California Chess in the 1960's

by Bill Wall

In 1960, Arthur Wang of Berkeley won the California Junior Championship.

In 1960, the California Open was won by Zoltan Kovacs (2290).

On December 13, 1960, George Koltanowski played 56 games blindfolded in San Francisco. He won 50 and drew 6.

In 1961, Dr. Max Schlosser won the 1st San Bernardino Chess Club Championship.

In 1961, Erik Osbun won the Northern California Open.

In 1961, Samuel Reshevsky and Bobby Fischer played a match in Los Angeles, under the sponsorship of Jacqueline Piatigorsky.

In 1961, Tibor Weinberger (2267) won the Santa Monica Open.

In 1961, Gordon Barrett began editing the TERRACHESS bulletin in Southern California.

In 1961, the U.S. Open was held in San Francisco, due to the work of Guthrie McClain.

In 1962, Irving Rivise (2258) and Tibor Weinberger (2326) tied for 1st in the California State Championship, held at the Herman Steiner Chess Club in Los Angeles.

In 1962, Emil Bersbach won the San Bernardino Open.

In 1962, Roy Hoppe won the Mechanics' Institute Open.

In 1962, the Mechanics' Institute won the Bay Area Chess League.

In 1962, William Addison (2408) won the Southern California Open. 2nd place went to Saul Yarmak.

In 1962, Walter Cunningham (2241) won the California Open. 2nd place went to William Addison (2408).

In 1962, William Addison (2408) won the California Championship. 2nd place went to Irving Rivise (2258).

In 1962, Wilson Alza won the South California Amateur Open.

In 1962, Anthony Saidy (2440) won the Los Angeles Metropolitan Open.

In 1962, D. Conwit won the Monterey Park Chess Club Championship.

In 1962, Boris Bylinkin won the Downey Chess Club Championship.

In 1962, Charles Henin won the Riverside Open.

In 1962, William Addison (2408) won the Santa Monica Open.

In 1962, N. Robinson won the Herman Steiner Invitational.

In 1962, Thomas Heimberg won the Mechanics' Institute Open.

In 1963, Larry Evans won the Westchester Fiesta in Los Angeles.

In 1963, Anthony Saidy (2440) won the Steiner Chess Club Championship. 2nd place went to William Addison (2462).

In 1963, the Steiner Chess Club won the Los Angeles Chess League Championship.

In 1963, Northern California beat Southern California by the score of 21-18.

In 1963, Stephen Matzner won the California Collegiate Championship.

In 1963, Robert Jacobs (2261) won the San Bernardino Open.

In 1963, D. Ragozin won the Los Angeles Individual High School Championship.

In 1963, J. Blackstone won the California Junior Championship.

In 1963, Anthony Saidy (2240) won the Los Angeles Open. 2nd place went to Jerry Hanken.

In 1963, J. Murphy won the Whittier Chess Club Championship.

On February 12, 1963, Doug Root was born in Long Beach.

From July 2-30, 1963, Tigran Petrosian and Paul Keres tied for 1st at the Piatigorsky Cup Tournament. It was held at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. 3rd-4th went to Najdorf and Olafsson. 5th went to Reshevsky. 6th went to Gligoric. 7th-8th went to Benko and Panno. Bobby Fischer was invited, but he requested a $2,000 appearance fee. His invitation went to Pal Benko.

On February 17, 1964, Arthur Stamer died in San Francisco. He won the Mechanics' Institute Chess Championship in 1905 and 1923.

In March, 1964, Walter Cunningham (2310) won the California Collegiate Championship. John Blackstone took 2nd place.

In April, 1964, Walter Harris (2112) won the Sacramento City Championship.

In April, 1964, Janis Salna won the first Walnut Creek Open championship.

In 1964, William Addison (2535) won the Herman Steiner Chess Club Championship. Julius Loftsson took 2nd place.

In 1964, Northern California beat Southern California by the score of 29-19.

In 1964, Duncan Suttles (2346) won the Southern California Open.

In 1964, E. B. Adams, age 85, won the San Gabriel Valley Open.

In 1964, Hans Poschman and Robert Pellerin founded the Fremont Chess Club.

In 1964, Norman Wood won the San Francisco Championship.

In 1964, Martin Morrison and Elwin Meyers became the editors of EN PASSANT, the newsletter of the Oakland Chess Club.

