1954 US Championship

Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players ·

Kibitzing

1954 US Championship
Compiled by crawfb5

-- under construction --

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

Three games appear to be truly missing, as I have been unable to find them anywhere:

<Round 3 Berliner-Hearst 1-0 49 moves Nimzo

Round 4 Pilnick-Mengarini draw 46 moves Sicilian

Round 13 Sherwin-Pavey draw 72 moves Gruenfeld>

Held at the Marshall Chess Club 29 May - 13 Jun 1954. The USSR team was in New York to play the US team in a few days and visited the tournament to observe the last round. Bisguier and Evans would play Petrosian and Taimanov, respectively, on Boards 7 and 8. Evans would be only one of two US players to achieve a plus score (Donald Byrne would be the other) in a 20-12 loss to the USSR.

THE PLAYERS

Arthur Bisguier -- Bisguier has won every type of US title, winning the US Junior in 1948 and 1949, the US Open in 1956 (and finishing second on tiebreak to Robert James Fischer at the 1957 US Open), the US championship in 1954 (this game collection), and the US Senior in 1989, 1997, and 1998. Bisguier would play on five US Olympiad teams, winning one team silver medal (http://www.olimpbase.org/players/yy...).

Larry Melvyn Evans -- Evans may have only been 19 when he won the 1951 US championship, but by that time he had accomplished quite a bit. He won the Marshall Chess Club championship at 15, had tied for second in the US Junior championship one year and tied for first the following year. Evans had just won the 1951 US Open right before the 1951 US championship. He had also won a gold medal as second reserve board at the 1950 Olympiad in Dubrovnik. Evans would play in eight Olympiads, winning three individual medals (gold, silver, bronze) and two team medals (gold, silver) over the years 1950-1976 (http://www.olimpbase.org/players/a4...).

Herbert Seidman -- Seidman played in several US championships. He was NY state champion twice and played in the 1945 USA v USSR radio match (board 8).

Max Pavey -- Pavey played in two USA v USSR matches (third board in 1954 and sixth board in 1955). He was NY state champion once and Manhattan Chess Club champion once. He finished high in several US Opens, but did not win one. 1951 would be his highest finish (3rd) in a US championship. Pavey is known for a couple of early wins against Fischer, a simul win and Fischer vs M Pavey, 1956.

James T Sherwin -- Sherwin was NY state champion in 1951 and would win the US speed championship in 1956-7 and 1959-60. He would play in a number of US championships, usually finishing around third or fourth.

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

Nicolas Rossolimo -- Rossolimo was born in the Ukraine, moved to France as a young man, and moved again to the United States in middle age. In France, he placed second behind Jose Raul Capablanca in a 1938 Paris tournament. Rossolimo was French champion in 1948 and Paris champion several times. He also drew two matches (1948 and 1949) with Savielly Tartakower. In the US, he won the 1951 US Open ahead of Samuel Reshevsky on tiebreak. Rossolimo played for both France (twice) and the US (three times) in five Olympiads from 1950-1972, winning one individual silver and one individual bronze medals and two team silver medals (http://www.olimpbase.org/players/si...). He ran the "Rossolimo Chess Studio" in New York for many years. <jessicafischerqueen> has a two-part video biography of Rossolimo (http://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...).

Hans Jack Berliner -- Berliner played in four US championships, finishing no higher than fifth. He is best known for becoming the fifth World Correspondence Chess champion in 1960. Berliner was also active in early programming work on computer chess.

Saul Wachs -- Wachs was a promising young master from Philadelphia who won the 1951 US Junior championship.

Eliot Hearst -- Hearst was a promising young master who decided to pursue an academic career. He won the NY state championship in 1950 and was a member of the winning US team at the 1960 World Student Team Championship. In 2008, he published a book on blindfold chess (http://www.blindfoldchess.net/).

Karl Burger -- Burger

Carl Pilnick -- Pilnick

Paul Brandts -- Brandts

Ariel Mengarini -- Mengarini won the 1943 US Amateur championship with a perfect 11-0 score. He also had a critical role in the outcome of the 1951 US championship when he beat Reshevsky (A Mengarini vs Reshevsky, 1951), the first loss by Reshevsky in a US championship tournament since the first event in 1936.

