Spassky Beats Fischer, Leads In Mar Del Plata
Bobby Fischer, brilliant 16-year-old United States chess champion, accepted an invitation to participate in the annual international master tournament at Mar del Plata, Argentina, according to a report from the New York Times.
Among the most highly regarded of the 16 competitors are David Bronstein and Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union and Fridrik Olafsson of Iceland.
Spassky is setting the pace with three winning efforts in the first three rounds of the tournament. He defeated Fischer in the second round, opening with a daring but rarely seen variation of the King's Gambit.
Fischer played to retain the gambit pawn and developed a satisfactory game. But he lost ground after several weak moves, notably on his 21st turn when B-N2 was much superior to R-N2. In the final position Spassky was about to win a piece when Fischer resigned.
In other games Fischer scored points against Bernardo Wexler of Argentina and Olisio Gadia of Brazil. His 2-1 score placed him in fourth position. Bronstein and Olafsson were tied for second and third with 2½-½ each.
Mikhail Botvinnik vs Mikhail Tal
Botvinnik - Tal World Championship Match (1960), Moscow URS, rd 6, Mar-26
King's Indian Defense: Fianchetto Variation. Classical Main Line (E69) 0-1
Mikhail Tal vs Mikhail Botvinnik
Botvinnik - Tal World Championship Match (1960), Moscow URS, rd 7, Mar-29
Caro-Kann Defense: Classical Variation (B18) 1-0
Boris Spassky vs Robert James Fischer
Mar del Plata (1960), Mar del Plata ARG, rd 2, Mar-30
King's Gambit: Accepted. Kieseritsky Gambit Rubinstein Variation (C39) 1-0