The Ottawa Citizen Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Tuesday, September 04, 1956
Young Film Producer Canada Chess Winner
Montreal (CP) — Larry Evans 24-year-old New York city film producer and No. 2 ranking United States chess player Sunday night won the first Canadian open chess championship, a 10-round, $1,300 event.
Evans finished the tournament in a point-total tie with William Lombardy 18-year-old student at City College of New York, but captured the crown on the basis of a predetermined tie-breaking system involving the scores of defeated and drawn opponents.
U.S. speed champ since 1949, Evans accumulated eight points on seven wins one loss and two draws. Lombardy, who won his home state championship at the age of 16 had eight points on six wins and four draws playing against weaker opposition.
Lionel Joyner, a 24-year-old Montreal accountant who holds the city and Quebec provincial titles and Pavolis Vaitonis, 48, Hamilton a former Canadian national champion were grouped a half point behind the New Yorkers with three other Americans.
With seven points were Dan (Abe) Yanofsky, Winnipeg, Frank Anderson, Toronto, J. Noel Williams, Montreal, Bobby Fischer, Brooklyn, N.Y., and Nicholas Bakos Forest Hills, N.Y.
The $500 first place prize money and $300 second place money was combined and both Evans and Lombardy received $400.
Atillio Di Camillo, Philadelphia, Edmar Mednis, New York City, and Sherwin were tied with Vaitonis and Joyner.
The tournament, which will be held biennially, attracted 88 entries from five Canadian provinces, seven U.S. states and Guatemala. Six entrants, far down in the standings, retired before the final round.
Evans had 47½ points and Lombardy 46. The pair did not meet in the tournament.
Siegfried Schmitt, 23-year-old Kitchener office worker, won his final match to finish the tournament with a 6-4 record. His father, Josef, 47, a machinist, had 3½ points.
