-- under construction --

For links to other post-Marshall and pre-Fischer US championship collections, see Game Collection: US championship tournaments (meta).

Held at the Chanin Building, New York, 26 Oct - 16 Nov 1946. Directed by Kenneth Harkness. Time control was 40 moves in 2.5 hours, then 20 moves per hour after that. Started as a 20-player tournament, Lewis Isaacs withdrew about halfway through the tournament. He missed his Round 10 game with Denker due to his misunderstanding when the game was to be played. He was forfeited and appealed to the director, who suggested the matter be handled by the tournament committee. At that point Isaacs decided he would rather withdraw from the tournament. Because he had played fewer than half of his games, it was decided to eliminate his game results for the purposes of determining final placement, so I am not including any of his games here either.

Denker was directly seeded into the tournament by virtue of being US closed champion. Steiner was seeded as US Open winner. Reshevsky, Kashdan, Horowitz, and Pinkus were also seeded. It was decided to seed Adams into the tournament because he was unable to compete in a qualifying tournament because of his participation in the USA-USSR match. All other players qualified in one of six area events held around the country.

correction slip submitted 27 Oct 2011 for <Di Camillo-Drexel>, which should be <Drexel-Di Camillo>.

I have been unable to find Suesman-Rothman 1-0 from Round 10 in any of my sources. It appears to be unavailable.

Steiner-Kowalski (1-0) from Round 17 was an unplayed forfeit. Kowalski was sick and missed the game.

THE PLAYERS

Samuel Reshevsky -- Reshevsky was a famous child prodigy who gave up competitive play for several years to focus on his education. After returning to active play in the 1930s, Reshevsky dominated the US championship until the ascendence of Robert James Fischer in the late 1950s. Reshevsky had an unusually long playing career. Reshevsky played on eight US Olympiad teams, winning one team gold, one team bronze, and one individual bronze medal (http://www.olimpbase.org/players/mg...).

Isaac Kashdan -- Despite being a world-class player in his day, Kashdan was never able to negotiate a championship match with Marshall and once the tournament began he would never win the US championship. He was robbed of the title in 1942 by an incorrect ruling in a critical game between Reshevsky and Denker, which meant Reshevsky tied Kashdan for first instead of Kashdan winning the tournament outright. Kashdan lost the playoff match to Reshevsky, and that was as close as he would ever come to being US champion. Kashdan took over as chess editor for the <Los Angeles Times> after Steiner's death. Kashdan became an International Arbiter after his active playing days and directed both Game Collection: First Piatigorsky Cup 1963 and Game Collection: Second Piatigorsky Cup 1966. Kashdan played on five US Olympiad teams, winning three team and two individual gold medals, one team and one individual silver medal, and two individual bronze medals (http://www.olimpbase.org/players/vx...).

Anthony Santasiere -- Santasiere won the NY state championship several times and the 1945 US Open.

Jacob Levin -- Levin was Pennsylvania state champion in 1939 and won the Ventnor invitational tournament in 1941 and 1944.

Arnold Denker -- Denker won the 1944 US championship ahead of Fine, Horowitz and Steiner. He successfully defended his title in 1946 in a match with Herman Steiner. Later in life he became very active in chess organization in the US and the <Denker Tournament of High School Champions> is named in his honor.

Israel Albert Horowitz -- Horowitz was long-time editor of <Chess Review>, chess editor of the <New York Times> for many years, author of a number of chess books, and a fixture in US tournaments, particularly those in the northeast. He won the US Open in 1936, 1938, and 1943. Horowitz played on four US Olympiad teams, winning three team and two individual gold medals (http://www.olimpbase.org/players/sw...).

Herman Steiner -- Steiner was long-time chess editor for the <Los Angeles Times>. He founded a chess club attended by various celebrity chessplayers. Steiner was the only US player to have a plus score in the 1945 USSR-USA radio match (Game Collection: 1945. USSR vs USA (Radio match)). Steiner won the 1948 US championship ahead of Kashdan. Steiner played on four US Olympiad teams, winning one team gold medal, and one team and one individual silver medals (http://www.olimpbase.org/players/53...).

Albert Pinkus -- Pinkus was Manhattan Chess club champion twice, and NY state champion once. Pinkus played in the 1945 USA v USSR radio match. He played in five US championships.

George Kramer -- Kramer was New York State champion in 1945 and tied for first with Robert Byrne in the Master Reserve section of the 1946 US Open.

Albert Sandrin -- Sandrin was Illinois state champion in 1944.

Olaf Ulvestad -- Ulvestad tied for fourth with Donald Byrne in the championship section of the 1946 US Open.

Sol Isaac Rubinow -- Rubinow placed fourth in the 1943 US Amateur.

Weaver Adams -- Although a strong US master of his day, Adams is most remembered for his controversial ideas about White's opening advantage. He won the 1946 US Open and played in five US championships.

Attilio Di Camillo -- In 1944, Di Camillo won the championship tournament from one of the two Pennsylvania organizations claiming rights to award it. He played in two US championships.

Aaron Rothman -- Rothman played in two US championships.

