-- under construction --

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

We are still missing games from this tournament.

insert missing list here

Round 1
Shainswit-Treysman 0-1
Suesman-Morton
Dake-Bernstein draw

Round 2
Bernstein-Santasiere draw

Round 3
Dake-Simonson
Santasiere-Morton
Horowitz-Polland

Round 4
Hanauer-Morton

Round 5
Polland-Bernstein draw
Shainswit-Santasiere draw
Kupchik-Horowitz draw

Round 6
Morton-Dake 0-1
Polland-Santasiere
Treysman-Suesman
Shainswit-Kupchik draw

Round 7
Suesman-Hanauer 1-0
Horowitz-Treysman 1-0
Dake-Polland 1-0
Cohen-Morton 1-0

Round 8
Santasiere-Kupchik draw
Cohen-Hanauer draw

Round 9
Polland/Morton
Cohen-Kupchik 0-1

Round 10
Dake/Suesman

Round 11
Suesman-Kupchik 0-1
Horowitz-Shainswit
Bernstein-Morton

Round 12
Cohen-Suesman
Bernstein-Kupchik
Morton-Treysman

Round 13
Treysman-Bernstein 0-1
Reinfeld/Hanauer
Shainswit-Cohen draw

Round 14
Dake/Cohen draw
Horowtiz/Bernstein
Shainswit-Polland

Round 15
Bernstein-Suesman
Morton-Shainswit
Polland-Hanauer

Round 16
Shainswit-Suesman draw
Polland-Cohen 1-0

Round 17
Bernstein-Cohen draw
Simonson-Santasiere draw
Morton-Horowitz draw
Polland-Suesman 1-0
Treysman-Kupchik draw
Hanauer-Shainswit 1-0

The second USCF-sponsored tournament for the US championship, held at the RCA Building in Rockefeller Center, New York, 2-24 Apr 1938. After such a long interval between championship matches in 1909 and 1923 and another to the first USCF tournament in 1936, to have the second championship tournament only two years later must have seemed like real progress. As in 1936, some players were seeded directly into the finals and others had to earn a spot by playing in qualifying sections. Dake, Fine, Horowitz, Kashdan, Kupchik, Morton, Polland, Reshevsky, Simonson, and Treysman were all seeded directly into the finals. Hanauer, Cohen and Santasiere qualified out of Section A. Barnie Winkelman withdrew after Round 4 and his three completed games were cancelled. Santasiere had beaten him, and so it was decided to advance three players out of the section instead of two as planned. Bernstein and Sueseman qualified out of Section B. Reinfeld and Shainswit qualified out of Section C.

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 Bobby 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...).

Reuben Fine -- Fine was a world-class player that never won the US championship. His best international result would be equal first with Paul Keres at AVRO 1938. He was invited to the world championship tournament organized in 1948 to pick a successor to Alexander Alekhine, who died while holding the title. Fine decided not to play. He was involved in his graduate work in psychology and only played competitive chess for a few more years after earning his degree. Fine played on three US Olympiad teams, winning three team and one individual gold medal and one individual silver medal (http://www.olimpbase.org/players/rn...).

Albert Simonson -- Simonson was the reserve on the gold-medal US team at the 1933 Folkstone Olympiad (http://www.olimpbase.org/players/ks...). Simonson also finished second in the 1936 US championship, a half point behind Reshevsky and a half point ahead of Fine.

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...).

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...).

Arthur Dake -- Dake was on three gold-medal US Olympiad teams, winning one individual gold and one individual silver medal (http://www.olimpbase.org/players/u4...).

David Polland -- Polland won both the NY state championship and the US Open (4th American Chess Federation) in 1937. In 1938, he tied for 1st with Frank Marshall in the Marshall Chess Club championship.

Abraham Kupchik -- Two of Kupchik's best results were at Lake Hopatcong; 1923, where he tied with Marshall for first, and 1926, where he finished second behind Capablanca. He also drew a match (+1 -1 =4) with Carlos Torre Repetto in New York in 1924. Kupchik played on one US Olympiad team, winning a team gold and an individual bronze medal (http://www.olimpbase.org/players/3z...). A brief summary of Kupchik's career along with a photo of him playing Capablanca at Lake Hopatcong is at: http://www.kenilworthchessclub.org/...

Sidney Bernstein -- Bernstein was active in and around New York City and played in eight US championship tournaments.

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

George Nelson Treysman -- Treysman was known more for being a strong chess hustler in New York City than a tournament player, although he also played in the 1936 US championship.

Samuel Cohen -- Samuel S. Cohen was an editor at <Chess Review> for a number of years in the 1930s.

