New York Times, New York, New York, Friday, September 12, 1958
Fischer, 15, Gets Top Chess Status
Brooklyn Player Is Youngest to Become International Grand Master
Portoroz, Yugoslavia, Sept. 11 (AP) — Bobby Fischer of Brooklyn, the 15-year-old United States champion, became an international chess grand master today. He is the youngest player to hold that title.
Fischer tied for fifth in the interzone tournament here, played in a framework of world championship competition. He thus received the title of international grand master.
This marked a brilliant success for Fischer, who was competing in his first, international tournament.
He qualified with the five other leaders for next year's tournament of candidates. The winner of that event will meet the world champion, Mikhail Botvinnik of the Soviet Union, in 1960 for the title.
The young American played very successfully here. He drew against all the Soviet grand masters represented. From 20 possible points he collected 12.
A Hungarian refugee, Paul Benko, a member of the United States Chess Federation, shared third place with a Soviet grand master, Tigran Petrosian. Benko, too, became an international grand master.
First place here was taken by Mikhail Tal of the U.S.S.R. Svetozar Gligoric of Yugoslavia was the runner-up.
Fridrik Olafsson of Iceland tied Fischer for fifth.
About 40 In Select Group
As an international grand master Fischer belongs to the most exclusive chess fraternity in the world.
A spokesman for the Manhattan Chess Club estimated Thursday that there were only about forty international grand masters now playing.
If chess players distinguish themselves in American tournament play, they become masters: if, among masters, a player continues to win, then in America, he becomes a grand master. Before Fischer left for his international competition, he was regarded as a grand master.
To go any higher in the echelons of chess reputation a grand master must excel among the grand masters of the world. When Fischer did this, he was named by the game's international body—the International Chess Federation in Stockholm (referred to as Federation Internationale des Echecs)—as an international grand master.
4 Adjourned Games Played
The interzone tournament ended Thursday when four adjourned games were finished, according to a report from Yugoslavia.
David Bronstein of the Soviet Union was upset by Rodolfo Cardoso of the Philippines.
Fischer won six games in all, drew twelve and lost two, to Benko and Olafsson, respectively. In the Brooklyn student's last game, he drew with Gligoric on the black side of a Sicilian defense in thirty-two moves.
