<39th ACF Congress
Boston, Massachusetts
July 11-23, 1938>

The 39th ACF Congress, also known as the North American Championship, was held at the Hotel Touraine. A total of 42 players participated (with one additional no-show), and were divided in six seven-player prelimiary sections from which the top two finishers qualified for the Championship final, 3rd-4th for the Consolation Masters, and 5th-7th for the Class A Final.

In the preliminary phase, two rounds were played most days in the afternoon and evening, with adjournaments played off in the afternoon before round 5.

Harold Morton covered the event for the "Boston Globe", providing complete pairings and results for each round and a rare chance to cover a US Open in some detail.

NOTE: The crosstables were published in the "American Chess Federation 1938 Yearbook, p. xiv-xv; thanks to <sachistu> for supplying these. The round-by-round summaries were compiled from daily reports in the "New York Times" and "Boston Globe", but some inconsistencies have arisen. I will be re-examining them, and may wind up deleting them completely.

Preliminary 1

                      1 2 3 4 5 6 7 
1 David S Polland     * 1 0 1 1 1 1 5.0 Championship
2 Paul Rosenzweig     0 * = 1 1 = 1 4.0 Championship
3 Weaver Warren Adams 1 = * 0 0 1 1 3.5 Consolation
4 Walter L Murdock    0 0 1 * 1 0 1 3.0 Consolation
5 Joseph Lyon Rauch   0 0 1 0 * 1 1 3.0 Class A
6 Kirk D Holland      0 = 0 1 0 * 0 1.5 Class A
7 Henry M Woods       0 0 0 0 0 1 * 1.0 Class A

Round 2 (Monday, July 11, evening): Rauch 0 Rosenzweig; Adams 0 Murdock; Woods 1 Holland; Polland - Bye

Round 3 (Tuesday, July 12, afternoon): Rauch 0 Polland; Woods 0 Murdock; Adams 1/2 Rosenzweig; Holland - Bye

Round 4 (Tuesday, July 12, evening): Polland 0 Adams; Rosenzweig 1 Woods; Murdock 0 Holland; Ruach - Bye

Round 5 (Wednesday, July 13, evening): Woods 0 Polland; Adams 0 Rauch; Holland 1/2 Rosenzweig; Murdock - Bye

Round 6 (Thursday, July 14, afternoon): Polland 1 Holland; Rauch 1 Woods; Rosenzweig 1 Murdock; Adams - Bye

Round 7 (Thursday, July 14, evening): Murdock 0 Polland; Holland 0 Rauch; Woods 0 Adams' Rosenzweig - Bye

Defending Champion David S Polland qualified easily. Adams' failure to advance to the Championship was considered a surprise.

Preliminary 2

                         1 2 3 4 5 6 7  0 A
1 Israel Albert Horowitz * = 1 1 1 1 1 5.5 Championship
2 Charles Jaffe          = * 1 1 1 1 1 5.5 Championship
3 Harlow Bussey Daly     0 0 * = 1 1 1 3.5 Consolation
4 Albert C Martin        0 0 = * 1 1 1 3.5 Consolation
5 Harry Kline            0 0 0 0 * 1 1 2.0 
6 Herman J Branconnier   0 0 0 0 0 * 1 1.0 Class A
7 Layton Holloway        0 0 0 0 0 0 * 0.0 Class A

Round 2 (Monday, July 11, evening): Kline 1 Holloway; Jaffe 1 Daly; Branconnier 0 Martin; Horowitz - Bye

Round 3 (Tuesday, July 12, afternoon): Jaffe 1 Holloway; Branconnier 0 Daly; Kline 0 Horowitz; Martin - Bye

Round 4 (Tuesday, July 12, evening): Horowitz 1/2 Jaffe; Holloway 0 Branconnier; Daly 1/2 Martin; Kline - Bye

Round 5 (Wednesday, July 13, evening): Branconnier 0 Horowitz; Jaffe 1 Kline; Martin 1 Holloway; Daly - Bye

Round 6 (Thursday, July 14, afternoon): Horowitz 1 Martin; Kline 1 Branconnier; Holloway 0 Daly; Jaffe - Bye

Round 7 (Thursday, July 14, evening): Daly 0 Horowitz; Martin 1 Kline; Branconnier 0 Jaffe; Holloway - Bye

Horowitz and Jaffe left no doubt about who would qualify for the Chamionship. Daly made a bit of history by playing in his second "US Open" thirty-four years after his first (St. Louis 1904). And he'll be back!

