The organizers planned for a large number of entries who would play preliminary round robins to select eight qualifiers to join the eight seeded players (Reshevsky, Fine, Dake, Kashdan, Kupchik, Steiner, Horowitz and Kevitz).
They actually got very few advance entries for the preliminaries because of the steep $10 entry fee which is almost $200 in today's purchasing power. In those days you could buy a Studebaker car for $600 and fill it up with gas for 10 cents a gallon. The average wage was $1,713 a year (about $34,000 today). As a result, officials cut the entry fee in half and 48 players entered.
Three of the entrants generated a lot of spectator interest. There was Albert Simonson who was the youngest player in the tournament, but he was a well known player at the Manhattan Chess Club. He was also an excellent bridge and backgammon player.
Another was George Treysman who at the advanced age of 55 was playing in his first tournament even though he was a professional coffeehouse player, scratching out a living by hustling dimes in speed games. By the way, Treysman was a superb endgame player. After one knows all the tricks it still requires technique to win a won game.
Then there was Arthur Dake from way out in Portland, Oregon who had earned himself a medal for his +13 -0 =5 score as a member of the US Olympiad team in 1935. Also, a few months earlier he had defeated Herman Steiner in a match for the Pacific Coast championship.
In the championship finals Dake and Kashdan took the early lead. Kashdan started off with a score of 4-0 and Treysman was at 3.5-0.5. Then by round 9 Dake was undefeated and leading with 7 points.
And what about the super GMs Fine and Reshevsky? Reshevsky was having what he later called a nightmare...he started with a win and a draw then lost to Sidney Bernstein and Al Horowitz. After that, he came alive and managed an amazing string, scoring 9 wins and a draw in the next 10 rounds.
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| Reshevsky |
Fine had been drawing too many games and was out of contention. Meanwhile, Dake collapsed scoring only two points in his final six games, including a loss to Reshevsky.
Going into the final round the leaders were Reshevsky and Simonson (11.0), Treysman (10.5), Fine (9.5), Kashdan (9.0), Dake and Kupchik (8.5) and Kevitz (7.0)
In the final round both Simonson and Treysman stumbled. Simonson lost when he tried to force the issue against Factor and Treysman lost a neat ending to to Fine. Reshevsky drew with Kupchik and so finished first by a half point.
The following thriller was played in the last round.
Arnold S. Denker (1914 - 2005, 90 years old) was born in New York. In his youth he was a boxer, but his true love was chess. He won the Manhattan Chess Club championship six times (1940, 1944, 1950, 1950-51, 1954, 1969-70) and was the US Champion in 1944. He was awarded the Emeritus GM title in 1981.
After his retirement from a business career Denker resumed playing and became an important chess organizer. In 2004 the USCF bestowed upon him the title of Dean of American Chess. Chessmetrics assigns him a retroactive rating of 2677 on their January 1935 list placing him at number 8 in the world behind Alekhine, Euwe, Flohr, Bogoljubow, Kashdan, Lilienthal and Reshevsky.
Israel A. Horowitz (1907 - 1973, 65 years old) was awarded the IM title in 1950. He was a leading player in the US during the 1930's and was US Open Champion in 1936, 1938 and 1943. In 1941 he lost a hard fought match (+0, =13, -3) with Samuel Reshevsky for the US Championship. He played on the Olympiad teams in 1931, 1935, 1937 and 1950, scoring +29, =19, -3.
He authored a number of books and in 1933 founded Chess Review which was acquired by Chess Life in 1969. His best Chessmetrics ratinf was in 1943 when he was rated 2680 and number ten in the world behind Reshevsky, Alekhine, Botvinnik, Euwe, Keres, Smyslov, Stahlberg, Najdorf and Schmidt.
