AThe Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, December 23, 1962 - Page 78
Favorites Lose In U.S. Title Tourney 23 Dec 1962, Sun The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) Newspapers.com
Favorites Lose In U.S. Title Tourney
If the first round results were any indication, the favorites were headed for an unhappy holiday season in the tournament for the U.S. Chess Championship, being contested at the Henry Hudson Hotel in New York.
Defending champion Larry Evans and former champions Bobby Fischer and Samuel Reshevsky all went down to defeat in the opening session.
Fischer lost to Edmar Mednis. It was the first time he had tipped his king in resignation in U.S. championship play. He had won the tournament four times in succession from 1957 to 1960 going through 44 games with only a handful of draws to mar his record.
Reshevsky was downed by William G. Addison of Los Angeles, only representative of the West Coast. Addison earned his entry by excellent results in recent California tournaments, including the state championship.
Robert H. Steinmeyer of St. Louis took the measure of Evans. It was a good day for the non-New Yorkers in the event. Hans Berliner of Washington, D.C., the only other member of this select group, defeated James T. Sherwin.
Leaders after two rounds were Addison and Berliner, each of whom drew in the second round to attain scores of 1½-½. Evans and Reshevsky made up some ground by victories in this round while Fischer was held to a draw by Nicholas Rossolimo.
Following are details of the first two rounds:
