| 14th US Chess championship :: New York, NY 1961/1962 |
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Crosstable
| pos. |
name |
seed |
flag |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
pts |
+ |
= |
- |
| 1. |
Evans, Larry Melvyn |
(2) |
 |
● |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
1 |
½ |
½ |
1 |
1 |
1 |
7½ |
4 |
7 |
0 |
| 2. |
Byrne, Robert |
(4) |
|
½ |
● |
½ |
½ |
½ |
1 |
½ |
½ |
½ |
½ |
1 |
1 |
7 |
3 |
8 |
0 |
| =3. |
Benko, Pal |
(9) |
|
½ |
½ |
● |
1 |
0 |
1 |
½ |
1 |
½ |
½ |
1 |
0 |
6½ |
4 |
5 |
2 |
| =3. |
Mednis, Edmar John |
(3) |
|
½ |
½ |
0 |
● |
1 |
½ |
½ |
1 |
1 |
½ |
0 |
1 |
6½ |
4 |
5 |
2 |
| =3. |
Seidman, Herbert |
(10) |
|
½ |
½ |
1 |
0 |
● |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
½ |
6½ |
5 |
3 |
3 |
| =3. |
Sherwin, James |
(7) |
|
½ |
0 |
0 |
½ |
1 |
● |
½ |
½ |
½ |
1 |
1 |
1 |
6½ |
4 |
5 |
2 |
| 7. |
Hearst, Eliot Sanford |
(1) |
|
0 |
½ |
½ |
½ |
0 |
½ |
● |
½ |
½ |
1 |
½ |
1 |
5½ |
2 |
7 |
2 |
| 8. |
Byrne, Donald |
(6) |
|
½ |
½ |
0 |
0 |
0 |
½ |
½ |
● |
1 |
½ |
½ |
1 |
5 |
2 |
6 |
3 |
| 9. |
Weinstein, Raymond |
(8) |
|
½ |
½ |
½ |
0 |
0 |
½ |
½ |
0 |
● |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4½ |
2 |
5 |
4 |
| 10. |
Turner, Abe |
(11) |
|
0 |
½ |
½ |
½ |
1 |
0 |
0 |
½ |
0 |
● |
½ |
½ |
4 |
1 |
6 |
4 |
| 11. |
Kramer, George |
(12) |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
½ |
½ |
1 |
½ |
● |
0 |
3½ |
2 |
3 |
6 |
| 12. |
Bernstein, Sidney |
(5) |
|
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
½ |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
½ |
1 |
● |
3 |
2 |
2 |
7 |
The event is commonly referred to as the 14th U.S. Championship (1961/62), held in New York from 17 Dec 1961 to 4 Jan 1962.
Primary reconstruction source: Graeme Cree's page with cross-table and round-by-round pairings/results:
graeme.50webs.com/chesschamps/us/1961-2.htm.
Secondary sources used for validation and enrichment:
chessgames.com event page (round schedule and period sources),
365chess tournament page (66 games index and standings snapshot).
Round dates used in PGN Date tags follow the published schedule (R1: 1961.12.17, R2: 1961.12.18, R3: 1961.12.19, R4: 1961.12.21, R5: 1961.12.23, R6: 1961.12.26, R7: 1961.12.27, R8: 1961.12.28, R9: 1961.12.30, R10: 1962.01.02, R11: 1962.01.04).
One game appears in source databases as an incomplete score (Benko - Seidman, round 7); in the master PGN extraction it is stored as 1.d4 0-1 (PlyCount=1), while Graeme explicitly notes uncertain colors for this result.
Minor standings discrepancy across secondary sources: some mirrors show Seidman 7.0 and Bernstein 2.5, while the Graeme crosstable gives Seidman 6.5 and Bernstein 3.0. The game set here follows the round-by-round reconstruction and extracted event games from games/usa.pgn.
Graeme table metadata: 12-player round robin, 11 rounds, average rating 2421, final score Evans 7½/11 (Byrne 7; Benko/Mednis/Sherwin/Seidman 6½).
