ASeptember 1954
Vol. 4, No. 2, California Chess Reporter, September 1954. Jim Schmitt (San Francisco), second prizewinner, and Jerald Slavich (Salinas), thirteenth. The head of Dave Peizer (San Francisco) appears in the foreground.September 07 1954
Santa Barbara News-Press, Santa Barbara, California, Tuesday, September 07, 1954
Zemitis Champ As Chess Play Here Closes
The largest organized chess tournaments ever held in California closed last night at the Carrillo Hotel with Herman Steiner defeating Valdemars Zemitis to become high scorer with 6½ points and undisputed champion of this year's California state open chess tournament.
Steiner won six games in the seven rounds played and scored one draw.
The tournament attracted 81 players many of them national and international masters of the game. An upset occurred however when James Schmitt a young ex-GI student at the University of California at Berkeley, came out of the last round with a total of six points for second place.
Newcomer
Schmitt is a comparative newcomer to the game and according to Guthrie McClain who represented the California State Chess Federation as director of the tournament may in time prove to be a serious contender in chess circles.
Another young man who did surprisingly well, according to McClain, was 13-year-old Larry Remlinger who tied for fourth place with seven other noted chess players. Remlinger is a protégé of Steiner.
Four men were tied for third place: Isaac Kashdan, Zemitis, Sven Almgren and Irving Rivise. All of them finished with 5½ points.
The seven who tied for fourth place were Henry Gross, Walter Pafnutieff, Dr. Peter Lapiken, Eugene Levin, Ray Martin, Larry Remlinger and Jerald Slavich.
Fled Russia
Pafnutieff and Lapiken, McClain said, are Russians who fled that country in 1937 and arrived here by way of Manchuria and Shanghai. They live now in San Francisco.
Two women competed with the men in the tournament. They were Virginia Harrington of San Diego and Olga Higgins of Santa Barbara.
Imre Konig was referee. Dr. Kurt Lowenstein of Montecito was local chairman for the event.
The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, Tuesday, September 07, 1954
Steiner Wins State Open Chess Title
SANTA BARBARA, Sept. 6 (AP)—Herman Steiner, Los Angeles Times chess editor, today won the California Open Chess Championship here. He finished three days of play with six victories and one tie for 6½ points.
James Schmitt, a student of the University of California surprised to take second place with six wins and a loss.
Tied for third with 5½ points were Isaac Kashdan, Los Angeles; Valdimars Zemitis, Berkeley; Sven Almgren, Los Angeles; and Irving Rivise, San Francisco.
December 1954
Vol. 4, No. 4, California Chess Reporter, December 1954. Seated, left to right: William Addison, Sven Elias Almgren, James Cross, Eugene Levin, Ray Martin. Standing: Dmitri Poliakoff, Milton O. Meyer, Irving Rivise, Herman Steiner, Jim Schmitt.
