ACourier-Post, Camden, New Jersey, Thursday, September 18, 1958
Fine Playing of Youth Bobby Fischer, Big Story of Week
Bobby Fischer's fine showing at Portoroz, in qualifying for the challengers' tournament next year and becoming the youngest international grand master in history, of course was the big story of the chess world during the past week.
The 15-year-old United States champion tied for fifth place among the 21 players in the interzonal with Fridrick Olafsson, of Iceland, one of the two who won a game from him. Soviet champion Mikhail Tal finished first, followed by Svetozar Gligoric, of Yugoslavia, Hungarian refugee Pal Benko (now a resident of Cleveland and a U.S Chess Federation member) and Tigran Petrosian, of Russia, in that order to make up, with Fischer and Olafsson, the six qualifiers for next year.
Fischer finished with 12 out of a possible 20 points by scoring six victories, drawing 12 games, and losing twice. Benko was the only player besides Olafsson to defeat him. He drew with all four of the Russians, an earlier report that he beat Tal proving erroneous.
During his visit to Russia and the Portoroz tournament Bobby did not get to play either ex-world champion Vassily Smyslov or Paul Keres, who are perhaps the Soviet's strongest players except for world champion Mikhail Botvinnik. Keres and Smyslov, who finished one-two in the last challenger's event, will be seeded into competition in next year's tourney and Bobby will get his chance to play them then. The winner of the tournament will met Botvinnik in 1960 for the world's title.
It is unnecessary to elaborate on Fischer's remarkable showing at Portoroz. He fully lived up to all his previous promise in his first trip abroad and his first tournament where the competition was so stiff. He has “convinced” European observers who at first tended to underrate him, saying “After all, he's only 15.” If his game continues to improve in the next two years as it has in the last two, Botvinnik's crown rests uneasily indeed upon his head today.
Bobby now has returned home and resumed his studies as a junior at Erasmus Hall High School, Brooklyn. Last week there were reports that he was stranded in Yugoslavia for lack of funds to return home, but the $340 prize money he won was more than ample for plane fare back. He is writing a book on chess that is due to be published next year.
He says the thing he liked best at Portoroz was getting an even score with the four Russian grand masters — Tal, Petrosian, Bronstein and Auerbach. The thing he liked least was having to sign hundreds of autographs. He also says he should have won the two games he lost.
One of his games and another from the tournament are appended.
