Fool's and Scholar's Mates Are Explained

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The Courier-Journal Louisville, Kentucky Sunday, June 07, 1964 - Page 50

Fool's and Scholar's Mates Are Explained
“This game was Round 6 in Robert J. Fischer's all-winning record in the 1963-64 United States Championship Tournament.”

Fischer Tops Field Here By 3½ Points

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New York Times, New York, New York, Monday, January 06, 1964 - Page 44

Fischer Tops Field Here By 3½ Points
The United States chess champion, Bobby Fischer of Brooklyn, topped his nearest rival by 3½ points after completion of all adjourned games in the 12-man championship round-robin over the weekend here.
Fischer won 11 straight games.
The rest of the field finished in the following order: second, Larry Evans, New York, 7½—3½; third, Pal Benko, New York, 7—4; fourth and fifth, Dr. Anthony Saidy, Puerto Rico, and Sammy Reshevsky, Spring Valley, each 6½—4½; sixth, Robert Byrne, Indianapolis, 5½—5½; seventh, Raymond Weinstein, Brooklyn, 5—6: eight, Arthur Bisguier, New York, 4½—6½; ninth and 10th William Addison, Los Angeles, and Edmar Mednis, New York, each 3½—7½; 11th, Robert Steinmeyer, New York, 3—8; 12th, Donald Byrne, State College, Pa., 2½—8½.
Three 10th-round games were completed at the Henry Hudson Hotel. Robert Byrne resigned to Weinstein without resumption of play, while Benko defeated Mednis when he reduced the position to a pawn ending with a pawn ahead. Reshevsky won from Steinmeyer when the latter could no longer stave off a decisive penetration.
Fischer won $2,000 and Evans $1,250 out of a total of $6,000, shared proportionately by the players.

Chess: U.S. Championship Games

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New York Times, New York, New York, Sunday, January 05, 1964 - Page 376

Chess: U.S. Championship Games
By Al Horowitz
After the completion of the sixth round in the recently finished United States Chess Championship, 20-year-old Bobby Fischer of Brooklyn, the defending champion, topped his nearest competitor, Dr. Anthony Saidy of Puerto Rico, by 2 points.
His victims included four of his most formidable opponents, Arthur Bisguier of New York, last year's runner-up: Larry Evans of New York, a former national champion; the 52-year-old veteran Sammy Reshevsky and the Indianapolis stalwart, Robert Byrne. Also succumbing to Fischer's winning streak were Edmar Mednis and Robert Steinmeyer of New York.
Undoubtedly the most eagerly awaiting match of this 12-man round-robin was the fifth-round Queen's Gambit Declined, reached by transposition, adopted by Reshevsky against Fischer. Reshevsky, starting conservatively, allows Fischer some tactical aggression in the early stages. To obtain this initiative, however, Fischer willingly saddles himself with an isolated queen pawn—the same motif he had employed in an earlier triumph against Byrne.
Fischer's 12 … N-K5 poses serious problems for his opponent. Reshevsky has no better than to submit to an exchange of minor pieces and accept a ragged queen-side structure.
Fischer, however, does not proceed to prevent the dissolution of White's weak points. Rather than concentrate his attack on White's queen bishop pawn, he plays for a mating net on the other wing. But this might have been refuted.
Note that if 25 RxP, B-R6ch; etc After 32 R-K1, if 32 . . . Q-K5; 33 P-B3. If, however, 34 . . . Q-K5; 35 QxP, QxQ; 36 N-K7ch, etc. As the game goes, after 33 . . . Q-B6, White's text 32 R-N1, was injudicious. Much better and sufficient to have a slight edge would have been 34 R-Q1. This was the turning point of the game.
White's fatal maneuver began with 35 N-K7ch, K-R1; 35 NxP, R-B1. The pawn was poisoned.

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.

Fischer Keeps Title At Chess Tourney

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New York Times, New York, New York, Wednesday, January 01, 1964 - Page 22