Israel A. Horowitz - Arnold Denker
Result: 0-1
Site: US Championship, New York City
Date: 1936.05.16
Sicilian: Kan Variation
[...] 1.e4 c5 2.♘f3 e6 3.♘c3 a6 4.d4 cxd4 5.♘xd4 We have arrived at the Kan Variation in which black plays an early a6 to prevent white from playing Nb5, a common themes in many variations of the Sicilian. It's similar to the Najdorf, but in the Kan Variation ...a6 is played earlier. The Kan allows black greater flexibility based on white's moves. 5...b5 Unusual, but by no means bad. Other good moves are 5...Nc6 and 5...Qc7 6.♗e2 Usual is 5.Bd3, but the quieter text has also yielded good results for white. 6...♗b7 7.♗f3 This moves looks awkward, but it is the move that is most often seen.
21...h6 22.♗xf6 ♗xf6 23.♖gg1 While not really bad, this move is based on a faulty plan.
28...♖xe4 29.♕f1 ♕d5 30.♘d4 ♖e3 31.♖c2 ♖be8 32.♖g2 ♕c4 33.♖d1
7.O-O Here black almost always plays 7...Qc7 because taking the offered P , while theoretically possible, gives black a difficult game. For example... 7...b4 8.♘a4 ♗xe4 9.♗f3 ♘f6 10.♗xe4 ♘xe4 11.♖e1 d5 12.c4 bxc3 13.♘xc3 ♘xc3 14.♕h5 ♘e4 15.♘xe6 g6 16.♘c7+ ♕xc7 17.♕xd5 f5 18.♕xa8 ♗c5 with an unclear position. In Shootouts from this position white scored +2 -0 =3 but the games included some very difficult endings such a a R and Ps vs. two Ns and Ps
7...♕c7 8.O-O d6 9.a4 b4 10.♘a2 ♘f6 11.♖e1 ♘bd7 12.♘xb4
12.♗d2 is a bit too passive, but it cannot be considered bad. 12...♘c5 13.♗xb4 ♘cxe4 14.♕d3 d5 15.♗xf8 ♔xf8 16.b4 and black has a slight advantage. Molina Rodriguez,B (2131)-Martinez Ramirez,E (2257)/ Padron ESP 2011
12...♘e5 13.c3
13.♗g5 ♗e7 14.♗xf6 ♗xf6 Kuparadze,G (2377)-Milov,V (2690)/Baku 2008. Now white should have played 15.Be2 which is about equal.
13...♗e7 14.♗g5
14.a5 O-O 15.♗g5 ♖fd8 16.♗xf6 ♗xf6 17.♗e2 is about even. Brenjo,S (2320) -Bistric,F (2330)/Banja Vrucica BIH 1991
14...O-O 15.♘d3 ♘xf3+ 16.gxf3 White has yielded the B pair and weakened his K-side, but his position offers some reasonable chances of attack on the half open g-file. 16...♖ab8 17.♔h1
17.c4 is a tempting P offer that black must refuse. 17...♕xc4 18.♖c1 ♕a2 19.b3 h6 20.♗xf6 ♗xf6 21.♖a1
17.c4 is correctly met by 17...♘h5 18.♕c1 g6 19.c5 with complications.
17...♗a8 18.♕d2 ♖fc8 19.♖g1 Black is facing some danger on the g-file and so the correct defense was 19...Kh8 after which the chances would remain about equal. 19...♕c4 20.♕e3 ♔f8 The correct move was 20...Kh8 21.♖g3 This is too slow and fails to take advantage of black's last move.
21.e5 dxe5
21...♘d5 is much worse as after 22.♗xe7+ ♘xe7 (22...♔xe7 23.exd6+ ♔xd6 24.♕e5+ ♔d7 25.♕xg7 is winning for white.) 23.exd6 white would be left with a winning position.
23.♖ag1 was quite playable. 23...♕xa4 Black faces dire consequences if he plays this. (23...♖e8⩲) 24.♘xe6+ fxe6 25.♕f4 ♔e8 26.♖xg7 ♗xg7 27.♖xg7 ♖b7 28.♖g8+ ♔d7 29.♕f7+ ♔c6 30.♖xc8+ and wins.