In 1964, Martin Morrison resurrected the Berkeley YMCA Chess Club.

In 1964, Bobby Fischer gave simultaneous exhibitions in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Davis, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, and Ventura.

In 1964, Allan Troy won the Bernard Oak Memorial Open in Los Angeles.

In 1965, W. Maillard (2225) won the South California Tournament of Champions.

In March, 1965, Tim Delaney won the San Bernardino Chess Club Championship.

In July, 1965, Robert Trenberth won the San Francisco Amateur Championship. Ira Pohl took 2nd place.

In July, 1965, Don Sutherland won the Northern California Championship, played at the Mechanics' Institute. Carroll Capps took 2nd place.

In August, 1965, Pal Benko win the 5th annual Southern California Open, played in Santa Monica. Larry Evans took 2nd place.

In 1965, Captain John A. Hudson (2248), of Mather AFB, won the California State Open, played in Fresno.

In September, 1965, Ira Pohl won the Bay Area Championship.

In 1965, Donald Sutherland won the California state championship. 2nd place went to Zoltan Kovacs (2301).

In 1965, David Blohm (2203) won the California Junior Championship.

In 1965, the Central California Open was won by David Blohm (2203).

On November 21, 1965, Pal Benko (2571) won the Mission Bay Open in San Diego. Larry Evans took 2nd place.

On November 28, 1965, Pal Benko (2571) won the 1st American Open, held at the Club del Mar in Santa Monica. There were 124 players. Benko's prize was $600 and a trophy.

In 1966, Isaac Kashdan was the President of the California State Chess Federation.

In 1966, Ted and Ruby Yudacufski founded the Monterey Chess Club.

In March, 1966, Tim Delaney won the San Bernardino Chess Club Championship.

In April, 1966, William Maillard (2225) won the El Segundo Open.

In 1966, Rex Wilcox (2238) won the Mechanics' Institute Invitational. Alan Bourke (2201) took 2nd place.

In 1966, Raymond Ng won the Oakland Chess Club Championship.

In 1966, Borel Menas won the Northern California championship.

In 1966, Raymond Schutt (2285) won the Central California Open Championship.

In May, 1966, Serge Von Oettingen and Anthony DiMilo tied for 1st in the Sacramento City Championship.

In May, 1966, Carl Pilnick (2295) won the Herman Steiner Chess Club Championship in Los Angeles.

In May, 1966, Robert Jacobs (2255) won the San Bernardino Open.

In May, 1966, the 33rd annual Northern California vs. Southern California team match, held in Fresno, was won by the North by the score of 24.5 to 15.5.

In May, 1966, Mohamed El Sayed won the Davis, California Championship.

In June, 1966, James Tarjan, age 14, won the California Junior Championship, played at the Herman Steiner Chess Club in Los Angeles.

In June, 1966, David Blohm (2249) of San Francisco, took 2nd-3rd place in the first annual U.S. Junior Championship, held in New York City.

In July, 1966, Duncan Suttles (2378) won the 3rd annual Arthur B. Stamer Memorial Tournament in San Francisco. Anthony Saidy (2491) and Earl Pruner (2299) took 2nd-3rd place.

In July, 1966, Tibor Weinberger (2404) won the Pacific Southwest Open in Santa Monica. Irving Rivise (2268) and Mike Leidner took 2nd-3rd.

In August, 1966, John Blackstone (2251) won the 16th Annual Valley of the Moon Outdoor Chess Festival at Sonoma.

In August, 1966, Charles Whitman won the Barstow, California Open.

On August 14, 1966, over 900 spectators watched the Fischer-Spassky game at the 2nd Piatigorsky Cup. It was the largest audience ever to witness a chess tournament in the United States.

On August 15, 1966, Boris Spassky won the 2nd Piatigorsky Cup Tournament, held at the Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica. 2nd place went to Bobby Fischer. Bent Larsen took 3rd place. Portisch and Unzicker took 4th-5th. Petrosian and Reshevsky took 6th-7th. Najdorf took 8th. Ivkov took 9th. Donner took 10th. Spassky won $5,000 and Fischer won %3,000.

On August 19, 1966, Bent Larsen played a clocked simul against seven experts at the Mechanics' Institute Chess Club, winning all 7 games. He then played 43 opponents, scoring 32 wins, 6 losses, and 5 draws.

