Child Prodigies and Diminutives

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The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Sunday, May 03, 1964 - Page 59

Child Prodigies and Diminutives
Rev. George L. Paine, Cambridge, anticipates a full house for the Robert J. Fischer exhibition at Harvard Club next Sunday. Dr. Paine said: “But to be sure of getting your place at the table you had better promptly send in your check for $4, made out to the Harvard Club and labeled ‘for Chess Exhibition’. First come, first served.”
Note the reference to Robert J. Fischer above. No more Bobby. Reader Jack Stone, Baltimore, wrote to Chess Review complaining about the innate lack of dignity in these “childish diminutives.” He referred specifically to Bobby as in Fischer and Sammy as in Reshevsky. And he wanted to know if anyone had ever called Emanuel Lasker, Manny or Jose Raul Capablanca y Graupera, Joey. Chess Review's editor answered that these affectionate diminutives seem to apply only to child prodigies. He signed the answer Eddie.

The Larger Chessboard

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The Record Hackensack, New Jersey Thursday, January 09, 1964 - Page 50 (★)

The Larger Chessboard
Bobby Fischer, the 20-year-old United States chess champion, broke a lot of records in the recently completed national tournament in New York. Since he was 14, when he first captured the title, he has won the championship six times. That breaks a deadlock with Samuel Reshevsky of Spring Valley, a 5-time winner. Young Mr. Fischer won 11 straight games, a perfect score and the first in a major tournament in this country in 70 years. (Dr. Emanuel Lasker won 13 games in a row in 1893.) This man Fischer is a redoubtable champion — in our small corner of the world of chess.
Next comes to mind the world championship tournament, the first games of which are to be played in Holland next June.
The latest six world champions have been from the Soviet Union. The United States has never had an official winner.
This is not the time for Bobby Fischer to rest on his record. The Russians have invaded basketball, hockey, yachting. On, Robert, to Holland!

Chess: An International Quartet

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New York Times, New York, New York, Monday, February 09, 1964 - Page 365

Chess: An International Quartet
By Al Horowitz
Chess circles the globe. Its many devotees, living in diverse lands under different political systems, attest to the universality of the game. Underlining its international character, and also displaying the variety of techniques brought into play at important chess events, is this quartet of recent triumphs staged in New York, Reykjavik, Leningrad and London.
When Bobby Fischer defeated Dr. Anthony Saidy in the 11th and final round of the United States Championship in New York last month, he established a modern tournament record—11 straight wins. He thus joined the select trio of former world champions who had swept the boards in previous tournaments.
The first was Wilhelm Steinitz, who won 16 straight in a double round-robin in Vienna in 1873; among his opponents was the immortal Adolph Anderssen. The next was Dr. Emanuel Lasker, who won 13 straight in New York in 1893; the field included the famous American star, Harry Nelson Pillsbury. Twenty years later, Jose Raoul Capablanca duplicated Lasker's feat in New York, with a score of 13—0.
Although his victory in the recent tournament already was assured, Fischer was determined to win from Saidy for the sake of the record. From Saidy's point of view, the stakes also were high. A victory would have tied him for second place with Larry Evans, and a draw would have tied him for third with Pal Benko.

Knight Against Bishop
The game took a singular course. Pieces were exchanged regularly, and after 23 BxR all that remained were pawns and a knight versus a bishop. The pawns were so fixed, however, that the knight was the more active unit, and the question was whether Fischer could capitalize the minute advantage. Certainly, he could not lose.
Saidy was in a delicate position, for the onus of finding the best defensive maneuvers fell upon him.
Up to adjournment time, after Fischer's 43 … N-R3, with Saidy to make his sealed move, Fischer had made no progress. The judgment of the masters at this moment was that the draw was foreshadowed.
Here fate intervened. Had he moved impulsively, Saidy would have made the correct sealed move. Instead, he thought for 40 minutes and sealed a blunder. 44 B-K1 was out of order. 44 K-K2 would have held the game, as Fischer admitted during the post-mortem.
As the game went, 51…N-R5 was decisive. If 52 BxN, KxB; 53 K-K2, K-N6; 54 K-B1, P-B6 wins.

