The Early Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer (1943-2008) was probably the greatest chess player who ever lived. How did he get so good so quick? Here are some of his earliest chess endeavors and tournaments.
In March 1949, when Bobby turned 6 (on March 9th), he learned the game of chess from instructions on a plastic chess set that his sister, Joan (1938-1998), bought at a candy store on the first floor of their apartment for $1. At the time, Bobby did not know anyone who played chess and he never saw anyone playing chess. His only chess partner at age 6 was his 11 year old sister and sometimes his 36-year old mother, Regina Wender Fischer. Soon, Joan got tired of the game and his mother was too busy to play.
In the December 1966 issue of Boys’ Life, Fischer wrote, “I learned to play chess when I was six from my older sister, Joan, in Brooklyn, N.Y. I liked other games like Monopoly and Parcheesi, but I found chess was much more exciting because it presented a greater challenge – there was no factor of luck involved. It was more difficult than any other game.”
Bobby
saw his first chess book in May, 1949. He found a book of annotated chess games
(perhaps Tarrasch’s Best Games of Chess by Fred Reinfeld written in 1946) while the family vacationed at
Patchogue, Long Island. He spent most of his vacation time pouring over this
book.
For
over a year Bobby played chess by himself. He was so thoroughly absorbed by
chess that his mother became worried. She then tried to use chess as a means to
get Bobby into contact with other children. Regina Fischer recalled,
"Bobby isn't interested in anybody unless they play chess - and there just
aren't many children who like it."
On November 14, 1950, Bobby’s mother sent a postcard and attempted to place an ad in the Brooklyn Eagle looking for chess opponents for the 7-year-old-Bobby. The ad was never published because no one at the newspaper could figure out how to classify it. They forwarded the postcard to Hermann Helms, Dean of American Chess.
For Christmas, 1950, Regina bought Bobby a small, unweighted wooden chess set that was housed in a sliding, unvarnished wooden box.
In January 1951, Hermann Helms (1870-1963) learned of the ad and replied that there was going to be a chess simultaneous exhibition at the Grand Army Plaza Public Library in Brooklyn in a few days. The letter was as follows:
Jan 13, 1951
Mrs. R. Fischer
1059 Union Street
Brooklyn, N.Y.
Dear Madam:
Your postcard of Nov. 14, mislaid in The Eagle Office,
has just reached me.
If you can bring your little chess-playing boy to the
Brooklyn Public Library, Grand Army Plaza, next Wednesday [January 17, 1951] evening
at eight o’clock, he might find someone there about his own age. If he should care to take a board and play
against Mr. Pavey, who is to give an exhibition of
simultaneous play at that time, just have him bring along his own set of
chessmen with which to play. The boards,
I understand, are to be provided.
I will also bring your request to the attention of Mr.
Henry Spinner, secretary of the Brooklyn Chess Club, which meets Tuesday,
Friday and Saturday evenings on the third floor of the Brooklyn Academy of
Music. It is quite possible that Mr.
Spinner may know of a boy or two of that age.
Yours
respectively,
Hermann
Helms
Chess
Editor
Bobby showed up with his new chess board and set that he got for Christmas, but lost in 15 minutes (he lost his Queen) to Senior Master Max Pavey (1918-1957). Bobby burst into tears when he lost, but later admitted that the loss had a great effect in motivating him to get better at chess.
At the event, Bobby met Carmine Nigro (1910-2011), President of the YMCA Chess and Checker Club in Brooklyn. Carmine agreed to give Bobby some chess lessons for a dollar an hour.
The January 18, 1951 issue
of the Brooklyn Eagle, Hermann Helms
wrote this about the exhibition. “In his
exhibition at the library, Pavey played 13 games with
different opponents without losing one.
He drew two games against Edmar Mednis (1937-2002), a junior member of the Marshall Chess
Club, and Sylvan Katske. The other 11, including eight-year-old (sic –
he was 7) Bobby Fischer, were defeated.”
