won the title. There were still ten rounds to go and several moderately strong players for Denker to face. Nevertheless, when a player seems to be having the tournament of his life, good luck eases away all danger. On the day after beating Fine, the tournament leader obtained a very bad position against Weaver Adams, who chose a subtle fianchetto system against Denker's Sicilian Defense. Denker held firm - and offered a draw. Not once, but several times, according to Chess Review. The pressures of searching for the winning move eventually got to Adams. He blundered, throwing away not only the win he sought but also the draw. Finally after nine straight wins, Denker conceded a draw to Shainswit. His lead remained solid, however, and no one came within a point of his score until the very end. His only close call came in the 12th round when he faced Aaron Rothman, a Bronx amateur. Rothman was another of the lucky qualifiers and had been massacred earlier by Fine in 15 moves. It reminded the loser of the recent gangland assassination of a mob chieftain in the same hotel. "I suppose Fine thinks he is keeping up the tradition," Rothman said. But he had a big chance to redeem himself by beating Denker:

After 10 dS

Rothman-Denker, 1944

175, for a shocking example). Here, however, Black is pinned back to the first two ranks and in danger of not reaching a middle game. 10 ... exd5 11 Re1+? With such a powerful position Rothman has too many good moves. The most exact procedure is 11 Nxd5 so that on 11 ... Nxd5 12 Bxd5 Be7 White pours on the pressure with 13 Qb3 0-0 14 Ne5 Qe8 15 ReI. 11 ... Be7 12 Ba3? And here 12 Nxd5 was necessary to maintain the attack, which is still alive after 12 ... Nxd5 13 Bxd5 0-0 14 Qb3 Nc6 but not nearly as dangerous as in the last paragraph. Rothman now goes quickly downhill: 12 ... Nc6 13 Qe2? dxc4! 14 Radl Bd7 15 Bxe7 Qxe7! 16 Qxc4 Be6 17 Rxe6 fxe6 IS ReI 0-0 19 Rxe6 NaS! 20 Qc2 Qe5 21 Re7 Rae8 and White resigns

B50 Sicilian Defense

white Rothman, black Denker 1 c4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 b4!? exb4 4 d4 d5? 5 exdS QxdS 6 c4! bxc3 7 Nxc3 QdS S Bc4 Nf6 9 0-0 e6 10 d5! (see diagram) Denker had confused this opening, a delayed form of the Wing Gambit, with the normal Wing, which begins 1 e4 c5 2 b4 cxb4 3 a3 dS! 4 exd5 Qxd5 5 Nf3 e5 and leads to a fine game for Black. (See Shirazi-Peters, page

Denker had finished all the tough games by Round 15 while Fine had yet to meet Horowitz. When they did, the magazine publisher nearly won, but even the draw he made was a fatal blow to Fine's chances: Denker had amassed an amazing score ofI4Y2-~, and was a point and a half ahead of his nearest rival. Such a margin permitted him to accept painless draws in his last two games. And so Arnold Sheldon Denker thus became the first man whose name was not spelled "Reshevsky" to

72

The United States Chess Championship

take sale first prize in a modern United States championship.

1946· Back to Normalcy (and Controversy) The war was over by the year of the sixth championship, and Americans were learning to adjust to a strange new world. Joe Louis was still the heavyweight boxing champion and Alexander Alekhine, a kind of heavyweight in his own field, was also firmly on top. But neither would remain so for long. Lettuce was selling for 10 cents a head but inflation would soon erase all memory of low prices. National unity, which had held so solidly during the four war years, would be tested when President Truman seized the railroads during a nationwide strike, and the wartime alliances would be strained by disputes about what to do with Trieste, Berlin, Korea and other trouble spots. When they didn't want to worry about these matters Americans went to see Alan Ladd in 0.5.5. and listened on their Phileos to the Red Sox play the Cardinals in the World Series. In chess it was a tumultuous year with both a championship match and a tournament, as well as a divisive battle over how contenders should be chosen. Many of the plans and ambitions that were voiced this year had been buried for the duration of the war but no longer needed to be postponed. At the center of the controversy was the United States Chess Federation, which was only a matter of weeks old when the fighting in Europe had begun in 1939. The USCF had been formed out of the National Chess Federation, essentially a letterhead organization, which represented the United States in Europe and organized the championship tournaments but had little grass roOts strength, and the Western Chess Association (or rather its successor, the old American Chess Federation), which was the chief organizational network outside of New York. In agreeing to consolidate, the two former bodies said the new USCF would speak for chess here and abroad and organize an annual U.S. Open. No mention was made of the champi-

onship, but it was assumed that the new body: would take full control of it. By 1946 the USCF'S principal members noticed a trend. The championship was no longer attracting the strongest players. There were a number of factors, such as the demands of the war effort and the financial attraction of nonchess activity. But the USCF, which was after all a national and political organization, cited another factor: The U.S. championship had been dominated for too long by New Yorkers and the New York-orientation of the event (such as having the preliminaries held there) tended to undermine chess west of the Hudson. To correct this, the USCF announced there would be no seeded players for the sixth championship. All interested players, even the grandmasters, would have to compete in regional elimination events, held around the country. It was democratic and yet almost revolutionary because respect for the top masters was so ingrained. But the new plan couldn't work. The idea of regional qualification ignored the fact that talent, at least in 1946, was distributed unevenly. You might seed a few players from solid chess areas such as Chicago or Philadelphia. But to insist on rigid sectional divisions for selecting all the finalists would create more ptoblems. For example, the USCF had allotted two qualifying spots for players from the West Coast. But since Steiner and Dake were the leading players there and Fine had temporarily moved to the Pacific Coast, one of the three would have to be denied. Similarly, there would be a disparity in New York, which was allotted only three Spots. If Kashdan, Horowitz and Pinkus were to compete how could any of the improving players, such as Kevitz, Seidman, Santasiere or 16-year-old George Kramer, hope to qualify? Yet all of them had more than shown their worthiness by year's end. Shortly after the USCF unveiled its regional plan, Edward Lasker rallied the opposition: He announced the formation of a group called the Association of American Chess Masters, with himself as president, and Fine, Reshevsky and Pinkus as vice presidents. They,

. The Post-War Years (1944-1954) not the national federation, would organize the championship, the masters said. This threat to the user's franchise forced it to retreat and within weeks a compromise had been reached. The Chicago-based federation would continue to run the championship and there would be regional events to choose some of the finalists. But there would also be seven seeded players. And, for a while, peace reigned.

73

ented group of youngsters that included Kramer, I8-year-old Robert Byrne. 16-yearold Donald Byrne, 16-year-old Arthur Bisguier and 14-year-old Larry Evans. Thus there was some doubt about the outcome of the ten-game match when it began in March in Steiner's adopted city, Los Angeles. It was the first time since the 1941-1942 matches that the title was at stake outside New York. Towards the end of the two-week struggle the stars of the two coasts shared the honors equally. But not at the beginning:

Denker vs. Steiner But there was also a match to be held because for the second time in five years a strong contender had mounted the financial support to issue a challenge to the championship tournament winner. The challenge came from 41year-old Herman Steiner, then nearing the height of his game, with good reason to believe he could unseat Denker. The New Yorker had been somewhat lucky in 1944, most observers agreed, and his true strength was closer to that of 1945, they said. In that year a team of ten Soviet masters had played the ten best Americans by radio in the first international chess event anywhere since the end of World War II. The Americans, victors in four previous world team championships, were clobbered (4Y2-15Y2) and on first board Denker was completely outclassed in his two games with Mikhail Botvinnik. Yet in the debacle there was a bright spot: Steiner. who scored a win and a draw with Igor Bondarevsky. His games were played on sixth board but they still accounted for one third of the Americans' total of points. Then in January 1946 - admitting he was out to "redeem the reputation" of the United StatesSteiner scored a somewhat startling first place finish at a moderately strong "Victory" tournament held in London. The tournament was divided into two groups: Steiner won the larger of the two, while Denker finished well down the scoretable in the other. Steiner added to his laurels with a good finish at Hastings just before the London event and he would win the U.S. Open later that summer ahead of a tal-

May 4-May 18, 1946 Denker 1 1 1 1/2 1 0 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 =6 Steiner 0 0 0 Y2 0 1 Y2 Y2 Yl Y2 Y2 =4 Denker had Bown west with a traditional match strategy of drawing his games with Black and winning with White. "But somehow or other these cold-blooded rationalizations never seem to work out," he said after the first game. "After only a few moves I found myself playing just another game of chess. disregarding the importance of the occasion!" D35 Queen's Gambit Declined white Steiner, black Denker 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 c4 c6 4 Nc3 e6 5 Bg5 Nbd7 6 cxd5 exd5 7 e3 Be7 8 Bd3 Ne4! 9 Bf4 Ndf6 10 Qc2 O-O! Black has taken advantage of a slight inaccuracy (8 Bd3 instead of 8 Qc2) to plant his knights. White can win a pawn here -11 Bxe4 Nxe4 12 Nxe4 dxe4 13 Qxe4 - but only at the risk of a powerful attack-13 ... Qa5+ 14 Nd2 Bb4 15 Qc2 c5 and then 16 dXc5 b6! followed by ... Ba6 or ... Bb7.

11 0-0 Bd6 12 Bxd6 Nxd6 13 Ne5 g6! 14 Rael Bf5 15 Ne2 Bxd3 16 Qxd3 Nd7 17 Ng3 Re8 (see diagram) Denker's model play has left him with an excellent middle game. By trading off both sets of bishops he eliminates all serious threats to his king position. Steiner, misunderstanding

74

The United States Chess Championship

After 17 ... Re8

After 30 ... Re8

Steiner-Denker, 1946

the position, has ignored the opportunity to shift his play to the queenside with 14 b4! and a4/b5. He wants to mate.

Steiner-Denker, 1946

In the next game a disillusioned Steiner blundered away a piece on the 13th move. He recovered his form by the sixth game, but it was already too late.

18 f4? f5 To stop f4-f5 Black concedes White the e5 square for as long as he wants it. If Black ever captures on e5 White would retake with the f-pawn, play Ne2-f4 and open up the position favorably with g2-g4!. But Steiner has underestimated Black's counterplay elsewhere.

19 Qb3 Kg7 20 Re2 Nf6 21 Rf3?! Qb6! 22 Qc3 Rfc8! Here comes ... c5, a move that is much stronger now that White has opened the line leading from f2 to b6. Steiner's pieces, chiefly his g3-knight and his KR, are out of contact with the squares he now needs to protect.

23 Rc2 as 24 Nfl Nde4 25 Qe1 e5 26 dxe5 Rxe5 27 Rxe5 Qxe5 28 Qh4 d4! 29 exd4 Qxd4+ 30 Khl Re8 (see diagram) Black's rook will penetrate decisively on the seventh rank (as in the game) or on the eighth (31 h3 Rd 32 Kh2 Nd2 33 Nxd2 Qg1+ 34 Kg3 Nh5+). The game was over in minutes.

31 Nd3 Re2 32 Qe1 Ng4 33 h3 Ngf2+ 34 Nxf2 Rxf2 35 Rb3 b6 36 Qc1 a4 37 Ra3 b5! 38 Kh2 Qxb2 39 Qe7 + Kh6 40 Qe7 Rxg2+ 41 Khl Qf2! and White resigns

Sixth Championship Tournament: Sammy, with Ease In November 1946 - after another match drubbing at the hands of the Russians - the top American players again assembled in New York to pick a champion. The Association of American Chess Masters was forgotten and so was the suspicion that there were superstars in the hinterlands waiting to be discovered. True, only eight of the 19 championship finalists were New Yorkers but they accounted for seven of the top nine places in the final scoretable and 60 percent of all wins. For once the tournament was not held in a hotel ballroom, where players were often smothered by spectators, but in a comfortable theater in a large office building. The games were displayed on huge wallboards and the theater could accommodate up to 300 chess fans in plush seats. It all was done in "a more lavish and showmanlike fashion than ever before," Reshevsky said. The tournament itself featured another Reshevsky-Kashdan race, the first since their playoff match, as well as the addition of several new faces. Jacob Levin of Philadelphia was playing in only his second U.S. championship but he managed to find his way to fourth place - ahead of defending champion Denker,

The Post-War Years (1944-1954) recent challenger Steiner and perennial conrender Horowitz. But in the end it was Reshevsky's easiest championship. He defeated Kashdan, Denker, Steiner and Pinkus and permitted only a few draws. More than at any time in his career, Reshevsky was clearly the best American.

013 Queen's Gambit Declined white Reshevsky, black Kashdan 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c6 3 Nf3 d5 4 cxd5 cxd5 5 Nc3 e6 6 Bf4 a6 7 e3 Ee7 S Bd3 b5 9 Rcl Bb7 10 a4 Black has adopted an ambitious placement of queenside pieces and pawns. But here he cannot sustain the front and must play either ... b4, conceding good squares to a White knight (Nbl-d2-b3-c5!) or ... hxa4 with the same weaknesses, plus an isolated a-pawn.

75

his choice between a tricky attack that might only draw (16 Qxh5 BXg5 17 Qxh7 +) and a difficult m iddlegame with approximate material equality (16 Bxh7+ Kh8 17 Nxe6 Qe8 18 Nxf8 Bxf8 19 BbI! with ideas of Qc2-h7 mate). 15 .•. QeS? 16 Bxh7+ Khs 17 Bbl! This was the move Reshevsky had foreseen and Kashdan had probably missed. On 17 ... fxg5 White can win material with IS Qc2, threatening mate. This finesse gives Reshevsky time to win back the exchange and some pawns. 17 ... fxe5 18 NXe6 exd4 19 Nxf8 Exf8 20 exd4 Nf6 21 ReI Qh5 22 Qxh5+! NxhS

10 ... b4 11 Nbl! Nc6 12 Nbd2 0-0 13 0-0

Nh5 14 Be5! Mter 22 ... NxhS

After 14 ReS

Reshevsky-Kashdan, 1946

Reshevsky-Kashdan, 1946

White's last move is common in this kind of position. If Black captures the bishop, White can leave the remaining knight in the lurch with 15 dxe5 (e.g. 15 ... Qd7 16 g4; 15 ... g6 16 Nd4) or centralize his own with 15 NXe5. 14 ... f6?! 15 Ng5! All of a sudden matters become very complex. White uses the vulnerability of the Black knight: After 15 ... fXe5 he would have

The combination is over and White has two pawns and a rook for his two captured pieces - often a disadvantageous imbalance. But his remaining material becomes very active and it is Black who must fight for a draw. The remainder of the game showed that Kashdan's strength in the endgame, once unchallenged in the United States, was no longer supreme. 23 Nf3 Nf6 24 Re6 Rc8 25 Bf5! Ne7?! (25 ... Nxd4! 26 RxcS Nxf3+ 27 gxf3 BxcS offers drawing chances) 26 Rxc8 Nxc8 27 Ne5 Kg8 28 Ng6 Nd6 29 Bh3 Nc4 30 b3 Na5 31 Rb6 Kf7 32 Nxf8 Kxf8 33 Rxb4 Bc6 34 Rb6 BeS 35 Rxa6 Nxb3 36 a5 Ke7 37 Re6+ Kd8 38 a6 Kc7 39 a7 Kb7 40 Rb6+! and Black resigns

Sixth U.S. Championship, New York, Oct. 26-Nov. 17, 1946 Totals R

K

S

1 X Vz

Vz

Yz

'h

x

Yz 1

V2 V2

o

X

Vz

Y2 Y2

1. Reshevsky

x

2. Kashdan

o

3. Santasiere

Vz V2

4. Levin 5-6. Denker 5-6. Horowitz 7. Steiner S. Pinkus

9. Kramer, G. 10. Sandrin, A. Jr. 11. Ulvestad, O.

o liz

o o Vz

o

L

D

H

V2 Y2 V2 X

'h 0 0 V2 0 X

o o o o

o

o

Vz

Vz Y2

V2

o

0

o o

o

liz

o

o o

V2

V2

o

12. Rubinow, S.

o

o

13-16. Adams 13-16. DiCamillo

o o

'/2

Yz Y2

Y2 V2

13-16. Rothman 13-16. Suesman

o o

o

o

o

o

o

17. Drexel, G. IS. Fink, A.

o o

o o o

o o

19. Kowalski, S.

o

o

o o o

o

o

S

P

K

SUR

A

DRS

Vz Y2

Yz Yl

Y2

'h

o

D

F

K

L

Points

4

0

16-2

2

9

5 S

9 9 10

7 6 4

2 3 4

13Vz-4'h 13-5 12Y2-5'/2

10

2

6

11-7

7

7

4

6 7 4

7 2 7

5 9 7

10Vz-7Y2 9Y2-SVZ S-10

o

6

2 10

1

3 3 3 5

Y2 V2 Y2

Vz

1

0

1

0

V2

X

Y2

Y2

o

liz

X

1

0

Vz

0

X

o

Y2 Y2

o o o

liz 0

X

V2 0 000 000 000 000 Y2 0 o 0 o V2 Yz 000

Y2

1

V2

Yz

o

o

o

o o o

o Y2 1 0

1

X

o

0

o

x

o Y2

0

o 'h

0 0

Vz

0

Yz

0

Vz V2

Y2

1

0

o

o o

Y2 0

o

o

o

11

12-6 12-6

'/2

1

o

o

o o o

'/2

o

1

1

X

liz X

o

o

Y2

o

o

Y2

Vz

5 5 5 4

X

1

o

4

2

12

5-13

o

X

1

1

6

11

4-14

o

X

3

1

14

3V2-14V2

liz

o

14

o

o o o

D

V2 1

1

Y2 1 X

Y2 Yz

W

Yz

'h

o

o o o

Y2 Y2

X

Y2

Y2

V2

Yz

10

10 10

9

7'/2-lOV2 7-11 6V2-11Y2 6V2-11'/2 6Y2-11 Yz 6V2-11 Yz

. The Post-War Years (1944-1954)

1948: The Largest and the Least It was the best of championships, it was the worst of championships. It had one of the best prize funds, bur came while the USCF was on the verge of bankruptcy. It was played under excellent conditions in a resort town, bur isolated from virtually any spectators who wanted to see the games played. It was the largest field, 20 players - but also one of the very weakest. Originally the field in 1948 was intended to be larger - 22 players - to accommodate all the seeded masters as well as those qualifying from the by-now-familiar regional events. But the size was scaled down by the time invitations were sent out. The foremost questions concerned the acceptances that didn't come back: Where was Fine? \V'here was Reshevsky? No one doubted Fine's sincerity in explaining that his work towards a degree in psychology prevented him from accepting an invitation. Just a few months earlier he had had to turn down the much more prestigious world championship tournament that had been held in Europe. But Reshevsky was available - sort of. Sammy was willing to play if he received a guaranteed fee for playing, as had been offered in some of the previous tournaments. But the 1948 organizers had pur all the money they could round up into the prizes. They skimped by moving the event away from expensive Manhattan and had made other budget curs. They simply didn't understand why one player should be getting extra money for just showing up. If Reshevsky was as strong as he claimed, he would be assured of the more than generous first prize. Negotiations between the two sides broke down and Reshevsky announced he would not play. Furthermore, he wanted his name taken off all advance publicity heralding the upcoming tournament. It was in that strained atmosphere that the USCF invited Olaf Ulvestad of Seattle as a last-minute replacement for Sammy and scheduled the first round for August 10th in the small upstate New York town of South Fallsburg. But on August 9th Reshevsky announced he was willing to play after all, without a guarantee.

77

This created an organizational nightmare. The tournament officials could not just tell Ulvestad to go home. But to add Reshevsky at that late date they would not only have to find an extra hotel room in an overbooked city, but also negotiate for an extra day or two with the 20-odd hotels that had set space aside for players and organizers. They would also have to convince the players to revise their own schedules to accommodate Reshevsky, and sacrifice two more days away from home. In the end, the organizers simply said "No." It was not the last time a star player would be left out of the championship because of a money or scheduling dispute. The exit of Reshevsky left Isaac Kashdan in the same head-of-the-pack position as Fine four years before. He was the only grandmaster in a relatively weak field. Besides the absence of Reshevsky there was no Denker, no Dake, no Horowitz. Kash seemed prepared to take the Marshall trophy home to Brooklyn by default. He started our well with a strong 8-1 score while Steiner rumbled along at 7-2. Steiner, who had had some difficulty qualifying from the regional event held in his adopted home, Los Angeles, had justified Ulvestad's inclusion in the tournament by losing to him in the fifth round. Steiner was regarded as steady but simply not talented enough to hit the top of American chess. Earlier in this year he had played a match with Fine and lost badly, 5-1. But the event suddenly tightened up when Kashdan sat down in the 10th round with Sol Rubinow. Rubinow, who would later become better known as a bridge champion and even better than that in his chosen field of biomathematics, was then a doctoral candidate at the University of Pennsylvania and a dangerous, aggressive chess player. His choice of opening was inspired:

C47 Four Knights Game white Rubinow, black Kashdan

1 e4 eS 2 Nf3 Ne6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 d4 exd4 5 Nd5!?

78

The United States Chess Championship

This, the Belgrade Gambit, was very new at the time. Like most gambits its teeth were drawn by the analysts and it lost its popularity once tournament players found out how easy it was to play Black after 5 ... Be7 6 Nxd4 Nxd5 7 exd5 Nxd4 8 Qxd4 0-0. But one can imagine Kashdan's problems in assessing such other lines, as 5 ... Nxe4 6 Qe2 f5 7 g4!? or 7 Ng5 d3! 8 cxd3 Nd4 9 Qh5+ g6 10 Qh4.

Black doesn't want to feed the enemy's initiative with 14 ... QXe1+ 15 Rfxe1+, so he finds a way of exchanging queens that undoubies his pawns. 14 ... Bxd4+ 15 Kxd4 Nc6+ 16 Kc3 QeS+! 17 Qxe5 dxe5 18 Radl But Rubinow still has an initiative and has acquired some enemy targets on dark squares to exploit.

S ••. NxdS?! Black gets a very temporary initiative because of this. 6 exdS Nb4 7 Bc4 bS 8 Bb3 Qe7 + Black's pieces were about to be driven back by a2-a3 or harassed by Bg5 and Nxd4f5. What happens next is more entertaining than shocking. 9 Kd2!? g6 Black responds to the threat of 10 Rel with ... Bh6+. 10 Qe1 Bb7 11 Nxd4 a6 12 d6! cxd6

After 12 ... cXd6

18 ... Rac8 19 Rd6 Nd4+ 20 Kd3 Bxg2 21 Rgi Bc6?? A blunder. Had Black captured on b3 on either of the last two moves he might have had the better of a drawish bishops-of-oppositecolor ending. Kashdan is trying too hard to WIn.

22 Rxd4! And now 22 ... exd4 would permit 23 Re1+ and 24 Bh6+ with a crushing attack despite the absence of queens. Kash played 22 ... d5 23 Bf6 e4+ 24 Ke3 0-0 and played on to adjournment time before resigning. That left Kashdan, Ulvestad and Steiner at the top of the scoretable, with young Kramer among those not far behind. The other junior of promise in the event was Evans, then already champion of the Marshall Chess Club. Evans was not in contention in the 1948 championship - his years would come. But he gave Steiner a scare in what was probably the most dramatic game of the event. E67 King's Indian Defense white Evans, black Steiner

Rubinow-Kashdan, 1948

White is playing with the inability of Black's queen to move and her reluctance to trade on el. 13 Kc3 Bg7 14 BgS!

I d4 NfG 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 e4 e6 S g3 eS 6 dS as 7 Bg2 Na6 8 Nge2 NcS 9 0-0 0-0 10 h3 Ne8 11 Be3 f5 White's opening system is rarely seen nowadays but is not at all bad. He waits until he is fully developed before initiating action with b2-b4 and c4-c5. If Black reacts on the

... The Post-War Years (1944-1954) kingside, as Steiner does here, White can try to damage his pawns and exploit an opened center.

79

side once he exchanges off his only good defensive piece in that region ( ... Bxd5). The endgame is relatively equal after 23 NbS but Black still has dangerous chances with ... f4.

12 exfS! gxfS 13 f4! b6 14 fxeS dXeS Now d4-d5 opens the long diagonal and attacks the as-rook. 15 d6 Rb8 16 dxc7 Nxc7

After

23 ... Bxh6 24 Qxh6 Rxh6 25 Nxe7 Be8! 26 Bg2 Nd3 27 b3 f4 28 NdS Bg4! Black is bidding for a big edge with ... Be2 and ... f3. White's best chance, which could lead to an ironclad defensive fortress, is 29 gxf4 Be2 30 fS! Bxfl 31 Rxfl followed by Be4. But Evans, unsure about his chances and perhaps upset about the change of fortunes, begins to slide: 29 32 35 38

16 ... Nxc7

gxf4 Be2 30 Rgl? exf4 31 Bft Re8! a3 f3! 33 b4 Bxft 34 Raxft Re2+ Kg3 f2 36 Rg2 Re4! 37 Kh2 R6e6 bxaS bxa5 39 RbI!

Evans-Steiner, 1948

White's pieces are simply better developed than Black's (and would be even more so after 16 ... Qxc7 17 NdS). Here Evans can obtain a very favorable ending with 17 QxdS followed by Rad] and NdS. But the young master, not the technician he would later become, prefers to keep queens on the board.

After 39 Rb8

17 Nd5 Nxd5 18 Bxd5+ Kh8 19 Kh2 Qc7 20 Qd2 Bb7 21 Nc3 Rad8 Both sides have to watch for two ways in which the game could turn sharply: (a) White may overrun the center with Radl and penetration along the d-file, and (b) Black may open up the kingside with ... f4. The immediate 21 ... f4 is unsound because of 22 gxf4 exf4 23 Bd4! f3+ 24 Khl Qg3 25 BXg7+ Qxg7 26 Rgl. But remember that f-pawn.

Evans-Steiner, 1948

In desperate straits the 16-year-old finds help in tactics. Now on 39 ... Rxc4 White mates with a big rook check. 39 ... ReI! This threatens to queen as well as capture the rook on bi. But Evans has one last trick. Unfortunately for him, so does Steiner. 40 Nf6!

22 Bh6?! Rd6 23 NbS Now White bails our of the middle game because he fears what can happen on the king-

Again there is a mating check (40 ... Rxf6 41 RbS+). White also threatens 41 RgS mate and this stops Black from making a queen.

Seventh U.S. Championship, South Fallsburg, August 10-31, 1948

*

1. Steiner 2. Kashdan 3-4. Kramer 3-4. Ulvestad 5-7. Hesse, H. 5-7. Rubinow 5-7. Shainswit 8-10. Adams 8-10. Evans, L. 8-10. Shipman 11-12. Sandrin 11-12. Santasiere 13. Poschel, P 14. Platz, J. 15. Heitner, I. 16. Whitaker, N. 17. Howard, F. 18. Almgren 19. Suraci, A. 20. Janes, H.

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The Post-War Years (1944-1954) 40 ..• fl(N)+!! "A miserable minor promotion," said Hans Kmoch, an Austrian master who was to become America's annotator extraordinaire. The knight enables Black to block the files and stifle all the mate threats: 41 Kgl Ng3+! 42 RXel Rxel+ 43 Kh2 NfL+! 44 Khl Ne3+ 45 Rgl Rxgl + 46 Kxgl Nxc1 and White resigns Steiner, who, like Kmoch, had been born in Austria-Hungary, had little opposition left in South Fallsburg after this. For years after he emigrated to America Steiner had competed with the best New York players and now that most of them were absent from the championship he glided along towards first prize. He had long since left New York himself and in 1948 was now a confirmed West Coast booster. As Steiner put it to a friend, his obsessions were chess, California and California chess. And the last obstacle to his becoming the first nonNew York champion since Showalter was Kashdan who, ironically, would soon move West himself and succeed Steiner as chess editor of the Los Angeles Times. Going into the last round it was Steiner and Kashdan, tied at 14-4, while Kramer, at 12Y2-5Y2, was batding Ulvestad for third place. But Kramer was to play Kashdan in the last round while Steiner faced Franklin Howard, a New Jerseyan of no pronounced talent. Nevertheless, Steiner was soon in trouble against Howard and needed some help from his nervous opponent to avoid a loss. Later errors turned what had looked like a Steiner collapse to a Steiner victory, on the 65th move. Kramer, meanwhile, was forcing a perpetual check against Kashdan. Steiner was the champion and the Marshall trophy moved west.

1951: No Master Plan, Just Masters In 1951, once again, organizational problems seemed to overwhelm events at the board. In fact, they put an end to the string of bien-

81

nial championships which had been constant since 1936 and had not been interrupted by world war. The problem, at first, was the L:SCF's "master plan" for reorganizing the title. The Federation concluded that what the 1948 tournament proved was that something was very wrong: the event had gotten larger, and the level of play had declined. The USCF's solution was a three-year cycle of elimination contests, similar to the one that FIDE, the world chess federation, had just established to choose a world championship challenger. The cycle would begin with regional preliminaries, as proposed in the past, and then continue in its second year with a "Candidates Tournament." That would be made up of the regional qualifiers and certain seeded masters. In that way few would be seeded into the finals, and you would have to qualify by way of the candidates. The finals would be a smaller, more manageable event. The trouble with the master plan is that nothing was organized in 1950, the "candidates" year. In order to salvage the three-yearcycle the USCF planned to hold a monster invitational event with 50 players from across the country in 1951. But this solution would be even worse than the 1948 problem, several of the invitees thought, and the guest list for the eighth championship had to be cut to 24 when the USCF found there was so little interest. Even then Steiner, the defending champion, turned down an invitation, as did Denker, Fine and Kashdan. The 24 players who did show up in New York in June all had to go through an elimination stage to reach the 12-player finals in July. There were some new names again as well as familiar faces from the past, such as Kevitz, trying for the first time since 1936, and Hanauer, who had last reached the finals in 1940. Only Hanauer qualified. So did Albert Simonson, after an absence of 11 years. Also on hand were Evans, now three years stronger, Horowitz, Seidman, Bernstein and the heavy favorite, Reshevsky. Sammy had not lost a game in a championship tournament - excepting the 1942

82

The United States Chess Championship

playoff- in 15 years, or more than 70 games. All of his rivals of lhe 1930s generation were retired or far behind him. This was obvious from the very start of the eighth championship when he easily defeated Horowitz, Simonson and Bernstein. He did have ro concede a draw to Evans, who also started welL bur it seemed likely that the youngster would fade in the stretch. Even though the tournament was much shorter than it had been in the past, Reshevsky was expected to put on one of his strong finishes, picking up strength the longer the event went on. Yet Evans was clearly the coming talent. He was to win the U.S. Open and Speed (lO seconds a move) championships that year and had performed creditably on the U.S. Olympic team - top scorer among the Americans in fact - the previous year in Dubrovnik. A more technical method of gauging his strength was the new rating system just instituted by the USCF. The ratings were based on results achieved over the previous three years and thereby favored the older generation. Reshevsky was rated first in the country with a spectacular 2747 figure, followed closely by Fine. But Evans was the fourth highest rated, at 2554, just behind Horowitz. So a draw with Evans was hardly a setback for Reshevsky. In previous tournaments Reshevsky had known who he had to beat to win the trophy. This time it looked like Seidman, who had won his first three games, and Reshevsky would be ready for him in their individual game - naturally in the last roundto battle for first place. But Seidman was upset in the fourth round by Evans, who adopted one of the newfangled openings, the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense, that were to characterize the new generation. Santasiere, who was never in contention, expressed the doubts of his colleagues about Evans' strange moves with Black (1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 NfG 5 Nc3 a6! 6 g3 e5!?) when he said: "I can never understand how they like P-K4 on the sixth move, but not on the first. Bur it is all the rage nowadays. In a certain sense chess is like measles."

.

The win over Seidman put Evans in first place and he maintained a slim lead into the seventh round. Reshevsky was waiting for the first mistake by the youngster, but to the surprise of almost everyone, it was the older mail who broke first. B70 Sicilian Defense

white Mengarini, black Reshevsky 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 d4 exd4 5 Nxd4 gG 6 f4 NeG 7 Be2 White was Ariel Aldace Mengarini, a professional psychiatrist who had sneaked into the finals by beating Horowitz in one of the preliminary groups. At 30 he was too old to be considered one of the Evans-Bisguier-Byrne prodigies. But he was a solid master, one of the top 30 or so players in the country, and if he could get out of the opening alive he was as talented in the middle game as anyone in the event. Here he faces an opponent who also had regular problems in the opening. 7 ... QbG? There are similar Sicilian variations in which this move works very well, e.g. G Be3 Bg7 7 Be2 0-0 80-0 Nc6 9 f4?! QbG, when Black threatens 10 ... Qxb2 as well as 10 ... NXe4!. But this is a different animal: Black is uncastled. 8 Be3!

Now 8 ... Qxb2 9 N4b5 would leave Black scrambling to avoid the loss of his queen from lO Rbi, e.g. 9 ... Qb4 ]0 Nc7+ Kd7 11 Bd2! followed by NXa8, N3d5 or e4-e5.

8 ... Bg7?! 9 e5! (see diagram) A murderous shot. Black cannot open the d-file because 9 ... dxe5?? 10 Nxc6 costs a queen (lO ... Qxc6 11 Bb5) or king (10 Qxd 11 Qd8 mate).

9 ... Nd7 10 Nf5 Qxb2 11 Nxg7+ Kf8 12 Bd2!

83

The Post-War Years (1944-1954)

23 ReI f5 24 Bc3! Ba3 25 Ng5 Na4 26 bxa4 Bxc1 27 Rxc1 Nb4 28 Bxb7! Rc4

After 9 e5

After 28 ... Rc4

Mengarini-Reshevsky, 1951

The threat is 13 Nb5 and 14 Bc3, which would put Black out of his misery immediately. Reshevsky was known for surviving worse positions than this but he doesn't get any energy out of his pieces in the remainder of this remarkable and historic game: 12 ... Nd4 13 O-O! Qxc2 14 Qel Kxg7 15 f5! dxc5 16 Bc4! Qb2 17 fxg6 Nf6 18 gxf7 Be6 19 Bxe6 Nxe6 20 Rabl Qa3 21 Rxb7 RhfB 22 Khl Rxf7 23 QxeS Rd8 24 Qxe6 Rxd2 25 Ne4! Qe3? (25 ... Re2, so as to meet 26 Rxf6 with 25 ... Re1+, was his last try) 26 Rxe7 Rd7 27 Qxf7 + and Black resigns This, in effect, marked the end of Reshevsky's reign as U.S. champion, a reign that had been interrupted before only when he chose not to defend the title. In a shorter tournament than he had been used to, such a loss could not be made up. There were chances for him to catch Evans after this, but nothing solid. Both men later came within inches of losing to Shainswit; for example: E02 Catalan Opening white Shainswit, black Reshevsky 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 g3 dS 4 Bg2 dxe4

5 Qa4+ Bd7 6 Qxc4 Nc6 7 Nf3 NaS 8 Qd3 eS 9 dXe5 BXeS 10 NeS 0-0 11 Nxd7 Nxd7 12 0-0 Qe7 13 Qb5! Bb6 14 BgS! QcS 15. QxeS BXeS 16 Bd2 Nc6 17 Nc3 RacS 18 Nc4 Be7 19 Rfdl Nb6 20 Kfl Rfd8 21 Rac1 Na4!? 22 b3 Nb2?

Shainswit-Reshevsky, 1951

And now 29 Kg2 should win because 29 ... Nxa2 can be met by 30 Ba5!!, keeping White's material. Other Black tries can be handled by 30 Bb2 or 30 Nxe6. But Shainswit, in time pressure, played: 29 Bxb4?? Rxc1+ 30 Kg2 Rb8 31 Ba3 Rc3! and White resigns Evans had a similar crisis against the Manhattan Chess Club regular, then rated among the nation's ten best: 097 Gruenfeld Defense white Shainswit, black Evans 1 d4 Nf6 2 e4 g6 3 Nc3 dS 4 Nf3 Bg7

5 Qb3 dxc4 6 Qxc4 0-0 7 e4 Nfd7 8 Bf4!? c6 9 Rdl Nb6 10 Qb3 Be6 11 Qe2 Bg4! 12 Be2 Bxf3! 13 gxf3 Bxd4 14 Bh6 Re8 15 h4 c5! 16 h5 N8d7 17 f4 Qe7 18 Bg5 Qc5 19 hxgG hxgG 20 fS! Bxf2+ 21 Kfi Bd! 22 Bxe3 Qxe3 23 Rd3 Qg5 24 Rgl Qh6 Here the spectators were hoping for 25 Bg4 Nf8 26 Rdg3 followed by fxg6 and Bf5. But Black has 25 ... Nf6! instead. the critical line being26 Rh3 Nxg4! 27 Rxh6 Ne3+. 25 Rdg3 KfB 26 Qd3 gXfS 27 Rh3 Qf4+ 28 Rf3 Qh6 29 Rh3 Qf6 30 exfS e4! 31 Nxe4 Qxf5+ 32 Rf3! QdS! (32 .. , Qxe4?

84

The United States Chess Championship Eighth U.S. Championship, New York, July 28-Aug. 19, 1951

E R l. Evans

2. Reshevsky 3. Pavey, M. 4. Seidman 5. Horowitz 6-7. Bernstein 6-7. Santasiere S. Mengarini 9. Shainswit 10-12. Hanauer 10-12. Pinkus 10-12. Simonson

P

X V2 V2 \6 X \6 \6 V2 X 0 0 V2 0 0 V2 0 0 V2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 V2 0 V2 V2 0 0

S H B

S

Totals WD L

V2

S 3

0

V2 1 \6 0 V2 1 V2 1 1 V2 0 V2 0 V2 V2 V2 X 1 V2 \6 0 X V2 1/2 V2 V2 X V2 V2

7 3 4 6

9 1h-1V2 SV2-2V2

1

7-4 6V2-4\6

S M S H 1

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33 Qd6+!) 33 Ng5! Ne5! 34 Nh7+ Ke7 35 Qa3+ Qd6 36 Qe3 Nd5 37 Rxf7+?! Kxf7 38 Qg5 Rg8! and White resigns Evans kept on winning and Reshevsky never had a chance. With two rounds to go the 19-year-old college student led by W2 points and a few days later was crowned the youngest U.S. champion ever - younger even than Paul Morphy.

1952: Changing of the Guard The natural outgrowth of Evans' victory in a short, ll-round tournament would have been a Reshevsky-Evans match of 12-to-16 games. But Reshevsky was already committed to an IS-game match with Miguel Najdorf at the end of the year - a kind of "Championship of the West." The next time the U.S. title was scheduled to be up for grabs was 1954. Yet there was another challenger for Evans - Herman Steiner. The Californian had lost some of the positional accuracy that had characterized his play in the late 40s, but little of his confidence. In fact, there was bitterness

5 3 3 4 3 4 3 4 4 2 6 3 3

3 5 6 4

5 5 5 5 2 3 6

Points

5Y2-5Y2 5-6 5-6 4\6-6\6 4-7 3V2-7V2 3\6-7\6

3V2-7V2

during the Olympiad team tournament at Helsinki because both Steiner, as former U.S. champion, and Reshevsky, as world championship candidate, felt they were the one to play first board. In the end, they alternated the honor, with a consequent loss of talent by the American team. But Steiner was able to arrange a match with Evans, for the tide as well as a prize fund of $3,000, down from the $5,000 of Reshevsky-Horowitz in 1941. Again, as in 1946, the match was to be concentrated on the West Coast, with ten games in Los Angeles and six others set for San Francisco, Las Vegas, Reno and New York. The games in the East were later canceled when the match result was a foregone conclusion. Steiner had been one of the top American players for ten years but he was simply no match for Evans. He developed a dreadful opening position in the very first game and was forced to resign on his 30th move. The next day he showed signs of a comeback when he manhandled Evans' Nimzo-Indian Defense. But this turned out to be his highpoint of the match. The New Yorker won the next three games and was never in trouble again

The Post-War Years (1944-1954)

85

until the 12th game, when the match was effectively over. A typical game: B74 Sicilian Defense Eighth Game, Los Angeles, 19S2 white Steiner, black Evans

Aftee 35 ... Re2

I e4 cS 2 NO Nc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 S Nc3 d6 6 Be2 g6 7 0-0 Bg7 8 Nb3 0-0 9 f4 bS! Steiner-Evans, 1952

If White wants to play f2-f4 he might do better by preparing it with 9 Bd. Evans' tactical point is 9 ... b5 10 Bxb5 Nxe4! 11 Nxe4 Qb6+. Black will now be able to play ... b4, undermining the e-pawn and prompting an uncomfortable (for White) exchange of knights. 10 Bf3 b4 11 NdS NxdS 13 NXaS QXaS

12 exdS NaS

Normally this pawn structure would favor White because he can assault e7 and, if Black plays ... e6, the d-pawn following dxe6. But White needs a knight to get the most out of the position (Nd4-c6!), and he could not keep one on the board because of13 Nd4? Qb6 14 Be3 Nc4. As played, Black gets more out of the c-file than White does from the e-file. 14 ReI Re8 IS Khl BfS 16 g4?! Bd7 17 a3 Rac8 18 Re4 Qc7! 19 Re2 BbS 20 Rg2 as 21 axb4 axb4 22 h4 eS! Black now takes over the center files and gradually pushes White off the board. 23 26 29 32 3S

dxe6 Rxe6 24 fS Rec8 2S hS Qe7 Bd2 gS! 27 Bxb4 Bxb2 28 Rbi BeS BaS Bc6 30 Bb4 Qb7 31 Bxc6 Qxc6 Bd2 h6 33 Be3 Re7 34 Bd4 Bxd4 Qxd4 Re2 (see diagram)

36 Rgl Qf3! 37 Qxd6 RcXc2 38 Qb8+ Kh7 and White resigns

June 13-July 3,1952 Evans 1 0 I 1 1 Y2 Y2 1 Y2 1 1 0 1 Y2 Steiner 0 1 0 0 0 ~ ~ 0 Y2 0 0 1 0 1/2

= 10 =

4

1954: The Master Plan Fails The woes of the championship multiplied in the next two years. This period was supposed to see the completion of the master plan's first three-year cycle. But again the cycle didn't turn: only a few of the regional preliminaries were held in 1952, the first year of the cycle. Local sponsors could be found to hold the preliminaries in the nation's large chess centers but not elsewhere. Chess organization, like playing skill, was not evenly distributed across the 48 states. To make the best of a bad deal, the USCF planned a "candidates tournament" for Philadelphia in September 1953 anyway. Instead of being a meeting of the preliminary qualifiers, it was open to anyone with an expert (2000 points) rating and the entry fee of $25. This was a very unpopular arrangement, especially since the size of the event, 23 players, meant that Swiss System pairings would have to be used instead of the round robin that had been in place in every previous championship and qualifier. And, worst of all according to the competitors, the first prize was only $250. But the players who did show up in Philadelphia were more attracted by the six qualifying places in the 1954 championship. Chief among them was Arthur Bisguier, then 23 and fresh out of an Army uniform. He had

86

The United States Chess Championship

been a coming star a few years before when he won the 1950 U.S. Open and his first international tournament, at Southsea, England. But indifferent results since then had dimmed predictions for his future, and his 8Y2-1lh winning score at Philadelphia was seen by his many supporters as a very good sign. A gregarious young man, much more so than his rivals, Evans, Kramer and the Byrne brothers, Bisguier seemed to enjoy chess and life more than they. "I grew up with a taste for the finer things in life - but not necessarily with the financial wherewithal to satisfy that taste," he said. The USCF didn't seem to have the wherewithal to hold the ninth championship, either. With dwindling resources, the organizations could not afford a hotel exhibition hall as championship sponsors had for the previous 18 years. The Federation fell on the tournament site of last resort, the Marshall Chess Club, which generously offered its rooms to the 14 players. Bisguier, who attended college classes during the day, ended up sleeping at night in one of the Marshall's upstairs apartments. The 14 who began play on May 29 were a relatively weak field. Bisguier was eighth on the USCF's latest rating list, and Evans, the defending champion, was only tenth. None of the five top rated players, Reshevsky, Robert Byrne, Kramer, Donald Byrne and Denker, accepted invitations. The strongest competition for the favorites Evans and Bisguier was expected from three high finishers of the previous U.S. Open: French emigre grandmaster Nicolas Rossolimo, Manhattan Chess Club champion Max Pavey and the latest Marshall Chess Club junior star, James T. Sherwin. It was 20-year-old Sherwin - ranked only 24th in the nation - who took the early lead after five lively rounds. Then a Columbia University senior with law school in his future, he had had a taste of international play when he represented the United States in the world junior championship a year before. Now, with victories over the leaders of the old guard, Bernstein and Seidman, Sherwin was making a name as a senior master.

..

B65 Sicilian Defense white Bernstein, black Sherwin 1 e4 c5 2 Ne2 Nc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 d6 6 Bg5 e6 7 Qd2 Be7 8 0-0-0 0-0 9 f4 Nxd4 10 Qxd4 h6 11 Bh4 Qa5 12 Bel?! e5! 13 Qc4 exf4 14 Nd5 Qd8 15 Nxf4 Bg4! 16 e5 With a bad game positionally White launches into a tactical batrle and is outplayed.

16 ... Rc8! 17 Qb3 Bxdl 18 exf6 Bxc2! 19 Qa3 Bxf6 20 Bc3 Bxc3 21 bxc3 Qf6 22 Ne2 Bd3 23 Kd2 Bxe2 24 Bxe2 Qg5+ and White resigns Evans and Bisguier fought back to tie Sherwin in Round 8 with 6-2 scores. But Evans suffered a devastating blow the next day, facing another Marshall Chess Club junior, Eliot Hearst.

B82 Sicilian Defense white Hearst, black Evans 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 f4 Qc7 7 Bd3 e5 8 Nf3 b5 9 Qe2 Bb7 10 0-0 Nbd7 11 a3 g6 12 Khl Bg7 13 fxe5 dXe5 14 Qf2 0-0 15 Qh4

After 15 Qh4

Hearst-Evans, 1954

White's attacking plan is fairly straightforward: He plans Bh6 followed by Ng5 and perhaps Rf3/Rafl. The plan is, in fact, the only promising idea in the position and this is why White's opening setup is regarded as simplistic. But it is not so easy to meet.

The Post-War Years (1944-1954) IS ... NhS Black would like to exchange darksquared bishops - provided he isn't mated. Therefore, 15 ... Rae8! 16 Bh6 Nh5 is better, e.g. 17 Bxg7 KXg7 18 Ng5 h6 16 NgS h6?! 17 Nh3 Now the h-pawn is a target that Black must worry about (18 Be2). His solution is to drive the queen off with threat of exchange. 17 ... Qd8 IS Qf2 Qf6 19 Qe1 Qd6 20 Be2! This revives the problem on h6. If Black brings his other knight to f6 now he is still safe since 20 ... Ndf6 21 g4? Nf4 22 Nxf4 exf4 23 Bxf4 Qc5 opens up lines for Black's bishops and turns the initiative over to Black. 20 ... Nhf6? 21 Qh4 g5? 22 BxgS! For once Evans' defensive vision fails him. White's queen, knight and rooks will take up commanding positions on the kingside after this and Black has no defense to the removal of his knight from f6. 22 ... hxg5 23 Nxg5 Qe7 24 Radl! RfdS Or 23 ... Rad8 24 Bg4 Bc6?! 25 Bxd7 Rxd7 26 Rxd7 Bxd7 27 Rxf6, threatening mate on h7. 25 BhS! NxhS 26 RXf7! QXf7 27 Nxf7 Kxf7 2S QxhS+ And Black resigned on the 56th move. Sherwin only drew that round, so Bisguier took the lead for the first time. But the tournament was certain to be decided in the next three rounds as the three leaders met one another. The first meeting was between Evans and Bisguier, and the defending champion had to finesse his way out of a lost position to make a draw. The next day Evans won from Sherwin to severely damage the latter's chances, while Bisguier could only draw with Hans

87

Berliner. The last big game was dramatically but inaccurately described by Chess Review: " ... Sherwin, improving on the hitherto very cramped King's Indian which he'd been getting, had fine prospects vs. Bisguier- had he had some 26 moves to make in two minutes! The press around the table was impenetrable, but word leaked our that Sherwin could force a draw by repetition. 'Yes, but has he time to make the moves?' was answered with a shrug. Then the grapevine reported that Bisguier had blundered. Speculation that it might be a ruse to exploit Sherwin's time trouble was presently answered by 'Sherwin has a mate in two.' All this was kibitzer's kriegspiel ... the flag on Sherwin's clock was trembling, he missed the win and lost on time." 001 Queen's Pawn Game

white Bisguier, black Sherwin 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nc3!? dS 3 BgS BfS 4 f3 c6 5 Qd2 Nbd7 6 0-0-0 h6 7 Bh4 e6 S e3 Be7 9 Kbl bS 10 Bd3 Bxd3 11 cxd3 A decidedly odd - and "un-Bisguierlike" - opening choice by White. He aims for a stonewall pawn formation (f2-f4) in which he has access to e5 but Black can't use e4. 11 ... 0-0 12 f4 as 13 Nf3 a4 14 ReI b4 IS Ne2 cS! 16 Bxf6 gxf6 17 g4 Qa5 IS dxcS Nxc5 19 Ned4 Qa6 20 Rcdl Rfc8 21 h4! Rc7 22 Qe2 Rac8 23 gS h5 24 Nel Nb3!? 2S Nec2 eS 26 Qxh5! exd4 27 Rdgl! Nd2+ 28 Kal Nb3+ 29 Kbl Nd2+ 30 Kal Nb3+ 31 axb3 axb3+ 32 Na3 Rc1+! The only way to avoid the opening of the g-file and keep the game going. 33 RxeI bXa3 34 RxcS+ QxcS 3S Qdl axb2+ 36 Kxb2 Qc3+ 37 Kbl Ba3 38 Rh2 dxe3 39 gxf6 Kfs 40 Rg2 KeS 41 d4 Kd8 42 hS! Kc8 43 h6 b2 44 Rc2 and Black forfeits Bisguier entered the final found only a half point ahead of Evans who had White against Seidman. Mengarini found himself in

Ninth U.S. Championship, New York, May 29-Junc 13, 1954

1. Bisguier 2. Evans 3. Seidman 4-5. Pavey 4-5. Sherwin 6-7. Bernstein 6-7. Rossolimo, N. 8-9. Berliner, H. 8-9. Wachs, S. 10. Hearst, E. 11. Burger, K. 12. Pilnick 13. Brandts, P. 14. Mengarini

B

E

S

X Y2 Y2 0 0 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 0 0 0 0 0

Y2 X Y2 0 0 Y2 Y2 Y2 0 1 0 0 Y2 0

Y2 Y2 X

Y2 0 0 0 0 0 Y2 0

P

0 X Y2 0 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 1 0 0 0

S

0 Y2 X 0 Y2 Yl Yz Yz Y2 Y2 0 0

B

R

B

W

Y2 Y2 0

Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 X

Y2 Y2

Y2

Y2 Y2

Y2 Y2

1 X Y2 0

]

0

Y2 ]

0

0

0 Y2 Y2 0 0

H

Y2 Y2

0

Y2

P

0 1

0 X 0 0 0 1

B

0 1 X 1 0 0 0

1 1 0 X 0 0 0

1 0 Y2 Y2 1/2

B

M

Y2 Y2 Y2 0 Y2 0

0

Y2

0

0 X 0 0

]

]

1

X 1 0

0 X

0 0 X

Totals W 0 L 7 6 6

6 6 4

5 4

5 7 4 8

5 3 4

5

5 5 4 4

3 2

2

2 1

2

3 2

0 1

3 3 2 4 2

4 5

6 6 7 9 10

Points 10-3 9-4 8-5 7Y2-5Y2 7Y2-5Y2 7-6 7-6 6Y2-6Yz 6Yz-6Yz 6-7 5Yz-7Yz 5-8 3-10

2Vl-] OY2

.. 89

The Post-War Years (1944-1954) the role of kingmaker again because he had White against Bisguier - and refused the tournament leader's offer of a draw. Three years before he found himself in the same position playing White against tournament leader Evans and refusing a draw in order to preserve Reshevsky's chances for first prize. (In a deaddrawn bishops-of-opposite-color ending Mengarini made a series of errors and lost in 60 moves.) History repeated itself in 1954. Mengarini tried desperately to win a draw ish endgameand blundered on the 47th move. Evans-Seidman ended in a draw, so Bisguier finished with his biggest lead of the tournament, one point. His play had become more solid despite occasional blunders and he was the only play to finish without a loss. Here was his crisp, classical style in action: D41 Queen's Gambit Declined white Bisguier, black Hearst 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 d5 4 Nc3 c5 5 cxd5 cxd4!? 6 Qxd4 exd5 7 e4 dxe4? S QxdS+ KxdS 9 Ng5 Be6 10 Nxe6+ fxe6

The king might be safer on c8 but Black would then be tied to the defense of his second e-pawn after13 Bc4. 13 Nxe4!! Nxe4 14 RdS+ Kf7 15 RxhS NXg5 16 Bc4 White has given up two minor pieces for a rook. But his positional benefits include a big lead in development - how will Black get his queenside pieces moving?- and specific threats such as f2-f4-f5. Black's knight may even become trapped on g5. 16 ••• BfS! 16 f4 Nd7! Black has responded with a combination of his own (18 fxg5 Rc8 19 b3 b5). Note that White's rook is in danger of being trapped by way of ... Nf6/ ... g6 and ... Kg7. A remarkable turn of events - but White has more resources. 18 Bb5! Ne4 19 Bxd7 Nf6 20 Rdl g6 21 g3 e5

Mtel' 21 ... e5 Mter

10 ..• fxe6

Bisguier-Hearst, 1954

Bisguitr-Hearst, 1954

Black's failure to play this risky opening as a true gambit (7 ... Nc6) has left him with a dubious endgame. Bisguier now unleashes a vigorous series of moves that involves a tricky sacrifice. 11 Bg5! Bb4 12 0-0-0+ KeS

Black's last trap: 22 fxe5 Bh6+. White would have won the e-pawn in any event after he sacrifices back the exchange. The rest of the game was an example of Bisguier's fine technique, already one of the country's best: 22 RxfS+! KxfS 23 fxe5 NgS 24 Bh3 ReS 25 Rd5 Re7 26 Kd2 Kf7 27 Kd3 Rc7 2S e6+! Ke7 29 Rd7 + Rxd7 30 exd7 Nh6 31 B~6! (stalemating the knight) NfS 32 Bxf5

90

The United States Chess Championship

gxfS 33 Kd4 Kxd7 34 Ke5 Ke7 35 KxfS and White wins The end of one of the weakest and clearly the most poorly financed championship was

witnessed by a visiting delegation of Soviet grandmasters who were to defeat the U.S. by a 20-12 score in a match a few weeks later. American chess seemed to be in a bad way. Who would lead it out of this mess?

..

Chapter Eight

The Fischer Era (1957-1969) On December I, 1957, 14-year-old Bobby Fischer had a bad day. Playing in the North Central Open, the strongest of Swiss System tournaments held that Thanksgiving weekend, young Fischer finished dismally. He began the morning by losing a long, bishops-of-opposite-color ending to another junior star, Charles Kalme, who went on to share first prize. Fischer, disheartened, drew two more games that day and ended up in a huge tie for sixth place. This may be worthy of only a footnote, but is a footnote worth remembering. For this was the last time Fischer would lose to an American for nearly four years. During this remarkable, Reshevsky-like string, the former prodigy would win four United States championships, encompassing 28 games won, 18 drawn and, of course, no losses. The streak eventually was broken - by Reshevsky, in a match - and later in the opening round of Bobby's fifth championship. But Fischer, like Reshevsky after his close race with Kashdan in 1942, came back stronger than ever. In 1964 he exceeded Sammy's record of five championship tournament titles by piling up the most extraordinary record ever achieved in a modern, national competition: He won all 11 games, most of them against grandmaster-level opponents. And before Bobby retired from domestic play - to chart his drive to the world championship - he had amassed eight national titles,

most of which he won with the utmost ease. In none of the eight Fischer championships, did he win by a mere half point. In three championships he won by two or more points, clinching first prize with a day or two to spare. In four events he defeated his closest rival in their individual game. His few draws and fewer losses left him with a record scoring percentage of 83.3, more than 20 points higher than his closest rivals of the post-Fischer era, Vasser Seirawan and Lubosh Kavalek. (In the 1990s a career winning percentage of better than 55 percent is exceptional.) In short, Fischer was in a league all by himself. And yet back in December 1957, shortly after that bad day in Milwaukee, Bobby's chances for immediate stardom were rated as questionable. This was a consensus based on two factors: First, Bobby was, after all, only 14 years old. He could win a tough Swiss System event, such as the 1957 U.S. Open, but could also perform pitifully against masters in a stronger round robin as he had done in 1956. And second, there was a wealth of junior talent that would likely improve at the same rate as Fischer, and probably would remain close to him in competition during the 1960s. It was assumed that Fischer would reach grandmaster level eventually, certainly by his early twenties. But would he become better than his elders - Evans, the Byrnes, Bisguier - or his contemporaries - such as William Lombardy and Raymond Weinstein? That was doubted.

