The USCF's solution was a three-year cycle of elimination events that would begin with regional preliminaries (as in the past) and then the next year there would be a “Candidates Tournament” made up of the regional qualifiers plus seeded players.
The trouble was that there was a lack of organization and the the whole plan fell apart. As a result the 1954 championship was missing some big names. Samuel Reshevsky, Robert Byrne, George Kramer, Donald Byrne and Arnold Denker, the country’s top five rated [;ayers accepted their invitations.
Not only that, the USCF didn't have the money to hold the championship. Fortunately tournament was salvaged when the Marshall Chess Club which offered its facilities to hold the 14-player event.
Arthur Bisguier was attended college classes during the day and ended up sleeping at night in one of the Marshall's upstairs apartments. He was eighth on the new USCF rating list. Larry Evans, the defending champion, was only tenth. Still, the French emigre Nicolas Rossolimo, the veteran Max Pavey and up-coming junior star, James T. Sherwin all lent some strength to the event.
Sherwin, 20 years old and only ranked 24th took the early lead after five rounds but Evans and Bisguier fought back to tie Sherwin by the 8th round with 6-2 scores.
Then disaster stuck when Evans lost to Marshall Chess Club junior Eliot Hearst. Sherwin drew his game so Bisguier took the lead. The leaders were scheduled to meet each other in the next three rounds so an exciting finished was assured.
Evans vs. Bisguier saw Evans finesse his way out of a lost position and draw. In the next round Evans won from Sherwin thus pretty much ruined the latter’s chances.
Bisguier could only draw with Hans Berliner.
The next important game was Bisguier vs. Sherwin (featured here) which turned out to be an exciting affair with ups and downs for both players and it ended with Sherwin losing on time.
The result was Bisguier entered the final round with a half point lead ahead of Evans who had white against Herbert Seidman while Bisguier had black against Ariel Mengarini. Mengarini refused Bisguier’s draw offer and tried desperately to win a drawish endgame. He blundered on the 47th move and lost while the Evans-Seidman game was drawn and the result was Bisguier won the US Championship without a loss and pocketed $254.35.
It’s also interesting to note that this tournament was witnessed by the visiting delegation of Soviet players who were to stomp the U.S. by a 20-12 score in a match a few weeks later.
Here is the Bisguier-Sherwin game that had the spectators buzzing. Curiously, as in the previous game, it’s another Veresov Opening.
The opponents castled on opposite sides and P-stormed the enemy Kings. Mate threats were everywhere when Sherwin, very short of time, tried to force a draw by repetition, but Bisguier didn’t want a draw; he wanted the championship.
Bisguier hoped his defensive resources could withstand the attack and he went for the win. In the process he overlooked a stunning R sacrifice by Sherwin that Bisguier said, “shook me to my socks,” but his luck held and he managed to win, but only after Sherwin, in desperate time pressure, threw away his advantage.
Had Sherwin found the win, Bisguier and Evans would have tied for first and Sherwin would have moved up to sole possession of 3rd place instead of a tie for 4th-5th
[Event "US Championship, New York"]
[Site "New York, NY USA"]
[Date "1954.06.12"]
[Round "12"]
[White "Arthur Bisguier"]
[Black "James T Sherwin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D01"]
[Annotator "Stockfish 16"]
[PlyCount "87"]
[EventDate "1954.??.??"]
{D01: Veresov Opening} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Bg5 {See the previous game for
comments on this opening.} Bf5 4. f3 c6 5. Qd2 Nbd7 6. O-O-O h6 7. Bh4 e6 8. e3
Be7 9. Kb1 {Black is slightly better.} (9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 b5 11. Kb1 Qa5 12.
Bxf6 Bxf6 13. e4 {White has fw prospects. Caselas Cabanas,J (2428) -Narciso
Dublan,M (2530) Tossa de Mar ESP 2010}) 9... b5 10. Bd3 Bxd3 11. cxd3 O-O 12.
f4 a5 13. Nf3 a4 14. Rc1 b4 15. Ne2 {The opening has not been kind to Bisguier.
..ot's clear that black has all the attacking chances.} c5 (15... Rc8 16. Bxf6
Nxf6 17. Rhg1 c5 18. dxc5 Bxc5 {with the initiative.}) 16. Bxf6 {Well-played.