A week later, Regina took
Bobby to the Brooklyn YMCA Chess Club, headed by Carmine Nigro.
Bobby, age 7 (but looked 5), was the
first child permitted to join the Brooklyn YMCA Chess Club (there were also no
women chess members). On that first
night, Bobby lost every game at the club.
Despite his losses, Bobby continued to show up at the Brooklyn YMCA Chess
Club.
Carmine
Nigro formed an unofficial chess team with Bobby
Fischer, his son Bill (Brady referred to him as Tommy) Nigro,
and two other boys. They played a match against another team of kids coached by
Dr. Harold Sussman (1911-2004), a dentist, amateur
photographer, and chess master in Brooklyn. The teams played two matches. Nigro's team won the first match with a 5-3 score.
In
February, 1952, Bobby played in his first chess match at the Nigro home, winning his match against 10-year-old Raymond Sussman, the son of a Dr. Harold Sussman. Bobby won the first game and drew the second
game. Dr. Harold Sussman
later became Bobby’s dentist.
When
Dr. Harold Sussman started teaching chess to his own
son, he collected a group of youngsters for livelier interest in learning
competitively. The best player of the
group was Bobby Fischer.
In
1952, Bobby spent most of his hours after school at the Grand Army Plaza
library in Brooklyn reading most of the chess books there and enjoying playing
over miniature chess games. A photograph
showing him studying appeared in the Brooklyn
Public Library News Bulletin in July, 1952.
It was the first time that his photograph appeared in print. He once told Shelby Lyman (1936- ) that he
had read thousands of chess books and retained the best from each.
During
the summer and fall of 1952, Bobby spent time playing against his grandfather's
cousin, Jacob Schonberg, who also lived in Brooklyn. When Jacob's health was
failing, Regina Fischer took care of him almost every day. She brought along
Bobby to play chess with the older gentleman.
Fischer, in his chess column (“Checkmate”) in Boys’
Life in December 1966 wrote, "One of the biggest thrills
of my life was when I won first prize at the YMCA children's championship. One
critical game, incidentally, was against my teacher's son, Bill Nigro. I was nervous in that game, but the training I got
from my early games was important to me and gave me confidence. I still have
that medal at home." Bill Nigro added,
"He [Fischer] spent every weekend at our house for several years. He
was an eccentric kid -- he so much loved to win, he would throw the pieces
across the room if he lost. I would play a game or two with Fischer, then I was ready to go play outside. He stayed with Dad the
whole day."
By the end of 1952, Fischer was becoming a fairly good player and started beating Nigro and others at the Brooklyn YMCA Chess Club. He was also starting to read every chess book he could find at the public libraries.
Around January 1953, 9-year-old Fischer played Dan E. Mayers (1922- ) at the Brooklyn Chess Club. Mayers recorded the game, and it is the first known recorded chess game of Bobby Fischer. However, Fischer got mated in 17 moves.
Mayers (1900) – Fischer (Unrated), Brooklyn Chess Club, January 1953
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 c6 5.d4 Bb4 6.e5 Ne4 7.Qh5 O-O 8.Ne2 d5 9.Bb3 g6 10.Qh6 Bg4 11.Bd2 Nxd2 12.Kxd2 g5 13.h4 gxh4? [13…Be7] 14.Rxh4 Bf5 15.Rah1 Be7?? [15…f6] 16.Rg4 Bg6 17.Qxh7 mate 1-0
Dan had worked as a physicist at Los Alamos during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project. He was the 1939 New York City High School Champion. In 1948, he won the New England Chess Championship. In 1996, he won the British Senior Championship, and in 2004, he won the U.S. Senior championship for players 75 and older. At age 90, he is still playing chess.
In
February 1953, Bobby played in his first organized tournament, the Brooklyn
Chess Club championship, and took 5th place. If this was the Napier Memorial
tournament, then it was won by Henry Spinner, secretary of the Brooklyn Chess
Club, with an 11-0 score.
By
the end of 1953, Bobby was winning a majority of his games at the Brooklyn
Chess Club.