91

92

The United States Chess Championship

Yet players rarely develop in slowly building steps. They make quick jumps in playing ability, usually followed by long periods when no progress is apparent. Fischer was in the process of a very big jump in 1957. The previous year had seen his introduction to top level competition - wearing his customary bluejeans and sweater- in the 3rd Lessing Rosenwald invitational in New York. There Bobby was beaten badly three times and lost a fourth game in a lengthy, bitter battle. His worst loss came at the hands of Bisguier, in an embarrassing 33-move game. The following summer Fischer would manage a draw with Bisguier and thereby nose out Arthur, then the defending U.S. Open and u.s. Invitational champion, for the Open title. "Who could have seen in the early stages that by not winning against Fischer I created a monster?" Bisguier said of the game. But that was the last time the older man would be the favorite. Fischer won the next 13 games in a row against Bisguier. Bisguier was hardly over the hill. In 1957 he was only 28 years old, Evans was 25 and the other likely challengers were also young. There was 20-year-old Lombardy, who, like Fischer, was a protege of master Jack Collins of Brooklyn. Lombardy had been New York State champion in 1955, two years after Sherwin held the tide. Everyone seemed to hold the state championship at one time. Other former New York State champions included Reshevsky and Denker, of course, but also 20year-old Edmar Mednis, 28-year-old George Kramer, and 29-year-old Hans Berliner. The only active oldtimers in 1957 were Reshevsky, and Bernstein (46), Denker (44), Seidman (37), and Horowitz (50), who came out of retirement in the late 1960s. But with the constant exception of Reshevsky, and one performance by Seidman, no member o/the old guard would ever achieve a pfus score in a championship again. The 1930s and '40s generation was being replaced.

1957-58: Wunderkind In 1957 came the lOath anniversary of the First American Congress, and like the arrival of Paul Morphy a century before, the establishment of Bobby Fischer as a dominating force was accompanied by an organizational coup. For several years the championship had been almost a will-o'-the-wisp, with doubts that it could be held at the scheduled timeor at all. The financial crises that had occurred since 1948 and the haphazard 1954 championship demanded a new format. It was provided hy a small group of men, most of them wealthy members of the Manhattan Chess Club, who had banded together to raise money. It was money for chess - but not necessarily for the USCF- and they called themselves the American Chess Foundation. The group included ACF president Alexander Bisno; his successor, advertising executive Rosser Reeves; and financiers Maurice Kasper, Jose Calderon and Lessing Rosenwald. Since the 2000-member USCF had had difficulty managing the three-year-cycle for the championship and raising funds for it, the ACF declared that they would choose the best players for small, topflight events and finance them. The immediate result was three very strong Rosenwald invitational tournaments and three matches. Reshevsky won two of the tournaments, finishing third in the other behind Evans and Bisguier, and defeating Lombardy, Bisguier and Donald Byrne in the matches. Sammy's superiority was obvious and he never lost more than one game per event. In fact, his loss to Walter Shipman in the first Rosenwald tournament in late 1955 was his first defeat by an American since the game with Mengarini more than four years before. The Foundation's success contrasted sharply with the USCF's difficulties and it seemed to be with some relief that the Federation agreed to let the fourth Rosenwald be designated as the 10th U.S. championship. Also it would be a FIDE zonal tournament. The first two finishers would qualify for further events in the elimination contests run by the world federation to

The Fischer Era (1957-1969) select a contender for Mikhail Botvinnik. The U.S. championship now had an international impact. What was remarkable about the first Fischer championship was not so much that he won, but how surprising it seemed at the time. Fischer had played quite a good deal duting 1956 and 1957, much of it highly visible. His picture appeared almost constantly in Chess Review and occasionally in daily newspapers. The photos showed him giving simultaneous exhibitions, or winning the 1957 U.S. Open, or losing a two-game match to former world champion Max Euwe Y2-lV2. But to win the championship? It seemed much too soon. Bisguier was speaking for many of his colleagues when he declared Reshevsky to be the favorite in 1957. Evans, he said, also was a major contender, Lombardy would be a bi t behind him and Robert Byrne would be in the running (he, however, declined his invitation at the last minute). Fischer, predicted the defending champion, "should finish slightly over the center mark in this tournament." Bobby began with promise, crushing Arthur Feuerstein, a 22-year-old computer specialist, in the first round with the latest positional treatment of the Sicilian Defense. Then, after an escape against Seidman, he gave Reshevskya full battle for 47 moves and their draw was a fair result. Two points out of three was a fair start. But Fischer was only beginning. In Round 4 he accepted Bernstein's piece sacrifice and kept it, then the next day turned back Bisguier's counterattack and stood only a half point behind Reshevsky with a score of 4-1. A draw with Berliner, which could have gone either way up to the last of the 57 moves, cost him some ground. But then came five straight wins - over Sherwin, Kramer, Mednis, Lombardy and Attilio DiCamillo, one of his former teachers. What added to the surprise was the maturity of Bobby's play. Consider this revealing contrast between Kramer, the player once considered a possible successor to Reshevsky, and Fischer, the intense youngster who would soon make everyone forget Reshevsky.

93

A08 King's Indian Reversed white Kramer, black Fischer 1 Nf3 Nf6 2 g3 g6 3 Bg2 Bg7 40-00-0 5 d3 d6 A few years later Fischer put forth the idea - probably facetiously, but no one could tell- that in this position Black was already a little bit better. In 1957, however, he played this setup with the White pieces as well as with Black. Neither side commits himself in the center early but Kramer soon shows he misunderstands the nature of the battle. 6 e4 c5 7 c3?! Nc6 8 Ne1? Rb8! 9 f4 Ne8! Fischer shows familiarity with this kind of position, one of the most sophisticated of post-World War II chess. He prepares for ... b5-4 in the hopes of forcing White to concede pawn control of d4 (such as by c3-c4). Fischer had played over countless games with this idea in similar positions, perhaps even this one. Kramer, on the other hand, was more an improviser than theoretician, and more of a tactician than a positional gourmet. He plays this stage very uncertainly, preparing for something but he doesn't seem to know what. For f4-f5? for e4-e5? 10 Be3 Bd7 11 Nd2 h5 Now White finds himself on the defensive because of Black's positional threat of ... b4 and ... Nc7-b5, concentrating a pawn and two pieces on c3 and, indirectly, a minor piece and a rook on b2. Rather than take precautions with Qc2 or concede d4 with c3-c4, White goes in for tactics. 12 e5?! dXe5 This exchange appears to activate White's pieces. But young Fischer sees that by clearing the center of pawns it is his KB and QR that profit the most. 13 Bxc5 exf4 14 Rxf4 Nc7 15 Rfl b4

94

The United States Chess Championship

White's queens ide is under tremendous pressure and cannot be held together indefinitely (16 d4 Ne6). 16 Qc2 bxc3 17 bxc3 NbS!

Mter

17 ... NbS

Kramer-Fischer, 1957

The diagram illustrates the triumph of a modern opening strategy. White's center is under disguised but potent attack. After the horrible retreat 18 Nbl Black wins matter-offacdy with 18 ... Qa5 and either 19 ... Rfc8 or a capture on c3. 18 d4 Rc8 19 Qb2 Nxc3! A tactical "shot" as Fischer would call it. White's game unravels completely: 20 QXc3 Nxd4! 21 Qb4 Ne2+! 22 Khl RxcS 23 QxcS Bxal 24 Nef3 Bg7 25 ReI Nc3 26 QXa7 Be6 27 a3 Qd6 28 QaS BdS! 29 Nbl? Ra8 30 Qb4 Qxb4 31 axb4 Bxf3 32 Nxc3 (32 Bxf3 Ral) BXg2+ and White resigns During Fischer's streak Reshevsky had been upset by Sherwin when he tried one of Fischer's favorite modern openings, the King's Indian Defense. Just a matter of weeks before, Reshevsky had won perhaps the strongest international tournament held in the United States in 30 years (Dallas 1957) but was now trailing a 14-year-old boy by half a point. He would have to pull out another last-round "Reshevsky finish." This time it would be harder than ever. Reshevsky was to have White

against Lombardy, who was batding for third place behind Sherwin, while Fischer had White against an outsider, Abe Turner. Turner, a chubby, 34-year-old drama student, was an old blitz partner of Fischer, and Bobby was not expected to exert himself on the final day. In later years Fischer would never do what he did that January 6, 1958: he let someone else win the tournament for him. Bobby drew with Turner in 18 moves and then went off to another room for a session of five-minute games. Periodically after he peeked into the tournament room to see what was happening. A Reshevsky win would mean a tie for first place, the first in 15 years. Anything else would give Fischer clear first. There was no clue until an excited Bobby, returning to his speed game, drew on his Manhattan Chess Club kibitzing slang to say: "Gee, Lombardy's playing like a house." He was. E99 King's Indian Defense

white Reshevsky, black Lombardy 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 e4 d6 5 Be2 0-0 6 Nf3 eS 70-0 Nc6 8 dS Ne7 9 Nel Nd7 10 Nd3 fS The story of this variation reads like the history of most modern opening systems. First (about 1952) it seemed clear that White had a major advantage - he was supposed to win quickly on the queens ide by playing b2-b4 and c4-c5 and then opening up lines for his queen and rooks. White won some well-publicized games with this strategy, but in the late 1950s Black began to turn the tables, and won consistently in master tournaments by rushing up all his kingside pawns to get to White's king. This game was played during Black's comeback period and before the discovery of new ideas - such as 11 exf5, or 11 Bd2 or even 10 f3 f5 11 g4!?- that left the issue "with chances for both sides." 11 f3?! f4 12 Bd2 gS I3 ReI Ng6 14 NbS?!

Reshevsky's idea is more aggressive than it may seem. The knight can, of course, be punches back by 14 ... a6. But then White will

The Fischer Era (1957-1969) play it to a3 and, after c4-c5xd6, to c4 where it supports Ba5 and Bb4xd6. That would be a typical example of how White wins when he docs win in this v;uialion. But his strategy pays no attention to the kingside where ... g4 is about to break like a shockwave. White should be playing the direct 14 b1 or 14 Nf2 to hold some control of g4. 14 ... a6 15 Na3 Nf6 16 c5 g4! 17 cxd6 cxd6

95

Now the kings ide opens up since 21 ... Qxh3 cannot be permitted and 21 Kg2 would be met by a knight check. It was for this idea plus the fine buildup that follows that l.ombardy won the brilliancy prize. 21 Nfl gxf2+ 22 K1l2! Qc7 23 Rxf2 NhS! 24 Bb4 Rad8 2S Qd3 Nh4 26 RgI Ng3 27 BfI Rf6 28 Rc2 Rg6 29 Bel Bh6! Lombardy is playing more powerfully than Fine or Horowitz had in similar lastround ba t ties with Reshevsky. But then Black's position is easier to play, e.g. 30 Bxg3 fXg3+ 31 Rxg3 Bf4. 30 Nb6 Kh8 31 Bg2 Rdg8 32 RcS Bf8! 33 Rc2 Qg7 34 NaB!? Qh6 35 Bfl

After 17 ... cxd6

J/{,ShflJsky-Lombardy, 195R After 35 Bfl

White's position is criticaL He can't get enough pressure on the queenside to deflect Black's attention. Reshevsky sees that 18 fxg4 Nxe4 would be a tacit admission that his opening policy has been a bust. Still, with 19 Bf3 he could have fought hard. 18 Nc4 g3! If this succeeds in opening the kingside, the game is positionally decided. White was hoping that Black would exchange pawns on f3, after which his followup was not clear. But Lombardy's move suggests that Black will attack not g2, but h2, which is indefensible. White cannot permit 19 ... gxh2+ followed by ... Nh5-g3, but he would be more vulnerable after 19 hxg3? fxg3 followed by a knight hop to f4 or h4. Reshevsky probably overlooked Lombardy's next move. 19 h3? Bxh3! 20 gxh3 Qd7

Reshevsky-Lombardy, 1958

The threat was 35 ... NXg2 36 Rgxg2 Qxh3+ and mates. It doesn't make sense that White should be able to defend with 35 Bhl and he can't (35 ... Nxhl! 36 Rxhl Rg2+). After all, Black has five pieces on the kings ide and White only has two to speak of. 35 ... NxfI+ 36 Rxfl Qg7! 37 Qe2 Rg2+ 38 Qxg2 NXg2 39 Rgl Nxel! 40 Rxg7 Bxg7 and White resigns Still, there were doubts, even by Bobby. Does this make you the best player in the United States?, the new champion was asked. "No, one tournament doesn't mean much," he said. "Maybe Reshevsky .... "

Tenth U.S. Championship, New York, Dec.-Jan. 1957-58 Totals F

R

S

L

B

0

1. Fischer

X

Y2

1

1

Yz

Yz

2. Reshevsky

Y2 0

X

3. Sherwin 4. Lombardy

0

5. Berliner 6-8. Denker

Yz Yz

6-8. Feuerstein

0

0

Yz

0 0 Yz 0 Y2 0 0 0

0

0

6-8. Mednis

0

9. Seidman

Y2

10-11. Bernstein 10-11. Bisguier 12-13. DiCamillo 12-13. Turner 14. Kramer

0 0

0

0

0

X

Yz

Yz Yz

S

B

B

D

0

Y2 Yz

T

K

W

0

L

Points

8

5

0

10Y2-2Y2

8

3 4

2

9Y2-3Yz

7

2

9-4

5 4

5 6

3

7Y2-W2

3

7-6

5 4

3 5

5 4

7

3

0

3 4

6Yz-6Y2 6Yz-6Y2 6Yz-6Y2

4

5

6-7

0

4

2 2

7 7

5-8

4

3

7

5 2

6

4Yz-8Y2 4Y2-8Y2

9

3-10

Y2

Yz Yz

1 0

Y2 0

Yz 0

Y2

0

Yz

Y2

1

X 1

0 X

Yz

0

Yz

1

0

Yz Yz

0 Y2

Y2

X

0

0

1

0

0 X 1

X

0

0

0

Yz Y2

0

1

C

1/2

0

0

X 1

0

0

0 Yz

Yz

X

Y2

3 2

0

Y2

X

2

X

Y2

X

Yz Yz

Y2 1

0

0 1 0 0 0

0 0 0 0

M

Yz 1

lh

Yz Yz Yz

0

F

0

Yz

0

Y2 Y2

0

0

Yz

0

0

1

Yz 0

Y2

0 Yz Yz

Yz

1

0

0

Yz

Y2

5-8

.. The Fischer Era (1957-1969)

1958-59: Like a Grandmaster By the time of the next championship, 12 months later, Fischer was a grandmaster, an international star and the talk of world chess. Only the even brighter star of Mikhail Tal, six years older than Fischer and already on the way to the world championship, took attention away from the 15-year-old American titleholder. The task facing Fischer in December, 1958, was formidable. No one had repeated as u.s. champion in the previous six tournaments and, in fact, winning the title seemed something of a jinx: Defending champion Bisguier had scored an embarrassing 5-8 in 1957, Denker was not in contention in 1946 and Steiner did not even try to defend his title in 1951. Moreover, the 1958-59 championshipso designated because the tournament had become and would remain for the next several years a Christmas-New Year's period eventwas extremely strong. It may have been the strongest Fischer ever faced. Virtually all of the top-scorers of the previous year were back and they were joined by both Byrne brothers and Pal Benko. Benko in particular was regarded as a threat to Fischer. Born in France to Hungarian parents, Benko had become one of the leading European juniors during the mid-50s and was making progress as quickly as Fischer. He had been· involved (secretly) in the 1956 Hungarian revolt but was later permitted to play first board on his country's team in the 1957 Student Olympiade in Iceland - where he promptly defected. Since that fall he had been living in the United States and improving his game. Benko had improved so much that he finished equal third, ahead of Fischer whom he had beaten in their individual game, at the 1958 Interzonal at Portorozh. If anyone posed a danger to the champion, it appeared to be the newcomer. And, to round out the field, the USCF had begun seeding players for special reasons. Most invitees were chosen because of their rating or because they held the grandmaster title. But in 1958-59 the Federation also invited the U.S. junior champion, a

97

17-year-old Brooklynite, very much in the Fischer mold, named Raymond Weinstein. He turned out to be a cousin of Bisguier - and quite promising. As in 1957 the tournament was held at the Henry Hudson Hotel, soon to be the home of the Manhattan Chess Club, and it began at much the same tempo as the previous year. Fischer again took off well, but the degree of his success was concealed in sealed move envelopes: His first four games were adjourned and so his standing on the scorechart was blank during the first week of play. But after the last of the 235 moves of these games were finished it was discovered that Fischer had scored 3Y2'h and already was in clear first place. Then came a draw with Benko -who was making an inauspicious debut in American chess - followed by the sensation of the tournament : B3S Sicilian Defense

white Fischer, black Reshevsky 1 e4 cS 2 Nf3 Ne6 3 d4 cXd4 4 Nxd4 g6 5 Nc3 Bg7 6 Be3 Nf6 7 Be4 0-0 This formation by White, followed by f3, Qd2 and 0-0-0, was the system Fischer had placed his personal stamp on. His victory with it over Bent Larsen of Denmark in Portorozh that summer was the game that had made much of the chess world take notice of him. But it was still a very new, untested opening. In the same Portorozh tournament against Oscar Panno of Argentina he played 8 f3? and had to think for more than an hour for an answer to 8 ... Qb6! which threatens 9 ... Qxb2 as well as 9 ... Nxe4! 10 fxe4 Bxd4. Fischer had learned a thing or two by the time of the championship.

8 Bb3! NaS? (see diagram) But Reshevsky had not. He was apparently relying on slim preparation and instincts, a dangerous policy in a theoretical opening. What happens next had been analyzed in depth in a recent Russian magazine, the kind

11th U.S. Championship, New York, Dec. 18-Jan. 15,1958-59

•

1. Fischer

2. Reshevsky 3. Sherwin 4-7. Bisguier 4-7. D. Byrne 4-7. Evans 4-7. Lombardy s. Benko 9-10. R. Byrne 9-10. Kalme 11-12. Mednis 11-12. R. Weinstein

F

R

S

B

B

E

L

B

B

X 0 0 0

1

1

1

~

~

~

~

~

X 0

1 X

~

~

1

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

X 0 1

~

0 0

0 0 ~

~

1 X 0 0

~

~

~

~

0 0

~

~

~

0

1 1 0 1 X 1 0 0

0 0 0

0

~ ~

0 0

~

~

~

0

~

~

~

~

Y2 ~

~

K

W

W

1

1

6 5 4 3 3 5 3 1 1 0 0 0

~ ~

~

~

1

~

Yz

~

~

1 Y2

1 1

1 1

Y2

~

~

M

1

~

~

~

1 X

~

~

1 X 0

~

~

~

~

X

~

0

0

~

Y2 X

~

0 0

0

0

~

~

~

X

0 X 0

~

~

~

Totals D L 5 5 5 6 6 2 6 6 6 S 6 6

0 1 2 2 2

4 2 4 4 3 5 5

Points S~-2Y2

7~-3~

6~-4~

6-5 6-5 6-5 6-5 4-7 4-7 4-7 3-S 3-S

.. The Fischer Era (1951-1969)

After

8 ... Na5

Fischer-Reshevsky. 1958

Fischer had been reading since the seventh grade. Better was 8 ... d6, which threatens 9 ... Ng4, or the immediate 8 ... Ng4!? 9 Qxg4 Nxd4 as Reshevsky played against Fischer in their nontitle match two years later.

9 e5! NeB? Remarkably enough, Black is already lost. His knight has no good retreat (9 ... Nh5 10 g4!) and the interpolation of 9 ... Nxb3 doesn't really interpolate (9 ... Nxb3 10 exf6! Nxal 11 fxg7 Nxc2+ 12 Nxc2 with material equality but clear positional superiority for White). 10 Bxf7+!!

Fischer didn't have to think about this move: It was "book." He wins the queen after 10 ... Kh8 (or 10 ... Rxfl), 11 Ne6!. 10 '" Kxf7 11 Ne6!

Reshevsky played 11 ... fxe6 12 Qxd8 and resigned 30 moves and a time control later. The alternative was 11 ... Kxe6 12 Qd5+ Kf5 13 g4+ Kxg4 14 Rgl+ Kh4 15 Bg5+ and mates. Games have been decided in the championship by opening analysis, but never so brutally or involving so much as this game. This debacle removed Reshevsky from the list of contenders until it was too late. Even after draws with Donald Byrne and Evans, Fischer was still coasting along in first. He had one chance to throw the tournament away and that came in the 10th round:

99

Fischer held White against Bisguier and his Ruy Lopez failed to make any impression on one of the world's experts on the closed treatment of the opening. Horowitz, Bisguier's friend and sometime employer, was writing an opening book and was gratified to see Arthur working extra hard. Horowitz had plenty of examples of Lopez games won by White but none by Black. Bisguier appeared to be on the verge of the clean, thematic victory Horowitz needed: He was forcing Fischer to close off the center, then he was expanding on the queenside and then switching to the kingside. Black's pieces began to swarm over Fischer's king position and for the first time in the tournamentthe first time in two tournaments - the youngster was clearly losing. But suddenly there was a slight error by the older man, and then another, and after an exchange of pieces his advantage was gone. Black pawns were revealed to be weak when they no longer had pieces around for defense. And finally there was a major blunder - a rarity for Bisguier in the endgame. He threw away a cold draw and walked into the Lucena position, a "book win" known for centuries. The first year had shown Fischer could outplay his elders in the middle-game and opening. But now he was doing it in the endgame too.

1959-60: Going on Three And by the time the next championship rolled around, Fischer was confirmed as a world championship contender, having finished a creditable fifth in the candidates tournament in Yugoslavia earlier that year. By contrast, the 12th U.S. championship may not have seemed so prestigious to the world's youngest grandmaster, a 16-year-old, two-time champion going on three-time. Still, with more than two years to go before the next candidates tournament Bobby was content to merely prove his superiority over the Americans. His superiority - even over Reshevskywas becoming clearer every year. Yet Fischer had doubts and they were expressed in com-

100

The United States Chess Championship

plaints to the tournament organizers about irregularities in procedures which he said could unfairly deprive him of the ride. This was the beginning of several such complaints, and in 1959-60 they cemered on the practice of choosing lots in private - olltside the presence of the players - to determine who played whom and when during a (Ournament. fischer said the practice was just unfair. He threatened to forfeit his games if the pairings were not redrawn in public. The tournament officials were no less firm than L. Walter Stephens had been 16 years before. One of the directors of the event was Hans Kmoch, who had double-forfeited two players in the third Rosenwald tournament because neither of them, Hearst and Mednis, had kept an accurate scoresheet. Kmoch was a hanging judge. Fischer's protest had some merit, the officials felt, bur to throw out the pairings after they had been publicized was certain to antagonize other players in the event. So the (Ournament committee stood firm. And just in case Fischer went ahead with his threat, they primed a substitute for him, a 22-year-old premed student named Anthony Saidy, (0 play if Fischer didn't. In the end, Fischer did. That was hardly the end of the tension. Fischer again won the title, but even in the absence of Evans, Lombardy and Donald Byrne it was not entirely easy. He needed to use all his resources. As a rapidly maturing professional, those resources included using the clock, the sealed move envelope and the rulebook, as well as the 64 squares. This became evident in the second round when he faced Robert Byrne, then a Midwestern college instruc(Or and a part-time player of immense unrealized talent. For years it was his brother, Donald, who earned the attention, winning the 1953 U.S. Open, for example, or defeating Yefim Geller 3-1 in the 1955 u.S.-U.S.S.R. match. But Robert, two years older than Donald, seemed to need only time and opportunity to develop into a strong grandmaster - equal or superior to his high school era colleagues, Evans and Bisguier. After a spirited opening (D41) as White, Byrne held a huge advantage.

1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 d5 4 exd5 Nxd5 5 Nf3 e5 6 e3 Ne6 7 Be4 Nxc3 8 bxe3 Be7 90-00-0 10 Qe2 b6 11 Rdl Qc7 12 e4 Bb7 13 Be3 Rae8 14 Bd3 exd4 15 cxd4 Ba3? 16 e5! Nb4 17 Ng5! h6 18 Bh7+! Kh8 19 Qh5 Nd5 20 Bd3 Qe7 21 Nh7! Nxe3 22 fxe3 Rfd8 23 Rfl Rd7 24 111!

After 24 h4

R. Byrne-Fischer, 1959

Kmoch, writing in Chess Review, called Byrne's last move a "rescue action for the paratrooper knight." It is part of a winning combination that will become clear after 25 Ng5, e.g. 24 ... Rdc7 25 Ng5! RfB 26 Rf6! KgB 27 Rafl! with a speedy resolution (Rxh6) of the position in White's favor. 24 ... Rc3! Here Fischer begins to wake up after his bad opening. And he plays not so much against Byrne, as against Byrne's clock. White had taken a good deal of time to reach this position and needed only a few more good moves uncomplicated by enemy counterplay - to score the point. Fischer's task was not so much to equalize but to make the win as hard to achieve as possible. His last move forces Byrne's hand since the attacked bishop has no place to go and 25 Radl Rxd3! 26 Rxd3 Kxh7 or 25 Bb5 Rdc7! favors Black. 25 Ng5! Rxd3 26 Rxf7 Rd2! Fischer finds the moves to keep Byrne's clock ticking; 27 Rxe7 leads to a powerful position for Black after 27 ... Rxg2+ 28 Kfl Rxe7.

.. The Fischer Era (1957-1969) 27 e4!

to

101

35 ... Rg2+ 36 Kd3? Rg3+ 37 Ke2 Rg2+ 38 Ke3? Rg3+ 39 Kfl Rg5!

A fine answer. Fischer has no time now save his queen (27 .. , Qe8 28 Qg6) so ...

27 ... QXf7 28 Nxf7 + Rxf7! 29 QXf7 Bxe4 Only two bishops for the queen, but Black has plenty of piece activity. Fischer didn't agonize over the queen sacrifice. He thought about 15 to 20 minutes - a lot of time for him - on his last three moves, leaving him with an hour to make the remaining 11 moves of the time control. More important, he did not give Byrne extra time - White had only five minutes left here. With a bit more time to think, Byrne might have avoided all trouble with 30 Qxe6!.

30 ReI? RXg2+ 31 Kf'l Bd5! 32 Re2 Rg4! Good time-pressure policy, preserving rooks to improve Black's tactical chances.

33 Rc2 Kh7 34 h5 Rg5!

After 34 ... Rg5

R. Byrne-Fischer, 1959

35 Ke2? Byrne, with no time left to speak of, putS off a decision about grabbing Black's a-pawn. He sees that he can repeat the position by moving his king around until move 40, and then adjourn with the benefit of another hour of time.

Virtually the same position as five moves ago is reached, but with one difference. This is no opportunity for 40 Qxa7 now because 40 ... Rg2+ would spear a rook.

40 Ke2 This position is probably still winnable

by White. With the time control reached, Byrne saw that he could meet another rook check at g2 with 41 Kfl! (41 ... Rxc2 42 Qg6+). This meant White would escape the checks and threaten 41 Qxa7 once again. But ... But he should have played Ke2 on move 36 or 38. Now it was too late because Fischer checked his scoresheet and called over a tournament official. He pointed out that 40 ... Rg2+ regardless of its tactical value, would repeat the position previously seen at move 35 and move 37. It was a draw by way of the three-time repetition rule. Had Fischer also been short of time he might not have been able to figure this out from his scoresheet - and an improper claim would have been immediately fatal. But the claim was legitimate and Fischer had escaped. A draw in the third round left the standings in something of a surprise. For the first time in three years, Fischer was nowhere near first place. His score was 1-1, with on~ game adjourned, seventh best in a field of 12 and far behind Reshevsky's 21h-Y2. But the adjourned game turned out to be another long win over Bisguier, and Reshevsky was promptly upset by Seidman. After another day it was Fischer and Seidman in the lead, followed by Reshevsky and young Raymond Weinstein. (He was "young Weinstein" even though two years older than Bobby.) Seidman soon fell back; a shock was delivered him by his longtime Marshall Chess Club friend, Bernstein. The opening was a partial surprise as it appeared to be the first time 1 b4 was seen in championship play. But the feature of the game was a diabolical trap set by Bernstein:

The United States Chess Championship

102

AOO Orangutan Opening white Bernstein, black Seidman 1 b4 Nf6 2 Bb2 e6 3 b5! a6 4 a4 axb5 5 axb5 RXal 6 Bxal d5 7 Nf3 Be7 8 e3 Nbd7 9 Be2 0-0 10 0-0 NcB 11 c4 Bf6 12 Nc3 dxc4 13 Bxc4 Nd6 14 Be2 b6 15 Na2! Bb7 16 Bxf6 Qxf6 17 Nb4 Ne5 18 Nd4 Qg5! 19 g3 Qh6 20 Qc2 Qh3 21 Nbc6 Kh8 22 Ral Ng4 23 NO Qh5

tually lost all 11 of his games and the special seeding of junior stars was dropped for eight years. With two men clearly ahead the tournament seemed headed for one of those Reshevsky-Fine-Kashdan finishes of the '30s and '40s. But the times had changed. Reshevsky was still exceptionally strong, yet he was being surpassed by an even greater talent. Fischer crushed Bernstein in Round 8 to maintain his lead and then had to engineer one more escape the following day.

After 23 •.. QhS After 27 ... Rb6

Bernstein-Seidman, 1959 Mednis-Fischer.1959

24 Ra4!! This stops 24 ... Nxb5 (25 Nh4 f5 26 Bxb5!) but what about the equally threatened h-pawn? Even if warned that there is a trap somewhere in the position it is hard to guess what White has up his sleeve. 24 ••. Nxh2? 25 Nfe5! Qxe2 Black's move was forced. Now 26 Kxh2 Qxf2+ wins for him. 26 Qxh7 +!! and Black resigns Black is mated by a rook check followed by a knight check. After seven rounds it was Fischer in the lead, a half point ahead of Reshevsky, with everyone else at least two points back. The only player who was completely out of the running was Robin Ault, the seeded junior champion. Ault was most definitely not confirming the rightness of the USCF's decision to invite the most promising youngster. He even-

With his usual resourceful handling of the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian, the champion had obtained an advantage but then ran into trouble. Mednis was making his third try in the championship and had earned a reputation as a serious, commonsense player who rarely took risks and stuck to what he knew. He usually managed to finish at least in the middle of the tournament, thanks to what Bisguief called "wonderful nerves." Moreover, Mednis was becoming something of a problem opponent for Fischer. In the 1957-58 championship Bobby had misplayed an opening edge and found himself in grave difficulty with his king castled queenside and all Mednis' pieces lined up against it. But a surprise combination turned the tables. Now, with colors reversed but the situation very similar, Mednis looks for revenge. 28 Nxf6!! This is a brilliant move which does several things. It cuts open the shell of protective

The Fischer Era (1957-1969) pawns around Black's king and threatens both 29 Qh4 and 29 Ng8+. The knight cannot be taken (28 ... Kxf6 29 Qh4+ leads to mate) and on f6 it serves another important function - the protection of the White d-pawn. This becomes important after: 28 ... Qb7 The best try, threatening 29 ... Rxb2+. Bur White has a spectacular defense which must be played to justify White's last move. The win was there after 29 b4!! because after 29 ... cxb3+ 30 cxb3 Rxb3 White smothers the attack with 31 Rb4!. Note that 31 ... Rxb4 32 Rxb4 would then leave Black's queen en pnse. Mednis thinks he has another way out. 29 Ng8+? Kfg 30 c3 This is what he had been counting on. White is two pawns up and appears to have silenced the b-file violence. 30 ... Bel!

But this is what he overlooked (31 Rxc1 Rxb2+). The bishop adds the final fuel to a decisive attack: 31 Rg2 Rxb2+ 32 Rxb2 Bxb2 43 Qc2 Qb5! 44 £6 Qa5 45 Qxb2 Rxb2+ and Black wins Fischer glided through the final rounds and won again by a full point.

1960-61: Youth to the rore No one has ever been able to explain why chess talent should develop so haphazardly. In the 1930s and again in the 1950s there were large crops of talented new players in America, just as there was in the Soviet Union. But both countries went dry for most of the 1960s, producing no players of distinction until 1970. Other countries took up the slack. For exam-

103

pIe, Czechoslovakia, which had produced few players since World War II, suddenly found itself with four future grandmasters during the mid-1960s (Vlastimil Hore, Lubosh Kavalek, Jan Smeikal and Vlastimil Jansa). The 1960-61 U.S. championship was the last year of the American yomh movement in chess for a decade, but it was an impressive result nonetheless. Even the Evans-BisguierByrne generation appeared to be out of date in light of the progress made by Lombardy, Raymond Weinstein, and Fischer. Lombardy, the eldest at 23, had been a psychology major at City College while emerging as a terror of student team championships and the world junior championship. At Leningrad in the summer of 1960 he led the U.S. team to a surprise victory over the highly favored Soviet students headed by Boris Spassky. Weinstein, another member of the team, was then a 19-year-old Brooklyn College student who had shown how a steady diet of tough competition could bring out the best in a young player. From last place two championships before, he had risen to a plus score in 1959-60. He would reach the top three in 1960-61, and nearly qualify for the interzonal tournament of 1962. If there had never been a Fischer, Weinstein would have been the sensation of American chess in 1961. But there was a Fischer, and he was maturing. In his fourth championship he wore a suit and tie to the board - no more sweaters, jeans and sneakers. He had in one sense his easiest championship to date, and in another, his hardest. It was easy because he scored nine points, or two more than his nearest rival. He defeated the second, third and fourth place finishers in the individual games with them. But he was in trouble more than once, and not just against the grandmasters. Almost certainly he was lost against Saidy, who was making his championship debut. Fischer was even taking cautious "grandmaster draws" again, including a 12-mover with the White pieces against Benko. In the first round he obtained no edge at all against Weinstein, who was expected to be one of his easier points. Fischer got nothing out of the opening against the Winawer Vari-

104

The United States Chess Championship 12th

u.s. Championship, New York, Dec. IS-Jan. 4, 1959-60 Totals F

l. Fischer

2. R. Byrne 3. Reshevsky 4. Benko 5. Bisguier 6. R. Weinstein 7. Seidman

B

R

X V2 V2 X

V2

V2 0 0

V2

0 V2

V2

0

0

V2

8. Sherwin 9. Mednis 10. Bernstein

Y2

Y2

11. Denker

0

12. Ault

0

B

B W

S

V2

M

1

V2

V2

V2

X V2 V2 X

V2

V2

V2

X V2 V2 V2 X 1 \t2 0 X 0 1 Y2

1

\t2

V2

0

0 0

0

Y2

0

0

0

0

Y2

0

V2 0

0 0

I

0

0

0

\t2 0 0 0

0

0

0

1

0

0 0

0

ation of the French Defense, but the middlegame position was difficult to play for both sides:

B D

V2

\t2

0

V2 0

S

A

1

0

0 V2

X Y2

WD L 7

4 0

9-2

5 6

6

0 2 2

8-3

3

5 4 4 5 2 5 4

0

Y2

Y2 X

0

0

1

X

2

1

Y2

0

X Y2 Y2 X

0

0

0

0

Points

3 3 2 0

2

3 6 3 2

4 4

7V2-3\t2 7-4 6V2-4V2 6-5

5\t2-5Y2

3

5-6

5

4Y2-6\t2

6

4-7 3-8 O-II

2 7 0 11

Ahh! A small surprise for Weinstein, who quickly became flustered. He cannot take the rook because of mate by 31 Qxb6+ and 32 Qb7.

30 ... Ka8 31 R6b5 Black's center is under intense pressure and he needs all his tactical awareness to keep it whole. White's bishops, our of play while Black had a pawn at e6, now come to life on g2 and g3.

After 28 Bxh4

31 ... Be6 32 Bg3 e4? Fischer-R. Weinstein, 1960

This tears it. Black had to play the ugly, but necessary 32 ... Qd6.

28 ... eS??

33 Qxh6!! and Black resigns This seems to be just the kind of move that should improve Black's already promising position. The problem piece of the French, Black's QB, is now freed. Bur there is a tactical flaw. Instead, 28 ... h5! might have posed more difficulty (29 gxh5 Rxh5 and 30 ... Rfh7).

29 dxe5 fxeS 30 Rxb6+!

The queen is taboo because of 34 Rb8+ and mates, and 33 ... Re8 34 Qxe6! only prolongs the game. Weinstein came back strongly later on, beating Bisguier and Robert Byrne in timepressure battles. Lombardy also racked up some good scalps, beating Byrne and Charles Kalme. The young stars stood safely behind Fischer

The Fischer Era (1957-1969) through most of the event, but also just ahead of the older generation. Bisguier, having his best championship since 1954, had a chance to catch the two young contenders, and reach the Interzonal, on the even of the last round. He needed only a draw to clinch a tie for third place. But the drew had to come from Fischer. E61 King's Indian Defense white Bisguicr, black Fischer 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 Nf3 0-0 5 Bf4 c5 6 ds d6 7 e4 Qas 8 Bd3 Bg4 9 0o Nbd7 10 h3 Bxf3 11 QXf3 Ne5! 12 Qe2 Nxd3 13 Qxd3 a6 14 Bd2 Nd7 15 b3 Qc7

105

Black's superiority lies now in his rooks. But they have no good files to work with, so Fischer finds a way of activating his other pieces. 23 ••. c4! 24 b4 c3! 25 Nxc3 Qc4 White had little choice but to allow this intrusion. Now he must attempt to plug up the holes at b1, c4, a4, d4 and d3. 26 b5 Qd4 27 Bel Nc4 28 Qf2 Ne3 29 Rdl After 29 Rc1 Black's rooks show their force with 29 ... Rc4 and 30 ... Rac8.

After 29 Rdl

After 15 ... Qc7

Bisguier-Fischer, 1961

Bisguier-Fischer, 1961

Black has equalized by trading pieces and activating a queenside initiative. Bisguier underestimates Fischer's chances and prepares his own initiative, in the center, with f2-f4, Rae! and e4-e5. He assumes he will have time to halt Black (16 ... Rab8 17 a4). 16 f4 bs! 17 cxbs Qh6 The threat of ... c4+ gives Black the extra protection of b5 he needed to justify his 16th move. White can now visualize the enemy advance picking up energy after 18 ... axb5 followed by ... b4 or ... Rab8 and a later ... c4. Bisguier elects to sacrifice the exchange so as to eliminate the powerful Black bishop. 18 Kh2 axb5 19 Nxbs!? BXal 20 RXal RfcS 21 Qc4 Qa6! 22 a4 Nb6 23 Qc2

29 ... Qxc3! Fischer began and ended the tournament with queen sacrifices. Here he ends up with two rooks and a knight for the queen and the White pawns soon run out of steam: 30 Bxc3 Nxdl 31 Qd4 Nxc3 32 b6 Rc5! 33 e5 Rxa4 34 b7!? Rxd4 35 b8(Q)+ Kg7 36 exd6 exd6 37 Qxd6 RcxdS 38 Qc7 Ne2 39 f5 Rxf5 40 Qa7 RfdS 41 Qal Nf4 and White resigns Reshevsky, now retired from accounting, was living on selling insurance and mutual funds. Entering his fifties, his chess career seemed on the decline, and this was his worst result to date. Would he ever be a contender again?

The United States Chess Championship

106

13th U.S. Championship, New York, Dec. IS-Jan. 5, 1960-61 Totals

5

K

B B

B

Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 X 1 0 0 Y2 0 X Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 0 Y2 X Y2 0 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 X Y2 0 0 Y2 Y2 Y2 Yz Y2 0 Y2 0 0 0 Yz 0 0 Y2 0 0 0 Y2 0 0 Y2 0 0 Y2 0 0 Y2 Y2 Y2 0

Y2

Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2

1/2

F l. Fischer 2. Lombardy

3. R. Weinstein 4-6. Bisguier 4-6. Reshevsky 4-6. Sherwin 7. Kalme 8-1l. Benko 8-1l. Berliner 8-1l. R. Byrne 8-11. Saidy 12. Seidman

L W

X 1 0 X

B

R

1

0

0

0

Y2 Y2

-1961-62: Anyone Beats Anyone The championship had grown in strength so much during the first four Fischer years that even without him, and even with the added loss of Reshevsky and several other stars, it still compared favorahly in stature with the 1948, 1951 and 1954 events. In the winter of 1961-62 Fischer was preparing for another interzonal, the first step towards the 1963 world tide match. If everything went well, he would also be headed for his second candidates tournament, set for later in 1962. Bisguier, replacing Lombardy who was preparing for a career in the priesthood, was also headed for the Stockholm Interzonal and was similarly unavailahle for the 14th championship. M for Reshevsky, he appeared to have retired from chess following the collapse of his match with Fischer earlier in the year. That left 12 more or less evenly matched opponents. "It's the kind of field where most anyone could beat most anyone else," Bernstein said, and he was almost right. The favorites were Evans and the most recent U.S. Open winners, Robert Byrne (winner in 1960) and Benko (1961). The weakening of the field also permitted invitations for players who had

1 0

5

Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 0 Y2 Y2 0 Y2 Y2 Y2 1 0 X 0 I X 0 Y2 0 X 1 0 1/2 0 X 0

Y2 Y2 Y2 X 1 0 X Y2 Y2

5

W

D

L

7

4 4

0

9-2

2

7-4

5 4

2

6Y2-4Y2

3

6-5

5 4 4

Points

2

8

1

6-5

3

()

2

6-5

2

6

2

3 4

3

5 3

3

3

3

3

0

5

5 5 5 6

5-6

4Y2-6Y2 4Y2-6Y2 4Y2-6Y2 4Y2-6Y2 2Y2-8Y2

been infrequently active - Hearst, who hadn't played since 1954 because ,of school work; Kramer; and Donald Byrne, whose occasional absences from the championship could partly be explained by declining health. As usual the standings were confused in the early rounds because of adjourned games. Only Mednis had a perfect score after the first day. But Evans had adjourned in a winning position, and by the time the hanging games were cleared up he had a 3-0 lead, compared to 2-1 scores for Mednis and Seidman, the closest competitors. Evans was playing chess as he approached the age of 30 "for the spirit of competition," he said. "And sometimes because I run short of cash." But he drew with Mednis in the fourth round to lessen his lead and then almost threw away the title the following day (see diagram), A pawn ahead, with the more active pieces and, most important, having the move, Byrne is winning. But Evans had a pet theory: "No matter how had your position, if it's not totally lost, you will arrive at a point during the game where you will he presented with an opportunity to win or draw if you take advantage of it." "1 never give up in an inferior position," he added. "Most players do."

. The Fischer Era (1951-1969)

107

winner the previous year, was in last place. And Benko (" I always lose once on time") had forfeited to Bernstein and was stalled with only an even score. Evans, however, was playing exacting chess. With obvious relish he showed off his game with Hearst, taking time to savor the revenge of 1954. Another year, another Sicilian, but a very different game.

After 37 ..• Rxb3

B48 Sicilian Defense

white Hearst, black Evans

R. Byrne-Evans, 1961

38 Qf7?? Time trouble again burns Byrne. He saw the possihilities of perpetual check but assumed th'H the White king could just walk away (0 safety somewhere on the queenside. 38 ... Rxg3+! Surprisingly there is no win anymore. Black can chase the king back and forth across the board. 39 Kxg3 Qgl+ 40 Kf3 Qfl+ 41 Ke3 Qxh3+ 42 Kf2 Qh4+ 43 Kg2 Qg4+ 44 Kfl Q>
1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 e6 5 Nc3 Qc7 6 Be3 a6 7 Bd3 Nf6 80-0 Be7 9 Khl d6 10 f4 Bd7 11 Qe2 Rc8

Both sides have finished their assigned roles in this opening: White prepares for some SOft of action, as yet undefined, on the kingside or in the center; Black is clearly intent on having enough counterplay on the queens ide to meet all contingencies. White needs one more preparatory move, a2-a3, and he will be ready to attack. For example, 12 a3 0-0 13 Rf3 and 14 Rg3. 12 Nf3!? 0-0 13 Ng5? h6 14 Nh3 Hearst's idea was to encourage ... h6just as he had done successfully in 1954 against Evans. Here he hoped to open the g-file with g2-g4-g5 or attack g7 with Rf3-g3. But the loss of time permits an unfavorable exchange of minor pieces that 12 a3 would have averted. 14 ... Nb4! 15 Rf3 Nxd3 16 cxd3 dS!

Aftcc

16 ... dS

Hearst-Evans, 1961

108

The United States Chess Championship

14th U.S. Championship, New York, Dec. 17-Jan. 4, 1961-62 Totals EBB M S 1. Evans 2. R. Byrne 3-6. Benko 3-6. Mednis 3-6. Seidman 3-6. Sherwin 7. Hearst S. D. Byrne 9. R. Weinstein

10. Turner 11. Kramer 12. Bernstein

S H B W T

X V2 V2 V2 1/2 V2 V2 l;2 V2 V2 Vl Vl V2XV2 1hV2 V1V2X 10 Vz Vz Vz V2V20Xl 0 V2 V2 0 X o Vz001;21 XV2V2V2 Vz OVZV2VZO liz X V2 V2 ,V2 Vz 0 0 0 VzV1X1VzVz l!2 Vz 1;2 0 0 1;2VzOX10 00 V20 X 111 OV2V2V2 V2 X o o o lOOVzV2 o o 0 1/ 2 0 0 0 o V2

Black could also have met the threats on the kingside with 16 ... RfdS 17 Rg3 KfS!, as Evans pointed out. But the text is more dynamic: White must either allow an exchange of center pawns or play 17 e5!, which, however, would permit 17 ... Ne8 18 Rg3 Bh4 with at least a draw. 17 Rg3? dxe4 18 dxe4 Qc4! Now the endgame is very nice for Black and, while that in itself is not decisive, the threat to trade down to an ending permits Evans' pieces to take over three quarters of the board in the next few moves. The rest is fairly easy for a grandmaster: 19 Qf3 Be6! 20 Nf2 RfdS 21 Rel Kf8! 22 Bel b5 23 b3 Qc5 24 Bb2 Qh5! 25 a3 QXf3 26 Rxf3 Rd2 27 Bel Re2 28 Kgl Be5 29 Nbl Bxe4! and White resigns After ten rounds it was Evans at 7-3, Byrne a half point back and the surprising Seidman only a point behind. Moreover, Seidman had White against Evans in the final round while Byrne met Weinstein, who, though out of form, was still tough. All cer-

W D L

Points

Vz

470 3 S 0 4 5 2 4 5 2 5 3 3 4 5 2 272 263 2 5 4

V2

6 4

0

236 2 2 7

7V2-31;2 7-4 6Vz-4Vz 6V2-4Vz 6Vz-4V2 6V2-4Vz 5Vz-5Vz 5-6 4Vz-6Vz 4-7 3Vl-7Vz 3-S

K B

1

o 1

X

tainty of an Evans championship was put in doubt when the 1951 (Ournament winner got a horrible game in another Najdorf Sicilian as Black (I e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 6 Nc3 a6 7 Bg5 Nbd7 S Be2 b5 9 a4! b5 10 Nd5! Bb7 11 Bxf6 Nxf6 12 Nxf6+ exf6 13 0-0 g6 14 Qd2! Bg7 15 Qxb4) while Byrne was winning a pawn from Weinstein. Both games went to adjournment and everything was on hold. But Evans' survival theory paid off again and he created enough counterplay to force Seidman to accept a draw. Byrne could do nothing with his extra pawn after 61 moves and had (0 postpone his championship bid for a decade. Yet despite one of the more exciting events in recent memory, many of the spectators were overheard to wonder: By how many points would Fischer have won had he played this time?

1962-63: Upsets and a Near-Miss Fischer had a legitimate excuse for passing up the 15th championship. He had been preparing for the Cura\=ao candidates tournament, the last of the series to be held before

A.

109

The Fischer Era (1957-1969)

match play replaced tournaments in the final elimination step of the world championship. Nevertheless, the American Chess Foundation and USCF feared that money, or the lack of it, was undermining their event. After all, the first prize in the 14th championship was $1,000, compared with $700 for third prize in the Sixth American Chess Congress more than 70 years before. The foundation and federation boosted the top prize to $2000 for the 15th championship, which had the added attraction of being another zonal event. To no one's surprise, Fischer, Reshevsky and Bisguier returned to the event. But this was a confusing tournament, the tournament of upsets. In the first round Evans, the defending champion, was completely outplayed by the man most people figured to finish last, St. Louis businessman Robert Steinmeyer. A former junior star, Steinmeyer took the championship casually. He had turned down an invitation the previous year, and even when he accepted for the 1962-63 event he explained his attitude: ''I'm obviously not going to come in the first three places, so I may as well have fun." He did against Evans, winning in 51 moves. The second surprise came in an up-anddown contest between another newcomer, William Addison of San Francisco, and Reshevsky. Three years later - after beating him in the 17th championship - Reshevsky would grandly comment that Addison had "established himself as one of the leading American masters" as a result of Addison's tied-for-fourth-place finish. Actually, Addison more than established himself in December 1962-January 1963 at the Henry Hudson Hotel, when he tied for third place in his first championship. It's easy to see how Reshevsky had forgotten that earlier tournament. It began with (see diagram): This is the last move before time control. White has been trying to set up a mate with Bh6 for several moves, but Black always countered the threat in time. Now, for example, 40 Bh6? leads to 40 ... Qxf2+ 41 Kh3 Qfl+ with a draw, because 42 Kh4?? Qh1+ 43 Kg5 Qcl+! actually loses for White.

After 39 ... Qxf3

Addison-Reshevsky, 1962

40 Kg!! Everyone in the room but one saw what was threatened now. Or, rather, Reshevsky saw the threat but miscalculated a two-move variation. 40 ... h4?? 41 Bh6 and Black resigns Likely he had counted on 41 ... Qdl+ followed by a pawn check. But White ends the checks with 42 Kg2 h3+ 43 Kh2! or 42 Kh2 hXg3+ 43 Kg2. The most surprising of all was the loss by the tournament's third favorite. Fischer plays about 50 per cent stronger with White than with Black, Evans had said of him. "It is hard to remember when he last lost with White." Well, it did happen from time to time, and, after two adjournments, it happened on December 18th in a long, slowly stagnating French Defense against Mednis. What had turned out to be no advantage in the opening and only mixed chances in the middlegame, turned out to be an elusive initiative in the endgame that evaporated completely in the second session of play. Mednis took the upper hand for the first time in the game on move 49 and eventually created a bind with the aid of a passed a-pawn. Fischer had to resign on move 73, his first loss in four championships, after essentially beating himself. By the time that loss was registered, Fischer had gotten his point back against Berliner, his victim in the second round. But he was still a half point behind Bisguier, who for

The United States Chess Championship

110

once was going to play a whole tournament consistently. Bisguier's recurring problem in the years since 1954 was putting together a string of victories. He might win a few games each year and then, Evans said, go into a slump. "When he loses a game or two he feels it incumbent to prove he's out of form and therefore he loses three or four games to go along with it." Yet even in a field ostensibly dominated by Fischer, Bisguier was the "greatest natural player" in the event, Evans said. In 1962 Bisguier had come up with a new weapon, the latest in a seemingly never-ending series, against the Ruy Lopez. His secret turned out to be the ancient Berlin Defense, leading to jokes about Bisguier's having as much trouble defending Berlin as President Kennedy. But Bisguier got the last laugh: C67 Ruy Lopez white Sherwin, black Bisguier 1 e4 e5 2 NO Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6 4 0-0 NXe4 5 Rei Nd6 6 Nxe5 Be7 7 Bd3 Sherwin, then practicing law, was forced to work during the day and play at night and was agonizing through his worst championship. Unprepared in many of his opponents' pet variations and prone to long "thinks" anyway, he was frequently in time trouble by the 20th move. Here he chooses a somewhat innocuous line that leads to sterile chances once Black has avoided any sacrificial attacks on h7. But no better was 7 Bfl or 7 Nxc6 bXc6 8 Bfl. 7 ••• 0-0 8 Nc3 NXe5 9 Rxe5 Bf6 10 Re3 g6 With his last two moves Bisguier fianchettoes his bishop and meets the threat of 11 Bxh7+ Kxh7 12 Rh3+ Kg8 13 Qh5. This line is actually quite old and had been considered slightly better for White since the last century. Bisguier has an improvement. 11 h3 Bd4!

In a world championship game in 1886

•

Johannes Zukertort played 11 ... Re8?! 12 Qf3 Bg5? against Wilhelm Steinitz and got the worst of it. Bisguier's move forces the enemy back in the center and permits himself to develop his queenside.

After

11 ... Bd4

Sherwin-Bisguier, 1962

12 Re2 b6 13 Ba3 c5 14 b4? White needs to get his queen into play and reorganize his pieces. Opening the b-file boomerangs quickly. 14 ••• Bb7 15 bxc5 bxc5 16 RbI Rb8 17 Ne4? With a progressively worsening game and already in time pressure, Sherwin blunders. Surprisingly, Black now has a forced win. 17 ••. Bxe4 18 Rxb8 Qxb8 19 Bxe4 Re8 He picks up material quickly after 20 Bd3 Rxe2 21 Bxe2 Ne4! or 20 Qxe2 Qb1+ after which good technique is all that is necessary to score the point. But that isn't necessaryafter ... 20 d3? Nb5! and White resigns Bisguier's lead was endangered as long as Fischer was in the tournament. But he followed up with his win over Sherwin by beating Mednis and Nicolas Rossolimo, the French emigre grandmaster who had managed to draw with Fischer. That meant Bisguier had two points from players who had given Bobby only half a point.

a

111

The Fischer Era (1951-1969) Fischer picked up some ground by crushing Reshevsky (with a paralyzing endgame gem) and Berliner, while Bisguier could only draw with them. And so, going into the final round it was Fischer and Bisguier tied at 7 points. Both were certain to qualify for the Interzonal, with the third Spot up for grabs among four players - Addison, Byrne, Evans and Reshevsky. Fischer, of course, was not content to share first prize, even though this was the first time he entered the last round tied for the lead. He had three factors on his side in the final $2000 showdown: He was White and he knew exactly what to expect in the opening. And there was also what Evans called "that silly jinx" whenever Bisguier met Fischer. C67 Ruy Lopez

white Fischer, black Bisguier 1 c4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 nbS Nf6 4 0-0 Nxe4 5 d4! Nd6 6 Bxc6 dxc6 7 dxe5 Nf5 S QxdS+ KxdS 9 Nc3 KeS Despite appearances - the bad pawns and lack of king protection and development - the position is virtually even. Bisguier, who reveled in such double-edged endgames, knew that his two good bishops usually were active enough to compensate for everything else. Black equalizes in the next half dozen moves, but after the game Bisguier adopted 9 ... h6! as a means of playing the position for a

After 23 Rhl

Fischer-Bisguier, 1963

By lining up his rook against Black's, White creates tactical tricks. Bisguier could see that 24 Nxg6 was not a threat just yet because 24 ... Rxhl 25 Rxhl fXg6 26 Rh8+ Nfs lets him escape. But with White building up on the kingside Bisguier decides against the possibilities for counterphy or even advantage on the queenside with ... as. He tries to force matters. (Best, by the way, was 24 .,. Kd7, connecting the Black rooks. He can always meet f2-f4 with ... gS!, ctippling the enemy pawn mass.) 23 ... BdS?? 24 NfS! Rxhl 2S Nd6+ This was the trick Black missed. Bisguier's king is pinned to the first rank now and the White pawns begin to march. 2S ... KfS 26 Rxhl hS 27 f4 Kg8 28 f5 NfS 29 e6!

Will.

10 Ne2! Be6 11 Nf4 BdS! 12 Nxd5 cxd5 13 g4 Ne7 14 Bf4 c6 15 Rfel Ng6 16 Bg3 BcS 17 c3 NfS White's king is not particularly better off than Black's and his kingside majority of pawns is no closer to creating a queen than Black's queens ide mass. Fischer needs to play Kg2 and a knight move before he can play f2-f4-f5 and lay claim to an edge. IS b4 Bb6 19 Kg2! Ne6 20 Nh4 hS! 21 h3 hxg4 22 hxg4 g6 23 Rhl

Now it is mate with Be5/RhB that Black must worry about. He collapses quickly: 29 ... f6 30 Nf7 Be7 31 Bf4 g5 32 Bd6 ReS 33 Bxe7 Rxe7 34 Nd8 ReS 3S Nxc6 Nxe6 36 fxe6 Rxe6 37 NXa7 and Black resigns. Fischer's closest call. Elsewhere in the last round Byrne could only draw with Mednis while Reshevsky, after two adjournments, ground down Benko. Thus, Sammy sneaked into a three-way tie for the last interzonal spot and the tie was resolved in a playoff victory for the semiretired insurance salesman a few months later.

The United States Chess Championship

112

15th U.S. Championship, New York, Dec. 16-Jan. 3, 1962-63 Totals F

B A E R B B M B R

l. Fischer

X

1

2. Bisguier

X 0 X Y2 Yz Y2 Y2 Yz X Y2 Y2 0 Y2 0 Y2 X Y2

3-5. Addison 3-5. Evans 3-5. Reshevsky 6. R. Byrne 7-8. Berliner 7-8. Mednis 9-10. Benko 9-10. Rossolimo 11. Steinmeyer 12. Sherwin

0

1 Y2 Y2 1 Y2 Y2 Y2 Yz

Y2

Yl Y2 Yz Yz Yz X Y2 Yz 0 Y2 0 0 0 lh X 1 0

0 Y2 0

Y2

0

1963-64: That's Incredible Fischer's one flaw, Evans said, was overconfidence. It "sometimes causes him to forget his opponents are also capable of finding good moves." For this reason the 15th championship had a positive, chastening effect on the 20-yearold winner. He approached the next affair very seriously: He would take no prisoners. The tournament was again very strong, with only Lombardy among the nation's finest to be missing. The new rating list placed Fischer clearly at the top with 2685 points followed by Reshevsky at 2611, Lombardy at 2575, Benko at 2566, Evans at 2559 and Roberr Byrne at 2512. The points indicated Fischer should win a championship comfortably if he worked at ic. But there was also [he possibility of another surprise loss to a player like Mednis. Fischer came to the Henry Hudson Hotel for the 16th championship as if seeking redemption for the bad chess of 1962. He had been studying the game for five or six hours a day according to friends and was well armed in every opening. In fact, he had a whole new arsenal of theoretical weapons. In the first round he brought out the Bishop's Gambit, a

S

0 Y2 Y2

0

Yz Y2 Y2 0 0 Yz Y2 Y2 0 Y2 Y2 Yz 0 1/2 0 Yz 0 1 0 Yz 0 0 0 Y2 0 Yz I/Z 0

S

X

Y2 Y2 Y2 Yz Y2 Yz Y2 Y2 Y2 1

4

Yz

4

6

1

7-4

1 Yz

4

5

2

0

7 5 1 10 3 4 3 4 7 1 7 2 4 0 5

2

6 1/2-4Yz 6Y2-4Y2 6Y2-4 1/z

0

G-5

4

5-6

Yz Yz Yz

3 4

1

Points

6

Y2 Y2 0 0 X liz Y2 Y2 0 Y2 X 1 0 Yz Y2 0 C

Y2 X

WD L

8-3

4

5-6

3

3

41/z-6Y2 4Y2-6Yz

5

4-7

G

2Y2-8Y2

remnant of the 19th century, against an astonished Evans. (Fischer had written "A Bust to the King's Gambit" for Evans' magazine, American Chess Quarterly, the previous year.) Evans thought he was doing well- in fact, believed he had the advantage as late as move 31. But Evans resigned before move 36. Fischer also avenged himself early against Mednis. Yet he wanted to do more than just win the tournament. He wanted to notch up some personal records. Fischer had never beaten Evans or Robert Byrne - but they fell in rounds 2 and 3. The latter game was played in a private room and this arrangement provided one of the more dramatic U.S. championship scenes. Spectators followed the moves as they were relayed by telephone and evaluated in an analysis room by Rossolimo and Sherwin, who were sitting this championship out. The audience was treated to this: 079 King's Indian Defense

white R. Byrne, black Fischer 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 g3 c6 4 Bg2 dS 5 cxdS cxdS G Nc3 Bg7 7 e3 0-0 8 Nge2 NcG 90-0 b6 10 b3 Ba6 11 Ba3 Re8 12 Qd2

The Fischer Era (1951-1969)

113

16 Kxf2 Ng4+ "I'm sure Tal will say I shoulda played 16 ... Rxe3 but I don't believe it," Fischer joked after the game. After 12 Qd2

17 Kgl Nxe3 18 Qd2 Nxg2(!?!)

R. Hyrne-Fischer, 1963

Byrne "has a penchant for safe, closed positions which yield to strategical concepts," Evans said hefore the tournament. "His chess is strong and powerful, and he should be rated as a dark horse to win." But Byrne's reliance on caution here is based on a simple plan. He will build up heavy pieces on the c-file. If Black does the same White will have the time to engineer some sort of breakthrough in the center. Of course, if Black tries a breakthrough, such as with ... e5, he will be left with a horribly weak d-pawn after dXe5. Of course. 12 ... e5! 13 dxc5 NXe5 14 Rfdl Fischer later waged an analytical war with the Russians over the merits ofl4 Radl, which Yuri Averhakh said favored White and which Fischer said didn't. But Byrne's move, removing the rook from the a6-fl diagonal, is more natural. He will simply kill the d-pawn with 15 N f4, it seems. 14 •.. Nd3 15 Qc2 Nxfl! Without this move Black must accept an inferior position - perhaps a lost one - by retreating. The absence of the rook defending f2 made this possible, but exactly what Fischer had in mind was not clear to anyone but him. Was he really going to give up tWO minor pieces for a rook, the masters in the analysis room downstairs wanted to know?

Absolutely incomprehensible, Rossolimo was saying downstairs. Bobby had to take the rook to keep a semblance of material equality. What was going on? Maybe, the masters wondered, the wrong move had been telephoned downstairs. 19 Kxg2 d4! 20 Nxd4 Bb7+ It's a pretty diagonal and Black's bishops are fearsome (21 Kgl Bxd4+ 22 Qxd4 Rel+ 23 Kf2 Qxd4+ and 25 ... Rxal wins for Black). But what about the other king move (21 Kfl Bxd4 22 Qxd4 Rel+ 23 Kxel!)? 21 Kfl Qd7

After 21 ... Qd7

R. Byrne-Fischer, 1963

"I don't understand this at all," Rossolimo was saying with some exasperation. The moves had been checked and double-checked by telephone. But "Fischer has nothing at all for his piece," he said. Sherwin said it wasn't all that clear, but he wasn't sure. And where was the next move? Byrne must have been thinking quite a while, and yet nothing had come down from upstairs. Then ... White resigns.

114

The United States Chess Championship

Rossolimo was in shock until Byrne came down to show everyone the key lines: To meet the threat of 22 ... Qh3+ 23 Kg! Bxd4+ 24 Qxd4 Qg2 mate, White could play either 22 Ndb5 Qh3+ 23 Kgl (and lose to 23 ... Bh6! 24 Qf2 Be3!) or, the prettier way, 22 Qf2 Qh3+ 23 Khl, which loses spectacularly to 23 ... Re1+!!- the move Rossolimo had missed. After 24 Rxe1 Bxd4 there is nothing to do about mate on g2. This was only the third round but by the fifth it was clear Fischer was winning the event easily. He was not only winning every game but showed no difficulty in doing it. In every game he was ahead on time - often an hour ahead. What most observers didn't know was that Fischer was going for something more than points, or prize money or the Frank Marshall trophy. He was seeking a record. After Reshevsky blundered in Round 5, Bobby trapped Steinmeyer's knight on the 17th move and forced his resignation. The day after Christmas saw the champion spring a new surprise - defending the Ruy Lopez and with a new wrinkle (3 ... a6 4 Ba4 b5 and 5 ... Na5). Soon he had the edge against Addison and it was 7-0. With four rounds to go it was becoming clear: Fischer was heading for an unheard of perfect 11-0 score. A shut-out. The tournament audiences were now filling up the Henry Hudson ballroom almost every round and all eyes were on the board that mattered. Evans had turned in a spectacular draw against Reshevsky when he sacrificed queen and rook to set up a stalemate. (Evans: "When White made his next move Reshevsky's face changed color. He smiled with wry bitterness and mumbled one word to himself'Stupid."') It was a repeat of the Pilnick game from 1942 - but it was lost in the shuffie. Fischer was the story of the day. The champion beat Raymond Weinstein on time (but in a winning position) and he stood at 8-0. The next day it was Fischer as Black over Donald Byrne in a grinding Sicilian, 9-0. Then, in perhaps his best game of the tournament, he won from Benko. The Hungarian emigre, now living in New Jersey

and earning a healthy capitalist income from Swiss System tournaments, had previously beaten Bobby three times, more than anyone in the event except Reshevsky. But this time Fischer was simply overwhelming. The champion resisted the temptation to sacrifice his queen on move 13 because, as he explained later, there was only one brilliancy prize in the tournament and he had already clinched it for the Robert Byrne game. Simply good moves made his score 1O~0. The final game was a difficult, positional struggle with little difference in the placement of Bobby's pieces as Black and Tony Saidy's as White. Early in the game, Evans spotted Saidy away from the board and told him, "Good. Show him we're nor all children." Saidy, like Evans, was well aware of Fischer's prediction of a few day's earlier - that he would sweep the tournament - and he hoped to be the spoiler, the batter who breaks up a no-hitter with a scratch single in the bottom of the ninth Inmng. After 43 moves he had lost the initiative but still had solid drawing chances as he faced the responsibility of sealing a move.

After

43 ... Nh6

Saidy~Fischer,

1964

White temporarily has an extra pawn but he will lose it back, leaving him with the very slight inferiority of having a bishop ohstructed by his own pawn on d4. Nothing much had happened in the previous 20 moves when the last exchange of pieces occurred. Now Saidy just had to prevent an enemy king invasion at e4 or g4.

115

The Fischer Era (1957-1969)

16th U.S. Championship, New York, Dec. IS-Jan. 3, 1963-64 Totals FEBSRBWBAMSB

W D L

Points

1. Fischer 2. Evans 3. Benko

X

11 0

4-5. Saidy 4- 5. Reshevsky 6. R. Byrne 7. R. Weinstein 8. Bisguier 9-10. Addison

o V2 0 o Y2 Y2

11-0 7Y2-31h 7-4 6Y2-4Y2 6Y2-4V2 51h-5Y2 5-6 4Y2-6Y2 3V2-71h 3V2-7Y2 3-8 2V2-8V2

9-10. Mednis 11. Steinmeyer 12. D. Byrne

o o

1 X 1 0 X

1

Y2

X

0

5 3 3

V2

X Ih

0

V2

452

OYzOY2V2 X 0 Y2

1

o 1 o o o o o

0

0

X

1

X

o o

o X

o o o o o o

1/2

o o

0

632 542

0 Y2 Y2 0 0 0 Y2 Y2 0 Y2 0 V2 Y2 0 0 0

V2

353 5 0 6 335

1h 1h

236

V2 1h X Yz 1h 1h X

2

o

X Yz

3

6

065 056

44 Bel?

47 Bh4 Ne4 48 Bel Kg4 49 Ke2 Ng3+!

Saidy thought for 45 minutes, considering this and a variety of other defenses, such as 44 Ke2 Nxg4 45 Bgl. That alternative makes a poor impression since the bishop would appear to be better placed on the el-h4 diagonal. But from gl it goes to h2 where it can help promote g2-g3!, eliminating a key pawn, e.g. 45 ... Kf5 46 Kf3 Nf6 47 Bh2! (not 47 g3? fxg3 48 Kxg3 Ke4!) and draws.

The king-and-pawn ending (50 Bxg3 KXg3 51 KfI f3!) is lost. So;

44 ... Nxg4 Fischer opened the scaled move, saw 44 Bel, and a smile flickered across his face as he tasted the all-time record.

45 Bd2 If White tries to blockade with his king on f3 he can be driven off (45 Ke2 Kf5 46 Kf3 Nh2+).

45 ... Kf5 46 Bel Nf6 And now 47 g3 allows 47 ... f3!. Fischer finishes off with some fancy knightwork.

50 Kd3 NfS! 51 Bf2 Nh4 52 as NXg2 53 Kc3 Kf3 54 Bgl Ke2 55 Bh2 f3 56 Bg3 Ne3! and White resigns

1965: Letdown There was no championship in December 1964 and that meant the first break in the annual series that had begun with the ACF's initiative seven years before. But it would have been hard to top the 16th championship and there would be no way to approach it, since Fischer was nowhere to be found. He had bypassed the 1964 interzonal tournament in a dispute over world championship procedures and had dropped from sight of the chess world for all of 1964 and much of 1965. A championship without Bobby- after the last onewould have been an anti-climax. When he returned, for his seventh championship, Fischer's absence from the game was detectable. Not obvious, just detectable. His

116

The United States Chess Championship

lack of sharpness, of tactical acuity, didn't corne to general attention until well into the event, well after his usual gangbusters start. Bobby broke his consecutive win streak by drawing with Addison in the first round. The next day he beat Duncan Suttles, a San Francisco-born master who was planning to settle in Canada. Suttles opened every game with Black by fianchettoing his king bishop (I ... g6) and Fischer was well prepared for him, establishing a queens ide bind fairly early. Fischer's wins over Evans and Benko in the next two rounds were vintage Bobby and he made it four in a row by topping Bernard Zuckerman, another Brooklyn protege of his, and Saidy. But then came two astonishing losses, one right after another. His simple oversight against Robert Byrne left spectators a bit smnncd. Surely there must be something there I'm missing, they each seemed to say. It can't be that simple ~ it must be like the last Byrne game

C03 French Defense

white Fischer, black R. Byrne 1 e4 e6 2 d4 dS 3 Nd2 Nc6 4 c3 eS! S exdS QxdS 6 Ngf3 exd4 7 Bc4 QhS 80-0 Nf6 Fischer's offbeat handling of the opening - now that Black has avoided 8 ... dxc3 9 Ne4 - promises him little. Byrne could have played the usual move, 8 ... Be6 followed by queenside castling, but he adopts a straightforward plan of development and this seems to trigger a misfire of Bobby's imagination. 9 Qel+?! Be7 10 Nxd4 0-0 (see diagram) Now Fischer must have seen that 11 Nxc6 does not win a piece because Black threatens mate with 11 ... Bd6 before recapmring on c6 (11 NXc6 Bd6 12 Ne7+ Kh8! 13 g3 Re8). 11 Be2 Bg4 12 Nxc6?? Then how could Fischer have missed Byrne's move here?

After 10 ... 0-0

Fischer-R. Byrne, 1965

12 ... Bd6! 13 h3 Bxe2 14 NM BxfI and Black wins in 36 moves This was only the second game Fischer had ever lost in a championship and fans were saying it would be some time before they would see another upset. It turned out that they only had to wait one day because Reshevsky was out for revenge. In the "11-0" year Fischer had swindled the old master in a complex position in which Reshevsky briefly held an extra pawn. As they hegan this year's game the two men were cordial, for the first time since their aborted match four years before. But then Reshevsky sat down and rolled Fischer off the board, winning his queen for a rook and then demonstrating his usual endgame accuracy ro win in 61 moves. The "myth of his invincibility has been shattered," Reshevsky crowed afterwards. "It can be safely predicted that future U.S. championships will be even closer." But this one was still Fischer's rournament. He pulled out of his losing streak ro win a nice game from Rossolimo and then in the clinching round, an easy crush of Dr. Karl Burger, a medical doctor on holiday. The finish of the tournament was brightened only by the battle for second place and the sparkling game it produced. Byrne needed a last round win to tie with Reshevsky and had to get it from Evans. But he had prepared an opening surprise in the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian ~ probably for Fischer, but it worked even better against Fischer's good friend:

The Fischer Era (1957-1969) B97 Sicilian Defense

117

17 NfS!! exfS 18 Ne4!

white R. Byrne, black Evans I e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Bg5 e6 7 f4 Qb6 8 Qd2 Qxb2 9 RbI Qa3 10 eS dxeS 11 fxeS Nfd7 12 Bc4 This line had once terrorized grandmaster chess because of 12 ... Be7 13 BXe6 with a powerful attack. The sacrifice was discovered in 1957 but Fischer refuted it five years later in a game that went 13 ... 0-0 14 0-0 Bxg5 15 Qxg5 h6 16 Qh4? QXc3!. His opponent forfeited on time after taking two and a half hours for 28 moves - while Fischer took less than seven minutes. Later improvements for White led Evans to try something new; 12 ... Bb4!? 13 Rb3 Qa5 14 0-0 0-0 15 Bf6!

The threat is Rg3+ or Rh3. White's attack remains potent even if Black gives up queen for rook. We are still in Byrne's home analysis. 18 ... Bd2 19 Nxd2 Qd4+ 20 Khl Ne5 21 Rg3+ Ng4 Evans' desperate lunge of pieces in front of his king is almost as ingenious as Byrne's. But here he had no answer for simple moves: 22 h3 Qe5 23 Rf4! Qel+ 24 Nfl! Faced with threats of hxg4, Bd3 and RXg4 Evans played 24 ... Qxg3 25 Rxg4+! Qxg4 26 hxg4 Nd7 27 Ng3 Kh8 but gave up shortly after 28 Bd3 Rg8 29 BxfS Rg6 30 Bxg6. A truly spectacular game. Reshevsky's prediction about closer championships may have seemed a bit optimistic, but it seemed at least there would be a more aggressive and dangerous Robert Byrne in the future.

After 15 Bf6

1966: A Grand Farewell R. Byrne-Evans, 1965

But Byrne had prepared this surprise antidote and it works perfectly against a stylistic materialist like Evans. In the next Championship, however, Byrne trusted his analysis too much. Bernard Zuckerman met the threat of 16 Rxb4 Qxb4 17 Qg5 g6 18 Qh6 by the simple 15 ... Nxf6! 16 exf6 Rd8 with good chances for Black. He eventually won. 15 ... gxf6? 16 Qh6 QxeS How does White - having ripped open the Black king position - shift his power from the queens ide?

The losses to Mednis in 1963 and the double loss late in the 1965 championship had troubled Fischer. After the first setback the idea began to form in his mind that the tournaments he had dominated were too chancy. One bad game and he could lose his title. Or as he put it, "Something [is] really wrong if a fellow couldn't lose a game in a U.S. championship without practically being eliminated." So, in the fall of 1966 Bobby laid down the law: The championship would have to be enlarged. Either it would be a double-round event, with everyone playing everyone else twice, or it would be lengthened by adding another eight or so players. Then it would be a fair fight, he said. Like the Soviet championship.

118

The United States Chess Championship

17th U.S. Championship, New York, Dec. 12-31, 1965 Totals

1. Fischer

F

B R A Z

R B E

X

0

0 Y2

1

7-9. Evans

0

X Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 X 1 Y2 1/2 0 X Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 X 0 Y2 Y2 Y2 1 Y2 Y2 0 0 0 0 Y2

7-9. Saidy 10-11. Bisguier

0

0

0

10-11. Burger

0

V2 0 0 Y2 Y2 0

12. Suttles

0

0

2-3. R. Byrne 2-3. Reshevsky 4-5. Addison

Y2

4-5. Zuckerman

0

6. Rossolimo

0

7-9. Benko

0

0

0

1

5 B B 5

0

Y2 Y2 0 1 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 X 1 0 0 X Y2 0 0 Y2 X 1 0 0 X Y2 0 1/2 0 Y2 Y2 0 0 0 0 0 Yl 0 0 Y2

The irony of Fischer, who had fought Russian organizational ideas for the world championship, suddenly adopting their national championship as a model for America was not lost on U.S. officials. Nor could they understand how a man who had won 53 games out of 79 played in the previous seven championships - for a score of 82%- could suddenly be stricken by such doubts about his own ability. They expected some elaboration of his position but none came in the months just before the deadline for invitations to be accepted. Then, in a long distance telephone call from Mexico City to the USCF office in New York, Bobby spelled out his specific terms. He'd accept a 16-round championship for 1966, but nothing less. Otherwise, he wouldn't play. This is where the diplomacy and generosity of the Foundation proved instrumental. Maurice Kasper, who had been a father figure to many of the young American grandmasters, offered Bobby two things: (a) a promise to work towards a longer tournament next year - there just wasn't enough time this year, he said - and (b) an extra $500 for showing up this time. Fischer relented and arrived from Mexico just a few days before the first round.

Y2 Y2 Y2

WD L

Points

8Y2-2Y2 7Y2-3Y2 7Y2-3Y2 6Y2-4Y2 6Y2-4Y2

8

1

5

5

5

5

1

0

4 5

2

7

Y2

3 4

4 3

6-5

3

4

4

5-6

4

2

5

5-6

4 2

5

1

Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 X Y2 Y2

2

6

5

5-6 3-8

1

4

6

3-8

Yz 0 X

3

7

2Y2-8Y2

1/2

X

0

His chess, at least in the previous championship, had no longer seemed overwhelming and the appearance continued into his eighth event. In the very first round he lost against Benko, and he later had difficult positions against several players whom he had once bowled over so easily. In other words, Fischer was merely good enough to win the championship by two points. As in some previous years, there was a rival to stay with him through the early rounds. This time it was Evans who also won his first three games. But eventually the 23year-old champion began to build a lead, beating players that Evans could only draw with and, in the case of Donald Byrne, that Evans could lose to. Against Zuckerman, then the leading U.S. expert (after Fischer) on the openings, Bobby decided the game by the 18th move: B78 Sicilian Defense

white Fischer, black Zuckerman I e4 eS 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 g6

5 Nc3 Bg7 6 Be3 Nf6 7 Bc4 d6 S f3 Bd7 9 Qd2 ReS 10 Bb3 NeS 11 0-0-0 Nc4 12 Bxc4 Rxc4

119

The Fischer Era (1957-1969)

After 12 ... Rxc4

Fischer-Zuckerman, 1966

Black's opening system is distinguished by his delay in castling, a delay which denies White the usual target he can assault with h2-h4-h5. White can't even eliminate Black's fianchettoed bishop with 13 Bh6 because of 13 ... Rxd4! 14 Qxd4 Bxh6+. But there must be some way of going after Black and Fischer realizes the king can be caught in the center with accurate moves.

his last championship appearance and was doing very well. He also demonstrated fine technique against Reshevsky, who lost a pawn as Black in an opening known for years to be inferior (1 e4 c5 2 N f3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 S Nc3 d6 6 g4 dS? 7 exd5 NxdS 8 BbS+! Bd7 9 NxdS exd5 10 Qe2+ Qe7 11 Be3 g6 12 Bxd7 + Nxd7 13 Nb5 Ne5 14 00-0 Bg7 15 Rxd5). And thc third was a fine ending - and Fischer's 12th suaight victory - over the man he replaced as U.S. champion back in 1957.

After 69 Kg1

13 Nh3! Qc7 Bisguier-Fischer. 1966

On 13 ... 0-0 White could have safely played 14 Bh6 but he also had a powerful thrust in 14 eS since 14 ... dxe5 loscs material on the pinned d-fi.le to 15 Nc5. 14 Bd1! Be6 White had a second threat in the form of 15 Bxf6 Bxf6 16 NdS followed (after a queen movc) by 17 Nxf6+. Black's reply covers d5 but leaves the d-filc only partially blocked.

White is tied up. His bishop must watch the e-pawn and keep the Black king out of a4. His king must stay near the a-pawn. It is almost Zugzwang. But not quite, because Bisguier can always play something like Kh2-hlgl if Fischer tries to force him to move his bishop. Black must find another way to win. And he does: 69 ... Bxe4!!

15 e5! dXe5 16 Bxe5 Qc8 Not 16 ... QXeS?? 17 Qd8 mate. Black must lose material now: 17 NaS ReS 18 Nxb7!. Black actually played 17 NaS Rc7 18 Bxc7 Qxc7 and rcsigned 18 moves later. After a Fischer draw with Evans in Round 7 and then a draw with Addison, the battle for first place was still uncertain. But the champion finished off with three strong victories reminiscent of his finest form. In 100 moves he ground down Sherwin -who was making

This required morc calculation than it appears at first glance because 70 Bxe4 Ka4 frees the bishop, e.g. 71 Bf5 Kxa3 72 Bxg4 Kb3 73 Bd7 with some chances of survival. 70 Bxe4 Ka4 71 Bf5 Kb3! This is what he had to see. The a-pawn doesn't matter. 72 Bxg4 e4! 73 Bxh3 Kxc3 74 g4 Kd2

120

The United States Chess Championship 18th U.S. Championship, New York, Dec. 10-29, 1966 Totals F

E B

S

1. Fischer

X Y2

2. Evans

Y2 X Yz Yz

3-4. Benko

Yz X 0 0 Yz X 0 0 0 Yz Y2 0 0 0 Yz Y2 0 Y2 Y2 0 Yz 0 0 I/Z Yz

3-4. Sherwin 5. Bisguier 6-7. Addison 6-7. Saidy 8-10. R. Byrne 8-10. Reshevsky 8-10. Rossolimo

0

0

11-12. D. Byrne 0 11-12. Zuckerman 0

B A

S

Yz

B R R

B Z

WD L

Points

Y2

1

8

3

0

5 4

1

9Y2-!YZ 7Yz-3Y2

3

6-5

3 4

6-5

3 4

4

3 2

4

4

5

2

5

4 4

2

Y2 Yz 0 Yz

Yz X I/Z Yz X 1 0 0 X 1

0

Yz 0 0 0 0 0 Yz Yz 1 0 0 0 Yz 0 0 Yz 0 Yz

And White resigned when he saw that the two Black pawns rush home before his g-pawn does.

1968: Bobby Says No Fischer didn't argue about the 1968 tournament. According to the USCF he didn't even respond to his invitation. The rournament was scheduled to be a 12-player event - not 16and Fischer would have none of it. He was off in Israel playing in a minor international event when the Americans met to choose their champion in New York that June. "I tried to get him to play," said Evans, a longtime friend, when asked if he had something to do with Fischer's refusal. "He was adamant." Evans wanted to make this perfectly clear because he had finished a commanding second the previous year and had won the last time Fischer had failed to appear to defend his tide. It wasn't his fault that he was the favorite, Evans seemed to say. The scoretable included several players of relatively equal strength - grandmasters Evans, Reshevsky, Byrne, Lombardy, Benko and Bisguier - plus a handful of erratic players who

0

Y2

Yz

Yz Yz 0 0 Yz 0 Yz 1 Y2 X Yz Yz Yz X Yz Yz Yz X 0 Yz

0

5 4 4

1

4

0

0

Y2 0 1 Y2 0

0

3

4

5Yz-5Yz 5-6 5-6 41/Z-6Yz

4

X

1

3

5 2

4Yz-6Yz 4Yz-6Yz

6

4-7

0

X

3

2

6

4-7

Yz

could beat anyone on a given day- Saidy, Zuckerman and Rossolimo. And then three players who were there because of high ratings, upon which the invitations were largely based - Seidman and Horowitz, both over the hill, and Tibor Weinberger. The last-named, a Hungarian emigre living in Los Angeles, was a tactician making his first and most likely last championship appearance. Lombardy, returning to the event after a seven-year sabbatical, was now a priest. His daily labors cut into his playing energy, as did Bisguier's work for Chess Review. Bisguier's game with that magazine's editor, Horowitz, a draw, was the first time a player had to meet his boss in a U.S. championship. The editor's decision to come out of playing retirement seemed to be a recognition of an end of an era. He would sell his magazine the next year and wanted to get in a few last moments of championship glory. But he was 60 years old, and no Reshevsky. E06 Catalan Opening

white Benko, black Horowitz 1 c4 c6 2 Nf3 dS 3 h3 Nf6 4 g3 e6 S Bg2 Be7 6 0-0 0-0 7 Bh2 as 8 a3 cS? 9 cxd5! exdS 10 d4!

The Fischer Era (1951-1969) Black's handling of the opening is highly questionable as it allows White a vigorous position in the center. Black usually obtains active piece play in return for an isolated d-pawn in similar positions. But here he doesn't get anything. 10 ... Na6 11 Nc3 Bf5 12 Ne5 cxd4 13 Qxd4 NcS Black's idea is to capture - and also fork the queen and rook - on b3. If White watches that squares with 14 Qd I he allows 14 ... d4! when the isolated d-pawn breaths fire. But Benko snuffs it out in advance. 14 Nxd5! Nxb3 15 Qf4 NxdS? No better was 15 ... Nxal 16 Qxf5 Nb3 17 Rdl when White has a killing threat of NxfG+ (17 ... Nxd5 18 Bxd5 and 19 Bxfl+). Black's best was to batten down the hatches with 15 ... Be6. 16 QXf5 Nxal

After 16 ... Nxal

121

It's the smothered (21 Nfl) mate. At the other end of the crosstable were Evans, Reshevsky and Byrne. Byrne. then an Indianapolis college instructor, was beginning to modify his superpositional. Nimzovichian style and play to win in the middlegame as he had against Evans in the 17th championship. Evans. however, was even more defense-oriented than he had been in the late 1950s when his style became pronounced. He rook a matter-of-fact, highly unromantic attitude towards winning games and toward the game of chess itself. One day during the tournament Saidy. an archromantic, spoke of chess as a way of life, a thought that drew out a pang of annoyance from Evans. "Ridiculous," he said, "Chess is an escape. I learned chess as a boy to escape from life. When everybody else was enjoying life, I was playing chess." Evans explained that he was willing to indulge in this escape for three exasperating weeks every year because he needed the prize money. "Chess is my bread and butter," he said. Reshevsky, who had been making a living from the game for longer than anyone could remember, played the most exciting chess of all contestants in the 19th championship. Where Evans was the cool rechnician, Reshevsky was a seeker of ideas, mainly tactical ideas. Although he usually won through the accumulation of many small advantages, Sammy often did the accumulating through tactical means: D92 Gruenfeld Defense

white Reshevsky, black Seidman Benko-Horowitz, 1968

17 Nxf7!! Black was hoping for 17 Rdl which looks strong but permits 17 ... Ne3' (18 Rxd8 Nxf5). After Benko's brilliant shot Black cannot take the knight because of 17 ... Rxf7 18 Bxd5 Qe8 19 Rxal, which wins material. 17 ... Qc8 18 Nh6+ Kh8 19 Qxd5 Nc2 20 Qg8+! and Black resigns

1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 dS 4 Nf3 Bg7 5 Bf4 0-0 6 Rcl c5 7 dxc5 Be6 8 e3 Qa5 9 Nd4 Nc6!? 10 NXe6 fxe6 11 Qa4 QxcS 12 Qb5! The endgame favors White because of his superior pawn structure. White's queenside pawns will also become doubled. But the pawn that reaches b5 will deny Black pieces a vital square at c6 and thereby enable White to load up the c- and d-files with his pieces.

122

The United States Chess Championship

19th U.S. Championship, New York, July 14-31, 1968

E B R B B L R 5 Z H W 5 l. Evans

2. R. Byrne 3. Reshevsky 4. Benko 5-6. Bisguier 5-6. Lombardy 7-9. Rossolimo 7-9. Saidy 7-9. Zuckerman 10. Horowitz II. Weinberger, T 12. Seidman

X Yz Y2 Y2 ~ Y2 X Y2 ~ ~ Y2 ~ Y2 X 0 Yz Y2 Y2 Y2 X Y2 0 1 Y2 Ih ~ ~ X 0 0 X Y2 0 Y2 Y2 0 0 0 0 1 Ih X 0 0 ~ 0 Yz 0 Y2 Yz 0 ~ ~ 0 0 0 Y2 0 Y2 Y2 Y2 0 0

0 0

0

0

0

0

0 0

Y2 Yz Yz 1 0

6

This begins Reshevsky's thrust against the weakened enemy center. The chief beneficiaries of a pawn trade will be his bishops. 21 ... exf3+ 22 gxf3 Nge5 23 e4! dxe4 24 Bxe4 b6 25 Rd6 Nffi 26 b3

5 0

5 6 0 ~

4

6

5 3

0

Y2 Y2 I/Z Y2 Y2 I V2 V2 X Y2 1/2 X ~ Y2 0 Y2 X 1 0 1/2 0 ~ 0 X 0 0 0 Yz 0

12 ... Qxb5 13 cxb5! Nb8 14 Bd3 Nd7 15 Ke2 e5 16 Bg3 e4 17 Bbl Rac8 18 Na4 Ng4 19 Rfdl e6 20 Rxc8 Rxc8 21 f3!

Totals W D L

0

1

Yz 1 X

3 2 2

Points

8Y2-2Yz 8-3 7-4 6Y2-4~

6-5 6-5 5Y2-5Y2 SY2-5Yz 5Y2-5Y2

3 3

6

2

7

2

6

tj

2

8

4-7 2-9

9

1Y2-9~

6 4 3 4 4 3 4

through normal means, such as by getting a rook to the seventh rank. Reshevsky knows well what it takes to win such a position and experience tells him there is no risk in this sacrifice. 27 ... axb6 28 Rxb6 hS 29 Ra6 h4 30 Bf2 N8g6 31 Ra8! After this Black must try to stop three queenside pawns with his bishop and distant king and knights. Even without the help of White's own king, it's a mismatch: 31 ... Rxa8 32 Bxa8 Be5 33 Bgl Nf4+ 34 Kfi Nd7 35 a4 Be7 36 Bc6 Nb8 37 Be4 NdS 38 BxdS exd5 39 b4 Kf7 40 as Nd7 41 b6 Bd8 42 b7 Nb8 43 Ba7! Bc7 44 b5 Nd7 45 a6 Bxh2 46 b8(Q)! and Black resigns

After 26 b3

Reshevsky-Seidman, 1968

26 ... g5 27 Nxb6! Black has covered all his weak pawns and White will not be able to make progress

But Reshevsky lost to Benko, who had just married his childhood sweetheart from Hungary and was inspired to play some of his best chess. The loss knocked Reshevsky out of the race for first place and left it to Byrne and Evans. Both finished unbeaten, and they drew with one another. What was the difference in their scores? Evans won a sloppily defended

The Fischer Era (1957-1969) King's Indian against Lombardy, while Byrne could only draw with Lombardy. Larry Evans, 36, had retained his position - he was still the only other person to win a championship since the advent of Bobby Fischer.

1969: Back to Square One The 1960s ended with a blast from Fischer and the last championship of an era. For 13 years the tournament had come to be a matter of two questions: Will Bobby play? If so, what will his winning margin be? The questions ended with the 20th championship as he made clear his feelings about the tournament. "Dear Ed," he wrote USCF president Ed Edmondson in answer to his invitation. Fischer's words quickly assumed an adversary tone as he accused Edmondson of lying about the previous championship. He had responded to the USCF in 1968, and in writing, Bobby said. What he said then and still felt was that the championship had to be extended to 22 rounds "as it is in the Soviet Union, Hungary, Rumania and other East European countries where chess is taken seriously." Without this change, he would not play again for his own nation's title. Twelve rounds was "too chancy." The former champion acknowledged that by not playing in the impending tournament - a zonal- he would be putting off his hopes for the world championship. According to FIDE rules, Fischer would not be able to qualify for the 1970-72 cycle of the world title elimination unless he survived the U.S. tournament. If he passed that up, he would have to wait umil1975 for a crack at Boris Spassky's crown. The implication - that chess bureaucrats were denying America a world champion - was clear, and Fischer used it to put pressure on the USCF by sending the news media copies of the "Dear Ed" letter. As it turned out, he did not have to wait for 1975. With Edmondson's help Fischer leapfrogged the zonal stage in 1970 and blitzed his way to the title in 1972. And by 1975 he was an ex-world champion, having been stripped of his title by refusing to play his first challenger.

123

The 20th championship was therefore a milestone, if only because it was the last in which Fischer's participation was even considered. But it was also significant because it was the last of an almost unbroken string of annual tournaments that had begun in 1957 with the initiative of the ACF. And 1960-70 was also the end of an era when the 19S0s generation had domination over the event. The 20th championship might then have been an afterthought, an era-closing event that would quickly be forgotten. Actually it was one of the most exciting of the series that had begun 33 years before. First, the spectators were surprised to see the early rounds marked by a tremendous spurt from Addison. The pipe-smoking Californian, often dressed in a three-piece suit, came to New York looking like a visiting business executive ready to take over a conglomerate. He didn't take home the top prize but he put to rest the idea of Eastern hegemony over the championship. Addison, who had just earned his international master title, began with a blitz of Robert Byrne, Saidy and Bisguier. Then came a loss to Evans - Evans' highpoint for the tournament - followed by wins over Burger and Mednis. Although rated in the lower half of the scoretable when play first began, he was running away with the tournament at the midway point. Here is how he began: E97 King's Indian Defense white Addison, black R. Byrne I d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 e4 d6 5 Nf3 0-0 6 Be2 e5 7 0-0 N c6 8 Be3 Re8 9 dxe5 dxe5 10 Qxd8 Rxd8?!

Black's finesse of 8 ... Re8 was once hailed as a simple equalizing answer to one of White's best weapons against the King's Indian. If 9 dS Black can reply 9 ... Nd4! 10 Nxd4 exd4 11 Bxd4 Nxe4 with at least equal chances. But Addison is looking for a new path, an endgame route, to advantage. Even Fischer had a hard time drumming up counterchances in an earlier game after 10 ... Nxd8 11 NbS Ne6 12 NgS! Re7!.

124

The United States Chess Championship

11 Bg5! The threat is 12 Nd5 (or 12 Bxf6) and it isn't easy to meet. After 11 ... Rd7 White can try Benko's idea, 12 Bdl! followed by 13 Ba4. 11 ... Rf8 12 Rfdl Bg4 13 Rac1 h6 14 Be3 Rfds 15 h3 Bxf3 16 Bxf3 Nd4

After 16 ... Nd4

Addison-R. Byrne, 1969

The centralization of this knight appears to eliminate all danger. White is probably a litde worse after 17 Bxd4 exd4, but what else can he do about ... Nxf3? 17 NbS! NeB Byrne realizes that 17 ... Nxf3+ 18 gxf3 will cost him a pawn. He could capture on b5 but White would obtain strong c-file pressure as Reshevsky had demonstrated in the 19th championship against Seidman. 18 Nxd4 exd4 19 Bf4 c6 20 Rd3 gS 21 Bg3 Rd7 22 c5! RadS 23 Bg4 Re7 24 f3 BeS 25 Bxe5 Rxe5 26 Rc4 Ng7 27 R4xd4 Rxd4 28 Rxd4 RXe5 29 h4! Addison has nurtured a microscopic advantage thus far. He has the better placed rook and a superior minor piece. He needs some targets for his pieces and with that in mind he gives up the minor piece edge in order to weaken pawns and get his rook to the seventh rank. U.S. championships have seen relatively few of these finely tuned endgame victories.

29 ... Rb5 30 Rd8+ Kh7 31 h3 Ne6 32 Bxe6 fxe6 33 hS! g4! 34 Rd7+ Khs 35 fxg4 Rb4 36 Kf2 RXe4 37 Rxb7 as 38 Ra7 ReS 39 Kf3 ReS 40 Kf4 Rb5 41 Re7 Rh4+ 42 Kf3 a4 43 bxa4 RXa4 44 Rxc6 Kh7 45 Rxc6 Rxa2 46 Kg3 Ra3+ 47 Kh2 Ra4 48 Rg6 Rb4 49 g3 RbI 50 g5 hxg5 51 Kh3! Rb4 52 Rxg5 Kh6 53 Rf5 Ra4 54 g4 Ral 55 Rf6+ Kg5 56 Rg6+ Kf4 57 Kg2 Ra2+ 58 Kf1! Kf3 59 Kel Ke3 60 Kdl Kd3 61 Kc1 Kc3 62 Rc6+! Kd4 63 h6 Rg2 64 h7 Rh2 65 Rc7 Ke4 66 g5 and Black resigns Byrne was never closer to the lead than a point after this; by Round 6 only Reshevsky had a chance of stopping Addison. In the Fischer championships Sammy had often been a major factor - the round of the Fischer-Reshevsky game was always the best attendedhut he was not always a contestant for first place. Reshevsky hadn't actually won the championship since 1946, when Fischer was three years old. Now, in a Fischer-less field, he knew how each member of the 19505 generation could be beaten. Addison, who didn't develop into a player of consequence until the 1960s, was not so easy and he held Rcshevsky to a draw. But Addison was upset, if upset was the word, by Donald Byrne in Round 8. Byrne, who spent his free hours grading the papers of his English literature students, was playing in one of his rare championships. Chronically plagued by ill health, time pressure and the press of his career work, Donald had not achieved a plus score in the tournament in 10 years. But he could still win a big game. So, Reshevsky took the lead for the first time in Round 9 and held it going into the final day. The pairings were Evans versus Reshevsky and Addison (a half point behind the leader) versus Lombardy. Benko and Lombardy were only a half point behind Addison and each could earn a share of the lead if the results were righr. Reshevsky knew this and offered an early draw, which would clinch a spot in the interzonal tournament of 1970 regardless of what happened in the other games.

The Fischer Era (1957-1969)

125

20th U.S. Championship, New York, Nov. 30-Dec. 17, 1969 Totals R A B L B E M Z 1. Reshevsky

o

2. Addison 4. Lombardy

Y2Y2XO o 0 X Y2

3. Benko

0 Y2

B B

W D L

Points

560

8-3

632

7~-3Y2

1

7-4

3 6 2

4

6

6-5

~

~

~

272

5Y2-5~

~

~

~

272 272

5Y2-5Y2 5Y2-5Y2

~

~

~

9

1

5~-5Y2

X

~

0

~

X

1

5-8. D. Byrne

~

0

~

X

~

~

o

~

0

~

X

~

5-8. Mednis

~

0

0

~

~

~

X

~

~

~

5-8. Zuckerman

~

~

~

~

0

~

~

X

1

9-1l. Bisguier

~

0

~

~

0

~

0

9-11. R. Byrne

o o o

0

0

~

~

~

~

~

0

~

~

~

~

0

~

0

0

0

~

~

0

~

0

12. Burger

B

Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2

5-8. Evans

9-11. Saidy

S

0 ~

254

4Y2-6~

~

173

4Y2-6~

lOX

1

~

X

254 047

2-9

0

4Y2-6~

Evans declined. ("I would have declined, too," Sammy said later.) So ... E12 Queen's Indian Defense white Evans, black Reshevsky

After

14 ... c5

1 d4 Nf6 2 e4 e6 3 Nf3 b6 4 Nc3 Bb7 5 a3

d5 6 Bg5 Be7 7 e3 0-0 8 Rcl Ne4! 9 Bxe7 QXe7 10 exd5 exd5 11 Nxe4? dxe4 12 Nd2 Re8! White has gotten less than nothing out of the opening and should begin to become concerned about Black's liquidation of the center with ... c5. Without a d-pawn, White has a disadvantage in space and a slight deficit in development. 13 Be2 Nd7 140-0 e5 (see diagram) 15 dxe5? This permits Black to sink his knight into the ideal square, d3. Did Evans think that getting his own knight to d4 outweighed that? It's hard to believe.

Evans-Reshevsky. 1969

This rook is headed for h6 or g6 to support the queen at h4 or g5. White's kingside is vulnerable because he cannot defend it with knight at f3 and his queen is out of the game. 20 Nd4 Rxd4! This is not at all speculative. Black could have calculated this out to the winning endgame he reaches in nine moves or the dead won king-and-pawn ending he gets in 14. 21 exd4 Nf4 22 Rfel Qg5 23 g3 e3!

15 ... Nxe5 16 Nb3 Rd8 18 Redl Rae8 19 Qbl Rd6

17 Qe2 Nd3! Black's main threat is to get the queen to

126

The United States Chess Championship

g2 or hl by way of d5. It's easy to see that 24 fxe3 loses to 24 ... Nh3+ and 25 ... Qf6+.

24 f3 Nxe2+ 25 Rxe2 Bxf3 26 Rcl Re8 27 Reel Bb7!

After 27 ••• Bb7

Reshevsky finds his way to an elementary endgame win within a few moves:

28 Rc7 Qd5 29 Rxb7 Qxb7 30 Qd3 Qe4! 31 Qxe4 Rxe4 32 Kg2 f5 33 Kf3 Kf7 34 Rxe3 Rxe3+ 35 Kxe3 gS! 36 h4 h6 37 dS Ke7 38 Kd4 Kd6 39 hXg5 hxg5 40 a4 as 41 b3 g4! 42 Ke3 KxdS 43 Kd3 Kc5 44 Ke3 Kb4 45 Kf4 Kxb3 46 Kxf5 Kxa4 47 Kxg4 Kb4! and White resigns An era was ending and matters were back where they were in 1956: Sammy Reshevsky was again the best player in the tournament. "Maybe I'll be world champion when I'm 60," he said.

Evans-Reshevsky, 1969

Chapter Nine

Primus Inter Pares

(1972-1979) With the notable and perennial exception of Reshevsky, the names and faces in the championship had changed with each generation. Bur the tournarnenc itself had remained pretty much what it was in 1936: a regularly scheduled, 12-to-16-player New York event featuring a roughly even balance of professional and amateur players, most of whom came from the New York area. This - and much more - changed after 1972. The first and most obvious difference was the absence of a dominating figure. Fischer had virtually been conceded first place whenever he entered the championship in the 1960s. But with his defeat of Boris Spassky in Reykjavik he no longer had any imerest in American chess or, as it later seemed, in chess at all. Without him to attract fans, contributions and media attention there was some question as to whether there was any value to holding an annual tournament. And indeed the championship was not scheduled in 1970 or 1971. \'V'hen it was resumed in 1972 a pattern of irregularly held tournaments developed. There would be championships in 1972, 73, 74 and 75, but not in 76, again in 1977 and 1978 but not in 79. Yes in 80 and 81, no in 82. More significantly, there was no clear favorite duting the new Fischer-less era. There would he several different champions and several ties for the title. In the first 20 tournaments only seven different men had held or shared the national title. But in the 12 years after 1972 there were ten different champions.

And while Fischer's absence took something away from the tournament, his rise left a deep impression that would motivate future competitors. Before 1972 there had been little enthusiasm for world titles. After all, the Russians had held the individual and team titles for 20 years or more. What was the use of trying to beat them? This attitude filtered down to the youngest masters, such as the competitors for the 1971 U.S. Junior title. Besides the junior title there were two prizes that year. First prize was a trip to Athens to represent America in the prestigious World Junior tournament. Second prize was a trip to the U.S. Open in Ventura, California. When the u.s. Junior ended in a tie, the two winners had to flip a coin. Greg DeFotis picked heads and won the toss - and decided he'd rather go to Southern California. Ken Rogoff, disappointed on missing out on a free trip to the Open, had to settle for the Greek capital. (He surprised himself by nearly winning the event.) Fischer's success showed that the Russians weren't supermen, and that invitations to the interzonal qualifying events were very valuable indeed. The invitations in FIDE Zone 5 (the United States) were decided every three years by the championship, and it was no surprise that the strongest events of the next decade were the zonals-1972, 75, 78, 81 and 84. There were other fundamental changes at work. The tournament was loosened from its New York moorings after 1972 and permitted

127

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The United States Chess Championship

to come to port wherever there was local sponsorship, organization and enthusiasm. Within the next decade it shifted from the East Coast to the West and to the Mexican Border and Great Lakes, greatly widening the audience of fans who had never before seen top-caliber chess. This was made easier from a financial point of view because of a substantial change in the invitation list. During the Fischer period pretty much the same group of players was invited year after year. And, since they all lived in or around New York, it became the most appropriate (and cheapest) venue. In fact, four local grandmasters - Benko, Byrne, Bisguier and Reshevsky - each played in at least 10 of the 11 championships between 1957 and 1969. The four of them accounted for more than a third of the names on the scoretables. And there were only 14 new faces seen in the championships of the Fischer years. But in the next 11 tournaments there were 38 new faces. Fewer than half- many fewer, in fact - came from New York. The newcomers arrived from the Midwest (William Martz, DeFotis, Andrew Karklins, Milan Vukcevich) and West (James Tarjan, Nick deFirmian, Larry Christiansen, Kim Commons) and included Texans (Ron Henley and Joseph Bradford), a transplanted Bostonian (Jack Peters), a Syrian-born Seattle student (Yasser Seirawan) and others from Maryland, Oregon and Virglllia.

It suddenly became very hard, even for the nation's premier players to get invited to the championship. During the 1960s (and as late as 1975), all American grandmasters were automatically seeded into the event and other contestants were chosen according (0 rating. Even with all of the top players accepting their invitations. the rating cutoff occasionally dipped below 2400-a point that could then be said to distinguish the upper echelon of American chess from the merely strong. But even with the field expanded to 16 players, as it was in the late 1970s, there wasn't enough room to accommodate all the grandmasters, let alone the other highly rated competitors. Moreover, the unfairness of seeding

a GM who had not played well- or at aUin the last few years rather than a more highly rated youngster was obvious. By the late 1960s the rating cutoff had risen (0 2400 and pushed over 2440 by the mid-1970s. For the 1984 championship it had reached an unheard-of 2560, which even with an artificial inflation of points indicated there was exceptional competition for the highly prized invitations. William Lombardy found himself too low to be seeded in 1981 and Robert Byrne missed out in 1983. Reshevsky, who had not made the 1978 and 1980 outings, fattened up his nolonger-exceptional rating in 1981 by competing in weekend events against nonmasters where his chance of losing ground was slight. And also in 1981 the USCF added a new requirement - that players must compete in at least two domestic tournaments a year in order to qualify for future championships. A move to require Americans to play in American tournaments might seem natural, yet it was denounced bitterly by some grandmasters as being harsh, arbitrary and even "un-American." In short, during the next stage the U.S. championship became a highly competitive, well-balanced, truly national tournament.

1972: Three Kings There were four new faces in the 21st championship but one was in a class by himself. He was Lubomir (Lubosh) Kavalek, who at 28 already had won two national championships in his native Czechoslovakia. Not long after the second of his tides, in August 1968, Kavalek found himself in Western Europe at an international tournament when word arrived of the Soviet military intervention in his homeland. He seized the opportunity to defect, becoming the first in a new wave of chess defections that would later include Viktor Korchnoi, Lev Aiburt and Canadian champion Igor Ivanov. Kavalek made the European tournament circuit his new home and quietly, while the chess world was watching Fischer's progress in 1970-72, he was maturing into one of the top

129

Primus Inter Pares (1972-1979) ten Western players. Eventually Lubosh settled in a suburb of Washington, D.C., improved his English (one of his five languages), and arranged a comfortable life as a player, commentator and journalist. He became a true European-style grandmaster in a non-European setting. Kavalek was the unknown factor in the 21st championship when it began at the Group Health Insurance building on West 41st Street on April 23. Would he become another Pal Benko - impressive abroad but a flop in the championship? Or would he be the new Fischer? He had all the proper equipment - an excellent theoretical background in openings and endgames and good calculating ability. His stylistic range was considerable: He could play for mate or nurse the slightest of positional advantages for sixty moves. Only his placid demeanor was a drawback: No Fischerlike will to win. The first round was hardly a test for him but it did indicate how old the Old Guard had become. Kavalek had the black pieces that day against Al Horowitz. AI, who had sold off his magazine to the VSCF, was enjoying the fruits of retirement. Playing in what turned out to be his last championship, Horowitz was intent on having fun. He slammed down his 16th move, knight to queen five, walked away from the board and with typical braggadocio, said in a stage whisper, "Not bad for a patzer!" But the move was most accurately described as 16 Nd5?? as it lost material immediately and soon cost him the game. The second round also seemed an unworthy test for Kavalek because he was clearly better all along against 20-year-old Greg DeFotis, the stronger of two talented chessplaying brothers from Chicago. DeFotis defended skillfully enough to draw, one of several such rescues by him in the event. Meanwhile, it was Lombardy, with wins over Feuerstein and Brooklyn chemistry teacher Orest Popovych, who took the lead with 2-0. The young priest, now fully ordained and teaching English to parochial school students each morning, was carrying a heavy load, and he lost to Reshevsky on the next day. The oldest competitor then

built up a one-point lead in the succeeding four rounds - but saw the benefits of his work go down the drain in his seventh game.

After 22 ... Ne8

Reshevsky-Kavalek, 1972

Going in for the kill, Reshevsky figured he could obtain a clear advantage by a temporary pawn sacrifice. 23 d6? Nxd6! 24 Rd2 White can get the pawn back with 24 Nxb7 Nxb7 25 Rxd7 Bxd7 26 Bxb7 but he couldn't keep it after 26 ... Rb8. 24 ... Rad8 Here Reshevsky realized his error. He had thought (before 23 d6) that the pin on the dfile would be decisive after 25 Radl b6 26 Nc4. But now he realized that the d7-rook was defended by a bishop as well as by its fellow rook. There was no pin after all. White's best try here is 25 Rxd6 Rxd6 26 Nxb7 regaining material- but not positional- equality. 25 h3? e4 26 RadI b6 27 Nc6 Nc4 And here White made a third mistake by trading rooks. After 28 Rxd7 Rxd7 29 Rxd7 Bxd7 30 Bxe4 Nxb2 31 Nb5 a5 he lost a second, and ultimately decisive, pawn. This put Reshevsky back in a tie for first place. He emerged from it briefly in Round 8 by beating Larry Kaufman, a 24-year-old stock investor from Silver Spring, Md., but

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The United States Chess Championship

Kavalek won the brilliancy prize the next day against the same Kaufman while Reshevsky fell to another contender: C42 Petrov Defense white R. Byrne, black Reshevsky 1 e4 eS 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 d4 Nxe4 4 NXeS d6 5 Nf3 dS 6 Bd3 Be7 70-0 Ne6 8 ReI Nd6

17 ... Nd6 18 Qc2 Re8 ]9 ReS g6 20 Racl Bf7 21 Ne3 c6 22 Qf2! Kg7 23 g4! This begins a delayed kingside attack. Black cannot capture on g4 because White's knight joins up with the queen powerfully (23 ... fxg4 24 NXg4 Rfe6 25 Qd2! and 26 Qh6+). 23 •.. Ne4

Bisguier had been playing the Petrov earlier in the tournament ("I can draw with it blindfolded") and had just split a point the previous day against Kavalek with 8 ... Bf5. Reshevsky's move also aims at an exchange of bishops (9 ... Bf5) while denying White the opportunity to spice up the center situation with 9 c4. But Byrne crosses him up (9 Bf4 Bf5? 10 Bd6! wins material).

9 Bf4! 0-0 10 c3 Be6? 11 Nbd2 Qd7 12 Nfl fS?!

A nice try: Black is very much alive after 24 fxe4 fxe4. 24 Qg2 f4 25 Nf5+! gxfS 26 gxfS+ Kh8 Reshevsky's position collapses quickly because of the pressure on the diagonal leading to g6 and on the e-file. Byrne has a neat finishing strike coming up. 27 RXe8 Qxe8 28 fxe4 RxfS 29 Qg4 Bg6 30 Kf2! This does it. The pin along the e-file is relieved and a road to a won endgame is opened (30 ... dxe4 31 Bxe4 RfS 32 BxgG for example).

After 12 ... f5

30 ... Rf7 31 exd5 Re7? 32 Bxg6 and Black resigns

R. Byrne-Reshevsky, 1972

Black is beginning to make concessions greater concessions than necessary. He could have eased his game considerably with 10 ... Bg4 earlier or now with 12 ... Bf5, rather than weakening the e-file. 13 Qe2 Ne4 14 Ne5 Nxe5 15 Bxe5 Bf6 16 Bxf6 Rxf6 17 f3! Here is the difference between White and Black. Byrne can oust an enemy piece from e4 but his own pieces can rule e5. He prepares to mine the open file:

This left Kavalek in first place, a half point ahead of Byrne and Reshevsky. No one had won the championship on the first try except Fischer and Bisguier and so Kavalek's performance was notable. But being a Europeanstyle grandmaster has its drawbacks and one of them is the casual Continental attitude towards other GMs. Lubosh seemed to make only half-hearted attempts (0 beat his middlcof-the-scoretable rivals and content to score his points against what Byrne called the "Swiss-happy contenders of the 'lunge now, look later' school." So while Kavalek was drawing quietly with Evans in Round 10, Byrne caught up with him. Reshevsky made it a three-way tie in the twelfth round, creating the tightest last-round situation in championship history to that time.

131

Primus Inter Pares {1972-1979} In addition to the three leaders - Kavalek, Byrne and Reshevsky - there were two other grandmasters, Benko and Evans, with a chance to tie for first prize. Even Lombardy and the tenacious DeFotis had a shot at making one of the two interzonal spots, by finishing in a massive tie for second prize. As for money, a win by one of the leaders could mean more than $2000 while a loss could drop them to a $500 prize. But in the final round Kavalek was due to meet Benko, a pairing which virtually guaranteed a draw. Byrne might have edged ahead of him with a win over DeFotis, but he fell into a three-time repetition and only drew. In the last key game \'Villiam Martz, a law student from Wisconsin, was White against Reshevsky. Martz was an expert in two areas of chess - the Four Pawns Attack in the King's Indian Defense and rook-and-pawn endgames. He got an opportunity to display both talents against the hard-pressing Reshevsky and the game was drawn without adjournment. For the first time a championship had ended in a three-way tie. Because only two spots in the interzonals were available under a new FIDE apportionment, a playoff was necessary. It began in February 1973 in Chicago and this time Kavalek was outclassed. He tried to be more adventurous than he had been in New York and paid the positional price in a disappointing loss to Reshevsky. Byrne, however, was beginning to play the best chess of his life, using his newfound tactical acuity to its utmost. He was only in trouble in one game and this turned out to be the decisive one of the playoff. Reshevsky could lock up first place in the double-round event and clear claim to his seventh title with a victory in this position (see diagram): He is poised for the coup de grace but, as in his tournament game with Kavalek, Reshevskyerrs badly at the moment of truth. There are two very strong-looking moves39 Re7 which the Monday-morning annotators found to be decisive, and 39 Be5. Reshevsky had only seconds to make a choice. 39 BeS??

After 38 ... Qxa2

Reshevsky-R. Byrne. 1972

The threat is 40 BXg7 + followed by rook and queen checks that must end in mate. But there is one remarkable defense and Byrne, also short of time, found it: 39 ... Qxg2+! 40 Kxg2 Bxe5+ And with his extra piece (41 ... Bxd6) Byrne won the title and began his own road to the world championship eliminations. for his pains Reshevsky finished second and also qualified for the interzonals.

