Friday, February 12, 2021

Weinstein Wins the 1958 US Junior Championship

     Homestead, Florida is located approximately 35 miles southwest of Miami. It gets its name from when the Florida East Coast Railway extension to Key West was being built and the rail line was passing through an area opened up for homesteading. The construction camp at the end of the line did not have a particular name and materials and supplies for the workers were consigned to "Homestead Country" which was eventually shortened to Homestead. The population was 60,512 at the 2010 census. Homestead and neighboring South Miami-Dade County communities bore the brunt of Category 5 Hurricane Andrew on August 24, 1992. I was in Miami a few weeks after the storm and the damage was still quite evident.
     At the time, Homestead had the honor of being the smallest city ever to put on a national chess event when in 1958 it sponsored the US Junior Championship and contributed scholarships and cash prizes totaling the princely sum of $370, or $3,350 in today's money. In addition, there were trophies, other awards, free food, free housing and recreation which brought the total to $1,000 ($9,000 today.). Plus, there was no entry fee. 
     The event, a nine round Swiss with 25 entrants, was won by a 17-year old from Brooklyn, New York who was a member of the Marshall Chess Club and the Hawthorne Chess Club (in John W. Collins' apartment in Brooklyn). The winner was Arthur Bisguier's cousin, Raymond Weinstein. 
     As a result of his win Weinstein also became a Master and was automatically seeded into the next US Championship. Note: In that Championship Weinstein scored +0 -5 =6 and shared 11th place (out of 12) with Edmar Mednis. 
     In this Junior Championship, Weinstein scored +7 -0 =2 and his score was equaled by 16-year old Larry Remlinger of Long Beach, California. Weinstein, who defeated Remlinger in their individual game, won on tiebreaks. It was the third time Remlinger had finished second! 
     Stephen Jones, the Texas Junior Champion and runner up for the state title, placed third with a score of 6-3. Twelve players tallied 5-4: John Freeman, Stephen Sholomson (who won the Speed Championship), Robert Dickinson, Thomas Heldt, Tom Lucas, David Krause, Larry Snyder, Anthony Cantone, Max Burkett, Leonard Hill and James Bennett. 
     The U S Boys Championship (for 14 or younger) was won by 14-year old David Steele of Raleigh, North Carolina and 17-year old Dolly Teasley of Orlando, Florida won the U S Girls Championship and entry into the next US Women's Championship. Larry Gray, 18, of Homestead won the US Futurity title. 
     Gene Haynes, 17, also from Homestead, won a ten player round robin to capture the New P layers Championship, after a play-off with Alfred Kramer, 16, also form Homestead. Larry Brennan, 11, took the Beginners title with an impressive 11.5 out of 12 ahead of Kinnie Walden, 8, the youngest player in all the events. 
     There was also a Sponsors Event for adults who helped with the tournament. It was won by Carlos A. Palacio and Ramon Bravo, both of whom were originally from Havana. 
     Bisguier described his cousin as a likable seventeen-year-old with a bright future. At the time Weinstein was a sophomore at Brooklyn College and had been playing tournament chess for only two years, but he won the Junior Championship of the Marshall Chess Club twice as well as the 1957 Long Island Amateur Championship. He was also a frequent competitor in the Manhattan and Marshall weekly rapid transit tournaments where he was often a prize winner. 
     The following messy game against Larry Remlinger was critical in determining first and second. After Remlinger's somewhat questionable opening his position was difficult and Weinstein ruthlessly exploited his advantage. 
     In a mutual time pressure scramble the game should have been drawn by three-fold repetition, but Remlinger thought the third repetition was only the second and neither player was aware of the new rule in effect. They weren't alone though because since a major revision in the wording of the three-fold rule several masters had stumbled into draws. 
     The 1944 rules only allowed the player who was going to repeat the position for the third time to claim the draw if he announced his intention to do so. The new rule in the 1954 version gave the right to claim the draw to either player.
 
Further reading... 