In 1966, Phil Smith and Richard Schultz tied for 1st in the second annual Visalia Amateur Open.

In September, 1966, Irving Rivise (2268) won the California Open, held in Fresno. John Blackstone (2251) took 2nd place. There were 109 players.

In 1966, Harry Borochow (master emeritus) became the first player in the Southern California Chess Hall of Fame.

In 1966, Frank Thornally won the San Francisco Bay Area Championship.

In 1966, Charles Henin (2233) won the Southern California Open.

In 1966, Norris Weaver won the Northern California Championship, held in Berkeley.

In November, 1966, Allan Troy (2233) won the San Gabriel Valley Open, held in Pasadena. Ben Kakimi took 2nd place.

In 1966, Jim Hurt founded and directed the LERA Chess Club in Sunnyvale.

In 1966, Rex Wilcox (2238) won the Golden Gate Chess Club Championship.

In December, 1966, the first annual Bay Area Amateur Open Championship, held in Oakland, was won by Dennis Fritzinger. John Ulrich took 2nd place.

In December, 1966, the University of California (Berkeley) took 2nd place in the 1966 U.S. Intercollegiate Championship. The event was won by M.I.T.

In January, 1967, Charles Henin (2219) won the California State Championship, held in San Francisco. Erik Osbun (2203) took 2nd place.

In April, 1967, Anthony Saidy (2488) won the El Segundo Open.

In 1967, D. Litowsky won the Capital Coty Chess Club Championship in Sacramento.

In 1967, Richard Shorman became a chess columnist for the Hayward Daily Review.

In May, 1967, Tibor Weinberger (2347) won the San Bernardino Open.

In 1967, Koit Tullus (2335) won the San Jose Chess Club Championship.

In 1967, Walter Harris (2230) won the Sacramento City Championship.

In 1967, the Ernest Shields Open in Bakersfield, was won by Walter Browne (2367).

In 1967, Carl Pilnick (2259) won the Herman Steiner Chess Club Championship. Jim Tarjan (2132) took 2nd place. David Lither took 3rd place.

In May, 1967, Jugoslav Stankovic (2277) won the Golden Bear Open, held at Berkeley. 2nd place went to Frank Thornally (2251). 3rd place went to Anthony Lee.

In May, 1967, Northern California beat Southern California by the score of 17-15. The event was held in Fresno.

In May, 1967, John Blackstone (2287) and Phil Smith won the California Rapid Transit Championship.

In June, 1967, Dave Anderson won the San Diego Open. Daniel Molnar took 2nd place.

In July, 1967, James Tarjan took 7th in the 2nd annual U.S. Junior Championship, held in New York City.

In July, 1967, Tibor Weinberger (2347) and Robion Kirby (2290) tied for 1st at the Pacific Southwest Open, held in Santa Monica.

In 1967, Paul Heinrich won the Los Angeles High School Championship.

In 1967, Laszlo T. Binet (2461) won the Southern California Open. Carl Pilnick (2259) took 2nd.

In 1967, Norman Lessing (2207) won the Santa Monica Chess Club Championship. 2nd place went to Paul Quillen. 3rd place went to Arthur Spiller.

In 1967, Charles Henin (2298), Jim Tarjan (2152), and Viktors Pupols (2145) tied for 1st in the California Open.

In 1967, Walter Browne (2367) won the South California Championship. 2nd place went to Ronald Gross (2254).

In 1967, Robert Gish won the Whittier Amateur Open.

In 1967, Norman Lessing won the U.S. Senior Championship.

In 1967, Harold Milner won the Northridge Chess Club Championship.

In 1967, Dennis Waterman won the 2nd annual San Francisco Bay Area Amateur Championship.

On August 28, 1967, Julio Kaplan won the World Junior Championship in Jerusalem.

In October, 1967, William Addison and Anthony Saidy tied for 1st in the Santa Monica International. Walter Browne took 3rd place.

In November, 1967, John Blackstone (2287) won the Northern California Championship, held in San Francisco. Ziad Baroudi (2216) took 2nd place.

In 1967, Frank Thornally (2251) and Gilbert Ramirez (2303) tied for 1st in the Golden Gate Chess Club Championship in San Francisco.

In November, 1967, Jack Tanner won the Thanksgiving Open, held in Ventura.