1973: The Darkest Horse For the first time in 25 years the championship tournament left New York City. It headed for EI Paso, Texas, where the local chess club and Jaycee unit promised a well-organized tournament not far from the Mexican border. The tournament invitations also promised a pronounced non-New York character. Seven of the invitees, all under 30, were playing for the first time - the largest crop of rookies in memory. They assumed the places left when Byrne declined his invitation in order co prepare for a candidates match with Boris Spassky and Reshevsky also said no because he would be playing in the Petropolis, Brazil, interzonal. Among other GMs, Lombardy declined at the very last minute - his telegram canceling out arrived just before the first round began. This meant that Kavalek, the only survivor from the Chicago playoff, and Evans were clearly seen as the frontrunners when play

21st U.S. Championship, New York, April 23-May 15, 1972

1-3. R. Byrne 1-3. Kavalek 1-3. Reshevsky 4. Evans 5. Benko 6-7. DeFotis 6-7. Lombardy 8. Mednis 9-10. Bisguier 9-10. Martz 11. Kaufman 12. Feuerstein 13. Horowitz 14. Popovych

B

K

X Yz

Yz X 0 Vz Yz Yz Yz 0 Yz Yz 0 Yz

X Yz Yz Yz 0 0 0 Yz 0 0

0

0

0

0

0

Vz Yz Vz Yz 0 V2 1/2

0 0 0 Vz

R

1

E

B

D

L

Yz Yz Yz X

Yz Yz

Yz Yz Yz Vz Yz X Yz

Yz Yz

I/Z

Yz 0 Yz 1 0 Vz 0 0 0

V2

Yz X Yz Vz Yz Yz V2

0 Yz 0 0

0 Vz 0 Vz 0 V2

M

Yz Yz X

Yz Vz 0 Yz

V2

X

0 0 0 0

Yz 0 Yz 0 Yz 0

0

B

M

Yz Yz 1 0 Yz

Yz Yz Yz

Yz X Vz Vz 0 0 Yz

K

F

H

P

Yz Yz Yz

Yz Yz

Vz X Yz 0 0 0

Vz l/Z

Vz Vz Vz X 0 0 0

1 0 Vz

Yz

Vz

1

Totals 0 W 5 5 7 5 3 3 5 4 3 3 3

X

1

0 Vz

X

1

2

0

X

0

Vz

8 8 4

7 10 9 5 6

7 7 4 4 1 4

L

Points

0 0 2

9-4 9-4 9-4 8Yz-4Yz

0 1

8 10

8-5 7Yz-5Yz 7Yz-5Vz 7-6 6V2-6YZ 6Y2-6Yz 5-8 3-10 2Vz-10Yz

9

2-11

3 3 3 3

6

Primus Inter Pares (1972-1979) began at the Hotel Paso del Norte on September 9. But handicapping is a dangerous game - as the players learned during one of the tournament's free days. (The players crossed the border to bet on the dog races in Juarez, Mexico, but no one would risk his money on the dog named "Check" in the sixth race. Naturally, he won.) Had they also bet on the outcome of the 22nd championship it is likely no one would have put his money on both winners. The event was notable for its surprise result and also for the debut of three youngsters: Walter Browne. The son of a Wall Street businessman, Browne had emerged suddenly in the mid-1960s as the most promising U.S. junior since Fischer. Walter had also grown up in Brooklyn and cut his tactical teeth at the Manhattan Chess Club before winning a host of junior and Swiss open titles. But Browne, born January 10, 1949, in Australia, enjoyed dual citizenship and left the United States in 1969 to compete under the Aussie flag as the world's youngest GM. Three years later he had a change of heart and settled in California, Fischer's adopted state. Browne quickly became the hardest fighting member of the new generation, an intense, nervous player who gave 110 percent of himscl fin every game, analyzed every conceivable variation and, as a result, was frequently at war with his side of the chess clock. (And sometimes with his tournament director as well.) James Tarjan. Tarjan was then a 21-yearold humanities student from the University of California at Berkeley and son of a noted Hungarian-born psychiatrist. Although he had none of Browne's international experience, Tarjan had shown hints of future stardom in West Coast events. He had heen playing chess nearly as long as Browne, three years his elder, but his uneven style and spotty opening knowledge tended to hold him behind his rivals in junior events, such as DeFotis and Rogoff of Rochester, N.Y. Only after remedying his opening weakness did Tarjan demonstrate his true ability and he remedied it in an odd way: He signed up to work on a construction project where for weeks his only out-

133

let after a day of physical labor was a chess set and a book on the Dragon Variation of the Sicilian Defense. By September 1973 Tarjan had refuted many of the older lines, discovered his own favorites and was soon one of the world's experts on this complex, aggressive variation. John Grefe. Grefe, a 25-year-old master originally from Hoboken, N.J., had grown up competing with Browne in Manhattan events and like Browne had moved west in his early 20s. A quiet, tall, almost glacial young man, with an elegant positional style of play, Grefe had become a vegetarian and follower of the Indian mystic Guru Mahara-Ji. This 22nd championship was held while Grefe was deeply immersed in the creed of the teenage prophet and he explained its role in his life by saying things such as, "After each game I meditate for a while and it all fades into its proper place." Kavalek and Browne took a 2-0 lead in the tournament's first week while Grefe was held to a second-round draw by another newcomer, George Kane. Kane, a North Californian then living in New York, had profited from an accelerated mechanism in the USCF rating system that had gained him more than 300 rating points as a result of one Marshall Chess Club championship. He held the superior position throughout his game with Grefe and their eventual draw later grew in significance as Grefe began to pile up points. Tarjan fell out of contention with a loss to Mednis, but Grefe launched an astonishing streak that began with victories over Bisguier, Mednis and Larry Gilden of Washington, D.C. For a while Kavalek managed to keep pace with him but dropped back after agreeing to a draw with Browne. The former Australian had already had the "bye" - that is, a free day created by the withdrawal of Lombardy - so his score was actually better than it appeared at first. If he could win on the days that Grefe and Kavalek had their byes he would be just a half game behind the leaders. And he could pick up ground if he were to beat Grefe in their head-to-head meeting. But that came in Round 7 with an unlucky result for Browne:

The United States Chess Championship

134

B99 Sicilian Defense white Grefe, black Browne 1 e4 cS 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 BgS e6 7 f4 h6 S Bh4 Be7 9 Qf3 Nbd7 10 0-0-0 Qc7 11 Be2 Rbs The Najdorf (S ... a6) Sicilian was the chief weapon of both Browne and Grefe. Systems of defense were still being worked out after the complex 6 BgS and this game was an important step in building up the variation's theory. A year later against the same opponent Browne found a different order of moves - 7 ... Be7 8 Qf3 Qc7 9 0-0-0 Nbd7 - after which the attempt to transpose into the text position with 10 Be2 is not considered sufficiently sharp. Instead, in that 1974 game Grefe played 10 Bd3 and Browne obtained a good game with 10 ... h6! because he could meet 11 Bh4 with 11 ... gS! 12 fXgS Ne5 13 Qe2 Nfg4 14 Nf3 hXgS IS BxgS BxgS+ 16 NxgS Qc5!

simply 14 Nxe6! fxeG IS QgG+ Kd8 IG eS! dXeS 17 f5. It stands to reason that Black might not be last long after moves such as ... Rb8 and ... Rg8. 14 fxgS Ne5 15 Nf3! This challenges e5, the square upon whose control Black has staked his middlegame chances. The knight retreat also enables Grefe to meet 15 ... hxg5 with 1G NXgS since the pinning 16 ... Nh7 would be refuted by 17 Nxe6! (17 ... RXg3 18 Nxc7 +; 17 ... fxe6 18 Qxg8+). 15 ... h5? 16 NXeS h4 This was mack's idea - to force White on the defensive a bit. Once his c3-knight retreats White will be less organized for a tactical shot. Browne had probably gotten a hint of the potential dangers already by calculating 16 ... dxe5 17 gxf6! Rxg3 18 fxe7 Rg5 which would lose to 19 BhS!!.

After 11 ... Rb8 After

16 ... b4

Grefe-Browne, 1973

With the White bishop on e2 the 11 ... gS idea is less successful in light of White's control of g4. Instead, Browne prepares ... bS, which would have led to extreme sharpness if played immediately: 11 ... b5 12 eS Bb7 13 exf6!? Bxf3 14 Bxf3. 12 Qg3 RgS 13 Rhfl! g5? Grefe's piece placement is quite effective in preparing e4-eS and exploiting ... gS. After 13 ... b5, for example, White would have had a dangerous attack with 14 fS e5 15 NeG!? or

Grefe-Browne, 1973

17 Nxf7! There are several cute points to this, among them 17 ... Kxf7 18 gxf6! Rxg3 19 fxe7 + Kg7 after which the heroic e-pawn performs its final duty by turning into a forking knight. 17 ... hxc3 IS gxf6! RXg3 19 fxe7 Rg5 Black cannot permit 20 Nxd6+ Kd7

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Primus Inter Pares (1912-1979) 21 e8(Q)+. Now White gets all the material back with interest.

resignation on the 58th move. Kavalek, meanwhile, was adjourning a favorable if difficult queen-and-pawn ending.

20 Bxg5 hxg5 21 Nxd6+ and Black resigns The queen goes after 21 ... Kxe7 22 Rf7 + but the worst part of it is 22 ... Kd8 23 Nxc8+! Kxc8 24 Bxa6+. While this was going on it took Kavalek 100 moves to defeat Donald Byrne, then competing in his last championship, to stay even with the surprising Grefe. The guru's disciple, who followed Kavalek in the tournament pairing draw, was to play all of Kavalek's opponents the round after the grandmaster did. This gave Grefe a clear idea of what he needed to match rhe older man's record. He needed to beat Byrne and he did the very next day while Tarjan held Kavalek to a draw. Grefe could then afford a draw with Tarjan - and they did in a sprightly Round 9 Dragon. This meant that the lowest-rated player in the tournament had scored eight points out of nine, including six wins in a row between his draws with Kane and Tarjan. This streak, the most extraordinary since Fischer, came to an end in a dubious Queens' Gambit Declined when the two leaders met in Round 10. Grefe threw hi 111 self into a highly irregular - and out of character - kingside attack and was repulsed by Kavalek's cool defense. The dark horse youngster from Hoboken still had a technical half-point lead but he was due for the bye the next day while Kavalek, who already had the bye, faced Evans. Once again Kavalek could only draw with a fellow grandmaster with the black pieces and he went into the final two rounds tied with Grefe. Both men drew cautiously the next day, Kavalek in 12 moves with Benko, Grefe in 17 with Evans. The fate of first prize depended on the final round pairings: Kavalek was Black against the unheralded Andrew Karklins of Chicago while Grefe, also Black, faced Benko. But Benko, apparently thinking he would be offered another early draw, let Grefe build up a commanding attacking formation. Byadjournment time the young master's advantage was obvious and he crashed through to force

After 52 Kfl

Karklins-Kavalek, 1973

Kavalek (Black) has the better placed king and, after his next move, the more centrally posted queen. Both are significant factors in this kind of ending, but the most important is usually the presence of a passed pawn. 52 ... Qe4 Karklins, who had earlier defeated Evans and Byrne in dynamic attacking positions, cannot wait for Black to push his pawns. His only resource is a series of checks, and with only a few minutes left he plays: 53 Qh5+ Ke3 54 Qe2+ Kd4 Now Karklins has two good checks to consider as well as the obvious exchange of queens. It's not hard for a master to see that 55 Qb2+ Kd3 56 Qbl+ Ke3 is a perpetual check (57 Qcl+ Kf3 58 Qdl+ etc.) The same goes for 55 Qd2+ because 55 ... Qd3+ would lead to a trade of queens and a race of passed pawns in which White has the fastest horse. (Black would, however, manage to draw anyway after 56 Qxd3+ Kxd3 57 a5 f3 58 a6 g2+ 59 Kf2 gl(Q)+! 60 Kxgl Ke2 61 a7 f2+.) Either way, a draw gives Grefe the title. But ... 55 Qxe4+?? KXe4 56

as

22nd u.s. Championship, EI Paso, Sept. 9-27, 1973 Totals G

B

T

E

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1

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0

X

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1

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Yz

Vz 1

K 1-2. Kavalek 1-2. Grefe 3. Browne 4. Tarjan 5-6. Evans 5-6. Benko 7. Karklins S. Mednis 9. Bisguier 10. Gilden 11. Martz 12-13. D. Byrne 12-13. Kane

Vz

0

1 X

Yz Yz Yz

Yz

Yz

X

Vz

Yz Vz

0

0

Yz

0

0

Vz

0

0

0

0

1

B

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M

B

G

M

B

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Y2 1

0

X

Yz Yz

0

Yz

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X

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l/Z

Yz Yz Yz

Yz

Yz

W

0

3

1 Yz

6 4

5 7 7

1 1

Yz

3

V2

2

X

Yz

Yz

0

1

4

V2

X

Yz

0

Yz

3

Yz 1

Yz

X

V2

Yz X

0

0

Yz

0

Yz

0

Yz

V2

Yz

0

0

0 0

0

Yz

V2

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

V2

0

0

0

Yz

0 V2 V2

0

V2

0

V2

0

Yz

0 X

V2 V2 V2 X

9YZ-2YZ 9YZ-2YZ SYZ-3YZ 7Vz-4Yz 6Vz-5Yz 6YZ-5YZ 6-6 5Yz-6Yz 5-7

5

S

Yz Yz

0

Points

7

Yz

0

L

Vz

Yz 0

Vz

0

Yz

2 2 1

0

0

Vz

0

9 4

2 1 4

5 6

4 4

4

6 6 6 7

5 6 4

4-S 3Vz-SVz 3-9 3-9

Primus Inter Pares (1912-1919) Karklins' choice at move 55 permitted him to make the time control with this move. Now he expected to win since Black's king is too far away to force the promotion of a Black pawn before White makes a queen of his own. But. .. 56 ... Kf3! and White resigns The king is close enough to mate (after 57 a6 g2+ 58 Kgl Kg3 59 a7 f3 60 a8(Q) f2). An incredible finish, and, once again, cochampions.

1914: Too Much Browne The success of Grefe, Tarjan and Browne among other young masters living on the West Coast tended to overshadow the chess renaissance that was going on in Chicago during the early 1970s. The young players in that areaMartz, DeFotis, Karklins and Craig Chellstorp - were briefly among the most talented in the coumry. (Briefly, because DeFotis soon gave up chess for contract bridge and Chellstorp, a junior with nearly as much promise, gave it up for backgammon.) But at the time Chicago seemed to he the center of national chess activity having hosted the 21st championship playoff, the 1973 U.S. Open and a moderately strong international tournamentall within ten months. And in July 1974, with temperatures approaching EI Paso's heights of a year before, a slightly weaker championship field assembled in the historic LaSalle Hotel in the Loop area for the 23rd championship. The tournament was without Robert Byrne again and also minus Kavalek. But Reshevsky and Evans were expected to lead the older generation in a comeback fight against Grefe-Tarjan-Brownc junior stars. As it turned out, the older players avenged several of their losses in El Paso. But in the end it was Browne's year and the first (and easiest) of his three successive championship victories. The first round saw what promised to be an exciting pairing - Grefe vs. Browne, a repeat of the most dramatic meeting of the El

137

Paso tournament. But the promise went largely unfulfilled. Browne had improved on his Najdorf Sicilian and quickly counterattacked; no strange ... Rg8 and ... Rb8 moves this year. Just as the position became sharp Grefe seemed to run out of the energy that had kept him in first place in EI Paso and his position seemed to contract measurably with each move until adjournment. In the sealed move position he had a rook, bishop and single pawn against Browne's rook, active knight and two pawns. Four days passed before it could he played out and by then Browne had worked the winning line out to arithmetic certainty. Grefe, somewhat surprisingly, resigned without asking for proof. And in the second round Browne won effortlessly over Ken Rogoff, his successor as U.S. Junior Champion and one of three newcomers in the tournament. Browne, at 25, was technically a member of the younger generation, but at the same time, had been a grandmaster for five years. There was developing a new, less experienced generation and they would regard him as almost an oldtimer, a veteran of international play. In 1973 the veterans had taken a pounding in several games in El Paso (Karklins-Evans, Tarjan-Evans, Bisguier-Grefe, Bisguier- Tarjan, Benko-Grefe, etc.). But this year the veterans - Browne included - were getting revenge. Evans demonstrated this early with victories over Rogoff, Karklins and an athletic young southern Californian named Kim Commons. Commons could give a "simultaneous tennis exhibition" as well as chess exhibition and at a later U.S. championship defeated a team of Robert Byrne and Lubosh Kavalek singlehandedly. But this year, his first in the championship, Commons was no match for the veterans, such as Benko, who was having one of his better years. The Hungarian emigre-who now divided the year between his homes in Budapest and New Jersey - went through the 23rd championship undefeated, drawing most of his games in 20 moves and waiting for the kind of endgame or positional middlegame in which he could beat anyone. Pal was no threat to Browne but he could sneak his way into second or third place.

138

The United States Chess Championship

The crisis of the tournament came in Round 5. Browne faced Reshevsky with Black. but had something else to worry about. In the previous round, he had adjourned an ending with a bad bishop against Tony Saidy's good knight, with several pawns for each side. Browne told anyone who asked that the game was an easy draw, while Saidy claimed he had good winning chances. The truth seemed somewhere in between - a difficult, problematic position that was not a win, but could be lost. A Joss would drop Browne to 3\12-JI12 just ahead of Reshevsky, Evans and Bisguier, who stood at 2Y2-!Y2 with an extra game to play. So, when Browne sat down with the tournament's oldest competitor he played the percentages and offered a draw about the 15th move. Reshevsky smiled to himself and declined. By the 20th move he had the hint of an endgame advantage because of his rwo bishops, which opposed Browne's bishop and knight. The four rooks came off within five moves and suddenly Browne was being pressed hard. All Sammy needed was a clear road for his king and he would penetrate the shell that protected Browne's vulnerable pawns. Both men were long experienced in time pressure and inevitably a complex position such as this arose with seconds left on each clock and five moves to play.

After

35 ... exf6

Reshevsky-Browne, 1974 Browne has defended carefully and he only has to worry about a pawn break with g2-g4. All the endings with bishops-of-opposite color (36 Bxc5) should be drawn even if White wins a pawn. So:

36 g4 hxg4+! 37 Kxg4 f5+! Reshevsky was all set to play 38 f5!, which would have forced the creation of a winning passed pawn.

38 Kg5?? Consistent, in fact the only consistent move in the position - hut also disastrous. When you're looking for points of penetration in the endgame, one thing you rarely consider is checkmate.

38 ... Kg7! Black threatens 39 ... Ne4 mate as well as ... Bb2-f6 mate (e.g. 39 Bxc5 Bb2!). 39 Bc3+ Kh7 40 Bc2 Ne4+! 41 Bxe4 fxc4 And with the time battle over, Reshevsky played 42 Bb4 but then he, as White, resigned the adjourned position in the face of 42 ... e3, followed by ... Bd2 and ... e2. After this scare Browne managed to hold the draw against Saidy in their adjourned game. That ending also involved a difficult timetrouble battle, but it ended with Browne's claiming a draw when the position had been repeated three times. The then-current international rule held that his clock must run while his claim was evaluated and, if the claim was rejected, he might forfeit. "I gotta know now," he shouted to assistant tournament director Tim Redman, "Is it a draw or isn't it?" It was. And that virtually clinched first prize. Browne won three more games and allowed scattered draws in the final two weeks while Evans, his only close rival, could only win one more game. The rest of the tournament is of interest perhaps only because of one exceptional game, a game with a story: The day before Arthur Bisguier was to play Browne he agonized over a choice of opening. Andy Soltis, then playing in his first championship, suggested the Petrov's Defense, mentioning a tricky but untested pawn sacrifice in the popular 3 d4 line that Rogoff and

Primus Inter Pares (1972-1979) he had analyzed some years before. The analysis eventually was tested, and vindicated, when Bent Larsen used it to defeat then-world champion Anatoly Karpov in 1980. Bisguier was interested in the sacrifice but was cautioned to be sure he had something prepared for the older variations beginning with 3 Nxe5 "Oh, I know that stuff," Bisguier said. C12 Petrov Defense white Browne, black Bisguier 1 e4 eS 2 Nf3 Nf6 3 NXeS!! d6 4 Nf3 Nxc4 5 d4 dS 6 Bd3 Be7 70-0 Ne6 8 c4 Nb4 9 cxdS Nxd3 10 Qxd3 QxdS ] 1 ReI BfS 12 Nc3 Nxe3 13 Qxc3 c6

139

14 Bh6!! Played after 40 minutes' thought and leading, sure enough, to a virtually forced win. Later, it was revealed by Zuckerman that his longtime friend, the forgotten Fischer, had discovered 14 Bh6!! several years before but had never gotten a chance to play it. The move dramatically changes the position since there is no easy defense to Bxg7, e.g. 14 ... gxh6 15 Re5 Qd7 16 Rae! Be6 17 dS and wins because of lines such as 17 ... cxd5 18 RXe6! fxe6 19 Qxh8+ Bf8 20 Qf6 Be7 21 Rxe6. Bisguier had his turn to think and after an hour he could find nothing better than the timid 14 ... Rg8. There followed: 14 ... Rg8 15 ReS Qd7 ]6 Rael Be6 17 NgS! After this situation becomes clear. All the complications (17 ... Bf6 18 Nxe6 BXeS 19 NcS or 17 ... gxh6 18 NXe6 fxe6 19 Rxe6 Rg7 20 dS! Kf8 21 Qxg7+! Kxg7 22 Rxe7+) are bad for Black, and Bisguier must walk willingly into an ending that, even with his renowned drawing skill, was lost:

After 13 ... c6

Broume-Bisguier, 1974

"Bisguicr was yawning out the moves," Browne recalled later. But here Walter sank into deep thought - and the other players began to wonder about him. Browne was already known for his penchant of insisting on finding things for himself rather than trusting the judgment of chess theory. But here he was thinking hlriously about a position that was known to be rather quiet and routine and had been considered roughly balanced for some 30 years. Ten minutes went by, then twenty, then thirty. Some of the older players, gathered at the back of the tournament hall, began to snicker about Browne's insistence on proving to himself there was something new. "He has to calculate everything," one grandmaster said with derision. "It's as if this position has never occurred before. It's like he's looking for a forced win!"

17 ... 0-0-0 18 Nx£7! Bxf7 19 Rxe7 Qxd4 20 Rx£7! Qxc3 21 bxc3 gxh6 22 RbI! Rg5 23 h4 RbS 24 RxbS cxbS 25 Rxh7 Rdl+ 26 Kh2 Rd2 27 Rxh6 Rxa2 28 hS Rxf2 29 Rh8+ Ke7 30 h6 Kb6 31 Kh3 as 32 g4 b4 33 cxb4 axb4 34 Re8 Rfl 35 Kg2 Rf6 36 gS Rg6 37 h7 RxgS+ 38 Kf3 RhS 39 h8(Q) Rxh8 40 Rxh8 and Black resigns "I feel like an innocent victim," said Bisguier, reflecting on his faith in the "book." By the 11th round Browne had 8Y2 points, a score comparable to one of Fischer's winning margins and one that was just as good as the furious Kavalek-Grefe pace of the previous year. Browne was lY2 points ahead of the field then and could afford to take quick draws on the last two days. This policy had another benefit: while everyone else was waiting around late in the final round to see Benko wear down Evans in the battle for second

23rd U.S. Championship, Chicago, July 13-Aug. 1, 1974

1. Browne 2-3. Benko 2-3. Evans 4. Saidy 5-8. Reshevsky 5-8. Grefe 5-8. Bisguier 5-8. Rogoff 9. N. Weinstein 10-11. Zuckerman 10-11. Soltis 12. Commons 13. Karklins 14. Gilden

B

B

E

X

V2

V2

V2

VI VI VI

X

1 X VI VI Vz Vz 0 V2 V2 0 0 0

0 0 0 0 III

0 VI 1/2

VI VI V2

VI

V2 VI

0

V2

V2 V2 0

0

VI 0

X

R

C

~T

B

R

V2

V2

V2

V2

VI

VI VI

VI V2

VI V2

VI VI

X

1

0 VI 0

X

VI VI

VI

VI

Vz

VI 0 0

1/2

Vz VI

0

Vz 0 Vi

0

Vz

0

0

0

0

0

S

X

VI VI VI VI

0

W VI VI

Z

S

V2

VI

V2

VI Vz V2

0

1/2

V2

Vz VI VI

Vz

Vz

V2

X

V2

VI

X

V2 III

0

V2 Vz

VI

X

V2

VI VI

0 III

V2

X

V2

V2

V2

X

0

0 V2

1 1 0

K

V2

V2 V2

G

6 1/2

VI VI

0

C

1 0

Vz 1 X

0

1

3 2 4 2 1 1 4 2

()

X

3

V2

Vz 0

X 0

3 4 3 4

V2

0 1

Totals W D

0

1 0 0

L

Points

7 10 8

0 0

9

1

6

3 2 1

9V2-3V2 8-5 8-5 7V2-5V2 7-6 7-6 7-6 7-6 6-7 5VI-7 1/2 5V2-7VI 5-8 4 1/2-8Vl 3Vz-9Vl

8 10

6 8

9 9 2 5

3 3 3 3 7 6 9

Primus Inter Pares (1972-1979) place, Browne had left early to see a Bruce Lee Kung Fu movie.

1975: Encore Had Chicago been a fluke? Was Browne that good? Opinion was sharply divided over his remarkable success. One school of thought felt his 1974 result was the culmination of five years' improvement. Another saw it as a temporary surge, such as Grefe's 9Y2-2 1/2 score in 1973 (which was followed by a 7-6 result in 1974 at a somewhat weaker tournament). Also, something of a hex had built up over the previous decade: No one had repeated as champion since Fischer. The 24th championship was to be another zonal tournament and would therefore attract any American who harbored ambitions for the world tide. Byrne and Kavalek were expected, as well as many of the talented youngsters such as Tarjan (who had been absent in Chicago) and veterans such as Reshevsky. Moreover, the tone seemed sharper in 1975 - even though the scoretable didn't show it. The percentage of draws in the championship had been on the rise for some time and it crested this year. Year

Percentage of Draws

1936 1946 1954 and 1957-58 1968 1973 1974 1975

28.3 26.5 21.9 40.9 44.3 53.9 63.7

Yet while nearly two out of three games were ending in draws, it seemed dangerous to take too many of them. Benko, for example, thrived in Chicago by playing out only the positions he considered winnable. He liquidated the other middle games with a handshake. Benko finished up in Chicago with three wins, using his consummate endgame skill, and shared second place. But a year later in Oberlin College - where a score of plus-3 would have been good enough to get him into the 1976 interzonals, the situation was quite

141

different. Benko again drew 10 games but lost the other three and finished dead last. Rogoff also noticed the difference: In the previous year, he said, the older players had been content to draw with one another and work hard only against the kids. This year the kids would be ready to break this pattern by winning some games from the older grandmasters, and thereby force the GMs to play for wins against each other. For his own part Browne didn't seem to see any difference. He complained about poor lighting in the tournament hall- a complaint he would revive in 1977 and, unfortunately, again in 1978. But, he said after failing to win sympathy from his colleagues, "Since most of the players didn't come to play chess, they certainly didn't care about lighting." Still, the light didn't seem to affect him as he drew blood with a fine victory over Mednis in Round 2 and additional revenge from Grefe in Round 3. Quickly, he was ahead of Byrne and Kavalek, who began unexpectedly slowly. In fact, the surprise contenders in the early rounds were Browne, Rogoff and Dr. Milan Vukcevich, a distinguished scientist who lived in a nearby Cleveland suburb. Vukcevich's work, which had earned him a nomination for a Nobel Prize, had kept him from tournament play for several years. But when he got to the board he took the game very seriously indeed, preparing his openings days in advance and analyzing adjournment with the same precision and inspiration that made him a recognized problem composer. His victories over Tarjan and Grefe showed that he would not go away. In round 7 the shape of the tournament began to come into focus as Rogoff, trotting out his carefully prepared Caro-Kann Defense, scored a major upset over Kavalek. Vukcevich kept pace by defeating John Peters III, a Massachusetts-educated convert CO the California way of life. The third leader would come from this game:

B80 Sicilian Defense white R. Byrne, black Browne

1 e4 cS 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Be3 e6 7 Be2 Nbd7 8 g4l?

!j

142

The United States Chess Championship

Up to White's last move the opening had followed Mednis-Browne from the first round. Mednis had sought to maintain rigid control over the center with 8 a4, which denies the flanking attack ... b5-b4. But the extra precaution gave Black time to generate countcrplay with 8 ... bG 9 f4 Bb7 10 Bf3 Rc8! 11 0o Rxc3!? 12 bxc3 NXe4 13 Ne2 Qc7 14 Qe1 d5. Byrne's choice, 8 g4, allows White to force matters since Black must take time to stop g4-g5 ifhe wants to maintain pressure on e4.

8 ... h6!? 9 f4 bS Here White would rather not play 10 g5 because it would turn over control of e5 ro Black. But ifhe takes time out for a2-a3 trlCTI Browne gets his opporrunity for 10 ... Bb7 and 11 ... Rc8 as he did against Mednis.

months later a Chess Lifo reader questioned this and pointed out to columnist Larry Evans the possibility of 13 gxf6 Rh3 14 NXe6. After Evans cited the analysis, Browne rook issue with it. Walter insisted that Black was winning all along and that 11 ... Rh3 deserved the two exclamation points of praise that he had awarded to it when annotating the game. Evans tried to respond to Browne's analysis in print but, he later claimed, was prevented from doing so by Chess Lifo's editor. The upshot ofall this? Months later, after the controversy had blown over, Browne found himself on the Black side of the diagrammed position once more, this time at the Interzonal tournament in Bie!, Switzerland. His opponent, a Russian named Vitaly Tseshkovsky, was waiting for 11 ... Rh3 and he continued 12 BE2 Rxc3 13 gxf6! Rh3?! 14 NXe()! Qa5+ (14 ... fxe6 15 Bh5+ mates) 15 c3 fxeG 16 fXg7 BXg7 17 Qxd6 and White's ferocious attack eventually broke through.

10 gS hxgS 11 fxgS Rh3!?!

12 Bf4? b4 Now Black is in the driver's seat - especially after 13 gxfG Qxf6! (not 13 ... bxc3 14 NxeG!) 14 0-0 bxc3 15 Bg4 Qg6 16 Bg3 Rxg3+! 17 hXg3 cxb2.

Mter

11 ... Rh3

13 Nd5! exdS 14 gxf6 Nxf6 15 Nc6 QbG 16 exdS Ne4

R. Byrne-Browne, 1975

"The Black kingside should have come apart after 12 gG," Byrne later wrote about the expected retreat of the f6-knight. "However, this terrific countermeasure not only brought the attack to a screeching halt, but set Black up a winning position." Browne later added some points of his own such as 12 gxf6 Rxe3 13 fxg7 Qh4+ 14 Kd2 Bxg7! (15 KXe3 Bh6+ 16 Kf3 Qh3+ with a winning attack), or 12 Qd2 b4!. He also dismissed 12 Bf2 with the move 12 ... Rxc3 but therein lies a story: Several

Mter

16 ... Ne4

R. Byrne-Browne, 1975

White can still make a fight of this double-edged position with 17 RfI. But instead, Byrne erred with:

143

Primus Inter Pares (1972-1979) 17 Qd4? And Black achieved a clearly superior endgame that was capped by White's loss of a rook on a blunder: Af{er

17 ... Qxd4 18 Nxd4 g5! 19 Bel Bg7 20 Ne6 Ng3 21 Rgi NXe2 22 RXg5?? Nd4 23 Rxg7 Nxc2+ 24 Kdl Nxal 25 Rg8+ Kd7 26 RfB Rd3+ 27 Bd2 Rxd5 28 Nxb4 Rf5 29 Bc3 as 30 Nd3 a4 and White resigns Byrne never recovered from this, and in the following round another leader fell when Vukcevich lost a marathon 102-move game to Mednis, Reshevsky managed to escape from a had adjournment with Byrne the following day but the strain of overnight analysis seemed to take all the reserve energy from the veteran. In the 11th round he was routed by Vukcevich. Meanwhile Rogoff's Caro-Kann was neutralized by Lombardy who nearly forfeited on the clock for the fourth time in the tournament, but beat it this time and won. One by one, each of Browne's rivals were eliminating one another. The last chance of stopping the reigning champion occurred when Benko surprised him in the first hour of Round 11: E67 King's Indian Defense

white Benko, black Browne 1 Nf3 Nf6 2 g3 g6 3 Bg2 Bg7 4 0-0 0-0 5 c1 d6 6 d4 Nbd7 7 dS!? eS 8 dxe6 This position had probably never occurred before and may never again. There is nothing to recommend White's dissolution of his center - except to create a wholly new opening position. Browne was on uncertain ground and within a few moves he found himself in trouble. 8 ... fxe6 9 Nc3 Ne5 10 Be3 Nfc4 11 Nxe4 Nxe4 12 Qe2 Nf6 13 c5! Bd7 (see diagram) Now with 14 Rfdl White would have excellent prospects due to 13 ... Bc6 14 cxd6 cxd6 15 Bc5. But Benko played clumsily:

13 ... Bd7

Benko-Browne, 1975

14 Qb3? Nd5! And here Benko realized he had erred. He couldn't play 15 Bd4, the move he had counted on, because of 15 ... Rxf3! which attacks the queen and gains time for 16 ... Bxd4. So ... 15 Ng5 Rf5! This second strong move secures a favorable trade of Black's rook for two minor pieces. Even then the position was unclear but, as Benko explained, "I got so upset after my blunder that I just couldn't play chess." He eventually forfeited on time in a lost position. Meanwhile, Rogoff was emerging as the surprise of the tournament. Despite the loss to Lombardy he had scored impressive wins over both Peters and Kavalek. In such a closely matched field of masters a few victories were all that were needed to earn a trip to the interzonal. Browne had already secured first prize a day before the final round when he played ahead of schedule and drew quickly with Commons. The second prize, and interzonal invitation, depended on two pairings. If Rogoff were to lose with Black to Bisguier then Reshevsky, the closest to him, could tie the young Yale student by defeating a now-demoralized Benko. What happened next did not reflect honorably on the character of u.s. championship participants. In fact, it recalled the long-forgotten Grundy incident of the 5th American Chess Congress. According to Reshevsky, on the night before the final round, he approached

24th U.S. Championship, Oberlin, June 7-26,1975

B

R

1. Browne

X

lI2

lI2

2. Rogoff 3. Vukcevich 4-5. R. Byrne 4-5. Reshevsky 6-9. Lombardy 6-9. Bisguier 6-9. Tarjan 6-9. Commons 10-13. Kavalek 10-13. Peters 10-13. Mednis 10-13. Grefe 14. Benko

lI2

X

Vz 0 V2 Vz

lI2 lI2 lI2

Vz X

lI2 lI2

lI2 0

lI2

V2 V2 lI2 0 0 0 0 V2

lI2 V2 lI2

Vz 0 0 0

V

1 Vz 0 Vz lI2 0 0 Vz

R

L

B

T

lI2 lI2

lI2 0 0

lI2

X

V2

lI2

X

Vz

lI2 lI2

Vz Vz X

V2 Vz 1 1

B

lI2 0 lI2 lI2

Vz 0 lI2 lI2

lI2 V2 lI2 0 V2 0 lI2

lI2 lI2 lI2 V2 V2

X

lI2 1

lI2

0 V2 1 lI2 1 lI2

lI2 lI2 lI2 V2 V2 V2

lI2 0 V2

X 0 lh 1 0 lI2 V2

C

K

P

M

lI2

Vz

lI2 1 1

1 0

Vz lI2 lh lI2

Vz 1 X lI2 0 1 0 0

lI2 lh

Vz V2 1/2 V2 lI2

X

lI2 0 lI2 0

1 0

X V2 V2 V2

V2 Vz V2 1 0 lh lI2

lI2

X V2

V2

lI2

G

V2 1 0 lI2 lh

B

lI2 lh V2

Vz lI2

Vz lI2 1

lh 0 V2

lI2 V2 V2

X 0

1 X

Totals W 0

L

Points

8Vz-4Vz 8-5 7l12-5l12 7-6 7-6 6lh-6l12 6l12-6Vz 6lh-6Vz 6Vz-6l12 5l12-7Vz 5Yz-7l12 5Y2-7l12 5Y2-7l12 5-8

4 4 4 2 2

9 8 7 10 10

0

3 0

7 13 7 7 11

3 0

5 7 5 10

5 4

3 3 0 3 2 3 0

2

1

3 3 2

5 3

Primus Inter Pares (1972-1979) Benko with a proposition: If we see that Rogoff is drawing or winning against Bisguier tomorrow, he said, there's no point in our exerting ourselves. We might as well draw because a win means nothing to either of us. But if Rogoff loses, Reshevsky went on, then I'll play to win because I can force a playoff for the Biel, Switzerland, interzonal spot by tying him for second place. This in itself is against international chess etiquette. But Reshevsky added another element: Ifhe managed to get into the interzonal, Reshevsky said he would choose Benko as his second there and there would be a nice salary for that. (According to Benko, the question of a last-round draw came up in the middle of the tournament and he indicated his willingness to draw.) In any event, there was no repeat of "Grundy" the next day. Rogoff drew quickly, thereby clinching the trip to Biel and also allowing Bisguier to establish a record by drawing all 13 of his games in the Championship. Seeing this, Reshevsky indicated to Benko that it was time to draw as they had agreed. But Benko refused, pointing out that he had the better position and, more important, he would finish a humiliating last in the tournament if he only drew. "I must win to get out of last place," he told Reshevsky. Reshevsky was outraged; he complained to tournament director Tim Redman that his opponent was not living up to a highly irregular agreement and, when he got no help from that quarter, began angrily repeating his draw offer at the table to Benko. He even tried enlisting the help of bystander Bisguier to convince Benko. All this served only to upset Reshevsky enough to throwaway a pawn, but he managed to hold the position for a draw when play resumed the next day. Benko says he was too upset to win and the incident was soon forgotten.

1977 Hat Trick The 25th championship opened more than two years and fewer than 20 miles from

145

the 24th but the atmosphere had altered drastically. The rosy enthusiasm of the period immediately following Bobby Fischer's greatest successes had evaporated. In place was a divisiveness in the chess community, prompted by the realization that the good times were over. There was no championship in 1976 and there was some question among USCF officials as to whether one was needed in 1977. In the end, the players assembled in another Cleveland suburb, Mentor, Ohio, in October for a strained and strangely uninteresting tournament. The masters and grandmasters who populated championships had quarreled with organizers before - although few of the 1977 contestants had ever heard of the Association of American Chess Masters and the controversy of 1946. This time the specific issue that divided the men who played the game from those who organized it was a fairly obscure one. Larry Evans' column in Chess Life had been dropped because of dissatisfaction with its content. But Evans, Lombardy and several other masters seized upon the issue to call for creation of a Professional Chess Association, which would unite all professional players in a quest for better living and playing conditions. They wanted higher prize funds in major tournaments, fewer competitions restricted to nonmasters and a means of appealing what they called arbitrary decisions by the USCF. They even talked about pensions for veteran players - financed by a tax imposed on all tournament players in the country. Within a few years Evans got back into Chess Life, and the PCA, having failed to win a widespread following among masters, became no more than a letterhead organization. But in the fall of 1977 it was very much a subject of concern and the controversy peaked when Evans, Lombardy and others sympathetic to the PCA aims refused championship invitations - apparently because the grandmasters were not offered a $700 appearance fee. Also, the tournament was not a zonal and so was missing a few of the stronger GMs, such as Kavalek, and, because of the rating system which was used to determine invitations, also

146

The United States Chess Championship

lost some of the lower-rated GMs, such as Benko and Bisguier. Finally, Rogoff, the surprise of the 24th championship, was busy studying for a doctorate in economics and was unavailable. In only one area had the tournament strength been improved, and this was in the arrival of the first Russian emigres. Leonid Shamkovich, who came by way of Israel and Canada, and Anatoly Lein, a close friend of Sham kovich's from Moscow, were both established - but second-ran k - grandmasters in their own country and therefore expendable. They took advantage of the newly eased Soviet emigration policies and suddenly became among the very best players in the United States. In their first two years in America they lived in the same New York apartment and won virtually every Swiss System event they entered. The Russians could not be ignored. But to defending champion Browne, the outcome was already determined. One day midway throughout the tournament he explained to a local reporter that the other players were not so much motivated by the thought of winning the championship - because they knew he was too good - but rather they had come to Mentor for the opporrunity to play Browne. This comment didn't endear Walter to the other players, and neither did his complaints about the tournament hall lighting. Still, when Browne was required to produce, he did: A80 Dutch Defense

white Browne, black Byrne 1 d4!

Browne had been playing 1 e4 since his early Manhattan Chess Club days. Now he was broadening his repertoire. A la Fischer?

be disrupted and his c8-bishop locked in by pawns at d5 and f5. 4 Bxf6 exf6 5 e3 Be6 6 Bd3 g6 7 Qf3 c6 8 Nge2 Nd7 9 h3! Qb6?!

After

9 ... Qb6

Browne-R. J3.yrne, 1977

10 g4! Qxb2? Both sides appreciated that White would obtain an initiative with g2-g4. It could not be stopped (9 ... h5 10 g4 hxg4 11 hXg4 fXg4 12 Bxg6+ and White invades on light squares.) But Byrne's attempt to distract Browne's attention with a queen raid fails miserably. "I couldn't believe my eyes," Browne said later. Instead, 10 ... fxg4 11 hXg4, Bf7 "doesn't give White very much," he said. 11 RbI Qa3 12 gxf5 Bf7 13 Rxb7 Bb4 Because of Browne's complaints about the lighting, this game was played in a separate hotel room and, as with his previous experience (versus Fischer in 1964) in a separate room, Byrne finds himself up against a wall very quickly. Apparently he thought White could not permit the capture on b 7 because of 13 ... Bb4. But after 14 0-0 1 White regains material after 14 ... Bxc3 14 Rb3 with a clear edge. 14 O-O! 0-0-0 15 Rxb4!

1 ... f5 2 Nc3!? Nf6 3 Bg5 d5 White's unusual treatment of the opening, especially the avoidance of c2-c4, presents Black with a difficult question. To stop 4 e4! he had to permit his kingside pawns to

This is better than 15 Ba6, the move Byrne expected and which would have been refuted by 15 ... Bxc3 16 Qg3 Ne5!!. 15 ... Qxb4 16 Ba6+ Kc7 17 RbI Qd6

Primus Inter Pares (1972-1979) Black cannot permit a check on the g3c7 diagonal in connection with Rb 7 + and a discovered rook check. But he can allow discovered checks that do nothing more than repear moves, and Browne now uses them to gain time on his clock. 18 Rb7+ Kc8 19 Rb3+ Kc7 20 Rb7+ Kc8 21 e4! This fine stroke - played after spending half of his last remaining hour- permirs the White queen or knight to join the mating attack. The first threats are 22 exdS or 22 NbS! followed by Qc3(+). 21 ... Nb8

After 21 ... Nb8

Browlle-R. Byrne, 1977

22 NbS!! cxbS 23 Qc3+ Nc6 There was bound to be a murderous check in some key variation. Here, for example, it was 23 ... Qc6 24 Rxb8+ which would have ended the game following 24 ... Kc7! 25 Rb7 + Kd6 26 eS+!. Browne finishes off in excellent fashion. 24 eS! Qc7 The attack must win - despite Black's extra rook - ahcr 24 ... fxeS 2S dxe5 d4 26 Nxd4. 25 c6! and Black resigns The final threat was 26 RxbS+ and it was

147

fatal because d7 had been removed as an escape route. After 25 ... Rd6 26 Rxc7+ Kxc7 27 exf7 or 25 ... Qxb7 26 Qxc6+! Black's plight would have been obvious even without the extra light the winner said he needed. A vicrory such as this one over his most serious rival, perhaps his only serious rival in this championship, could have convinced Browne that the tournament was his. He breezed ahead with a 2Y2-Y2 start thanks to a scrambled schedule - games had to be reset because of Reshevsky's religious observances - that gave Browne three whites in his first three games. For a time Lein and Shamkovich were right behind the champion, as was Larry Christiansen, America's newest grandmaster and, at 21, one of the world's youngest. But when Shamkovich adjourned a lost position with Browne in Round S the leader had built up a huge margin with the tournament hardly a third of the way completed. Browne came crashing down to earth in Round 6 when a doubtful rook sacrifice by Tarjan proved too much to handle. Walter had to resign on the SOth move, his first loss in more than 35 championship games since the Grefe miniature in 1973. The defeat by Tarjan seemed to upset the champion more than it should. The next day he got no advantage at all with the White pieces against Peters and on the following day against Zuckerman, the kind of player he had earned a reputation for beating, he accepted a draw on the eighth move. He also drew quickly in the next round against Dumitru Ghizdavu, a 28-year-old Rumanian student who had emigrated to the United States shortly before the tournament and was invited to play on less than 48 hours notice. Had he shown the same form of the tournament's first week, Browne would have expected at least two points from those three games. The defending champion's lead slipped to a half point as Byrne won from Shamkovich and Grefe. Browne won the next day but then drew quickly with Reshevsky with the White pieces (11 moves) and the day afterward with Lein. Byrne picked up 21h points out of three during this period and managed to tie Browne on the eve of the final round.

148

The United States Chess Championship

There was no zonal seed up for grabs this year, only $15,000- a new record - in prizes. And since Grefe and Reshevsky drew quickly in order to share third place, there was only first prize at stake on the top boards. The big prize was $3500, while second was $2500: Plenty to fight for. Yet both leaders were cautious. Byrne, with White, drew in only 15 moves with Zuckerman. Browne might also have drawn quickly, but Christiansen refused his pre-game draw offer - or at least that was what Christiansen said afterwards. The Modesto, Calif., youngster had earned the grandmaster title in two Spanish tournaments in which he battled for first prize with Byrne. Now he resolved to slug it out tactically with Browne and perhaps help Byrne to the title. A50 Queen's Fianchetto Defense

Mter 9 Bd3

Browne-Christiansen, 1977

A bit too much. After the simple retreat 9 ... Bb7 White could do nothing further to support his pawn center and would have had to play 10 dxc6, which grants Black a nice little edge after 10 ... Nxc6. 10 cxbS cXbS 11 Nge2!

white Browne, black Christiansen 1 d4 e6 2 c4 b6 3 dS!? Ba6! The opening system with ... b6, in which Black dares his opponent to play e2-e4, was both very old and very new in 1977. It had been tried in the previous century but not often by strong players and as a result was considered too bizarre for master chess until revived in the mid-1970s. It suits this occasion perfectly because for White to avoid a double-edged middle game he will have to struggle for an initiative in a foreign opening. 4 e4 exdS 5 exdS Nf6 6 Nc3? Bb4! The attack on White's c-pawn, which was chosen instead of the more natural 3 ... Bb7, has granted Black equality with some chance for more. He can now undermine White's brittle center with ... c6. 7 Qe2+ Be7 8 Qc2?! c6! 9 Bd3 (see diagram)

9 ... bS?

This is a common sense decision although Browne, with his penchant for calculation, probably had worked out the variations beginning with 11 Bxb5 Bxb5 12 Nxb5 Qa5+ 13 Nc3 Nxd5 14 Qe4 Nxc3! 15 Qxa8 0-0 and concluded there were too dangerous. White now obtains a solid position in the center in return for a pawn. 11 •.. b4 12 Ne4 Nxd5 13 0-0 0-0 14 Rdl QaS? 15 N2g3 g6?! On this or the previous move Black should have reduced his liabilities by trading minor pieces C.. , Bxd3 and ... Nf6), Browne's kingside attack now springs up quickly. 16 Bh6 Re8 17 Qd2 Nf6 18 Qf4 Qb6 Christiansen began to realize about this point the dangers to f7, such as after 18 Nd5 19 Qe5 f6 20 Nxf6+! which wins. 19 Bxa6 Nxa6 20 Rd6! (see diagram) Cutting communication between queen and kingside. The final combination is one of the nicest in championship history.

Primus Inter Pares {1972-1979}

After 20 Rd6

Browne-Christiansen, 1977

20 ... Bxd6 21 Nxf6+ Kh8 22 Bg7 +! Kxg7 23 Ngh5+! Now on 23 ... Kf8 White wIns with 24 Qh6+ Ke7 25 Rel+.

23 ... gxh5 24 Qg5+ Kh8 25 Qh6 Bxh2+ 26 Kh1! Black's last move wasn't a spite check; there actually was a trap (26 Kxh2?? Qd6+ and 27 ... Qd3). But now Black must give up his queen and the rest of the game is a mop-up, made interesting only because of Browne's bynow-patented time pressure, which had two dozen spectators standing, some on chairs, to see the pieces fly.

26 ... Qxf6 27 Qxf6+ Kg8 28 Qg5+ Kh8 29 Qf6+ Kg8 30 Qg5+ Kh8 31 Kxh2 Re6 32 Rd1 Rg8 33 Qf4 Reg6 34 g3 f6 35 Rxd7 NcS 36 Rd6 h4 37 Qxh4 as 38 Qd4 and Black resigns So it was one great game at the very beginning and one great game at the very end, to give Browne his third straight title.

1978: Exit Browne, Stage Right At the heginning of each championship, and of each other major tournament for that matter, an appeals committee is chosen. Often the members are elected from among the players to decide matters of fact in rules disputes

149

that are appealed above the tournament director. If there is a question of interpreting the rules themselves, the matter can be passed on to the national federation, or even to FIDE headquarters in Amsterdam. But in a U.S. championship, despite its traditions of personality conflict and intense rivalry, few verdicts are ever appealed. When the appeals body was selected the day before the first round of the 26th championship, alternate member Robert Byrne was asked how often he expected the committee to meet. Byrne couldn't remember the last time one had. The 26th championship would have been Walter Browne's biggest test up to that time. Facing him were virtually all the top players of the last three events - Kavalek, Byrne, Shamkovich, Lein, Tarjan, Rogoff and the rapidly improving Christiansen. There had never been more than four of these challengers in any previous championship and while Browne's performances had been remarkable they had also been far better than his results abroad. They were better, in fact, than his results in other tournaments in the United States such as the annual masters invitational sponsored by retired industrialist Louis Statham in Lone Pine, Calif. There was doubt in June 1978 that Browne could do it again. The tournament was held in probably the most idyllic of tournament quarters - the beautifully sculpted Southern California campus of the Worldwide Church of God. Perhaps not by accident, the church was Bobby Fischer's adopted faith, and during the tournament several of the players were granted brief audiences with the former champion, then living in seclusion a few miles from the Pasadena playing hall. No amount of convincing could get him to the Ambassador College auditorium for a glimpse of the game he once dominated. But Browne seemed to fill the void of controversy left vacant by Fischer. At the initial meeting of players he revived his familiar complaint about lighting. Again, this year, he said it was inadequate and that this could seriously undermine his chances. "I sometimes get the impression," Grefe had said after the

25th U.S. Championship, Mentor, September 25-0ctober 14, 1977

B 1. Browne 2. R. Byrne 3-4.. Reshevsky 3-4. Grefe 5-6. Lein 5-6. Zuckerman 7. Tarjan 8-9. Christiansen 8-9. Matera 10-12. Ghizdavu 10-12. Peters 10-12. Shamkovich 13. Soltis 14. Fedorowicz

B

R

X

1

0

X Yz

Yz Yz X

Yz 0 lh

Yz 0 Yz

Yz Yz 0 0 0

0 lh lh

Yz Yz Yz Yz 0 0 0 0

1

0 Yz 0

G

L

Z

T

Y2

Yz Yz Yz

Yz

lh 0

X Yz 0 0 Yz

Yz X lh Yz

Yz

0

I/Z

lh 0 Yz

Yz Yz Yz

0 liz liz

Yz Yz Yz

0 Yz 0

lh 0

1

0

lh 0

Yz Yz

M

G

P

lh

Yz

Yz I/z

Yz

lh 0

Yz

Yz

1

lh

lh

Yz Yz

0

lh

X Yz

C

Yz Yz X lh lh Yz l/Z

Yz 0 Yz

Yz X 0 0 Yz

Yz

Yz

lh

lh

Yz

Yz Yz

Yz Yz

Yz

lh Yz

1

X

Yz

Yz 0

0

Yz

0

X 0 0 lh Yz

S

Yz 0 Yz Yz

Yz lh

X Yz 0 Yz

S

0

X Yz lh

0

Yz 0 X

F

Totals W 0 L

1

6

6

5 4

7 7 5 10 10

Yz Yz 0 lh

Yz Yz 1 0

X

5 2 2 2 3 2 2 1 3 2 2

9 6 8 7 9 5 6 5

Points 9-4

2 3

1 2 4 3 4 3 5 5 6

8Yz-4Yz 7lh-5Y2 7lh-5lh 7-6 7-6 6lh-6lh 6-7 6-7

5Yz-7Yz 5Yz-7lh 5Yz-7Yz 5-8

4lh-8Yz

Primus Inter Pares 0912-1919) previous championship, "that he complains almost out of habit, or because he thinks it's expected of him as a champion." Indeed, the other players had long since taken Browne's pursuit of the perfect lighting as an annual event, one that should be minimized either by humoring him or ignoring him completely. In Pasadena the tournament director was Isaac Kashdan, long in retirement as a player but among the most inAuential tournament organizers in the United States. He and Browne had clashed in the past - at Lone Pine and elsewhere - and thne was often some difficulty between them in getting their views across to one another. This time, however, Browne made his feelings about the lighting crystal clear and Kashdan obligingly arranged to have the college's lighting technician meet with Browne the following morning to work matters out to the champion's satisfaction. Here is where things became muddled: After seeing the lighting man the next daya few hours before Round 1- Browne met Kashdan on the way out of the playing hall. Walter, somewhat excited, as he admitted later, explained that the lights were now good enough for him provided he be permitted to sit at a particular board throughout the event. Kashdan knew that this would mean special treatment for Browne, since the players' seating assignments are routinely rotated. But the champion was already being given special ueatment because he was the champion- i.e., an extra $850 appearance fee and a fine guest cottage compared to the drab dormitories for the other players. Kashdan was willing to go along with the lights, and he and Browne parted on good terms. After Browne left, Kashdan, inspecting the tournament hall, noticed one of the tables out of line. He moved it back. Three hours later the first round began. Browne came in several minutes late, almost unnoticed because of the excitement of fans examining the first moves to be posted on the handsome set of wallboards. Walter crossed the auditorium stage and before he got to the table, his table, he realized it had been shifted out from under the extra lighting. His light-

151

ing. Thinking that Kashdan had moved it on purpose, to spite him, Browne rushed over to the director and asked what had happened to the table. Kashdan, unaware that it was Browne who had moved the furniture, explained that it was moved back to open a path for players to walk by. Browne seemed shocked but failed to explain why he was shocked. He did not say that the table position was important to him or that the position of the table, rather than his seat at it, was critical to his earlier demands about the lighting. In fact, he didn't complain about the table at all: He only asked Kashdan, "Why do you hate me?" Kashdan replied that he didn't hate Browne, and with that Walter stormed off the stage, without sitting down or even acknowledging his opponent, Christiansen. Hours later, after Kashdan ruled that the champion had lost the game on forfeiture, a few intermediaries sought to appeal on Browne's behalf. They argued that the withdrawal of the three-time champion could hurt ticket sales, tournament publicity and ultimately the cause of chess in the United States. Kashdan agreed to call a meeting of the players' appeals committee and later that evening they heard Browne present his side - and his declaration that he would leave the tournament site that night if the forfeiture was not expunged. He would agree to play the Christiansen game on some other day. It would be up to Christiansen and the appeals committee to decide. During the appeals meeting it became clear that neither Browne nor Kashdan had understood one another at their two encounters earlier in the day and that the forfeiture was as much an accident as anything else. Later, in private, the committee asked Christiansen if he wanted the decision left to him. The 22-year-old GM, understandably annoyed at Browne's behavior cowards him, did not want the responsibility of deciding whether Browne might go to the next interzonal. The appeals committee - Lombardy, Rogoff and Soltis - wrestled with the problem for two hours and finally decided that it shouldn't put Christiansen - the one blameless person in the whole mess - on the spot. They upheld Kash-

152

The United States Chess Championship

dan's forfeiture. Lombardy then went to Browne's cottage to talk him out of leaving, but by morning he was gone. Meanwhile, there was still chess to be played. Browne-Christiansen could have been the feature of the first day, but instead, this took its place:

8 •.• NhS? 9 Bc4 0-0 10 NgS! This simply wins a piece. Black cannot meet the threat of 11 g4 since 10 ... dXe5. for example. is met by 11 QxdS and 12 Nxf7. Byrne fought for compensation with: 10 ... e6 11 g4 Nxf4 12 Bxf4 dXeS

B70 Sicilian Defense white Kavalek, black R. Byrne 1 e4 cS 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 N c3 a6 6 f4 g6

Byrne had played both sides of the Najdorf Variation over the years, including that memorable win over Evans in 1965. Most recently he had lost to Boris Spassky in their 1974 Candidates match when the Russian played 6 f4 and Byrne used a plan of ... Qc7 and ... e5. Here he adopts a provocative policy of transposing into a kind of Dragon Variation.

