The U.S. Open Championship is an open national chess championship that has been held in the United States annually since 1900. The top American player usually qualifies for the U.S. Chess Championship .
78-701: The tournament was originally the championship of the Western Chess Association, and was called the Western Open. In 1934, the Western Chess Association became the American Chess Federation and the tournament became the American Chess Federation congress. In 1939, that organization merged into the United States Chess Federation (USCF) and the tournament became the U.S. Open. In early years
156-522: A Business Manager (the position eventually became Executive Director ), headquartered in New York. In 1967, headquarters moved to Newburgh, New York ; in 1976, New Windsor, New York ; in 2006, Crossville, Tennessee ; and in 2022, St. Louis, Missouri . The U.S. Chess Federation has, in effect, two governing bodies. The Board of Delegates, composed of 140 persons designated by the state affiliates, as well as some other categories, meets annually at
234-629: A German biophysicist , whom she married in November 1933. In 1938, Hans-Gerhardt and Regina had a daughter, Joan Fischer . The reemergence of antisemitism under Stalin prompted Regina to go with Joan to Paris, where Regina became an English teacher. The threat of a German invasion led her and Joan to go to the United States in 1939. Regina and Hans-Gerhardt had already separated in Moscow, although they did not officially divorce until 1945. At
312-776: A Secret , where, thanks to Regina's efforts, the producers of the show arranged two round-trip tickets to the Soviet Union, for Bobby and his sister Joan. Once in Russia, Fischer was invited by the Soviet Union to Moscow, where International Master Lev Abramov would serve as a guide to Bobby and his sister, Joan. Upon arrival, Fischer immediately demanded that he be taken to the Moscow Central Chess Club, where he played speed chess with "two young Soviet masters", Evgeni Vasiukov and Alexander Nikitin, winning every game. Chess author V. I. Linder writes about
390-505: A conflict with the US government, which warned Fischer that his participation in the match would violate an executive order imposing US sanctions on Yugoslavia . The US government ultimately issued a warrant for his arrest; subsequently, Fischer lived as an émigré . In 2004, he was arrested in Japan and held for several months for using a passport that the US government had revoked. Eventually, he
468-609: A neighborhood that had one of the highest homicide and general crime rates in New York City. Despite the alienation from her son, Regina, in 1960, protested the practices of the American Chess Foundation and staged a five-hour protest in front of the White House , urging President Dwight D. Eisenhower to send an American team to that year's chess Olympiad (set for Leipzig , East Germany , behind
546-875: A not-so-silent rage", saying he was fed up "with these Russian pigs," which angered the Soviets who saw Fischer as their honored guest. It was then that the Yugoslavian chess officials offered to take in Fischer and Joan as early guests to the Interzonal . Fischer took them up on the offer, arriving in Yugoslavia to play two short training matches against masters Dragoljub Janošević and Milan Matulović . Fischer drew both games against Janošević and then defeated Matulović in Belgrade by 2½–1½. At Portorož, Fischer
624-539: A one-point margin, with 10½/13. Still two months shy of his 15th birthday, Fischer became the youngest ever US Champion. Since the championship that year was also the US Zonal Championship , Fischer's victory earned him the title of International Master . Fischer's victory in the US Championship qualified him to participate in the 1958 Portorož Interzonal, the next step toward challenging
702-589: A representative to each of the five invitationals. The five invitationals are: The National Tournament of Senior State Champions (50+), The GM Arnold Denker National Tournament of High School State Champions (9-12), The Dewain Barber National Tournament of Middle School State Champions (6-8), The John D. Rockefeller National Tournament of Elementary School State Champions (K-5), and The Ruth Haring National Tournament of Girls State Champions (K-12). Players generally qualify for these events by winning
