Sammy Reshevsky vs. Arthur Bisguier
USA, 1957


           Rtng  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
Reshevsky  2663  1 1 1 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½  6
Bisguier   2529  0 0 0 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½  4

  • It's difficult to find much information on this match, apart from the actual games. Apparently it was a non-title match. But any time a reigning US Champion is defeated by a fellow American in a set match, it's worth taking note of, title match or not.

  • Especially since to some people, there's no such thing as any champion playing a non-title match. Recall how, when Garry Kasparov lost a specifically non-title 6 game handicap match to Deep Blue in 1998, there were those who said that match conditions be darned, this was a World Championship Match after all, and that Deep Blue was the new champion.

  • This is one of two (apparently non-title) set matches in which Reshevsky defeated a reigning US Champion without becoming champion. He also defeated Fischer in 1961, albeit with a forfeit win as the margin of victory.

    See the Games of the Match!

    [Event "Reshevsky - Bisguier"] [Site "New York, NY USA"] [Date "1957.07.09"] [EventDate "1957.07.09"] [Round "1"] [Result "1-0"] [White "Samuel Reshevsky"] [Black "Arthur Bisguier"] [ECO "E46"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "82"] 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 O-O 5.Ne2 d5 6.a3 Be7 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.Qc2 Nd7 9.Bd2 N5f6 10.Ng3 c5 11.dxc5 Nxc5 12.Be2 b6 13.O-O Bb7 14.Rfd1 Rc8 15.Rac1 Qc7 16.Qb1 Qb8 17.b4 Ncd7 18.Nb5 a6 19.Nd4 b5 20.Nb3 Rxc1 21.Rxc1 Qa8 22.f3 h5 23.Nf1 Ne5 24.e4 Nxe4 25.fxe4 Bxe4 26.Qb2 Bf6 27.Bc3 Bxg2 28.Bxe5 Bh3 29.Kf2 Qg2+ 30.Ke1 Bh4+ 31.Bg3 Bf6 32.Qd2 Rd8 33.Qf4 Qd5 34.Bh4 Bxf1 35.Bxf6 Bxe2 36.Bxd8 Bg4 37.Bf6 gxf6 38.Qxf6 e5 39.Nc5 Qh1+ 40.Kd2 Qd5+ 41.Kc3 Qd4+ 1-0 [Event "Reshevsky - Bisguier"] [Site "New York, NY USA"] [Date "1957.07.11"] [EventDate "1957.07.09"] [Round "2"] [Result "0-1"] [White "Arthur Bisguier"] [Black "Samuel Reshevsky"] [ECO "B75"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "58"] 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.Be3 Bg7 7.f3 a6 8.Bc4 b5 9.Bb3 Bb7 10.Qd2 h5 11.a4 b4 12.Na2 a5 13.c3 bxc3 14.Nxc3 Na6 15.O-O O-O 16.Rfd1 Kh7 17.Qf2 Nd7 18.g4 Nac5 19.gxh5 Nxb3 20.hxg6+ fxg6 21.Nxb3 Ne5 22.Nd4 Qd7 23.Qh4+ Kg8 24.Qg3 Rf7 25.Bc1 Raf8 26.f4 Ng4 27.h3 Nf6 28.Qxg6 Qxh3 29.Ra3 Ng4 0-1 [Event "Reshevsky - Bisguier"] [Site "New York, NY USA"] [Date "1957.07.14"] [EventDate "1957.07.09"] [Round "3"] [Result "1-0"] [White "Samuel Reshevsky"] [Black "Arthur Bisguier"] [ECO "E55"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "67"] 