Fischer Keeps Title At Chess Tourney
Bobby Fischer of Brooklyn, the 20-year-old United States chess champion, has retained his title.
Donald Byrne of State College, Pa., resigned his ninth-round adjourned game with Fischer Monday night without further play, giving Fischer a score of 9-0. No one else in the 12-man field has a mathematical chance of equalizing Fischer's score.
In the 10th and penultimate round of the tournament, being played at the Henry Hudson hotel, Fischer defeated Pal Benko of New York. On the white side of a Pirc Defense, he executed an irrefutable mating attack sparked by the offer of a rook. Benko resigned on his 21st turn.
Other tenth-round results follow: Robert Byrne of Indianapolis, on the white side of a Gruenfeld Defense, defeated Robert Steinmeyer of New York after 39 moves. Dr. Anthony Saidy of Puerto Rico, as black in a King's Fianchetto, defeated Donald Byrne after 39 moves.
A draw was recorded in the Queen's Gambit Declined between Sammy Reshevsky of Spring Valley, N.Y., and Arthur Bisguier of New York.
Two games were adjourned: William Addison of Los Angeles vs. Larry Evans of New York, in an even position, and Edmar Mednis of New York vs. Raymond Weinstein of Brooklyn, in a position favorable to Mednis.
—
The 11th and final round will be played tomorrow at 7 P.M. The pairings follow: Saidy vs. Fischer; Evans vs. D. Byrne; Bisguier vs. Addison; Steinmeyer vs. Reshevsky; Weinstein vs. R. Byrne; Benko vs. Mednis. The first named player has the white pieces.

Fischer vs. Reshevsky

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The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Sunday, January 05, 1964 - Page 80

Fischer vs. Reshevsky
Bobby Fischer seems a shoo-in for his sixth national championship in as many attempts. Fischer first won the title in the 1957-'58 tournament. He sat out the 1961-'62 tournament but came back with a splash last year.
Now he started with a string of seven wins bowling over in the process such perennial rivals as Sam Reshevsky and Robert Byrne. At this stage Addison, last year's sensation, Bisguier, Don Byrne, Steinmeyer, and Mednis are out of it. Reshevsky, R. Byrne, and Weinstein are teetering on the brink. The only players with any chance at all seem to be Benko, Saidy, and Evans, and their prospects are not exactly bright.
Fischer's lawyer accompanied him to the Reshevsky game in the Henry Hudson Hotel. Reshevsky, a smoker and pacer of note, had been plying his hobbies in his usual manner. Fischer and his lawyer protested, claiming the caged lion bit past the thinking Fischer's chair constituted an annoyance and distraction.
According to the New York Times the protest Reshevsky smilingly stopped his walks just short of Fischer's chair.
Reshevsky was the dominant figure in American chess from 1936 to the advent of Fischer. For several years after Fischer first won the national championship, attempts were made to promote a match between the old champion and the new. Finally in 1960 the Piatigorsky foundation succeeded in bringing about a match. The match ended in a tie (5½-5½) and a dispute. Reshevsky was awarded the match, but nothing had been proven. However, there is little doubt as to which is the major figure now.
Fischer has feuded with many chess organizers and organizations and there was doubt whether he would compete this year. But Bobby is embarking on his first coast to coast tour early this year and so possibly concluded it is better to take the title with him — better gate appeal.
Fischer's career reminds me in many ways of the careers of Capablanca and Lasker. The two older masters set standards thought beyond the capacity of chess organizations of their day. They set their terms and their terms were met. In this way Lasker and Capablanca gradually lifted the chessmaster from the shadows of financial disaster. Fischer appears to be doing something similar today. He is necessary to the success of any tournament in this country, so he makes demands that appear excessive. This has all the earmarks of a temporary nuisance and a long term blessing.
In an interview with Assiac (Heinrich Fraenkel) in 1960 Bobby Fischer described the following game as his favorite. It was played during the 1959 Mar del Plata tournament and Fischer's opponent was Hector Rossetto, sometime Argentine champion.
Bobby's classical demonstration of centralization, doubled rooks on the 7th rank, and finally, zugzwang is heartwarming to Nimzovitch fans.

Fischer Retains U.S. Championship

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The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, January 05, 1964 - Page 89

Fischer Retains U.S. Championship
U.S. champion Bobby Fischer, playing the finest chess of his career, won nine games in succession to clinch first place in the current tournament for the title at the Henry Hudson Hotel in New York.
Though two rounds are still to be completed at this writing, none of his 11 rivals could equal Fischer's total. Among Fischer's victims in this sensational streak were former champions Arthur Bisguier, Larry Evans and Samuel Reshevsky.
In second place at this stage was Pal Benko, with a score of 5-3. He had won three games, drawn four and lost to Evans. Benko was scheduled to face Fischer in the semi-final round.
Evans was in third place with 4½-2½ and two games adjourned. He was defeated by Raymond Weinstein as well as by Fischer. Reshevsky was tied with Dr. Anthony Saidy, each with 4-3 scores.
California champion William G. Addison lost to Reshevsky and Fischer in successive rounds to drop down to 2½-4½. Addison finished tied for third in last year's tournament, but is clearly not in the same form this time.
Other tallies after nine rounds, with some games adjourned, were: Weinstein, 4-4; Robert Byrne, 3½-3½; Bisguier 3-5; Robert Steinmeyer, 3-6; Donald Byrne, 2-5, and Edmar Mednis, 1½-6½.
Following are results of play last week and games from the tournament.