780-437: A significant refinement of Elo's system. US Chess awards titles for lifetime achievement. These should not be confused with the titles awarded by FIDE , such as Grandmaster and International Master. US Chess awards a player who achieves a rating of 2200 or above the title of National Master and sends the player a certificate. Likewise, a Senior Master certificate is awarded for a rating of 2400 or higher. Until 2008,
858-538: A standard practice in top tournament and match play. He also invented Fischer random chess , also known as Chess960, a chess variant in which the initial position of the pieces is randomized to one of 960 possible positions. Fischer made numerous antisemitic statements, including Holocaust denial . His antisemitism was a major theme in his public and private remarks, and there has been widespread comment and speculation concerning his psychological condition based on his extreme views and eccentric behavior. Bobby Fischer
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#1732798568346936-525: A state championship tournament, although each state affiliate is allowed to use any criteria for selecting its representatives. The U.S. Championship , an invitational event, has been held since 1936. (For many years before that, the national championship had been decided by head-to-head match play.) Noteworthy past winners include Samuel Reshevsky and Bobby Fischer , eight times each; Walter Browne , six times; and Larry Evans , Gata Kamsky , and Hikaru Nakamura with five times each. The 2023 tournament
1014-471: A stronger player. Ratings are often used by tournament organizers to determine eligibility for "class" prizes, and eligibility to enter "class" sections, in tournaments. USCF first instituted a rating system for over-the-board play in 1950, using a calculation formula devised by Kenneth Harkness . In 1960, the USCF adopted a more reliable rating system invented by Arpad Elo , a college professor of physics who
1092-742: A summary of an FBI investigation written by J. Edgar Hoover , which confirmed their earlier conclusions. Throughout the 1950s, the FBI investigated Regina and her circle due to her supposed communist views and due to her time living in Moscow. FBI files note that Hans-Gerhardt Fischer never entered the United States, while recording that Neményi took a keen interest in Fischer's upbringing. Not only were Regina and Neményi reported to have had an affair in 1942, but Neményi made monthly child support payments to Regina and paid for Bobby's schooling until Paul Neményi's death in 1952. In March 1949, six-year-old Bobby and his sister Joan learned how to play chess using
1170-427: A tie for first, especially since the mid 1990s. The cash prizes awarded were large for their time and added to the tournament's popularity. In 1962, the entry fee was $ 20, with a first prize of $ 1,000, second prize $ 500, third $ 300, fourth $ 200, fifth $ 100, sixth through tenth $ 50 and eleventh through fifteenth $ 25. The Women's Open Champion won $ 200, and the women's runner-up $ 100. Additional cash prizes were awarded to
1248-628: A while after it occurred, Bobby was refreshingly modest: 'I just made the moves I thought were best. I was just lucky. ' " In 1957, Fischer played a two-game match against former world champion Max Euwe at New York, losing ½–1½. When the US Chess Federation published its rating list in May, Fischer had the rank of Master, the youngest player to earn that title up to that point. In July, he successfully defended his US Junior title, scoring 8½/9 at San Francisco. In August, he scored 10/12 at
1326-577: Is the U.S. Open . It began as the Western Open in 1900, held in Minnesota. It is the "congress" of US Chess – the annual meeting of the Delegates is held concurrently, as well as many smaller gatherings and events. Several hundred players participate (the highest number, 836, was at the 1983 event in Pasadena ). Five invitational events are held concurrently. Each US Chess state affiliate nominates
1404-427: Is the future world champion!" Fischer demanded to play against Mikhail Botvinnik , the reigning World Champion. When told that this was impossible, Fischer asked to play Paul Keres . "Finally, Tigran Petrosian was, on a semi-official basis, summoned to the club …" where he played speed games with Fischer, winning the majority. "When Bobby discovered that he wasn't going to play any formal games … he went into
