New York Times, New York, New York, Thursday, March 08, 1962 - Page 38
Benko Has Hopes For Chess Berth
Ties Gligoric for Last Spot in Challengers' Tourney
Five players who qualified to compete in the world challengers' chess tournament during May and June in Curacao, Dutch West Indies, were named after completion of the twenty-third and final round of the interzonal tournament in Stockholm, according to a report from the Swedish capital yesterday.
The qualifiers are Bobby Fischer, United States; Ewfim Geller, Tigran Petrosian and Victor Korchnoi, Soviet Union, and Dr. Miroslav Filip of Czechoslovakia.
A sixth place rests between Pal Benko of New York and Svetozar Gligoric of Yugoslavia. Both made scores of 13½—8½ and were bracketed with Leonid Stein, the other member of the Soviet quartet. Stein, however, was eliminated because of a ruling of the International Chess Federation that the list of candidates could contain not more than three players from any one federation.
A match between Benko and Gligoric to break the tie is being considered.
Two other players who will compete and who were seeded are Mikhail Tal of Latvia and Paul Keres of Estonia.
The challengers' tournament will determine the opponent to meet Mikhail Botvinnik of the Soviet Union, holder of the world title.
All three adjourned games were drawn yesterday. Korchnoi moved into a tie at 14—8 with Filip when he drew a Sicilian defense with Abe Yanofsky of Canada in forty-one moves.
Benko halved the point with Gideon Barcza of Hungary in a hard-fought, knight-versus-rook ending that lasted ninety moves. Gligoric split the point with Julio Bolbochan of Argentina in fifty-two moves.