ADaily News New York, New York Tuesday, September 16, 1958
Chess Whiz, 15, Returns Triumphant but Skinny
America's teen-aged chess genius, Bobby Fischer, of Brooklyn, came home yesterday from three months of tourney play in Europe during which he became the youngest person ever to qualify as an international chess master.
The 15-year-old Erasmus High student wasn't inclined to talk about his achievements when his plane landed at 10 A.M. at International Airport. His mother, Mrs. Regina Fischer, of 560 Lincoln Place, was there to meet him.
She thought Bobby looked “skinny as a rail.” The youth told reporters he felt physically okay. He said he picked up about $150 in prize money at the interzonal world chess tournament at Portoroz, Yugoslavia, in which he tied for fifth place.
That also qualified him for the challengers' tournament in 1959, the winner to take on Russia's world champ, Mikhail Botvinnik.
