AThe Morning News Wilmington, Delaware Saturday, March 10, 1962 - Page 12
He Looks Like a Champion
If chess were as popular as prize fighting, the name of Bobby Fischer would be as well known as that of Floyd Patterson. This youth is the most promising player of what has been called the Russian national game to appear in the United States for a very long time.
Bobby, who is 18, has monopolized the American championship, formerly held by the very find international grandmaster Samuel Reshevsky. And now he has won the right to play in the challengers' tournament, victory in which would entitle him to a shot at the world champion, Botvinnik.
The Russian engineer has held the title ever since the death of Alexander Alekine—except for one biennium when Tal, another Russian, displaced him. Under the existing setup, a challengers' tournament is held every two years, and the winner plays a 24-game match with the champion.
All the challengers since this program was started have been Russians. Smyslov and Bronstein tried it, and came close. Bobby Fischer, who at 15 was the youngest player ever to win the title of international grandmaster, has hopes.
He has been improving since, but is he good enough to beat the redoubtable Botvinnik? His record at the inter-zonal tournament in Stockholm was impressive. He won the tournament by a margin of 2½ games, with 22 other players, including several top Russians, trailing him. He won without losing a single game.
But meeting Botvinnik is another matter. Bobby's tournament record is impressive, but he is short on experience in match play. But at 18 he really looks like a future world champion.
He Looks Like a Champion 10 Mar 1962, Sat The Morning News (Wilmington, Delaware) Newspapers.com
