Chess in Action

August 1953 (Announcement for the Valley of the Moon Chess Festival.)

November 1953 (IM George Koltanowski gave a Simultaneous Exhibition at the Valley of the Moon Festival in Sonoma and scored 26 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss. 140 Juniors, from 5 to 18, competed in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park; KCBS Radio publicized it on Jim Grady's "This is San Francisco".)

March 1954 (On December 6, 1953, Henry Gross and Bob Burger tied for 1st in the A Section of a rapid transit tournament at the Golden Gate CC. On Sunday, January 17, 1954, George Koltanowski and Earl Yaggie played a simul at San Quentin Prison. Kolty won 15 and Yaggie won 10, lost 4, and drew 2. Kolty gave another simul at the Hayward CC on January 18th; he scored 23 wins and 1 draw with Harry Hitchcock. Sammy Reshevsky gave a 50-board simul at the Hotel Richelieu on February 3rd and scored 46 wins, with 4 draws to Les Talcott, Charles Fontan, Dal Ogilvie, and Ernest Anders. Sammy gave another simul at the Golden Gate CC on February 6th; he scored 24 wins, 5 draws, and 4 losses. George Koltanowski gave a 50 board exhibition at the Jewish Community Center of Richmond. He won 43, drew 5 to S. Udman, W. Maier, C. Rawson, W. Getz, F. Allardyce, and lost 2 to M. Gershenson, and M. McFadden. The simul was held on February 14th, during the Peninsula Chess Festival. )

September 1954 (George Koltanowski gave a simul at Redwood City Chess Festival on July 11th, winning 18, drawing Ensign R. Cuomo, and losing to R. Dinsmore. Mrs. S. Morrison and Mrs. M. Bartholomew tied for 1st in the Sonoma Valley of the Moon Chess Festival Women's Championship section held on August 15th. At the same event, George Koltanowski gave a simul and won 28 games, drawing with Alan Kahn, and losing to Mrs. Bartholomew.)

December 1954 (Obit for Carroll F. Ogden, Secretary of the Reti CC; which has been renamed the Carroll Ogden CC in his honor. George Koltanowski gave a simul at Paso Robles on November 22, winning 26 with one draw going to Anna Lund. Kolty gave another simul at Walnut Creek on November 29th and scored 18 wins and two draws with Conner Schroth and Hugh Morison. Valdemars Zemitis gave a simul and scored 12 wins at the Capablanca CC. Conner Schroth win the championship of the Diablo CC. Les Talcott won the championship of the Alameda CC.)

August-September 1956 (IM George Koltanowski was appointed Tournament Administrator for the U.S. Chess Federation.)

October-December 1956 (The East won the Chess Friends of Northern California's East-West Match by a score of 17-12; on the 1st board, Milo Ayer of Berkeley (E) lost to Leslie Wheeler of San Francisco (W). Gil Ramirez won the California State Championship. CFNC Rating List.)

February-March 1957 (Larry Ledgerwood won the CFNC Oakland Open Tournament. CFNC Rating List.)

May-June 1957 (Ben Zeiler won the CFNC Spring Chess Festival. CFNC Rating List.)

July-August 1957 (Bobby Fischer won the U.S. Junior Championship at the San Francisco Spreckels-Russell Dairy Company.)

September-October 1957 (Robert Breiger won the CFNC Sheraton-Palace Tournament in San Francisco. 'Woodpusher's Dream Tournament' by Fred M. Wren.)

January-February 1958 ('What is Chess?' by Richard Reti. Fischer wins U.S. Championship with results table.)

March-April 1958 (Hank Mondria won the CFNC Northern California Championship in Oakland.)

May-June 1958 (Erik Osbun won the Sheraton-Palace Open Spring Chess Festival in San Francisco. CFNC Rating List.)

July-August 1958 (8th Annual Sonoma Valley of the Moon Chess Festival broke all previous attendance records with 220 players. George Koltanowski will conduct weekly chess programs on Radio Station KAFE, Oakland FM 98.1.)

September-October 1958 (George Koltanowski gave a lecture at the Pacifica Chess Club in Pedro Valley California. George Koltanowski gave a Simultaneous Exhibition at the Lafayette Chess Club and scored 14 wins and 2 draws. CFNC Rating List.)

November-December 1958 (Mrs. Nancy McLeod won the 4th Annual San Bruno Open Chess Tournament. The West won the Annual SF Bay Area East-West Match by a score of 19-10. CFNC Rating List.)

January-February 1959 (Edwin Simanis of Oakland won the Sheraton Palace Holiday Special Open in San Francisco. CFNC Rating List.)