In November, 1967, Dr. Anthony Saidy (2488) won the 3rd American Open in Santa Monica. 2nd-3rd went to Pal Benko and John Blackstone (2287). Walter Browne (2367) took 4th place. There were 131 players.

In December, 1967, the highest USCF-rated California chess players were Larry Evans (2593), William Addison (2503), Anthony Saidy (2488), Charles Kalme (2455), Walter Browne (2367), Tibor Weinberger (2347), Jack Moskowitz (2342), Koit Tullus (2335), James Lazos (2316), Earl Pruner (2304), John Hudson (2303), and Zoltan Kovacs (2293). Top juniors were Walter Browne (2367), Alan Benson (2133), James Tarjan (2132), and David Blohm (2101). Top Women were Jacqueline Piatigorsky (1902), Lina Grumette (1777), and Greta Olsson (1718).

In December, 1967, the University of California (Berkeley) won the 1967 U.S. Intercollegiate Championship. Team members were Frank Thornally, Richard Laver, Steve Spencer, Mike Morris, and Sam Sloan.

On March 3, 1968, Sammy Reshevsky won the Interzonal play-off, held at the Herman Steiner Chess Club in Los Angeles.

In 1968, John Dedinsky won the Palo Alto Championship. Ira Pohl took 2nd place.

In 1968, Ted Yudacufski won the St. Patrick's Day Tournament in Monterey.

In July, 1968, James Tarjan tied for 3rd-4th in the U.S. Junior Championship, held in New York City.

In 1968, the 14th Davis Tournament was won by Serge Von Oettingen.

In 1968, K. Michael Goodall won the Central California Chess Association Regional, held in Berkeley.

In 1968, Tibor Weinberger (2347) won the San Bernardino Open. Peter Rhee took 2nd place.

In 1968, Bruce Antman won the Ventura Marina Chess Festival. Bob Reynolds took 2nd place.

In 1968, Kon Grivainis won the Contra Costa County Open, held in Concord.

In 1968, Peter Rhee (2150) won the O.H. Wentcher Memorial, formerly the Santa Monica Bay Chess Club Championship.

In 1968, James Tarjan (2337) won the Pacific-Southwest Open, held in Santa Monica. There were 197 players.

In 1968, John Blackstone (2275) won the Peninsula Open in Sunnyvale.

In 1968, James Tarjan (2337) won the El Segundo Open.

In 1968, Ted Yudacufski won the Monterey Amateur Open.

In 1968, Charles Henin (2230) won the South California Championship. Walter Browne (2453) took 2nd place.

In 1968, Walter Browne (2453) won the Long Beach Classic. Frank Thornally (2274) took 2nd place. There were 118 players.

In 1968, Allan Troy was nominated to the South California Chess League's Hall of Fame.

In 1968, John Blackstone (2275) won the Arthur B. Stamer Memorial in San Francisco. Jude Acers (2456) took 2nd place.

In 1968, Jose Salas Tossas won the San Diego Open.

In 1968, Ken Grivainis won the Monterey International Open.

In 1968, Martin Morrison created SCACCHIC VOICE (later renamed CHESS VOICE).

In 1968, Charles Henin (2219) won the Ernest Shields Open, held in Bakersfield.

In November, 1968, Gary Anderson won the Thanksgiving Open in Ventura.

In 1968, Alex Sohobeck won the Monterey County Championship.

In November, 1968, James Lazos (2316) won the American Open, held in Santa Monica. Walter Browne (2436) and Larry Remlinger (2250) tied for 2nd-3rd. There were 160 players.

In December, 1968, 455 players entered the 2nd annual School Chess Festival in Van Nuys. Over 100 schools were represented.

In December, 1968, the highest USCF-rated players were William Addison (2456), Charles Kalme (2455), Dr. Anthony Saidy (2454), Walter Browne (2453), Tibor Weinberger (2379), Lazlos Binet (2356), Jack Moskowitz (2342), James Tarjan (2337), and John Hudson (2315). Top juniors included Browne, Tarjan, Steven Hohensee (2176), George Kane (2160), Peter Rhee (2150), and Robert Reynolds (2079).

In 1968, I. Lyon won the El Segundo Chess Club Championship. Peter Rhee (2150) took 2nd place.

In 1968, Walter Browne (2436) won the Riverside Open. John Blackstone (2273) took 2nd place.