Published contemporary coverage (as listed by chessgames event notes): Chess Life (Jan-Feb 1962), Chess Review (Feb/Mar/May/Jun 1962), selected game reports in New York Times (Dec 1961 - Jan 1962), and American Chess Bulletin (Jan/Feb 1962).
Chessgames historical note mentions the event as the Lessing J. Rosenwald tournament cycle for the U.S. title and reports first-round attendance of 85 spectators.
Start numbers used for Berger reconstruction (matching the players order in usa-1961.txt):
1 Evans; 2 Byrne, Robert; 3 Benko; 4 Mednis; 5 Seidman; 6 Sherwin; 7 Hearst; 8 Byrne, Donald; 9 Weinstein; 10 Turner; 11 Kramer; 12 Bernstein.
Round by round results
| 1st round — 17th December 1961 |
| Bernstein, Sidney |
(5) |
|
|
0 - 1 |
|
|
(8) |
Weinstein, Raymond |
| Byrne, Donald |
(6) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(7) |
Sherwin, James |
| Byrne, Robert |
(4) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(9) |
Benko, Pal |
| Evans, Larry Melvyn |
(2) |
|
|
1 - 0 |
|
|
(11) |
Turner, Abe |
| Hearst, Eliot Sanford |
(1) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(12) |
Kramer, George |
| Mednis, Edmar John |
(3) |
|
|
1 - 0 |
|
|
(10) |
Seidman, Herbert |
| 1.-3. Evans, Mednis, Weinstein — 1; 4.-9. R.Byrne, Benko, Sherwin, Hearst, D.Byrne, Kramer — ½; 10.-12. Seidman, Turner, Bernstein — 0; |
| 2nd round — 18th December 1961 |
| Benko, Pal |
(9) |
|
|
0 - 1 |
|
|
(5) |
Bernstein, Sidney |
| Hearst, Eliot Sanford |
(1) |
|
|
0 - 1 |
|
|
(2) |
Evans, Larry Melvyn |
| Kramer, George |
(12) |
|
|
0 - 1 |
|
|
(7) |
Sherwin, James |
| Seidman, Herbert |
(10) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(4) |
Byrne, Robert |
| Turner, Abe |
(11) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(3) |
Mednis, Edmar John |
| Weinstein, Raymond |
(8) |
|
|
0 - 1 |
|
|
(6) |
Byrne, Donald |
| 1. Evans — 2; 2.-4. Mednis, Sherwin, D.Byrne — 1½; 5.-7. R.Byrne, Weinstein, Bernstein — 1; 8.-12. Benko, Seidman, Hearst, Turner, Kramer — ½; |
| 3rd round — 19th December 1961 |
| Bernstein, Sidney |
(5) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(10) |
Seidman, Herbert |
| Byrne, Donald |
(6) |
|
|
0 - 1 |
|
|
(9) |
Benko, Pal |
| Byrne, Robert |
(4) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(11) |
Turner, Abe |
| Evans, Larry Melvyn |
(2) |
|
|
1 - 0 |
|
|
(12) |
Kramer, George |
| Mednis, Edmar John |
(3) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(1) |
Hearst, Eliot Sanford |
| Sherwin, James |
(7) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(8) |
Weinstein, Raymond |
| 1. Evans — 3; 2.-3. Mednis, Sherwin — 2; 4.-8. R.Byrne, Benko, D.Byrne, Weinstein, Bernstein — 1½; 9.-11. Seidman, Hearst, Turner — 1; 12. Kramer — ½; |
| 4th round — 21st December 1961 |
| Benko, Pal |
(9) |
|
|
1 - 0 |
|
|
(7) |
Sherwin, James |
| Evans, Larry Melvyn |
(2) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(3) |
Mednis, Edmar John |
| Hearst, Eliot Sanford |