1482-670: The 1972 World Championship , Fischer swept matches with Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen by 6–0 scores. After winning another qualifying match against Tigran Petrosian , Fischer won the title match against Boris Spassky of the USSR , in Reykjavík , Iceland. Publicized as a Cold War confrontation between the US and USSR, the match attracted more worldwide interest than any chess championship before or since. In 1975, Fischer refused to defend his title when an agreement could not be reached with FIDE , chess's international governing body, over
1560-461: The Iron Curtain ) and to help support the team financially. Fischer played in eight US Championships, winning all of them by at least a one-point margin. His results were as follows: Fischer missed the 1961/62 Championship (he was preparing for the 1962 Interzonal), and there was no 1964/65 event. In his eight US Chess Championships, Fischer lost only three games; to Edmar Mednis in
1638-514: The Life Senior Master title. The system is somewhat more complicated than this simple example suggests. The old Life Master title was renamed Original Life Master to avoid confusion with the new Life Master title; both are recognized and tracked by US Chess. Titles are posted on the same Player Search web page as ratings. US Chess organizes or sanctions various national championships. Most of these are held annually. The oldest
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#17327985683461716-700: The Manhattan Chess Club . Fischer's relationship with Nigro lasted until 1956, when Nigro moved away. In June 1956, Fischer began attending the Hawthorne Chess Club, based in master John "Jack" W. Collins 's home. Collins taught chess to children, and has been described as Fischer's teacher, but Collins himself suggested that he did not actually teach Fischer, and the relationship might be more accurately described as one of mentorship. Fischer played thousands of blitz and offhand games with Collins and other strong players, studied
1794-459: The Olympiads , had held the prestigious invitational U.S. Championship since 1936. The combined membership at the time was around 1,000. Membership experienced consistent, modest growth until 1958, when Bobby Fischer won the U.S. Championship at the age of 14. This began the "Fischer era", during which USCF membership grew thirty-fold, to approximately 60,000 in 1974, after Fischer had won
1872-604: The Sicilian Najdorf . Fischer had planned to play for the US at the 1968 Lugano Olympiad , but backed out when he saw the poor playing conditions. Both former world champion Tigran Petrosian and Belgian-American International Master George Koltanowski , the leader of the American team that year, felt that Fischer was justified in not participating in the Olympiad. According to Lombardy, Fischer's non-participation
1950-529: The World Chess Championship . The Fischer era did not last long, but the USCF has grown substantially since then, largely because of the explosive growth of scholastic chess . Annual national championship tournaments are now held at different grade and age levels; none of these tournaments, which now attract thousands of players, even existed prior to 1969. At its founding, the USCF had no employees and no headquarters, but in 1952, it hired
2028-656: The Zürich International Tournament, spring 1959, Fischer finished a point behind future world champion Mikhail Tal and a half-point behind Yugoslavian GM Svetozar Gligorić . Although Fischer had ended his formal education at age 16, dropping out of Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, he subsequently taught himself several foreign languages, including Russian , so he could read foreign chess periodicals. According to Latvian chess master Alexander Koblencs , even he and Tal could not match
2106-456: The "Dean of American Chess", who told her that Master Max Pavey , former Scottish champion, would be giving a simultaneous exhibition on January 17, 1951. Fischer played in the exhibition. Although he held on for 15 minutes, drawing a crowd of onlookers, he eventually lost to the chess master. One of the spectators was Brooklyn Chess Club President Carmine Nigro , an American chess expert of near master strength and an instructor. Nigro
2184-583: The "Supernationals," an event combining all three in one tournament, is held. The last Supernationals in 2017 drew over 5,500 players to Nashville, Tennessee and was claimed to be the largest rated chess tournament ever. The oldest of the three, the National High School, was first held in 1969 by the Continental Chess Association. The Elementary, Junior High, and High School championships should not be confused with