7 Nf3 Bg7?

After 7 ..• Bg7

Kavalek-R. Byrne. 1978

8 eS! This disorients Black's pieces: his knight cannot go to g4 without losing time to h2-h3 and g2-g4, and it cannot retreat to d7 without dropping a pawn. The only other options are opening up the game with S ... dXe5 9 QxdS+ KxdS 10 fxe5 (followed by Bf4 and 0-0-0) or the uncomfortable squares h5 and gS. Best. it turned out. was gS.

... but he was already lost and gave up after another 21 moves-

13 QxdS RxdS 14 Be3 h6 15 Nge4 bS 16 Bb3 fS 17 gxf6 gxfS 18 Bb6! Rf8 19 Nd6 Bd7 20 0-0-0 Kh7 21 Rhgl e4 22 Ne2 BeS 23 h4 as 24 a3 Ra6 25 Be7 Ra7 26 Bb6 Ra6 27 BeS Rf6 28 Ba2 Rg6 29 Nf7 Rxgl 30 RXgl Bf6 31 Bd4 Bxd4 32 Nxd4 b4 33 NeS Bc8 34 NxfS and Black resigns Kavalek then neutralized another potential rival in the second round when he found that Rogoff had misanalyzed a delicate. but defensible. knight-and-pawn endgame. As with the Byrne surprise. this was also overshadowed by a dispute. This time it involved Mednis and Shamkovich and it later turned out to have a powerful impact on the fight for the interzonal places. It seemed to be a fairly uneventful game to most witnesses. Mednis then 41. became short of time in a slightly inferior position. He tried to beat off Shamkovich's pressure with a small combination but there was a flaw and with a few extra minutes to find it. Shamkovich reached the time control a piece ahead. Mednis promptly resigned. A short time later, however. Mednis discovered that he had been victimized by his clock. A spectator - Rogoff's fiancee - noticed that the times indicated on the stage clocks for the amount taken by Shamkovich and Mednis were much more than for any other game. She told another spectator who told an assistant tournament director about the apparently "fast" clock. But for some unexplained reason the clock was never examined and Mednis not informed of the problem until after he had

153

Primus Inter Pares (1972-1979) resigned. Understandably upset when he found out about the behind-the-scenes activities, Mednis drafted a well-argued appeal soon after the game. But his claim posed an extremely delicate question: If he had forfeited on time before making his fatal blunder, the game would have been resumed once the clock's faultiness was discovered. Now, however, he was claiming that he would not have blundered if he had had more time. He was asking for the game to be resumed arbitrarily at the middlegame position, thereby canceling more than a dozen moves. The appeals committee sympathized with Mednis but couldn't accept his basic premise - that the only reason he would play such a bad move as 30 ... d5 was that he was short of time. The normally affable Mednis, now a fulltime chess player, became visibly upset and threatened to sue everyone involved in the forfeiture verdict. He demanded that a statement be read at the beginning of each round, warning that he might drop out of the tournament at any moment. Somehow, in the next few days, he cooled down and began to win. Or vice versa. Meanwhile, Kavalek and Lein assumed the lead at 3-1, but the absence of Browne had created a bye which made the standings suspect. Christiansen had 2l/2 points but had only played three games. Also, Mednis fought back to equality but had to wait for a bizarre time forfeiture. In a preposterously lost position, with no queen of his own and two of Mednis' on the board, Lombardy sealed his 90th move. He didn't resign. Nor did he show up for the resumption of the game, forcing Mednis to wait for him to forfeit on time in the tenth hour of a very long game. The other contender who bounced back was Tarjan. He had been outplayed by Lein in the fourth round, getting swindled although a piece ahead. But Tarjan then pressed a small but significant advantage against Kavalek until it had grown to fatal proportions. And the next round saw him face Byrne in a battle of tactics (see diagram). With two bishops and a solid pawn in the ccnter, Byrne would appear to have sufficient

Mter 28 ... Rd5

Tarjan-Byrne, 1978

compensation for his king position weaknesses. But his young grandmaster rival pinpoints the hole in his armor.

29 Nh2! This will win the f-pawn - and ultimately the game - if it is permitted to remain on g4. Black must act quickly and he did.

29 ... Rd4! 30 Ng4 RXe4 31 Rxe4 Qxe2 32 R4e2 Qxf5 Now Black has two pawns for the exchange and is ready to activate them with ... f5 and ... e4. Yet the White pressure is still confining and Byrne is the first to err in a difficult position.

33 Rf2 Qg6? There was a nice drawing combination here in 33 ... Rxg4!! 34 Rxf5 Rxg2 since White must give back the sacrificed queen or permit perpetual check.

34 Qh4 Qg5? 35 Qxg5 Rxg5 36 Rei h5 37 Re7! This fine move crumples Black's bishops and virtually eliminated Byrne's bid for the title. The rooks dominate:

37 ... hXg4 3S Rxb7 Be5 39 Rxf6 gxh3 40 gxh3 e4 41 R6xf7 KgS 42 Rfe7! e3 43 ReS+ BfS 44 RbbS RfS 45 Kg2 and

26th U.S. Championship, Pasadena, June 4-26, 1978 Totals

K

1. Kavalek

x

2. Tarjan

3-4. 3-4. 5-7. 5-7. 5-7.

T

5

1

Y2

X 0

1 X

Y2 Yz Yz Yz

Yz

o Yz Yz Yz X Yz Yz Yz

0

In

Lein

N. Weinstein

0

Y2

Vz

8. Rogoff

o

1

9-10. Lombardy 9-10. Benko

Yz Yz

0 Yz 0 Y2 0 Y2 Y2

o

14-15. Common

sO

14-15. Regan

o

Yz Yz Yz Yz Yz

1

1

o o o

Yz Yz

W

V2

Yz

11-12. Zuckerman 13. Christiansen

L

0

Mednis

11-12. Soltis

B

X

Shamkovich

R. Byrne

M

1/2

Yz Yz X Yz

Y2

Yz

0

0 Y2 0

0 Y2 Vz 0 Y2

o Yz Yz Yz Yz Yz

0

0

o

Y2

0

0

0

Yz Yz Yz

Yz

X Yz Yz Yz Yz Yz 0

Yz

o

liz

R

L

B

Yz 0

Yz

Yz Yz Yz

X

1

0

X Yz

Yz 0 Yz Yz

Z

C

Yz

Yz

1/2

Yz

Yz Yz

0

Yz Yz

Yz Yz

5

0

Yz Yz 0

Yz Yz Yz Yz Yz

Yz Yz Yz Yz Yz

X

Yz

Yz Yz 0 Yz Y2

X

0 0

Yz Yz

Yz Yz

C

R

W

D

Yz

Yz

7 6

o Y2 Y2 Y2

Yz

o

Yz

Yz

Yz Yz Yz

Yz

Y2 Y2

o

liz

1

1 X Yz

liz

Y2 liz Y2

X

1

Yz Y2

o o

X

1/2

Yz

X

L

Points

6

2

9-5

3 3

6 8 9 9

3 2 2 2

8-6 8-6 7Y2-6Y2 7Y2-6Yz 7Y2-6Y2

5 4

6

10-4

1

13

0

3 3

8 7

3 4

Yz Y2

1

11

2

2

~/2

o

8 12 5 8 8

4 2 6 5 5

3

7-7 6Yz-7Yz 6Y2-7Y2 6-8 6-8 5Y2-8Y2

5-9 5-9

155

Primus Inter Pares (1912-1919) Black resigns (in view of 45 ... e2 46 Rxf8+ Rxf8 47 Rxf8+ and 48 Kf2). Kavalek held a share of first place until Round 9, when he drew with Lombardy while Lein was defeating U.S. Junior Champion Ken Regan in 28 moves. Lein theoretically held first place by a half poim but it was Christiansen who seemed destined to top the field. He was clearly a contender along with Sham kovich, Kavalek and Norman Weinstein - another former U.S. Junior champion and former New York City resident. But Christiansen had had his "Browne bye" and could plunge ahead of the pack when the other leaders had to sit out a round later on. Weinstein, who had kept the race tight in Round 5 by crushing Christiansen, was also in excellent shape. Anyone who finished with two wins more than losses might qualify for the interzonals, and \'V'einstein so far had that one win and a long string of draws. But Weinstein refused to take risks. He remained on [he verge of the "plus-two" he needed, while he piled up draw after draw, ceding second and then third place to other, more aggressive players. The last week began with Kavalek at 7Y2, Lein at 7, Shamkovich at 6 and Christiansen at 5Y2, but with an extra game to play and a relatively easy schedule. Yet there followed one of the most remarkable collapses in championship history. Christiansen began to lose, first to Benko in a tactical Sicilian when he overlooked the loss of a pawn, and then, as Tarjan edged past him in the standings, he tried to fight off his fellow Californian and was completely outplayed. This put Tarjan in clear second place at 7Y2, well behind Kavalek, but a half point ahead of Lein and Shamkovich. Lein fell in Round 14 to Kavalek, a game that clinched first prize for the Czech emigre, while Christiansen lost again. He finished out with five straight losses. The real race was for third prize - and the last interzonal spot, behind Kavalek and Tarjan. Mednis had begun to gain ground, beating Rogoff and Zuckerman in successive rounds. Yet all Shamkovich had to do to finish in clear third place was draw with the White

pieces against Lombardy on the final day. He quickly traded off pieces and seemed content with his position before it sharpened. Both sides had vulnerable sets of pawns and it became a battle between Shamkovich's bishop and Lombardy's knight:

After

34 ... Nxbl

Shamkovich-Lombardy, 1978

35 Bc8 Nc3 36 Bxb7 Kd7! The knight proves more agile than the bishop and a desperate Shamkovich must rush to the queens ide to stop the Black a-pawn. 37 BaG NXa4 38 KfI NxcS 39 Bc4 Kd6 40 Ke2 Nd7! 41 Kd2 Ne5 42 Be2 c5 13 Kc3 c4 44 Bf! Kc5 45 Bg2 Nf3 White's chances of holding the position hinge on getting his bishop to a new diagonal at eG where it can stop the enemy pawns from advancing up the queenside files. But Black, who has played the endgame elegantly, has any answer. 46 h5 a4 47 Bh3 a3 48 Be6 Nd2! And since the knight cannot be taken (49 Kxd2 a2) Black establishes a new wall of protection. The game ended with: 49 Kc2 Kb4 50 Bd5 Nb3! 51 Kbl c3 and White resigns The tie for third place had to be resolved to determine who would go to the Riga Inter-

zonal the following year, so a match was

156

The United States Chess Championship

ordered by the USCF. But it was never played. Mednis, still in a contentious mood, said that he and Shamkovich deserved a substantial prize fund for their playoff. But the federation officials, who had raised a relatively large $25,000 for the championship tournament, were unwilling to add much more money to

the playoff because then the match winner might end up with more money [or third place than Tarjan had for finishing second. Mednis then indicated that he might not play at all. And when the match was finally begun, he forfeited each of the games, claiming ill health.

Chapter Ten

The Russians Are Coming! (1980-1985) American chess had often been dominated by first- and second-generation immigrants, all that seemed to change were countries of descent. In the early days Great Britain (Charles Stanley, Capt. George Mackenzie) and France (Eugene Rousseau, Napoleon Marache) were major sources. Native-born masters predominated during the Pillsbury era. But once Frank Marshall had proven his superiority to Jackson Showalter and Albert Hodges, his strongest American opponents were newcomers to the United States from Central and Eastern Europe, such as Edward Lasker, Charles Jaffe, Oscar Chajes and Abraham Kupchik. He was ultimately replaced by Polish-born Sammy Reshevsky. But no wave of immigration had as much impact on U.S. chess as the exodus from the Soviet Union during its final decade. Each year's championship in the 1980s would showcase new emigres - Vitaly Zaltsman in 1980, Boris Kogan and Sergey Kudrin in 1981, Roman Dzhindzhikashvili and Dimitry Gurevich in 1983, and Lev A1burt and Maxim Dlugy in 1984-5. The previous Russian-Americans, such as Anatoly Lein and Leonid Shamkovich, had achieved their peak performances well before emigrating. But most of the new arrivals were just reaching their prime. Kudrin, Gurevich and Dlugy were not even masters when they came to their new country. The new migration meant an injection of new talent and energy into the

championship that would continue into the final years of the century - as well as creating friction with native-born players who resented the change in what they called "the SovietAmerican Championship."

1980: The Old Guard and the New The 27th and 28th championships can be considered twin tournaments. They had these characteristics in common with one anotherand with a few of their predecessors: They were held in middle America - Greenville, Pennsylvania, on the campus of a nO-year-old Lutheran college in the western part of the state and South Bend, Indiana, near the Notre Dame campus. They had new faces in abundance - Yasser Seirawan, Texas Joe Bradford, Marc Diesen, Peter Biyiasas and Vitaly Zaltsman in the 27th, and Sergey Kudrin, Joel Benjamin, Boris Kogan and Lev A1burt in the 28th. They were both influenced by the Soviet emigration that continued to add at least one strong master to the United States every year. They were also the first championships into which players could be seeded by piling up Swiss System tournament successes under a format sponsored, and enriched with extra prizes, by Church's Fried Chicken, a fast food chain. Moreover, the twin championships showed two other novelties. Together they comprised the big step forward by the post-Fischer

157

I i,

158

The United States Chess Championship

generation. Players such as Christiansen and Seirawan would soon be among the world's very best and would look at Browne, 7 and 11 years older than they, the way Evans and Byrne had once looked at Fine and Kashdan. They were a very new generation. But the second novelty was restricted to the 27th championship: the last hurrah of the 1950s generation. The results of Byrne, Bisguier, Evans and Benko had been slowly but perceptibly declining during the previous five years and there was doubt that they would ever again be a major factor in the race for the national title. They still could defeat individually any player in the event on a given day but could no longer sustain a series of successes that could put them in prolonged contention. In fact, in the following year their place would be taken by the remarkable Reshevsky - who had been virtually written off nearly 20 years before. The veterans began exceptionally poorly in the first round at the Thiel College campus as Seirawan and Peters methodically crushed Evans and Bisguier, while Byrne collapsed tactically to Bradford. Of all the players who played in the post-Fischer championships, Bradford was one of the biggest surprises. He came as a virtual unknown, having qualified by way of an upset victory in the relatively weak 1978 U.S. Open in Phoenix, Arizona. Bradford, of Austin, Texas, was by far the lowest rated in the field, and considered an easy point by some of the grandmasters. He certainly seemed to be living up to predictions as Byrne developed an overwhelming position with the Black pieces the first day.

Mter 27 Ba3

Bradford-Byrne, 1980

White's position seems solid enough but he has too many holes, such as at e3, f2 and f3, that can be exploited tactically. With two pieces undefended, he was also vulnerable to a surprise such as 27 ... Nxa2! which would have won quickly (28 Nxa2 Qxb3 attacking three pieces). Byrne, uncharacteristically, misses this. 27 ... QeS? 28 Na4 NfdS?! This leads to a winning position after a few moves but 28 ... Nd3, which threatens nothing yet contains everything, is stronger. 29 NxcS Nxe3 And this time Byrne misses the powerful 29 ... Qf5! which should end the game quickly, for example after 30 Qxe4 Qf2+ 31 Kh1 Nxe3 32 Rg1 QXg1+!. 30 Nd7! Bradford finds the one chance in a difficult position. He was still dead lost after the pretty move 30 ... Qd6!, exploiting the inability of White's rook to leave the first rank (31 Rxd6 RfI mate). Byrne finds a move that looks just as good, perhaps better. 30 ... Qd4?? 31 Qxh7+! But it's much worse. Black had to resign after 31 ... Kxh7 32 Nxf8+ Kg8 33 Rxd4 Nbc2 34 Rxe4. "I had you crushed like a chicken," said Byrne. "Yup," conceded Bradford. Brown beat Bradford the next day when five of the other six games that round were drawn and he appeared to be starting off in search of the title he felt had been unjustly stripped from him in Pasadena. But the following afternoon he came up against Christiansen, the player who had been waiting for him on the Ambassador College stage when Browne walked out two years before. The former champion appeared to take the game lightly, playing the black side of a Nimzo-

159

The Russians Are Coming! (1980-1985) Indian Defense very provocatively. When he opened the center and advanced his h-pawn to the fourth rank in what seemed to be a perfectly normal middlegame position, Christiansen's pieces instantly began to swarm over the board. Within six moves Browne's game was in ruins and within ten it was resignable. It was only Browne's third loss in five championships. Christiansen at 24 was already an accomplished chess professional and the most feared tactician in the U.S. He had grown up under the Southern California sun playing chess with his father and older brother between laps in the pool of the swimming club the family belonged to. At age 14 he was national high school champion even though still himself attending junior high. By the time of the Greenville tournament he had competed in 18 international tournaments, from Cuba to Estonia, and was then touring the United States giving simultaneous blindfold exhibitions on behalf of Church's Fried Chicken. With his unusually deep tactical sight Christiansen held the lead until the sixth round. Then, in the tournament's second stunning upset, he played too quickly against Bradford in a winning endgame and transformed it into a loss almost instantly. This dropped him into a four-way tie, but the tie did not include Browne, who was given a bye. The bye was necessary because Marc Diesen, one of the most promising American youngsters at the time and a former world junior champion, had to withdraw after mysteriously falling down a flight of stairs on the night of the third round. Browne, a half point back of the leaders, was promised one more game as a result of the bye and therefore a chance to catch up. So could the tournament's oldest contender, Larry Evans. He had been invited almost by accident. At the last minute Kavalek canceled out of the event and the USCF found itself having to break a tie for the substitute invitation. On the basis of rating, both Evans, 52, and Nick deFirmian, 23, were next in line. The USCF decided to break the tie by finding the average rating for the two players. The winner of this had to be Evans because he had played no tournament chess at all in the pre-

vious two years - his average rating was his current rating and also his peak rating. After the first-round setback, Evans had picked up speed, knocking o{fPeters and Biyiasas in well-played endgames. His defeat of Biyiasa, a former Canadian then living in San Francisco, was thematic:

B23 Sicilian Defense white Biyiasas, black Evans

1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 g6 4 g3 Bg7 5 Bg2 e6 6 0-0 Nge7 7 d3 0-0 8 Be3 Nd4 9 Ne2 Nec6 10 c3 Nxf3+ 11 Bxf3 b6 12 d4 Ba6! White's delayed advance in the center only serves to expose his soft underbelly. Here, for instance, 13 dxc5 would be met by 13 ... NeS 14 Bg2 Nc4 with a powerful initiative. As it stands, White is virtually forced to sacrifice a pawn.

After 12 ... Ba6

Biyiasas-Evans, 1980

13 ReI Qf6! 14 Bg2 Bxe2 15 Rxe2 exd4 16 exd4 Nxd4 17 Rd2 Ne6 Evans, the outstanding materialist of his generation, is ready to exchange his horribly weak d-pawn for the White b-pawn. White cannot regain his lost material but he can make a good fight of it with f2-f4 on this or the following move.

18 ReI Rae8 19 Rxd7? Qxb2 20 Re2 Qa3 And now White should try to find the

160

The United States Chess Championship

best possible endgame despite his lost pawn. His attempts to complicate matters only backfire. 21 h4 h5 22 Bg5? Ne5 23 Be7 Qa4 One final White slip, on move 27, allows Evans to demonstrate to a new generation what he had been famous for in the 1950s: merciless technique. 24 R7d2 Rfe8 25 Rxc8 Qxdl+ 26 Rxdl Rxc8 27 Bm Rc2 28 a4 Nf3+ 29 Kg2 Bd4!! and White resigns (30 Kxf3 Rxf2 mate). The next day Evans defeated Byrne for the first time in a generation while Browne, Christiansen and Seirawan also maintained the winning pace. Only Seirawan among the leaders could win the next day and it appeared the 20-year-old from Seattle would continue to move up. But in perhaps the crucial game of the event, and also the "best overall game" of the event according to a special prize jury, Christiansen demonstrated how much he had grown since the five straight losses in Pasadena. Al7 English Opening white Seirawan, black Christiansen 1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3 c6 3 Nf3 Bb4 4 Qc2 0-0 5 a3 Bxc3 6 QXc3 b6 7 b3 Bb7 8 Bb2 d6 9 e3 Nbd7 10 Be2 e5 11 d4 Ne4 12 Qc2 Qe7 13 Rdl Rad8 14 Bal Rfe8 15 0-0 as 16 Rfel h6

A curious bur logical starting point for the middle game. Black's opening strategy involved the control of e4 and for that reason he gave up his black-squared bishop. To protect his black squares he then advanced as many of his pawns to them as he safely could. White tried to encourage an opening of the center that would benefit his two bishops. And now that both sides have reinforced their center with rooks it is time for someone to do something. Black's last move shows he is reluctant to play ... f5, for example. Seirawan now forces his hand. 17 Bd3 f5!? 18 c5! bxc5 19 dXe5 This was the point of White's previous move. Black's pawns come under terrific fire after 19 ... dxe5 20 Bb5! Ng5 21 Nxg5. 19 ... Kh8! 22 Qb2

20 exd6 cxd6 21 BfI Qf7

A pretty position for White's queen and aI-bishop and the best way to assault g7. Black handles the next stage expertly. 22 ... Ndf6 23 Nd2 Bd5! 24 NXe4 Rxe4 25 Rd3? In a sense, this is the losing move, because Seirawan never regains control of the light squares around his king or the vital e4. The position called for 25 f3! 25 ... Rg4! 26 Qd2 Bf3! This serves a useful purpose in stopping White from connecting his queen to the kingside via f2-f4. Now, for example, 27 Rxd6 would lose to 27 ... RXg2+! 28 Bxg2 Qg6! 29 Rxd8+ Kh7 (but not 27 ... Rxd6 28 Qxd6 Rxg2+ 29 Bxg2 Qg6 because of 30 Qg3).

After

16 •.• h6

27 g3 Ne4 28 Q>
Seirawan-Christiansen, 1980

Hoping to bring the queen back to the kingside, via Bg2 and Qfl. The immediate 29 Bg2 leaves White outgunned on the king-

The Russians Are Coming! (1980-1985) side following 29 ... Bxg2 30 Kxg2 f4! 31 exf4 Qxf4 32 f3 Rxg3+! or 32 Rfl Nxf2. With Black's next move he threatens a double sacrifice on g3 and also prepares to meet 30 Bg2 with 30 ... Bxg2 31 Kxg2 Rh4! followed by ... Nxf2. 29 •.. Qg6 30 Redl!?

After 30 Redl

Seirawan-Christiansen, 1980

30 ... f4! An illustration of how a powerfully centralized knight can outweigh a good bishop, even a bishop that has a clear diagonal from a1 to g7. Black's knight contains the enemy rooks and threatens to take the kingside apart with sacrifices on f2 or g3. There was no reason for Black to blunt his attack by 30 ... Bxdl, although he would have a winning position if White now allows 31 exf4 Bxdl 32 Rxdl Rfxf4. 31 Rxd6? fxg3! Absolutely crushing (32 Rxg6 gxf2 mate; 32 fxg3 Rxg3+). 32 Bxg7 + Kh7! and White resigns Because Christiansen had the bye the next day, his half-point lead on the rest of the field couldn't hold up. Seirawan rebounded by outplaying Lein easily with his Modern Defense and then won the following day against Peters to surge into the lead. But he too had to take the bye, and when it came in Round

161

12, a massive tie for first place resulted. The tie included Evans and Christiansen, who had been coasting along with draws in the previous few days. But the tie also was shared by Browne, who had been given up for dead when Shamkovich defeated him in a prize-winning rook-and-knight ending in Round 9. After that loss he was tied for fifth through eighth place, a point and a half away from Christiansen's lead. But with key wins over Biyiasas and Peters - the latter being one of Browne's nemeses over the previous few years - the former champion nudged past "the Russians" and other contenders into first place. The final round saw the four leaders with difficult games, each knowing that a win could mean $5000 and first place while a loss could mean $900 and sixth. The youngest of the group, Seirawan and Christiansen, both had Black and they played riskily in their openings with Zaltsman and Shamkovich. Evans also faced a former Russian, Lein, but he played cautiously with the White side of a closed Sicilian Defense and had no reason to adjourn a drawish position after 45 moves. But Walter Browne did have a reason. He emerged from the opening with Bisguier with all of the advantages that usually count in the endgame - better placed pieces, a strong passed pawn and the initiative. As Browne pressed closer and closer to a win, Christiansen dropped a pawn to Shamkovich but had enough counterplay to force a draw. Seirawan's game, however, appeared to be deteriorating as he and Browne adjourned. Those two games would decide the tournament. Within minutes of the resumption later than night, Bisguier found a clever defense in the knight-andpawn endgame and Browne had to shake hands. Three of the four leaders had drawn and first place depended on what happened in the final game: A42 Modern Defense white Zaltsman, black Seirawan 1 d4 d6 2 g3 g6 3 Bg2 Bg7 4 Nf3 e5?! 5 dXe5 dxe5 6 QxdS+ KxdS 7 Nc3 c6 S Be3 Na6 9 0-0-0+ Kc7 10 Ng5 Nh6

162

The United States Chess Championship 23 ,,' Rf7 24 Bxe5+ Kb6 25 Bd4+ c5? The losing move. After 25 ... Kc7 White could still have a long way to go. But now the sixth rank is cleared and White will playa devastating Rd6+ if allowed. The rest of the game was a lengthy demonstration of Seirawan's ability to delay the inevitable.

After 10 .•• Nh6

Zaftsman-Seirawan, 1980

There arc a number of similar opening variations in which Black permits this exchange of queens and disorientation of his king. But usually he compensates for it. For instance, if White has played c2-c4 - which he has not done here - Black can attack the weakened pawn and perhaps occupy the weaker d4 square in the ending. Here Black has little ro show for his weaknesses: A risky way to play in a big game.

26 Be5 Rd7 27 Rxd7 Bxd7 2B Rdl Bc6 29 Bxc6 bxc6 30 Rg1 ReB 31 Rg5 Nc7 32 Kd2 Re6 33 e4 NcB 34 Ke3 Kb7 35 Kf4 Kc8 36 Rg3 Nd6 37 Bxd6! Rxd6 38 Ke5 Rd2 39 Rxg6 Rxb2 10 Rxc6+ Kd7 41 Ra6 Rh2 42 Kd5 Rxh4 43 Rxa7 + KeB 44 a4 Rhl 45 Kxc5 KfB 46 Rd7 ReI 47 as! Ral 4B Kb6 Rb1+ 49 Kc6 Ral 50 Rd5 h4 51 Rh5 Ke7 52 Rxh4 RXaS 53 c5 Ra4 54 Kc7 Ra7+ 55 Kb6 Hal 56 c6 Rb1+ 57 Kc7 Rb2 5B KcB Rb1 59 c7 Rb5 60 Rh7+ KeB 61 Rd7 RbI 62 Rd5 Ke7 63 Re5+ Kd6 64 ReB ReI 65 c5+ Ke6 66 Re6+ Kd5 67 Rb6 and Black resigns

11 f4! f6 12 Nge4 Nf5?!

1981: The Reason Why Black wants to block the f-file but he can do it more successfully with pawns, e.g. 12 ... Ng4 13 Bd2 f5! and a subsequent ... e4. 13 Bd2 h6 14 h4! Be6 15 g4 Nc7 16 fxe5 fxe5 Zaltsman, a quiet, thoughtful 1976 emigre who had been thriving on Swiss System events in the United States, establishes a bind over the center with his next few moves. Black's KB and QN are sealed off (. .. Nb4 would be met by Nb5+! and Bxb4) and White just needs time to prepare for the invasion of his rooks. 17 g5! h5 18 Nf6 Rhf8 19 Nce4 Nd5 20 c4! Nxf6 21 gxf6 Bxf6 22 Nxf6 Rxf6 23 Bc3 White must regain the pawn and has good chances of penetrating on the d-file. Note that 23 ... Rf2 self-traps the rook after 24 BXe5+ and 25 Bf3.

Midway through the 28th United States Championship Tournament, a few of the contending grandmasters were asked, simply, "Why?" Why did they play year after year when only the most promising, ambitious juniors seem to compete in the national championships of the Soviet Union and Europe? Why did they put in weeks of preparation and three weeks of play for a guarantee of only a few hundred dollars and the promise of a prize fund that is relatively small? No one spoke of the honor of the title. Or of the tradition that went back to Mackenzie and Morphy. Or even of the Marshall trophy, which had unaccountably disappeared a few years earlier. "I can't say winning a share of the championship means anything special to me," Christiansen said bluntly. "It's nice to play in because it's a round robin conducted under more civilized conditions rhan better-paying weekend Swisses."

163

The Russians Are Coming! (1980-1985)

27th U.S. Championship, Greenville, June 11-29, 1980 Totals C

E

B

S

S

L Z

B B B B P

1 Y2¥2¥2¥21

o

¥2

1-3. Christiansen

X ¥2

1-3. Evans

¥2 X ¥2 0

¥2

¥2

1

1-3. Browne

0¥2XI0Y21¥2

I

¥2

4-5. Seirawan 4-5. Shamkovich

o

6-7. Lein 6-7. Zalrsman

¥2 ¥2 ¥2 0

¥2 X ¥2 ¥2 ¥2 ¥2 ¥2

¥2 0

¥2 ¥2 X ¥2 ¥2

8-12. Benko 8-12. Biyiasas 8-12. Bradford 8-l2. R. Byrne

8-12. Peters 13. Bisguier

o

l O X ¥2

¥2

B

Y2 1 Y2

0

¥2 ¥2 ¥2 0

0 ¥2 ¥2 ¥2 o 0 0 ¥2 0 ¥2 0 ¥2 000 ¥2 0 ¥2

1 0 ¥2 0 ¥2 0 ¥2

1 ¥2

¥2 0

WDL

Points

4 7 5 5 2 5 5 2 5 4 3

7¥2-4¥2

381 1 10 1

363 8 3

7¥2-4¥2 7¥2-4¥2

7-5 7-5 6-6 6-6

¥2 ¥2 ¥2 ¥2 ¥2 0 X ¥2 ¥2 0 1 ¥2 1 0 ¥2 X 1

426

5-7 5-7 5-7 5-7 5-7

¥2 ¥2 0 ¥2 ¥2 ¥2 ¥2 0 X

093

4Y2-7Y2

0

¥2 ¥2 X

¥2 ¥2 ¥2 ¥2 ¥2 0

"It's one of the few round robins in the country," agreed Tarjan. "The prize fund is never that great, but it's a great relief from the Swisses. Also it's a stepping stone to the world championship in zonal years." He wouldn't mind winning, he seemed to be saying. The one player who put it in perspective was the player to whom it meant the most: "The U.S. championship is very important to me personally," said Walter Browne, "and I make a very conscious effort to finish first. The championship gives credibility to my simultaneous exhibition tours and gives me identification as 'the best there is.' It makes it easier to market myself if I have the tide. It means more in foreign appearance fees and even more invitations to important tournaments that a non-U.S. champion may not get, regardless of his rating." Christiansen and Tarjan were rated first and second at the start of the 28th championship, while Browne was only sixth, behind Kavalek, Seirawan and the latest Soviet emigre grandmaster, Lev Alburt. When play began on a hot Friday afternoon, July 10th, there was no clear favorite. Instead, the tournament

0

0

¥2 ¥2 ¥2

X

1 ¥2 0

¥2

0

X

¥2

1

264 345

o

10 2

shaped up as a field of relative equals, with no weak spots. Anyone, it seemed, could beat anyone, and when the final round.finished 19 days later, it seemed they had. Even the last place finisher scored three wins, while the top four prize winners had suffered five losses altogether. How rough the competition had become was apparent by the second round when Browne saw what had appeared to be a winning bishop sacrifice against Sergey Kudrin blow up in his face. Evans, another defending champion, lost his second straight game, this time being horribly outplayed in the opening against Byrne and forced to resign before his 21st move. He then withdrew from the tournament - the third straight championship in which someone had dropped out (Browne in '78 and Diesen in '80 had preceded him). This so outraged Lein, whose first-round victory over Evans was thus wiped out, that he muttered about it to the final day the players left South Bend. Christiansen, who had put teeth into the Caro-Kann, began with a nice win over Tarjan on opening day, then fell back into the

164

The United States Chess Championship

pack with a senes of draws. Browne lost again - this time to 17 -year-old Joel Benjamin. And to the astonishment of virtually everyone in the tournament, the leader after four rounds was Sammy Reshevsky. E18 Queen's Indian Defense

white Lein, black Reshevsky 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 g3 b6 4 Bg2 Bb7 50o Be7 6 c4 0-0 7 Nc3 Ne4 S Bd2 Bf6 9 ReI d6 10 Qc2 Nxd2 11 Qxd2 Nd7 12 Rfdl g6 13 b4 Qc7 14 RbI RfdS 15 e4 c6! 16 ReI RacS 17 Qe3 Bg7 IS Qd2?! Ba6 19 b5 cxb5 20 cxb5 Bb7 21 a4 Rc7 22 Rb3 RdcS 23 Qd3 Qf6!

After

23 ... Qf6

J,ein-Reshevsky, 1981

While seeming to make only defensive moves, Reshevsky has seized the initiative thanks to his rwo bishops. The bishops would have come into their own (with ... c5) even if White had not forced the first pawn exchange with 19 b5. Now he has reason to be concerned about 24 ... e5. A few more careless moves and White is lost. 24 Ra3 Bfs 25 Bh3 h5 26 Rb3 Bg7 27 Re3 Bh6 2S ReI g5! 29 Bg2 Bg7 30 Rdl g4! 31 e5? dxe5 32 Nxe5 Bxg2! 33 Nxd7 Qf3! 34 NeS BXeS 35 dxeS Rxc3 36 Rxc3 Rxc3 37 Qd2 Kh7 3S ReI Bh3 and White resigns Meanwhile, waiting in the background was Seirawan. He was born in Damascus, Syria, on March 24, 1960- the same birthday, he

once pointed out to a Soviet interviewer, as Vasily Smyslov. By the time his mother had moved to Seattle he had acquired the nickname, "Yes," and a wide range of interests. One. of those was chess, which he first met at age 12 and mastered with astonishing rapidity. Ten months after learning the moves he was champion of Seattle and within two more years he had defeated his first grandmaster, Bisguier. He remained an American secret until a remarkable afternoon during the 1978 Lone Pine tournament. After polishing off a few other masters at speed chess, Seirawan found himself faced by one of the big boys. Tigran Pettosian. Petros ian was not only a former world champion but for many years the best speed player in the Soviet Union. Yet he quickly lost two games to a 17-year-old few east of the Atlantic had heard of. Petrosian bore down and finished the session ahead, but the other GMs in the room took notice. By 1981 Seirawan had won two strong international tournaments and the world junior, earning a reputation for long but tactically dynamic games. In South Bend he scored his first win in 53 moves over Fedorowicz and would later score clutch victories in 41 and 45 moves. He never seemed to be a leader but suddenly during the final week appeared certain to finish first or second. "Yes" was the only one to go undefeated. It was Reshevsky and Kavalek during the early rounds and they kept the lead going into the second week of play. But then Browne assumed his finest championship form, reminiscent of his early rounds in 1975 or the first and last games of 1977. He won three games in a row by knocking off Shamkovich in 107 moves and then Alburt and Peters. (In the Alburt game he sealed a move and left a Hershey bar. Tournament Director Bill Lukowiak sealed the candy in another envelope. On resumption, Browne opened both and consumed chocolate and Alburt in quick bites.) Meanwhile, Kavalek was slowed by draws with Kudrin and the remarkable Reshevsky. Seirawan made it a three-way tie in Round 11 by fending off a dangerous-looking but insufficient attack by Boris Kogan. Kavalek

The Russians Are Coming! (1980-1985) and Reshevsky settled for draws with Browne and Tarjan, but Browne made it six out of seven by containing Tarjan the next day. That was the day Christiansen was upset by Benjamin, whose score of 5-7 was a considerable achievement for a 17-year-old in this company. Christiansen then beat Kudrin in Round 13 while the other leaders all drew. At this confusing point, anyone of five men could win the tournament - Seirawan, Christiansen, Reshevsky, Kavalek and Browne - while Shamkovich, Byrne, Peters and Lein still had chances of getting to the interzonal. Kavalek would have the bye in the next-to-last (14th) round, while Browne would sit out the last day. The only thing that seemed clear was that Christiansen's final games would be the most significant. He would have Black against Reshevsky, followed by White against Kavalek. And it was the first game that set the stage: A70 Benoni Defense

white Reshevsky, black Christiansen 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 cS 3 dS g6 4 eli Bg7 5 Nc3 0-0 6 e4 d6 7 Be2 e6 S 0-0 ReS 9 Nd2 Na6 10 ReI Nc7 11 Bfl b6 12 Nf3 exdS 13 cxdS This recapture establishes the character of the opening, after an intentionally delaying sequence of preparatory moves by Black. The Modern Benoni setup of Christiansen's allows him to activate his queenside majority before White gets the central pressure that customarily gives him the initiative. Under a normal order of moves -with ... exd5/cxd5 at move five or six - White would have had time to get his knight to the excellent c4 square by now and attack d6.

165

After 1S ... Nd7

ReshevskY-C/lristiansen, 1981

but it has a long-term policy in mind: He can blockade the quecnside with a4-a5 and b2-b4, though that concedes Black a passed c-pawn. White would then maneuver to regain control of the dark squares with Be3-d4 so that he can blast the center open with f2-f4 and e4-e5. 21 b4 c4 22 Qd2 bxa4! A wonderful response that involves an attack from the wings and the sacrifice of the cpawn in order to weaken critical squares. To win that pawn Reshevsky will have to give up his best minor piece. 23 Nxa4 NbS 24 BXeS BXeS 25 Bxc4 Qf6 26 Qd3 h5! Black hopes to force a weakening at g3 his queen and bishop can exploit. 27 g3 h4 28 f4 hxg3! Now (29 fxe5 Qf2+), Black is on top. 29 32 35 38

Rfl Bxf4 30 BxbS axbS 31 Nc3 Qg5 Kg2 Be5 33 Rael Kg7! 34 Nxb5 Rh8 Rh1 Rh4 36 Nd4 Rxb4 37 Nf3 Qf6 Rhfl Rf4

13 ... Bg4! 14 h3 Bxf3 IS Qxf3 Nd7 (see diagram)

16 Bf4 Ne5 17 Qg3 Bf6! 18 a4 a6 19 Qe3 Rb8 20 Rab1 b5 White's strategy appears purely defensive

Black can finish off with a series of hammer blows within a few moves. White is most vulnerable along the second rank and he is constantly vulnerable now to such possibilities as 39 Nxe5 Rf2+! (not 39 ... Rb2+ 40 Re2! Rxfi 41 Ng4!) 40 Kgl Qxe5 with a

28th U.S. Championship, South Bend, July 9-30, 1981

1-2. Browne 1-2. Seirawan 3-5. Christiansen 3-5. Kavalek 3-5. Reshevsky 6. Shamkovich 7 -8. R. Byrne 7-8. Peters 9. Lein 10-12. Alburt 10-12. Kogan 10-12. Tarjan 13. Benjamin 14-15. Fedorowicz 14-15. Kudrin

B

S

X

Yz X lh lh lh Yz Yz lh lh lh 0 Yz 0 0 0

lh 0 lh Yz 0 lh 0 lh 0 Yz 0 1 0

C

Yz X lh 0 Yz I/z

0 Yz 0 lh 0

Yz 0

K

R

lh lh Yz

lh Yz

X

Yz X lh Yz Yz 0 Yz 0 lh 0 Yz 0

lh 0 Yz 0 lh 0

Yz Yz 0 Yz

S

lh Yz

Yz X lh Yz Yz 1 0 0 0 lh 0

B

Yz lh Yz Yz Yz Yz X Yz Yz Yz 0 lh Yz lh

P

I/z

lh lh I/z

X lh 0 lh Yz 0 I/z 0

L

Yz lh lh Yz Yz lh lh X 0 lh Yz 0 lh

A

K

T

lh

Yz

Yz Yz 0

Yz 0 lh 1

X Yz I/z 0

1 0 Yz Yz Yz

Yz Yz

B 0 1 0 Yz

Yz Yz 0

Yz

F

Yz Yz lh Yz Yz Yz

W

0 1 1 lh

6 4

6 10

5 4 4 4 1

7 9 9 7 12

3 1 4

8 11 4 6 6

Yz 1 Ih

0

X

lh

0

X

0 1

lh 0

0 Yz 0

X Yz Yz

0 Yz lh

X

Totals D L

K

3 3

Yz 0 X

3 1

3

5 B 4

2 0 2 1 3 I

3 2 6

5 5 6 5 7

Points 9-5 9-5 8lh-5lh 8lh-5lh 8lh-5Yz 7Yz-6Yz 7-7 7-7 6lh-7Yz 6-8 6-8 6-8 5lh-BYz 5-9 5-9

The Russians Are Coming! (1980-1985)

167

quick win, e.g. 41 Rxf2 gxf2+ 42 Kxf2 Rb2+ 43 Re2 Qh2+ 44 Kfl Rbl+!.

left before agreeing to the draw. Thus Christiansen won on tie breaks.

39 Re2 g5 40 Qc2 Rb8! 41 Qd3 Rh8 42 Reel g4 43 Nxe5 gxh3+ 44 KgI h2+

1983: Equal First Among Equals

And now a pretty finish: The pawns are cleared away. 45 Khl g2+! 46 Kxg2 hl(Q)+! 47 Rxhl Rf2+ and White resigns This fine win dropped Reshevsky back to No.5 in the list of interzonal candidates and, in retrospect, was the game that pushed Christiansen ahead of Kavalek as well. Since Kavalek and Christiansen drew on the final day, while Reshevsky won a game he had to against Kogan, there was a three-way tie for third place. But Christiansen was in perfect position for a potential playoff because of his win from Reshevsky - he would have the better tie-breaking chances as a result. Meanwhile, Browne completed the most remarkable comeback since, well, Reshevsky in 1936. He defeated Fedorowicz, who was doomed to share last place, and assured himself of a final 9-5 score. Even if Seirawan defeated Lein in the final round, Browne was assured of second prize. Bur, as in the previous years, Browne didn't stick around for the final hours. He left South Bend for his California home a day early to prepare for a tournament in Chile and didn't know for hours how Seirawan had held a slightly inferior position to achieve a tie for first place. To break the tie for the third interzonal trip, a double-round playoff was held less than three months later in Jacksonville, Florida. If all six games were drawn, or if Kavalek and Christiansen were tied, the method of breaking the deadlock would favor the young manbecause of that victory over Reshevsky in the 14th round. Reshevsky had one good chance to squeeze by. He adjourned a highly favorable rook-and-knight ending against Kavalek on the fifth day of play but could not break through. The game lasted 90 moves and Reshevsky gave it every ounce of energy he had

In the first 26 modern championships there had been only three ties for the tide. Usually the winner - a Fischer or a Reshevsky - was a point or two ahead of his rivals. But beginning in 1980 the title was shared three straight times. Was the age of dominating champions over? It certainly seemed that way in 1983 when the tournament returned to Thiel College. The selection again of the Pennsylvania campus was inevitable, and yet also controversial. It was inevitable because there simply were no bids from organizers to hold the event anywhere else. Local sponsors were eager to host a large, profit-making tournament such as a U.S. Open, which brings in tens of thousands of dollars in entry fees. But the United States Championship, by definition, loses money, and it is attractive to organizers only when there is a great deal of prestige at stake. "In a zonal year, it's easy to find a quality playing site," a top USCF official explained at Thiel that summer. "In other years you can't give the tournament away." In the end the USCF turned to Thiel because of its low overhead. But this did not satisfy Yasser Seirawan, who had emerged during 1981-82 as the highest rated American in foreign events. At 23 he was already a European-style veteran used to receiving hefty appearance fees to play at deluxe hotels in places such as Tilburg, Berlin and London. When he learned that the 1983 championship was set for Greenville a "very upset" Seirawan wrote the USCF asking for more money, better publicity and living conditions and more advanced notice. The best U.S. players should not be "living in dormitories and eating cafeteria food," he said. The controversy over Seirawan's refusal of his invitation tended to obscure the strength of the 29th event. It had been improved significantly by the presence of two relatively

168

The United States Chess Championship

unknown players who had not been available in previous years despite very impressive results and ratings. One was Roman Dzhindzhikashvili, 39, a Soviet immigrant who had reached New York by way of Israel, West Germany and various European casinos. An inveterate gambler, "Dzhindy" seemed to play chess whenever forced to by poker losses. But when he played he played very well and he had been rated among the world's top ten grandmasters only three years before. In 1983 he was considered for the first time to be an American and therefore eligible to play for the national title. On the other hand, Nick deFirmian, 26, was a slim, laid-back Californian whose casual manner contrasted sharply with the high-tension, chubby Dzhindy. DeFirmian's casualness extended to his attire - the tournament officials at Thiel had to ask him to wear shoes during the rounds. But this concealed an extremely aggressive tactical style. As Christiansen's play seemed to mellow in the 1980s, deFirmian assumed the role of America's most incisive attacking player. The tournament began during a heat wave and, with no air conditioning in the dormitories, a series of early, get-acquainted draws might have been expected during the first week. But the opposite occurred as there were 16 decisions and only five draws - one of which earned Sergey Kudrin a prize for "Best Swindle" - in the first three rounds. Profiting the most from this were Joel Benjamin and the newest Soviet emigre, Dmitry Gurevich, who each had perfect 3-0 scores. Benjamin, then 19, was sharpening his style and had won what later turned out to be the brilliancy prize game against Jay Whitehead, his successor as U.S. Junior champion, in the second round. But in the fourth round he was outplayed in an innocuous opening: A30 English Opening

white Dzhindzhikashvili, black Benjamin 1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3 c5 3 g3 e6 4 Nf3 b6 5 Bg2 Bb7 6 0-0 Be7 7 d4 cxd4 8 Qxd4 0-0

9 b3 d6 10 Ba3! Na6 11 Radl d5? 12 Bh2 dxc4 13 Qxc4 To avoid continuing pressure against his d-pawn Black traded it off. But the result is a big lead in development for White and this will be more visible ifhe can position his rooks on d1 and cl before Black coordinates his pieces. 13 ... Qc8 14 Qf4 Nh4 15 Rcl Qh8 16 Qxb8! Raxb8 17 Ne5! Bxg2 18 Kxg2 Rbc8 19 a3!

After 19 a3

Dzhindzhikashvili-Benjamin, 1983

Surprise: Black is already lost, in view of Nb5 and Nc6. 19 ... Nc6 20 NXc6 RXc6 21 Nd5! and Black resigns (21 ... Rxc1 22 Nxe7+!). Dzhindy, who speaks Russian, German, Hebrew and English as well as his native Georgian, had little to say about the game. Neither did Benjamin. But tournament director Richard Verber summed up this miniature to an Associated Press correspondent: "Joel was killed like a chicken before he had a chance to flap his wings." The quotation appeared prominently in newspapers the next day, especially in nearby Pennsylvania and Ohio towns. "Youngest Chessmaster 'Killed Like Chicken,'" said one headline, and spectators who had never heard a chess victory described in quite those terms began to travel 30 and 40 miles to Thiel to see what the excitement was all about.

"I

The Russians Are Coming! (1980-1985) The tempo cooled down in the next four rounds as Dzhindy and Christiansen maintained a cautious half-point lead over Browne. None of the leaders was taking any risks and they contented themselves throughout their three weeks in Greenville by trying to beat the lower half of the scoretable. As it turned out, all six games involving the top four finishers were drawn - and Browne and Dzhindy only scored one win against the players who finished in the top seven places. In fact, the most interesting games played during the tournament's second week were the high-stakes, five minute games between Dzhindzhikashvili and Kamran Shirazi, an Iranian emigre who specialized in winning weekend Swiss events in California. And the only drama carne when Greenville police carne to the tournament hall to take Whitehead into custody for breaking into the town's public swimming pool after hours. (The officers were talked out of their arrest.) The main feature of the closing rounds was deFirmian's late bid for first prize. He had started out poorly, with two points out of five. But then he won Jim Tarjan's queen in Round 6, brought Dzhindy to the brink of defeat in Round 7 and ground down Shirazi and Alburt. Going into the 11th round he was still a distance from the leaders. Then: AJO Queen's Indian Defense

white Gurevich, black deFirmian 1 Nf3 e5 2 e4 Nf6 3 Nc3 e6 4 g3 b6 5 Bg2 Bh7 6 0-0 Ne6 7 h3 Be7 8 Bh2 0-0 9 d4 Nxd4! 10 Nxd4 BXg2 11 Kxg2 exd4 12 Qxd4 Qe7 13 Radl d6 The opening is similar to the Dzhindy-Benjamin game and typical of the restrained systems of the 1980s, which tended to be more elastic and ambiguous than the King's Indians and Sicilians of the previous 25 years. Accurate simplifications by Black has left White with an advantage in space that is difficult to use. Black is readying ... d5 and ... b5. Gurevich, who two months later became a grandmaster, hurries into a kingside attack.

169

14 f4!? a6 15 a4 RfdS 16 Rf3 d5! 17 exd5 exd5 18 h4 Qh7 19 g4 as!

After 19 ...

as

D. Gurevich-deFirmian. 1983

Black fights for control of c5 so he can play ... Bc5 and ... d4, which would virtually refute White's attack. Gurevich must continue with a doomed plan. 20 g5 axh4 21 gxf6 Be5! 22 Qe5 hxc3 23 Bxc3 g6 24 Kg3 This last move gets the White king off the diagonal of Black's queen and prepares 25 Rfd3, e.g. 25 ... Rxa4 26 Rfd3 Re4? 27 Qxe4! dxe4 28 Rxd8+ Bf8 29 Rxf8+! and mates. DeFirmian won a prize for the best combination at Thiel for the last four moves of this game. But it might have been awarded for all his remaining moves. 24 27 29 32

... d4! 25 Bxd4 Rd5! 26 Qe3 Qd7 Bxe5 (forced) Rxdl 28 Bxh6 Re8 Qf2 h5! 30 h3 Qxa4 31 Be5 Re4 Be7 Qe4 33 Re3

White's last chance for survival rests on protecting his pawns at e2 and f4. Yet: 33 ... h4+! 34 Kg4 Rg1+! 35 Qxgl Rxf4+ 36 Kg5 Rf5+ and White resigns (it's mate after 37 Kh6 Rh5). That left the standings at Christiansen and Browne, 8Y2; Dzhindy, 8; deFirmian 7'12. But with these pairings for the final two rounds it was clear a lot would change: deFirmian vs.

29th U.S. Championship, Greenville, July 14-August 1, 1983 Totals

B

C

0

0

B

1-3. Browne 1-3. Christiansen 1-3. Dzhindzhikashvili 4. deFirmian 5-6. Benjamin 5-6. Gurevich 7. Soltis 8-9. Alburr 8-9. Lein 10. Whitehead 11-12. Kudrin 11-12. Sh irazi

X Yz Yz Yz Yz

Y2

Yz Yz

Yz Yz X Yz 0 Yz Yz 0 Yz 0 Yz 0 Yz

Yz Yz Yz X

13-14. Kogan 13-14. Tarjan

Yz X Yz Yz 0 Yz 0 Yz Yz Y2 0 0 Yz 0

0

0 Yz 0 Yz 0 0 0

0

1 0 Yz 0 0 0 0

G

A

L

Yz

Yz Y2

Y2 Y2 Yz

0

X Yz Y2

S

Yz X 0

l/Z

Yz

0

0

1/2

0 0 Y2

Y2

Yz 0 Yz 1 X Y2 Yz Yz

W

Yz 0

l/Z

0

Yz

Y2 Y2 1

Yz

0

0

0

0

0

Yz Yz Yz Yz X Y2 Y2 Yz 0

S

Yz

l/Z

Yz 0 Yz X

K

Yz Yz Yz Y2 X 0

Yz 0 Yz 0 1 X Y2

T

W

0

L

Points

Y2 Y2 Yz

Y2

5 5 5 6 4 4

8 8 8 4 6 6 7 6 10

0 0 0

9-4 9-4 9-4 8-5 7-6 7-6 6Yz-6Y2 6-7 6-7 5Yz-7Yz 5-8 5-8 4-9 4-9

Yz Yz Y2 0 Yz 1 0

X

0

Y2 Yz

K

0

0

1 0

3 3 l/Z

Yz Yz 1 X

Y2 0

2

0

3 4 0

X

3

7 4 2 8 2

3 3 3 3 4 2 4 6 7 5 8

The Russians Are Coming! (1980-1985) Browne, then Christiansen vs. deFirmian. Browne, meanwhile, would play Benjamin on the final day. "That's the trouble with this tournament," Dzhindzhikashvili joked as he scanned the pairings, "Too many Americans." An anti-Browne cabal then emerged, coalescing over late-night beers at Greenville's favored watering hole, the Alley Cat bar. What do I do tomorrow against Browne, deFirmian asked aloud and with that, pocket sets came out to help him prepare. After several opening ideas were proposed by players in the tournament one internationally titled master offered a new idea against Browne's Najdorf Sicilian "provided nobody tells Browne where this came from." All the conspirators agreed and they huddled over the idea, a knight sacrifice that - at 1 A.M.-looked strong. But the next day Browne seemed to refute the "Alley Cat Variation" after 40 minutes of thought and a later time scramble. During the second session of play, Browne had a rook, knight and bishop but no pawns, against deFirmian's two rooks and pawn. The game resumed again in a private room after the tournament hall air conditioning collapsed and Walter tried until move 102 to win rookand-knight-vs.-rook before he conceded the draw. On the final day it was Benjamin who received free opening advice from the other players and he refused Browne's early offer of a draw. Christiansen, sensing his moment had arrived, then sacrificed a pawn against deFirmian. But his fellow Californian beat off the attack and in the fourth hour of play it appeared Browne might achieve clear first prize with a win or draw. However the tide turned once more, allowing Christiansen a little combination and Benjamin a method of exchanging crucial pawns. Both games were drawn. Dzhindy's slow crush of Tarjan escaped attention but it allowed him to make it a three-way tie for $10,500 in prize money. Couldn't anyone win clear first prize in this thing? The players wondered as they once again left Greenville.

171

1984: Fast Break By the mid-1980s an entire generation of American players had grown up on weekend Swiss System tournaments. And because of that they had a hard time understanding what happened in Berkeley, California, July 9-30, 1984. How, they wondered, could a player, who had never gotten as much as an even score in the national championship in rwo previous tries, roll up a score of 12V2-4v2 in what seemed to be the strongest-ever field? How could the three defending co-champions fall from an overwhelming record of 27-12 a year before to a marginal 26-25 in Berkeley? And how could another strong master, one of the most successful Swiss event players of the day, manage a score of one draw and 16 losses? The answers lay in the difference berween round robins and Swisses, and the overriding significance in a round robin of a strong start. Players had grown used to Swisses, in which the master who wins several games is paired with stronger and stronger opponents until he exceeds his talent and is pushed back down. A player who starts off badly knows, on the other hand, that he'll get easier pairings as a result. Often, in large Swiss System events, the final rounds count much more than the first few rounds. The round robin is different and, as the preeminent round robin in America, the U.S. championship is very different. What had happened at the University of California Student Union building that July was similar to what happened at the Hotel Paso del Norte in El Paso 11 years before, when John Grefe's string of victories set the tournament tone. But this time it was Lev Alburr's string. Here's how it began: Round 1. Alburr springs a new opening idea, a delayed version of his favorite Benko Gambit on Larry Christiansen and the defending champ has to concede a draw after 24 sharp moves. Only one game ended in a victory that day - Sergey Kudrin's grinding down on Kamran Shirazi in what eventually turned out to be a battle berween the last-place and next -to-last-place finishers.

The United States Chess Championship

172

Round 2. Alburt stuns Jack Peters, who returned to the championship after a threeyear hiatus. The game was decided in 18 moves:

may have been counting on 17 ... Qg4 but now this allows the powerful centralization 18 QeS, intending 19 Qc7. For example, 18 ... Rc8 19 e4 fxe4 20 Nxe4 Rxcl 21 Rxcl with multiple threats.