Bobby
was exposed to international chess when Nigro took
Fischer to watch the USA-USSR chess match every day at the Hotel Roosevelt in
Manhattan. It was held June 16-24, 1954.
It was the first time the Soviet chess team played on United States
soil. The match drew 1,100 spectators,
more than any other previous chess event in U.S. history. The match was refereed by Hans Kmoch (1894-1973).
Bobby attended all four rounds and kept score of the wins, draws, and
losses. The USSR team won 20-12.
In
September 1954, Carmine Nigro introduced 11-year old
Bobby to 16-year old William Lombardy (1937- ).
Lombardy agreed to coach Fischer in private, spending hours playing over
master chess games. Both players became
grandmasters.
By 1954, Fischer was playing a lot of chess at the Brooklyn Chess Club and at the Brooklyn YMCA. In December 1954, he took 3rd-5th place at the Brooklyn CC championship. Two off-hand games were recorded between Fischer and Brooklyn player Jacob Altusky (1931- ).
Fischer – Altusky, Brooklyn 1954
1.d4 g6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 O-O 5.Bg5 d6 6.Nf3 Nbd7 7.e5 dxe5 8.dxe5 Ng4 9.Nd5 Ngxe5? [9…Re8] 10.Bxe7 Kh8 11.Nxg6 hxg6 12.Bxd8 and Black resigned 1-0
Altusky-Fischer, Brooklyn 1954
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.d4 b5 6.Bb3 Bg4 7.Bxf7? Kxf7 8.Ng5 Qxg5 and White resigned 0-1
In early
1955 Fischer was playing in a Chess Review correspondence tournament
(section 55-P-32).
He was mentioned as a new postalite in the May, 1955
issue of Chess Review in the Class B at 1200 section. The August 1955 issue of Chess Review, page, 249 has section 55-P-32 stating “Fischer licks
Maxwell, loses to Conger.”
The October 1955 issue has section 55-P-32 stating “Reithel
tops Fischer.”
Fischer
had an 1198 postal rating in the August, 1955 list of Chess Review and a
1082 postal rating in the March, 1956 issue of Chess Review. He remained
at 1082 in the August, 1956 issue if Chess
Review. He lost one of his postal games in 12 moves to
Anthony Wayne Conger (1904-1983) who had a 1418 postal rating at the time.
Conger (1274) – Fischer (1200),
Corr. 1955
1.d4
Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Bg5 h6 6.Bh4 O-O 7.f4 c5 8.d5 Qa5 9.Qd2 Qc7
10.Bd3 e6 11.Nb5 Qb6 12.Nxd6 and Fischer resigned 1-0
Donald P. Reithel
recalls that he played Fischer in a correspondence game in 1955. Fischer wrote
to Reithel that he was a Brooklyn Dodger fan. Fischer
did not finish the correspondence game with Reithel
because he was starting to play in over-the-board tournaments. Reithel was a
member of the Ontario Chess Club in Ontation, New
York and a former editor of the “Chess Correspondent.”
Donald Reithel said, "In 1955 I played Bobby in postal chess
- a prize tourney in Chess Review. I remember him as a typical American
kid: Brooklyn Dodger fan, somewhat opinionated about school and somewhat
desirous to exchange ideas and thoughts. He also liked listening to the radio
and religiously was reading and studying the Bible."
The
winner of the postal section was S. Frankel with 5 wins and 1 draw. Fischer defeated J. Maxwell (1048), lost to
Conger (1274) and Reithel (1256), and withdrew and
lost to Frankel (1068), J. Ellis (1126), and V. Mattern
(1256).
On May
21-23,
1955, Fischer, at the age of 12 years and 2 months, played in his first U.S.
Chess Federation (USCF) tournament. He scored 2.5 points (out of 6) in the 5th
U.S.Amateur Championship in Lake Mohegan, New York
(played at the Mohegan Country Club). The last U.S. Amateur championship was held
10 years earlier in 1945.