(1) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(4) |
Byrne, Robert |
| Kramer, George |
(12) |
|
|
1 - 0 |
|
|
(8) |
Weinstein, Raymond |
| Seidman, Herbert |
(10) |
|
|
1 - 0 |
|
|
(6) |
Byrne, Donald |
| Turner, Abe |
(11) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(5) |
Bernstein, Sidney |
| 1. Evans — 3½; 2.-3. Benko, Mednis — 2½; 4.-7. R.Byrne, Seidman, Sherwin, Bernstein — 2; 8.-12. Hearst, D.Byrne, Weinstein, Turner, Kramer — 1½; |
| 5th round — 23rd December 1961 |
| Bernstein, Sidney |
(5) |
|
|
0 - 1 |
|
|
(1) |
Hearst, Eliot Sanford |
| Byrne, Donald |
(6) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(11) |
Turner, Abe |
| Byrne, Robert |
(4) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(2) |
Evans, Larry Melvyn |
| Mednis, Edmar John |
(3) |
|
|
0 - 1 |
|
|
(12) |
Kramer, George |
| Sherwin, James |
(7) |
|
|
1 - 0 |
|
|
(10) |
Seidman, Herbert |
| Weinstein, Raymond |
(8) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(9) |
Benko, Pal |
| 1. Evans — 4; 2.-3. Benko, Sherwin — 3; 4.-7. R.Byrne, Mednis, Hearst, Kramer — 2½; 8.-12. Seidman, D.Byrne, Weinstein, Turner, Bernstein — 2; |
| 6th round — 26th December 1961 |
| Evans, Larry Melvyn |
(2) |
|
|
1 - 0 |
|
|
(5) |
Bernstein, Sidney |
| Hearst, Eliot Sanford |
(1) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(6) |
Byrne, Donald |
| Kramer, George |
(12) |
|
|
0 - 1 |
|
|
(9) |
Benko, Pal |
| Mednis, Edmar John |
(3) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(4) |
Byrne, Robert |
| Seidman, Herbert |
(10) |
|
|
1 - 0 |
|
|
(8) |
Weinstein, Raymond |
| Turner, Abe |
(11) |
|
|
0 - 1 |
|
|
(7) |
Sherwin, James |
| 1. Evans — 5; 2.-3. Benko, Sherwin — 4; 4.-7. R.Byrne, Mednis, Seidman, Hearst — 3; 8.-9. D.Byrne, Kramer — 2½; 10.-12. Weinstein, Turner, Bernstein — 2; |
| 7th round — 27th December 1961 |
| Benko, Pal |
(9) |
|
|
0 - 1 |
|
|
(10) |
Seidman, Herbert |
| Bernstein, Sidney |
(5) |
|
|
0 - 1 |
|
|
(3) |
Mednis, Edmar John |
| Byrne, Donald |
(6) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(2) |
Evans, Larry Melvyn |
| Byrne, Robert |
(4) |
|
|
1 - 0 |
|
|
(12) |
Kramer, George |
| Sherwin, James |
(7) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(1) |
Hearst, Eliot Sanford |
| Weinstein, Raymond |
(8) |
|
|
1 - 0 |
|
|
(11) |
Turner, Abe |
| 1. Evans — 5½; 2. Sherwin — 4½; 3.-6. R.Byrne, Benko, Mednis, Seidman — 4; 7. Hearst — 3½; 8.-9. D.Byrne, Weinstein — 3; 10. Kramer — 2½; 11.-12. Turner, Bernstein — 2; |
| 8th round — 28th December 1961 |
| Byrne, Robert |
(4) |
|
|
1 - 0 |
|
|
(5) |
Bernstein, Sidney |
| Evans, Larry Melvyn |
(2) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(7) |
Sherwin, James |
| Hearst, Eliot Sanford |
(1) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(8) |
Weinstein, Raymond |
| Kramer, George |
(12) |
|
|
0 - 1 |
|
|
(10) |
Seidman, Herbert |
| Mednis, Edmar John |
(3) |
|
|
1 - 0 |
|
|
(6) |
Byrne, Donald |
