The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, California, Sunday, May 25, 1958
Fischer, Reshevsky In Line for Interzonal
Either 20 or 21 masters, representing the various geographical zones of the International Chess Federation, will compete in the interzonal tournament of the current world championship series in an event scheduled for Portoroz, Yugoslavia, starting Aug. 5.
Bobby Fischer, the new U.S. champion, and International Grandmaster Samuel Reshevsky are eligible to represent this country. Fischer is set to go, first visiting Russia, when he has been invited for exhibition matches. Reshevsky's plans are not yet definite, but it is likely that he also will enter the interzonal event.
Four grandmasters will play for Russia, which has held the world title since Mikhail Botvinnik won it in 1948. The four are Mikhail Tal, present Russian champion; Yuri Auerbach, David Bronstein and Tigran Petrosian.
Argentina has qualified three competitors, Oscar Panno, Raul Sanguinetti and Hector Rossetto. The Argentine Chess Federation has requested the additional inclusion of Miguel Najdorf, long regarded as one of the outstanding masters of the hemisphere.
The others who have advanced through zonal competition are Dr. Miroslav Filip and Ludek Pachman of Czechoslovakia, Svetozar Gligoric and Alexander Matanovic of Yugoslavia, Paul Benko and Laszlo Szabo of Hungary (Benko, who defected from Hungary last year, is now residing in San Diego), Fridrik Olafsson of Iceland, Bent Larsen of Denmark, O. Neikirch of Bulgaria, Paul Vaitonis of Canada and Rodolfo Cardoso of the Philippines.
Fischer On Television
Bobby Fischer, 15-year-old American chess champion, gave a unique exhibition when he tackled 13 players simultaneously on television. He won 12 and drew one against Walter Harris, a 16-year-old member of the Marshall Chess Club in New York.
The games were played on WNTA, a new TV station in Newark, N.J. Sportscaster Bert Lee, who usually handles baseball games, gave the names and numbers of all the chess players. The director of the program, both cameramen and three of the engineers were chess players and became absorbed in the games as well as their work.
Kenneth Harkness, business manager of the U.S. Chess Federation, gave the commetary as Bobby moved from board to board, outwitting his challengers without stopping to think for more than a moment at any board.
