Larry Evans Wins the US Championship in 1968

Larry Melvyn Evans was born March 23, 1932 in New York, New York and died November 15, 2010 in Reno, Nevada. He won the US Championship in 1951, 1961, 1962, and 1968. In 1980 he was in a three way tie for first, but lost the playoff. Evans was known for chess writing in newspapers and numerous books. He was the necessary writer for Bobby Fischer’s “My 60 Memorable Games” and was Fischer’s second in Fischer’s path to the world title.
William Lombardy was born December 4, 1937. Lombardy became the first American to win the World Junior Championship in 1957 scoring 11-0. When Fischer had a tiff with Evans, Lombardy became Fischer’s second for the title match with Boris Spassky in 1972. Lombardy is currently working on three books.
The following game between these two good grandmasters took place during the US Championship in 1968. Fischer did not play. The field consisted of twelve of the other top players. The site was the Empire Hotel, near Lincoln Center, in New York City. The director, Paul Brandts, was a master who invited me to work as a “wall boy” to display the moves of the players on large boards. I could not do that since I had a full time career, but I was able to gain free entry another way. I was permitted by Ed Edmondson (1920-1982), the executive director of the US Chess Federation, to photograph the event with the understanding that my photos would be available to be published in Chess Life as requested by its editor, Burt Hochberg (1933-2006). Larry Evans was spending time in the Flea House playing bridge when a senior master from Texas, Ken Smith (1930-1999), dropped in for some blitz with me. A number of times the three of us traveled together by taxi to the Empire Hotel.
Larry Evans finished in first place with 8.5/11. He had 6 wins and five draws. His win against Lombardy was the only game that separated him from Robert Byrne, who scored 8/11. Evans and Byrne had the same results against the same players with the only difference being Byrne’s draw with Lombardy. They were the only undefeated players. Reshevsky (7/11) lost just one game, to Benko (6.5/11). Lombardy and Bisguier were next with 6/11.
Here is the game that resulted in my photo of Evans being on the front cover of Chess Life.