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New York 1948/49 In the winter of 1948, when it came to the attention of the Manhattan Chess Club that four top chess masters would be spending December in New York, a tournament was put together on short notice. The four masters in question were former world champion Max Euwe, American chess master Reuben Fine, Argentinian master Miguel Najdorf, and Swedish champion Gideon Stahlberg. Manhattan Chess Club vice-president Sidney F. Kenton organized the event, and raised $5800 in prize money to lure the players. Ståhlberg was not staying in New York long enough to participate, so he declined. His invitation went next to Samuel Reshevsky, who also declined. Argentinian chess master Herman Pilnik found out about the tournament from Najdorf and offered to fill the empty seat if he were extended an invitation. It was granted and the remaining seats went to American players: Arthur Bisguier, Arnold Denker, Israel Horowitz, Isaac Kashdan, George Kramer, and Herman Steiner. Each player received $250 for attending. The tournament was played from December 23rd, 1948 to January 2nd, 1949, allowing only two rest days, neither of which were holidays. The time control for the event was 40 moves in two hours followed by 20 moves every hour afterwards. Fine won first prize of $1000 for his amazing 8/9 finish, which by Chessmetrics' reckoning was the highest performance rating of his career. Fine defeated the tournament leader Najdorf in their round seven game, relegating him to the second prize of $750. Pilnik and Euwe split the third and fourth prizes, receiving $375 each. Although Fine had declined to participate in the world championship tournament earlier in the year, and would retire from chess in a few more years, he showed in this tournament that he was still one of the world's top players, and one of the best talents America had ever produced. The final standings and crosstable: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 Fine * 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 8 2 Najdorf 0 * ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 6½ =3 Euwe 0 ½ * ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 5 =3 Pilnik ½ 0 ½ * ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 5 =5 Horowitz 0 ½ ½ ½ * ½ ½ 0 1 1 4½ =5 Kramer 0 0 0 0 ½ * 1 1 1 1 4½ =7 Bisguier ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 * ½ ½ 1 4 =7 Kashdan 0 0 ½ 0 1 0 ½ * 1 1 4 9 Denker 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 * ½ 2 10 Steiner 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ * 1½ *This collection would not have been possible without the efforts of this website: http://www.rookhouse.com/events/ny1...  page 1 of 1; 17 games    Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Fine vs Euwe 1-0 49 1948 New York 1948/49 D35 Queen's Gambit Declined 2. G Kramer vs Denker   1-0 41 1948 New York 1948/49 B80 Sicilian, Scheveningen 3. Najdorf vs Pilnik 1-0 40 1948 New York 1948/49 C48 Four Knights 4. Pilnik vs Kashdan 1-0 28 1948 New York 1948/49 B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 5. Euwe vs Bisguier   1-0 40 1948 New York 1948/49 D30 Queen's Gambit Declined 6. Kashdan vs Denker   1-0 55 1948 New York 1948/49 A49 King's Indian, Fianchetto without c4 7. Najdorf vs H Steiner   1-0 30 1948 New York 1948/49 E28 Nimzo-Indian, Samisch Variation 8. Fine vs H Steiner 1-0 41 1948 New York 1948/49 D30 Queen's Gambit Declined 9. Najdorf vs Kashdan   1-0 35 1948 New York 1948/49 D74 Neo-Grunfeld, 6.cd Nxd5, 7.O-O 10. Euwe vs G Kramer   1-0 41 1948 New York 1948/49 D28 Queen's Gambit Accepted, Classical 11. Bisguier vs H Steiner   1-0 41 1948 New York 1948/49 C77 Ruy Lopez 12. Kashdan vs I A Horowitz   1-0 31 1948 New York 1948/49 E10 Queen's Pawn Game 13. Fine vs Najdorf 1-0 44 1948 New York 1948/49 B91 Sicilian, Najdorf, Zagreb (Fianchetto) Variation 14. I A Horowitz vs Denker 1-0 40 1949 New York 1948/49 B91 Sicilian, Najdorf, Zagreb (Fianchetto) Variation 15. G Kramer vs Bisguier   1-0 51 1949 New York 1948/49 D31 Queen's Gambit Declined 16. Fine vs I A Horowitz 1-0 29 1949 New York 1948/49 D30 Queen's Gambit Declined 17. Pilnik vs G Kramer   1-0 46 1949 New York 1948/49 A27 English, Three Knights System  page 1 of 1; 17 games      REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)   Jan-23-21    FSR: Kramer is the last survivor of this tournament. 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