Carmine Nigro took him to the event. Fischer, age 12, only wanted
to watch, but was persuaded to play by Nigro. Nigro paid the $5 entry fee for Bobby and his USCF
membership. The time control was 50
moves in 2 hours. The only known Fischer
game from this event was Humphrey-Fischer in round 6. Fischer drew that game,
but could have won it.
Fischer won 2, drew 1, and lost 3. He tied for 33rd place. The event was won by
Clinton L. Parmalee (sometimes
spelled Parmelee) of New Jersey and organized by Kenneth Harkness (1896-1972). There were 75 entrants. The event was
open to anyone except rated masters (masters were anyone rated 2300 or over).
The event was covered in the June 5, 1955 issue of Chess Life and in Chess
Review, June, 1955, page 164.
Fischer’s post-tournament provisional USCF rating was 1826
Albert B. Humphrey (1780) – Bobby Fischer (Unr), Lake Mohegan, NY, Rd 6, May 22, 1955
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.Nf3
O-O 5.e4 d6 6.h3 Nbd7 7.Be3 e5 8.d5 a5 9.Be2 b6 10.O-O Ne8 11.Qc2 Nc5 12.Nh2 f5
13.f3 f4 14.Bf2 Qg5 15.Kh1 Bd7 16.Rg1 Nf6 17.g4 fxg3 18.Rxg3 Qh6 19.Nd1 Nh5
20.Rg1 Bxh3 21.Be3 Nf4 22.Nf2 Bf6 23.Rg3 Bd7 24.Nfg4 Bxg4 25.Rxg4 Qg7 26.Rag1
Be7 27.Qd2 Rf7 28.R1g3 Raf8 29.Bxf4 Rxf4 30.Rh3 Qf7 31.R4g3 Bh4 32.Rg4 Bf2
33.Bd1 1/2-1/2
In
June, 1955 Bobby scored 4.5-3.5 in a Washington Square Park (Greenwich Village)
8 round Swiss tournament with 32 players. He tied for 15th place. The tournament director was Jose M. Calderon (former head of the
Olive Oil Association of America).
The entry fee was 10 cents. The
entry fee money was sent to the American Red Cross as a donation.
In
late June, 1955, Bobby Fischer entered the Manhattan Chess Club for the first
time with Carmine Nigro. He was met by Walter Shipman (1929- ), one of
the club’s directors. Shipman
immediately matched Bobby with a player, and Bobby won the game. Another opponent was found and Bobby won
again. Shipman then played Fischer a
series of blitz games, and Bobby won a third of the games. Shipman recalled, “I was so impressed by his
play that I introduced the 12-year old to Maurice Kasper (1900-1972), the
president of the club and a millionaire garment maker, whose beneficent offer
of a free junior membership was immediately accepted by Bobby.”
In
early July of 1955, Nigro persuaded Fischer to play
in the U.S. Junior championship. On July
3, 1955, Regina Fischer sent a postcard to Alexander Liepnieks
(1910-1973) and asked if he could make any arrangements for Bobby Fischer to
play in the US Junior Championship in Lincoln, Nebraska. Lipenicks
was the Nebraska State Champion at the time and organizer for the US Junior
Championship.
Regina
took Bobby to the Pennsylvania Railroad Station in New York to buy him a train
ticket to Nebraska via Philadelphia. The
ticket agent refused to sell her a ticket for a 12-year old boy that was going
to travel 1,400 miles alone. Regina
replied, “But you don’t understand. He
must go! It’s for his chess.” The agent replied, “Why didn’t you tell me
the boy was going for medical care?” The
agent had thought there was something wrong with the boy’s chest.
In
July of 1955, Fischer (age 12) and Charles Kalme
(1939-2002) took a train from Philadelphia to Lincoln, Nebraska to play in the
10th annual US Junior Championship, organized by Alexander Liepnieks.
