ANew York Times, New York, New York, Thursday, May 22, 1958
Russian Chess Prodigy Told to Wait Till He's 8
Moscow, May 21—The Soviet Union unveiled today its answer to America's 15-year-old chess whiz, Bobby Fischer of Brooklyn. But a man who ought to know told the Russians to put their discovery back under wraps.
The official Government press agency, Tass, told the country about Ernest Kim, a 5-year-old who has been slaying the chess giants in his home town of Tashkent in Central Asia.
The child has trounced adults of the third and second categories, the two lowest rungs on the chess ladder leading to grandmastership. Ernest gained a third-category rating only six months after he learned the game.
Tass sought an assessment of the situation from Mikhail Botvinnik, the Soviet player who earlier this month recaptured the world chess championship.
The boy has talent, Botvinnik noted, but he needs care. He advised that Ernest be sent off to school to develop his mind and body. He prescribed total abstinence from chess for three to five years.
[When informed about the new Russian chess star here last night, Fischer said, “If Botvinnik says Kim is good, you can believe it.”]