23.♖ag1 ♖d8 24.a5 ♗xd4 25.cxd4 ♖b3 26.♖xg7 ♕xd3 27.♖g8+ ♔e7 28.♖xd8 ♗xe4 29.♕xe4 ♕xe4 30.fxe4 ♔xd8 31.♖g8+ ♔e7 32.♖a8 ♖xb2 33.♖a7+ ♔f6 34.f3 ♖b4 35.♖xa6 ♖xd4 with a likely draw because white's R is in front of the a-Pawn.
23...♖e8 24.♖gc1 This is hard to explain. Abandoning his K-side plans will cost white the game as black quickly goes on the attack there himself. 24...♗g5 25.f4 e5 26.f3
26.fxg5 exd4 27.♕g3 (27.cxd4 ♖xe4 28.♖xc4 ♖xe3+ and black wins.) 27...♗xe4+ 28.f3 ♗xd3 29.gxh6 ♗g6 leaves black with much the superior position.
26...exf4
26...exd4?! is clearly worse 27.cxd4 ♕e6 28.fxg5 hxg5 29.♘f2 ♖xb2 with equal chances.
27.♕e2 Getting the out of the Rs line of fire with 27.Qd2 would have been a little better. 27...f5 A nice P offer which white can hardly refuse. 28.♘xf5
28.b3 ♖xb3 29.♕a2
29.♘xb3 fxe4 White is going to the slaughter. 30.fxe4 ♖xe4 31.♕g2 ♖e8
29...♕xd3 30.♕xb3 fxe4 and black is winning. Just one example... 31.♖d1 exf3 32.♖xd3 f2+ 33.♖f3 ♖e1+ 34.♖xe1 fxe1=♕+ 35.♔g2 ♗xf3+ 36.♔xf3 ♕h1+ and wins. 33.♘b4 allows him to play on. 33...♕c8 34.♘bc2 ♖3e5 35.♕d3 and black can't chalk up the point yet.
33...♗h4 This can probably be called a serious error because against the correct response almost all of black's advantage would have disappeared.
33...♗f6 and Black can celebrate victory 34.♘xf4 ♕xf1+ 35.♖xf1 ♗xd4 36.cxd4 ♖xf3 37.♖xf3 ♗xf3 38.♔g1 ♗xg2 39.♔xg2 with a won ending.
33...♗f6 34.♖f2 ♗xd4 35.cxd4 ♕xd4 36.♖dd2 ♖xf3 37.♖xf3 ♖e3 38.♖df2 ♖xd3 and wins
34.♖g1 White crumbles.
34.♘xf4 nearly equalizes after 34...♖e1 35.♘de6+ ♕xe6 36.♘xe6+ ♖8xe6 37.♖xe1 ♖xe1 38.♕xe1 ♗xe1 39.♖g6 with a very difficult ending. In Shootouts white scored +0 -2 =3
34...g5 Even better was 34...Bf6, but even after the text black is winning without much difficulty. 35.♖g4 ♕xd4 Another poor move that gives white the opportunity to get back into the game.
35...♖e1! was crushing. 36.♖xe1 ♖xe1 37.♕xe1 ♗xe1 38.♘xe1 ♕f1+
36.cxd4 Black is left with a minimal advantage and, in fact, it is now he that must be careful not to allow white to gain the upper hand! 36...♖xf3 This should have allowed white to equalize.
36...♗xf3+ 37.♖g2 ♖8e4 (37...♗xg2+ 38.♔xg2 f3+ 39.♔h1 and white is winning.) 38.♖dd2 g4 What's the evaluation of this crazy position?! Stockfish puts white's advantage at about 1.5 Ps. In Shootouts the engine backed up its evaluation by scoring +4 -0 =1 for white.
37.♕g2 Losing immediately.
37.d5 would be a reprieve 37...♖xf1+ 38.♖xf1 ♗xd5+ 39.♔g1 ♗c4 40.♖fxf4+ gxf4 41.♖xf4+ ♗f6 42.♖xc4 ♖e2 43.b3 and a draw is likely.
37...♖xd3 Pinning the Q and winning outright. An amazing game! It's quite possible that the last moves were played in time pressure. (37...♖xd3 38.♖f1 ♗xg2+ 39.♖xg2 f3 40.♖c2 g4 etc.) Powered by Aquarium
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