Walter Bradford Suesman -- Suesman was Rhode Island champion numerous times and New England champion several times. He played in two US championships.

Gustave Drexel -- Drexel placed first in the 1945 and second in the 1946 Southern Chess Association Tournament.

Adolf Jay Fink -- Fink was a well-known problem composer, and a top player at the Mechanics' Institute club who was California state champion three times, tied for first once, and finished no lower than tied for second four times (http://www.chessdryad.com/articles/...).

Stephen Kowalski -- Kowalski was New Jersey state champion in 1946.

THE CROSSTABLE

           R K S L D H S P K S U R A D R S D F K
Reshevsky  X 1 = = 1 = 1 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 16
Kashdan    0 X = = = 0 1 1 1 1 = 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 13.5
Santasiere = = X 1 = 0 1 = = 1 = 1 = = 1 1 1 1 1 13
Levin      = = 0 X = = 1 = 1 1 1 = = 0 1 1 1 1 1 12.5
Denker     0 = = = X 0 = 1 0 1 = 1 1 1 1 = 1 1 1 12
Horowitz   = 1 1 = 1 X 0 1 0 = 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 = 1 12
Steiner    0 0 0 0 = 1 X 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 = 1 11
Pinkus     0 0 = = 0 0 1 X = = 1 1 1 1 = = = 1 1 10.5
Kramer     = 0 = 0 1 1 0 = X 1 = = 0 0 1 = 1 = 1  9.5
Sandrin    0 0 0 0 0 = 0 = 0 X 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1  8
Ulvestad   0 = = 0 = 1 0 0 = 0 X 0 1 0 = 1 = = 1  7.5
Rubinow    0 0 0 = 0 0 0 0 = 0 1 X 1 0 1 1 1 1 0  7
Adams      0 = = = 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 X 0 0 1 1 1 1  6.5
Di Camillo 0 0 = 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 X = 0 0 = 0  6.5
Rothman    0 0 0 0 0 0 0 = 0 1 = 0 1 = X 0 1 1 1  6.5
Suesman    0 0 0 0 = 1 0 = = 1 0 0 0 1 1 X 0 = =  6.5
Drexel     0 0 0 0 0 0 1 = 0 0 = 0 0 1 0 1 X 1 0  5
Fink       0 0 0 0 0 = = 0 = 0 = 0 0 = 0 = 0 X 1  4
Kowalski   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 = 1 0 X  3.5

Reshevsky would win yet another US championship. His closest rival, Kashdan, lost two games and drew five, while Reshevsky drew only four with no losses.

ROUND 1

Kashdan won against Steiner, Levin beat Sandrin, Denker won against Adams, Horowitz beat Rubinow, Pinkus won against Kowalski, Kramer beat Rothman, and Ulvestad won against Suesman. Drexel beat Isaacs, but because Isaacs withdrew about halfway through the tournament, the results from all of Isaacs' games were cancelled. Players only received an actual unplayed bye if they were scheduled to play Isaacs after Round 9. Reshevsky drew with Santasiere and Fink drew with DiCamillo.

ROUND 2

Kashdan beat Sandrin, Denker won against Rothman, and Pinkus beat Rubinow to lead the tournament with 2 points. Santasiere won against Steiner, Levin drew with Horowitz, Kramer drew with Reshevsky, and DiCamillo won against Ulvestad to round out the second point group at 1.5 with Santasiere, Levin, Horowitz, Kramer, and DiCamillo. Reshevsky, the eventual winner, had a slow start with two draws, leading the third point group at 1 point.

ROUND 3

Things began to go Reshevsky's way very early. He beat Denker, making up the one game lead Denker held. Also, Kashdan lost to Horowitz in an early key game. Pinkus was the only player from the top point group after the first two rounds to avoid defeat in Round 3. He drew with Levin. Santasiere won against Sandrin. Santasiere, Horowitz, and Pinkus now led at 2.5 points, followed by Reshevsky, Kashdan, Levin, and Denker at 2 points.

ROUND 4

Horowitz won against Santasiere. Kashdan beat Pinkus, so this left Horowitz in sole possession of the lead with 3.5 points. Reshevsky won against Adams, Kashdan beat Pinkus, and Levin won against Suesman. Reshevsky, Kashdan, and Levin were now in second a half point behind Horowitz.

ROUND 5

Horowitz lost to Kramer, dropping out of first. Horowitz, who often had disappointing results in US championships, would score reasonably well this year, but could not quite keep up with the leaders. Reshevsky beat Rothman and Kashdan won against Suesman. Levin's loss to DiCamillo left Reshevsky and Kashdan in the lead with 4 points. Denker, Horowitz, and Kramer were in the second group with 3.5 points. Santasiere, Levin, and Pinkus were a point off the pace with 3 points.

ROUND 6

Reshevsky won against Drexel and Kashdan beat DiCamillo, so they both remained in the lead with 5 points. Horowitz won against Denker to stay a half point behind the leaders. Santasiere beat Suesman and Kramer drew with Pinkus, so Santasiere and Kramer were in the third point group at 4 points. Levin's game with Isaacs was annulled, so Levin temporarily lost ground. The other leading contenders would have their annulled games with Isaacs or an actual unplayed bye in later rounds.