Milton Loeb Hanauer -- Hanauer played on one US Olympiad team, winning a team silver medal (http://www.olimpbase.org/players/7x...).

Fred Reinfeld -- Reinfeld is mostly remembered today for his numerous beginner's books, but he won the NY state championship twice and played in several US championships.

George Shainswit -- Shainswit played in five US championships and was a member of the 1950 US Olympiad team (http://www.olimpbase.org/players/b7...).

Harold Morton -- Morton was New England champion several times and was also Horowitz's business partner at <Chess Review> at the time of his death. The two were on an exhibition and promotional tour in the midwest in 1940 when they were involved in an automobile accident in Iowa. Morton was killed and Horowitz seriously injured.

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

THE CROSSTABLE

           R F S H K D P K B S T C H R S M S
Reshevsky  X = 1 = 1 1 1 = = 1 1 = 1 = 1 1 1 13
Fine       = X = 1 1 1 = 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 12.5 
Simonson   0 = X 1 = = = 0 1 = 1 1 = 1 1 1 1 11
Horowitz   = 0 0 X = 1 = = 1 0 1 1 1 1 = = 1 10
Kashdan    0 0 = = X 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 = 1 1 1 0  9.5
Dake       0 0 = 0 1 X 1 0 = 1 = = = = 1 1 1  9
Polland    0 = = = 0 0 X 1 = = 0 1 1 = 1 1 1  9
Kupchik    = 0 1 = 0 1 0 X = = = 1 = 1 = 0 1  8.5
Bernstein  = 0 0 0 0 = = = X = 1 = 1 = 0 1 1  7.5
Santasiere 0 1 = 1 0 0 = = = X 0 0 = = = = 1  7
Treysman   0 0 0 0 0 = 1 = 0 1 X 1 1 = 1 0 =  7
Cohen      = 0 0 0 1 = 0 0 = 1 0 X = 0 = 1 1  6.5
Hanauer    0 1 = 0 = = 0 = 0 = 0 = X 0 1 = 1  6.5
Reinfeld   = 0 0 0 0 = = 0 = = = 1 1 X 0 = 1  6.5
Shainswit  0 0 0 = 0 0 0 = 1 = 0 = 0 1 X 1 =  5.5
Morton     0 0 0 = 0 0 0 1 0 = 1 0 = = 0 X 1  5
Suesman    0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 = 0 0 0 = 0 X  2

ROUND 1

Hanauer had the bye. Reshevsky beat Polland, Fine won against Kupchik, Simonson beat Horowitz, Kashdan won against Santasiere, Treysman beat Shainswit, and Reinfeld won against Cohen. Dake and Bernstein had the only draw of the round.

ROUND 2

Cohen had the bye. Reshevsky won against Morton, Fine beat Shainswit, Simonson won against Suesman, and Treysman beat Hanauer, so they all shared the lead at 2. Kashdan drew against Horowitz, so he dropped a half point off the pace, now in the second point group with Reinfeld, who drew with Dake.

ROUND 3

Shainswit had the bye. Reshevsky beat Treysman, while Fine won against Suesman, so Reshevsky and Fine were now in the lead with 3 points. Simonson drew with Dake, so both were in third with 2.5. In the first surprising result of the tournament, Kashdan lost to Cohen (S Cohen vs Kashdan, 1938), a difficult marathon 102-move game, dropping Kashdan to a point and a half behind the leaders.

ROUND 4

Fine had the bye. Reshevsky drew with Bernstein. Simonson beat Shainswit, so now Reshevsky and Simonson were leading with 3.5. Treysman won against Polland, and Reinfeld beat Suesman, so Treysman and Reinfeld now joined Fine tied for third with 3.0. Kashdan won against Kupchik and Dake beat Santasiere, so now Kashdan, Dake, and Bernstein were a point off the lead with 2.5.

ROUND 5

Simonson had the bye. Reshevsky beat Suesman, Fine won against Reinfeld, and Treysman beat Cohen. Kashdan won against Morton, but Bernstein drew against Polland and Dake drew with Hanauer. Reshevsky was now alone in first with 4.5, with Fine and Treysman tied for second at 4. Kashdan and Simonson were tied for fourth with 3.5. Dake and Reinfeld were at 3.

ROUND 6

Bernstein had the bye. Reshevsky beat Hanauer, Fine won against Horowitz, Kashdan beat Reinfeld, and Simonson won against Cohen. Treysman could only draw with the tailender Suesman, and this is where Treysman began to drop out of the race. Dake beat Morton. Reshevsky and Fine were still the leaders, with 5.5 and 5 points, respectively. Kashdan, Simonson, and Treysman were still a point behind Reshevsky, with Dake a half point behind them. Fine and Simonson had already taken their byes, but Reshevsky and Kashdan had not.