Preliminary 3

                              1 2 3 4 5 6 7 
1 Isaac Kashdan               * 1 = = 1 1 1 5.0 Championship
2 John W Collins              0 * 1 1 1 1 = 4.5 Championship
3 Harry Lyman                 = 0 * 1 0 1 1 3.5 Consolation
4 George Samuel Barnes        = 0 0 * 1 1 1 3.5
5 Stanley Eugene Epstein      0 0 1 0 * 0 1 2.0 Consolation
6 Ward Parker Mayhew Mitchell 0 0 0 0 1 * = 1.5 Class A
7 Theodore Barron           0 = 0 0 0 = * 1.0

This section began with eight players, Shainswith switching to Section 5 after this round. His game was Collins was counted as Collins' bye.

Round 2 (Monday, July 11, evening): Barron 1/2 Mitchell; Lyman 0 Collins; Kashdan 1 Epstein; Barnes - Bye

Round 3 (Tuesday, July 12, afternoon): Lyman 1 Barnes; Epstein 0 Collins; Kashdan 1 Barron; Mitchell - Bye

Round 4 (Tuesday, July 12, evening): Mitchell 0 Lyman; Barnes 0 Collins; Barron 0 Epstein; Kashdan - Bye

Round 5 (Wednesday, July 13, evening): Lyman 1/2 Kashdan; Collins 1 Mitchell; Barnes 1 Epstein; Barron - Bye

Round 6 (Thursday, July 14, afternoon): Kashdan 1 Collins; Barron 0 Lyman; Mitchell 0 Barnes; Epstein - Bye

Round 7 (Thursday, July 14, evening): Barnes 1/2 Kashdan; Collins 1/2 Barron; Epstein 0 Mitchell; Lyman - Bye

Kashdan on cruise control. Collins also qualified easily.

Preliminary 4

                          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 
1 Anthony Santasiere      * 1 = = 1 1 1 5.0 Championship
2 Boris Blumin            0 * 1 1 1 1 1 5.0 Championship
3 Walter Bradford Suesman = 0 * = = = 1 3.0 Consolation
4 Jack Soudakoff          = 0 = * 0 1 = 2.5
5 Joseph A Fliegel        0 0 = 1 * 0 1 2.5 Consolation
6 Dan E Mayers            0 0 = 0 1 * 0 1.5 Class A
7 Nicholas R Bellome      0 0 0 = 0 1 * 1.5 Class A

Round 2 (Monday, July 11, evening): Mayers 0 Bellome; Suesman 0 Blumin; Soudakoff 0 Fliegel; Santasiere - Bye

Round 3 (Tuesday, July 12, afternoon): Mayers 0 Santasiere; Suesman 1 Bellome; Soudakoff 0 Blumin; Fliegel - Bye

Round 4 (Tuesday, July 12, evening): Santasiere 1/2 Suesman; Bellome 1/2 Soudakoff; Blumin 1 Fliegel; Mayers - Bye

Round 5 (Wednesday, July 13, evening): Soudakoff 1/2 Santasiere; Suesman 1/2 Mayers; Fliegel 1 Bellome; Blumin - Bye

Round 6 (Thursday, July 14, afternoon): Mayers 0 Soudakoff; Bellome 0 Blumin; Santasiere 1 Fliegel; Suesman - Bye

Round 7 (Thursday, July 14, evening): Blumin 0 Santasiere; Fliegel 0 Mayers; Soudakoff 1/2 Suesman; Bellome - Bye

Not much doubt here about the qualifiers.

Preliminary 5

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 Jack Moskowitz     * = 1 1 1 1 1 5.5 Championship
2 George Shainswit   = * = = 1 1 1 4.5 Championship
3 Boris Garfinkel    0 = * 1 0 1 1 3.5 Consolation
4 Bernard Wolk       0 = 0 * 1 1 1 3.5 Consolation
5 Schuyler Broughton 0 0 1 0 * 1 1 3.0 Class A
6 Frederick P Lewis  0 0 0 0 0 * 1 1.0 Class A
7 Robert W Bellamy   0 0 0 0 0 0 * 0.0 Class A

Cohen did not appear, and Shainswit played in this section after round 1. His game with Garfinklel was listed as "adjourned" and eventually as drawn, with no date of play given.