March-April 1959 (David Krause of Palo Alto won the Chess Friends Open Tournament at the Oakland Y.M.C.A. CFNC Rating List.)

May-June 1959 (Lieut. John Hudson of Mather Air Force Base won the Contra Costa County Chess Championship in Pleasant Hill.)

July-August 1959 (John Blackstone won the First Annual Alameda High School Open held at the Hayward High School. CFNC Rating List.)

September-October 1959 (9th Annual Sonoma Valley of the Moon Chess Festival broke all previous attendance records with 253 players and over 1,000 spectators; David Krause won the Expert Invitational Tournament with a score of 5-0. Ronald Thacker won the Group A section of the Oakland YMCA Championship. David Krause won the Redwood City Chess Club Tournament.)

November-December 1959 (Dan McLeod won the 1959 San Bruno Chess Club Tournament. The East won the Annual SF Bay Area East-West Match by a score of 19-9. CFNC Rating List.)

January-February 1960 (Wade Hendricks won the Rapid Transit (10-second per move) Championship of the San Bruno Chess Club. Collecting chessmen.)

March-April 1960 (David Krause won the Invitational Sonoma Tournament in August of 1959. Julius Loftsson won the CFNC Northern California Annual Open Championship.)

May-June 1960 (Arthur Wang won the First Invitational Oakland YMCA CC Tournament.)

July-August 1960 (Advanced publicity for George Koltanowski's try for a new world record; 100 opponents at 10 seconds a move at the San Francisco Sheraton Palace.)

September-October 1960 (Article on computer chess. CFNC Rating list.)

November-December 1960 (The East won in the Annual SF Bay Area East-West Match. George Koltanowski played 3 Stanford professors on Channel 2 KTVU TV. Kolty released an LP album "My Approach to the Game." Missing last two pages?)

January-February 1961 (Over 500 spectators came to see George Koltanowski play 100 opponents at 10 seconds a move.)

March-April 1961 (Erik Osbun won the CFNC Open Championship at the Oakland YMCA. CFNC Rating list.)

May-June 1961 (Macy's sponsored a week-long Chess Festival.)

July-August 1961 (Wade Hendricks won the Marina Chess Club Championship. Julius Loftsson won the CFNC Expert Tournament. Missing last two pages?)

September-October 1961 (IGM Pal Benko won the U.S. Open at the Sheraton-Palace Hotel in San Francisco. The 11th Annual Sonoma Open Air Chess Festival was held in Sonoma's historic plaza.)

February-March 1962 (CFNC Rating List.)

June-July 1962 (Announcement for the George Koltanowski Caissa Award - a bronze plaque designed by the famous sculptor, Mariam Brackenridge; to be given annually to a chosen few who promote the cause of Caissa, the Goddess of Chess. Mitchell Bedford won the CFNC Open Championship.)

Winter 1962 (CFNC Rating List. Robert Henderson beat Marshall McLennan in a USCF-rated Match by a score of 6-4. Bill Addison won the 2nd Annual Hamilton AFB Open. The 12th Annual Sonoma Outdoor Chess Festival (Valley of the Moon) drew 215 entries. R.P. McClary won the Kolty CC Rating Tournament. Paul Vayssie drew Marsh McLennan in a USCF-rated Match by a score of 5-5. Robert L. Henry won the Oakland YMCA Championship. Jim McIlrath won the 1st Redwood City Open Tournament.)

Spring 1963 (The San Francisco Chronicle sponsored a match between IM George Koltanowski and IGM Paul Keres. John Blackstone and Ken Grover won the CFNC Round-Up Tournament. IGM Robert Fischer won the U.S. Championship. The CFNC Open Championship was won by Michael Leidner. Peter Cleghorn won the CFNC Experts Invitational Round-Robin.)

Summer/Autumn 1963 (Petrosian-Botvinnik World Title Match analysed by IGM Paul Keres. Ray Schutt won the Hayward Open Chess Festival. Duncan Suttles, Max Wilkerson and Serge von Oettingen tied for 1st in the Sacramento Open. IGM Pal Benko won the Santa Monica Open. John Blackstone won the Junior Championship of California. CFNC Rating List.)

Spring 1964 (IGM Bobby Fischer won the U.S. Championship with a score of 11-0. IGM Paul Keres reports on the 31st USSR Championship.)

Summer 1964 (IGM Bobby Fischer gave a simultaneous exhibition at the Mechanics' Institute in San Francisco and scored 39 wins, 8 draws and 4 losses. Blazo Sredanovic won the Monterey Open. Erik Osbun won the C.F.N.C. Experts's Invitational. CFNC Rating List.)

