AThe Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Sunday, October 26, 1958
Chess Conducted by G. Koshnitsky
The interzonal tournament at Portoroz, Yugoslavia, was won by the Soviet champion, Michael Tal, aged 22, from one of the strongest fields in the history of the event.
The first six players qualify to play in the Candidates' tournament next year. So that the Soviet players would not monopolise the tournament, the rules have been amended to allow only Keres and Smyslov to be added.
Final scores at Portoroz:
- M. Tal (U.S.S.R.), 13½ out of 20;
- S. Gligoric (Yugoslavia), 13;
- P. Benko (Stateless ex-Hungary) and T. Petrosian (U.S.S.R.) each 12½;
- R. Fischer (U.S.A.) and F. Olafsson (Iceland), each 12;
- Y. Averbach (U.S.S.R.), D. Bronstein (U.S.S.R.), A. Matanovic (Yugoslavia), L. Pachman (Czechoslovakia), and L. Szabo (Hungary), each 11½;
- M. Filip (Czechoslovakia) and O. Panno (Argentina) each 11;
- R. Sanguinetti (Argentina), 10;
- O. Neikirch (Bulgaria), 9½;
- B. Larsen (Denmark), 8½;
- J. Sherwin (U.S.A.), 7½;
- H. Rossetto (Argentina), 7;
- R. Cardoso (Philippines), 6;
- B. de Greiff (Colombia), 4½;
- G. Fuster (Canada), 2.
Of course, the highlight of the tournament is the success of the 15-year-old U.S. champion, Bobby Fischer. The boy-wonder proved himself against the world's best. Can the young grandmaster become a real challenge to the Russian supremacy?