ROUND 7

Reshevsky beat Steiner, while Kashdan's win against Isaacs was annulled, so Reshevsky temporarily picked up a one point lead. Reshevsky would not get the bye until Round 13. Horowitz won against Adams to remain a half point behind Reshevsky. Santasiere drew with DiCamillo and Kramer drew with Suesman. Denker beat Pinkus, so that left Santasiere, Kramer, and Denker together a point and a half behind Reshevsky.

ROUND 8

Reshevsky won against Sandrin, Kashdan beat Fink, and Horowitz won against Rothman, so the relative positions of the three leaders did not change. Santasiere had his win against Isaacs annulled, Denker drew with Suesman, and Kramer lost to DiCamillo. Levin beat Ulvestad to stay close together with Denker at 5 points, 2 games behind Reshevsky.

ROUND 9

Reshevsky took a short draw with Horowitz. Kashdan drew with Ulvestad, so Kashdan did not pick up any ground on Reshevsky. Levin won against Kowalski and Denker beat DiCamillo, so they both moved a half point closer to Reshevsky.

ROUND 10

This was the round where Isaacs missed his game with Denker due to misunderstanding when it was to be played. It ultimately led to Isaacs withdrawing from the tournament and his results being cancelled. Reshevsky beat Pinkus, and Kashdan won against Kowalski, but Horowitz lost to Steiner. Levin drew with Rubinow. The leaders were: Reshevsky 8.5, Kashdan 7.5, Horowitz 7, Levin 6.5, Santasiere and DiCamillo 6. DiCamillo would draw his next game and lose the rest, so he ceased to be a contender for one of the top spots. Reshevsky was the only player among this group to not have already had his game with Isaacs/bye, so it was still possible to catch him.

ROUND 11

Reshevsky won against Suesman and Kashdan beat Rubinow. Horowitz drew with Sandrin. Levin won against Drexel, Santasiere beat Kowalski, and Denker won against Fink. The leaders were now: Reshevsky 9.5, Kashdan 8.5, Levin and Horowitz 7.5, Santasiere and Denker 7.

ROUND 12

Reshevsky beat DiCamillo, but Kashdan drew with Levin. Horowitz won against Drexel and Santasiere beat Rubinow. Denker drew with Ulvestad. Reshevsky led with 10.5, then Kashdan at 9, Horowitz with 8.5, and Santasiere and Levin at 8.

ROUND 13

Reshevsky finally had his bye, so this was an opportunity for others to close the gap a bit. Kashdan beat Drexel, Horowitz won against Pinkus, Santasiere beat Levin, and Denker won against Kowalski. Reshevsky was at 10.5, Kashdan at 9, Horowitz at 8.5, and Santasiere and Levin at 8 points.

ROUND 14

Reshevsky won against Fink, but Kashdan could only draw against Santasiere. Denker beat Rubinow, but Horowitz lost to Suesman. Levin won against Kramer. Reshevsky still held the lead with 11.5, Kashdan dropped a half point off the race for first to 10.5, Santasiere, Denker, and Horowitz were at 9.5, and Leven was at 9 points.

ROUND 15

Reshevsky beat Ulvestad, Kashdan won against Kramer, Santasiere beat Drexel, Horowitz won against DiCamillo, while Denker and Levin drew. Reshevsky led at 12.5, Kashdan was at 11.5, Santasiere and Horowitz were at 10.5, Denker was at 10, and Levin was at 9.5.

ROUND 16

Reshevsky won against Kowalski, but Kashdan drew with Denker. Santasiere drew with Kramer and Levin drew with Adams. Reshevsky led with 13.5, followed by Kashdan at 12, Santasiere at 11, and Denker at 10.5.

ROUND 17

Reshevsky beat Rubinow, while Kashdan had another draw, this time with Adams. With only two rounds left in the tournament, Kashdan's hopes of catching Reshevsky were fading. To tie for first Kashdan would have to win his final two games, including his last-round game with Reshevsky, and Reshevsky would also have to lose his Round 18 game with Levin. Santasiere drew with Denker, Levin won against Rothman, and Horowitz drew with Fink. Reshevsky had a practically insurmountable lead with 14.5, followed by Kashdan with 12.5, Santasiere with 11.5, and Levin, Denker, and Horowitz with 11.

ROUND 18

Reshevsky drew with Levin. Kashdan beat Rothman, but Reshevsky's draw clinched first place, making the last round game between Reshevsky and Kashdan anticlimatic. Santasiere drew with Adams. Both Denker and Horowitz lost, to Kramer and Ulvestad, respectively, which effectively ended their hopes for third place. Reshevsky now led with 15, Kashdan had 13.5, and Santasiere was in third with 12.

ROUND 19

Reshevsky and Kashdan finally met for their game. Reshevsky won, although he would have still finished clear first even if he lost to Kashdan. Santasiere won against Rothman to take clear third.