2262-535: The 1957/58 US Championship . The tournament included six-time US champion Samuel Reshevsky , defending US champion Arthur Bisguier, and William Lombardy, who in August had won the World Junior Championship . Bisguier predicted that Fischer would "finish slightly over the center mark". Despite all the predictions to the contrary, Fischer scored eight wins and five draws to win the tournament by
2340-446: The 1962/63 event, and in consecutive rounds to Samuel Reshevsky, and Robert Byrne in the 1965 championship, culminating in a total score of 74/90 (61 wins, 26 draws, 3 losses). Fischer refused to play in the 1958 Munich Olympiad when his demand to play first board ahead of Samuel Reshevsky was rejected. Some sources claim that 15-year-old Fischer was unable to arrange leave from attending high school. Fischer later represented
2418-507: The Century ", writing: "The following game, a stunning masterpiece of combination play performed by a boy of 13 against a formidable opponent, matches the finest on record in the history of chess prodigies." According to Frank Brady, " 'The Game of the Century' has been talked about, analyzed, and admired for more than fifty years, and it will probably be a part of the canon of chess for many years to come." "In reflecting on his game
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2496-683: The National Grade Level Championships, held in December, in which each grade level from K to 12 has its own championship. Except for the U.S. Championship, the tournaments listed above are organized by US Chess itself. But the US Chess calendar of national events also includes quite a few events that are bid out to interested affiliates. Here is a partial list: US Chess also organizes national championships of correspondence chess: US Chess publishes two magazines,
2574-417: The Soviet Union, and that this led to his hatred for the Soviets. In letters to Rodker, Fischer's mother stated her desire to pursue her own "obsession" of training in medicine and wrote that her son would have to live in their Brooklyn apartment without her: "It sounds terrible to leave a 16-year-old to his own devices, but he is probably happier that way". The apartment was on the edge of Bedford-Stuyvesant ,
2652-596: The Third Lessing J. Rosenwald Trophy Tournament in New York City in October 1956, a premier tournament limited to the 12 players considered the best in the US. Playing against top opposition, the 13-year-old Fischer could only score 4½/11, tying for 8th–9th place. Yet he won the brilliancy prize for his game against International Master Donald Byrne , in which Fischer sacrificed his queen to unleash an unstoppable attack. Hans Kmoch called it " The Game of
2730-410: The U.S. Open. The Executive Board, composed of eight persons elected by the membership to staggered four-year terms, meets monthly. US Chess implements rating systems for chess players. In each system, a rating is a calculated numerical estimate of a player's strength, based on results in tournament play against other rated players. Tournament organizers submit results to US Chess, which carries out
2808-400: The US Chess website. Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943 – January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion . A chess prodigy , he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11–0 score, the only perfect score in the history of the tournament. Qualifying for
2886-632: The US Open Chess Championship in Cleveland , winning on tie-breaking points over Arthur Bisguier. This made Fischer the youngest ever US Open Champion. He won the New Jersey Open Championship, scoring 6½/7. He then defeated the young Filipino master Rodolfo Tan Cardoso 6–2 in a New York match sponsored by Pepsi-Cola . Based on Fischer's rating and strong results, the USCF invited him to play in
2964-420: The United States on first board at four Men's Chess Olympiads , winning two individual Silver and one individual Bronze medals: Out of four Men's Chess Olympiads, Fischer scored +40−7=18, for 49/65: 75.4%. In 1966, Fischer narrowly missed the individual gold medal, scoring 88.23% to World Champion Tigran Petrosian's 88.46%. He played four games more than Petrosian, faced stiffer opposition, and would have won
3042-536: The World Champion. In 1957, Fischer wanted to go to Moscow. At his pleading, "Regina wrote directly to the Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev , requesting an invitation for Fischer to participate in the 6th World Youth and Student Festival of 1957. The reply—affirmative—came too late for him to go." Regina did not have the money to pay the airfare, but in 1958, Fischer was invited onto the game show I've Got