The event was held July 15-24, 1955. Fischer won 2 games, drew 6 games, and
lost 2 games (5-5) at the U.S. Junior Championship in Lincoln, Nebraska (held
at the local YMCA). Fischer (rated 1830 from the U.S. Amateur tournament) took
20th place out of 25. Kalme (rated 2186) won the
event at age 15. Fischer stayed with the Liepnieks
family. Fischer's USCF rating was 1625 after this event.
In
round 1 of the US Junior Championship, Fischer lost to Kenneth Warner (1550) of
Bakersfield, California. In round 2 he drew with William Whisler
(unrated) of Concord, California. In round 3 he beat Jimmy Thomason (1600) of
Fort Worth, Texas. In round 4 he drew with David Ames (unrated) of Quincy,
Massachusetts. In round 5 he drew with Kenneth Stone (1600) of Los Angeles. In
round 6 he drew with John Briska (unrated) of Albany,
New York. In round 7 he lost to Viktors Pupols (2027) of Tacoma, Washington on time. In round 8, he
drew with Robert Blair (1650) of Midwest City, Oklahoma. In round 9 he drew
with John Winkelman (1650) of Lincoln, Nebraska. In
round 10 he beat Franklin Saksena (1600) of Ft.
Worth, Texas. His total score was 5-5.
During
the event, Fischer wore a large military-style dog tag around his neck. His
mother had given it to him that had his name, address, and phone number on it.
When Fischer was losing, he would twist the dog tag nervously. His mother called him every day to see if he
was all right. Later that month, her phone
bill was $50, more than her rent.
Fischer
won a trophy for best player 12 or under (he was the only 12 year old in it and
the youngest player in the event). His name first appeared in Chess Life, Aug 5, 1955 in an article
about the US Junior Championship. The
event was also covered in Chess Review,
September 1955, page 260, but only mentioning that Charles Kalme,
age 15, won the tournament. Bobby
returned to New York alone by bus, carrying his trophy with him.
On
July 17, 1955, he took 3rd place in the U.S. Junior Rapid Transit Championship
preliminaries, behind Robert F. Cross and Ronald J. Gross (1936- ). Every move
was 10 seconds a move with a warning buzzer at 8 seconds and a bell at 10
seconds. Gross won the 1993 US Senior
Championship.
On
October 2, 1955, Bobby placed 15th among 60 players who entered the Washington
Square Park tournament in Greenwich Village. Harry Fajans
(1905-1986), a chess master, said that when he beat Fischer in that tournament,
Bobby walked away in tears. Many who knew
Fischer during this period confirm that Fischer often cried on being
defeated. In 1963, when Frank Brady
asked Fischer if this was true, Fischer replied, “Of course not!”
Fischer
played in the final open-air tournament of the season in Washington Square Park
in New York City. He was the youngest
player in the event, who held his own against many of his older and more
experienced opponents. The winner was
Charles Eastman, who won a $100 savings bond.
Fischer had to weather the month-long contest and 32 eliminations before
being beaten. Bobby was awarded a $10
ballpoint pen for his efforts. As a
result of his participation, Bobby’s name appeared for the first time in a major
newspaper. The New York Times ran a small story about the results of the
tournament, with the headlines, EASTMAN WINS AT WASHINGTON SQUARE—BOY 12, NEAR
TOP. The reporter wrote, “Many in the
crowd of 400 onlookers seemed to think the best show was given by Bobby
Fischer. Despite competition from his
more mature and experienced adversaries, he was unbeaten until yesterday, when
he came within 15 players of the championship.”
Fischer won 2 games, drew 5 games, and lost 1 game.
