Incomplete record. This archive holds 65 of the 66 games played; 1 is missing.
The eighth US Championship was a twelve-man round robin, and the youngest player in it won without losing a game. Larry Evans, born in March 1932 and so nineteen years old that summer, scored 9½ from eleven — eight wins and three draws — a full point ahead of Samuel Reshevsky, who three years earlier had shared third place at the world championship match-tournament. It was the first of the five US titles Evans took between 1951 and 1980.
Three draws and nothing else
Evans conceded exactly three half points: to Reshevsky in round three, to Albert Simonson in round six, and to Max Pavey in round ten. He won the other eight games. Reshevsky lost once, to Ariel Mengarini in round seven; that single result decided the tournament, because a win there would have brought him level with Evans at the finish.
Pavey took third place on 7 and Herbert Seidman fourth on 6½. I. A. Horowitz, who had challenged Reshevsky for the title in a 1941 match, finished fifth on 5½. At the foot of the table Milton Hanauer, Albert Pinkus and Simonson shared tenth on 3½.
The title and what Evans did with it
The championship had not been staged since 1948, when Herman Steiner won it at South Fallsburg, New York. Evans defended his new title the following year in a match against Steiner, winning 10–4 across a circuit of Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Reno and New York — the second of his championships, and the only one he won by match play.
He did not win the championship tournament again for a decade. Arthur Bisguier took the 1954 title with Evans second; Evans returned to win outright in 1961–62 and 1967–68, and shared the 1980 title with Walter Browne and Larry Christiansen.
Final standings
The standings below are the historical final result. Only 65 of the 66 games played survive in our source; the remaining 1 are lost and appear as · in the cross table.
| # | Player | Score | Record | Games |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evans, Larry Melvyn | 9½/11 | +8 -0 =3 | games |
| 2 | Reshevsky, Samuel Herman | 8½/11 | +7 -1 =3 | games |
| 3 | Pavey, Max | 7/11 | +4 -1 =6 | games |
| 4 | Seidman, Herbert | 6½/11 | +5 -3 =3 | games |
| 5 | Horowitz, Israel Albert | 5½/11 | +4 -4 =3 | games |
| =6 | Santasiere, Anthony Edward | 5/11 | +2 -3 =6 | games |
| =6 | Bernstein, Sidney Norman | 5/11 | +3 -4 =4 | games |
| 8 | Mengarini, Ariel | 4½/11 | +3 -5 =3 | games |
| 9 | Shainswit, George | 4/11 | +1 -4 =6 | games |
| =10 | Pinkus, Albert Sidney | 3½/11 | +1 -5 =5 | games |
| =10 | Simonson, Albert Charles | 3½/11 | +2 -6 =3 | games |
| =10 | Hanauer, Milton Loeb | 3½/11 | +1 -5 =5 | games |
Cross Table
| Rank | Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evans, Larry Melvyn | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 2 | Reshevsky, Samuel Herman | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | |
| 3 | Pavey, Max | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | |
| 4 | Seidman, Herbert | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 5 | Horowitz, Israel Albert | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Santasiere, Anthony Edward | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | |
| 7 | Bernstein, Sidney Norman | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | |
| 8 | Mengarini, Ariel | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | |
| 9 | Shainswit, George | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | · | |
| 10 | Pinkus, Albert Sidney | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | |
| 11 | Simonson, Albert Charles | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | |
| 12 | Hanauer, Milton Loeb | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ½ | · | ½ | ½ |
Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player. · = game played but lost (not preserved in our source).