Autumn 1964 (George Kane gave a simultaneous exhibition at the 14th Annual Sonoma Open-Air Chess Festival; he scored 17 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses. Jerry Hanken won the California Open at Fresno. Join KQED TV - and Koltanowski on Chess.)

Winter 1964 (Bruce Alberston won the Sixth Army's Chess Tournament at Fort Ord. CFNC Rating List.)

Spring 1965 (Art Wang and Michael Bedford tied for 1st in the Annual CFNC Open Championship held in Berkeley. Aki Kanamori, John Smail and Dr. Mikhael Schick tied for 1st in the Kolty Chess Club Annual Championship.)

Summer 1965 (John Smail won the Kolty Invitational Tournament. Aki Kanamori won the Walnut Creek Open. Earl Pruner, Philip Smith, Koit Tullus, R.M. Jacobs and Roy Hoppe tied to win the 2nd Annual Monterey Open. Aki Kanamori won the Berkeley Open. CFNC Rating List.)

Autumn 1965 (John Blackstone won the 15th Annual Sonoma Open Air Chess Festival. Steve Joplin won the Oakland Open. John Smail won the Berkeley Chess Club Championship. John Blackstone won the CFNC Open in Berkeley. CFNC Rating List.)

Winter 1965 (IGM Paul Keres gives in-depth comments on the 1965 Candidates' Matches. Gary Pickler won the CFNC State Championship Candidates' Tournament in Berkeley.)

Spring 1966 (Ronald Thacker won the CFNC Championship Tournament; held in Berkeley. CFNC Rating List.)

Summer 1966 (K. Tullus, J. Blackstone and Erik Osbun tied for 1st in the Master section of the 1966 Peninsula Open held in LERA. Max Wilkerson won, on tiebreak, the Walnut Creek Open. Petrosian retained his World Championship title against Spassky.)

Fall 1966 (Rare Honor To The McGinleys. CFNC Rating List.)

Winter 1966 (IGM Paul Keres commentary. R. Trenberth won the CFNC October Open at the Berkeley YMCA.)

Spring 1967 (N. Weaver won the 1967 CFNC Championship Tournament in Berkeley. Richard Shorman won the Concord Open.)

Summer 1967 (John Blackstone won the Second Annual Peninsula Open in Sunnyvale. K. Grivainis won the Walnut Creek Chess Championship. CFNC Rating List.)

Fall 1967 (J. Ulrich won the Berkeley Summer Open. Tom Heldt won the Fourth Annual Oakland Summer Championship. CFNC Rating List.)

Winter 1967 (Richard Laver and Kon Grivainis tied for 1st and 2nd in the Contra Costa County Championship. James Ulrich won the CFNC Berkeley Open Chess Championship. CFNC Rating List.)

Spring 1968 (John Smail won the CFNC New Year Open Championship. Jim Ulrich won the CFNC/USCF Open Qualifier Tournament (leading to the California State Championship.) Ken Yamamoto won the 1968 CFNC Championships Tournament. The 1968 CFNC Northern California Junior Championship Playoff Tournaments were won by Matthew Sullivan in the '10 Years and Under Group', David Glanville in the '11-12-13 Year Group', Jay Spingarn in the 14-15-16 Year Group', and Dave Amkraut in the '17-18 Year Group'. Mark Watson won the Concord Open Championship. Peter Grey won the Carlmont Open Championship. CFNC Rating List.)

Summer 1968 (Gary Pickler won the top 4-person section of the Four Leaf Clover Tournament in Oakland. John Blackstone won the Peninsula Championship - USCF Open Division. CFNC Rating List.)

Fall 1968 (Jude Acers won the Oakland Open Championship. Kon Grivainis won the 5th Annual Oakland Summer Championship. The Lera CC Team beat the Oakland CC Team by a score of 11.5-10.5; on the 1st board, Bob Shean (L) lost to David Forthoffer (O). CFNC Rating List.)

Winter 1968 (Jude Acers, David Blohm and Frank Thornally tied for 1st in the 3rd Annual Northern California Class Championship. Garry Wilson won the Carlmont Open Championship. Steven Spencer won the Novato Open Championship. The 1968 CFNC Junior Championships of Contra Costa County were won by J. Fichtenkort in the '10 Years and Under Group', Peter Shearer in the '11-12-13 Year Group', and Jim Shearer and Jim Eliason tied for 1st in the 14-15 Year Group'. CFNC Rating List.)

