At the time nobody could have imagined the impact on the chess world, but on March 3, 1943, Robert James Fischer was born in Chicago.
Also in 1943, the US Amateur championship was won by Ariel Mengarini. Herman Steiner won the California Open State Championship with a perfect score of 17-0.
Reshevsky defeated Isaac Kashdan 7.5-3.5 their playoff match for the US Championship. In the Washington (DC) Divan Chess Club Championship, Reuben Fine scored a perfect 7-0 ahead of Ariel Mengarini, Oscar Shapiro and Martin Stark.
In Chicago, Herman Hahlbohm won the city championship with a 6-1 score to finish ahead of Samuel Factor. In the Class A Finals of the US Speed Championship Reuben Fine scored a perfect 11-0 and finished ahead of Samuel Reshevsky and Abraham Kupchik.
Most players, if they remember him at all, think of Al Horowitz (November 15, 1907 – January 18, 1973) for the books he wrote about chess. Few will remember that he was a leading player in the US during the 1930s and 1940s.
He was US Open Champion in 1936, 1938, and 1943. In 1941, he lost a match (+0−3=13) with Reshevsky for the U. Chess and he played in four Olympiads (1931, 1935, 1937 and 1950); the first three of which were won by the US.
Additionally, in the famous USA vs. USSR radio match in 1945 in which the US got crushed, Horowitz scored one of the only two wins for the US when he defeated Salo Flohr. In the return match in 1946 he split his match against Isaac Boleslavsky.
Chessmetrics lists Horowitz at number ten in the world on their 1943 rating list which puts him in a group of players like Miguel Najdorf. Paul Schmidt, Andor Lilienthal, Vladimir, Reuben Fine, Isaac Boleslavsky and Igor Bondarevsky. Clearly, although he only had the IM title he was of GM strength.
Back in 1943 from August 14th to 24th Horowitz romped through the New York State Championship by finishing first in a field of 16 in which he was held to only two draws.
The tournament developed into a duel between Horowitz and Anthony Santasiere, both of whom soon left the field behind and neither lost a single game. Santasiere drew two games (with Katz and Ottern) in the opening rounds, but trailed Horowitz. When the two met in the last round Horowitz needed only a draw to finish first, but Santasiere could tie for first if he won. Strange it may seem, Santasiere took no chances and made no attempt at winning and settled for a draw by repetition.
Benjamin Altman, champion of the Queens Chess Club, finished in third place. He played aggressive chess and fully deserved his prize. Boston was represented by 5 players, including Massachusetts Champion Gerald B. Katz, who tied with Harlow B. Daly for 5th. Katz would have higher in the standings but faded near the end.
Frank Marshall showed up and gave a simultaneous exhibition and he and Horowitz shared first place in a ten-second per move tournament. There was also another speed tournament that was won by l. S. Turover of Washington, DC.
You will want to read the interesting article by Susanna Sturgis whose grandfather was George Sturgis, the first president of the USCF from 1939-1942 and Ward Mayhew Parker Mitchell.
Ward M. P. Mitchell - I. A. Horowitz
Result: 0-1
Site: U.S. Open Syracuse, NY
Date: 1943.08.16
Two Knights Defense
[...] 1.e4 e5 2.♘f3 ♘c6 3.♗c4 ♘f6 In the Two Knights Defense black invites an attack on f7, If white accepts the offer, the game quickly takes on a tactical character. 4.♘g5 d5 After this white has little option but to play 5.exd5, since both the B and e4-Pawn are attacked. 5.exd5 Here 5...Nxd5 extremely risky. Albert Pinkus unsuccessfully tried to prove it satisfactory with analysis in the 1943 and 1944 issues of Chess Review. 5...♘a5
5...b5 Ulvestad introduced this in a 1941 article in Chess Review. White has only one good reply: 6.♗f1 This protects g2 so he can answer 6...Qxd5? with 7.Nc3. Black's best response is to transpose to the Fritz Variation with 6...Nd4, making another advantage of 6.Bf1 apparent-the bishop is not attacked as it would be if white had played 6.Be2. 6...♘d4 7.c3 ♘xd5
5...♘d4 Alexander Fritz (1857-1932) suggested this move to Carl Schlechter, who wrote about it in a 1904 issue of Deutsche Schachzeitung. In 1907 Fritz himself wrote an article about his move in the Swedish journal Tidskrift f�r Schack. 6.c3 White's best reply. Now the game often continues: 6...b5 7.♗f1 making it very simillar to the Ulvestad Variation.