EOl Catalan Opening

white Alburt, black Peters 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 g3 c5 4 Nf3 cxd4 5 Nxd4 Qc7 6 Nc3 a6 7 Bg5!? b6 So far, a strange opening in which White dares Black to take the c-pawn and open the c-file (7 ... Qxc4 8 Rcl). Alburt, who specializes in slightly unusual openings such as Alekhine's Defense and the Benko Gambit, now tries to unbalance the position with a series of double-edged exchanges. S Bxf6 gxf6 9 Bg2 Bb7 10 Bxb7 Qxb7 11 0-0 Be7 12 Qd2 Nc6 13 Nxc6 Qxc6 14 Qh6! By stopping 14 ... 0-0 as well as the aggressive 14 ... h5, White confronts his opponent with a difficult decision about the future. What will Peters do in the next half dozen moves while Alburt is strengthening his center with rook moves and pawn advances? Peters decides to force matters. 14 ..• Qxc4 15 Qg7 Rfs 16 Rac1 f5?! 17 Rfdl

After 17 Rfdl

Aiburt-Peters, 1984

White's major threat is 18 NdS followed by Rxc4 or Nc7+. With his last move Black

17 ... RcS IS e4! fxe4? Overlooking the point of White's last move. But Peters was already in deep trouble (18 ... RcS 19 Rd4 or 18 ... Rc6 19 exf5 exfS 20 Qe5). 19 Ne2! e3 20 Rxc4 and White wins At this point Alburt's 1\t2-V2 score was matched by five others. Round 3. As Black, Alburt draws with Dzhindzhikashvili, who had beaten him badly a year before in Greenville and, most memorably, had swindled him in the final round of the 1980 Lone Pine International out of the $12,000 first prize. Round 4. Facing the third defending champion, Alburt lures the slow-starting Browne into an inferior endgame and squeezes him into submission after 71 moves. The Soviet defector is now tied with Tarjan in second place, a half point behind the other tournament surprise, I8-year-old Maxim Dlugy. Round 5. Alburt uses his delayed Benko Gambit again, this time against Tarjan. The Californian weakens Alburt's pawns on both wings and prevents him from castling - but then badly misplaces his own minor pieces. By the 20th move Tarjan's huge lead in space and development is dissipated and he tosses away a pawn to break Black's initiative. Alburt engineers a favorable exchange of heavy pieces and by adjournment the trend is clear. Tarjan concedes on the 57th move. Round 6. Facing the tournament leader, Alburt seeks an early exchange of queens and then pours on the pressure against his inexperienced opponent (see diagram). White's pawn structure is much more sound and his rook is much better placed. But a winning plan is missing. White's king cannot approach the center easily (34 Kb2 RbS+

The Russians Are Coming! (1980-1985)

After

33 ... ReS

Alburt-Dlugy, 1984

35 Kc2 Ra5) and Black is itching to invade with ... Kf6-e5-f4-g3. 34 a4! g5 35 Kh2 hS? Whose king will make contact first? It appears that White is stopped on the queenside after 46 Ka3 a5. 36 Rd6! g4 Dlugy realizes it is time to be desperate. He hopes for 37 hXg4 hxg4 38 fxg4 Re5 39 Rxc6 Rxe4. If Black sits on the position with 36 ... Kf8 or 36 ... f6 White will exploit the stalemated position of his rook with 37 Ka3 a5 (else 38 Kb4) 38 Kb2! followed by Kc2-d2-e3-d4. 37 f4! and Black resigns Nothing can stop the White king now.

Alburt Dlugy Seirawan Fedorowicz Christiansen Benjamin Tarjan Kavalek Henley Dzhindzhikashvili Kogan

173

Round 7 Someone finally plays 1 e4 against Alburt and it is Robert Byrne, who at 56 is by far the oldest player in the event. His bid to blow Alburt's Alekhine's Defense apart backfires and he becomes his fifth victim in seven games. Round 8. A slight opening inaccuracy by Kudrin is relentlessly punished by Alburt who, for the sixth time, trades queens by the 22nd move. No one, it seems, can contain him in the endgame. At this point the tournament had not yet reached the halfway mark, since it was to last 17 rounds - the largest championship since South Fallsburg in 1948. Yet the title was virtually decided because of Alburt's tremendous spurt. Consider the standings after eight rounds and how closely they resemble the final standings two weeks later (see table below): With a few exceptions the players coasted during the final nine rounds with many grandmaster draws. First prize was all but conceded to Alburt by Round 14 and he drew three of his last four games in a total of 50 moves. There would be no Browne charge this year. Losses to Dlugy and John Federowicz had left him near the bottom of the scoretable after the first week. He fought back but a terrible blunder against Dzhindy in Round 12 followed by a disastrous loss in 20 moves to Tarjan spelled the end of his hopes for a seventh title in eight tries. The closest call for Alburt came in Round 13 when he led Dlugy by one point and Yasser Seirawan by lY2. Seirawan. trying to make up

8 Rounds 7-1 (plus 6) 6-2 (plus 5) 5Y2-2Y2 (plus 3) 5-3 (plus 2) 5-3 (plus 2) 5-3 (plus 2) 4Y2-3Y2 (plus 1) 4Y2-3Y2 (plus 1) 4Y2-3Y2 (plus 1) 4-4 (even) 4-4 (even)

Final (17 Round) Result 12Y2-4Y2 (plus 8) lOY2-6Y2 (plus 4) 1OY2-6Y2 (plus 4) lOY2-6Y2 (plus 4) 9Y2-7Y2 (plus 2) 9-8 (plus 1) lOY2-6Y2 (plus 4) 9Y2-7Y2 (plus 2) 9-8 (plus 1) 9-8 (plus 1) 9-8 (plus 1)

30th

u.s. Championship, Berkeley, July 9-30, 1984 Totals

ADD

F

1. Alburt 2. deFirmian

x

~

X

1

~

3-6. Dlugy 3-6. Fedorowicz 3-6. Seirawan 3-6. Tarjan 7 -S. Christiansen 7-8. Kavalek 9-12. Benjamin 9-12. Dzhindzhi 9-12. Henley 9-12. Kogan 13. R. Byrne 14. Browne 15. Gurevich 16. Peters 17. Kudrin 18. Shirazi

o

0

X

1

~

~

0

o

0

~

0

S

T

C

K

~

~

B

D

H

K

~

~

~ ~

B

B

G

S

~

6 6

10 9

0

~

~

~

~

X

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

5

11

~

X

~

~

~

~

1

~

0

9 9

2 2

IO~-6~

~

6 6 4

11

2

9Y2-7Y2

2 5

0 4

9Y2-7~

3 4

15 8 10 12 10

2 3

9-S 9-8 9-8 9-8

4

9

4

8Y2-8Y2

4 2 3

7 9 6 5

6 6 S II 16

~

~

~

~

~

~

X

~

~

~

1

~

~

0

~

~

X

~

~

~

~

1

12~-4Y2

~

~

~

~

7

Points

~

~

~

9

L

~

~

~

D

~

~

~

W

~

o

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

0

~

0

~

~

~

~

~

~

X

~

~

o 0

0

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

0

0

~

~

X 0

1 X

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

0

~

0

~

X

~

Y2

~

~

~

0

~

~

~

1

Y2

0

~

~

X

~

Y2

o o

Y2~~Y2

1

o

~

o

~Y2XY2Y2

~YzYz

0

Y2Y2YZ

~

Y2

o

~

K

~

~

~

P

o o o

~

0 Y2

0

o

OYZ~OY20

~

0

Y2

0

OYZY2Y20

o o

Y2

~

I

o o

~

X

~

~

1

~

~

~

0 0

1

~OXYZY2

1

o

~

X

o o o OY2~Y20 o o Y2 o o o o o o o o o o Y2 0 o o o o o 0

~

1 X 0

I X

4

o

11-6 2

1O~-6~ IO~-6~

3

IOY2-6~

7Y2-9~

6Y2-10Y2 6-11 3Y2-13~

Yz-16Y2

The Russians Are Coming! (1980-1985) for his absence in Greenville and seeking a running start for the 1985 interzonals, had turned the tables and was pressing Alburt in a long endgame. A victory would boost him into the fight for the $5200 first prize and, perhaps more important, re-establish his claim to being the top American player.

After 47 ... Rf8

Seirawan-Alburt, 1984

For once it was Alburt's opponent who had the better pawns, king position and piece placement in the endgame. The problem for Seirawan is that all three prime targets, the a-pawn, d-pawn and g-pawn, are apparently defendable. I;or example, 48 Kh6 Rh8+ 49 Kxg6?? Rg8+. After six hours of maneuvering to get this far, Seirawan thinks he has his breakthrough: 48 Rf2 Rb7! 49 f5+?? gxfS 50 exfS+ Rxf5+! 51 RxfS Rg7+

175

and, in fact, most of the other players seemed content to draw with one another - and make sure they defeated Kamran Shirazi. The Iranian had gotten off to a start as bad as Alburt's was good. Following six straight losses he managed a draw with Dzhindy, then began another streak of zeroes. Swiss System players, accustomed to dropping out of the tournament after the first loss, are often bewildered by the difficulties of round robins and Shirazi was a spectacular example. By the 15th round he was so discouraged that he set a negative record against Peters: He lost the shortest-ever game in a U.S. championship. After 1 e4 c5 2 b4 cxb4 3 a3 d5 4 exd5 Qxd5, Shirazi-Peters 1984 continued 5 aXb4?? and White resigned after 5 ... Qe5+ because he will lose a rook. The other major second-half exception was deFirmian. "Nick doesn't care about the score," explained his friend Fedorowicz. "Nick just wants to play." And this was illustrated by his second straight comeback in a championship. After scoring only 3Y2 points in the first eight games, the easy-going Californian won four straight games, defeating Alburt, Seirawan, Shirazi and Benjamin. His sprightly, aggressive style of play captured the imagination of the 1500 paying spectators, a championship tournament record. And when he needed a win in the last round, he ended up sharing the Brilliancy Prize. A31 Queen's Indian Defense

white deFirmian, black Kudrin This is the surprise defense that Alburt had prepared. Seirawan will lose all his queenside pawns after 52 Kf4 RXg3 53 Rxh5 Rxb3 54 Rh6+ Kd7 55 Ke4 Kc6 and 56 ... Rd. So he fought on with:

1 Nf3 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 Nc3 b6 4 e3 Bb7 5 d4 exd4 6 exd4 e6 7 a3 d5 8 exd5 Nxd5 9 Bb5+ Be6 10 Bd3 Nd7 11 0-0 Be7 12 ReI 0-0 13 Ne4 N7f6 14 Ne5 Bb7 15 Ng5!

But Alburt forced a winning position

White has all the makings of a kingside attack, directed at f7 or h7. The next task is to direct his qucen and bishop.

54 ... Rb4 55 Rg4 d5 56 cxd5+ Kd6! 57 Kg5 Rxg4+ 58 Kxg5 Kxd5

15 ... Qc7 16 Bd2 Rad8 17 ReI Qb8 18 Qe2 Bd6 19 Bbl Ne7 20 Ng4! Ned5 21 Qd3 g6 22 Qh3!

After this Alburt's lead was unstoppable

Black now blunders in a difficult position.

52 Kxh5 Rxg3 53 Rg5 Rxb3 54 Kg6

with:

176

The United States Chess Championship

After 22 Qh3

deFirmian-Kudrin, 1985

22 ... Bf4? 23 Bxf4 Qxf4 24 Nh6+ Kg7 25 Nhxf7! Rxf7 26 Nxe6+ Kg8 27 Nxd8! Ng4 28 Re8+ and Black resigns

1985: More Than a Fluke Lev Alburr's remarkable margin in Berkeley did not go down well with his colleagues. They suspected he was an aberration - a onetime tideist, like John Grefe who had declined sharply since his championship year of 1973. And their suspicions seemed confirmed when, for the first time, the reigning British and U.S. champions met in a challenge match. The British tideholder was teenaged Nigel Short who, a year before, had lost badly in an exhibition match with his opposite number in America, Joel Benjamin. When Short destroyed Alburt by 7-1 in early 1985 the observers could draw one of two conclusions: Either Short had progressed stunningly in the previous year, or Alburt wasn't as good as his score at Berkeley. On the eve of the 31st championship one of his rivals summed up Alburt's chances of defending his title: "Accidents don't happen two years in a row," he said. The invitation list was scaled down to a more manageable 14 players for the tournament, set for the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, and there were three very notable absences. Seirawan was competing - and performing creditably - in France at the candidates tournament in Montpellier. Dzhindzhikashvili, the star of the 1984 U.S. Olympic

team, had expected to be in Montpellier as Boris Spassky's second. But that plan fell through at the last minute and it was too late for Dhzindy to rescue his invitation to Colorado. And Tarjan turned down his invitation, telling friends he was tired of trying (0 make a living out of chess. This left Larry Christiansen and Lubosh Kavalek as the highest FIDE-rated invitees, followed by Nick deFirmian and Benjamin, and then at a respectable distance in the rating hierarchy, by John Fedorowicz and Walter Browne - and then Alburt. The tournament began quietly as six games in the first round and five in the second ended in draws - most of them short and bloodless. The exceptions were largely due to Shirazi. His risk-taking recalled that of Rudolf Spielmann, the Austrian attacking star of the early decades of the century who once won a special prize for the least draws in a major tournament, Karlsbad 1923 - by losing the large majority of his games. The Iranian seemed headed for another negative record in 1985 when he was the only one to lose the first day and then lost his queen for a rook in a time scramble at the end of the first playing session of the second round.

After 52 e5

Shirazi-McCambridge, 1985

Having been substantially ahead in material for 10 moves, Black must have assumed that just about any move would win eventually. 52 ... fxeS 53 dxe5 Qd3+?? 54 Kc7!

177

The Russians Are Coming! (1980-1985) And yet now it must be Black resigns or be mated by 55 Rb8+. An astonishing turnabout. Round 3 saw the first of the tournament's two decisive games. Christiansen, with White, invited Alburt to try one of his offbeat openings again. The variation (I d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 c4 a6!? 4 Nc3 c5 5 d5 b5!) was dubbed the "Dzhindy-Indian" after his friend, and Alburt managed to equalize into a double-edged endgame by move 22. Despite the bishops of opposite color that appeared, White was always fighting for a draw in the later stages and by the end of time trouble Alburt's KP was too powerful to stop. Christiansen resigned on the 49th move and never fully recovered. Alburt, who had played as a reserve on the Olympic team behind three other men from this championship, then began to build up a lead with victories over Kudrin, Browne, Fedorowicz and Shirazi. After eight rounds the defending champion led the field by an impressive point and a half, and since he would have the White pieces against his most dangerous opponents in the tournament's second half, he was again in the driver's seat. The second crucial game of the 31st championship came in Round 9: A63 Benoni Defense

white Alburt, black deFirmian 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 e6 4 Nc3 exd5 5 cxd5 d6 6 Nf3 g6 7 g3 Bg7 8 Bg2 0-0 9 0-0 Nbd7 10 ReI Re8 11 e4 a6 12 a4 c4! A thematic idea of the Benoni, giving White the c-pawn in return for pressure on his squares such as b3, d3 and e4 resulting from ... Nc5. DeFirmian had an even score at this point and seemed poised for another secondhalf charge into contention. 13 Bft Nc5 14 Nd2 Qc7 15 BXc4 Bh3! Black threatens 16 ... N fxe4 and also eyes the occupation of the many light-colored holes. Alburt must defend carefully. 16 Btl Bxtl 17 Kxft Rac8 18 Re3!? Qd7 19 Kg2 Ng4 20 Re2 Bxc3! 21 bxc3 Nd3

Now 22 c4, trying to hem in the Black aggressors, allows 22 ... Ngxf2 23 Rxf2 Qh3+! with a killing attack, e.g. 24 Kxh3 Nxf2+ or 24 Kg1 Nxf2 25 Kxf2 Qxh2+ and so on. Albun's next move leads to a forced series of reactions that might have been the only defense. 22 f3! Rxc3! 23 fXg4 Qxg4 24 Ba3 Nf4+ 2S Kf2

After 25 Kf2

Alburt-deFirmian, 1985

Black might hold the material balance with 25 ... Nxe2 26 Qxe2 Qxe2+ and 27 ... f5 but he also had to calculate the results of 25 ... Qh5! which forces 26 gxf4 and then 26 ... Qxh2+. The Black pieces prevail then after 27 Kel? Qg1+ 28 Nfl Rf3 29 Kd2 Qd4+ 30 Kel Qc3+ and 31 ... Rxf4. But the outcome is unclear after 27 Kfl! Qh3+ 28 Kf2! (and if 28 ... Qh4+ then 29 Kg!! Rh3 30 Nfl). DeFirmian unexpectedly is overwhelmed by the complications. 25 ... Nh3+? 26 KfI! DeFirmian saw that 26 Ke1 couldn't be played because of 26 ... Rxg3 and assumed that White had to play 26 Kg2, after which 26 ... Nf4+ would repeat the diagrammed position and give him a little more time to calculate his chances. Now he must add fuel to the attacking fire. 26 '" Rf3+ 27 Nxf3 Qxf3+ 28 Kel Qc3+ Black's position looks better than it plays.

31st U.S. Championship, Estes Park, Colorado, October 20-November 7, 1985 Totals

1. Alburt 2. Benjamin 3-4. Christiansen 3-4. Kavalek 5-6. Fedorowicz 5-6. Kogan 7-8. Browne 7-8. Dlugy 9-11. deFirmian 9-11. Kudrin 9-11. Shirazi 12-13. Gurevich 12-13. Wolff, P. 14. McCambridge

A

B

X

lh

lh 0

C

K

X

Y2

lh lh

lh lh lh

Y2

Y2

Y2 Y2

lh lh

0

0

Y2

Y2 0

0 0 0 0

Y2

X

X Y2

F

K lh lh lh

Y2 Yz Y2

Yz

X

lh

lh

Ijz

X

Yz

Ijz

Y2 Y2

0 0

Y2 Yz Y2

0 0 0

Y2

Y2 Y2 Yz

Y2 0

0

0 0

0

0 0 0

Yz

Yz

lh

lh

Ijz

Ijz

0

Y2 Y2 Y2 lh lh 0

B

0

0

Y2 Y2

Y2

Yz Yz

Y2

lh 1

lh lh

X Y2

Y2

Y2 Y2 Y2

X

1

K

S

G

W

M

W

0

L

lh

0

7 5

5 8 8

1 0

10

0 1 1

Y2 Y2 Y2

Yz lh

Ijz

0

Ijz

Y2

Y2

Yz Y2 Yz

Y2 Yz

Yz

4

lh

3 2 2

Y2

3 2

Yz

0

0

X

1

Yz Y2 Y2

Y2

0 0 0

X

0 1 1

0

X

1

Y2

X

1

9 0

Yz

0

X

lh 1

lh

0 lh

0 0 0

Ijz

0

X

1 lh 0

0

Y2

Y2 lh

3 2 5 2

10

10 7 9 5 7 1 7 5 6

Points

9Y2-3Y2 9-4 8-5 8-5 7-6 7-6

3 2

6Y2-6Y2

5 4

5lh-7lh 5lh-7lh

7 5 6 6

5lh-7Yz 4lh-8Y2 4lh-8Yz

6lh-6lh

4-9

179

The Russians Are Coming! (1980-1985) On 28 ... Rxe4 White solves his remaining problems with 29 Bb2! Nf2 30 Rxe4!. 29 Hd2 RXe4+? DeFirmian's last chance to make a fight of the game was 29 ... Qe3+!, so that 30 Kfl is refuted by 30 ... Qxe4! and 30 Qe2 is met by the complex 30 ... Qgl+ 31 Qfl RXe4+ 32 Re2 Rxe2+ 33 Kxe2 Qxh2+ (and perhaps 34 Kf3? NgS+ 35 Kf4? Qd2+ and Black wins). 30 Kfl! Hd 31 Bb2 Qc4+ 32 Re2 f6 33 Qc2 Rxg3! 34 hxg3! and Black resigns After this blow to Alburt's rivals the scoretable stood: Alburt 8-1, Benjamin 6-3, Christiansen, Kavalek and Boris Kogan SY2-3Y2. With only four rounds to go, the defending champion could afford to enjoy the view of nearby Rocky Mountain National Park, and coast along. He did just that with ll-move draws against Benjamin, Kavalek and Dlugy (and a messy loss to Vincent McCambridge, who was headed for last place). Most of the other leaders coasted with him and by tournament's end the standings showed that 26 of the 36 games played among those with plus or even scores had ended in draws. This pacific policy opened up the race for second place. Kavalek extended his record of not having lost in 40 straight championship games hut he and Christiansen won only one

game apiece in the final week of play. Benjamin finished with a flourish and his final game gave him his first norm towards the grandmaster tide. E12 Queen's Indian Defense white Browne, black Benjamin 1 d4 Nf6 2 e4 e6 3 Nf3 b6 4 a3 e5 5 d5 Ba6 6 Qe2 exd5 7 cxd5 g6 8 N c3 Bg7 9 g3 0-0 10 Bg2 d6 11 0-0 Re8 12 ReI Nbd7 13 Bf4 Qe7 14 h3 Ne4! 15 Nxe4 Qxe4 16 Qd2 Nf6 17 Radl Rad8 18 Nh2 Qc4 19 Bg5 Re8 20 Bxf6? Bxf6 21 Ng4 Bg7 22 e4 Qa4! 23 Qf4 Be2! 24 Rd2 Bxg4 25 hxg4 Be5 26 Qe3 e4 27 ReI ReS 28 Rde2 Qb3 29 Rxe4 Qxe3 30 fxe3 Bxb2 31 Rxc5 bxc5 32 RbI Bxa3 33 Ral Bb2 34 Rxa7 Be5 35 Kf2 e4 36 BEl c3 37 Bd3 Rb8 38 Ra2 Rb2+! 39 Rxb2 exb2 and \XThite forfeits

Final position

Browne-Benjamin, 1985

Chapter Eleven

Champions Galore (1986-1991) As the 1980s gave way to the 1990s, the championship had become an annual habit. The USCF remained committed to holding the invitational event every year, even while the base costs - airplane tickets, hotel rooms, etc.now topped $60,000. This burden was eased because the federation was often able to find sponsors willing to pick up the cost of the prize fund, which grew to more than $30,000, or defray some of the other costs. Other trends continued. There were more and more Russians and fewer young masters. And perhaps the most significant trend of all was the continuing shrink in the talent gap, the difference in skill that separated the champion from his challengers. The age of titans appeared to be over. Paul Morphy, George Mackenzie, Frank Marshall and Bobby Fischer had dominated their eras, being probably 100 ratings points ahead of their closest rivals. Reuben Fine and Isaac Kashdan were much closer in strength to Sammy Reshevsky - but they never managed to wrest the title from him. In the post-Fischer era there was no single, overpowering contender. Yet there were players who could win the national championship two or three times in a row, as Walter Browne and Lev Alburt had done. But in the period after 1985 even that appeared impossible to do. Each year a new name topped the crosstable, despite bitter resistance by the defending champion.

And increasingly, the title was shared. There had only been one first-place tie in the tournament up to 1972. But there were twoand three-way co-champions in 1980, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1989 and 1993. In part to avoid that, the USCF even returned to the format of Morphy's day-with a knockout tournament in 1990 and 1991.

1986: Up Tempo The 32nd championship had much that was familiar. Twelve of the 14 players from the previous year made the return trip to the elegant Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colo. The pride of the Rocky Mountains, the Stanley, was then in its 77th year and enjoying some fame since it helped inspire Stephen King's novel The Shining and the 1980 movie based on it. What was new this year was one player making his debut, a new time limit and a prize fund with a gimmick. The new player was Michael Wilder, another member of the New Jersey generation that had graduated John Fedorowicz, Ken Regan and Michael Rohde to the championship in the previous ten years. Like Joel Benjamin and his New Jersey colleagues, the 24-year-old Wilder had a universal style that allowed him to play attacking and positional chess with equal talent and confidence. He acquitted himself well in Estes Park, finishing with an even score.

180

Champions Galore (1986-1991) There might have been another new invitee. Aftcr seven years of waiting, "refuseniks" Boris Gulko and his wife, Anna Akhsharumova, had been allowed to leave the Soviet Union in May and quickly became a part of the extended family of emigre Russian G Ms in the United States. Lev Alburt, speaking on behalf of the championship invitees, had sought at the USCF business meeting in August to gct Gulko a special invitation to the tournament - until somc of the U.S.-born players learned of this and made it known Alburt certainly wasn't speaking for them. Meanwhile, the USCF announced the gimmick: the tournament winner would receive a prize equal to onc dime for each USCF member. Since there were 55,568 mcmbers as of the target date, the winner would receive $5,556.80 as well as one of the invitations to the next FIDE Interzonal. That was an 80 percent pay hike over the 1977 tournament and by far the biggest prize in a national championship in 1986 - but did little to still the invitees' complaints about inadequate prizes. The most important novelty this year was a new, faster time limit - 40 moves in two hours followed by 20 moves in one. This replaced a single session of 40-in-2Y2 that had been standard since the 19505 and often produced adjournment after adjournment. The acceptance of faster chess would within four years yield other heretical ideas - such as deciding the championship by 15-minute games. The faster tempo might have been expected to help the Wilder generation. But the surprise of the early rounds was 46-year-old Boris Kogan. The Stone Mountain, Ga., master, who would never obtain the grandmaster tirle despite many GM scalps, won his first three games and took a quick full point lead. Among those trying to catch up was Yasser Seirawan, who began with a shaky 2-1 score, then fattened it with a lucky win over Kamran Shirazi in Round four. But after that, Seirawan took command of the tournament. He scored 5Y2 points in the next seven rounds and put first prize OUt of reach of anyone else. Then 26 and rated less than 20 points ahead of youngsters like Fedorowicz, Rohde and

181

Maxim Dlugy, Seirawan found his form in games like this: £87 King's Indian Defense

white Seirawan, black Wilder 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 e4 d6 5 f3 0-0 6 Be3 Nbd7 7 Nh3 e5 8 d5 Nh5 9 g4 Nf4!? 10 Nxf4 exf4 11 Bxf4 Ne5 12 Be2 fS 13 gxfS gxfS 14 Qd2 Qh4+ Black's pawn sacrifice IS a standard method of activating his g7-bishop and remaining knight and he regains the pawn without difficulty. 15 Bg3 Qh5 16 f4 Nf3+ 17 Bxf3 QXf3 18 RfI Bxc3! 19 Rx£3 Bxd2+ 20 Kxd2 fxe4 21 Rb3! b6 22 Rg1 Kf7 23 Bf2 Bd7 24 Rbg3 But despite the bishops of opposite color, Seirawan demonstrates - as Horowitz had tried to do 44 years before against Reshevsky - that with at least one pair of rooks on the board there are serious winning chances for the player with the better placed pieces and pawns. 24 27 30 33

... Rg8 25 Kc3 Rxg3+ 26 Rxg3 Re8 Bel! Re7 28 Bc3! Kf8 29 Bf6 Rf7 Bg5 Bf5 31 Bh6+ Ke8 32 RgB+ Kd7 Bg5

Threatening mate in one and forcing the win of a pawn (since 35 ... Kc7?? would allow 36 Ra7+). 33 ... c5 34 RaB as 35 Ra6! KcB 36 Rxb6 Rb7 37 Rxb7! Much clearer than 37 Rxd6 Rxb2. Now White ties Black down to the a-pawn and pushes his winning f-pawn up the board. 37 •.. Kxb7 3B b3 Kc7 39 Bf6 Bg6 40 Bc3 Kb6 41 Bd2 Bf5 42 Kf2 Bd7 43 Kg3 a4 44 Kh4 axb3 45 axb3 Kc7 46 Kg5 Bh3 47 fS Kd7 48 f6 KeB 49 Bf4 Btl and Black resigns before 50 Bxd6.

32nd U.S. Championship, Estes Park, Colorado, Oct. 19-Nov. 5, 1986 Totals SA

B

C

K

Y2 Y2 Y2 X Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2

Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2

1. Seirawan

x

Y2

Y2

2-3. Alburt 2-3. Benjamin 4- 5. Christiansen 4-5. Kavalek

Y2

X

o

Y2 Y2 Y2

Y2 Y2

X Y2 Y2

6. Shirazi 7-9. Kudrin 7-9. Fedorowicz 7-9. Wilder 10. Gurevich 11-13. Dlugy 11-13. Kogan 11-13. Lein

o

1

o

o

Y2

Y2

o

o

Y2 Y2 Y2

o

0

00

Y2 Y2

o

o

Y2 0

Y2

0

15. Rohde

o

0

16. deFirmian

Y2

0

14. Browne

o

0

Y2

S

K

o

o

Y2

Y2

Y2

X

1

0

0

X

0

F

Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 1/2

WG

0

K

Y2

Y2 Y2

0

Y2 Y2 Y2 1/2

L

1

0

0

Y2 Y2

Y2 Y2 0 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2Y2Y2 Y2 Yz 1 000

0011

Y2 Y2 () 1/2 1/2 Y2Y201 00 Y2 1/2Y2 o Y2 Y2 0

Yz

o Y2 Y2

0 0 lY2

1

Xlh

Y2

0

0

00 1

0

0

0

R

Y2

Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 1 Y2Y2 0 Y2 XY20 Y2 Y2 Y2 XY2 Yz Y2XY20 1/2 Y2Y2 X 00

X

B

Y2 Y2 1

o Y2

Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2

0

W

0

L

Points

Y2

6

9

o

7

5

6

7 11 11 6

3 2

10Y2-4Y2 9Y2-5Y2 9 Yz-5Y2 8Y2-6Y2 8Y2-6Y2

Y2 Y2

3 3

0

4 4

Y2

()

Y2 00 0

X Y2 Yz Y2XY2Y2 0 Y2 X 1 Y2 Y2 0 X

1

8-7

5

3 4

2

11

2

4 4

7 6

3 4 3 2

7 3

4 5 5

7Y2-7Y2 7Y2-7Y2 7Y2-7Y2 7-8 6 1/2-8Y2

6

6 1/2-81/2

3 2

7

5

6Y2-81/2

8

5

6-9

5 4

7 7

5-10

51/2-91/2

183

Champions Galore {1986-1991} Seirawan was later profiled by the Los Angeles Times and described as "hale, hip and handsome ... a hustler, a snorkeler and a notorious ladies' man" who had once appeared in Cosmopolitan as "Bachelor of the Month." But he was also an ambitious businessman who was planning to launch his own magazine, Inside Chess, and planned to run for president of the

24 ... Nf6 25 Rh4 Rac8 26 Rf4 Nxe4 27 fxe4 Qd6 28 Be3 Rxf4 29 Rxf4 Rc3 30 Bc4! bS 31 Bb3 as 32 Qd2 Qb4 33 dS! a4 Leading to a thrilling pawn race. Both players will promote with check but only one will mate in the four-queen finale.

USCF.

\Vith five rounds to go Seirawan had opened a one-point lead over Alburt and Benjamin, followed by Larry Christiansen and Lubosh Kavalek. And that's exactly how they finished. Luck played a role in the proceedings, since Anatoly Lein blundered away a rook to Seirawan and Alburt walked into a mate in a queen-and-bishop ending against Shirazi. Kavalek, making his last appearance in the championship, had not lost in the tournament since 1981, a streak of 46 games. It came to an end in the 11th round when he was ground down by Sergey Kudrin in 62 moves. The 11th round also was crucial to Benjamin, who faced another veteran making his farewell appearance in the championship, Lein. E13 Queen's Indian Defense white Lein, black Benjamin 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 c4 b6 4 Nc3 Bb4 5 BgS h6 6 Bh4 Bxc3+ 7 bxc3 Bb7 8 Nd2 d6 9 f3 Nbd7 10 e4 gS 11 Bf2 NhS 12 g3 f5 13 Bd3 Qf6 14 Qe2 0-0 15 h4!

The lines are distinct in the exceptionally sharp opening: White will open the h-file and play for mate while Black will assault the enemy center from the wings. 15 ... Ng7 16 Rh2 c5 17 hxgS Qxg5 18 Rh3 cxd4 19 cxd4 fxe4 20 Nxe4 Qa5+ 21 Kf1! hS 22 Kgl d5 23 cxdS QxdS 24 Rfi A bewildered spectator saw this position and wondered how White managed to get his queen rook from al to h3 in 24 moves.

After

.H ... a4

Lein-Benjamin, 1986

34 d6! axb3 35 d7 b2 36 d8(Q)+ Kh7 37 Rf7! bl(Q)+ 38 Kf2 Qlxe4 39 Rxg7+! KXg7 40 Q2d7+ and Black resigns Benjamin finished a point behind 5eirawan and clearly had a future in the championship. 50 did Nick deFirmian - despite finishing dead last in 1986. Who would guess they would share the same prize in 1987?

1987: Three for the Future The championship had become comfortable, like a holiday-time family gathering. Each year a group of 12 to 16 players, most of them friendly veterans of half a dozen previous championships, would gather in a familiar setting to swap ideas and test each other's skill. In 1987 this meant another trip 7,500 feet above sea level to Estes Park and the Stanley Hotel for a solid group of familiar faces. In fact, 11 of the 14 invitees who began play November 2 had competed there the previous November. Also on hand each year was sure to be Craig Crenshaw, the tournament's No.1 fan. Crenshaw, a retired chess enthusiast,

184

The United States Chess Championship

visited each playing site, from Greenville, Pa. to Los Angeles, to savor the games and donate cash prizes such as for Best Swindle and Best Draw. One of the very few new things about the 1987 tournament was the addition of debutant Boris Gulko. But even that, the arrival of another ex-Soviet grandmaster, had become by then a comfortable U.S. championship tradition. Yet 1987 distinguished itself from previous tournaments because it was the year in which three of America's newest GMs - Joel Benjamin, Nick deFirmian and John Fedorowicz - broke out of the pack. DeFirmian, a 30-year-old former physics graduate of U.C.-Berkeley, was the senior member of the trio. An all-or-nothing tactician, he was capable of finishing second (1984)or last (1986) - depending on how sharply and accurately he was calculating or how much time pressure he had gotten into. In 1987 he could have gone either way depending on what happened in games like this: B82 Sicilian Defense white deFirmian, black Rohde 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 e6 6 f4 a6 7 Bd3 Be7 8 0-0 0-0 9 Khl Nbd7 10 Qf3 Qb6 11 Nde2 Qc7 12 b4! b6 13 Bb2 Bb7 14 Qh3 d5?! 15 e5 Ne4 16 Ng3 Nxg3+ 17 hxg3! White's assault on h7 quickly turns the game his favor. 17 ... g6 18 a3 b5 19 fS! eXfS 20 RxfS d4 21 Qh6! Of course, not 20 ... gxf5 21 Qxf5 and Qxh7+-or mate. To meet the new threat of 22 Rh5 Black must clear f8 for a knight. But as both sides get into deeper time trouble: 21 ... Bg5? 22 RxgS dxc3 23 Rh5! Rfe8 24 Qxh7+ Kf8 25 Qh6+ Ke7 26 Qg5+ Ke6 27 Qg4+ Ke7 28 Qg5+ Ke6 29 Bxg6! With barely a minute to reach time con-

trol at move 40, deFirmian finds the only winning idea. 29 ... Nxe5 30 Bf5+ Kd6 31 Rdl + BdS 32 Rh6+? Re6 33 Bxe6 fxe6 34 Bel KeG 35 Bf4 Nf7 36 Qxd5+

After 36 Qxd5+

deFirmian-Rohde,1987

Here Black played the remarkable move 36 ... exd5! and White's flag immediately fell. The tournament director, Dick Gardner, recognized that Rohde shouldn't be rewarded for making an illegal move. But he gave deFirmian only a few extra seconds as compensation. So, as soon as play resumed - with instantaneous 36 ... Kb6 37 Be3+- White's flag fell again and an angry new dispute arose. Gardner decided to give White more time, Rohde heatedly appealed and the matter was left overnight with the players committee. Fortunately, Rohde withdrew his protest and resigned the next day, and the breach in good will among members of the championship family was smoothed over. DeFirmian got off to a good start for once, while other potential contenders for first place were floundering. Maxim Dlugy, who many predicted would be champion by 1987, couldn't break out of the cycle that saw him draw his first nine rounds. And that, at least was better than Larry Christiansen. The former Californian, who was increasingly committed to tournaments abroad, arrived in Colorado two days late and promptly lost his first three games. Another slow starter was Joel Benjamin. In contrast with deFirmian, who didn't play his

Champions Galore {1986-1991} first tournament game until he was 15, Benjamin had been winning scholastic tides since the mid-1970s. Now 23, he had just earned the International Grandmaster title and Frank Samford Fellowship, an annual stipend worth more than $25,000 that allowed young professionals to see how good they could become. Benjamin didn't win a game in the 1987 tournament until positionally crushing a fellow Brooklynite, Dimitry Gurevich, in the fifth round. His friend and Bronx-born rival, John Fedorowicz, had also just earned the GM title and also began the championship roughly, losing to Gurevich in the first round. But wins over Rohde and Kudrin lifted the 29-year-old "Fed" into an eight-way tic for second place by Round Six. Still, first place belonged to Vasser Seirawan and it seemed inevitable the Seattle GM would repeat as champion after beating Fedorowicz and Gurevich in the next two rounds. At that point he held a one-point lead over the field and had a somewhat easy schedule left as the tournament headed into its final week. But as White against Jay Whiteheadwho once finished ahead of Gary Kasparov in a World Cadet (under 18) ChampionshipSeirawan encountered bitter resistance, which ended only with a stalemate in a king-andpawn endgame at move 86. He remained plusthree, a score good enough to win most championships, particularly if a mood of peace and GM draws broke out as it so often did. But for once the level of compctitiveness rose rather than fell in the final four rounds: Only eight draws were recorded of the 28 games. The chief victim of this fighting spirit was Seirawan (see diagram). Having made the best of a bad opening in this Round 11 game, White should have secured his position with solid moves like 38 Rlc2, preparing Be2 and g3-g4, or 38 Kg2. 38 NcS? Rxc3 39 Rxc3 BxfS! Seirawan wrotc in his new magazine, Inside Chess, that when a strong opponent makes such a capture, you know you've blundered. But that should have told him he didn't dare

185

After

37 ... Ra3

Seirawan-Benjamin, 1987

capture on f5, certainly not on the final move of time-trouble. His last chance now was 40 Rb3 or 40 Qf4. 40 QxfS?? Qxg3+ 41 Khl Rb2 and (here, suddenly realizing that 42 Qf4 covers one mate but allows another, 42 ... Rh2) White resigns In the 12th and next-to-last round, Rohde delivered the coup de grace and eliminated Seirawan from contention with a sacrificial attack that helped earn the New Jerseyan a $150 Crenshaw prize for Best Comeback in the tournament's second half. Replacing Seirawan was deFirmian, who moved into first place with a relatively effortless win over Whitehead. "The Fed" moved closer to contention after a 29-move win over Dlugy. The other key game pitted Benjamin and Boris Gulko, playing in his first championship. Gulko's wife, Anna Akhsharumova, was winning the U.S. women's championship, also being played at the Stanley Hotel, with a Fischer-like 9-0 score. The couple seemed to be in excellent position to become the first husband-and-wife U.S. champions - until Gulko lost a 66-move queen endgame to Benjamin. The final day began with deFirmian and Benjamin tied with 71;2 points and Fedorowicz, Michael Wilder and Gulko a half point back. The first game to end was deFirmian-Wilder, a 28-move draw that left both players free to begin drinking champagne at the hotel bar. Benjamin joined deFirmian in first place after a strangely quiet positional

186

The United States Chess Championship 33rd U.S. Championship, Estes Park, Colorado, Nov. 2-18, 1987

B D F W S D G C R B KWKG 1-2. Benjamin 1-2. deFirmian 3-6. Fedorowicz 3-6. Wilder 3-6. Seirawan 3-6. Dlugy 7. Gulko 8-9. Christiansen 8-9. Rohde 10. Browne 11. Kudrin 12. Whitehead 13. Kogan 14. Gurevich

X

~

~

~

~

X Y2 ~ X

~

~

~

~

0

~

~

~

X

~

~

~

~ ~

1 1 ~ Y2 0 0 Y:z Y2 X Y2 Y2 Y:z Y:z X Y2 0 Y:z ~ X 0 1 X ~ 0 Y:z 0 1 ~ Y:z Y2 0 0 0 0 0 0 ~ 0 0 0 1

~ ~

~

Y2 X 0 ~ Y:z Y:z 0 Y:z Y2 0 Y:z ~ ~ Y:z Y:z Y2 ~ 0 0 ~ 0 0 1 1 ~ ~ Y:z 1 1 Y:z ~ 0 0 0 ~ 0 Y:z 0 Y:z ~ ~ 0 0 0 0 0 1 ~ 0

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

struggle with Christiansen that ended in a 41move draw. All eyes were now on Fedorowicz-Browne. The two players, who shared a similar positional style, remained on good terms despite a falling out when "Fed" served as Browne's second - and was fired by him at a 1985 interzonal. In this, the most important game they'd played with one another, Feodorowicz quickly obtained an edge in a Nimzo-Indian Defense and Browne got into his customary battle with the clock {six minutes for 16 moves}. But in trying to exploit his opponent's time trouble, the younger man reacted too swiftly and reached move 60 in a highly double-edged and no longer favorable position {see

~

~

1

~

~

~

0 0

~

0 ~

Y2 Y2 Y2 1 0 X

Y:z 0

1

Y:z 0 Y:z 0 Y:z 0 ~ X 0 Y:z Y:z 1 1 X 0 ~ Y:z 1 X 1 ~ 0 0 X 0

Totals WD L 10 0 10 0 7 2 7 2 5 5 3 3 9 3 8 2 4 5 4 5 3 5 3 6 4 2 7 4 3 4 6 2 5 6 3 2 8 3 3 4 4

Points 8-5 8-5 7~-5~

7~-5~ 7Y2-5~

7Y2-5Y:z 7-6 6Y2-6Y:z 6Y:z-6Y:z 6-7 5~-7Y:z

5-7 4Y:z-8~

4-9

After

59 ... Qxd5

Fedorowicz-Browne, 1987

And not 61 ... Kh5? 62 Nf4+! gxf4 63 Qh8+ Kg4 64 Rg6+ Kf3 65 Qhl+ and mate in two.

diagram}. 62 Qc8! Rxe3 60 Kel! Rd3! Both players find the best. On 60 ... Ra2? White answers with 61 Rdl! Qe6 62 Qc7and shares first prize in a three-way tie because of his decisive threats.

Black could have set a final trap with 62 ... Kh5!? because 63 Qxe6?? Rdl+ 64 Kf2 Qd2 wins for Black. But 63 RXe6! Rdl+ 64 Kf2 Qd2 allows a perpetual check after 65 Qe8+ Kg4 66 Rxe4+.

61 Rb6+ Be6

63 Qxe6+ Qxe6 64 Rxe6+ KhS 65 ReS Kg4

187

Champions Galore (1986-1991) 66 RXaS f4 67 gxf4 gxf4 68 ReS f3 69 Re2 Ra3 70 Re8 drawn Black can still play on with 70 ... e3 (71 Rg8+? Kh4 72 RhS+ Kg5 73 Rg8+ Kh6 74 ReS Ra2! 75 Ncl Rg2! and wins). But White draws comfortably with 71 Rc4+ Kh3 and knight checks at gl and e2. So only two members of the championship family's younger generation - Benjamin and deFirmian - would share the title in the next year. And the tournament wouldn't be invited back to Estes Park. After the final night of partying someone trashed a hotel room as if they were a rock star, even damaging wooden banisters. Sometimes even family member wear our their welcome.

1988: The Missing Marshall Mystique With Estes Park no longer available, the 34th championship had to find a new horne. The answer the user came up with was nostalgic: Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, the site of Frank Marshall's greatest triumph, 84 years before. BUI unlike Marshall's runaway rour, this tournament turned out to be the closest U.S. championship ever. Only two and half points separated first place from last. And for the first time since 1980 no one went undefeated. Bur Marshall's fighting spirit seemed limited to two players: Of the 32 decisive games, Lev Alhurt and Sergey Kudrin figured in exactly half of them. And their reward was to finish ncar the bottom of the scoretable. The other 10 players seemed to know one another too well. Like the Evans-BisguierBenko-Byrne generation of the 1950s and '60s, the 19S0s generation had been meeting one anot her regularly for years. They could look at the blank scoretable before play began on Oct. 1 and recognize which of their games might be decisive and which would mean rest days. This was illustrated by the tournament's inside joke. It began after this second-round sensation:

B07 Ufimtscv Defense

white deFirmian, black Miles 1 e4 d6 2 d4 Nf6 3 Nc3 e6 4 f4 QaS S Bd3 eS 6 Nf3 Bg4 7 dxeS dxeS 8 fxeS Nfd7 9 Bf4 Bb4 This odd opening was in vogue in 1987. If Black can recapture on e5 safely he will have good control of the dark squares. But 9 ... Ba3!? may have been better than his last move. 10 0-0 0-0 11 NdS! Be5+

After 11 ... Bc5+

deFirmian-Miles, 1988

Black didn't like the looks of White's center after 11 ... cxd5 12 exd5 (12 ... Qxd5?? 13 Bxh7 +) so he repositions his bishop - and offered a draw, 12 Khl Bd4? 13 e6! fxe6 14 Be7 No draw. Black is lost because of a vulnerable eighth rank. 14 ... Qa4 IS Ne7+ Kh8 16 NgS! hS Naturally, 16 ... Bxdl loses to 17 Rxf8+ and 18 Nfl mate. 17 Rxf8+ NxfB 18 Qf1 Nbd7 19 Qf7 Nf6 20 e5! and Black resigns After this the other players had some fun with these moves on the days they decided not to play chess. For example:

188

The United States Chess Championship B07 Irregular Defense

white Benjamin, black Fcdorowicz 1 c3 eS 2 d3 dS 3 Qc2 Ne6 4 Nf3 fS S Qa4 Bd6 6 e4 Nf6 7 Bg5 fxe4 8 dxe4 dxe4 9 Nfd2 Bf5 10 BbS 0-0 11 0-0 Nd4

After 21 Nxb7

If you're bewildered by all this, rum the board around. It's the same position as deFirmian-Miles but with colors reversed. The joke ended with: Alburt- Wilder. 1988

12 cxd4 cxd4 13 Qb3+ drawn Since draws were the order of the day, the tournament was virtually over by the fifth round. In fact, it could be argued that the fate of first prize was decided when Patrick Wolff, U.S. Junior Champion, passed up his invitation and was replaced by Michael Wilder. The 26-year-old Wilder had been living in Paris and experiencing life as a professional playerbut had already decided to return to school and study law when his late invitation to Cambridge Springs arrived. Wilder concentrated his energies in the tournament's first half when he mauled deFirmian and Kudrin, lost to Gulko and won the only decisive game of the first round:

Ell Bogo-Indian Defense white Alburt, black Wilder 1 d4 Nf6 2 e4 e6 3 g3 Bb4+ 4 Bd2 as S Bg2 d6 6 Nf3 Nbd7 70-0 eS 8 BgS exd4 9 Nxd4 0-0 10 Qc2 h6 11 Bf4 NeS 12 Rdl Ng6 13 Bd2 Re8 14 Nc3 Qe7 15 a3 A bad plan is supposed to be better than no plan but Alburt now becomes obsessed with a very bad one, the capture of the a-pawn. He leaves his kingside with one defensive piece. 15 ... BcS 16 Nb3 Bb6 17 Na4? Ba7 18 cS Bd7! 19 NXaS Qxc2 20 Nc3 QhS 21 Nxb7 (see diagram) This retains White's extra pawn and tries vainly to keep the a7-g1 diagonal closed.

21 •.. Ng4 22 h3 Nxf2! 23 Kxf2 BxcS+ 24 Nxc5 Qxc5+ 25 KfI Bb5+ 26 NxbS There was clearly nothing better. 26 ... Qxc2 27 Bxa8 Qd3+ and White resigns Wilder shared first place with someone else for most of the remaining rounds but his rivals always managed to self-destruct. First it was Seirawan, who achieved a winning position against deFirmian straight out of the opening in the sixth round, then was completely outplayed when his opponent got into time trouble. This enahlcd Wilder to occupy sole first place by simulating the deFirmianMiles joke game against Benjamin. Then Gulko made his bid. The tournament's No.2-rated player overcame a disappointing debut in the 33rd championship and would become a leading contender for first prize for several years to come. At Cambridge Springs he defeated Fedorowicz in overpowering style in Round Seven and then drew with Victor Frias, a former Chilean who had become the first Hispanic (0 play in a U.S. championship, and Alburt. But the next day he fell to Kudrin, who played one of his finest endmgs. And Wilder? He sailed into the final round with a half-point lead because of another 12-move draw it la deFirmian-Miles, this time against another close friend, Fedorowicz. Wilder made no effort to win on the final day against Frias. He was willing to share the title

Champions Galore (1986-1991) with any of three players who could catch himGulko, Seirawan, or deFirmian. But Gulko made no effort either and drew in 17 moves as Black against Miles. Seirawan tried to outmaneuver Dlugy but recognized on the 54th move he was getting nowhere and offered a draw. Everything then depended on deFirmian, who had White against Alburt and knew he could count on another Alekhine's Defense. He began well. B01 Alekhine's Defense white deFirmian, black Alburt 1 e4 Nf6 2 eS NdS 3 d4 d6 4 Nf3 g6 5 Be4 Nb6 6 Bb3 Bg7 7 a4!? dS 8 as Ne4 9 Nbd2 b5?! 10 axb6 Nxb6 11 0-0 0-0 12 ReI e6 13 Nfl! h6 White has won the opening battle and now begins a very promising kingside attack. 11 17 20 23 26

Nd Kh7 15 Ng4 Rh8!? 16 Bd Ne6 Qd2 Qf8 18 Ra3! Ne7 19 Nf6+ Bxf6 exf6 NfS 21 Bf4 Nd6 22 Qc1 Nd7 Be5 Ne4 24 Bxe7 Nexf6 25 Ba4 a6 Bxd7 Nxd7 27 Ne5 f6 28 Rf3 Qe7

Here 29 NeG was suggested as an improvement, to be followed by c2-c4. Chances become double-edged as the players hit time control. 29 Ng4? g5! 30 Ne3 Qg7 31 e4 dxc4 32 Qxe4 Bb7 33 d5 Rae8! 34 Rh3 Ne5 35 Qe2+ Qg6 36 Qxg6+ Kxg6 37 Bxe5 fxeS 38 dxe6 h5 39 g4 h4 40 NfS Re4!

After 40 ... Rc4

deFirmian-Alburt, 1988

189

Black's position has magically improved and he has all the chances now. For deFirmian, no longer counting on a share of first place, a loss would drop him down to an even score. 41 f3 Kf6 42 Nd6 Rb4 43 Nfl Re8 44 Rxe5 Rxb2 45 Rf5+ Ke7 46 ReS Kf6 47 Rf5+ Ke7 48 ReS as! 49 RXa5 Re8 50 Ral Rec2 51 Nxg5 Rg2+ 52 Khi Rxg4 53 Rgi Rf4 54 ReI Rb5 By now deFirmian was desperately trying to reach the second control without forfeiting. His imprisoned h3-rook dooms survival chances. 55 58 61 64 67 70

Ne4 ReS 56 Kg2 Rxe6 57 Re2 Kf8 Nc3 Rg6+ 59 Kf2 Rgf6 60 Ke3 Re4! Kd3 Rb4 62 Ne4 Ba6+ 63 Ke3 BXe2 Kxe2 Rf4 65 Nf2 Rb3 66 Nd3 Ra4 f4 Ra2+ 68 KdI Rb1+ 69 Nc1 Rf2 Rc3 Rxh2 and White resigns

Four years earlier deFirmian scored plusfive and only finished second. This time Michael Wilder took clear first prize with plustwo. It was all-in-all an extraordinary tournament.

1989: In Search ofMaecenas As the world's grandmasters made their fumbling attempts in the late 1980s and early '90s to seize control of international chessthrough the Grandmasters Association and later the Professional Chess Association - they learned the unhappy truth that organizers well knew: It's hard finding sponsorship for chess. FIDE had succeeded in sharply escalating the prize fund for its triennial world championship match into the millions of dollars. But what the world federation couldn't do is find a sponsor willing to make a long-term commitment. No one, it seemed, was willing to finance two title matches. The USCF faced the same problem. The u.s. championship could be run for less than $100,000. But it was an annual event and the

190

The United States Chess Championship

34th

u.s. Championship, Cambridge Springs, Penn., Oct. 1-17, 1988 Totals

W S G B R 0 Fr Fe D K A M

W D L

Points

1. Wilder

x

~

0

~

~

~

X

~

~

0

0

3 7 362 281

6Y2-4Y2

2-3. Seirawan

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

2-3. Gulko

1

~

X

~

~

~

~

1

~

0

~

4-10. Benjamin 4-10. Rohde 4-10. deFirmian

~

~

~

X

1

0

~

~

0

0

1 0 0

4-10. Frias 4-10. Fedorowicz 4-10. Dlugy 4-10. Kudrin 11. Alburt 12. Miles

~

1

X

~

353 272 353 272 272 3 5 3 434 425

~

~

X

6 4

~

0 X

~

~

~

~

~

~

~

X

~

~

0

~

~

1 0

~

~

~

~

X

~

~

0

~

~

0

~

~

~

~

X

1

0

~

~

~

~

1

~

0 X

I

o

1~~

00 o 0

~

~

~

~

0 0

1 0

1 100 0 0 ~

federation was frustrated in finding a new sponsor each year. It needed another Lessing Rosenwald, a Maecenas-like patron who would pick up at least part of the championship prize fund from year to year. To the rescue came Les Crane, a former television talk show host best known for a disastrous 1964 attempt to beat Johnnie Carson in the high-stakes ratings game. By the 1980s Crane had moved into the booming computer business and his Sherman Oaks-based company, Software Toolworks, was one of the industry's many success stories. Crane, an avid chess fan, had contributed $10,000 to the Cambridge Springs tournament and picked up a major chunk of the 3 Sth championship, held in November 1989 in Long Beach, Calif. Making their first appearance this year were two more Russian emigres and both named Ivanov, Alexander and Igor. They were familiar figures in the large, big-bucks open events but lacked the solidity needed to win the championship. Most fans expected even less of 20-year-old Stuart Rachels, a long-time student of Boris Kogan's from Alabama who also earned an invitation to Long Beach as the new U.S. Junior Champion. But there was considerable curiosity-

~

~

0

0

OXO~

6-5 6-S S~-S~ S~-S~

5~-S~ S~-S~ S~-S~ 5~-S~ S~-S~

5-6 4-7

and controversy - about the return of Tony Miles. The globe-trotting English GM had been playing in major u.s. Swisses for the last few years and decided to make a break with his homeland after feuding with British chess figures. But what a player without a permanent U.S. address was doing in the U.S. championship was something of a mystery. In the early rounds the big story was Rachels, who more than held his own against the GMs. He ground down Dimitry Gurevich in an even 100 moves in the fourth round and surprised Browne in the second. B85 Sicilian Defense

white Rachels, black Browne 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 exd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 a4 e6 7 Be2 Be7 80-00-0 9 f4 Qe7 10 Khl Ne6 11 Be3 Re8 12 Bf3 Bd7 13 Nb3 b6 14 g4! Be8 15 g5 Nd7 16 Bg2 Rb8 17 Qh5 g6 18 Qh3 Nb4 19 f5 Ne5 20 Nd4 exfS 21 exfS Bb7 22 Ne4! Bxe4 23 Bxe4 BiB? Now was the time for 23 ... dS followed by ... BcS. Browne, more comfortable in the sharper lines of the NajdorfVariation than the Scheveningen, is soon on the verge of trouble.

191

Champions Galore (1986-1991) 24 Rael dS 25 Bg2 Bd6 26 c3 Nbd3 27 Re2!? Qe4 28 Bgl Rbd8 29 Re2 Qxa4?

White has a slight pull and chooses to spend it on a kings ide attack.

One mistake is often fatal in a Sicilian and this is Browne's second. With 29 ... Bb8! and ... Qc7 he might even have the edge. His flag was almost on the tilt by now.

