The Gazette Montreal, Quebec, Canada Saturday, September 22, 1962 - Page 15
The Game of Kings 22 Sep 1962, Sat The Gazette (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) Newspapers.com
Amerks And Russians Clash
Bobby Fischer's blast regarding alleged Russian collusion in playing as a team in winning the Candidates tourney at Curacao has drawn Soviet return fire. In “Sovetsky Sport” A. Prorvich salvos “The presumptuous American, having suffered a fiasco at Curacao, has decided to rehabilitate himself by means of slander. It is well known that lies run on short legs. And on such legs it is hard to keep up with those who are ahead. The youngster from New York has had to learn from his own experience that the Russians know how to play chess and it is hard to compete with them”.
In reply Bobby gets down to other aspects of the tourney in a Sports Illustrated article “The Russians Have Fixed World Chess”. He claimed the Russians consulted — during the games! “If I was playing a Russian opponent, the other Russians watched my game and commented on my moves in my hearing. Then they ridiculed my protest to officials. They worked as a team”. Having studied Russian chess magazines and books for some years Bobby claims to know enough of the language to be aware that they were not talking about the weather. Consultation and analysis of adjourned games by outside parties has become acceptable practice by FIDE in international events. Mainly because there is no way to maintain inspection in enforcing the rule, or definition “Chess is a game played by two persons.”. But for an outside party to offer advice in a game actually in progress, this is something else again. This can and should be stopped. Officials seem to have been lax at Curacao. As a matter of history there was a suspected case of this at the First Canadian Open here in 1956 and a guard was placed as soon as the complaint was made. There was no more trouble.
Fischer Wins His Point
A radical change in the conditions of the final stage of future world series for the individual title was approved by a majority vote at the current annual meeting of FIDE (International Chess Federation) at Stockholm. The USA Ch. Fed, was represented by past president Gerry Spann. Zonal and Interzonal tourney play-downs will continue as at present but match-play will take over from tourney play in the 1965 Candidates event to decide the official challenger. There will again be eight players, who will engage in a series of ten game elimination matches. Details are lacking but there was apparently no opposition from the Russian delegates as they claimed earlier that they have been advocating the change for some time.
World Team Championship
The USA team to the world team championship Varna, Bulgaria will include R. Fischer, L. Evans, R and D. Byrne, E. Mednis. If P. Benko is unable to go Eliot Hearst will act as playing captain. The team has been financed by the American Chess Foundation and the Sadie and Arthur Lamport Foundation. In an exhibition warm-up at Warsaw the USA team squeezed through a narrow 3-2 victory. The Olympics last from Sept. 15 to Oct. 10. Thirty-six nations have entered. The USSR team will be at full strength with Botvinnik, Petrosian, Spassky, Keres, Geller and Korchnoi. India will send a team under a government grant.
