Courier-Post Camden, New Jersey Wednesday, January 10, 1962 - Page 34
Evans Defeats Field To Recapture Title 10 Jan 1962, Wed Courier-Post (Camden, New Jersey) Newspapers.com
Evans Defeats Field To Recapture Title
Regaining the title he held from 1951 to 1954, Larry Evans is the new holder of the United States chess championship.
Evans, who is 29 and has been playing tournament chess since he was 13, finished a half point ahead of Robert Byrne, with a score of 7½-3½, in the tourney in New York City. The field of 12 was a strong one but not so strong as some others in the recent past. It was weakened by the absence of Bobby Fischer, who had won it four times in succession, and of Samuel Reshevsky, his recent match opponent.
Reshevsky does not make it a rule to play in tournaments, but Fischer has done so more consistently since winning his first title at the age of 14. He was invited to enter this tournament and has given no reason for not doing so, though it is assumed he is still angry at the U.S. Chess Federation over his forfeited match against Reshevsky. Or possibly, since he had won this particular event four times in a row, he felt the prize was not big enough for him to bother defending again.
In any case, Evans deserves hearty congratulations for his resurgence to his best form. He can give any grandmaster a battle when at his top.
Mikhail Botvinnik, the world's champion, was at his sharpest and rolled through to an easy victory in the annual Christmas Congress at Hastings, England. He clinched the triumph in the eighth round, and had a final score of 8-1. Previously the only game he had failed to win was against Svetozar Gligoric of Yugoslavia, who finished in second place. This game went three sittings and 104 moves before they agreed to a draw.
Arthur Bisguier of New York, the only American in the tournament, made a creditable showing but was no threat to Botvinnik, to whom he lost in 44 moves.
This tournament was distinguished, if that is the word, by one of the shortest “grandmaster draws” on record. It was between Botvinnik and Salo Flohr, the Soviet veteran, and went only 12 moves and 20 minutes.
This was the final-round game, and since Botvinnik had already made certain of winning the tournament it may have been meaningless to him. However, the draw enabled Flohr to finish third, which he might not have done had the game gone to conclusion.
Following is a victory by Evans in the U.S. Championship:
