The second game of the play-off between Jacob Rosenthal and Roy T. Black for the New York State Championship was annulled amid controversy and confusion last night at the Manhattan Chess Club. The facts, as far as we are able to ascertain them, are as follows: 1) Black found himself pressed for time as the game approached the time limit at the 40th move, the cause being not his own dilatoriness but rather a defective clock, whose faulty operation Black had already noticed. 2) Black nevertheless failed to request that a properly functioning clock be substituted for the defective one. 3) Rosenthal claimed the game at the 39th move on the grounds that his opponent had exceeded his allotted time. 4) Despite this claim, the two competitors continued playing until the 41st move, with Rosenthal later explaining that he did so only at the insistence of Black. 5) When the game was at last broken off, Rosenthal was found to have an incorrect scoresheet, in addition to which Black contended that by continuing to play past the 40th move, Rosenthal had forfeited his right to claim victory. 6) The game was played with no referee or official present to resolve disputes.
An ad hoc committee of judges was then formed to decide the matter, its members being Messrs. J.L. Clark, W.T. Ryan, and Hermann Helms. After deliberation, these gentleman arrived at the conclusion - justly so, in our opinion - that the only recourse in such tangled circumstances was to annul the game. We also wish to express our complete concurrence with the unanimous opinion expressed by the committee, viz. that a contest for a state Championship title should take place under far more formal and orderly circumstances than those that prevailed during last night's encounter.
With the annulment of the 2nd game Black retains his lead of 1-0 in the play-off. The date of the next scheduled contest is not known to us at this time.
Herewith the moves of the annulled game:
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