Fischer Conquers Field In Tourney: He Is First in 70 Years to Match Chess Record

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New York Times, New York, New York, Saturday, January 04, 1964 - Page 20

Fischer Conquers Field In Tourney: He Is First in 70 Years to Match Chess Record
Bobby Fischer won his 11th straight game in the final round of the United States Chess Championship last night, giving him a perfect score, the first in a major tournament in the United States in 70 years.
Fischer defeated Dr. Anthony Saidy of Puerto Rico in 56 moves. The game had been started Thursday night and adjourned. Saidy, the last man who could have blocked Fischer's perfect score, had pondered his final, sealed, move before the adjournment for 40 minutes.
When the move was unsealed last night, however, it became apparent that it was the wrong one. Fischer himself sat down with Saidy after he had won the game to show Saidy that if he had made a different move he could have held Fischer to a draw.
Only a handful of spectators was on hand when Fischer won the final game, in contrast to the hundreds who had followed his play in previous games.
Fischer won $2,000 for placing first; Larry Evans won $1,000 for placing second.
At the age of 20 he has now won the United States championship for the sixth time, breaking a deadlock with Sammy Reshevsky, who has won it five times. Fischer first won the title when he was 14.
Not since 1893 when Dr. Emanuel Lasker won 13 games in a row has a player in a major United States championship won all his games. The following year Lasker went on to win the world championship.
Two games were completed in the final round at the Henry Hudson Hotel on Thursday night. Arthur Bisguier of New York defeated William Addison of Los Angeles in 38 moves of a Sicilian in Reverse. Larry Evans of New York won from Donald Byrne of State College, Pa., in 47 moves of a Gruenfeld Defense.
Four games were adjourned. Robert Steinmeyer of New York and Sammy Reshevsky of Spring Valley played 41 moves of a Neo Gruenfeld Defense, with Reshevsky having the better position. Raymond Weinstein of Brooklyn had five pawns for a piece in a King's Indian Defense with Robert Byrne of Indianapolis. Weinstein was favored to win. Pal Benko and Edmar Mednis, both of New York, were in a difficult position, reached by a Catalan Opening.

Robert Fischer's Big Feat

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The Gazette Montreal, Quebec, Canada Saturday, January 11, 1964 - Page 44

Robert Fischer's Big Feat
Bobby Fischer won his sixth USA championship title with a perfect 11-0 score. This is the first time anyone has obtained this result in the national event. Former world champions Dr. Em. Lasker and J.R. Capablanca won strong tourneys in N.Y. in 1892 and 1913 with perfect scores. Lasker was 23 and Capablanca 24 at the time.
From the USA Championship, N.Y., 1963.

Bobby Fischer Perfect 11-0 Score in Sixth U.S.A. Championship Victory

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The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Sunday, January 12, 1964 - Page 45

Bobby Fischer seems to have made much of this talk academic, at least in this country. He has just won his sixth U.S. title. In accomplishing this feat he posted a perfect score, 11-0. New York Times noted it was the first time in 70 years a perfect score has been achieved in a major U.S. tournament. Dr. Emanuel Lasker, who later was to win the world title and hold it for 26 years, turned the trick in 1893.
It should be noted that William Lombardy, New York, also lined up a picket fence when he won the world junior title, but that was in another country.
Fischer's domination, according to witnesses, was complete. Not only did he win, game after game, but he won swiftly, convincingly. Steven Brandwein says only Reshevsky and Saidy gave the young maestro pause. In fact, Fischer, himself, pointed out a drawing line that Saidy missed on adjournment. But Robert Byrne bit the dust in 21 moves, and, below, Pal Benko was crushed in the same way.