ROUND 7

Kupchik had the bye. Reshevsky won against Shainswit, Simonson beat Reinfeld, Kashdan won against Bernstein, and Dake beat Polland. It was now Fine's turn to lose a game, this round to Santasiere. Reshevsky was still in alone in first at 6.5, followed by Kashdan and Simonson at 5.5, and Fine and Dake at 5.

ROUND 8

Suesman had the bye. Reshevsky drew with Horowitz, giving the others a chance to make up some ground. Fine won against Bernstein, Simonson beat Morton, Kashdan won against Polland, and Dake beat Shainswit. Reshevsky still lead at 7, but now Kashdan and Fine were only a half point back at 6.5, with Fine and Dake at 6.

ROUND 9

Horowitz had the bye. Reshevsky won against Dake. Kashdan beat Treysman and Fine drew with Simonson. Reshevsky was at 8, Kashdan at 7.5, Simonson at 7, Fine at 6.5, and Dake at 6.

ROUND 10

Polland had the bye. Reshevsky gave up another draw, this round to Cohen. Fine beat Morton and Simonson won against Treysman. Kashdan drew against Hanauer, so he missed an opportunity to pull even with Reshevsky. Dake beat Suesman. Reshevsky was still leading with 8.5, followed by Kashdan and Simonson at 8, Fine at 7.5, and Dake at 7.

ROUND 11

Reshevsky had the bye. Fine won against Cohen, while Dake-Treysman and Kashdan-Simonson were both draws. There was now a four-way tie for first at 8.5 between Reshevsky, Fine, Simonson, and Kashdan, although Kashdan had not yet taken his bye, so he had one less game to play compared to the other frontrunners. Dake was a half point behind with 8.

ROUND 12

Santasiere had the bye. Reshevsky drew with Reinfeld, Simonson drew with Hanauer, and Fine drew with Polland, but Kashdan beat Shainswit, giving Kashdan a half point lead over Reshevsky, Fine, and Simonson. Dake lost to Horowitz, which dropped him two points off the pace. Horowitz, who had a poor start with only 4.5 points by the end of Round 11, began a strong finish (5.5/6) by beating Dake.

ROUND 13

Morton had the bye. Reshevsky beat Santasiere and Fine won against Kashdan (Fine vs Kashdan, 1938). This was the start of a horrible finish for Kashdan, who would lose his remaining three games and drop from temporary possession of first to fourth place. Simonson drew with Polland and Dake lost to Kupchik. That left Reshevsky and Fine at 10, with Simonson and Kashdan at 9.5. Horowitz beat Suesman, so began to creep back on to the radar with 6.5.

ROUND 14

Treysman had the bye. Reshevsky won against Simonson. The other contenders also lost; Fine lost to Hanauer in a critical game he could ill afford to lose (M L Hanauer vs Fine, 1938), while Kashdan continued his freefall by losing to tailender Suesman (W Suesman vs Kashdan, 1938). This was Suesman's only win in the tournament. Reshevsky, again getting late-round help from his nearest competitors, was back in the lead with 11, followed by Fine at 10, and Simonson and Kashdan at 9.5. Horowitz won again, this time against Bernstein.

ROUND 15

Dake had the bye. Reshevsky beat Kashdan and Fine won against Treysman, but Simonson lost to Kupchik. Horowitz beat Reinfeld. Reshevsky was first with 12, Fine second with 11, Simonson and Kashdan were tied for third with 9.5, and Horowitz was fifth with 8.5.

ROUND 16

Kashdan had the bye. Fine won against Dake and Simonson beat Bernstein. Reshevsky would play Fine in the last round (17), so Reshevsky only needed to draw his last two games to win the tournament. Reshevsky drew with Kupchik, which meant Fine would have to play for a win in Round 17 against Reshevsky in order to tie for first. Horowitz won his fourth straight game, this time against Hanauer. Reshevsky was first with 12.5, Fine second with 12, Simonson third with 10.5, and Kashdan and Horowitz tied for fourth with 9.5.

ROUND 17

Reinfeld had the bye. Fine was unable to achieve any more than a draw against Reshevsky (Fine vs Reshevsky, 1938), so Reshevsky won his second US championship tournament. Fine finished clear second. Simonson drew with Santasiere, so Simonson finished third. Horowitz drew with Morton, but Kashdan lost yet again, this time to Dake, so Horowitz managed to finish fourth, just ahead of Kashdan.