3120-496: The age of 16, Fischer finished equal fifth out of eight at the 1959 Candidates Tournament in Bled / Zagreb / Belgrade , Yugoslavia, scoring 12½/28. He was outclassed by tournament winner Tal, who won all four of their individual games. That year, Fischer released his first book of collected games: Bobby Fischer's Games of Chess , published by Simon & Schuster. Fischer's interest in chess became more important than schoolwork, to
3198-574: The books in Collins' large chess library, and ate almost as many dinners at Collins' home as his own. In March 1956, the Log Cabin Chess Club of West Orange, New Jersey (based in the home of the club's eccentric multi-millionaire founder and patron Elliott Forry Laucks), took Fischer on a tour to Cuba , where he gave a 12-board simultaneous exhibition at Havana's Capablanca Chess Club, winning ten games and drawing two. On this tour
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3276-486: The calculations and publishes the results. A player can have up to seven ratings: for correspondence games, for over-the-board games at regular (slow), quick, or blitz time controls, and for online games regular, quick, or blitz time controls. Ratings are posted online on the US Chess Player Search web page. Ratings for over-the-board play range from 100 to nearly 3000, with a higher rating indicating
3354-515: The club played a series of matches against other clubs. Fischer played second board , behind International Master Norman Whitaker . Whitaker and Fischer were the club's leading scorers, each scoring 5½ points out of 7 games. Fischer experienced a "meteoric rise" in his playing strength during 1956. On the tenth national rating list of the United States Chess Federation (USCF), published on May 20, 1956, his rating
3432-468: The commitment that Fischer had made to chess. Recalling a conversation from the tournament: "Tell me, Bobby," Tal continued, "what do you think of the playing style of Larissa Volpert ?" "She's too cautious. But you have another girl, Dmitrieva . Her games do appeal to me!" Here we were left literally open-mouthed in astonishment. Misha and I have looked at thousands of games, but it never occurred to us to study our women players' games. How could we find
3510-681: The corner of Union Street and Franklin Avenue and later to a two-bedroom apartment at 560 Lincoln Place. It was there that "Fischer soon became so engrossed in the game that Regina feared he was spending too much time alone." As a result, on November 14, 1950, Regina sent a postcard to the Brooklyn Eagle newspaper, seeking to place an ad inquiring whether other children of Bobby's age might be interested in playing chess with him. The paper rejected her ad, because no one could figure out how to classify it, but forwarded her inquiry to Hermann Helms ,
3588-432: The earliest he could legally do so. He later explained to Ralph Ginzburg, "You don't learn anything in school." When Fischer was 16, his mother moved out of their apartment to pursue medical training. Her friend Joan Rodker , who had met Regina when the two were "idealistic communists" living in Moscow in the 1930s, believes that Fischer resented his mother for being mostly absent, a communist activist, and an admirer of
3666-472: The first Canadian Open Chess Championship at Montreal 1956, he scored 7/10 to tie for 8th–12th places, with Larry Evans winning. In November, Fischer played in the 1956 Eastern States Open Championship in Washington, D.C., tying for second with William Lombardy , Nicholas Rossolimo , and Arthur Feuerstein , with Hans Berliner taking first by a half-point. Fischer accepted an invitation to play in
3744-460: The gold if he had accepted Florin Gheorghiu 's draw offer, rather than declining it and suffering his only loss. At the 1962 Varna Olympiad, Fischer predicted that he would defeat Argentinian GM Miguel Najdorf in 25 moves. Fischer actually did it in 24, becoming the only player to beat Najdorf in the tournament. Najdorf lost the game while employing the very opening variation named after him:
3822-616: The impression Fischer gave grandmaster (GM) Vladimir Alatortsev when he played blitz against the Soviet masters: Back in 1958, in the Central Chess Club, Vladimir Alatortsev saw a tall, angular 15-year-old youth, who in blitz games, crushed almost everyone who crossed his path… Alatortsev was no exception, losing all three games. He was astonished by the young American Robert Fischer's play, his fantastic self-confidence, amazing chess erudition, and simply brilliant play! Vladimir said in admiration to his wife on arriving home: "This
