Larry Christiansen, the American grandmaster who once played simultaneous exhibition in Salt Lake City, recently won first place in the Schweizerische Kreditanstaly tournament in Munich.
He said, "I consider this victory my greatest in the past 10 years."And Robert Byrne, chess editor of the New York Times added, "One might add that it is also one of the greatest by any American in this period."
The Queens grandmaster, who originally came from Modesto, Calif., took first prize with a convincing 91/2-31/2 score.
Christiansen recently moved to Germany to be close to what he calls the "easy money" of league team play and frequent simultaneous exhibitions there.
Second place was shared by the grandmasters Aleksandr Belyavsky and Boris Gelfand of the Soviet Union and Robert Huebner of Germany and by Gerald Hertneck, also of Germany, who, by achieving the 8-5 tally, completed the requirements for his grandmaster title.
The final standings were:
1. Christiansen, 91/2 points
2-5. Belyavsky, Hertneck, Huebner, Gelfand, 8
6. Nunn, 71/2
7. Anand, 7
8. Judith Polgar, 61/2
9. Hort, 6
10. Lobron, 51/2
11-12. Zsu Polgar, Yudasin, 5
13-14. Kenderman, Wahls, 31/2
- POLITICS? - Larry Evans, former U.S. champion, recently wrote: "In 1975 the world chess body, known as FIDE, stripped Bobby Fischer of his crown and awarded it by default to Russia's Anatoly Karpov.
"A decade later, in an attempt to redress this outrage, Rep. Charles Pashayan of California stated on the floor of the House:
" `My bill is in recognition of a brilliant American citizen who is the best human being in history ever to play chess. By beating Russia's Boris Spassky in Iceland in 1972, Bobby Fischer became the first American world chess champion since Paul Morphy.
" `In accomplishing this, Fischer brought America to the forefront of the world's most universal game and at the same time dealt a blow to the Soviet propagandists who touted superiority in chess as an example of a superior Soviet society.
" `It is a great shortcoming indeed that our government has failed in any way to recognize this American hero. Actually, it was ironic that in 1972 President Nixon honored the Soviet Olga Korbut, who won first place as a gymnast in the 1972 Olympics, but failed to invite Bobby Fischer to the White House for a similar honor.
" `The reason that the world has not heard from Bobby Fischer in 1972 is not that he has not played anybody in chess, but that nobody has played him.
" `What do I mean by this? In 1973 he offered to defend his title under a set of rules that actually gave the challenger a greater chance to win than the rules gave him when he was the challenger to Spassky.
" `Indeed, rather than play under rules that he thought were unfair, Bobby Fischer as a matter of high principle refused to defend the FIDE title.
" `He informed FIDE by telegram in 1974 that he resigned rather than play under unfair rules, and signed it, "Bobby Fischer, World Chess Champion." In short, he retained the true title and remains the world champion today.
" `Our recognition is long over due. Americans everywhere should take national pride that in the game in which Soviets claim superiority, America's Bobby Fischer is better than them all."
- APPEARANCE - Gary Kasparov, the world champion, will attend the U.S. Open Tournament that will be held in the Marriott Hotel near the Los Angeles Airport (LAX) from July 28 through August 9. Between 800 and 900 players are expected to participate. First prize is a guaranteed $5,000.
- CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SOLVERS! - David Moody, Roger Neuman, Kim Barney, Larry Butler, Kent Berg, Ramon Bassette, Craig D. Byson, Russell Anderson, Karen B. Lee, Kay Lundstrom, Robert O. Lee, Brian Harrow, Alison Hermance, Hal Harmon, Stanley Hunt, Ted Pathakis, David Wilhite, Eugene Wagstaff, Ardean Watts, Vern Smith, Steven L. Stake, Joe Sias, Edwin O. Smith, Richard Schow, Ben J. Peterson, William DeVroom, Monroe Iversen, Stephen P. Clark, Camrin Copier, Jack Crandall, Nathan Kennard, Stephen Kennard, Raeburn Kennard, David D. Kirk, Hal Knight, Gordon Greene, Jim Reed and Glannin Cloward.