THE CROSSTABLE

          B E S P S B R B W H B P B M
Bisguier  X = = 1 1 = = = = 1 1 1 1 1 10
Evans     = X = 1 1 = = = 1 0 1 1 = 1  9
Seidman   = = X 0 0 0 = 1 1 1 1 1 = 1  8
Pavey     0 0 1 X = 1 = = = = 0 1 1 1  7.5
Sherwin   0 0 1 = X 1 = = = = = = 1 1  7.5
Bernstein = = 1 0 0 X = 1 0 1 = 0 1 1  7
Rossolimo = = = = = = X 0 0 1 = = 1 1  7
Berliner  = = 0 = = 0 1 X 1 1 1 0 0 =  6.5
Wachs     = 0 0 = = 1 1 0 X 0 1 0 1 1  6.5
Hearst    0 1 0 = = 0 0 0 1 X 0 1 1 1  6
Burger    0 0 0 1 = = = 0 0 1 X 1 1 0  5.5
Pilnick   0 0 0 0 = 1 = 1 1 0 0 X 0 1  5
Brandts   0 = = 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 X 0  3
Mengarini 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 = 0 0 1 0 1 X  2.5

Round 1 -- 29 May 1954
Berliner vs K Burger, 1954
(E85) King's Indian, Samisch, Orthodox Variation, 22 moves, 1-0
Round 1 -- 29 May 1954
S Wachs vs Larry Evans, 1954
(E67) King's Indian, Fianchetto, 42 moves, 0-1
Round 1 -- 29 May 1948
Seidman vs J Sherwin, 1954
(B56) Sicilian, 37 moves, 0-1
Round 1 -- 29 May 1954
P Brandts vs C Pilnick, 1954
(A90) Dutch, 31 moves, 1-0
Round 1 -- 29 May 1954
M Pavey vs Bisguier, 1954
(D13) Queen's Gambit Declined Slav, Exchange Variation, 53 moves, 0-1
Round 1 -- 29 May 1954
A Mengarini vs Rossolimo, 1954
(B20) Sicilian, 54 moves, 0-1
Round 1 -- 29 May 1954
S Bernstein vs E Hearst, 1954
(B20) Sicilian, 67 moves, 1-0
Round 2 -- 30 May 1954
K Burger vs A Mengarini, 1954
(E80) King's Indian, Samisch Variation, 50 moves, 0-1
Round 2 -- 30 May 1954
C Pilnick vs Berliner, 1954
(A07) King's Indian Attack, 48 moves, 1-0
Round 2 -- 30 May 1954
Larry Evans vs S Bernstein, 1954
(D02) Queen's Pawn Game, 47 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 2 -- 30 May 1954
Bisguier vs Rossolimo, 1954
(C77) Ruy Lopez, 25 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 2 -- 30 May 1954
J Sherwin vs S Wachs, 1954
(E64) King's Indian, Fianchetto, Yugoslav System, 26 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 2 -- 30 May 1954
M Pavey vs Seidman, 1954
(D72) Neo-Grunfeld, 5.cd, Main line, 68 moves, 1-0
Round 2 -- 30 May 1954
E Hearst vs P Brandts, 1954
(A17) English, 38 moves, 1-0
Round 3 -- 31 May 1954
Seidman vs Bisguier, 1954
(C80) Ruy Lopez, Open, 18 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 3 -- 31 May 1954
S Wachs vs M Pavey, 1954
(D78) Neo-Grunfeld, 6.O-O c6, 38 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 3 -- 31 May 1954
S Bernstein vs J Sherwin, 1954
(B65) Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...Be7 Defense, 9...Nxd4, 24 moves, 0-1
Round 3 -- 31 May 1954
P Brandts vs Larry Evans, 1954
(D44) Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, 35 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 3 -- 31 Aug 1954
A Mengarini vs C Pilnick, 1954
(A47) Queen's Indian, 27 moves, 0-1
Round 3 -- 31 Aug 1954
Rossolimo vs K Burger, 1954
(B30) Sicilian, 54 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 4 -- 1 Jun 1954
Bisguier vs K Burger, 1954
(A97) Dutch, Ilyin-Genevsky, 41 moves, 1-0
Round 4 -- 1 Jun 1954
Larry Evans vs Berliner, 1954
(C00) French Defense, 30 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 4 -- 1 Jun 1954
J Sherwin vs P Brandts, 1954
(D35) Queen's Gambit Declined, 102 moves, 1-0
Round 4 -- 1 Jun 1954
E Hearst vs A Mengarini, 1954
(E76) King's Indian, Four Pawns Attack, 44 moves, 1-0
Round 4 -- 1 Jun 1954
Seidman vs S Wachs, 1954
(C01) French, Exchange, 51 moves, 1-0
Round 4 -- 1 Jun 1954
M Pavey vs S Bernstein, 1954