3900-401: The instructions from a set bought at a candy store. When Joan lost interest in chess and Regina did not have time to play, Fischer was left to play many of his first games against himself. When the family vacationed at Patchogue, Long Island, New York , that summer, Bobby found a book of old chess games and studied it intensely. In 1950, the family moved to Brooklyn, first to an apartment at
3978-516: The largest chess tournament held in the United States to that time. The tourney was slightly smaller at Boston in 1964, with a field of 229. The 1983 Open at Pasadena was the largest ever, at 836 official entries; it also featured the participation of Viktor Korchnoi , who had played in the last two World Championship matches. In the 2000s, the fields were over 400 to 500 entries. The tournament began in some editions to decline both in attendance and importance, and often many winners are involved in
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#17327985683464056-458: The match conditions. Consequently, the Soviet challenger Anatoly Karpov was named World Champion by default. Fischer subsequently disappeared from the public eye, though occasional reports of erratic behavior emerged. In 1992, he reemerged to win an unofficial rematch against Spassky . It was held in Yugoslavia , which was under a United Nations embargo at the time. His participation led to
4134-466: The monthly Chess Life , and bi-monthly Chess Life for Kids , which is geared towards those under 14. Chess Life , which began in 1946 as a bi-weekly newspaper, is now a glossy full-color magazine of 72 pages per issue. US Chess also publishes a rulebook. The current 7th edition is self-published by US Chess and produced in paperback and kindle forms. The most relevant chapters for over-the-board play are also available to download for free online from
4212-526: The official national rating system , awards national titles, sanctions over twenty national championships annually, and publishes two magazines: Chess Life and Chess Life Kids . The USCF was founded and incorporated in Illinois in 1939, from the merger of two older chess organizations. It is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri . Its membership as of 2020 as COVID hit
4290-438: The only other title awarded was that of Life Master , awarded to players who played 300 or more rated games while maintaining a rating above 2200. In 2008, the USCF implemented a system of "norms-based titles", patterned after the titles awarded by FIDE: if a person has (for example) five tournaments in which they demonstrate strength above 2400, and if in addition their rating at some time eventually reaches 2400, then they earn
4368-489: The point that "by the time he reached the fourth grade, he'd been in and out of six schools." In 1952, Regina got Bobby a scholarship (based on his chess talent and "astronomically high IQ") to Brooklyn Community Woodward. Fischer later attended Erasmus Hall High School at the same time as Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond . In 1959, its student council awarded him a gold medal for his chess achievements. The same year, Fischer dropped out of high school when he turned 16,
4446-527: The road and a problematic start, Fischer succeeded in his plan: after a strong finish, he ended up with 12/20 (+6−2=12) to tie for 5th–6th. The Soviet GM Yuri Averbakh observed, In the struggle at the board this youth, almost still a child, showed himself to be a full-fledged fighter, demonstrating amazing composure, precise calculation and devilish resourcefulness. I was especially struck not even by his extensive opening knowledge, but his striving everywhere to seek new paths. In Fischer's play an enormous talent
4524-514: The time for this?! Yet Bobby, it turns out, had found the time! Until late 1959, Fischer "had dressed atrociously for a champion, appearing at the most august and distinguished national and international events in sweaters and corduroys." Now, encouraged by Pal Benko to dress more smartly, Fischer "began buying suits from all over the world, hand-tailored and made to order." He told journalist Ralph Ginzburg that he had 17 hand-tailored suits and that all of his shirts and shoes were handmade. At