| Turner, Abe |
(11) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(9) |
Benko, Pal |
| 1. Evans — 6; 2.-5. R.Byrne, Mednis, Seidman, Sherwin — 5; 6. Benko — 4½; 7. Hearst — 4; 8. Weinstein — 3½; 9. D.Byrne — 3; 10.-11. Turner, Kramer — 2½; 12. Bernstein — 2; |
| 9th round — 30th December 1961 |
| Benko, Pal |
(9) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(1) |
Hearst, Eliot Sanford |
| Bernstein, Sidney |
(5) |
|
|
1 - 0 |
|
|
(12) |
Kramer, George |
| Byrne, Donald |
(6) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(4) |
Byrne, Robert |
| Seidman, Herbert |
(10) |
|
|
0 - 1 |
|
|
(11) |
Turner, Abe |
| Sherwin, James |
(7) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(3) |
Mednis, Edmar John |
| Weinstein, Raymond |
(8) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(2) |
Evans, Larry Melvyn |
| 1. Evans — 6½; 2.-4. R.Byrne, Mednis, Sherwin — 5½; 5.-6. Benko, Seidman — 5; 7. Hearst — 4½; 8. Weinstein — 4; 9.-10. D.Byrne, Turner — 3½; 11. Bernstein — 3; 12. Kramer — 2½; |
| 10th round — 2nd January 1962 |
| Bernstein, Sidney |
(5) |
|
|
0 - 1 |
|
|
(6) |
Byrne, Donald |
| Byrne, Robert |
(4) |
|
|
1 - 0 |
|
|
(7) |
Sherwin, James |
| Evans, Larry Melvyn |
(2) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(9) |
Benko, Pal |
| Hearst, Eliot Sanford |
(1) |
|
|
0 - 1 |
|
|
(10) |
Seidman, Herbert |
| Kramer, George |
(12) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(11) |
Turner, Abe |
| Mednis, Edmar John |
(3) |
|
|
1 - 0 |
|
|
(8) |
Weinstein, Raymond |
| 1. Evans — 7; 2.-3. R.Byrne, Mednis — 6½; 4. Seidman — 6; 5.-6. Benko, Sherwin — 5½; 7.-8. Hearst, D.Byrne — 4½; 9.-10. Weinstein, Turner — 4; 11.-12. Kramer, Bernstein — 3; |
| 11th round — 4th January 1962 |
| Benko, Pal |
(9) |
|
|
1 - 0 |
|
|
(3) |
Mednis, Edmar John |
| Byrne, Donald |
(6) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(12) |
Kramer, George |
| Seidman, Herbert |
(10) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(2) |
Evans, Larry Melvyn |
| Sherwin, James |
(7) |
|
|
1 - 0 |
|
|
(5) |
Bernstein, Sidney |
| Turner, Abe |
(11) |
|
|
0 - 1 |
|
|
(1) |
Hearst, Eliot Sanford |
| Weinstein, Raymond |
(8) |
|
|
½ - ½ |
|
|
(4) |
Byrne, Robert |
| 1. Evans — 7½; 2. R.Byrne — 7; 3.-6. Benko, Mednis, Seidman, Sherwin — 6½; 7. Hearst — 5½; 8. D.Byrne — 5; 9. Weinstein — 4½; 10. Turner — 4; 11. Kramer — 3½; 12. Bernstein — 3; |
Information
Tournament Review
The 14th US Chess Championship (Lessing J. Rosenwald Tournament) was held in New York
from 17 December 1961 to 4 January 1962 at the Prince George Hotel.
Larry Evans won with 7.5/11, ahead of Robert Byrne (7.0) and a tie on 6.5 among Benko, Mednis, Seidman and Sherwin.
Contemporary reporting identifies the organizers as the USCF and the American Chess Foundation,
and gives Hans Kmoch as tournament director.
Source links: Graeme Cree page;
Chess Review, February 1962;
US Chess digital archives entry page.
|