US Championship 1981 — South Bend

Browne and Seirawan share the crown as Evans disappears
9–30 July 1981 · South Bend, Indiana
Walter Browne and Yasser Seirawan shared the title on 9/14; Larry Evans withdrew ill after two rounds and is annulled from the official table
Event Index 107 GAMES

The 28th US Championship doubled as the country's FIDE Zonal qualifier, and sixteen of its strongest players sat down at the Americana Hotel in South Bend. Larry Evans checked out of the hotel and vanished after two rounds, his results annulled from the table; among the fifteen who finished, Walter Browne and Yasser Seirawan tied for the title at 9/14. A three-way playoff — Lubomir Kavalek, Larry Christiansen, and 69-year-old eight-time former champion Samuel Reshevsky, all level a half point back — then decided who would join them at the Zonal.

Sixteen enter, fifteen finish

South Bend, Indiana, hosted the 28th US Championship at the Americana Hotel from July 9 to 30, 1981. Sixteen players entered a single round-robin: Browne, Seirawan, Kavalek, Christiansen, Reshevsky, Leonid Shamkovich, John Peters, Byrne, Anatoly Lein, Boris Kogan, Lev Alburt, James Tarjan, Joel Benjamin, Sergey Kudrin, John Fedorowicz, and Larry Evans. The event doubled as the American Zonal qualifier for the next FIDE World Championship cycle, so places in the standings carried weight beyond the national title.

Evans lasted two rounds. He told tournament officials he was feeling ill, and by the time anyone went looking for him for his next game, he had already checked out of the hotel. Under the rules, a player who does not complete half the schedule has every result annulled; Evans's two played games remain in the archive, but he does not appear in the final table.

Browne and Seirawan share it

Nobody could shake the co-leaders. Walter Browne and Yasser Seirawan — the 21-year-old Seattle grandmaster chasing his first US title — both finished 9/14, Browne at +6 −2 =6 and Seirawan unbeaten at +4 −0 =10. It made them co-champions of the 28th US Championship, and both were automatic Zonal qualifiers.

A drawn playoff settles the last Zonal seat

A half point back, three players tied for third at 8½: Lubomir Kavalek, Larry Christiansen, and Samuel Reshevsky, who at 69 was already an eight-time former US champion. Their playoff for the final Zonal berth alongside Browne and Seirawan produced draws across the board — every contestant finished level, 2–2 — and Christiansen won the seat on tiebreak.

Final standings

9/14
Walter Browne and Yasser Seirawan shared the title on 9/14; Larry Evans withdrew ill after two rounds and is annulled from the official table
# Player Score Record
=1 Browne, Walter Shawn 9/14 +6 -2 =6 games
=1 Seirawan, Yasser 9/14 +4 -0 =10 games
=3 Kavalek, Lubomir 8½/14 +4 -1 =9 games
=3 Christiansen, Larry Mark 8½/14 +5 -2 =7 games
=3 Reshevsky, Samuel Herman 8½/14 +4 -1 =9 games
6 Shamkovich, Leonid Alexandrovich 7½/14 +4 -3 =7 games
=7 Peters, Jack 7/14 +3 -3 =8 games
=7 Byrne, Robert Eugene 7/14 +1 -1 =12 games
9 Lein, Anatoly 6½/14 +1 -2 =11 games
=10 Kogan, Boris Markovich 6/14 +3 -5 =6 games
=10 Alburt, Lev O 6/14 +4 -6 =4 games
=10 Tarjan, James Edward 6/14 +3 -5 =6 games
13 Benjamin, Joel 5½/14 +3 -6 =5 games
=14 Kudrin, Sergey 5/14 +3 -7 =4 games
=14 Fedorowicz, John P 5/14 +1 -5 =8 games

Cross Table

Player 123456789101112131415
1 Browne, Walter Shawn ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 0 0 1
2 Seirawan, Yasser ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 1 1
3 Kavalek, Lubomir ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 1
4 Christiansen, Larry Mark 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 0 1 ½
5 Reshevsky, Samuel Herman ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 1 ½
6 Shamkovich, Leonid Alexandrovich 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 1 1 1 ½
7 Peters, Jack 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½
8 Byrne, Robert Eugene ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½
9 Lein, Anatoly ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ ½
10 Kogan, Boris Markovich ½ 0 1 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 1 0
11 Alburt, Lev O 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 1 0 1
12 Tarjan, James Edward 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 0 1 1 ½
13 Benjamin, Joel 1 0 ½ 1 0 0 0 ½ ½ 1 0 0 ½ ½
14 Kudrin, Sergey 1 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 1 0 ½ 1
15 Fedorowicz, John P 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ ½ 0

Each cell shows the row player's recorded results against the column player. ● = same player.

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