In 1968, Donald Bicknell won the Whittier Amateur Open.

In 1968, David Forthoffer won the 3rd annual San Francisco Bay Area Amateur Open.

In 1968, Keyhecco Kahyai won the Los Angeles County Open.

In 1968, Tibor Weinberger (2289) won the California Open, held in Fresno. Gilbert Ramirez (2238) took 2nd and John Blackstone (2273) took 3rd.

In 1969, Frank Thornally (2278) won the Mechanics' Institute Invitational. David Blohm and Rex Wilcox tied for 2nd-3rd.

In 1969, David Blohm (2233) won the California State Championship, held at the Mechanics' Institute in San Francisco. George Kane and Raymond Schutt (2226) tied for 2nd-3rd.

In 1969, Robbie Newbold won the Redlands Open.

In 1969, Albyn Jones won the 5th Visalia Amateur.

In 1969, Steve Spencer (2213) won the New Year Open in Walnut Creek.

In 1969, Jose Salas Tossas won the San Diego Open.

In 1969, Sandor Racz won the Ventura County Chess Club Championship.

In 1969, Aki Kanemori won the 5th annual El Segundo Open.

In June, 1969, James Tarjan (2316) took 2nd-3rd in the U.S. Junior Championship, held in New York City.

In 1969, Don Bicknell won the Downey Chess Club Championship.

In 1969, Philip D. Smith won the Cherry Tree Open in Monterey.

In 1969, Jude Acers (2205) won the Capital City Open in Sacramento. H. Noland took 2nd place.

In 1969, Alex Suhobeck won the Walnut Creek Open.

In 1969, Edward Kennedy won on tiebreaks at the Pacific Southwest Open, held in Santa Monica.

In 1969, Tom Lux, former U.S. Amateur Champion, won the 5th annual Monterey Open. Alex Suhobeck and Richard Fauber tied for 2nd-3rd.

In 1969, Bruce Antman won the California Junior Championship. Albyn Jones took 2nd place.

In 1969, David Amkraut won the Central California Chess Association Championship.

In 1969, Earl Pruner (2300) won the 2nd Long Beach Classic. Tibor Weinberger (2289) and Jude Acers (2205) took 2nd-3rd place.

In 1969, Fred Fornoff won the San Diego Bi-Centennial Open.

In 1969, Earl Pruner (2300) won the 6th annual Arthur B. Stamer Memorial, held in San Francisco. John Grefe (2287) and Jim Schmitt took 2nd-3rd.

In 1969, Ken Morrisey won the Otto Wentcher Memorial (Santa Monica Bay Chess Club championship). Art Spiller took 2nd place.

In 1969, Livermore won the Central California Chess Association's Summer League. Oakland took 2nd place.

In 1969, Roger Myers won the El Segundo Amateur Championship.

In September, 1969, Larry Evans (2591) played a 29-board simul at the Mechanics' Institute, winning 28 and drawing one (to Alfred Raymond).

In 1969, Ray Martin (2114) won the Ventura Marina Chess Festival.

In 1969, Anthony Hanak won the Mechanics' Institute Amateur tournament.

In 1969, Mike Ewell won the 4th Monterey County Championship. Bernard Lainson took 2nd place.

In 1969, Marlie Thomason won the 22nd annual San Gabriel Valley Open, held in Pasadena. The event is the oldest annual tournament in Southern California.

In November, 1969, William Addison won the Northern California Championship.

In November, 1969, Ray Martin (2114) won the 5th American Open, held in Santa Monica. There were 202 entries. Walter Browne (2445), Kim Commons (2048), and Ronald Gross (2237) tied for 2nd-4th.

In 1969, Charles Maddigan won the 4th annual San Francisco Bay Area Amateur Open.

In 1969, Don Bicknell won the Whittier Chess Club Championship.

In December, 1969, 636 students played in the 3rd annual Los Angeles Scholastic Open.

In December, 1969, the highest USCF-rated players in California were Charles Kalme (2455), Dr. Anthony Saidy (2447), William Addison (2439), Lazlos Binet (2356), Jack Moskowitz (2355), John Hudson (2346), James Tarjan (2316), and Earl Pruner (2300). Top juniors included James Tartan, Steven Hothouse (2176), Ross Stouten borough (2118), and Gary Pickle (2089).