(D07) Queen's Gambit Declined, Chigorin Defense, 44 moves, 1-0
Round 5 -- 2 Jun 1954
Rossolimo vs E Hearst, 1954
(B93) Sicilian, Najdorf, 6.f4, 46 moves, 1-0
Round 5 -- 2 Jun 1954
K Burger vs C Pilnick, 1954
(E60) King's Indian Defense, 32 moves, 1-0
Round 5 -- 2 Jun 1954
P Brandts vs M Pavey, 1954
(D90) Grunfeld, 37 moves, 0-1
Round 5 -- 2 Jun 1954
A Mengarini vs Larry Evans, 1954
(B53) Sicilian, 46 moves, 0-1
Round 5 -- 2 Jun 1954
S Bernstein vs Seidman, 1954
(A48) King's Indian, 48 moves, 1-0
Round 5 -- 2 Jun 1954
S Wachs vs Bisguier, 1954
(D02) Queen's Pawn Game, 55 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 5 -- 2 Jun 1954
Berliner vs J Sherwin, 1954
(E86) King's Indian, Samisch, Orthodox, 7.Nge2 c6, 42 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 6 -- 3 Jun 1954
Bisguier vs C Pilnick, 1954
(C02) French, Advance, 42 moves, 1-0
Round 6 -- 3 Jun 1954
E Hearst vs K Burger, 1954
(B22) Sicilian, Alapin, 56 moves, 0-1
Round 6 -- 3 Jun 1954
Larry Evans vs Rossolimo, 1954
(E67) King's Indian, Fianchetto, 54 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 6 -- 3 Jun 1954
M Pavey vs Berliner, 1954
(E67) King's Indian, Fianchetto, 23 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 6 -- 3 Jun 1954
S Wachs vs S Bernstein, 1954
(E04) Catalan, Open, 5.Nf3, 28 moves, 1-0
Round 6 -- 3 Jun 1954
J Sherwin vs A Mengarini, 1954
(D26) Queen's Gambit Accepted, 31 moves, 1-0
Round 6 -- 3 Jun 1954
Seidman vs P Brandts, 1954
(C86) Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack, 64 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 7 -- 5 Jun 1954
K Burger vs Larry Evans, 1954
(E59) Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line, 22 moves, 0-1
Round 7 -- 5 Jun 1954
Rossolimo vs J Sherwin, 1954
(B62) Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer, 22 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 7 -- 5 Jun 1954
P Brandts vs S Wachs, 1954
(E62) King's Indian, Fianchetto, 43 moves, 0-1
Round 7 -- 5 Jun 1954
Berliner vs Seidman, 1954
(D86) Grunfeld, Exchange, 27 moves, 0-1
Round 7 -- 5 Jun 1954
A Mengarini vs M Pavey, 1954
(C26) Vienna, 56 moves, 0-1
Round 7 -- 4 Jun 1954
C Pilnick vs E Hearst, 1954
(E38) Nimzo-Indian, Classical, 4...c5, 62 moves, 0-1
Round 7 -- 05 Jun 1954
S Bernstein vs Bisguier, 1954
(C77) Ruy Lopez, 55 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 8 -- 6 Jun 1954
Bisguier vs E Hearst, 1954
(D40) Queen's Gambit Declined, Semi-Tarrasch, 44 moves, 1-0
Round 8 -- 6 Jun 1954
J Sherwin vs K Burger, 1954
(D99) Grunfeld Defense, Smyslov, 17 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 8 -- 6 Jun 1954
M Pavey vs Rossolimo, 1954
(D45) Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, 18 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 8 -- 6 Jun 1954
Larry Evans vs C Pilnick, 1954
(D91) Grunfeld, 5.Bg5, 53 moves, 1-0
Round 8 -- 6 Jun 1954
S Bernstein vs P Brandts, 1954
(C77) Ruy Lopez, 25 moves, 1-0
Round 8 -- 6 Jun 1954
Seidman vs A Mengarini, 1954
(B10) Caro-Kann, 44 moves, 1-0
Round 8 -- 6 Jun 1954
S Wachs vs Berliner, 1954
(A45) Queen's Pawn Game, 49 moves, 0-1
Round 9 -- 07 Jun 1954
Rossolimo vs Seidman, 1954
(D93) Grunfeld, with Bf4 & e3, 55 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 9 -- 7 Jun 1954
E Hearst vs Larry Evans, 1954
(B93) Sicilian, Najdorf, 6.f4, 56 moves, 1-0
Round 9 -- 07 jun 1954
K Burger vs M Pavey, 1954
(A52) Budapest Gambit, 35 moves, 1-0
Round 9 -- 7 Jun 1954
P Brandts vs Bisguier, 1954
(A51) Budapest Gambit, 38 moves, 0-1