On
November 26, 1955, Fischer, age 12, gave his first simultaneous exhibition He
played 12 members of the Youth Group (age 7 to 12) of the Yorktown, Chess Club
(Yorktown Heights, New York) youth at the Manhattan Chess Club. He won all 12
games, eliminating the first player in 50 minutes and the last player in 2 hours
and 20 minutes. Fischer had White in all his games. Most of the games went 1.e4
e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5. He received a watch from the Manhattan Chess Club
and a check from the Yorktown Chess Club. Fischer was mentioned in the December
20, 1955 issue of Chess Life (“Chess Life in New York” by Allen Kaufman
(1933- )) for his simul exhibition. The January 1956
issue of Chess Review had him on the cover ("Small Time Big time)
with another picture of him playing chess in the article. His opponents were
Stuart Siepser, Peter Foley, Walter Nitz, Billy David, Henry Brooks, Jimmy Rice, Marc Budwig, Leonard Bergstein, Evanna
Nelson, Linda Villator, Eric Mynttinen,
and Michael Foley. His exhibition was also covered by the December 11, 1955
issue of the New York Times.
At
the end of the year, Fischer two USCF ratings, 1826 and 1625, were averaged. So
at the end of 1955, Bobby Fischer's USCF rating was published at 1726.
The
January 1956 issue of Chess Review had Fischer on the cover giving a simul at the Manhattan Chess Club against the Yorktown
Chess Club youth group.
In
January 1956, Bobby, age 12, won the class B prize of the first Greater New
York City Open (January 21-26, 1956). It was held at the Churchill Chess and
Bridge Club in Manhattan. The event was won by Bill Lombardy, 6-1, on
tie-breaks over Dr. Ariel Mengarini (1919-1998).
Fischer won 5 games and lost 2 games (5-2). There were 52 players in this
event. Fischer tied for 5th-7th (shared with Anthony Saidy
(1937- ) and
Edward Schuyler Jackson (1897-1987)). In the final round, he was playing Rhys
Hays. In a particularly difficult
position, Bobby thought for a long time, and then decided on a move. Bobby moved a piece then punched the clock on
the next table! His USCF rating for the
event was 2157.
In
February 1956, Bobby traveled with six other members of the Log Cabin Chess
Club to Cuba and even gave a 12-board simultaneous exhibition at Havana’s Capablanca Chess Club (winning 10 and drawing 2). The
players included Cuban players, as well as E. Forry Laucks (1898-1965) and Robert Houghton. His mother accompanied him and served as
photographer for Chess Review. The Log Cabin Chess Club and Fischer also
visited Philadelphia; St. Petersburg, Florida; Hollywood, Florida; Miami,
Florida; Tampa, Florida; and Clinton, NC for simultaneous exhibitions. Norman
T. Whitaker (1890-1975), age 66, played board 1 for the Log Cabin Chess Club
and Fischer played board 2. Fischer won 5, lost 1, and drew 1 during this
exhibition match as board 2. The event was covered in the April, 1956 issue of Chess
Review. It included a picture of Fischer playing Mr. Weeks, a retired
engraver for the U.S. Treasury, in St. Petersburg. The photo was taken by
Regina Fischer. Another photo shows Fischer playing at the Capablanca
Chess Club in Havana. A third photo shows Fischer playing in Hollywood,
Florida.
March
9, 1956, was Bobby’s 13th birthday.
Years later, he gave Pal Benko (1928- ) one of
his old chess clocks and a chess set. He
told Benko that they had been gifts which Bobby
received for his Bar Mitzvah. The clock
and set are now in the hands of chess collector David DeLucia.
In
March 1956, he gave a simul at the Jersey City YMCA
and won 19, lost one, and drew one out of the 21 opponents. There were about a 100 spectators. Bobby made $19 for his efforts.
In
April 1956, Fischer won the class A championship at
the Manhattan Chess Club. He won 7, drew 1, and lost 2.
Fischer
was also was the top scorer in the 1956 New York Metropolitan League A team
with 4 wins and 1 draw. An award was to
be given to him at Highland Park in Brooklyn for his efforts, but he never
showed up. Carmine Nigro
accepted the award for him. Nigro told Brady that Fischer was master strength.
At
the end of April, his USCF rating was 2168.
However, his published USCF rating in the May 20, 1956 issue of Chess Life was 1726. One year later, it would be 2231.