6.♗b5
6.d3 This is an attempt to hold the gambit pawn with 6.d3. It's known as the Morphy Variation or the Kieseritzky Attack and it not popular because it has long been known that black obtains good chances after: 6...h6 7.♘f3 e4 8.♕e2 ♘xc4 9.dxc4 ♗c5 And white's position will prove more difficult to play. Bronstein once tried the piece sacrifice 8.dxe4!? with success, but its soundness is doubtful.
6...c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.♕f3 Today this isn't played nearly as often as the retreat 8. Be2, but it gives better results, plus it is favored by Stockfish. 8.Qf3 was popular in the 1800s and revived by Bogoljubow. 8...cxb5 This is quite risky. Safer was 8...Rb8 9.♕xa8 ♗c5 10.♕f3
10.O-O O-O 11.d3 Too passive. 11. Ne4 was correct. 11...♘b7 12.b4 ♗b6 Situru,M (2382)-Kunte,A (2561)/Kuala Lumpur 2005. Black is better.
10.♘e4 Works out well for white after 10...♘xe4 11.♕xe4 O-O 12.O-O ♗b7 13.♕xe5 Varney,Z (2000)-Eames,R (2187)/London 2016
10...♗b7 11.♕e2
11.♕g3 Didn't turn out well for white after 11...O-O 12.O-O h6 13.♘h3 ♘e4 14.♕d3 ♕b6 15.♘c3 ♖d8 as in Matsenko,A (1953)-Boskovic,M (1864)/Herceg Novi 2008
11...O-O 12.c3 White absolutely needed to play 12. d3 so that his N could retreat to e4. Now he has a greatly inferior position.
12.d3 h6 13.♘e4 ♗b6 14.♘bc3 is at least equal, maybe even a little bit in white's favor.
12...h6 Should white retreat the N or fork the N and B with 13.b4? 13.♘f3 (13.b4 ♗xg2 14.♖g1 ♕d5 15.bxc5 hxg5 is also good for black. ) 13...♘c4
13...e4 This lands a harder punch... 14.♘e5 ♗d6 15.♘g4 ♘d5 Threatening ...Nf4 16.g3 f5 17.♘e3 f4 with a winning attack.
14.b4 His last chance at getting reasonable play was 14.O-O. Now Horowitz finishes him off in great style. 14...e4 15.♘d4 ♗xd4 16.cxd4 ♕xd4 17.♘c3 ♘e5 18.O-O Black to move and win. 18...♘f3 19.♔h1 (19.gxf3 exf3 and white can't avoid ...Qg4+ followed by mate.) 19...♘g4 20.♕xb5
20.g3 is best, but it also leaves black with a winning attack. 20...e3 21.fxe3 ♘g5 22.♖f3 ♘xe3 23.♕xe3 ♗xf3 24.♔g1 ♕d7 25.d3 ♖e8 26.♕d2 ♘h3 27.♔f1 ♕d4 mates in 3.
20.gxf3 allows a mate in 6 20...exf3 21.♕e4 ♘xf2 22.♖xf2 ♕xf2 23.♕g4 ♕e1 24.♕g1 f2 and mate next move.
20...♕xf2 Offering the Q is pretty, but there was a forced mate with 20...Nxf2+
20...♘xf2 21.♖xf2 ♕xf2 22.♗b2 ♘e1 23.♕e2 e3 24.♕xf2 exf2 25.h3 f1=♕ mate next move.
21.♕e2 (21.♖xf2 ♘xf2#) 21...♕h4 22.gxf3 exf3 Black resigned. (22...exf3 23.♕f2 ♘xf2 24.♔g1 ♘h3 25.♔h1 f2 26.♘d5 ♗xd5#)
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