A< Prev Index Next >
Let's Play Chess 18 Jan 1958, Sat The Montreal Star (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) Newspapers.com
Let's Play Chess: 14-year-old Bobby Fischer Is New Star of Chess World
By William Oaker
A Star is Born
A star has arisen on the chess horizon of the western chess world. Everyone has seen it coming, but no one would have dared to predict its brilliance.
Bobby Fischer, 14-years-old, of Brooklyn, N.Y., is the new United States Champion, going through the recent Rosenwald Tourney in New York City without a loss and finishing ahead of Grandmaster Sammy Reshevsky.
A few short years ago a man decided to teach a group of small boys the royal game of chess. One stood out above all the others, eventually reaching the point where he could play them all at the same time.
The boy went to play at the Hawthorne Chess Club, where he impressed the members with his natural talent. He then joined the Marshall Chess Club, where talent scouts steered him to becoming a member of the strongest chess club in the United States, the Manhattan Chess Club.
Began Rise
At the age of 12, the star began to rise—slowly at first. He played in the U.S. Junior Championship at Lincoln, Neb., but only made a score of 5-5.
The following year, at 13, he won the National Junior title at Philadelphia, the youngest to ever do so. This prompted people to say, “Here is a lad with great promise. In five or six years, he might become a master.”
Bobby was not content to wait years. He immediately entered the strong U.S. Open Championship at Oklahoma, (after pausing long enough to repeat his Junior Championship victory at San Francisco), and came away a tie for fourth place in a field of 102.
He then headed north to the Canadian Open Championship, held here in Montreal, at Redpath Hall, where he finished tied for eighth.
Chess players everywhere then said, “Yes, sir! That boy's going to be a master before he's 20, if he keeps up like this.”
A whole series of small local tournaments were then entered with great success in all of them, and small signs of envy began to creep into the praise. “Very good”, they would say, “but, he is getting a little ahead of himself.” A three page spread in Life magazine, did not exactly hinder the mild jealousy, “After all, Reshevsky himself never had his picture in Life.”
Takes U.S. Open
Last year, at the age of 14, he shocked everyone by winning the U.S. Open championship in a strong field of 175. Because there are a lot of weak players in such a tourney, and a great deal depends on the pairings, he was, still considered only “very good”.
He was invited to the Hastings International in England, but decided to stay in the United States and play in the Rosenwald. Then the bomb fell, as did every major master, including the mighty Reshevsky, in United States. He won with points to spare.
It is strange, but there are only two challenges left open for this boy wonder in sneakers and jeans: Grandmastership, and the championship of the world.
His remarkable feat compares with Babe Ruth and Rocket Richard of other competitions—that is if they had managed to accomplish their feats when they were only 14 years old.
The Montreal Championship
The Montreal Championship got under way last Sunday with 56 entrees. Officials stated that there is still room for a few more. Anyone interested should contact Mr. Wm. Hornung, at POntiac 8-8744 or show up at the tournament hall at the N.D.G. Community Hall, corner of Cote St. Antoine road and Decarie boulevard, before 1:30 p.m. tomorrow. Entry fee is $5.00 for adults (male), $3.00 for ladies or university students and $1.00 for elementary and high school students. The committee specified that “a few more ladies” would be especially welcomed.