Round 9 -- 7 Jun 1954
C Pilnick vs J Sherwin, 1954
(A07) King's Indian Attack, 28 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 9 -- 7 Jun 1954
Berliner vs S Bernstein, 1954
(D35) Queen's Gambit Declined, 27 moves, 0-1
Round 9 -- 7 Jun 1954
A Mengarini vs S Wachs, 1954
(E61) King's Indian, 33 moves, 0-1
Round 10 -- 8 Jun 1954
Bisguier vs Larry Evans, 1954
(D94) Grunfeld, 59 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 10 -- 8 Jun 1954
Seidman vs K Burger, 1954
(B25) Sicilian, Closed, 23 moves, 1-0
Round 10 -- 8 Jun 1954
S Wachs vs Rossolimo, 1954
(E60) King's Indian Defense, 49 moves, 1-0
Round 10 -- 8 Jun 1954
M Pavey vs C Pilnick, 1954
(A27) English, Three Knights System, 52 moves, 1-0
Round 10 -- 8 Jun 1954
J Sherwin vs E Hearst, 1954
(E14) Queen's Indian, 28 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 10 -- 8 Jun 1954
S Bernstein vs A Mengarini, 1954
(B20) Sicilian, 57 moves, 1-0
Round 10 -- 8 Jun 1954
P Brandts vs Berliner, 1954
(E67) King's Indian, Fianchetto, 66 moves, 1-0
Round 11 -- 9 Jun 1954
Berliner vs Bisguier, 1954
(E27) Nimzo-Indian, Samisch Variation, 39 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 11 -- 9 Jun 1954
C Pilnick vs Seidman, 1954
(A07) King's Indian Attack, 17 moves, 0-1
Round 11 -- 9 Jun 1954
K Burger vs S Wachs, 1954
(E80) King's Indian, Samisch Variation, 22 moves, 0-1
Round 11 -- 9 Jun 1954
Larry Evans vs J Sherwin, 1954
(E72) King's Indian, 51 moves, 1-0
Round 11 -- 9 Jun 1954
E Hearst vs M Pavey, 1954
(B45) Sicilian, Taimanov, 20 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 11 -- 9 Jun 1954
Rossolimo vs S Bernstein, 1954
(C50) Giuoco Piano, 27 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 11 -- 9 Jun 1954
A Mengarini vs P Brandts, 1954
(D63) Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox Defense, 52 moves, 1-0
Round 12 -- 12 Jun 1954
Bisguier vs J Sherwin, 1954
(D01) Richter-Veresov Attack, 44 moves, 1-0
Round 12 -- 12 Jun 1954
P Brandts vs Rossolimo, 1954
(A99) Dutch, Ilyin-Genevsky Variation with b3, 51 moves, 0-1
Round 12 -- 12 Jun 1954
S Bernstein vs K Burger, 1954
(B65) Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack, 7...Be7 Defense, 9...Nxd4, 26 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 12 -- 12 Jun 1954
M Pavey vs Larry Evans, 1954
(D47) Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, 25 moves, 0-1
Round 12 -- 12 Jun 1954
Seidman vs E Hearst, 1954
(C64) Ruy Lopez, Classical, 52 moves, 1-0
Round 12 -- 12 Jun 1954
S Wachs vs C Pilnick, 1954
(D02) Queen's Pawn Game, 56 moves, 0-1
Round 12 -- 12 Jun 1954
Berliner vs A Mengarini, 1954
(E25) Nimzo-Indian, Samisch, 64 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 13 -- 13 Jun 1954
Rossolimo vs Berliner, 1954
(C07) French, Tarrasch, 23 moves, 0-1
Round 13 -- 13 Jun 1954
E Hearst vs S Wachs, 1954
(E76) King's Indian, Four Pawns Attack, 28 moves, 1-0
Round 13 -- 13 Jun 1954
A Mengarini vs Bisguier, 1954
(E34) Nimzo-Indian, Classical, Noa Variation, 54 moves, 0-1
Round 13 -- 13 Jun 1954
Larry Evans vs Seidman, 1954
(B45) Sicilian, Taimanov, 32 moves, 1/2-1/2
Round 13 -- 13 Jun 1954
K Burger vs P Brandts, 1954
(D63) Queen's Gambit Declined, Orthodox Defense, 45 moves, 1-0
Round 13 -- 13 Jun 1954
C Pilnick vs S Bernstein, 1954
(D43) Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, 51 moves, 1-0
88 games

» View all game collections by crawfb5
» Search entire game collection library
» Clone this game collection (copy it to your account)
» FAQ: Help with Game Collections