Round 2 (Monday, July 11, evening): Wolk 0 Garfinkel; Lewis 1 Bellamy; Broughton 0 Moskowitz; Shainswit - Bye

Round 3 (Tuesday, July 12, afternoon): Wolk 1/2 Shainswit; Broughton 1 Bellamy; Lewis 0 Garfinkel; Moskowitz - Bye

Round 4 (Tuesday, July 12, evening): Shainswit 1 Lewis; Garfinkel 0 Broughton; Bellamy 0 Moskowitz; Wolk - Bye

Round 5 (Wednesday, July 13, evening): Broughton 0 Shainswit; Lewis 0 Wolk; Moskowitz 1 Garfinkel; Bellamy - Bye

Round 6 (Thursday, July 14, afternoon): Shainswit 1/2 Moskowitz; Wolk 1 Broughton; Garfinkel 1 Bellamy; Lewis - Bye

Round 7 (Thursday, July 14, evening): Bellamy 0 Shainswit; Moskowitz 1 Wolk; Broughton 1 Lewis; Garfinkel - Bye

An exciting finish with Mokowitz beating out Wolk for a spotin the finals by winnin their last round game.

Preliminary 6

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 
1 Harold Morton      * = = 1 1 1 1 5.0 Championship
2 Burton O Dahlstrom = * 1 1 0 1 1 4.5 Championship
3 Donald MacMurray   = 0 * 1 1 1 1 4.5 Consolation
4 David Marcus       0 0 0 * 1 1 1 3.0 Conolation
5 John E Fulop       0 1 0 0 * 0 1 2.0 
6 Ambrose Gring      0 0 0 0 1 * 1 2.0 Class A
7 James Edelston     0 0 0 0 0 0 * 0.0 Class A

Round 2 (Monday, July 11, evening): Marcus 1 Fulop; Gring 0 MacMurray; Edelston 0 Dahlstrom; Morotn - Bye

Round 3 (Tuesday, July 12, afternoon): MacMurray 1 Fulop; Edelston 0 Gring; Marcus 0 Morton; Dahlstrom - Bye

Round 4 (Tuesday, July 12, eveing): Morton 1/2 MacMurray; Fulop 1 Edelston; Gring 0 Dahlstrom; Marcus - Bye

Round 5 (Wednesday, July 13, evening): Edelston 0 Morton; MacMurray 1 Marcus; Dahlstrom 0 Fulop; Gring - Bye

Round 6 (Thursday, July 14, afternoon): Marcus 1 Edelston; Fulop 0 Gring; Morton 1/2 Dahlstrom;; MacMurray - Bye

Round 7 (Thursday, July 14, evening): Gring 0 Morton; Dahlstrom 1 Marcus; Edelston 0 MacMurray; Fulop- Bye

The tie for the second qualifying spot was resolved by a tiebreaking game, won by Dahlstrom in a sprightly 99 moves--this after he had managed a draw in an adjourned game with Morton just to reach the playoff. Dahlstrom's reward was to finish last in the final, though his draw with ... Whoops! Don't want to give away the ending too soon!

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Championship Final

                          1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 
1  Isaac Kashdan          * = 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 = 9.0
2  Israel Albert Horowitz = * 0 1 1 1 1 = 1 1 1 1 9.0
3  Boris Blumin           0 1 * 0 = 1 = = 1 1 1 1 7.5
4  David S Polland        0 0 1 * = 1 = = 1 1 1 1 7.5
5  Anthony Santasiere     1 0 = = * = = 1 = 0 = 1 6.0
6  Harold Morton          0 0 0 0 = * 1 0 1 1 1 1 5.5
7  George Shainswit       0 0 = = = 0 * 1 = = 1 = 5.0
8  John W Collins         0 = = = 0 1 0 * 0 = 0 1 4.0
9  Charles Jaffe          0 0 0 0 = 0 = 1 * 1 1 0 4.0
10 Jack Moskowitz         0 0 0 0 1 0 = = 0 * = 1 3.5
11 Paul Rosenzweig        0 0 0 0 = 0 0 1 0 = * 1 3.0
12 Burton O Dahlstrom     = 0 0 0 0 0 = 0 1 0 0 * 2.0

Round 1 (Friday, July 15): Collins 0 Rosenzweig; Santasiere 1 Kashdan; Shainswit 1/2 Moskowitz; Morton 1 Jaffe; Horowitz 1 Dahlstrom; Polland 1 Blumin

Round 2 (Saturday, July 16): Rosenzweig 0 Polland; Kashdan 1 Collins; Jaffe 1/2 Shainswit; Blumin 1 Horowitz; Morton 1 Dahlstrom; Moskowitz 1 Santasiere

Round 3 (Saturday, July 16): Shainswit 1/2 Polland; Morton 0 Horowitz; Santasiere 1/2 Blumin; Collins 1 Dahlstrom; Kashdan 1 Jaffe; Moskowitz 1/2 Rosenzweig (adj.)