12 ... Qb6 13 a4 Qe5 14 f4 Bd7 15 b3 Ne6 16 Rb2!? Rab8 17 g4 5! IS eXfS eXfS 19 g5 Nb4 20 Re2 RfeS 21 Rfel d5 22 RXe8+ Rxe8 23 RXe8+ BXeS 24 Qe2 Bfl 25 Ba3 dxc4 26 bxc4 b6

30 BxdS BeS 31 fxg6! hxg6 32 Bxfl+! Nxfl 33 Qxd3 NeS 34 Qe4 Qe4 35 Rf6 Qd5 36 QxdS+ RxdS 37 Re2 and as he played 37 ... as Black forfeits. But 37 ... Rf8 38 Rxf8+ and 39 Ne6+ was lost. In fact, Browne lost his first four rounds, while Rachels shared first place with Fedorowicz, Gulko and the veteran that the Los Angeles Times slightly misdescribed as "a baggy-eyed 45-year-old Russian gambler"Roman Dzhindzhikashvili. Benjamin made it a five-way tie for the lead in the sixth round as caution began to rule. First prize would be nice but many of the invitees would have been content to finish fourth, since this was a zonal year and four tickets to the 1990 Interzonal in Manila were at stake. This meant a score of plus-3 would probably be good enough, so the leaders began to make judicious draws as the tournament headed into the middle rounds. Dzhindy, for example, took only nine moves before shaking hands with Dlugy even though he held the White pieces. Bur the bear-like Georgian regained his aggression in the seventh round when he jumped into the lead by beating Fedorowicz. Benjamin joined him by knocking off Alburt. They remained atop the scoretable for the next three days as several more draws ensued. Then, in Round 10, the surprising Rachels joined the leaders with a brutal mating attack against Sergey Kudrin. The following day saw another crucial game: A36 English Opening white Benjamin, black Dlugy

lc4e5 2g3g6 3 Bg2Bg7 4Nc3Nc6 Sa3 e6 6 RbI as 7 e4 Nge7 8 Nge2 d6 9 d3 0o 10 0-0 Nd4 11 Nxd4 exd4 12 NbS

Mter

26 ... b6

Benjamin-Dlugy, 1989

White still holds a minor advantage because of Black's weak pawns at d4 and b6. It's hard to imagine that d-pawn will queen shortly. 27 Kfl?! BfS 28 Bb2? Nxd3! 29 Bd5 Of course, 29 Qxd3 is met by 29 Bxc4. White desperately complicates. 29 ... Bxd5 30 exd5 Nxb2 31 Qe6+ KhS 32 Qe5+ Bg7 33 Qe8+ QfS 34 Qe6 d3 35 Nd6 d2 36 Nfl+ Qfl! 37 Qxfl dl(Qh and White resigns At this point the tournament took an unprecedented holiday - a four-day rest while the Thanksgiving Weekend American Open, also sponsored by Software Toolworks, could be held in Long Beach. Ten of the championship players took part and three of them, Browne, deFirmian and Dlugy, shared first place with Larry Christiansen, who had declined his invitation to the championship, and America's newest star, I5-year-old Gata Kamsky. When the championship resumed, the

35th U.S. Championship, Long Beach, Calif., Nov. 9-Dec. 3, 1989 Totals DRS

G

B

D

M

D

1-3. Dzhindzhikashvili

x

Vz

liz

V2XVZVZVz VzVzX 0 Vz V2 Vz X 1 VzVzVz 0 X V2VZVZ 0 Vz Vz V2 V2 V2 VzVz 0 Vz o VZV2VZVZ VzVzVz 0 Vz 00 Vz11z

Vz V2 Vz Vz

liz

1-3. Rachels 1-3. Seirawan 4. Gulko

Vz Vz V2

5-7. 5-7. 5-7. 8-9. 8-9.

Benjamin deFirmian Miles Dlugy Fedorowicz

10. Rohde

11. Kudrin 12. A. Ivanov 13. Browne 14. I. Ivanov 15-16. Alburt 15-16. D. Gurevich

1;2

VzVz

1;2

o

0

0 Vz Vz 01;20

o

0

0

o

VzVz 00 0 'hV2 0

Vz

Vz

0

Yz Yz

V2

o

o

X Vz Vz Vz

Vz

Vz Yz X Vz Yz

Vz liz

o o o o

X

Yz 1

o o

F

R

K

Yz

Vz

B Yz V2

Yz V2 Yz Vz

Vz Vz 0

1/2

V2

'h

0

Y2 Yz

Vz Yz Yz

Yz Yz X

Y2

liz

o

o Vz

o

Vz 1

1

o

Vz Vz

o

G

W

D

L

Points

Vz

4 4 5

11 11

o

9Vz-5Vz

o

9 10

9Vz-5Yz 9Yz-5Y2

1

9-6 8Yz-6Vz 8Yz-6Yz 8Vz-6V2

Yz 'h

1

0

Vz X Vz

A

Y2 V2 Vz

Vz Y2

4 5

7

3

4 5

9

2

7

3

1

3

10

2

o

8

3

7 8

4

7Vz-7V2

liz

4 4 3

8-7 8-7

2

1

4 3

9 4 4

4 4 7 8 7 8

7-8

Vz

o

0

X

Vz

'h

Vz

1

1;2

X 0

X

1

Yz 1/2

Vz

0

o

X

1

o

000 1/2 0 liz 0 Yz liz Yz V2

o

1

1

7

liz

o o

X

o

Yz Yz

Yz

o

o

X

2

5

V2

1

o

6Vz-8Vz

6-9 5-10

4Vz-I0Vz 4Yz-IOVz

Champions Galore (1986-1991) standings shuffled as Dzhindzhikashvili and Rachels beat Igor Ivanov in successive rounds and took a half point lead ahead of Boris Gulko, their nearest rival. When Rachels accepted Gulko's draw offer in the 14th - and next-to-Iast - round that half point gave the psychology major from Alabama the International Master title and an assured place in the 1990 Manila InterzonaL But there was still the matter of a $7000 first prize to resolve. Even a two-way tie meant $5750 apiece - or about what Scirawan earned (in dimes!) at the 1986 championship. Going into the final round Rachel and Dzhindzhikashvili led with 9 points, followed by Seirawan and Gulko at 8Y2 and a mess of others in contention for the final Interzonal spots because Seirawan and Gulko were already seeded into it. Rachels played it safe, drawing in 11 moves with Michael Rohde and making a bit of history in the process: Not since 1973 had the lowest rated player in a championship ended it in first place. Dzhindy, a true "money player," appraised the situation while struggling through a King's Indian Reversed with Alexander Ivanov and realized the difference between a draw and a win could be from $1,000 to $3,000. But the difference between a win and a loss - which could drop him into a tie for third or fourth - would probably be at least $4,000. So he tried to win for 31 moves before conceding a draw. The key games remaining were SeirawanDlugy and Fedorowicz-Gulko. The latter had the most at stake, first place for Gulko or a trip to his first Interzonal for Fedorowicz. But they both finished disappointed after a 69move draw. That left one significant game. A year before Seirawan tried hard but failed to overcome Max Dlugy's determined defense. This time was different: A36 English Opening

white Seirawan, black Dlugy lc4c5 2g3g6 3 Bg2Bg7 4Nc3Nc6 5a3 b6 6 Nf3 Bb7 70-0 Nf6 8 RbI 0-0 9 b4 Nd4 10 bxc5!? Bxf3 11 exf3 bxc5 12 Qa4 Qc7? 13 d3 Rab8 14 Be3 Rb6

193

This is how many modern GMs play when they need a win - not sacrificing pieces in a King's Gambit but busting up their pawns in an English Opening. White allows his opponent a terrific outpost at d4 then proceeds to attack it in order to reach a superior ending. Dlugy, needing only a draw to reach the Interzonal, may have expected a drawish ending after Be3Xd4 but ... 15 Nb5! Nxb5 16 Rxb5 RxbS 17 Qxb5 d6 18 RbI Nd7 19 Qb7 Rc8 20 Qxc7 Rxc7 21 Bd2 Nb6? 5eirawan said after the game this is when he knew he would tie for first place. Now 22 a4 NXa4? 23 Rb8+ Bf8 24 Bh6 mates. 22 a4! e6 23 a5 Nd7 24 f4 a6 25 Bb7! Nb8 26 Rb6 BfS 27 Bxa6 Nxa6 28 Rxa6 Rb7 29 Rb6 Ra7 30 a6 Ra8 31 Kfl d5 32 Ke2 Bg7 33 Be3 d4 34 Bel Bf8 35 Kdl Kg7 36 g4 Kf6 37 f3 Ke7 38 Rb7+ Kd6 39 a7 Be7 40 Ba3 and Black resigns 50 it was a three-way tie, the first since 1983 and the third in nine years. "Going in, I was mainly concerned with not finishing last," Rachels told Imide Chess. As Nick deFirmian, who finished last in 1986 and first in 1987 could tell him, first is definitely better.

1990: A Noble Revival After a lapse of 133 years - since Paul Morphy's triumph in the First American Chess Congress of1857 -the national championship was held on a knock-out basis as an experiment in 1990. And many fans as well as some players wondered why. Part of the reason was that the round robin format had become stale. In some years the battle for first prize in the championship was virtually decided with two or three rounds to go. And in every tournament there came a point in the final week when half the contestants realized they had no chance for a prize. Many of the also-rans than spent the final days

194

The United States Chess Championship

going through the motions to reach move 20 and offer a draw. In fact, during the cautious 35th championship more than 55 percent of the games were drawn. While this was far from setting a record, what was distressing was the shortness of some of the "snuggles." Three of the 1989 games ended in 12 moves or less, 13 were over by move 15, and 19 were done by move 20. The format chosen by the USCF for the 36th championship, in Jacksonville, Fla., called for the 16 invitees to be paired according to rating, No.1 versus No. 16, then No.2 against No. 15, and so on. They would play two games apiece and the eight winners would then advance to the next round, from which four survivors would emerge. Finally, a best-of-four game finals between the last two survivors would determine who went home with the $10,000 first prize. This meant that in every game something was at stake. Bur it also meant that players who were used to two weeks of tough competition could be eliminated in two days. As compensation, those ousted early on could enter the U.S. Open which was being held concurrenrly that August at the LAX Marriott Hotel in Los Angeles. The players quickly recognized that the easiest way to win a two-game match was to play for a draw with Black and a win with White. In the opening round, this tried-andtrue policy enabled Nick deFirmian and Stuart Rachels to advance (beating tournament newcomers Alex Sherzer and Michael Brooks). On the other hand, losing with White would be disastrous, as Yasser Seirawan found when he was neatly outmaneuvered by Lev Albuft in a 49-move Queen's Pawn Game. That gave Alburt "draw-odds" in the second game and meant Seirawan had to take uncharacteristic risks - with fatal results. By the second round, the players were reminded of another reason why the knockout system died out with Morphy: tie matches. In the 19th century, when draws were relatively rare, this wasn't that great a problem. But in 1990 it certainly was. To break ties, each pair of players was forced into a two-game playoff

in which they had only 30 minutes per game. And if, after that, they were still tied, as in the Boris Gulko-Roman Dzhindzhikashvili match, they moved on to 15-minute games. Dzhindy, then residing in Astoria, Queens, where Herman Steiner once lived before moving to Los Angeles, won nicely in 64 moves. In the same quaner-final round, it took Albun three IS-minute games before he eliminated the new U.S. Chess Federation president. A42 Modern Defense

white Dlugy, black Alburt 1 d4 g6 2 c4 Bg7 3 Nc3 d6 4 e4 e5 5 d5 f5 6 exf5 gxf5 7 Nf3 Nf6 8 Be2 0-0 90-0 as 10 Nh4 f4 11 g3 Bh3 12 ReI Nbd7 13 Bft Bg4 After six draws, at three different time controls, Maxim Dlugy is understandably unwilling to give up another White by playing 14 Be2 Bh3 15 Bfl. But. .. 14 f3?! Bh5 15 g4? NXg4! 16 fxg4 Qxh4 17 gxh5 f3! Black, who threatens lR ... f2+ and ... Nf6-g4, has an overwhelming attack. 18 Rc4!? Qxh5 19 Bd Nf6 20 Khl Nxe4 21 Nxe4 Bh6 22 Qd2 Bf4 23 Bd3 Kh8 24 Rfl Bxe3 25 Qxe3 Rf4

Mter

25 ... Rf4

Dlugy-Alburt, 1990

Now 26 RgI RafS 27 Nf2 Rh4 is hopeless.

195

Champions Galore (1986-1991) 26 cS Rg8 27 Nd2 Rg2 28 Nxf3 Rxf3! and White resigns

Nba6! 18 Nc3 BfS 19 ReI Kg7 20 Bxd4 Qxd4!

This advanced Alburt to the semi-finals face deFirmian while Dzhindy had his hands full with Christiansen. The latter spent most of his time in Germany where he was a well-paid member of a team in the Bundesliga championship, and only returning to the U.S. for an occasional big event. In the semifinals Christiansen guaranteed himself at least $5,000 by the now-familiar strategy: trading down with the Black pieces to draw in 32 moves in the first game, then squeezing with the White pieces in a Sicilian Dragon until Dzhindzhikashvili succumbed on move 52. It took Alburt 107 moves spread over two games to join Christiansen in the finals, as he outplayed deFirmian on the White side of a Modern Benoni Defense then drew an exchange down in a Pirc Defense. Christiansen, who had eliminated three former champions - Walter Browne, Joel Benjamin, and Dzhindzhikaslwili - was rated a clear favorite over Alburt. Whar happened, as Seirawan put it, was "a shocking rout."

Black has mobilized his mmor pieces quicker than expected and wants an ending of rook-versus-two-pieces. Now 21 NbS was recommended as White's last hope.

to

21 b4? Nd3 22 Ne2 Qd7 23 Rc3 Rxa8 24 g4!?

After 24 g4

Christiansen-A/burt, 1990

24 ... Nb2! 25 QeI Bd3! 26 Qxb2 Qxg4+ 27 Ng3 Bxfl 28 Kxfl Qd4! 29 QeI Rf8 30 Qe3 Qxe3 31 Rxe3 Nxb4

B04 Alekhine's Defense

white Christiansen, black Alburt 1 e4 Nf6 2 eS NdS 3 d4 d6 4 Nf3 g6 5 Bc4 Nb6 6 Bb3 Bg7 7 a4 dXeS!

A considerable improvement over 7 dS 8 as Nc4, as Alburt played in the last round of the 1988 championship against deFirmian. It allows an apparently winningbut only dangerous-looking- sacrifice.

With at least one extra pawn Black won without difficulty in 14 more moves. Since the finals was a best-of-four match, this loss was far from fatal to Christiansen. But their second game, a skillfully maneuvered 65-move Bogo-Indian victory for Alburt, put a 2-0 nail in Christiansen's coffin. He played the third game without energy or ambition and was unrecognizable. D17 Slav Defense

8 as N6d7 9 Bxf7 + Kxf7 10 NgS+ Kg8 11 Ne6 Qe8 12 Nxc7 Qd8 13 Nxa8 exd4 14 c3!? This liquidares the annoying d-pawn with the threat of Qh3 + hut the position needs quicker reinforcements, such as 0-0, Rfel and Bg5. 14 ... NcS 15 cxd4 Bxd4 160-0 eS 17 Be3

white Christiansen, black Alburt 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 d5 3 c4 c6 4 Nc3 dxc4 5 a4 BfS 6 Nh4 e6 7 NxfS exfS 8 e3 Bb4 9 Bxc4 0-0 10 0-0 Nbd7 11 Qc2 g6 12 b3 Nb6 13 Bb2 Nbd5 14 Rfdl hS!? 15 BfL h4 16 NxdS? cxdS! 17 RaeI Bd6 18 Qe2 a6 19 Bc3 Ng4 20 h3 Nf6 21 Bel Re8 22 b4 Ne4 23 as f4 24 Qg4 fxe3 25 fxe3 Ng3 26 Bd3 Kg7 27 BXg3 Bxg3 28 RfL Re6

36th U.S. Championship, Jacksonville, Fla., Aug. 5-17, 1990

-----=-

Seirawan _________ Alburt

~

Dlugy A. Ivanov

Alburt + 2 _ 0 = 0 > Alburt +2-0=4 Dlugy +3-1=0 Alburt +1-0=1

deFirmia~ deFirmian +1 - 0 > _ 1 Sherzer deFirmian Rachels

~

+ 1-0= 1

Rachels +1-0=1

Brooks Alburt +3-0=0

GUlkO~ Kudrin

D.Gmcvich

Gulko + 1-0= 1

~

Dzhindzhikashvili +2-1 =2 ~

DZhindZhikaSh~ Dzhindzhikashvili +2-0=0 Benjamin~

I. Ivanov

Benjamin +1-0=1

>

Christian~

Christiansen +2-0=0 Browne

/

Christiansen

+ 1-0= 1

.

. +1-0=1

Clui",,",,"

Champions Galore (1986-1991) 29 Bbi Qe7 30 e4?! dxe4 31 Ba2 Rf6 32 Rxf6 Qxf6 33 Qxe4? Qf2+ 34 Khi Qxa2 and White resigns

}

For the third time in six years Alburt had surprised his younger, more ambitious rivals and taken the title. He was the last player to defend his tide successfully, back in 1984-85. Maybe he could do it again ... if the 37th championship were another knockout.

I

1991: Introducing ... Gata Kamsky

, I

More than 25 years had passed since Bobby Fischer argued with the championship organizers and more than a decade since Walter Browne walked off the stage in Pasadena in a huff. But controversy returned to the tournament in the summer of1991 with the arrival of Gata and Rustam Kamsky. The Kamskys had been a sensation since midway through the final round of the 1989 New York Open when, with the help of Lev Alburt and two FBI agents, they disappeared from the Hotel Penta playing site and applied for political asylum. At the time, Gata was an obscure 14-year-old Soviet youngster with no international tirle. But within months he stunned U.S. chess by winning an elimination tournament filled with the leading American players to see who would playa short exhibition match with world champion Garry Kasparov. By the time play began July 28 at LAX Marriott Hotel, Los Angeles, Kamsky was rated 2747 -or 62 points ahead of the next closest to him on Arpad Elo's totem pole, Yasser Seirawan. The USCF had decided to employ the knockout format again and this meant Kamsky was paired against the tournament's lowest rated player, world junior champion Ilya Gurevich. Kamsky had some problems in holding a draw in the first game of their twogame match, but won the second convincingly, and then sailed into the semifinals after eliminating Alexander Ivanov. Everyone else, it seemed, was having their troubles in the second go-round of the knock-

197

out. It took Seirawan nine games to get by Igor Ivanov. In fact, the Seattle GM, now a member of the older generation at age 31, should have been the one to be eliminated. He drew the first two games and was swindled in the first game/30 tiebreaker. E51 Queen's Indian Defense

white Seirawan, black Igor Ivanov 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 b6 4 Nc3 Bb4 5 Qb3 Na6 6 a3 Bxc3+ 7 Qxc3 c5 8 b4 0-0 9 dxc5! bxc5 10 b5 Creating a queenside majority- and potential passed b-pawn. Black must find counterplay on the other wing. 10 ... Nc7 11 e3 Ne4 12 Qc2 f5 13 Be2 Bb7 14 Bb2 f4 15 exf4 Rxf4 16 0-0 d6 17 a4 Qe7 18 Bel Rg4!? 19 Ne1 Rg6 20 Bh5 Afterwards Seirawan claimed 20 Bd3 would have won "without any pain" but he thought this was a better way of winning the exchange (20 ... Rf6 21 Bf3 d5 22 BXe4 and 23 Bg5). 20 23 26 29 32

... Rf6 21 Bf3 Rxf3!? 22 Nxf3 Rf8 Ra3 e5! 24 ReI Nf6 25 Nh4? Ne6 Nf5 Qd7 27 Rh3 g6 28 Ng6+ Kg7 f3? Nd4 30 Qd3 Nh5 31 RfI Nf4 Bxf4 Rxf4 33 Ng4 e4 34 Qe3? h5!

Now 35 Qxf4 Ne2+ costs the queen so White has to allow a murderous capture on f3. The finish was dazzling. 35 Nf2 exf3 36 g3 Ne2+ 37 KhI (see diagram) 37 ... Qxh3! 38 RgI Or 38 Nxh3 f2+ and mates. 38 ... Qg2+! and White resigns But Seirawan rallied with Black in the second tiebreaker and, after four draws in

K"n'ky.~

37th V.S. Cha",pion.hip, Lo, Angele" july 28-Aug. 9, 1991 Kamsky +1-0=01

1. Gurevich

KUd"O~ A. Ivanov

A. Ivanov +2-0=00

Y,nnoiio'ky

Kamsky + 1-0=0 1

~

Fedorowicz

Fedorowicz + 1-0", 1

Kamsky +2-0"'0

Rohde

Wolff

-------------

Wolff +2-0'=2

Fedotowicz +2-1 1 =0

Seirawan ---------

1. Ivanov .............

---------- Seirawan +2-1=06

Kamsky +2-1==1 Benjamin

Benjamw + 1-0", 1

D1Ugy~

Albun GUlko _________ Browne

.

Diugy .2-}.2

------------- Gulko +2-0"'0

~

/

Gulko +2-1"'2

/8,Oj'",io. _0. 1 1

Champions Galore (1986-1991)

199

11 Rxbl Be7 12 f4 Nd7 13 f5 e5 14 Nf3 e4 15 Nd4 Nde5 16 Bf4 a6 17 Rb2 Bf6 18 Rd2 Qd7 19 b5 aXb5 20 Nxb5 0-0 21 RxdS Qe7 22 a4 Bg5 After 37 Khi

White can't hold his extra pawn and quickly gets the worst of it. 23 BxgS QxgS 24 f6 g6 25 Nd6 Qe3+ 26 Khl Qxc3 27 Nxc4 Qb4?? Seirawan-l. Ivanov, 1991

game/IS playoffs, won the clincher in 28 moves. Another newcomer to the championship this year - and yet another Soviet emigre- was Alex Yermolinsky, a 32-year-old International Master who, like Gurevich, was living in New York. He was rated fifth in the field of 16 hut still something of a mystery to the other players. John Fedorowicz, his firstround opponent, had so much trouble finding "Yermo" games in past Informants that he enlisted the help of a friend who located 60 obscure Yermolinsky games from yellowing pages of Shakhmatny Bulletin. It helped, as Fedorowicz won one game and drew one with Yermolinsky and then reached the semifinals by outlasting Patrick Wolff in five games. Meanwhile the Fed's friend, Joel Benjamin, reached the semis after a lucky escape against Seirawan. B12 Caro-Kann Defense

white Benjamin, black Seirawan 1 e4 e6 2 d4 dS 3 eS BfS 4 c3 e6 5 Be2 Nd7 6 Nf3 Ne7 7 0-0 e5 Benjamin had eliminated his first-round opponent, Dzhindzhikashvili, in a similar game that went 5 ... c5 6 Nf3 NcG 7 0-0 Bg4 8 Be3 Bxf3 9 Bxf'3 cxd4 10 cxd4 Nge7 11 Nc3 Nf5 12 Bg4 Nxe3 13 fxd Bb4 14 Rf4 and IS Qf3 with a strong attack. This time he decides to give up the center in order to create a queenside pawn majority. 8 dxe5!? Ne6 9 b4 NdxeS 10 Nd4 BxbJ

With six minutes on his clock, plenty for the rest of the game, Seirawan allows mate on g7 or h7. 28 Qcl! and Black resigns The semifinals provided an appropriate match up: Benjamin and Fedorowicz, the most outspoken critics of the "Russianization" of U.S. chess, were paired with 44-year-old Boris Gulko and I7-year-old Kamsky. Benjamin did his part, exploiting Gulko's weak center pawns in the game he held White, and drawing the other. But Kamsky won two fine games, including a difficult rook-andbishop-of-opposite-color endgame, from Fedorowicz. That match was marred by an ugly confrontation in which Kamsky's father, a star boxer in Russia, vigorously accused Fedorowicz of discussing the game with deFirmian when away from the board. Witnesses said all John said was, "Oh, excuse me, Nick," as he walked about the playing hall. (Three years later Rustam hired "Johnnie," by then his good friend, to be Gata's second in the Professional Chess Association candidates matches.) Kamsky's victory set up a finals showdown with Benjamin, another former junior star. The best-of-four game finals began quietly with each player winning with Black. What turned out to be the decisive game might also have been the tournament brilliancy: C68 Ruy Lopez

white Benjamin, black Kamsky 1 e4 eS 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Bxc6 dXe6 5 0-0 Qd6 6 d3 Ne7 7 Be3 Ng6 8 Nbd2

200

The United States Chess Championship

eS? 9 Nc4 Qe6 10 NgS Qf6 11 QhS Bd6? 12 f4! exf4 13 eS! Blasting open the center to exploit Black's laggard development. Now 13 . . . Bxe5 14 Nxe5 Qxe5 15 Bxf4 Nxf4 16 QXf7 KdS 17 Qxf4 favors him substantially.

13 ... Nxe5 14 Bxf4! NXe4

Tournament Director Carol Jarecki told the elder Kamsky the proper procedure was to make an official protest. This calmed him down but by this time there was more drama inside the playing hall. 17 Rxf7?? White misses a win: with 17 Rael+ KdS IS Nxf7+ Nxf7 19 QXf7 the threat of20 Qe7 mate is decisive, e.g. 19 ... Bg4 20 Qe7 + KcS 21 RfS+ or 19 ... Qd6 20 Qxg7 or 19 ... Qd7 20 QfS+!. 17 ... Qg4!

Mter

14 ..• Nxc4

The move Benjamin overlooked. He has several discovered checks, none with any real meaning. The rest of the game went:

Benjamin-Kamsky, 1991

15 Bxd6 Qd4+ 16 Khl Nxd6 While Benjamin was studying this crucial position, Patrick Wolff, who was competing in the concurrent u.s. Open and playing spectator during the championship, approached the board to get a better look. Rustam Kamsky suddenly returned to the center of attention, loudly telling Wolff to remove himself from the area. He and Wolff took their dispute outside, where tournament organizers listened to Rustam make a lengthy claim of cheating by Wolff and other Benjamin supporters.

18 Re1+ Kd8 19 Qxg4 Bxg4 20 Rxg7 h6 21 Nh7 Bd7! 22 Nf6 Be6 23 Kgl Ke8 24 Ree7 Kb8 25 Rxc7 Ne8! 26 Nxe8 Rxe8 27 Kf2 Re6 28 Rce7 Rf6+ 29 Kg3 Ka7 30 Ref7 Rxf7 and White resigns The final game was anticlimactic: Rustam Kamsky was banned from the playing hall and so didn't witness the lifeless King's Indian in which his son sought exchanges from move eight on. Benjamin agreed to a draw on the 27th move, giving Kamsky a 2V2-!Y2 win. The Brooklyn youngster, who was not even born when Lubosh Kavalek won the 1973 tournament in El Paso, was now the youngest U.s. champion since Fischer.

Chapter Twelve

The Talent Wheel (1992-1996) The u.s. championship had become a barometer of the strength of American chess. In the era of challenge matches, whenever there was a paucity of strong players, there simply was no U.S. championship competition - such as from 1910 to 1922. After the biennial, and later annual, tournaments were established, you could tell the state of American chess talent by examining the players. During the talent glut of the 1950s and 1980s, the typical invitees were up-and-coming masters in their 20s. But in the talent gap of the late 19405 and late I%Os-1970s, the older generation was evident. And despite the continued flow of highly skilled and trained players from the former Soviet Union, it became clear in the early 1990s that another talent gap was developing. The average age of the contestants steadily grew to the mid-30s, an ominous sign in a game where 30 is generally the peak playing age. When would the talent wheel turn again and a new generation arrive? As the championship celebrated its 150th birthday, the answer was far from clear.

1992: Fortune Smiles, and Frowns, and Then Smiles ... Luck. There's an element of it in every hard-fought tournament and the 39th championship was hardly an exception. Bad luck

201

knocked players out of contention and good luck knocked them back into it - and there was plenty of both kinds for a surprising finish. There was more Kamsky controversy this year even though Gata and Rustam never came within miles of the tournament site, the Red Lion Inn, in Durango, Colorado. The tournament, originally scheduled for September, was rescheduled twice to accommodate the defending champion. But after accepting an invitation, the Kamskys requested a $5,000 honorarium, and when that was denied, they declined -leaving the USCF with the December dates they never wanted. But the tournament did have Software Toolworks as a sponsor and since it was a zonal it was guaranteed a high rate of invitation acceptances. And since it was a zonal, the knockout system was precluded by FIDE rules. Even if it had been permissible, several players and fans had become disillusioned with the format that seemed more appropriate to Wimbledon and the NCAA basketball tournament. In a chess tournament, with the usual large number of draws, knockout chess meant speed chess to break ties. In the 38th championship, 40 percent of the matches were ultimately decided by either 15- or 30-minute playoffs. Bur in 1992 the players and organizers wanted a return to what was later called "classical chess." Durango began with more than its share of surprises. One was Stuart Rachels' loss on

202

The United States Chess Championship

time to Walter Browne in the first round - in a winning position. Browne, now a slightly graying 43-year-old appearing in his 11th straight championship since 1978, may have helped put Rachels over the time control when he banged the quartz clock as he made his 38th move. Rachels was visibly stunned by the turn of events and, even though this occurred in the first round, he never seemed to be in contention after that. Another source of surprise was Boris Men of Cleveland. A 41-year-old mathematician, Men had once been something of a prodigy in the Soviet Union before giving up the game. A 1962 issue of the magazine Chess in USSR reported on the fine results by two promising ll-year-olds from the Urals who competed in the Russian Federation Championship in Vladimir. "Borya" Men, from Sverdlovsk, scored six points out of ten, a point ahead of his colleague from Zlatoust. His colleague? "Tolya" Karpov, who later succeeded Fischer as world champion. Men's interest in chess revived after emigrating to the United States in 1991. Even without a FIDE rating he proved to be a dangerous foe in Durango - winning his first two games, against Kamran Shirazi and, thanks to a blunder in a bad position, Roman Dzhindzhikashvili. Another source of surprise came from the youngest invitee, 20-year-old liya Gurevich, who was no relation to Dimitry but someone to keep an eye on. C90 Ruy Lopez white I. Gurevich, black Benjamin 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Be7 6 Rei b5 7 Bb3 d6 S c3 0-0 9 d4!? Bg4 10 Be3 Bd7? If Black doesn't try to punish White's failure to take time out for 9 h3, such as with 10 ... Na5 11 Bc2 Nc4, White will have gained an extra tempo that will allow him to dictate matters in the center. 11 Nbd2 Ng4 12 Nfl Na5 13 Bc2 exd4 14 cXd4 NXe3 15 NXe3 c5

Now 16 d5? would justify Black's opening. The 1990 world junior champion now makes a series of correct decisions. 16 e5! g6 17 Nd5! Be6? 18 Nxe7+ Qxe7 19 Qd2 Nc4 20 Qh6 dxe5 21 dxe5 f5 22 eXf6 Rxf6

After 22 ••• Rxf6

I Gurevich-Benjamin, 1992

23 Ng5 ReS 24 Re2! Black is helpless once White takes control of the e-file. 24 ... Nd6 2S Rae1 Qd7 26 h4 Bxa2 27 Nxh7! Rfe6 28 Bxg6! and Black resigns Also lost was 27 ... Qxh7 28 Rxe8+ or 27 ... Rxe2 28 Nxf6+. Men's mixture of skill and luck gradually trailed off after his fine start and he won only one more game in the remaining 13 rounds. Gurevich also fell off the pace and didn't become a factor in the fight for first place until the very end. But another surprise of Durango did. He was 21-year-old Alex Sherzer, rated more than 50 points below the average for the event and ranked 12th in the field of16. Using Arthur Bisguier's favorite Berlin Defense, he confused Alexander Ivanov enough in the first round to prompt a deadly oversight on the 28th move of an even endgame. Sherzer, an International Master living in College Park, Md., built on that victory with solid enough play to earn a share of the lead after five rounds with John Fedorowicz, Boris Gulko and Patrick Wolff.

203

The Talent Wheel (1992-1996) Aside from Sherzer, the 24-year-old Wolff was just about the only other American-born master to break into prominence since 1985. His first contact with chess came in 1972 when he saw his father, a prominent philosophy professor, playing over the moves of the Fischer-Spassky match. Wolff learned the moves at five and by his teens was beating grandmasters. Now playing in only his third championship, Wolff enjoyed his own brand of luck when Fedorowicz offered him a draw in a winning first-round position, when Igor Ivanov blundered badly and when the madcap Shirazi, instead offorcing resignation at move 55, played a double-question mark that allowed a winning Wolff counterattack. But luck has a way of equalizing itself in the long run, as Wolff learned in Round Six. B66 Sicilian Defense white I. Gurevich, black Wolff 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 Nc6 6 Bg5 e6 7 Qd2 a6 S 0-0-0 h6 9 Bf4 Bd7 10 NXc6 BXc6 11 f3 d5 12 Qe1 Bb4 13 a3 BaS 14 Bd2 RcS 15 Kbl dxe4! An ingenious and daring idea. Now 16 Nxe4 Bxe4 17 Bxa5 can be met by 17 ... Bxc2+. Wolff was then preparing openings for Viswanathan Anand in his drive towards the world championship and this was one of their previously undetonated bombs. 16 Bxh6?! Nd7 17 Bxg7 RgS IS Bd4 exf3 19 Qf2 fxg2 20 Rgl Qg5 21 Bd3 Bxc3! 22 Bxc3 Nc5? Spoiling a fine position which he could have improved further with 22 ... Ne5!, e.g. 23 Bh7 Rg7 24 h4 Qh5 25 Qf6 Rxh7 26 Bxe5 Qxh4. 23 Bh7 Ne4 24 Qd4 Nxc3+ 25 Qxc3 Qg7 26 BxgS? Returning the favor. With 26 Qd3 White's survival chances were much better.

26 ... QXc3 27 bxc3 Ke7 2S Bh7 f5! 29 Rd4 Kf6 30 Rh4

Mter 30 Rh4

I. Gurevich- Woif!, 1992

Now with 30 ... RhS Black retains good winning chances, although White can reduce them a bit by 31 Rh6+ Kg7 32 Rxe6 Rxh7 33 Rxc6!, with a rook-and-pawn endgame. 30 ... Kg5?? 31 Rc4! What Black overlooked. Now the exchange sacrifice wins because the trapped bishop has an escape route. 31 ... RhS 32 Rxc6! bxc6 33 Rxg2+ Kh6 34 BgS! e5 35 Rg3 and Black resigns The opening innovation of the year, as Wolff put it - but it lost. Nevertheless Wolff still shared second place, with Seirawan, Fedorowicz and Dimitry Gurevich, a full point behind Sherzer at the midway point, Round Eight. Sherzer continued his remarkable unbeaten streak, knocking off Igor Ivanov, Browne, Yermolinsky and Rachels in a row. Igor was providing his own entertainment for the spectators. His ninth-round game against Rachels, who was taking a break from studies at Oxford University, was memorable. Both players misplayed the early middlegame badly and reached an unclear endgame - when Ivanov fell asleep. Suddenly he woke up, realized it was his move and planted his king four squares forward - thinking it was his queen giving check. When he realized it was a king

38th U.S. Championship, Durango, Colorado, Dec. 2-20,

W

G

Sh

Se

G

F

1. Wolff 2-3. Gulko 2-3. Sherzer 4-5. Seirawan 4-5. D. Gurevich 6. Fedorowicz

X

~

~

~

Y2

Y2

0 X Y2

X

Y2 Y2

~

~

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X

0 0 1

Y2 1 0

7-9. Yermolinsky 7-9. Benjamin 7-9. l. Gurevich 10. Dzindzikashvili 11-12. Browne 11-12. A. Ivanov 13. Rachels 14-15. l. Ivanov 14-15. Men 16. Shirazi

0 0

~ ~

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0 0 0 0 0 0

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1 0 ~ ~

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0 0 Y2 Y2 0 Y2

X

1/2

1 0 Y2 Yz 0 Y2

Y2 Yz Y2 0

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1 X

Y

B

Y2 Y2 0 0

Y2 Y2

G

0

0 Y2 Y2

Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 0

B

Y2 0

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~

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Y2

X

0 0 X Y2 0 Y2 1 0

Y2 Y2

Y2

~

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0 0 Y2 0 0 0

0

1/2

Yz Y2 0 Y2

0 0 0 0 0

1 0 Y2 0 0

Yz Y2 Y2 1 0

M

R

Y2 1 0

0

Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2 Y2

~

Y2 X

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5 5 2

1 0 0

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5 5 3 1 3 0

Totals 0 L 5 8 6 10 4 5 8 6 6 11 4 4 7 8 4 2

2 2 1 4 4

Points

10Y2-4Y2 10-5 10-5 9-6 9-6 8~-6~

3 4 4 2 6 6

8-7 8-7 8-7 7Y2-7Y2 7-8 7-8

5 6 8 13

6~-8~

5-10 5-10 1-14

The Talent Wheel (1992-1996) and was committed to moving it, Ivanov blundered away a pawn and quickly lost what was probably the ugliest U.S. championship game since the Fifth American Congress 112 years before. Meanwhile, Sherzer somehow had managed to expand his lead to a point and a half with five rounds to go, as the names of the second-place contenders shuffied. He was bidding to duplicate a Fischer-like (or Kamskylike) feat of winning the championship as a junior. But Sherzer's King's Indian Defense went down in flames against Dmitry Gurevich in Round 11 while Gulko moved to within a half point - thanks to another bit of luck: his opponent was Shirazi. Alex Fishbein, a future GM who was preparing the daily bulletins, recalled that at several points in the 60-move struggle Gulko was "practically begging for a draw." But Shirazi resolutely passed up a threefold repetition of the position and played on until he forfeited in a lost position, apparently believing, as Fishbein put it, that "the penalty for a draw game is death." Sherzer's 13th round victory over Menhis fourth with the black pieces - guaranteed him a spot in the 1993 interzonal an kept him a half point ahead of Gulko, who by now had been joined by Wolff in second place. They all drew the next day, leaving everything to be decided in the last round. The key pairings were Fedorowicz-Sherzer, Gulko-Ilya Gurevich, and Men-Wolff. Gulko, whose enormous talent seemed to be matched by his occasional lack of ambition, finished quickly, trading queens in a Gruenfeld Defense on the 21st move and offering a draw 11 moves later. Wolff moved past him by beating Men in 46 moves. Catching the inexperienced former Soviet at the end of the tournament was fortunate for Wolff, since a clearly tired Men lost his last five games. And fortune did not favor the brave in the last key game: £89 King's Indian Defense

205

Nh5 10 Nge2 fS 11 exf5 gXfS 120-0 Nd7 13 Qd2 Ndf6 14 Khl Bd7 15 a4 a6 16 a5! Qe717 Bc2 Rae8 18 Rae1 e4! 19 Nf4 Qf7 20 Nxh5? White has been following one of the modern treatments of the King's Indian, paralyzing Black on the queenside while attacking the weakened light squares after exf5. Here with 20 Bb3! and NeG he would have carried that plan further. 20 ... Nxh5 21 f4 Nf6! 22 h3 Nh5! 23 Kh2 Qg6 24 Rgl Qg3+ 25 Khl Bh6 26 Rgfl Qh4 27 Qf2 Ng3+! 28 Kgl Kf7 The $10,000 first prize rested on the speed of Black's attack. To his credit, Sherzer never offered the draw that would have given him a tie with Wolff. He plays for mate, although after 28 ... RfG might have been better. Now both kings are a factor. 29 Rael! Rg8 30 Ba4 Bxa4 31 Nxa4 Rg4! 32 Rc7 + Kg8 33 Rfel Bxf4 34 Rc8 Rxc8 35 RXc8 Kf7 36 Rc7+ Kg6 37 Bd4 Bh6! 38 Rd7

After 38 Rd7

Fedorowicz-Sherzer, 1992

Wolff later said that both of his rivals, Gulko and Sherzer, failed because their nerves gave out - Gulko in a positional struggle, Sherzer in a crazy tactical one.

white Fedorowicz, black Sherzcr 38 ... Rf4?? 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 e4 d6 5 f3 0-0 6 Bd c5 7 d5 c6 8 Bd3 cxd5 9 cxd5

Three moves to go before time control

206

The United States Chess Championship

and Sherzer's Cinderella story rums into a pumpkin. He had to prepare this move first with 38 ... Bf8, after which 39 Be5! is a good defense (39 ... dxe5 40 Qb6+). The game would likely have ended with 39 ... f4 40 Qb6 and now 40 ... Ne2+ 41 Kfl Ng3+ 42 Kgl draw.

who had taken up residence in Showalter's Lexington, Ky., and was making a powerful debut in U.S. Swisses. Yermolinsky allowed only one draw in the first five rounds in Long Beach. His brutal treatment of the defending champ was shocking. C08 French Defense

39 Rxd6+ Kf7 40 Rxh6! Black's tragic oversight - and the equalizing bit of fortune that had hurt Wolff against Gurevich eight rounds earlier. Now 40 ... Rxf2 41 Rxh4 or 40 ... Qxh6 41 Qxg310ses. So he went through the motions with: 40 ... QgS 41 Rxh7+ Kf8 42 Rg7 Rxf2 43 RxgS Rfl+ 44 Kh2 f4 45 Rxg3 fxg3+ 46 Kxg3 Ral 47 Nc5 Rxa5 48 d6 and Black resigns For the seventh year in a row the defending champion had been replaced, this time by a remarkable twist of fate. Sherzer and Gulko would have the consolation of joining Wolff in the 1993 Interzonal, along with Seirawan and Dimitry Gurevich, who had his best championship result to date in Durango.

1993: Whodunit? The 39th championship can be seen as a murder mystery: "Who killed Gata Kamsky's chances for his second title?" After all, the 18year-old Brooklynite was the prohibitive favorite when the field of 12 assembled at the Hyatt Regency in Long Beach, Calif. in December 1993. He was not only far and away the highest rated American, but already headed on his way into the elimination contests that would make him a world championship challenger two years later. But someone did Kamsky in. Among the suspects: Alex Yermolinsky, now a grandmaster. He got off to a terrific start in his third championship, beating Dzhindzhikashvili, Christiansen, Wolff and newcomer Gregory Kaidanov, a 34-year-old former Muscovite

white Wolff, black Yermolinsky 1 e4 e6 2 d4 dS 3 Nd2 a6 4 Ngf3 cS 5 dxc5 BxcS 6 Bd3 Ne7 70-0 Nbc6 8 c3 0-0 9 exdS exdS 10 Nb3 Bd6 11 ReI h6 12 h3 BfS 13 Bd Re8 White now plays for conrrol of the a2-g8 diagonal. But he might have done better with 14 BcS Qd7 15 Bxf5 Nxf5 16 Qd3. 14 Nbd4 Be4 15 Qc2 Ng6 16 Bxe4 dxe4 17 Nd2 Nxd4 18 Bxd4 f5 19 Qb3+ Kh7 20 Qxb7? A blunder, as it turns out. 20 ... BeS! 21 Radl Bxd4 22 cxd4 QgS! 23 NO Nh4 24 Ng3 f4 25 Rxe4 fxg3 26 fxg3 Rah8! 27 Qc6 Nf3+! and White resigns But as a suspect in the elimination of Kamsky, "Yermo" had a good alibi: He lost to Kamsky in the sixth round, giving the youngest player in the tournament a strong 4Y2 out of 6 points. But there were other suspects: Alexander Shabalov, the most recent star emigre from the Soviet Union. Shabalov was a flashy tactician in the mold of his former countryman, Mikhail Tal. Born in Riga, the 26-year-old GM had had modest results and perhaps his best showing was sharing 16th in the massive Grandmasters Association open in Belgrade in 1988. He might have been the culprit who did in Boris Gulko, the 46-year-old GM who had a plus score against Garry Kasparov but couldn't seem to win a U.S. championship. Gulko lost badly to Shabalov in the first round and never recovered: Twelve days later he finished in last place without having won a single game.

, The Talent Wheel (1992-1996) Shabalov also helped doom Benjamin's bid for the title, by beating him in the third round, as well as knocking off Wolff and Dzhindy before they could get into contention. But Shabalov also had a good reason to avoid suspicion in the demise of Kamsky: He helped, rather than harmed the Tatar emigre's championship chances by losing to him in the 10th round. That game, plus Yermolinsky's quick draw as White with Benjamin, left the standings muddied on the eve of the final round. The pairings were

207

29 •.• Rd7 30 Bb6 Re6! 31 Rxd4!? Otherwise Black is clearly better following 31 Bxd4 Red6!. 31 •.• Rxb6 32 Rxd7 Rxb4 33 Re7 Bg6 34 Rdl Kh7 35 Rdd7?

Mter35 Rdd7

Yermolinsky (7 points) vs. D. Gurevich (6) Shabalov (7) vs. Fedorowicz (6) Kamsky (6Y2) vs. Christiansen (4) There could be a sole winner, or a two-, three-, four-, even five-way tie for the tide. Considering that the title had never been shared by more than three players, the spectators searched the wallboards for clues, trying to figure out which would be the decisive game. It took nearly four hours to identify it: E20 Catalan Opening white Kamsky, black Christiansen

Kamsky-Christiamen. 1993

Kamsky probably had visualized this position several moves ago, perhaps at move 29. Ifhe can force a trade of rooks or win a queenside pawn (35 ... b6 36 Ra7) then his combination at move 31 will have been a success. But:

1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 Bb4+ 4 Nc3 c5 5 g3 cxd4 6 Nxd4 0-0 7 Bg2 d5 8 Qb3 Bxc3+ 9 Qxc3 e5 10 Nb3 d4 11 Qa5 Qe8 12 Bg5 Nc6 13 Qc7 Qd7 14 Qxd7 Nxd7

35 ... Rxb3!

What began as a Bogo-Indian and then became a Nimzo-Indian Defense has become a double-edged endgame in which both sides can attack vulnerable queenside pawns.

36 Rxb7 Rb2! 37 Ra7 Rxa2 38 h3 Nf6 39 Re3 Rc2 40 Rexa3 Rxc4

15 ReI as! 16 0-0 a4 17 Nal h6 18 Bd2 Nf6 19 Nc2 Bg4 20 Rfel e4 21 f3 BfS 22 fxe4 Bxe4 23 Bh3 Rfe8 24 Nb4 Ne5 25 Bf4 a3 26 b3 Rad8 27 Rcdl Nfg4 28 BXg4 NXg4 29 Bc7? White can try to encircle the d-pawn with 29 c5 and 30 Bd6 or go after the a-pawn with 29 Bel. The move chosen, however, commits him to an attack on the d-pawn from the rear.

The murder weapon. After 36 axb3 a2 37 Rdl Bbl! the pawn queens.

With no queenside pawns left, the two minor pieces far outweigh a rook. Christiansen complicated the win in the face of fierce Kamsky resistance. But on move 98, as Black was about to promote his f-pawn, White resigned. And that was anticlimactic. As Kamsky was overlooking 35 ... Rxb3 his chances for first prize collapsed because Fedorowicz went badly astray in time pressure and lost to Shabalov. The other Alex, Yermo linsky, joined him as co-champion by grinding down Gurevich in 56 moves. It was an ironic finish: two former Soviets

39th U.S. Championship, Long Beach, Calif., Dec. 2-14, 1993

1-2. Yermolinsky 1-2. Shabalov 3. Kamsky 4-5. Fedorowicz 4-5. D. Gurevich 6. Kaidanov 7. Christiansen 8-10. A. Ivanov 8-10. Wolff 8-10. Benjamin 11. Dzhindzhikashvili 12. Gulko

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3 4 5 2 1 1 2 0 0

Totals D 4 2 5 6 4 1 6 7 7 5 8 7

L

2 2 2 3 5 3 3 3 4 3 4

Points 8-3 8-3 6Yz-4Yz 6-5 6-5 5Yz-5Y2 5-6 4Y2-6Y2 4Yz-6Y2 4Yz-6Y2 4-7 3Yz-7Yz

The Talent Wheel (1992-1996) finishing ahead of a third who was being hailed as the future of American chess and would be the first world championship challenger from the United States since Fischer. In fact, in this, the first all-Grandmaster U.S. championship, eight of the twelve participants got their education in the old country. This prompted the Russian magazine 64 to report on the tournament under the headline: "The Soviet School of Chess at an American resort."

1994: That Old Feeling As the championship tournament approached its golden anniversary it was showing its age. In the past, the event was usually a showcase for young players. In some remarkable years, such as 1951, 1973 and 1981, the tournament gave most American fans their first appreciation of how good the next generation was. But the talent boom of 1975-85, had turned to a drought. Nearly all of the stars of the late 1980s were players who had burst onto the scene when rhe decade began. By 1994 they were aging, and the 40th championship showed it: The winner was 47, the oldest champion since Sammy Reshevsky. Second prize was shared by a 38-year-old and a 34-year-old, both of whom had seen better days. In fact, five of the [Op six finishers were 30 or over, the age when most players have peaked in playing strength. And even with the inclusion of the U.S. Junior champion, 18year-old Boris Kreiman, the average age was nearly 35. Compare that with the 1987 tournament, when a 23-year-old tied for first prize and the average age was 30. Part of the reason was that several championship regulars had gone on to other matters. Patrick Wolff and Alex Sherzer had returned to school. Michael Wilder and Michael Rohde were practicing law. Maxim Dlugy was attempting to make a living on Wall Street and Sergey Kudrin was trying his hand at new business ventures - in Russia. Tony Miles was back in England. And John

209

Fedorowicz couldn't even earn an invitation because the rating cutoff was so high. So it was a generally older group of 14 players who gathered in October 1994 at the Holiday Inn-Beachside in Key West, Fla. Two days before the first round the organizers, including the honorary chairman, 82-year-old Arnold Denker, arranged for a display of living chess. Local children played the role of pawns and adults in Renaissance dress performed as pieces at a local spons stadium and when someone captured a piece, a band played "Taps." For the second year in a row Interplay Productions of Irvine, Calif. chipped in $30,000 for prizes and Jose Cuchi, organizer of the New York Open, designed an extra prize, a 14-karat gold signet championship ring. At the pre-tournament players meeting each invitee was asked to pick one of the white straw hats with red bands. Once they did that they discovered this was actually the drawing of colors, since the pairing number that determined who they played in what round was tucked inside each band. This helped create a shaky first round in which Alexander Ivanov (in close to a winning position) forfeited on time against Kreiman while Benjamin (in a lost position) did the same against deFirmian. Alexander Shabalov got off to a good scarr by successfully resurrecting the Center Game against Ivanov and winning a fine secondround game in 32 moves. Larry Christiansen was also in good shape when he won his first two games, although he worried his way from a lost middlegame into a won counterattack against newcomer Ben Finegold. But Alex Yermolinsky's chances of wearing (he Cuchi ring - and repeating as cochampion - suffered a terrible blow in Round Five when he was rolled off the board by Seirawan in 17 moves. D46 Semi-Slav Defense

white Seirawan, black Ycrmolinsky 1 d4 dS 2 c4 c6 3 Nc3 e6 4 e3 f5 S g4!? Softening up Black on the light squares and opening the business end of the g-file.

40th U.S. Championship, Key West, Fla., Oct. 11-26, 1994 Totals

1. Gulko 2-3. Seirawan 2-3. Christiansen 4-6. Benjamin 4-6. Yermolinsky 4-6. Shabalov 7. Orlav 8. Browne 9. Kaidanav 10-11. deFirmian 10-11. D. Gurevich 12. Finegold 13-14. A. Ivanov 13-14. Kreiman

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0 0 Y2

0 YI Y2

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0 0 0 0 Y2 Y2

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Y2 1 0 YI Y2

1

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Y2 Y2 Yz 0 Y2 Y2 0 0 1/2

Y

Yz Yz X Y2 Yz 1/2

Y2 0 0 0 0

Y2

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YI Y2 X Yz 1

1/2

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0 l/Z

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Points

6

7 6 6

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9Y2-3Y2 8-5 8-5 7Y2-5Y2 7Y2-5YZ 7Yz-5Y2 7-6 6 1/2-6 1/2

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5Y2-7Y2 5Y2-7Yz 4Y2-8Yz 4-9 4-9

The Talent Wheel (1992-1996)

211

5 .•. fxg4?! 6 Qxg4 NfG 7 Qg2 c5 8 Nf3 Nc6 9 Bd2 a6 10 O-O-O! Qc7 11 dxc5 Bxc5 12 Rgl 0-0 13 Ng5 Kh8 14 Kbl Ne5? 15 Na4! Ba7 16 Bb4 Rg8?? 17 Qg3! and Black resigns

Forgetting about the prospect of Qb7 mate. Seirawan later claimed he was nearly winning after 21 ... Rxd4! 22 Bxd4 cxd4. Black now goes from better to even to worse very quickly.

The threat, 18 Qxe5 QXeS 19 Nfl mate, costs Black at least a piece. Others never seemed to get untracked. Ivanov was a solid player, who once swept a Soviet junior team event 8-0. But he was perhaps the most impractical to play in a 20th century U.S. championship. In his desire to always play the best move, Ivanov would consume huge amounts of time, leaving him with only a few minutes for the last dozen moves of a typical time control. He forfeited six times in Key West, including five of his first eight games. As he concentrated at the board, rotating his body back and forth, he appeared to the other players like a washing machine agitator - earning him the nickname "Spin Cycle" Ivanov. It quickly became apparent that three members of the older generation would be in contention for first prize until the very end. Seirawan and Christiansen led after seven rounds with 5Y2 points, followed by Gulko a half point behind. Whichever of them could get through the 16-day event without a loss would almost certainly take home the $8,000 first prize. But it wasn't going to be Seirawan, who forfeited on time in the eighth round:

22 Bf4! Bd6 23 Bxd6 Rxd6 24 dxc5 Rd4 25 g3 Qb8? 26 Rfbl! Qxb3 27 Rxb3 e5 28 Bf3! e4

BI2 Caro-Kann Defense white Benjamin, black Seirawan 1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 Bf5 4 h4 h5 5 c4 e6 6 Nc3 Ne7 7 Nge2 Nd7 8 Ng3 Bg6 9 Bg5 f6 10 exfG gxfG 11 Be3 Nb6 12 b3 dxc4 Black's last is risky: He wants to castle queenside and work against enemy pawns on d4 and c4, even if it means opening the b-file. 13 bxc4 Qc7 14 a4! 0-0-0 15 a5 Nd7 16 Be2 NfS 17 NxfS Bxf5 18 a6 b6 19 0-0 Ne5! 20 c5! bxc5 21 Qb3 Ng4??

Mter

28 ••• e4

Benjamin-Seirawan, 1994

29 Rab1?? Kd7?? Given a golden opportunity to redeem himself, Seirawan misses the neat sacrifice 29 ... exf3! 30 Rb8+ Kd7 31 Rlb7+ Ke6 32 Rxh8 Bc2! and ... Rd2 is a powerful threat. In mutual time trouble, Benjamin saw this too late - and Seirawan didn't see it at all. The rest was routine: 30 Rb7+ Ke6 31 ReI! Ne532 Bxe4 Bxe4 33 Rxe4 Rd3 34 Ne2 Kd5 35 Rf4 Re8 36 Kg2 Kxc5 37 RxfG Ra3 38 Rf5 Kc4 39 Rxh5 Rxa6 40 Rc7 and Black forfeits Nor would Christiansen regain the title he last held in 1983 - not after falling to U.S. Open winner Georgi Orlov in 69 moves in Round 11. No, the winner in 1994 turned out to be the grandmaster who had won just about every other American title: Boris Gulko. In the past he had been plagued by lapses, such as in 1987 when he was in excellent shape for first place - then unaccountably lost his last two games. But in 1994 he remained alert to the very end. Here's how he disposed of Gregory Kaidanov in Round 8.

212

The United States Chess Championship D42 Caro-Kann Defense

white Gulko, black Kaidanov 1 c4 c6 2 e4 d5 3 exd5 Nf6 4 d4 cxd5 5 Nc3 e6 6 NO Be7 7 cxd5 Nxd5 8 Bd3 Nc6 9 0-0 0-0 10 ReI Bf6 11 a3 Bd7 12 Bc2 Rc8 13 Ne4 Be7 14 Qd3 g6 15 Bd2 A standard attacking formation for White and a traditional anti-isolated d-pawn strategy for Black. Instead of trying to weaken the dark squares with Bg5xe7, Gulko goes for the light squares with h2-h4-h5xg6. Kaidanov never finds counterplay. 15 '" Qb6 16 b4 Rfd8 17 Bh3! Be8 18 Racl a6?! 19 h4! Na7 20 Nc5 Nc6 21 h5 Qa7?

After 21 .. , Qa7

Gulko-Kaidanov. 1994

Gulko attributed his success in Key West to ideas he had stored up for use in his Professional Chess Association candidates match against Nigel Short six months before but never got a chance to use. In this game, however, it was Kaidanov who lacked ideas. His queenside attack never got going and now he allows an obvious sacrifice that he thought he'd prevented with his 17th move. 22 hxg6 hXg6 23 NXe6! fxe6 24 Rxe6 Bf7 25 RXg6+! Now 25 ... Bxg6 26 Qxg6+ Kh8 27 Bc2 Nf6 28 Ng5 mates as does 26 ... Kf8 27 Bh6. 25 ... Kf8 26 Rh6 Ke8 27 ReI! and Black resigns

Gulko finished a huge point and a half ahead of Seirawan and Christiansen. All three were headed to the next FIDE Interzonal along with the two survivors of a playoff that had to be arranged after the final round. Playing at the rate of Gamel15 minutes, Shabalov found himself a fish out of water and collapsed while Benjamin and Yermolinsky advanced.

1995: Return of the Prodigals The U.S. championship had shown it could compete with any other event, even the big-bucks open tournaments, for the attention of the nation's top players. But it couldn't compete with the real world: Every year, it seemed, another American grandmaster withdrew ftom competition in order to return to school or begin a non-chess career. But sometimes they came back. Nick deFirmian spent 1990-93 as a foreign exchange specialist with the Bank of America in San Francisco. But he quit and moved to New York - to revive his chess career. And at age 38 he was playing better than ever. Another former champion, Patrick Wolff, resumed his college career in 1994. But when Viswanathan Anand earned the right to challenge Garry Kasparov for the Professional Chess Association championship, the 27 -yearold Wolff returned to chess as a second to the Indian star - and a month later as an invitee to the 42nd U.S. championship and a leading contender for its $25,000 in prizes. The tournament was again sponsored by Interplay Productions, which pledged to host the 1996 event as well, and the playing site was the Red Lion Inn in Modesto, Calif. - Larry Christiansen's home town. Christiansen, as well as Gata Kamsky, who was preparing for his 1996 FrDE world championship match with Anatoly Karpov, were among the prominent GMs to turn down invitations. Once again the field of 14 players was dominated by Soviet emigres and U.S.-born veterans. Russian camaraderie was evident in the quiet early rounds. On the first day three games involving six former Soviet players

The Talent Wheel (1992-1996) ended in draws after a total of 44 moves. Wolff was the only winner, thanks to a strange blunder by Walter Browne, who walked into checkmate while a pawn up in a rook-and-opposite-color-bishop endgame.

