The club's vice-president Sidney F. Kenton raised $5800 (0ver $78,000 in today's dollars) in prize money. Each player received $250 (nearly $3,100 today) for playing.
In those days $250 went a long ways. A dozen eggs cost $0.72, white bread was $0.14 a loaf, sliced bacon $0.77 a pound, steak was $0.91 a pound and half gallon of milk was $0.44.
If you live in the United States, here's a fact you are probably not aware of: almost all chickens that we eat today come from the winner of the 1948 Chicken of Tomorrow Contest.
In 1948, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (aka the A&P) sponsored a national contest to give the world a better chicken.
At the time A&P was the largest supermarket chain in America and it was a pioneer in the high-volume, low-cost food.
In 1945 the Justice Department had convicted the chain of criminal restraint of trade, but that verdict came too late for all the small stores that A&P had put out of business.
Chicken had been one of the few unrationed meats during WWII and the company wanted to continue to grow the poultry market, a goal shared by the Department of Agriculture who was A&P’s official partner in the contest.
Cutting to the chase, 40 finalists submitted 720 eggs to a hatching facility where the chicks were raised in controlled conditions and fed a standard diet.
At the appropriate time the surviving chickens were slaughtered, cooked and eaten.
So who won? The winning breeds from two categories were eventually crossed and they now dominate poultry farms worldwide.
Chessmetrics' July 1948 rating list estimates Stahlberg's rating to have been 2757 which placed him behind only Botvinnik (number 1 at 2852) and Najdorf (Number 2 at 2788), but unfortunately he was not staying in New York long enough to participate, so he declined. His invitation went to Samuel Reshevsky, who was number 4 at 2756 on Chessmetrics' list, but he also declined.
Herman Pilnik (number 24 at 2642) found out about the tournament from Najdorf and offered to play if they invited him; they did.
The remaining openings went to Israel A. Horowitz (number 44 at 2600), Isaac Kashdan (number 56 at 2583), Arnold Denker (number 62 at 2572), Herman Steiner (number 83 at 2542), George Kramer (number 94 at 2533) and Arthur Bisguier (number 127 at 2504).
At the end, Reuben Fine (number 12 in the world at 2690 on the Chessmetric list) won $1,000 ($12,293.61 today). Fine had declined to participate in the world championship tournament earlier in the year and would retire from chess in a few more years.
Arthur Bisguier was the most brilliant of the younger American
masters and his game against Euwe was an interesting one in which both players produced imaginative chess. Despite its errors, Fred Reinfeld called it the finest game of the tournament.
Bisguier opened the g-file in the hope of getting an attack. Euwe countered energetically, getting a lead in development and sacrificing a piece to smoke out Bisguier's uncastled King.
The play got more and more complicated with sacrifice answered by sacrifice. Bisguier missed a difficult win and then went completely off the track, missing several equalizing opportunities. Finally, Euwe triumphed by some masterly and well-calculated endgame play.
Max Euwe–Arthur Bisguier1–0D43New York 1948/49312.1948Stockfish 15
1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.f3 e6 4.c3 f6 5.g5 Offering what at the time was a
fashionable gambit if black plays 5....dxc4 h6 Surprise! Bisguier chooses
the most prudent continuation...but only for a few moves! 6.xf6 xf6
In surrendering the B pair white hopes to get space as compensation. For his
part, black looks forward to breaking out of his cramped position with the
advantage. 7.b3 d7 8.e4 dxe4 9.xe4 f4 10.d3 f6 11.xf6+ gxf6
Typical Bisguier...he does not mind the weakening of his P-structure and the
insecure position of his K as long as he opens the g-file for attacking
purposes. The whole idea is basically unsound, but dangerous to white. It
should be noted that in this line retaking with the Q in this position would
not be better because black would not even have the semi-open g-file as
compensation. 12.0-0 g8 13.e2 b6 This is not a very good idea because
his B does not have much of a future on b7. 14.fe1 b7 15.c5 c7 16.c4
The danger to black's K has become very real and the threat of 17.Bxe6 is
already threatened and 16...O-O-O is not a satisfactory way out. e7 17.cxb6 This discourages Q-side castling because it opens up lines on the Q-side, but
at the same time black's light squared B may come to life. The chances are
back to equal after this move and later Euwe suggested the correct 17.Qe3 axb6 18.ac1 Threatens to win with d5! d8 Preventing 19.d5, but there was a
highly unusual defense that was better. 19.e3 h8 20.xe6 Enterprising,
but black is not without resources. Solid was 20.Rad1 fxe6 21.xe6 f8
He has to do something about the menace of Nh4-g6+ 22.h4 g8 23.f5
This looks logical, but it gives black the chance he has been waiting for. 23.d5 is white's best chance. c5 24.cd1 c8 25.e3 d6 26.xh6+ g7 27.h8+ draws. 23.d5 b4 This results in unclear complications. 24.dxc6 c8 25.c7 e7 26.c6 xe1 27.xa8 e6 28.c6 g4 29.xf6+ e7 30.f3 xh4 31.e3+ d6 32.xe1 In Shootouts black was able to secure a draw. OTB...who
knows what the outcome would be? 23...b4 24.xh6 g7 25.e3 From this
point on, the course of the game is particularly tense. d2 25...xd4
would lose to 26.f5 xg2+ 27.xg2 d5+ 28.xd5 cxd5 25...c8 keeps a
much greater advantage than the move actually played. 26.xc6 d7 27.d5 a5 28.c5 xc5 28...bxc5 29.d6+ mates in 4 29.dxc5 c7 and
theoretically at least black is winning. 26.f3 g5 This is a critical
position. The logical looking 27.Re1 would now be a serious mistake, 27.f5 27.e1 c8 28.c4 a5 29.b4+ c5 30.dxc5 xc5 31.f5 d2 32.xd2 xd2 33.d1 xf5 34.xd2 c1+ mates next move. 27...xc1 Good enough, but there
is a much simpler defense in 27...Rh7 which would leave him with a slim
advantage. 28.h3 This move, threatening mate in 2, looks
conclusive. xg2+ With a R and B to the good black can afford to return
material and thereby save himself. 29.xg2 Forced. 29.f1 g8 30.g3 xg3 31.hxg3 c8 32.d6+ xd6 33.xd6 h3+ is clearly winning 29.h1 c5 30.f3 g8 31.g3 xg3 32.hxg3 d5 here, too, black is winning 29...d5+ 30.xd5 cxd5 31.h7 Black must now return the extra piece. xa2 After this white is winning. 31...c8 is correct. 32.h8+ f7 33.d6+ e6 34.xc8 xc8 35.xc8 xb2 36.xb6 xd4 with a likely draw. 32.xb7 xb2 Owing to his more active pieces white has a winning
ending. 33.h4 d2 34.f1 Tis prevents ...Be1. Black must now
deal with the advance of the h-Pawn. b1+ 35.e2 c3 35...a5 was
marginally better. 36.h5 e1+ 37.f3 h1 38.h6 g8 39.e7+ h7 40.g4 g1+ 41.f5 xh6 42.xf6 h5 42...f1 43.f5+ h5 44.f3 xf3 45.h7+ g4 46.h4# 43.xd5 wins 36.h5 b5 37.h6 Deflecting the black K g8 38.e7+ h7 39.xd5+ xh6 40.xc3 Black resigned. An engrossing game. 1–0
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