Round 4 (Mpnday, July 18): Polland 1 Morton; Dahlstrom 0 Santasiere; Jaffe 1 Collins; Moskowitz 0 Kashdan (adj.); Shainswit 1/2 Blumin (adj.); Horowitz 1 Rosenzweig

Round 5 (Monday, July 18): Polland 1 Jaffe; Shainswit 1 Collins; Blumin 1 Dahlstrom; Horowitz 1 Moskowitz; Morton 0 Kashdan; Rosenzweig 1/2 Santasiere

Round 6 (Tuesday, July 19): Moskowitz 0 Morton; Jaffe 0 Horowitz; Dahlstrom 0 Polland; Collins 0 Santasiere; Kashdan 1 Shainswit; Rosenzweig 0 Blumin

Round 7 (Tuesday, July 19): Polland 0 Kashdan*; Morton 1/2 Santasiere; Dahlstrom 1 Jaffe; Blumin 1 Moskowitz; Shainswit 1 Rosenzweig; Horowitz 1/2 Collins

Round 8 (Wednesday, July 20): Kashdan 1/2 Horowitz*; Jaffe 0 Blumin; Moskowitz 0 Polland*; Collins 1 Morton; Rosenzweig 1 Dahlstrom; Santasiere 1/2 Shainswith

Round 9 (Thursday, July 21): Shainswit 0 Morton; Collins 1/2 Polland; Santasiere 0 Horowitz*; Kashdan 1 Blumin; Rosenzweig 0 Jaffe; Moskowitz 1 Dahlstrom

Round 10 (Friday, July 22): Horowitz 1 Shainswit; Dahlstrom 1/2 Kashdan*; Polland 1/2 Santasiere; Jaffe 1 Moskowitz; Blumin 1/2 Collins; Rosenzweig 0 Morton

Round 11 (Saturday, July 23): Horowitz 1 Polland*; Rosenzweig 0 Kashdan*; Shainswit 1/2 Dahlstrom; Morton 0 Blumin; Moskowitz 1/2 Collins; Santasiere 1/2 Jaffe

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The final game was a 102-move draw between George Shainswit and --who else?--Burton O. Dahlstrom.

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Consolation Masters Tournament

		           1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2	
1  Donald MacMurray        X 1 1 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10.5
2  Weaver Warren Adams     0 X 0 0 = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  7.5
3  Bernard Wolk            0 1 X = 1 = 0 1 = = 1 1  7.0
4  Albert C Martin         = 1 = X 0 0 1 = = 0 1 1  6.0
5  Walter L Murdock        0 = 0 1 X 1 0 0 = 1 1 1  6.0
6  Harlow Bussey Daly      0 0 = 1 0 X 1 1 1 0 = =  5.5
7  Harry Lyman             0 0 1 0 1 0 X 1 0 1 0 1  5.0
8  Boris Garfinkel         0 0 0 = 1 0 0 X 0 1 1 1  4.5
9  Walter Bradford Suesman 0 0 = = = 0 1 1 X 0 = 0  4.0
10 David Marcus            0 0 = 1 0 1 0 0 1 X 0 =  4.0
11 Stanley Epstein         0 0 0 0 0 = 1 0 = 1 X 0  3.0
12 Joseph A Fliegel        0 0 0 0 0 = 0 0 1 = 1 X  3.0

Round 2 (Saturday, July 16)>: MacMurray 1 Daly; Marcus 0 Epstein; Wolk 1/2 Suesman; Garfinkel 1 Fliegel; Adams 1 Lyman; Murdock 1 Martin

Round 3 (Saturday, July 16)>: Suesman 1 Garfinkel; Martin 1 Adams; Daly 0 Murdock; Lyman 1 Marcus; Epstein 0 Wolk; MacMurray 1 Fliegel

Round 4 (Monday, July 18): Fliegel 0 Adams; Suesman adj. Murdock; Epstein adj. Daly; Lyman 0 Martin; Garfinkel 1 Marcus; Wolk 0 MacMurray

Round 5 (Monday, July 18): Mudock adj Adams; Daly 0 Marcus; Lyman 1 Garfinkel; Martin 1/2 Wolk; Epstein adj. Fliegel; MacMurray adj. Suesman

