The Montreal Star, Montreal, Canada, Friday, August 31, 1956.
N.Y. Chess Expert Enters 3-way Tie
Jim Sherwin, a 22-year-old chess expert from New York City, moved into a three-way tie for first place in the Canadian Open Chess Championship last night when he defeated Paul Vaitonis, international master from Hamilton, Ontario. Abe Yanofsky of Winnipeg and William Lombardy of New York, who shared the lead after the sixth round, were forced to make room at the top for Sherwin when they played to an unexciting draw. Both players were obviously wary of each other and took no chances.
The matches are being played in Redpath Hall, McGill University.
Mr. Sherwin, who learned to play chess at the age of six, showed promise of doing well in this tournament when he succeeded in finishing in a tie for first place in the recent U.S. Open Championship held in Oklahoma last month. In 1951, he won the New York State title and the Inter-collegiate championship of the United States.
Larry Evans of New York, fully recovered from his 6th round defeat at the hands of Yanofsky, continued his winning ways by narrowly beating Geza Fuster of Toronto.
Lionel Joyner, the incumbent champion of Montreal, finally hit his true form, defeating Edward Rose of Toronto. He now has five and a half points and is tied for fourth place with Evans and Victor Zizys of Sudbury, who upset Hans Berliner of Washington. This was Berliner's first loss in the tournament so far.
Leader Standing
The standing of the leaders after the 7th round is as follows:
Jim Sherwin, New York, 6-1.
Abe Yanofsky, Winnipeg, 6-1.
William Lombardy, New York, 6-1.
Larry Evans, New York, 5½-1½.
Lionel Joyner, Montreal, 5½-1½.
Victor Zizys, Sudbury, 5½-1½.
Frank Anderson, Toronto 5-2.
Sidney Bernstein, New York, 5-2.
Noel Williams, Montreal, 5-2.
Edmar Mednis, New York, 5-2.
Paul Vaitonis, Hamilton, 5-2.
Hans Berliner, Washington, 5-2.
Moving back into strong contention was Sidney Bernstein of New York, who brilliantly defeated S. Schmitt of Kitchener, Ontario. Mr. Bernstein is easily the most experienced player in the event. When he was 17 years old he won the championship of the Brooklyn Chess Club. He joined the Marshall Chess Club, which is the second strongest club in America, and succeeded in winning its championship on five occasions.
In 1934, he won the international Left Bank Tournament which was held in Paris, France. At that time he was on the teaching staff of the Sorbonne. Returning to the United States, where he acquired his Ph.D., at New York University, he played in three U.S. championship qualifying tournaments, finishing second in 1936, and first in 1938 and '40. In the 1936 event, he succeeded in winning against grandmaster Samuel Reshevsky.
This is especially impressive, since after losing to Bernstein, Reshevsky, who is one of the strongest players in the world, did not lose a single game for the next 15 years.
His only real success since then, was a tie for first place in the Ventnor Invitational Tournament in 1941. When asked why he had not succeeded in finishing high in any tournaments since then, Mr. Bernstein who is 45 years old replied: “The greatest single requisite of a successful tournament player is stamina: the ability to sit hour after hour under a severe competitive strain without becoming exhausted. After a man turns 35, he has pretty well had it. I guess this applies to most forms of competition, even physical ones.”
The strain has already taken its toll, with four players being forced to drop out: E. E. Hand of West Haven, Conn., Florian Myszkowski of Toronto, Mihail Illiesco of Montreal and Edmond Garaeu, also on Montreal.
Of interest was the fact that the six top American players were paired against six Canadians. If this had been a team match the result would have been 3 to 2 for the United States with one game adjourned.
The deferred game, which will be finished today is between Ray Krznaric of Sudbury and Attilio Di Camillo of Philadelphia. One of these players will join the leaders when the game is completed.
Bobby Fischer, the 13-year-old “kid from Brooklyn,” has an adjourned position against Heinz Matthai of Montreal. The result is expected to be a draw, with Matthai having slightly the better chances.
On Saturday morning, the players will take part in a gigantic speed tournament. It was announced that the event is open to anybody who can play chess whether he is entered in the present tournament or not. Speed chess is played the same as the regular game, with the exception that each move must be made in 10 seconds or less. The event is scheduled to take place at 11 a.m.