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 c5 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 O-O 7.O-O dxc4 8.Bxc4 Nbd7 9.a3 Bxc3 10.bxc3 b6 11.Bb2 Bb7 12.Rc1 Qc7 13.Qe2 e5 14.Rfd1 Rad8 15.Nh4 e4 16.Bb3 Rfe8 17.Nf5 Nf8 18.Ba4 Bc6 19.Bxc6 Qxc6 20.c4 Qe6 21.Ng3 Ng6 22.dxc5 Rxd1+ 23.Rxd1 bxc5 24.Bxf6 Qxf6 25.Qc2 Qe5 26.h3 h5 27.Rd5 Qa1+ 28.Kh2 h4 29.Nxe4 Rb8 30.Qd3 Rb1 31.Rd8+ Kh7 32.Ng5+ Kh6 33.Nxf7+ Kh7 34.Rh8# 1-0 [Event "Reshevsky - Bisguier"] [Site "New York, NY USA"] [Date "1957.07.16"] [EventDate "1957.07.09"] [Round "4"] [Result "1-0"] [White "Arthur Bisguier"] [Black "Samuel Reshevsky"] [ECO "C78"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "82"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 O-O 9.Nbd2 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.Re1 Nc6 12.Nf1 Re8 13.a4 b4 14.Ne3 Bf8 15.Nd5 h6 16.h3 bxc3 17.Nxf6+ Qxf6 18.bxc3 Rb8 19.a5 Rd8 20.Nh2 Ne7 21.Ng4 Bxg4 22.hxg4 d5 23.g5 hxg5 24.Qg4 Qg6 25.Qxg5 Qxg5 26.Bxg5 f6 27.Bc1 d4 28.cxd4 cxd4 29.Bb1 Nc6 30.Ba2+ Kh7 31.Bc4 Bb4 32.Rf1 Bc3 33.Ra2 Nxa5 34.Bd5 Rb1 35.f4 Rc8 36.g3 exf4 37.Rh2+ Kg6 38.gxf4 f5 39.Rg2+ Kh7 40.exf5 Rb6 41.Be6 Rxe6 1-0 [Event "Reshevsky - Bisguier"] [Site "New York, NY USA"] [Date "1957.07.18"] [EventDate "1957.07.09"] [Round "5"] [Result "0-1"] [White "Samuel Reshevsky"] [Black "Arthur Bisguier"] [ECO "E45"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "74"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Nge2 Ba6 6.a3 Be7 7.Nf4 O-O 8.e4 d6 9.Be2 Nbd7 10.O-O c6 11.d5 cxd5 12.cxd5 Bxe2 13.Qxe2 e5 14.Nd3 Nc5 15.Nb4 Nb3 16.Nc6 Qd7 17.Rb1 Na5 18.Nxe7+ Qxe7 19.b3 Rfc8 20.Bd2 a6 21.Na4 Qd8 22.Bxa5 bxa5 23.Rfc1 Rab8 24.Rc6 Rxc6 25.dxc6 Qc7 26.Qc4 Rc8 27.Rc1 Qa7 28.h3 Kf8 29.g3 Rc7 30.Rd1 Ne8 31.Kf1 Qb8 32.Rc1 Nf6 33.Kg2 Qb5 34.Kf3 d5 35.exd5 Nxd5 36.Qc5+ Ke8 37.Qd6 Qd3+ 0-1 [Event "Reshevsky - Bisguier"] [Site "New York, NY USA"] [Date "1957.07.21"] [EventDate "1957.07.09"] [Round "6"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [White "Arthur Bisguier"] [Black "Samuel Reshevsky"] [ECO "C77"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "77"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Qe2 d6 6.c3 Be7 7.d4 b5 8.Bc2 O-O 9.O-O Bd7 10.Rd1 Re8 11.d5 Nb8 12.a4 bxa4 13.c4 c5 14.dxc6 Nxc6 15.Bxa4 Qc7 16.Nc3 Nb4 17.Bg5 Rab8 18.Bxf6 Bxa4 19.Rxa4 Bxf6 20.Nd5 Nxd5 21.cxd5 a5 22.Rda1 Qb7 23.R1a2 Rec8 24.Rxa5 Rc1+ 25.Ne1 g6 26.Kf1 Rb1 27.Ra6 Rc8 28.Ra7 Qb4 29.R7a4 Qb7 30.Rc4 Rxc4 31.Qxc4 Bg5 32.Qd3 Rxb2 33.Rxb2 Qxb2 34.g3 Bd2 35.Nf3 Bb4 36.Qe2 Qb1+ 37.Kg2 Kg7 38.h4 Bc5 39.h5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Reshevsky - Bisguier"] [Site "New York, NY USA"] [Date "1957.07.23"] [EventDate "1957.07.09"] [Round "7"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [White "Samuel Reshevsky"] [Black "Arthur Bisguier"] [ECO "A17"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "73"] 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.e3 d5 5.d4 dxc4 6.Bxc4 a6 7.O-O b5 8.Bd3 Bb7 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Qe2 O-O 11.b3 Nbd7 12.Bb2 Bd6 13.Rfd1 Qe7 14.Rac1 Nc5 15.Bc2 Rac8 16.Nb1 e5 17.Nbd2 Nce4 18.Nxe4 Nxe4 19.Nd2 Nxd2 20.Rxd2 Bb4 21.Rdd1 Qg5 22.e4 f5 23.Bb1 Bc5 24.Rxc5 Rxc5 25.Ba3 Rfc8 26.Bxc5 Rxc5 27.h4 Qxh4 28.exf5 e4 29.g3 Qe7 30.Re1 Re5 31.f4 Qc5+ 32.Qe3 Rxf5 33.Bxe4 Bxe4 34.Qxc5 Rxc5 35.Rxe4 Rc2 36.a4 Rc3 37.axb5 1/2-1/2 [Event "Reshevsky - Bisguier"] [Site "New York, NY USA"] [Date "1957.07.25"] [EventDate "1957.07.09"] [Round "8"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [White "Arthur Bisguier"] [Black "Samuel Reshevsky"] [ECO "C86"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "70"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Qe2 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a4 Bg4 9.c3 O-O 10.h3 Na5 11.Bc2 Bxf3 12.Qxf3 c5 13.axb5 axb5 14.d3 b4 15.cxb4 cxb4 16.Nd2 Qc7 17.Qd1 Nd7 18.Nf3 Nc6 19.Rxa8 Rxa8 20.Be3 Bf6 21.Bb1 h6 22.Qd2 Qd8 23.g3 Nd4 24.Bxd4 exd4 25.Qxb4 Rb8 26.Qa3 Qb6 27.Nd2 Qxb2 28.Qxb2 Rxb2 29.Nc4 Rb3 30.Nxd6 Be7 31.Nf5 Bc5 32.Rc1 h5 33.f4 g6 34.Nh4 Rb2 35.Nf3 Bb4 1/2-1/2 [Event "Reshevsky - Bisguier"] [Site "New York, NY USA"] [Date "1957.07.28"] [EventDate "1957.07.09"] [Round "9"] [Result "1-0"] [White "Samuel Reshevsky"] [Black "Arthur Bisguier"] [ECO "E34"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "87"] 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Qc2 d5 5.cxd5 Qxd5 6.Nf3 c5 7.Bd2 Bxc3 8.Bxc3 cxd4 9.Bxd4 Nc6 10.Bc3 O-O 11.e3 e5 12.Be2 Bg4 13.h3 Bh5 14.O-O Rad8 15.b4 Qe4 16.Rfc1 Qxc2 17.Rxc2 Nd5 18.b5 e4 19.bxc6 exf3 20.Bxf3 Bxf3 21.gxf3 Nxc3 22.Rxc3 bxc6 23.Rxc6 g6 24.Rac1 Rd2 25.R1c2 Rfd8 26.Rxd2 Rxd2 27.a4 Rd5 28.Ra6 Rd7 29.Kg2 Kf8 30.Kg3 Ke7 31.f4 Kd8 32.Kg4 f5+ 33.Kg5 Kc8 34.Kh6 Kb7 35.Ra5 Kb6 36.Rb5+ Ka6 37.h4 Rc7 38.Re5 Rc4 39.a5 Rc7 40.h5 gxh5 41.Kxh5 Rc2 42.Kh6 Rxf2 43.Kxh7 Ra2 44.Rxf5 1-0 [Event "Reshevsky - Bisguier"] [Site "New York, NY USA"] [Date "1957.07.30"] [EventDate "1957.07.09"] [Round "10"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [White "Arthur Bisguier"] [Black "Samuel Reshevsky"] [ECO "C86"] [WhiteElo "?"] [BlackElo "?"] [PlyCount "50"] 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.Qe2 b5 6.Bb3 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.c3 d6 9.Rd1 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7 12.dxe5 dxe5 13.Nbd2 Re8 14.Nf1 g6 15.Ne3 Bf8 16.h3 Bb7 17.Ng4 Nxg4 18.hxg4 Rad8 19.g5 Rxd1+ 20.Bxd1 Qd7 21.Bc2 Qg4 22.b3 Nc6 23.Be3 b4 24.Qc4 Qe6 25.Qxe6 Rxe6 1/2-1/2

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