4602-588: The time of her son's birth, Regina was homeless and shuttled to different jobs and schools around the country to support her family. She engaged in political activism and raised both Bobby and Joan as a single parent. In 1949, Regina moved the family to Manhattan and the following year to Brooklyn , New York City, where she studied for her master's degree in nursing and subsequently began working in that field. In 2002, Peter Nicholas and Clea Benson of The Philadelphia Inquirer published an investigative report which stated that Bobby Fischer's biological father
4680-535: The time, aged 15 years, 6 months, 1 day. "By then everyone knew we had a genius on our hands." Before the Candidates' Tournament, Fischer won the 1958/59 US Championship (scoring 8½/11). He tied for third (with Borislav Ivkov ) in Mar del Plata (scoring 10/14), a half-point behind Luděk Pachman and Miguel Najdorf . He tied for 4th–6th at Santiago (scoring 7½/12) behind Ivkov, Pachman, and Herman Pilnik . At
4758-627: The top women, the top junior, and for the best scores in the Expert , A, B, and C classes. The 2024 guaranteed prize fund was $ 60,000, with $ 10,000 for first place. United States Chess Federation The United States Chess Federation (also known as US Chess or USCF ) is the governing body for chess competition in the United States and represents the U.S. in The World Chess Federation (FIDE) . USCF administers
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#17327985683464836-493: The tournament "because he got caught up in women and sex. Afterwards, Fischer said he'd never mix women and chess together, and kept the promise." Fischer concluded 1960 by winning a small tournament in Reykjavík with 4½/5, and defeating Klaus Darga in an exhibition game in West Berlin. In 1961, Fischer started a 16-game match with Reshevsky, split between New York and Los Angeles. Reshevsky, 32 years Fischer's senior,
4914-511: The tournament had 12 or 13 rounds and lasted two weeks. After experimentation with various less-demanding formats, in recent years it has usually been nine rounds; the 2015 tournament was nine rounds in nine days. Tournament participation grew through the 1950s and 1960s. Milwaukee 1953 had 181 entrants, setting a new record for the tournament. Cleveland 1957 had 184 players, and San Francisco 1961 set another attendance record with 198 players. The 1963 Open at Chicago had 266 entries, making it
4992-537: The tournament was usually small, and most years play was conducted as round robin . In some years it had to be divided into preliminary and final sections. It grew larger starting in 1934, necessitating use of different formats. In 1946, the Swiss System was used for preliminary rounds, and in 1947 and subsequent years the tournament was held as a single section paired by the Swiss System. For many years,
5070-616: Was 97,000; as of 2024 the membership was 112,000. In 1939, the United States of America Chess Federation was created in Illinois through the merger of the American Chess Federation and National Chess Federation . The American Chess Federation, formerly the Western Chess Association, had held an annual open championship since 1900; that tournament, after the merger, became the U.S. Open . The National Chess Federation, founded in 1927 to organize U.S. participation in
5148-422: Was a chess master . Elo worked with USCF for many years. The system he invented, or a variant of it, was later adopted by FIDE , and is utilized in other games and sports, including USA Today's college football and basketball rankings. USCF has made further adjustments to the rating calculation over the years; the present calculation was influenced by the "Glicko rating system" developed by Prof. Mark Glickman,
5226-700: Was a modest 1726, over 900 points below top-rated Samuel Reshevsky (2663). Fischer's first real tournament success occurred in July 1956, when he won the US Junior Chess Championship in Philadelphia. He scored 8½/10 to become the youngest-ever Junior Champion at age 13, a record that still stands. At the 1956 US Open Chess Championship in Oklahoma City , he scored 8½/12 to tie for 4th–8th places, with Arthur Bisguier winning. In
5304-563: Was accompanied by Lombardy. The top six finishers in the Interzonal would qualify for the Candidates Tournament . Most observers doubted that a 15-year-old with no international experience could finish among the six qualifiers at the Interzonal, but Fischer told journalist Miro Radoicic, "I can draw with the grandmasters, and there are half-a-dozen patzers in the tournament I reckon to beat." Despite some bumps in