Spring 1969 (The CFNC 2nd Annual 1969 Peninsula Junior Championships were won by Matthew Sullivan in the '10 Years and Under Division', Todd Lowenstein in the '11-12-13 Year Division', and Harry Radke and Carl Mueller tied for 1st in the 14-15 Year Division'. The CFNC 1969 Marin Junior Championships were won by Mike Burnham in the '10 Years and Under Division', Kevin Lewis in the '11-12-13 Year Division', and David Cowles in the 14-15 Year Division'. The CFNC 2nd Annual 1969 East Bay Junior Championships were won by Craig Barnes in the '11-12-13 Year Division', and Edward Salvador in the 14-15 Year Division'. The CFNC 2nd Annual 1969 Northern California Junior Championship Playoffs were won by Shawn Hurt and Matthew Sullivan in the '10 Years and Under Division' (5-Year-2-month-old, Kevin Meier, won 6th place.), Craig Barnes in the '11-12-13 Year Division', and Harry Radke and Jim Shearer tied for 1st in the 14-15 Year Division'. George Kane won the 1969 Hayward Open Division Championship. CFNC Rating List. David Blohm won the California State Championship.)

Summer 1969 (The CFNC 1st Annual Sunnyvale Junior Open Championships were won by Matthew Sullivan in the '10 Years and Under Division', Jeffrey White and Brant Corenson in the '11-12-13 Year Division', and Carl Mueller in the 14-15 Year Division'. Rex Wilcox and Frank Thornally tied for 1st in the 1969 Peninsula Open Championship. Rene Saguisag won the 1969 Spring Carlmont Open Championship - CFNC E/A Division. CFNC Rating List.)

Fall 1969 (Randell Hough and Ray Ng tied for 1st in the 1969 Chabot Open Championship. James Hurt won the 1969 Oakland Summer Championship. CFNC Rating List. Alan Baisley won the California State Open in Monterey.)

Winter 1969 (John Grefe won the 1st Annual USCF Sunnyvale Open and Northern Class Championship. The CFNC 1969 Santa Clara Junior Championships were won by Shawn Hurt in the '10 Years and Under Division', Christopher Black and Reid Yalom in the '11-12-13 Year Division', and Dennis Meyers in the 14-15 Year Division'. Garry Wilson won the 3rd Annual Fall Carlmont Open Championship - E/A Division. CFNC Rating List.)

Spring 1970 (The 1970 CFNC Peninsula Junior Championships were won by Ted Fong and Carolyn Withgitt in the '10 Years and Under Group', Jeffrey White in the '11-12-13 Year Group', Scott Miller and John Peterson in the 14-15 Year Group', and Harry Radke and Sidney Willett in the '16-17-18 Year Group'. The 1970 CFNC East Bay Junior Championships were won by Dennis Fung (Leslie Gee - Under 10 Years) in the '13 Years and Under Group', and Stephen Gee in the 14-15 Year Group'. The CFNC 3rd Annual 1970 Northern California Junior Championship Playoffs were won by Carolyn Withgitt in the '10 Years and Under Division', Kevin Lewis in the '11-12-13 Year Division', and Jim Shearer in the 14-15 Year Division'. Erik Osbun won the 1970 CFNC/USCF Open State Qualifier Tournament. CFNC Rating List. Jude Acers gave a Simultaneous Exhibition at the Fremont CC and scored 18 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss.)

Summer 1970 (Sigmund Malek won the 1970 Daly City Open Championship. The CFNC 1970 Sunnyvale Junior Championships were won by Carolyn Withgitt in the '10 Years and Under Division', Geoffrey Fong in the '11-12-13 Year Division', and Rodger Dusatko in the 14-15 Year Division'. Julio Kaplan and Erik Osbun tied for 1st in the 5th Annual 1970 Peninsula Open Championship.)

Winter 1970 (Henry Davis, Craig Barnes and Kevin Burnett tied for 1st-3rd (with 4 points) in the 7th Annual Oakland Summer Championship - E/A Division. Frank Thornally won the 2nd Annual Chabot Open. Frank Thornally, Vitaley Radaikin, Sigmund Malek and C. Bill Jones tied for 1st in the 5th Annual Sunnyvale Open Championship. The CFNC 1970 Santa Clara Open Junior Championships were won by Martin Gee in the '10 Years and Under Division', Kevin Lewis in the '11-12-13 Year Division', and Chris Black in the 14-15 Year Division'. The last CFNC Rating List.)

_____ ARTICLES FROM THE MAGAZINE _____

Editorial by George Koltanowski, (Spring 1966)

Rare Honor To The McGinleys (Fall 1966)