William Lombardy Gets Squashed Like A Bug

In 1955 the top rated players in the US were: 

1) Samuel Reshevsky 2766 
2) Larry Evans 2629 
3) Robert Byrne 2621 
4-5) Arthur Bisguier and Donald Byrne 2587 
6) Herman Steiner 2507 
7) Max Pavey 2476 
8) Nicolas Rossolimo 2462 
9) Isaac Kashdan 2439 
10) Herbert Seidman 2434 
11) Arnold Denker 2432 
12-13) George Kramer and James T. Sherwin 2404
14) Arthur Dake 2400 

     In those days class titles were: "Grandmaster" which required a rating of over 2700 and only included Reshevsky, those rated over 2500 were “Senior Masters” and those with a rating of 2300-2499 were “Masters.” The master list totaled 36 players. 
     Some players in the master category merited special mention. It was noted that Norman T. Whitaker (2313) had been kicked out of the USCF and would not be on any future lists. Whitaker was the first player in the history the USCF to have been kicked out. In December of 1954 Whitaker had circulated a mimeographed letter which in the opinion of the Executive Committee “transcended all bounds of free speech in its attacks upon the character and integrity of USCF officials.” In addition, Whitaker was barred forever from taking part in tournaments, matches or other chess event sponsored by the USCF and what's more, if he played in any tournament it would not be rated. Whitaker sued the USCF for what amounts to about $900,000 today...for damages resulting from the publication of a brief reference to his connection with the Lindberg kidnapping hoax. I was unable to discover when or how the Whitaker vs. USCF issue was finally resolved. 
     It was also noted that in order to remain on the master list, Curt Brasket, Arthur Dake, Atillio Di Camillo, Jack Moscowitz, Carl Pilnick, Miroslav Turiansky, Anthony Santasiere and Walter Suesman would have to earn an average rating of 2300 or better in tournaments meeting the standards of a master contest.  They did.
     Also appearing on the master list were three foreign players who were USCF members: Geza Fuster (2367) and Paul Vaitonis (2359) of Canada and Arturo Pomar (2478) of Spain. 
     One of the regular features of Chess Life was the column "Games by USCF Members" by John W. Collins in which he annotated interesting games by ordinary USCF members. In one such game in the January 1955 issue Collins wrote in the introduction, "New York City's most promising young player learns that you can't be too careful, especially with the black pieces."  The promising young player was William Lombardy, who at the time was barely a master with a rating of 2302.  His opponent had a provisional rating of 1973.  In those days a provisional rating was based on one tournament, not a specific number of games.
     Apparently Lombardy learned the lesson well because I remember watching him play and words that come to mind to describe his games are stodgy, monotonous, tedious and ho hum, just to name a few and accompanying time trouble was not infrequent. When I met Lombardy in the mid-1970s he was not the sad old man he was to become. He was gregarious and always willing to sign an autograph, pose for a picture or chat with fans.
     The game was played in the 1954 Marshall Chess Club Championship which was won by John W. Collins; Lombardy would win the club championship the following year.