Larry Remlinger - Raymond Weinstein

Result: 0-1

Site: US Junior, Homestead, Florida

Date: 1958

Sicilian: Taimanov Variation

[...] 1.e4 c5 Weinstein's usual response. 2.♗c4 This old move is reminiscent of the days of Anderssen. In this game the opening transposes into the Taimanov Variation. 2...♘c6 3.♘f3 e6
3...d6 4.d3 (4.d4 cxd4 5.♘xd4 ♘f6 6.♘c3) 4...♘f6 5.c3 g6 6.O-O ♗g7 7.♗b3 O-O is the usual continuation.
4.d4 cxd4 5.♘xd4 a6 6.O-O ♕c7 7.♘c3
7.♘xc6 ♕xc6 8.♗d3 d6 9.♘c3 ♘f6 10.♗f4 is equal. Alvarez Escudero,M (2031)-Kovacevic,S (2314)/Madrid 2005
7...♘f6
7...d6 baits a nifty little trap. 8.f4 This loses immediately. Correct was 8.Nxc3 with equlity. 8...♘xd4 9.♕xd4 d5 Owing to the threat of ...Bc5 white loses the B on c4. Pelowski,Z (1760)-Grochowski,M (1714)/Jastrzebia Gora POL 2019
8.h3 Bisguier claimed this is already the losing move and white's position is now beset with problems. Aginst the threat of ...b5 and ...b4 winning the e-Pawn there is little white can do. If he plays f3 the a7-g1 diagonal becomes dangerously weak. The term losing might be a bit strong, but the position is equal after the more accurate 8.Nxc6. 8...b5 9.♗b3 b4 10.♘xc6 It is perhaps being too generous to say white has sacrificed his e-Pawn. Lost it seems to be more accurate description.
10.♘a4 ♘xe4 11.♖e1 ♘f6 12.♘xc6 ♕xc6 13.♗e3 ♗b7 14.f3 does not look very appetizing either.
10...bxc3 The correct way to capture.
10...dxc6 11.♘a4 c5 Threatening ...c4 trapping the B. (11...♘xe4 12.♕d4 ♘f6 13.♘b6 gives white sufficient play for the P.) 12.c3 a5 13.♗e3 ♗a6 is no more than equal.
11.♘d4 ♘xe4
11...cxb2 This OK, but it would also help white develop. 12.♗xb2 ♘xe4 13.♕g4 ♗b7 White has some play.
12.bxc3 ♗b7 Black need not be in any hurry to capture the c-Pawn and prefers to continue his development.
12...♘xc3 13.♕d3 ♗b7
13...♗b4 14.a3 ♗a5 15.♘f5 exf5 (15...O-O 16.♘d6 ♘e2+ 17.♕xe2 ♕xd6 18.♖d1 ♕c6 also favors black.) 16.♖e1+ ♔f8 17.♗d2 White does not have enough compensation for the sacrificed piece.
14.♖e1 ♗b4 15.♘f5 O-O 16.♕d4 with sufficient play for the P.
13.♗e3 ♗e7 14.♘e2 O-O 15.a4 a5 Frustrating white's hope of playing a5 and Bb6. 16.♘d4 ♘xc3 17.♕g4 ♗f6 18.♘b5 Being a P down and with a poor position Remlinger hopes to get some counterplay by sacrificing the exchange. 18...♘xb5 19.axb5 ♗xa1 20.♖xa1 f5 A decisive thrust. 21.♕d4 f4 22.♗d2 ♖f5 23.♖e1 ♖af8
23...♖xb5 seems even better 24.♗xf4 ♕c6 25.f3 Black is winning.
24.h4 ♖xb5 25.♗c3 ♖f7 26.♖xe6 Hoping for a swindle. 26...dxe6 27.♗xe6 Threatening Qxg7mate. . 27...♔h8 28.♗xf7 ♕xf7 Now that white is a whole R down all he can to is thrash about, but the closk soon becomes a factor. 29.♕d8+ ♕g8 30.♕d7 (30.♗xa5 is met by 30...♖b1+ 31.♔h2 ♖f1 32.♕xg8+ ♔xg8 33.♗b6) 30...♖b1+ 31.♔h2 h6 This was necessary to prevent white from drawing by perpetual check! (31...♖c1 32.♗xg7+ ♕xg7 33.♕d8+ ♕g8 34.♕f6+ ♕g7 35.♕d8+ etc.) 32.h5 ♔h7
32...a4 This would pretty much have ended the game. 33.♗e5 f3 34.g3 a3
33.♕f5+ ♔h8 34.♕g6 One repetition. 34...♕h7 Once again, the advance of the a-Pawn would wrap things up. 35.♕f7 ♕g8 Even though black is up a whole R the position is not easy to play especially in time pressure.
35...a4 36.♕xf4 a3 37.♕f8+ ♕g8 38.♗xg7+ ♔h7 39.♕xa3 ♕b8+ 40.♕g3 ♕xg3+ 41.♔xg3 ♔xg7 wins easily.
36.♕g6 Two repetitions. Here black can play 36...a4 or 36...f3 with a won position. Instead he stumbles into a draw. 36...♕h7 37.♕f7 Missing the draw. (37.♕e8+ ♕g8 38.♕g6 is a threefold repetition.) 37...♕g8 This allows the draw. The advance of either the a- of f-Pawn would have won. 38.♕g6 Three repetitions. Weinstein was in extreme time pressure and inadvertently allowed the repetition of moves. Remlinger was also in extreme time pressure and thought this was only the second repetition and so did not claim the draw. Had he claimed the draw he would have won the championship! After the game Weinstein stated that at the time neither player knew the new rule that the player about to create the repetition had to announce it. 38...♕f8 39.♕xh6+ ♔g8 40.♕g5 ♖b6
40...f3 results in a nice finish. 41.gxf3 ♖h1+ 42.♔xh1 ♕xf3+ mates in 6. 43.♔h2 ♕xf2+ 44.♔h3 ♗c8+ 45.♕g4 ♕f3+ etc.
41.♗xg7 41.Bxa6 would have held out longer, but being a R down, white would still have e]been lost. 41...♕xg7 42.♕d8+ ♔h7 Remlinger resigned.
42...♔h7 43.♕d3+ ♔h6 44.♕h3 ♕e5 45.f3 ♖b1 46.♕g4 ♕xh5+ 47.♕xh5+ ♔xh5 48.g4+ ♔h4 49.♔g2 ♖c1 50.c3 ♗a6 51.c4 ♗xc4 52.g5 ♖c2+ 53.♔h1 ♔g3 54.g6 ♖c1#
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