AThe Montreal Star, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Saturday, September 01, 1956
Yanofsky Defeated: Two New Yorkers Tie For Chess Leadership
Former New York State Chess Champion James Sherwin and William Lombardy, present New York State champion, remained tied for first place in the Canadian Open Chess Championship, after both won their games in the eighth round played last night at Redpath Hall.
Sherwin defeated international master Abe Yanofsky, of Winnipeg, and Lombardy decisively beat Henry Zizys of Sudbury. Both leaders now have a score of six wins, two draws and no losses, and will meet in the ninth round of the tournament tonight.
Larry Evans, former U.S. Champion, kept his chances alive by defeating Lionel Joyner of Montreal. The game was interesting in that Evans won the game in only 15 moves, a rare occurrence with players of his calibre. Evans is in third place, a half point behind the leaders.
Frank Anderson, of Toronto, also remained in contention by beating Hans Berliner of Washington. Berliner, who was leading the tournament at one time, has lost his last two games and have fallen well behind.
Fourth Place
Anderson is tied for fourth place with Edmar Mednis of New York and Noel Williams of Montreal. Mednis won against Nicholas Bakos of Forest Hills, N. Y., and Williams defeated Ray Krznaric of Sudbury. Abe Yanofsky, who lost, is also in this group.
Standing of the leaders after the eighth round:
Jim Sherwin 7-1
William Lombardy 7-1
Larry Evans 6½-1½
Frank Anderson 6-2
Edmar Mednis 6-2
Abe Yanofsky 6-2
Noel Williams 6-2
Paul Vaitonis 6-2
Bobby Fischer 5½-2½
Lionel Joyner 5½-2½
Henry Zizys 5½-2½
Robert Sobel 5½-2½
Geza Fuster 5½-2½
Bobby Fischer, 13-year-old “boy wonder” from Brooklyn, has moved up among the leaders by virtue of his strong win against Charles Sharp of West Scarboro, Maine. His adjourned game with Heinz Matthais, of Montreal, has gone through the second day of play, and is to be continued today. It has already past the 90 move mark and has consumed nearly ten hours.
Matthai is not willing to give him a draw, and the lad will not give up.
The strong showing of Noel Williams of Montreal has surprised experts. His present high standing is especially impressive in view of the fact that unlike many of the players, especially the stronger ones, he is working during the day. In a tournament of this calibre where nervous fatigue plays an important part, this is a tremendous handicap.
Mr. Williams, who has his B. A. from McGill, was born in Fort Erie, Ontario, and learned chess from his father at the age of 11. The first chess tournament he entered was the Ontario Championship in 1948, where completely unknown, he surprised everyone by beating Frank Anderson and finished in a tie for first place. Since then he has taken up residence in Montreal and won the Montreal City title twice and the Quebec Provincial championships once.
An unusual exhibition will take place on the day after the tournament is finished.
All At Once
International Master Larry Evans and Bobby Fischer will play 80 players simultaneously in a tremendous test of stamina and speed. Anyone can enter—the charge to play against the two American wizards is $3. Games will start at 12:30 in the afternoon on Monday, Labor Day. It will be a rare opportunity for an average player to test his skill against a master.
Results of the eighth round.