Black must recapture with the P to avoid the loss of a P after 16.dxc5} gxf6
17. g4 {Thanks to black's small slip on move 15 white has peospects on the
g-file and so he has equalized.} Qa5 (17... c4 {offering a P was much more
promising.} 18. dxc4 dxc4 19. g5 (19. Rxc4 Nb6 20. Rcc1 Qd5 21. Rcf1 b3 22. Nc3
(22. axb3 axb3 {wins.}) 22... bxa2+ 23. Ka1 Qb3 {Black has a decisive
advantage.}) 19... c3 20. bxc3 b3 21. c4 Ba3 {In this sharp position black has
the better prospects.}) 18. dxc5 {Also playable was 18.g5, but Bisguier has
gone on the defensive in an uncharacteristic fashion.} Nxc5 19. Ned4 {Played
to discourage ...Nb3} Qa6 {This inhibits Nc6 and attacks the d-Pawn.} (19...
Nb3 {doesn't quite work.} 20. axb3 axb3 21. Nxb3 Qa2+ 22. Kc2 Rfc8+ 23. Kd1
Qxb3+ 24. Ke2 {and the K has slipped to safety.}) 20. Rcd1 Rfc8 21. h4 {
This is a very delicately balanced position in which demands precise play by
both sides.} (21. Qxb4 {is just too risky.} a3 22. b3 Ne4 23. Qxe7 Nc3+ 24. Kc1
Ra7 25. Qxf6 Ne4+ {and black is winning.}) (21. g5 {This immediate counter was
his best bet.} Kh7 {Safest.} 22. h4 Nb3 23. Qe2 (23. axb3 axb3 {mates in 3} 24.
g6+ Kg7 25. Nf5+ exf5 {mate next move.}) 23... Nxd4 24. Nxd4 a3 25. b3 Rg8 {
with equal chances.}) 21... Rc7 {White now gets the initiative.} (21... Nb3 {
Had to be plated.} 22. Qg2 Kh8 23. g5 Nxd4 24. Nxd4 Bc5 25. g6 Rg8 26. h5 a3
27. b3 {with equal chances.}) 22. Qe2 {Equally good was 22.g5} Rac8 {He could
still have gotten away with 22...Nb3, but the text is also quite good.} 23. g5
h5 {There was no time for this defensive move!} (23... Nb3 {This is now
necessary if black wants to have any chance of gaining the upper hand.} 24.
Rhg1 Kh8 25. gxf6 Bxf6 26. Ne5 Nxd4 27. exd4 Kh7 28. Qh5 a3 {with a winning
attack. White's best chance would be to try and complicate the issue with} 29.
Rg6 Bg7 (29... fxg6 30. Qxg6+ Kh8 31. Qxf6+ Rg7 32. Qxh6+ Kg8 33. Ng6 b3 34.
Qh8+ Kf7 35. Ne5+ Kf6 36. Qh6+ {draws}) 30. Rxg7+ Kxg7 31. Rg1+ Kf8 32. b3 Qb6
33. Qxh6+ Ke7 34. Qg7 Kd6 {Black's K has slipped away and he can now proceed
to collect the point.}) 24. Ne1 (24. Rhg1 {offered a better chance...} Kf8 25.
f5 Ke8 26. fxe6 {White is much better.} Nxe6 27. g6 fxg6 28. Rxg6 b3 29. a3 Rc2
30. Qf1 R8c5 31. Rg8+ Kd7 {White's position remains the more promising.}) 24...
Nb3 {Finally!} 25. Nec2 (25. axb3 axb3 26. Nxb3 Ra8 27. Nc2 Qa2+ 28. Kc1 Qxb3 {
wins}) 25... e5 {[%mdl 8192] This is a tactical error as Bisguier immediately
demonstrates.} (25... Nxd4 26. Nxd4 a3 27. b3 f5 28. Qxh5 Bc5 29. Nc2 Qc6 30.