5382-484: Was actually Paul Neményi . Neményi, a Hungarian mathematician and physicist of Jewish heritage , specialized in continuum mechanics. His work applied geometrical solutions to fluid dynamics. Like Bobby, he was a child prodigy and won the Hungarian national mathematics competition at the age of 17. Benson and Nicholas continued their work and gathered additional evidence in court records, personal interviews, and
5460-783: Was born at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, on March 9, 1943. His mother, Regina Wender Fischer, was a US citizen, born in Switzerland; her parents were Polish Jews . Raised in St. Louis, Missouri , Regina became a teacher, a registered nurse, and later a physician. After graduating from college in her teens, Regina traveled to Germany to visit her brother. It was there she met geneticist and future Nobel Prize winner Hermann Joseph Muller , who persuaded her to move to Moscow to study medicine. She enrolled at I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University , where she met Hans-Gerhardt Fischer, also known as Gerardo Liebscher,
5538-401: Was considered the favorite since he had far more match experience and had never lost a set match. After 11 games and a tie score (two wins apiece with seven draws), the match ended prematurely due to a scheduling dispute between Fischer and match organizer and sponsor Jacqueline Piatigorsky . Fischer forfeited 2 games, and even though the score was now 7½ to 5½, with 8½ required to win, Reshevsky
5616-431: Was declared the winner, by default, and received the winner's share of the prize fund. Fischer was second in a super-class field, behind only former world champion Tal, at Bled, 1961. Yet, Fischer defeated Tal head-to-head for the first time in their individual game, scored 3½/4 against the Soviet contingent, and finished as the only unbeaten player, with 13½/19 (+8−0=11). Fischer won the 1962 Stockholm Interzonal by
5694-594: Was due to Reshevsky's refusal to yield first board. In 1974, Fischer was willing to play the 21st Chess Olympiad in Nice, France, but FIDE rejected his demand to play in a separate room with only Fischer, his opponent, and spectators. In 1960, Fischer tied for first place with Soviet star Boris Spassky at the strong Mar del Plata Tournament in Argentina, winning by a two-point margin, scoring 13½/15 (+13−1=1), ahead of David Bronstein. Fischer lost only to Spassky; this
5772-462: Was granted Icelandic citizenship by a special act of the Icelandic parliament , allowing him to live there until his death in 2008. Fischer made numerous lasting contributions to chess. His book My 60 Memorable Games , published in 1969, is regarded as essential reading in chess literature. In the 1990s, he patented a modified chess timing system that added a time increment after each move, now
5850-458: Was noticeable, and in addition one sensed an enormous amount of work on the study of chess. Soviet GM David Bronstein said of Fischer's time in Portorož: "It was interesting for me to observe Fischer, but for a long time I couldn't understand why this 15-year-old boy played chess so well." Fischer became the youngest person ever to qualify for the Candidates and the youngest-ever grandmaster at
5928-430: Was so impressed with Fischer's play that he introduced him to the club and began teaching him. Fischer noted of his time with Nigro: "Mr. Nigro was possibly not the best player in the world, but he was a very good teacher. Meeting him was probably a decisive factor in my going ahead with chess." Nigro hosted Fischer's first chess tournament at his home in 1952. In the summer of 1955, Fischer, then 12 years old, joined
6006-512: Was the start of their lifelong friendship and rivalry. Fischer experienced a rare failure in his competitive career at the Buenos Aires Tournament (1960), finishing with 8½/19 (+3−5=11), far behind winners Viktor Korchnoi and Samuel Reshevsky with 13/19. According to Larry Evans, Fischer's first sexual experience was with a girl to whom Evans introduced him during the tournament. Pal Benko said that Fischer did horribly in
6084-468: Was won by Fabiano Caruana . The U.S. Women's Championship , also invitational, has been held since 1937. In recent years it has been held concurrently with the U.S. Championship. The 2023 tournament was won by Carissa Yip . The largest national championships are the Elementary (K-6), Junior High (K-9), and High School (K-12) Championships which are held annually in the spring. Every four years
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