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Class A

                               1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3
1  Joseph Lyon Rauch           X = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11.5
2  Jemru < Wppds               = X = 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11.0
3  Dan E Mayers                0 = X 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1  8.5
4  Ward Parker Mayhew Mitchell 0 0 1 X 0 1 1 1 1 = 1 1 1  8.5
5  Nicholas R Bellome          0 0 1 1 X 0 1 0 1 1 = 1 1  7.5
6  Ambrose Gring               0 0 0 0 1 X 1 1 1 0 1 1 1  7.0
7  Schuyler Broughton          0 0 0 0 0 0 X 1 1 1 1 1 =  5.5
8  Kirk D Holland              0 0 0 0 1 0 0 X = 1 0 = 1  4.0
9  F W P Lewis                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 = X 1 = 1 1  4.0
10 Rpbert W Bellamy            0 0 0 = 0 1 0 0 0 X 1 1 0  3.5
11 Herman H Branconnier        0 0 0 0 = 0 0 1 = 0 X 0 1  3.0
12 James Edelston              0 0 0 0 0 0 0 = 0 0 1 X 1  2.5
13 Layton Holloway             0 0 0 0 0 0 = 0 0 1 0 0 X  1.5

Round 2 (Saturday, July 16)L Bellamy 0 Woodsl Lewis 0 Mayers; Gring 0 Mitchell; Holloway 0 Branconnier; Rauch 1 Holland; Bellome adj Edelston; Broughton - Bye

Round 3 (Saturday, July 16): Woods 1 Broughton; Mayers 1 Bellamy; Mitchell 1 Lewis; Edelston 0 Gring; Branconnier 1/2 Bellome; Holland 1 Hollaway; Rauch - Bye

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Interest was expressed in holding a match between the two victors, and sufficient funds were raised to make a 10-game match a reality. Both were busy, so it took from mid-October to the end of December 1938 to play the 10 games. Horowitz left the next day for his yearly multi-month US tour and both had missed wins in games, so no effort was made to break the 5-5 tie.

         1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Horowitz 1 0 1 = = = 0 = = = 5.0
Kashdan  0 1 0 = = = 1 = = = 5.0

Game 2: Sunday, October 16, Manhattan Chess Club. Adjourned and finished on wither Wednesday, Jul1y 19 or Thursday, October 20 at the Manhattan Chess Club. (NYT, 10/17, says play was to resume "Wednesday", but result reported on Friday, 10/21.)

Game 3: Sunday, October 30, residence of Maurice Wertheim. Game 4 scheduled for Friday, November 4. NYT, 10/31/38

Game 4: Saturday, November 5, Queens Chess Club. Game 5 scheduled for Saturday, November 19, at the Manhattan Chess Club. NYT, 11/6/1938 gives date as "yesteday". Hoever, NYT 10/31/1938 and Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 11/3/1938, both give Friday, November 4 as scheduled date.

Game 5: Saturday, November 19, Manhattan Chess Club. Chess Review, December 1938, p.293

Game 6: Wednesday, December 7, 1938, Manhattan Chess Club BDE, 12/8/1938; Chess Review, Dec, 1938. p. 295, gives December 4]

Game 7: Thursday, December 15, Manhattan Chess Clbu. NYT, 12/16/1938. Chess Review, Jan. 1939, p. 18, gives December 4.

Game 8: Tuesday, December 20, Marshall Chess Club. NYT, 12/21/1938

Game 9: Saturday, December 24, Manhattan Chess Club. NYT, 12/25/1938

Game 10: Saturday, December 31, 1938 Marshall Chess Club NYT, 1/2/1939 states "yesterday", but Chess Review, Jan. 1939, p. 18, states "last day of the old year".

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And, as the chess wore down, there came news of talks intended to lead to a merger of the American Chess Federation and the National Chess Federation. These would take about a year. Such things usually did.

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Sources

American Chess Bulletin, July/August 1938, p. 82-83.

American Chess Federation Yearbook, 1938.

Boston Globe, daily reports by Harold Morton, July 12-24, 1938.

Chess Results 1936-1940 / Gino di Felice, p. 164-166, 214.

Chess Review, August 1938, p. 183-189. "The A. C. F. Congress" / Fred Reinfeld.

Kibitz by User: crawfb5: CG Librarian chessforum (kibitz #152)

Los Angeles Times, September 11, 18, 25; October 2, 9, 16, 23 30, 1938

New York Time, daily reports, July 11-25, 1938, October 16 1938-January 2, 1939

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SEE ALSO: Game Collection: US Open Tournament Index