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TOURNAMENT STANDINGS
United States Championship Tournament

Walter Browne9.5/13(+6 -0 =7)[games]
Pal Benko8/13(+3 -0 =10)[games]
Larry Evans8/13(+4 -1 =8)[games]
Anthony Saidy7.5/13(+3 -1 =9)[games]
Samuel Reshevsky7/13(+4 -3 =6)[games]
Arthur Bisguier7/13(+2 -1 =10)[games]
John Grefe7/13(+3 -2 =8)[games]
Kenneth Rogoff7/13(+4 -3 =6)[games]
Norman Weinstein6/13(+2 -3 =8)[games]
Bernard Zuckerman5.5/13(+1 -3 =9)[games]
Andrew Soltis5.5/13(+1 -3 =9)[games]
Kim Commons5/13(+4 -7 =2)[games]
Andrew Karklins4.5/13(+2 -6 =5)[games]
Lawrence Gilden3.5/13(+3 -9 =1)[games]
*

Chessgames.com Chess Event Description
United States Championship (1974)

The US Championship came to the Windy City in 1974, continuing the Any Place But New York trend which began at El Paso the previous year. In the absence of Bobby Fischer, the players represented the usual mix of Old Guard and Impudent Youngsters, to wit:

Pal Benko, Arthur Bisguier, Walter Browne, Kim Commons, Larry Evans, Lawrence Gilden, John Grefe, Andrew Karklins, Samuel Reshevsky, Kenneth Rogoff, Anthony Saidy, Andrew Soltis, Norman Weinstein, Bernard Zuckerman.

The story here was Old Six-Time, Walter Browne, winning his first US Championship in commanding fashion. He led from the start, never even sharing the top spot after the first round. The famous game Browne vs A Bisguier, 1974 in round 9 gave him a 1.5 point lead with four rounds to go, and when nobody showed an inclination to make up ground he coasted home with four draws.

Benko tied Evans for second place by beating him in the last round. Saidy was clear fourth, his best result in a U.S. Championship. A last round win would have allowed him to join the tie for second, but he took a short draw instead. That tendency was endemic throughout the tournament. While 55% draws wasn't that bad, having nearly half of them last 20 moves or fewer shows a certain lack of enterprise, or perhaps boredom. Some of these guys had been playing against each other in the US Championship for fifteen or twenty years. Thing was, the youngsters caught Draw Fever as well.

The Fischer boom was bringing in some new blood, but can close with a quick mention of the old blood of Samuel Reshevsky. Aged sixty-two, he showed there was still a little fire in the tank. He started +1 -1 =6, then lost two in a row. Instead of limping home, he won his last three games to finish with a plus score.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 Pts 1 Browne * ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 9.5 2 Benko ½ * 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 8.0 3 Evans ½ 0 * ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1 ½ 8.0 4 Saidy ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 1 7.5 5 Reshevsky 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ 1 1 0 ½ ½ 0 1 1 7.0 6 Bisguier 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 7.0 7 Grefe 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 7.0 8 Rogoff 0 ½ 0 1 0 ½ ½ * ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 7.0 9 Weinstein ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ * ½ ½ 0 0 1 6.0 10 Zuckerman ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ * ½ 0 1 0 5.5 11 Soltis 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ * 1 ½ 0 5.5 12 Commons ½ 0 0 0 1 ½ 0 0 1 1 0 * 1 0 5.0 13 Karklins ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 0 * 1 4.5 14 Gilden 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 * 3.5

There were a number of mistaken results in the database, and the biographers have hoped to have caught them all, but if you spot one, please use Error Correction Form or let them know.

The US Championship (1973) was the previous tournament.

Original collection: Game Collection: US Championship 1974 by User: Phony Benoni.

 page 4 of 4; games 76-91 of 91  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
76. L Gilden vs K Commons 1-0451974United States ChampionshipB56 Sicilian
77. A Saidy vs K Rogoff 0-1361974United States ChampionshipD45 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
78. A Karklins vs A Saidy  0-1361974United States ChampionshipB60 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer
79. N Weinstein vs Browne  ½-½211974United States ChampionshipB52 Sicilian, Canal-Sokolsky (Rossolimo) Attack
80. B Zuckerman vs Benko  ½-½161974United States ChampionshipB62 Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer
81. K Commons vs A Soltis 0-1391974United States ChampionshipB90 Sicilian, Najdorf
82. L Evans vs A Bisguier  ½-½331974United States ChampionshipA22 English
83. J Grefe vs L Gilden 1-0401974United States ChampionshipC69 Ruy Lopez, Exchange, Gligoric Variation
84. K Rogoff vs Reshevsky 0-1281974United States ChampionshipC69 Ruy Lopez, Exchange, Gligoric Variation
85. Reshevsky vs A Karklins  1-0401974United States ChampionshipE47 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 O-O 5.Bd3
86. Benko vs L Evans 1-0641974United States ChampionshipA12 English with b3
87. L Gilden vs K Rogoff  0-1421974United States ChampionshipC76 Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defense, Fianchetto Variation
88. A Bisguier vs N Weinstein  ½-½331974United States ChampionshipD02 Queen's Pawn Game
89. A Saidy vs B Zuckerman  ½-½131974United States ChampionshipA14 English
90. A Soltis vs J Grefe  ½-½211974United States ChampionshipB87 Sicilian, Fischer-Sozin with ...a6 and ...b5
91. Browne vs K Commons  ½-½141974United States ChampionshipB18 Caro-Kann, Classical
 page 4 of 4; games 76-91 of 91  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)  

Kibitzer's Corner
Feb-25-14  optimal play: <<<<Chess title to Browne>

CHICAGO, Sunday (AAP). — >

Walter Browne, 25, an international grandmaster and twice Australian champion, won the title of US Chess Champion on Friday when he finished with a draw in his 13th and final round of the national tournament, Associated Press reported.

He was competing against the 13 top players in the nation, excluding Bobby Fischer who declined to enter.

Browne's attitude about beating Fischer?

"I wouldn't beat him right now", he said. "I think I could beat him in an odd match, but he's better".>

- The Canberra Times (ACT) issue Monday 5 August 1974>

Nov-22-22  Ninas Husband: It's not mentioned above, but this was the first US Championship for both Ken Rogoff (BOO!!!) and Andy Soltis (YAY!!!!).

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