After

54 ... Bbl

Wolff-Browne, 1995

If White eliminates the rooks, even at the cost of his last pawn, he will draw easily by blockading the e- and g-pawns. Therefore: 55 h3+ Kf5?? 56 Rh6! Suddenly Black's refusal to capture on h3 has fatal consequences: 57 Rf6 mate is threatened. 56 ... g4 57 hxg4+ and Black resigns On the following day Georgi Orlov, the 1994 U.S. Open winner, was the only player to register a full point in the second roundthanks to yet another Alexander Ivanov time forfeit. Ivanov, 39, had had decidedly mixed results since emigrating to the United States in 1988: He regularly did well in major Swiss System opens, including three straight first-places in the National Open. But in invitational events, like the U.S. championship, he had lacked consistency. This year he overcame the Orlov game and moved into the plus column by beating Dimitry Gurevich and Josh Waitzkin, the former Searchingfor Bobby Fischer prodigy, in the fourth and fifth rounds. But Ivanov again lost a promising position on time in the sixth

213

round, to deFirmian, in a game that had a key influence on the race for first place. Meanwhile, the other stars of the 1990s began very slowly. Defending champion Boris Gulko drew his first six games before beating Joel Benjamin, who was playing a record 14th straight U.S. championship. Since the superconservative Gulko could be counted on to draw about two-thirds of his games, he could hardly afford a single loss in Modesto if he wanted to retain his tide. A defeat by Ivanov in Round 8 effectively put him out of the race. The situation seemed ideal for Wolff who, at 27, was one of only three invitees to the tournament that were 30 or under. He arrived well-stocked with new opening ideas because of his preparation of Anand for the PCA match that had just ended in New York. And he had the energy to compete with the youngsters, grinding down Waitzkin in 78 moves and Alex Khmelnitsky in 71. The ability to play well in what was usually the seventh hour of play had become crucial in the U.S. championship because the tournament had adopted a rule used in Swiss System tournaments to eliminate adjournments. After the first two time controls, of 40moves-in-two-hours and 20-in-one, a third and final session began with each player having one hour to complete ail his remaining moves. This meant no game could last more than eight hours - but it also meant that in the seventh and eighth hours fortune smiled on the players with strong nerves and good endurance, like Wolff. But Wolff still fell into some bad positions in Modesto in the first hours of play. Against Alex Yermolinsky, for example, he battled out of a poor middlegame only to resign on the 60th move when he saw his two rooks were no match for Yermo's queen and two passed pawns. As the tournament passed the Thanksgiving break two surprises were emerging. The first was deFirmian who was playing long, hard and solid games. The former madcap tactican - who lost seven games in the 33rd championship when he was 29 and apparently in his prime - never lost in Modesto.

41st U.S. Championship, Modesto, Calif., Nov. 19-Dec. 4, 1995

0

W

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G

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\lz

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1

\lz

\12

X

\12

\lz

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4. Yermolinsky

0 \lz \12

1-3. deFirmian 1-3. A. Ivanov 1-3. Wolff

0

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7-9. Benjamin

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7 -9. Dzhindzhikashvili

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7-9. D. Gurevich 10-11. Orlav

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10-11. Kaidanov 12-13. Khmelnitsky 12-13. Waiukin 14. Kudrin

0 0 \12 \lz 0

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9

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3 3

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6-7

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5

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6-7

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The Talent Wheel (1992-1996)

215

The other surprise was Ivanov. He won six games, the most of anyone in the tournament. And he managed to survive some key time battles, such as in round 7 when he outplayed Browne, another chronic sufferer from Zeitnot. "I don't care how you lose," Ivanov's wife Esther Epstein told him early in the tournament, "just don't lose on time!" The clearest evidence that this was not the same Alexander Ivanov of Key West came in Round 8 when he faced the defending champion.

leaders were held to draws in the nth round while Wolff joined them by beating Gurevich with black. All three gave their best in the 12th round. Ivanov outplayed Khmelnitsky as Black in a Ruy Lopez that lasted 48 moves - but only the first 32 moves survive because the two scoresheets became illegible in the time scramble. Wolff, meanwhile, was taking a full point from Waitzkin, while deFirmian watched Orlov self-destruct with the white pieces in a game less than a third as long.

C07 French Defense white A. Ivanov, black Gulko

A32 English Opening white Orlov, black deFirmian

1 e4 e6 2 d4 ds 3 Nd2 cs 4 Ngf3 cxd4 5 Nxd4 Nf6 6 exds Nxds 7 N2f3 Be7 8 Bd3 0-0 9 0-0 Bf6 10 c4! Nb4 11 Be4 Qe7 12 a3 N4c6 13 Nxc6 NXc6 14 Qc2 g6 15 Bd Rd8 16 Radl Rxdl 17 Rxdl as 18 cs! a4 19 Rd6 Bd7 20 h4!

1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 g3 cs 4 Nf3 cxd4 5 Nxd4 Nc6 6 Bg2 Qb6 7 Nc2 ds 8 Nba3? Bcs 9 0-0 0-0 10 cxds exds 11 Ne3 Be6 12 Qd3 Rfd8

With a queenside bind and control of the only open file White realizes his best winning chance lies in exploiting the dark squares on the kingside. 20 23 26 29

... NaS 21 BgS Bxg5 22 hxgs Bc6 Bxc6 NXc6 24 Qd2 e5 25 Nh2! Nd4 Ng4 Rd8 27 Nf6+ Kg7 28 Qe3 Nfs Rxd8!

The threat of mate on g8 wins the e-pawn and, more important, sets up a deadly discovered (or double) check. 29 ... Qxd8 30 Qxes Qdl+ 31 Kh2 Qd4! 32 Nhs+ KfS 33 Qb8+ Ke7 34 Qxb7 + Kd8 35 Qb8+ Ke7 36 Nf6 Qh4+ 37 Kgl Qxgs White could announce mate in seven. 38 Qes+ Kd8 39 Qe8+ Kc7 40 Nds+ Kb7 41 Qd7 + and Black resigns With three rounds to go, Ivanov and deFirmian were tied with 6 and a half points out of 10, a half point ahead of Wolff. The tWO

At first glance White appears to have a promising game based on pressure against dS. But he couldn't afford 12 NxdS BxdS 13 BxdS because of 13 ... Rad8 14 e4 Nxe4!. And now that dS is solid, he lacks a clear-cut planand begins to "swim." 13 h3 Rac8 14 Kh2 a6 15 f4? Nb4! 16 Qb3 Bxd! 17 Qxe3 d4 18 Qf2 Nc2 Black's pieces invade and he makes major progress with each of the remaining moves. 19 Nxc2 Rxc2 20 Rdl Bc4 21 Bf3 Re8 22 ReI Bxe2! Based on the second-rank pin: 23 BXe2 Qe6 or 23 Rxe2 R8Xe2 24 Bxe2 Qe6. 23 b3 Qbs 24 Bg2 Ne4! and White resigns

25 Qxd4 Bf3

As attention focused on the three leaders, it was easy to overlook a fourth contender: Yermolinsky had been having a remarkable 1995, including an easy victory in the U.S. Open three months before. But he seemed to have lost interest in the closed championship during

42nd U.S. Championship, Parsippany, N.J., July IS-Aug. 2 1996

1. Yermolinsky 2-3. Gulko 2-3. Kaidanov 4. D. Gurevich 5. A. Ivanov 6-1 1. Alburt 6-11. Benjamin 6-11. Christiansen 6-11. deFirmian 6-11. Dzhindzikashvili 6-11. Shabalov 12. Shaked 13-14. 1. Ivanov 13-14. Khmelnitsky

Y

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1 X Yz

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Points 9-4 8-5 8-5 7lh-5Yz 7-6 6-7 6-7 6-7 6-7 6-7 6-7 5Yz-7Yz

5-8 5-8

The Talent Wheel (1992-1996) its last week, since he drew with Gulko, Browne, and deFirmian in a total of 54 moves. Nevertheless, once deFirmian accepted Wolff's draw offer after 23 moves on the final day, there were only two players who could catch them - and they were playing one another. A draw by Ivanov or a victory by Yermolinsky would give either one a share of first prize. And an Ivanov victory meant clear first place for him. It all came down to one crucial move: B51 Sicilian Defense

white A. Ivanov, black Yermolinsky 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 Bb5+ Nd7 4 d4 Ngf6 5 e5?! Qa5+ 6 Nc3 Nd5 7 Bd2 Nxc3 8 Bxd7 + Bxd7 9 Bxc3 Qa6 10 d5 Bg4 11 h3 Bh5 12 e6 fxe6 13 dxe6 0-0-0 14 Qd5 Bxf3 15 gxf3 Rg8 16 f4 g6 17 fS? gxfS 18 0-0-0 Bg7 19 Bxg7 Rxg7 20 Kbl Rf8 21 c4 Qc6 22 Rhgl Rg6 23 Rxg6 hxg6 24 Rgl Rf6 25 f4 Kc7 26 h4 b5 27 b3 bxc4 28 bxc4 Qb7+! 29 Kal Now 29 ... Qc8! wins a pawn - and likely the game, as well as $2800. In addition to 30 ... Qxe6 Black has a diabolical threat: 30 ... Qh8!! followed by a discovered check. If White anticipates the check with 31 Kbl Black replies 31 ... Rf8! followed by 32 ... Rb8+.

217

and three-year breaks in the 1950s. But the tempo speeded up considerably after it became an annual event in 1983: Within a month or so after one championship had ended, the players were carefully calculating their ratings to see whether they'd be ensured of an invitation to the next one. And the clocks hardly seemed to have stopped in Modesto before the 42nd championship began eight months later in Parisappany, N.]. Because of a heavy schedule of international events in the last half of 1996, the USCF arranged for the 60th anniversary tournament to be held over 18 warm days in July and early August. It began with a surprise: The youngest of the 14 invitees, Tal Shaked, had turned in a disappointing minus score in the U.S. Junior a few weeks before. Bur the IS-year-old Arizona student stunned his elders by winning three games in the first week of play in Parsippany, including an upset of Alexander Ivanov, the defending co-champion. In the fourth round Shaked also surprised Dimitry Gurevich, who was playing in his 12th championship since arriving in the United States in 1980-when Shaked was just two years old. E97 King's Indian Defense

white D. Gurevich, black Shaked 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 e4 d6 5 Nf3 0-0 6 Be2 e5 70-0 Nc6 8 d5 Ne7 9 b4 a5

29 ... Qc6?? 30 Rg3! drawn So it was Ivanov, not Yermo, who joined in the three-way-tie. The title was shared once again - the fourth time in seven years, not counting the knockout-tournaments of 1990I in which ties were no possible. The tie created a minor problem: What to do about the championship ring? The answer was a rapid chess playoff, won convincingly by Wolff.

Since White cannot reply 10 a3? because of 10 ... axb4, Black breaks up the enemy's phalanx of queenside pawns - at the risk of opening up lines for White's pieces. 10 Ba3 axb4 11 Bxb4 b6 12 a4 Ne8 13 NbS f5 14 Ng5 Bh6!

1996: Looking Up

The players had made their first 13 moves quickly bur here the young Arizonan spent 40 minutes to force White into a temporary pawn sacrifice.

There had been two-year interludes between championships in the 1930s and '40s

15 Ne6 BXe6 16 dxe6 fxe4 17 Bd2 Bxd2 18 Qxd2 c6 19 Nc3 Nf6 20 g4!

218

The United States Chess Championship

Black's emerging pawn center, which was about to give him a big edge after ... d5, is now threatened by 21 g5 and 22 Nxe4. 20 .•. d5 21 cXd5? Nfxd5! But now Shaked - whose play bore a resemblance to another Tal (world champion Mikhail Tal) - seizes excellent squares for his knights and avoids 21 ... cXd5 22 Radl which gives White good pressure. 22 Nxe4 Nf4 23 Bc4 Ned5 24 Qb2 Qc7 25 Ng5 Rae8 26 RaeI h6 27 Nf3 RXe6 28 Rxe5 Ref6!

After 28 ••• Ref6

D. Gurevich-Shaked, 1996

Black's power on the f-file is immense and the g4-pawn may be doomed. Now 29 Khl Nh3 30 Rfel Rxf3? 31 Re7! is refuted by 30 ... Qc8!. 29 Rfel? Qd7! 30 h3 Nxh3+ 31 Kh2 Qxg4 White forfeited on time as he played 32 Bxd5+ but after 32 ... cxd5 Black's assault on the f-file would have been decisive anyway. Despite misplaying a big edge in the sixth round against Nick deFirmian, the surprising Shaked was in first place with 4~ points as the tournament approached the half-way mark. Alex Yermolinsky trailed him by a half point. The other defending co-champion failed to gain ground when Shaked lost to Alexander Shabalov because Yermolinsky lost the same day to Gregory Kaidanov. But those losses were the turning point of

the tournament for both players. Shaked, heading into the toughest part of his schedule, scored only two draws in his final six games. Yermolinsky, on the other hand, turned into super-Yermo. He severely damaged Boris Gulko's chances by winning a double-edged endgame - Gulko's weakness, according to his former countrymen - in Round Eight, followed by wins from Shaked and another newcomer, Igor Khmelnitsky in the two following rounds. While Yermolinsky was piling up full points, the native-born contingent was mired in a string of half-points. There were only four invitees in Parsippany who had not been born in the Soviet Union but they included three former U.S. champions who were still capable of winning a major event. Joel Benjamin and deFirmian had shared first place in the rarefied, Colorado air of the 1987 championship by cautiously mixing three victories apiece into their schedule of 10 draws. But in Parsippany, this policy destined them for the middle of the crosstable: Benjamin and deFirmian again drew ten games but this time only won one apiece, which left them in a six-way tie for sixth place - only a point out of the cellar. Since missing the 1995 championship, Larry Christiansen, the third former champion, had decided to return to the United States and take a steady job as an editor of Seirawan's Inside Chess. The 40-year-old Christiansen was poised for a strong finish in Parsippany, after beating Kaidanov in the sixth round. Despite draws in the next four games he was in third place and enjoyed excellent prospects with three rounds to go. But his chances of repeating his 1983 cochampionship suffered a near-fatal blow in a time pressure battle with Alexander Ivanov in the 11th round: C87, Ruy Lopez, Steinitz Defense Doubly Deferred white A. Ivanov, black Christiansen 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 50-0 Be7 6 ReI d6 7 c3?! Bg4 8 d3 Nd7

The Talent Wheel (1992-1996) Black has already won the battle of the opening by discouraging d2-d4 and reaching rough equality. 9 Nbd2 NcS 10 Be2 NeG 11 h3 BhS 12 Nfl NgS 13 Nlh2 Nxf3+ 14 Nxf3 0-0 15 g4 Bg6 16 d4 exd4 17 Nxd4! Nxd4 18 Qxd4 eG 19 f4 f6 20 f5! Bf7 21 Bf4 e5! For nearly 20 years this willingness to accept weak pawns to avoid passivity (after 22 Radl) had been a hallmark of Christiansen's enterprising play. 22 Qf2 Qb6 23 b3 Qe6 24 Radl c4! 25 b4 as 26 a3 axb4 27 axh4 Ra2 28 Re2 ReS 29 Red2 Bf8 30 Qg3 dS! 31 e5 fXeS 32 BXeS Qh6+ 33 Bd4 Qh6 Sounder was 33 ... Qd6, but Christiansen was playing not so much against Ivanov as against his clock - which left White only three minutes [Q reach lime control at move 40. 34 g5 Qh5 35 RfI Re2 36 Rxe2 Qxe2 37 Bdl Qe4 38 Qg4 Bd6? Preparing a suicidal kingside trick. With 38 ... Rd2, and its threat of 39 ... Bxb4, Black had chances to make his 15-minutes-to-l time advantage counr. 39 Bf3! Qd3 40 Bg2 Bh5??

After 40 •.. BhS

A. Ivanov-Christiansen. 1996

219

If this had been the 39th move, and White had been forced to reply instantly, the outcome would surely have been different. Then White might have fallen for one of the various traps, such as 41 Qxh5?? Rxg2+ 42 Kxg2 Qg3+ and mates or 41 Bxd5+ Kf8 42 Bxc4 Qd2! 43 Rf2 Qel!+ 44 Rfl BXg4 45 Rxel Bh2+ and mates. Other moves also appear to fail White (41 Qh4 Bh2+ 42 Khl Qxfl+ 43 Bxfl B£3+). Unfortunately for Black, it was his 40th move, and with the liberty of a new time control Ivanov spent 10 minutes to find: 41 f6!! Bxg4 42 Bxd5+ Be6! 43 BxeG+ Kf8 44 fxg7 + Kxe7 45 BfG+! This is what Black overlooked, counting only on 45 Rf7 + Kxe6, after which White's attack is over. Of course, 45 g8(Q)-without check - would have walked into 45 ... Qg3+ and mate next. 45 ... Kxe6 46 g8(Q)+ Kd7 47 Qd8+ KeG 48 Qe8+ and Black resigns White is mating after 48 ... Kd5 49 Qb5+ Ke6 50 Rel+. Meanwhile Gurevich had also shaken off the loss to Shaked. His defeat of Christiansen with Black in the 12th round killed the latter's few remaining chances for a prize while vaulting Gurevich into second place. That gave him 7V2 points, ahead of Gulko and just a half point behind Kaidanov and Yermolinskywhom he was to meet on the final day. For Gurevich, this was a remarkable showing since he had never finished better than a tie for fourth place before. In fact, had it not been for a disastrous result against the tailenders, "Dima" would have taken one of the very top prizes: he scored only two draws against the trio of Shaked, Igor Ivanov and Khmelnitsky, while Gulko and Kaidanov took three points from them and Yermolinsky garnered twO and a half. The key game of the tournament turned out to be:

220

The United States Chess Championship E42 Nimzo-Indian Defense

white D. Gurevich, black Yermolinsky 1 d4 Nf6 2 e4 e6 3 Nc3 Bb4 4 e3 e5 5 Nge2 b6 6 a3 Ba5 7 RbI Na6 8 Qa4 Bxc3+ White's effort to exploit the awkward a5bishop now leads to a slight but solid advantage. 9 Nxc3 0-0 10 Be2 Bb7 11 0-0 Ne4 12 NXe4 Bxe4 13 Ral Nc7 14 dxc5 Be6 15 Qdl! Qg5! 16 e4 Qxc5 17 Be3 Qe5 18 f3 fS! 19 Bd4 Qf4 20 e5? White begins to go astray, taking the first of several faulty steps that ruin his pawn structure and his two-bishop edge. He should either liquidate his e-pawn (20 exfS) or, ncxt move, maintain control of d5 with 21 b3. 20 ... b5! 21 Be5?! Rfc8 22 Qd6 bxc4 23 g3 Qg5 24 Bxe4 f4! 25 Qd2 Qxe5 26 Bd6? Remarkably enough, White could still reach equality with 26 Bd4 Qg5 27 Qxf4. But having rejectcd a favorable endgame earlier (with 22 Qd4!) he now slides into an inferior one. 26 ... Qe3+ 27 Qxe3 fxe3 28 Rael Bb5! 29 Bxb5 Nxb5 30 Be5 Re5! 31 Rxe3 d6

After 31 ... d6

D. Gurevich- Yermolinsky, 1996

The worst part of what has transpired to

Gurevich's promising opening is that Black can play for a win now with virtually no risk. If there werc any danger to him in the position, Yermolinsky might have offered a draw, since that would give him 8Vz points, a score that could only be exceeded by Kaidanov, who had gone into the final round with 8 points. But Kaidanov was slowly losing to Lev Alburt, reducing that threat. This meant it was in Yermo's interest to keep playing a bit longer to determine if he would need a full point to secure first prize. Now White's major asset, the bishop, is eliminated (32 Bf4? c5 33 Bg5 h6). 32 a4 dXe5 33 axb5 Rxb5 34 Re2 Rab8 35 Ral a5 36 Ra2? Kf7 37 Kf2? And after weak moves like these it was harder for Black to even consider a draw. 36 h4 (or 37 h4) would still have drawn. 37 ... g5! 38 h3 h5 39 Ra4 Kf6 40 h4? gxh4 41 Rxh4 Rxb2 42 Rxh5 Rxe2+ 43 Kxe2 Ra8 White must commit his rook or king now to stop the a-pawn, allowing Black to create a winning zugzwang at move 53. The half point that would have given Gurevich a tie for second prize has evaporated. 44 Rh6+ Ke7 45 Kd3 a4 46 Rh2 a3 47 Ra2 Kf6 48 Ke2 Kf5 49 Kbl e4 50 fxe4+ Kg4 51 Rg2 a2+ 52 Kal e5 53 Rgl Ra4! 54 Rfl Kxg3 55 Rf5 RXe4 56 KXa2 Kg4 57 Rf8 Rb4 and White resigns The 42nd championship left many of the players thinking another era was ending for American chess. The generation that dominated the tournament for 15 years was ready to give way to the Tal Shakcds of the future. Even Walter Browne, a championship fixture since 1973, was missing at Parsippany. Also, Craig Crcnshaw, the patron of brilliancy prizes and other awards since 1981 had died at age 81 in March and was eulogized at the final banquet.

The Talent Wheel (1992-1996) Within a few days of the final round, Don Schultz, organizer of the 1994 tournament, was elected president of the USCF on a platform pledging a new commitment to the championship. At Schultz's urging, the federation's

221

governing policy board set up a special U.S. championship committee charged with increasing "the prestige, promotion and publicity" of the event and its winner. The future never looked brighter.

u.s. Championship Summary Early Matches 1845 - Match: Charles Henry Stanley over Eugene Rousseau, 15-8, 8 draws. 1850- Match: Stanley over ].H. Turner, 11-5, one draw. 1857 - First American Chess Congress, New York: won by Paul Morphy, who defeated Louis Paulsen in finals. 1871 - Second American Chess Congress, Cleveland: won by Capt. George Mackenzie. 1874- Third American Chess Congress, Chicago: won by Mackenzie. 1880-Fifth American Chess Congress, New York: won (in playoff) by Mackenzie. 1890- Match: Jackson Showalter over Solomon Lipschutz. 1891 - Ma tch: Lipschutz over Showalter 7 -1, draws. (Lipschutz retires as champion.) 1894 - Match: Showalter over Albert B. Hodges, 8-6, 4 draws. 1894-Match: Hodges over Showalter, 5-3, 1 draw. (Hodges retires as champion.) 1895 - Match: Showalter over Lipschutz, 74,3 draws. 1896 - Match: Showalter over Emil Kemcny. 1896 - Match: Showalter over John F. Barry, 7-2, 4 draws. 1897 - Match: Harry Nelson Pillsbury over Showalter, 10-8,4 draws. 1898 - Match: Pillsbury over Showalter, 7-3, 2 draws.

223

1906 - Pillsbury dies. Showalter subsequently recognized as champion. 1909-Match: Frank]. Marshall over Showalter, 7-2, 3 draws. 1923 - Match: Marshall over Edward Lasker, 5-4, 9 draws.

Matches (after 1936) 1941 - Sammy Reshevsky over I.A. "AI" Horowitz, 3-0, 13 draws. 1946 - Arnold Denker over Herman Steiner, 3-1, 6 draws. 1952 - Larry Evans over Steiner, 8-2,4 draws.

Modern Tournaments Ist-1936 (New York) Sammy Reshevsky, 1st place. 2nd - 1938 (New York) Reshevsky. 3rd - 1940 (New York) Reshevsky. 4th - 1942 (New York) Reshevsky (after playoff with Isaac Kashdan). 5th - 1944 (New York) Arnold Denker. 6th - 1946 (New York) Reshevsky. 7th - 1948 (South Fallsburg, N.Y.) Herman Steiner. 8th - 1951 (New York) Larry Evans. 9th - 1954 (New York) Arthur Bisguier. Also world championship zonal. 10th-1957-58 (New York) Bobby Fischer. Also zonal. 11 th -1958-59 (New York) Fischer. 12th - 1959-60 (New York) Fischer.

224

The United States Chess Championship

13th-1960-61 (New York) Fischer. Also zonal. 14th - 1961-62 (New York) Evans. 15th-1962-63 (New York) Fischer. Also zonal. 16th-1963-64 (New York) Fischer. 17th - 1965 (New York) Fischer. Also zonal. 18th-1966 (New York) Fischer. 19th - 1968 (New York) Evans. 20th - 1969 (New York) Reshevsky. Also zonal. 21 st - 1972 (New York) Robert Byrne (after playoff). Also zonal. 22nd-1973 (EI Paso, Texas) John Grefe and Lubosh Kavalek co-champions. 23rd-1974 (Chicago) Walter Browne. 24th-1975 (Oberlin, Ohio) Browne. Also zonal. 25th -1977 (Mentor, Ohio) Browne. 26th - 1978 (Pasadena, Calif.) Kavalek. Also zonal. 27th - 1980 (Greenville, Pa.) Browne, Evans and Larry Christiansen co-champions. 28th - 1981 (South Bend, Ind.) Browne and Yasser Seirawan co-champions. Also zonal. 29th - 1983 (Greenville, Pa.) Browne,

Christiansen and Roman Dzhindzhikashvili co-champions. 30th - 1984 (Berkeley, Calif.) Lev Alburt. Also zonal. 31st-1985 (Estes Park, Colo.) Alburt. 32nd- 1986 (Estes Park, Colo.) Seirawan. 33rd - 1987 (Estes Park, Colo.) Joel Benjamin and Nick deFirmian. Also zonal. 34th - 1988 (Cambridge Springs, Pa.) Michael Wilder. 35th - 1989 (Long Beach, Calif.) Dzhindzhikashvili, Stuart Rachels and Seirawan co-champions. Also zonal. 36th - 1990 (Jacksonville, Fla.) Alburt. 37th - 1991 (Los Angeles, Cal.) Gata Kamsky. 38th - 1992 (Durango, Colo.) Patrick Wolff. 39th - 1993 (Long Beach, Cal.) Alexander Shabalov and Alexander Yermolinsky co-champions. 40th - 1994 (Key West, Fla.) Boris Gulko. Also zonal. 41st-1995 (Modesto, Calif.) deFirmian, Alexander Ivanov and Wolff co-champions. 42nd-1996 (Parsippany, N.J.) Yermolinsky.

Individual Records (5) Lev Alburt, Yasser Seirawan (including one tie each), Lubosh Kavalek (including two ties), 3

In the first 41 tournaments to decide the modern (1936 on) United States Championship, a number of remarkable records have been achieved:

Most Plus Scores Most Tournaments Played In

Sammy Reshevsky, 21 Larry Evans, 14 Pal Benko, Robert Byrne, 10 Joel Benjamin, Yasser Seirawan, 9 Larry Christiansen, Bobby Fischer, 8 (9-12) Arthur Bisguier, Walter Browne, Lubosh Kavalek, William Lombardy, 7 (1)

(2) (3-4) (5-6) (7-8)

Sammy Reshevsky, 21 (2) Robert Byrne, 17 (.3-5) Pal Benko, Arthur Bisguier, Walter Browne, 16 (6-7) Larry Evans, Joel Benjamin, 15 (8) Larry Christiansen, 13 (9) Dimirry Gurevich, 12 (10) Yasser Seirawan, 11 (1)

Most Finishes in Top Three Places

Most Consecutive Tournaments Played In

Sammy Reshevsky, 15 Larry Evans, 9 Bobby Fischer, 8 Walter Browne, 7 Robert Byrne, Larry Christiansen, Yasser Seirawan, 6 (8-9) Pal Benko, Lubosh Kavalek, 5 (10-14) Lev Alburt, Joel Benjamin, Reuben Fine, Isaac Kashdan, Jams T. Sherwin, 4 (1)

(2) (3) (4) (5-7)

(1) Joel Benjamin (1981-96), 15

(2) Pal Benko (1958-59 to 1975), 14 (.3) Robert Byrne (1958-59 to 1972), 11 (4-5) Arthur Bisguier (1962-63 to 1975), Larry Evans (1961-62 to 1974), 10 (6) Larry Christiansen (1977 to 1987), 9 (7) Nick deFirmian (1983 to 1990), 8

Most Games Played Most Games Won Sammy Reshevsky, 269 (2-3) Walter Browne, Robert Byrne, 209 (4) Larry Evans, 193 (1)

(1) Sammy Reshevsky, 127 (2) Larry Evans, 79

225

226

The United States Chess Championship

(3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Walter Browne, 67 Bobby Fischer, 61 Isaac Kashdan, 58 Joel Benjamin, 54 Robert Byrne, 51 Pal Benko, 49 Larry Christiansen, 48 LA. Horowitz, 47

Most Tournaments Without a Loss (1)

(2-3)

Bobby Fischer, 6 Robert Byrne, Sammy Reshevsky,

5 (4) Lubosh Kavalek, 4 (5-6) Larry Evans, Walter Browne

Biggest Margin of Victory Bobby Fischer, three and a half points

Most Wins, One Tournament Arnold Denker (1944) and Sammy Reshevsky (1946), 14

Most Draws, One Tournament

Most Consecutive Wins Bobby Fischer, 12 (Round 11 of 1962-63 to Round 11 of 1963-64)

Highest Winning Percentage (three or more tournaments) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9)

Bobby Fischer, 83.3 percent Reuben Fine, 78.0 percent Isaac Kashdan, 71.2 percent Herman Steiner, 66.6 percent A.5. Pinkus, 62.3 percent Lubosh Kavalek, 61.7 percent Albert C. Simonson, 61.2 percent Arnold Denker, 60.7 percent Vasser Seirawan, 60.6 percent

Highest Percentage of Draws (two or more tournaments) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)

N orman Weinstein, 77.1 percent Anatoly Lein, 70.4 percent Lubosh Kavalek, 67.6 percent Bernard Zuckerman, 66.6 percent Charles Kalme, 63.7 percent Fred Reinfeld, 62.5 percent

Lowest Percentage of Draws (two or more tournaments)

Lubosh Kavalek, 15 (1984) (1 ) Kamran Shirazi, 13.4 percent

Most Losses, One Tournament Louis Persinger (1946) and Kamran Shirazi (1984), 16

(2) (3) (4) (5)

Weaver Adams, 16.5 percent Isaac Kashdan, 25.2 percent Anthony Saidy, 27.7 percent Reuben Fine, 28.6 percent

Openings Index Alekhine's Defense 189, 195

Nimzo-Indian Defense 65, 68, 220

Benoni Defense 165,177 Bogo-Indian Defense IR8

Orangutan Opening 102 Petrov Defense 130, 139

Caro-Kann Defense 199, 211, 212 Catalan Opening 83, 120, 172, 207

English Opening 49, 160, 168, 191, 193, 215

Queen's Fianchetto Defense 148 Queen's Gambit Accepted 35 Queen's Gambit Declined 43, 60, 73, 75, 89 Queen's Indian Defense 125, 164, 169, 175, 179, 183, 197 Queen's Pawn Game 87

Four Knights Game 16, 77 French Defense 12, 23, 116, 206, 215

Ruy Lopez 6, 21, 33, lIO, 111, 199, 202 Ruy Lopez, Steinitz 218

Giuoco Piano 5, 32 Gruenfeld Defense 83, 121

Scotch Game 48 Semi-Slav Defense 209 Sicilian Defense 7, 14, 71, 82, 85, 86, 97, 107, 117, 118, 134, 141, 152, 159, 184, 190, 203, 217 Slav Defense 195

Danish Gambit 39 Dutch Defense 11, 22, 146

Irregular Defense 188 King's King's 181, King's

Gambit 9 Indian Defense 78, 94, 105, 112, 123, 143, 205, 217 Indian Reversed 93

Modern Defense 161, 194

Two Knights Defense 13, 56 Ufimtsev Defense 187 Vienna Game 8, 28, 29, 41

227

ECO Openings Index AOO 102 A0893 Al7 160 Al849

A30 A31 A32 A36 A42 A50

168,169 175 215 191,193 161,194 148

A63 177

A70 165 A80 11,146 A8522

B04 B06 B07 Bl2 B21 B23 B35 B40 B48 B50 B51 B65 B66 B70 B74

189,195 12 187,188 199, 211 7 159 97 14 107 71 217 86 203 82,152 85

B78 B80 B82 B85 B97 B99

118 141 86,184 190 117 134

COl 23 C03 116 C07 215 C08 206 C21 39 C2629 C29 28 C3041 C389 C42 130,139 C4777 C48 16 C50 5,8 C55 13 C5956 C67 110,111 C68 199 C706 C84 21. 32, 33 C87 218 C90 202 DOl 87 DI3 75

228

DI7 195 DI8 60 D21 35 D3443 035 73 041 89,100 042 212 D4548 D46 209 D92 I21 D97 83,112 EOI 172 E02 83 E06 120 Ell 188 E12 125, 179 E13 183 E18 164

E20 207 E29 65

E42 220 E43 68

E5l E61 E67 E87 E89 E97 E99

197 105 78,143 181 205 123,217 94

General Index Adams, Weaver 8,47,50,56,58,70-71,76,80,226 Addison, William 109, 111-12, 115-16, 118-20, 123-25 "Ajeeb" 31 Aksharumova, Anna 181, 185 Albin, Adolf 31 The Albion (N.Y.) 7 Alburt, Lev 128, 157, 163-64, 166, 170-83, 187-92, 194-98, 216. 224 Alekhine, Alexander 46, 59. 72 Allison, WS. 19 Almgren, Sven 70. 80 Airman. B. 64. 70 Ambassador College (Pasadena. Calif,) 149. 158 American Chess Associarion 21-22 American Chess Bulletin 37-38, 42-43 American Chess Congress, First (1857) 1. 7. 9-20. 92. 193.223 American Chess Congress, Second (1871) 21-22.223 American Chess Congress, Third (1874) 21-22.24, 223 American Chess Congress, Fourth (1876) 23-24, 223 American Chess Congress, Fifrh (1880) 21, 1·1.3. 205. 223 American Chess Congress, Sinh (1889) 28, 35, 55. 109. 223 American Chess Congress, Sevenrh (1904) 34-35.223 American Chess Fcdcrarion 72 American Chess Foundarion 92, 109, 123 American Chess Magazine 32 American Chess Quarterly 112 American Open 191 Americas Chess Heritage 34 Anand. Viswanathan 203, 212-13 Andersscn, Adolf 3. 5, 6. 14. 19, 20. 29 Association of American Chess Masters 72.74, 145 Ault. Rohin 102, 104 Averbakh, Yuri 113 AVRO, 1937 International Tournamenr 51 Baker, H. 64 Barry, John F. 31. 35, 51, 223 Basman. Michael 14-15 Belgrade, 1988 Internarional Tournamenr 206 Benjamin, Joel 157, 164, 166, 168, 170-71, 173-76. 178-80, 182-88, 192, 195-96,198-200, 202.204. 207-14.216,219,224-26 Benko. Pal 97-98, 103-4. 106-8, 111-12, 114-15,118. 120-22. 125, 128, 131-32, 135-37, 140-41, 143-46, 154. 158. 163, 18~ 225-26 Berliner, Hans 88. 92-93. 96, 106. 112 Bernsrcin, Sidney 1.48-50, 54, 58-59.62,81-82, 84, 86, 88, 92-93, 96, 101-02, 104, 108

229

Biel, 1976 International Tournamenr 142, 145 Bilguer, Paul Rudolf von 11 Bird. Henty 23, 26 Birth of the Chess Tournament 10 Bisguier. Arrhur 67, 73. 85-93, 96-99, 101, 103-6. 109-112. 115. 118-20. 122-23, 125, 128. 130. 132-33, 136, 138-40. 143-46. 158. 163, 187. 202. 223. 225 Bisno, Alexander 92 Biyiasas, Perer 157. 159. 161. 163 Blackhurne. Joseph Henry 26. 28. 30 Bock 24 Bondarevsky, Igor 73 Borvinnik, Mikhail 92 Bourdonnais. Louis de la 3. 7. 11 Bradford. Joseph 128. 157-58. 163 Brandts. Paul 88 Bristol, 1861 Inrernarional Tournament 14 British Chess Magazine 21 Brooklyn Chess Club 32 Brooks. Michael 194, 196 Browne. Walrer 12, 133-51, 158-61. 163, 165-67, 169-74. 176-78, 180, 182, 186, 190-92, 195-96, 198. 202-4,210, 213-15, 217, 220, 224-26 Brunswick, 1880 Inrcrnational Tournamenr 14 Burger, Karl 88,116,118,123.125 Burns, James F. 27 Byrne, Donald 67,73.86,91-92.97-100, 103. 106. 108, 114-15, 124-25. 135-36 Byrne, Robert 12. 20. 67. 73. 86. 91. 93. 97-98. lOa. 103-4, 106-8. 111-18. 120-25. 128-32. 137. 141. 143-44, 146-50. 152-54, 158, 160. 163. 165-66. 173-74,187, 224-26 Cafe de la Regence 3 Calderon, Jose 92 Calthrop. S.R. 12. 19 Cambridge Springs. 1904 Internarional Tournament 38. 187 Capablanca, Jose 38-39,41.44 Carpentier. Charles Le 3 Carson, Johnnie 190 Chajes, Oscar 157 Chellsrorp. Craig 137 Cherney, Irving 63-64. 70 Chess in the USSR 202 Chess Life 142, 145 The Chess Players 3 Chess Review 46. 52. 59.62. 69. 71. 87, 93. 100, 120. 129 Chess Secrets I Learned from the Masters 43

230

General Index

Chicago Chess Club 22 Christiansen, Larry 128,147-49,151-55,158-63, 165-71, 173-74, 176-79, 182-84, 186, 191, 195-96, 206-12, 216,218-19,224-26 Civil War 19-21 Cleveland City Club 43 Cohen, S. 54 Cohnfcld, Albert 24, 26 Collins, Jack 92 Commons, Kim 128, 137, 140, 144, 154 Congdon, J.A. 22, 24, 26 Cosmopolitan 183 Crane, Les 190 Crenshaw, Craig 183, 220 Crenshaw Prize 169, 183, 185 Cuchi, Jose 209 Cura,ao, 1962 International Tournament 108 Daily Sketch 40 Dake, Arthur 45-47,49, 50, 52-54,62,64,67,72,77 Dallas, 1957 International Tournament 94 Damiano 11 deFirmian, Nick 128, 159, 168-71, 174-79, IS2-96, 199, 209-10, 212-IS, 224-25 DeFotis, Greg 127-29, 131-33, 137 Delmar, Eugene 24-26,28 Denker, Arnold 46-47, 50, 58,62,67-77. 81, 86, 92, 96-97, 104, 209, 223, 226 Descombe Rooms II Detroit Chess and Checker Club 43 DiCamillo, Atillio 70, 76, 93, 96 Diesen, Marc 157,159,163 Dlugy, Maxim 157,172-74,178-79, 181-82, 184, 186, 189-93, 196, 198,209 Drexel, G. 76 Dubrovnik, 1950 Internarional Tournament 82 Dzbindzbikashvili, Roman 157, 168-76, 191-96, 198, 202, 204, 206-8, 214, 216, 224

Eden Musee 31 Edmondson, Ed 123 Elder 21-22, 24 Elo, Arpad 197 Euwe, Max 93 Evans, Larry 63,67,73,78-84,86-89,91-93,98-100, 103, 106-12, 114-18, 120-26, 131-32, 136-38, 140, 142, 145, 152, 158-61, 163, 18~ 223-26 Factor, Samuel 47,49-51 Family Herald 7 Fedorowicz, John 2,150,164,166-67, 173-78, 180-82, 184-86, 188, 190-93, 19S-99, 202-6, 208-9 Feuerstein, Arthur 93, 96, 129, 132 Fine, Reuben 45-59,62,67-72,77,81-82,95,158, 180, 225-26 Finegold, Ben 209-10 Fink, A. 76 Fischer, Robert J. "Bobby" 4, 32, 37, 68, 91-120, 123, 127, 133, 135, 139, 141, 145-46, 149, 167, 180, 185, 200,203,205,209,223-26 Fishbein, Alex 205 Fiske, Daniel 7, 9, 10, 12, 19 Ford, D.A.P. 3 Frank Samford Fellowship 185 Franklin, Benjamin II Frankfurt, 1887 International Tournament 26 Frias, Victor 188, 190 Fried, Charles 1 Fuller, W.j.A. II, 12, 16, 18, 19

Gardner, Dick 184 Ghizdavu, Dumirru 147, ISO Gilden, Larry 133, 136, 140 Gladstone 70 Grandmasters Association 189, 206 "The Great Match" R, 223 Green, M. 58, 64 Grefe, John 1.'n-37, 139-41, 144, 147-50, 171, 176, 224 Grundy, James 24-26, 143, 145 Gulko, Boris 20, 181, 184-86, 188-94, 196, 198-99, 202, 204-6, 208, 210-19, 224 Gunsberg, Isidore 28 Gurevich, Dimicry 157, 168-70, 174, 178, 182, 185-86, 190,192, 196, 202-8, 210, 213-17, 219-20, 225 Gurevich, lIya 197-99, 202-5 Hahlbolm, Herman 63-64 Hamilton Club (Chicago) 42 Hanauer, MilLon 49-50,52,54,58,81,84 Hanham, James M. 27-28 Harding 22 Harkness, Kenneth 69 Harrwitz, Daniel 19 Hastings, 1895 International Tournament 32,41 Hastings, 1935-36 International Tournament 46 Hastings, 1946 International Tournament 73 Hearst, Eliot 86-90, 100, 106-8 Heirner, I. 80 Helms, Hermann 30, 42 Helsinki, 1952 International Tournament 84 Henley, Ron 12R,173-74 Hesse. H. 80 Hodges, Albert 27,30-31,35,51,61.157.223 Horowitz, I.A. "AI" 46-47, SO, 54, 59-64, 67-68, 70, 72.75-77, 81-82, 84, 92. 95, 99, 120-22, 129, 132, lSI. 223, 226 Hot[. Vlastimil 103 Hosmer. H. 21-22, 24 Hotel Astor 62 Houghton 22 Howard, F. 80 Informant 199 Inside Chess 185, 193, 218 International Chess lvfagazine 21 Interplay Productions 209,212, 221 Isaacs 70 Ivanov, Alexander 190. 192-93, 196-98. 202, 204, 208-11,213-19, 224 Ivanov, Igor 128, 190, 192-9.),196-98,203-5,216

Jaffe, Charles 157 Janes, H. SO Janowsky, David 41 Jansa, Vlastimil 103 Jarecki, Carol 200 Johnston 22 Judd, ~ax 21-22, 24, 26-27, 34 Kaidanov, Gregory 206, 208, 210-12, 214, 216, 21S20 Kalme, Charles 91. 98, 101, 106, 226 Kamsky, Gata 2,37,191, 197-201,205-8,224 Kamsky, Rustam 197, 199-201, 212 Kane, George 133-.31. 136 KarkJins, Andrew 128, 135-37, 140 Karlsbad, 1923 International Tournament 176 Karpov, Anatoly 8, 139, 202, 212

General Index Kashdan, Isaac 44-56, 58-59, 62-68, 72, 74-78, 80-81, 91, 151, 158, 180, 223, 225-26 Kasparov, Garry 185, 197. 206, 212 Kasper, Maurice 92. 118 Kaufman, Larry 129, 132 Kavalek, Lubosh 91, 103, 128-33, 135-37, 139, 141, 143-45, 149, 152-55, 159, 163-67, 173-74, 176, 178-79, 182-83, 200, 224-26 Kemeny, Emil 31, 33, 35, 223 Kennedy, John F. 110 Kennicott, H. 12, 19, 22, 24 Kevitz, Alexander 47, 50, 67, 72, 81 Keyes, Francis Parkinson 3 Khmelnitsky, Alex 21.'3-16, 218 Kieseritsky, Lionel 3 King, Stephen 180 Kmoch, Hans 81, 100 Knott, Hubert 19 Kogan, Boris 157. 164, 166, 170, 173-74,178-79, 181-82, 186. 190 Kolisch, Ignaz 14 Korchnoi, Viktor 8, 128 Korn, Walter 34 Kowalski, S. 76 Kramer, George 67, 72-73, 75-76,78. 80-81, 86, 92-94, 106, 108 Kreiman, Boris 209-10 Kudrin, Sergey 157, 163-66. 168. 170-71, 174-78. 182-83, 185-88, 190-92. 196, 198, 209, 214 Kupchik, Ahraham 46-47, 50, 54, 56, 58, 157 Ladd, Alan 72 Larsen, Bem 97, 139 Lasker, Edward 1,31,40-44,46, 60, 72, 157, 223 Lasker, Emanuel 30, 32, 35, 41, 45, 51 rasker's Chess Magazine 34-35 Lein, Anatoly 146-47,149-50, 153-55, 157, 161, 163-67, 170, 182-83, 226 Leningrad, 1960 International Tournament 103 Lessing, N. 64 Levin. Jacob 64, 74, 76 Levy, L. 64 Lichtenhein, Theodor 9, 11-13, 19 Lipschutz, Solomon 21, 28-31, 35, 223 Littman, G. 58 Lombardy, William 1, 91-96, 98, 100, 103, 106, 112, 120, 122-23, 125, 128-29, 131-32, 143-45, 151, 153-55, 225 London, 1851 International Tournament 11 London, 1946 International Tournament 73 Lone Pine, 1978 International Tournament 164 Lone Pine, 1980 International Tournament 172 Lone Pine (Calif.) tournaments 149. lSI, 164, 172 1.os Angeles Times 81, 183, 191 Louis, Joe 72 Lowenthal, Johann 8, 16, 19 Lukowiak, Bill 164 McCambridge. Vincent 176, 178-79 McCrary, R.J. 10 McDonnell. Alexander 11 MacDonnell, G.A. 20 Mackenzie, George Henry I, 20-28, 35, 37-38, 157. 162, 180, 223 Man, Alrick 43 Manhattan Chess Club 25,31,38,40,45,47,51, 55, GO. 83. 94. 97, 133, 146 Manila. 1990 International Tournament 191, 193 Marachc. Napoleon 11-12,19, 157

231

Margate, 1935 International Tournament 46 Mar6czy. Geza 30 Marshall. Frank 1, 30-31, 35-46, 60-61, 63, 157, 180, 187,223 Marshall Chess Club 40-41,43-44.46,47, 51, 60, 62, 78, 86, 101. 133 Martinez, D.M. 21, 23, 24 Manz, William 128, 131-32, 136-37 Mason, James 21, 23-24, 28, 38 Matera, Sal 150 Mednis, Edmar 92-93, 96, 98, 100. 102-4. 106. 108-12. 115. 117. 123, 125, 132-33, 136, 141-44, 152-56 Meek. Alexander 11-13, 19 Men. Boris 202, 204-5 Mengarini, Ariel 82-84. 87-89,92 Mcnuhin, Yehudi 68 Miles, Tony 187-90,192,209 Modern Chess Instructor 17 Mohle, Charles 24-27 Montgomery. Hardman Phillips 10, 19 Montpellier, 1985 International Tournament 176 Montreal Chess Club 37 Morphy, Ernest 3, 5 Morphy, Paul 3, 5, 6, 9-21, 26-27, 29, 32, 35, 37, 84, 92, 162, 180, 193, 223 Morton, Harold 47, 49, 50, 52, 54, 59 Najdorf, Miguel 84 The Nation 60 National Chess Association 22 National Chess Federation 72 National Open 213 Neidich 70 New Orleans Chess Club 3-4 New York, 1924 International Tournament 44 New York Chess Association 39 New York Chess Club 3-4. 11 New York Courier 7 New York Illustrated News 7 New York Ledger 19 New York Open, 1989 Imernational Tournament 197 New York Times 42 New York University 11 Newnes Trophy 34 Nottingham, 1936 International Tournament 46, 51 Oberlin College 141 Oliver, Benjamin 3 Orlov, Georgi 210, 213-15 Oxford Encyclopedia of Chess Games 7 Panno, Oscar 97 Paris, 1878 International Tournament 26 Paris, 1900 International Tournament 38 Paulsen. Louis 11-19, 26, 29. 35. 223 Pavey, Max 84, 86. 88 Perr{n, Frederick 12. 19, 22-24 Persinger, Louis 68. 70. 226 Peters, Jack 71, 128. 141. 143-44, 147, 150, 158-59, 161, 163-66, 172, 174-75 Perropolis, 1973 International Tournament 131 Petrosian, Tigran 164 Philidor, Frans:ois 12 Phillips, Harold 45 Pillsbury, Harry Nelson 30-36, 38-39. 41. 157. 223 Pilnick, Carl 63-64, 88, 114 Pinkus, A.S. 55, 58, 62. 64, 67-68, 70, 72, 75-76. 84, 226

232

General Index

Platz. J. 80 Polland. David 54. 58 Pollock. W.H.K. 28. 30 Popovych. Orest 129. 132 Porur} Spirit ofthe Times 7 Poctorozh. 1958 International Tournament 97 Poschel. Paul 80 Professional Chess Association (International) 189. 199. 212-13 Professional Chess Association (U.S.) 145 Rachels. Stuart 190-94. 196. 202-4. 224 Raphael. B.1. 11-13. 19 Redman. Tim 138. 145 Reeves. Rosser 92 Regan. Ken 154. 180 Reichhclm. Gustavus 21 Reinfeld. Fred 9. 51. 54. 57-58. 226 Reshevsky. Sammy 41.45-68.71. 74-77. 81-84. 89. 91-99. 101. 104-6. 109. 111-12. 114-16. 118. 120-22. 124-32.137-38.140-41,143-45.147-48.150. 157-58, 164-67. 180-81, 209. 223-26 Ricci. Ruggiero 68 Riga, 1979 International Tournament 156 Rio. Ercole del 6. 11 Riviere. Arnous de 3 Rockefeller Center 51 Rogoff. Ken 127. 133. 137. 140-41. 143. 145-46. 149. 151-52.154 Rohde. Michael 180-82. 184-86. 190. 193, 198. 209 Rosenwald. Lessing 92. 190 Rossolimo. Nicolas 86. 88. 110. 112-14. 116. 118. 120. 122 Rothman. Aaron 70-71.76 Rousseau. Eugene 3-7.10.157.221.223 Rousseau. Jean-Jacques 3 Rubinow. Sol 76-78. 80 Ryan 26 Saidy. Anthony 100. 106. 114-15. 118. 120. 122-23. 125. 138. 140. 226 Saint-Amant. Pierre 3, 8 Salvio. Alessandro 11 Sandrin. A .• Jr. 76.80 Santasiere. Anthony 51. 52, 54. 72. 76. 80. 82. 84 Sazerac Coffee House 4 Schulten. John W. 3-4 Schultz. Don 221 Searchingfor Bobby Fischer 213 Seidman. Herbert 58. 62. 64. 72. 81-82. 84. 86-89. 92. 96. 101-2. 104. 106-8. 120. 122 Seirawan. Vasser 91. 128. 157-58. 160-67. 173-76. 181-83. 185-86. 188-90. 192-94. 196-99. 203-4. 206. 209-12. 224-26 Sellman. Alexander 24. 26 Shabalov. Alexander 206-10. 212. 216. 218 Shainswit. George 51. 54, 58. 68, 70-71, 80, 83-84 Shaked. Tal 216-19 Shakhmatny Bulletin 199 Shamkovich. Leonid 146-47. 149-50. 152. 154-57. 161. 163-66 Sherwin, James T. 86-90. 93-94. 96. 98. 104. 106-8. 110. 112-13. 119-20. 225 Sherzer. Alex 194. 196. 202-6. 209 The Shining 180 Shipley. Walter Penn 34-35. 39 Shipman. Walter 80. 92 Shirazi, Kamran 71. 169-71. 174-78. 181-83. 202. 204-5. 226

Short, Nigel 176. 212 Showalter, Jackson 1. 27-35, 37-41. 157. 206, 223 Simonson. Alben C. 47,49-51. 54. 58. 62. 81-82. 84. 226 64 209 Smeikal, Jan 103 Smith, H.D. 21 Smyslov. Vasily 29. 164 Software Toolworks 190-91, 201 Soltis. Andy 138, 140. 150-51, 154, 170 Souths ea. 1950 International Tournament 86 Spassky. Boris 4. 103. 123, 127, 131, 152. 176. 203 Spielmann. Rudolf 176 Stamma. Phillippe 11 Stanley. Charles Henry 3-10,12,19.27.157.221,223 Stanley Hotel (Estes Park. Colo.) 176. 180, 183. 185. 187 Statham. Louis 149 Staunton. Howard 4. 8. 12 19 Steiner. Herman 46-47. 50, 62, 64. 67-68. 70, 72-81, 84-85,9~ 194.223.226 Steinitz. Wilhelm 16-18. 21, 26. 28, 30-31. 34. 45, 110 Steinmeyer. Robert 109.112. 114-15 Stephens. L. Walter 62-63. 100 Stern. Isaac 68 Stockholm. 1962 International Tournament 106 Stromberg 70 Suesman, Walter 52. 54. 76 Sur.ci. A. 80 Suttles. Duncan 116. 118 Szen. Josef 11 Tal, Mikhail 97, 206 Tarjan. James 128. 133. 135-37, 141. 144. 147. 149-50. 153-55. 163, 165-66. 169-74, 176 Tarrasch. Siegbert 26 Tartakower. Savielly 47 Tchigorin, Mikhail 28. 30. 41 Thiel College 158, 167 Thirty-One Games at Chess (Stanley) 4 Thompson. James 11. 12. 19 Tomlinson, J.M. 27 Tournaments, International see specific location Treysman. George 47.49-51,54 Tseshkovsky, Vitaly 142 Turner, Abe 94.96. 108 Turner. J.H. 8-9.223 Ulvestad. Olaf 76-78. 80 U.S. Championship [Durnament: 193646-51. 68, 167, 223; 1938 51-54. 223; 194053. 55-59, 68, 223; 194261-66, 68. 91. 114. 181, 223; 194467-72. 223; 194667, 72-76. 124. 223; 194867. 77-81, 106, 173. 223; 195181-84. 106, 209. 223; 195485-90, 92. 106-7.223; 1957-58 93-96. 102, 223; 1958-59 97-99.223; 1959-6099-103. 223; 1960-614. 103-6.223; 1961-62106-8. 223; 1962-63108-12, 117.223; 1963-6491.112-15,146.223; 1965115-17. 152.223; 1966117-20. 223; 1968120-23. 223; 1969 123-26.223; 1972127-32. 224; 1973 127. 131. 133-37. 141. 147. 171. 176. 200. 209. 224; 1974127, 137-41, 224; 1975127. 141-45. 164. 224; 1977127. 141. 145-50, 164. 224; 1978 127. 141. 149. 151-56, 160. 224; 1980127. 157-62. 180, 187. 224; 1981127, 157.162-67.180.209.224; 1983 167-71.180.211. 224; 1984 40, 128, 171-76, 224; 1985176-79. 224; 1986180-83, 193. 224; 1987180. 183-88. 209. 224; 1988187-90.224; 1989180, 189-94, 224; 1990180. 193-97. 217. 224; 1991180. 197-200. 217. 224; 1992

• General Index 201-6, 224; 1993 180, 206-9, 224; 1994209-12, 221, 224; 1995212-15,217,224; 1996216-21,224 U.S. Chess Association 27, 29, 30 U.S. Chess Federation 27, 61-62. 72-73, 77. 81, 84. 86, 92, 97. 102, 109, 118. 120, 123, 128-29. 145. 156. 159, 167. 180-81. 183, 189. 194. 197. 201. 221 U.S. Open: 193659; 1938 59; 194673; 1948 8; 1950 86; 195182; 1953 86, 100; 195791-93; 1960 106; 1961 107; 1973 137; 1978 158; 1990 194; 1994210. 213; 1995215 U.S.-U.S.S.R. match (1955) 100 U.S.-U.S.S.R. radio match (1945) 67. 73 Verber. Richard 168 Vezin. Charles 4 Vienna. 1882 International Tournament 26 Vukcevich. Milan 128, 141, 143-44

233

Weinstein, Raymond 91, 97-98. 101, 103-4. 106-8, 114-15 Weinstock 70 Weiss, Max 26 Wertheim. Maurice 60 Western Chess Association 41, 72 Whitaker. Norman 80 Whitehead. Jay 168, 170. 185-86 Wilder, Michael 180-82,185-86,188-90,209.224 Winawer. Simon 23,26 Wolff. Patrick 1, 178, 188. 198-200, 202-10. 212. 214-15. 217, 224 Woliscon. P. 58 World Cadet Championship 185 World Championship 2. 8. 59, 127 World War II 61-62 Worldwide Church of God 149 Yermolinsky, Alex 198-99, 203-4, 206-10. 212-20.224

Wachs, Saul 88 Waitzkin, Josh 213-15 Ware. Preston, Jr. 21-22, 25-26 Weinberg. Tibor 120. 122 Weinstein, Norman 140. 154-55. 226

Zaltsman, Vitaly 157. 161-63 Zuckerman. Bernard 116-20, 122. 125, 139-40. 147-48. 150, 154-55. 226 Zukenort, Johannes 18. 26, 110