g6 f6 {and there is no white attack and black is better.}) 26. Qxh5 {White
holds the advantage here, but this move allows Sherwin right back in the game}
(26. gxf6 {first was the correct continuation.} Bxf6 27. Qxh5 Bg7 28. fxe5 Nxd4
29. Nxd4 Qh6 30. Qg4 {and white has a decisive advantage.}) 26... exd4 27. Rdg1
$1 Nd2+ (27... Rxc2 {gets hom mated...} 28. gxf6+ Rg2 29. Rxg2+ Kf8 30. Qh8#)
28. Ka1 {White threatens gxf6+ and mate.} Nb3+ 29. Kb1 Nd2+ 30. Ka1 Nb3+ 31.
axb3 {[%mdl 8192] The repetitions probably gained time on the clock, but nbiw
Bisguier makes a horrible decision to continue playing...and he walks into a
mate in 11} axb3+ 32. Na3 Rc1+ {[%mdl 512] Brilliantly played.} 33. Rxc1 bxa3 {
This gives excellent winning chances, but Sherwin has missed the mate.} (33...
Rxc1+ {mates} 34. Rxc1 bxa3 35. Qxf7+ Kxf7 36. Rc7 axb2+ 37. Kxb2 Qa2+ 38. Kc1
b2+ 39. Kd1 b1=Q+ 40. Rc1 Qac2+ 41. Ke1 Qbxc1#) 34. Rxc8+ Qxc8 {[%mdl 4096]
Black has a decisive advantage even though he is the exchange down.} 35. Qd1 {
There is no way to continue an "attack" against black's K and so white is
forced to turn his attention to the defense of his own K.} (35. exd4 {leads to
mate.} axb2+ 36. Kxb2 Qc2+ 37. Ka1 Qa2#) 35... axb2+ 36. Kxb2 Qc3+ 37. Kb1 Ba3
{this move loses all the advantage. It's probably that Sherwin was still in
time pressure.} (37... dxe3 {give white another passed P to think about and it
leaves him with no defense.} 38. Qc1 Qxd3+ {...and now there are 3 passed Ps...
too many for white to deal with.}) 38. Rh2 dxe3 39. gxf6 {Hoping for Qg1+.} Kf8
40. Rg2 {The R is guarding the 2nd rank and now the advance of his h-Pawn is
something black must think about.} Ke8 (40... Bd6 {was an interesting defense.
After} 41. Qe2 b2 42. Qxb2 Qxd3+ 43. Qc2 Qf1+ 44. Kb2 Qa6 {white cannot escape
the combined action of the Q and B and will have to settle for a draw.}) 41. d4
(41. Rg8+ {was worth a try.} Bf8 42. h5 d4 43. h6 {Things look grim for black,
but he has a saving resource.} Qd2 44. Qxb3 (44. Qxd2 exd2 45. Rg1 Bxh6 46. Kb2
Bxf4 47. Kxb3 Be3 48. Rg8+ Kd7 49. Kc2 Ke6 50. Kd1 Kxf6 51. Ke2 Ke5 52. Rf8 f5
53. Re8+ Kf4 54. Rg8 {and black cannot win because he can't escape checks from
the R.}) 44... Qe1+ 45. Kb2 Qd2+ {draws}) 41... Kd8 {[%mdl 8192]} (41... Kd7 {
Had to be played.} 42. h5 Bf8 43. Rb2 Qb4 44. Qe2 (44. Rxb3 e2 {wins!}) 44...
Qc3 45. Qb5+ Ke6 46. Rxb3 Qe1+ 47. Kb2 Qd2+ {draws}) 42. h5 {[%mdl 32]} Kc8 43.
h6 {Black's next move was a time pressure blunder, but he was lost in any case.
Nevertheless, had he played the best move the resulting position gets
complicated and so, who knows what would have g\happened?} b2 {This is a gross
blunder.} (43... e2 44. Rxe2 Qh3 45. Rd2 Kd8 46. Rd3 Qxh6 47. Qxb3 Bd6 48. Qxd5
Qxf6 49. Re3 Qxf4 50. Qa8+ Bb8 51. Rf3 Qc7 52. Rb3 Kc8 53. Qa6+ Kd8 54. Qf6+
Kd7 55. Qxf7+ {and wins.}) 44. Rc2 {1-0 Black lost on time, but he gets mated
in 8.} (44. Rc2 Qc4 45. Rxc4+ dxc4 46. h7 Kb7 47. h8=Q e2 48. Qxe2 Bf8 49. Qxf8
Kb6 50. Qxc4 Ka7 51. Qcc5+ Kb7 52. Qfc8#) 1-0
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