This one was a little different in that only eight of the 19 players in the finals were from New York and, as might be expected, it was another duel between Reshevsky and Kashdan for first. One surprise was the fourth place finish of Jacob Levin of Philadelphia who was playing in only his second US championship.
In the following game the truly unknown Aaron Rothman (1935-1961, dates uncertain) of the Bronx, New York was in a difficult position when either he outright blundered or valiantly tried to hornswoggle Reshevsky with an exchange sacrifice that failed. According to chess historian Edward Winter, Rothman claimed to know the entire opening manual Modern Chess Openings by heart.
[Event "US Champ, New York"]
[Site ""]
[Date "1946.10.30"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Aaron Rothman"]
[Black "Samuel Reshevsky"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D82"]
[Annotator "Stockfish 17"]
[PlyCount "44"]
[EventDate "1946.??.??"]
{D82: Gruenfeld Defense} 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 {At the time Reshevsky like this defense because of its fighting qualities.} 4. Bf4 {Though seldom played since its heyday in the 1930s, this is a good, safe continuation especially if white wants to avoid the complexities of the Exchange Variation (4.cxd5). With 4.Bf4 white hopes to take the initiative on the Q-side with a smaller P- center.} Bg7 5. Qa4+ {Usual, bit not relly better, is 5.e3} (5. e3 O-O {Offering the Gruenfeld Gambit. Otherwise he can play 5...c5} 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. Nxd5 Qxd5 8. Bxc7 {with equal chances.}) 5... Bd7 6. Qb3 {The point...the b-Pawn is threatened. Should black waste time defending it and if not, should white risk taking it?} Nc6 (6... Bc6 7. e4 e6 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bg5 dxe4 10. d5 O-O 11. dxc6 Nxc6 {White has what should be a decisive advantage, but in Karpov,A (2651)-Svidler,P (2738) Moscow 2008 white manages to lose in 36 moves.}) 7. cxd5 {The solid 7.e3 was better.} (7. Qxb7 {is just too risky.} Rb8 8. Qxc7 Qxc7 9. Bxc7 Rxb2 10. O-O-O Rb7 11. Bg3 O-O {Black is better. De Waal,M (2280)-Westerweele,M Vlissingen 1996}) 7... Nxd4 8. Qd1 {A sad retreat, but the only good one.} Nb5 9. Nxb5 Bxb5 {White's opening looks like it has been a disaster. He is weak on the a1–h8 diagonal, his d-Pawn is threatened and he has the almost impossible task of developing jis K-side. Yet somehow he manages to survive.} 10. e4 {Very good! Or, rather, it's the nest he has!} Bxf1 11. Kxf1 O-O 12. Qc2 Rc8 13. Rd1 c6 14. d6 exd6 15. Bxd6 Re8 {[%mdl 2048]} 16. e5 Nd5 {In spite of everything white has survived with minimal damage in that there is no immediate forced win available to Rershevsky who immediately deals with white's apparently well placed B supported by the P on e5.} 17. Nf3 f6 18. exf6 {This turns out to be a real slip.} (18. Re1 {was a much better defense.} fxe5 19. Bxe5 Bxe5 20. Rxe5 Rxe5 21. Nxe5 {Incredibly white has survived with no damage!}) 18... Bxf6 19. Bc5 {White's center has disappeared, but he still has a problem with getting his K out of the center and to safety.} Qa5 20. Qc4 (20. a3 {defending the a-Pawn is met by} Qb5+ 21. Kg1 Re2 22. Rd2 Rce8 23. Rxe2 Rxe2 24. Qc1 Rxb2 {and there's no way to meet ...Rb1}) (20. Rd2 {was his best try. After} b6 21. Bd4 Bxd4 22. Rxd4 Qb5+ 23. Kg1 Re2 24. Rd2 Rce8 {Black has an active position and white still faces difficulty getting his R into play.}) 20... Bxb2 {Clearly black has the better position, but with 21.Bd4 or 21.g3 white could hope to play on. Instead he miscalculates a tactical sequence and loses quickly. Or, did Rothman see the refutation and he was just trying to trick Reshevsky?} 21. Rxd5 cxd5 22. Qxd5+ {Reshevsky's next move gets a ! or two because it is the only one that keeps the win alive.} Kh8 {White resigned. There is no effective followup to this move.} (22... Kh8 23. Bd4+ Bxd4 24. Qxd4+ Kg8 {White is the exchange down and black dominates the position.}) (22... Kg7 {results in a different outcome.} 23. Bf8+ {This gets tricky!} Kf6 24. Qxa5 Rc1+ 25. Ne1 Bc3 26. Bg7+ Kxg7 27. Qc7+ Kg8 28. g4 Rexe1+ 29. Kg2 Rxh1 30. Qd8+ Kg7 31. Qd7+ Kh6 32. Qe7 {is a draw}) (22... Kg7 23. Qxb7+ {This, too, is pretty tricky!} Kh6 24. Be3+ Rxe3 25. Qxc8 Qb5+ 26. Kg1 Rd3 27. Qc2 {Here, too, a draw is likely.}) 0-1
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