On
May 25-27, 1956, he played in the U.S. Amateur Championship in Asbury Park, New
Jersey, winning 3 games, drawing 2, and losing 1 game (4-2). At 13, he was the
youngest player in the 88-player event (won by John Hudson (1930-2012) on tiebreaks over Harry Lyman (1915-1999) and J.Norman Cotter).
Fischer tied for 11th-23rd place. Before the event, he was rated
1726. His USCF rating after this event
was 2003.
In
round 1 of the 1956 US Amateur Championship, Fischer drew with Michael Tilles (2040). In round 2 he beat Dr. J. F. Bacardi (1770).
In round 3 he drew with Norman Hurttlen (1985). In
round 4 he beat Samuel Sklaroff (1911). In round 5 he lost to Edmund Nash (1989). In
round 6 he beat R. Riggler (1844).
A
picture appears in the July 20, 1956 issue of Chess Life, page 1, of Fischer playing Samuel Sklaroff.
In
June 1956, Bobby began attending the “Hawthorne Chess Club,” which was the home
of John “Jack” Collins (1912-2001), a New York master.
In
July 1956, he took first place at the 11th Annual U.S. Junior
Championship (July 1-7) in Philadelphia with 8 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss
(8.5-1.5). He became the youngest-ever
junior chess champion at age 13, a record that still stands (he placed 20th
with 5-5 at Lincoln, Nebraska in 1955).
The event was held at the Franklin Mercantile Chess Club with Bill Ruth
(1886-1975) as tournament director, assisted by D. A. Gianguilio.
Fischer's USCF rating after this event was 2321, making him a master at age 13
years, 3 months, 29 days and ranked #33 in the nation. He had become the
youngest master in history. The rating
was not published until August of 1956.
There were 28 participants from 12 states and Canada.
At
13 years and 4 months, Fischer was the youngest player to win the U.S. Junior
Championship. He won a portable typewriter for his efforts. Fischer took 2nd place in the blitz
championship with a 4-1 score (won by Arthur Feuerstein (1935- ) with 4.5-0.5
score). William Lombardy took 3rd.
After
the U.S. Junior Championship, Regina persuaded Maurice Kasper, of the Manhattan
Chess Club and treasurer of the American Chess Foundation, to give her $125
towards Bobby expenses for the U.S. Open in Oklahoma. She also arranged to have someone take in
Bobby for the duration to save on hotel costs.
A
few weeks later (July 17-28, 1956) Bobby played in the 57th annual U.S. Open in
Oklahoma City (102 players from 20 states) at the Biltmore Hotel. The event was directed by George Koltanowski (1903-2000), assisted by Kenneth Harkness (1896-1972), and organized by Jerry Spann,
president of the USCF. Play began at 7
pm. There was no play on Saturday, July
21, which was reserved for the Speed Tournament. The final round began at 12 noon. Time control was 50 moves in 2.5 hours. Entry fee was $15.
Fischer
won 5 games, drawing 7 games, losing none, (8.5-3.5), and tied for 4th-8th
place (won by Arthur Bisguier (1929- ) on tiebreaks
over Jimmy Sherwin (1933- )). Fischer
set some kind of record by going undefeated through all 12 rounds of a USCF
Open at the age of 13. His USCF rating
was 2375 after this event, #25 in the nation. His game with Dr. Peter Lapiken (1907-1983) was the first to appear in a chess
magazine. It appeared in the August 5, 1956 issue of Chess Life and the September issue of Chess Review. During
this event, he was interviewed on television for the first time. He appeared twice on local television and
was profiled by the Oklahoman
magazine. A picture of Fischer posing
for the cameraman of the Oklahoman appeared in the August 20, 1956 issue of Chess Life, page 7. At 13, he was the youngest player at the U.S.
Open.
In
the US Open, he defeated A. M. Swank (1687) in the first round (the oldest
player at 78 vs. the youngest player at 13), drew with Henry Gross (2181), drew
with Fred Tears (2123), beat Dr. Peter Lapiken
(2209), drew Brian Owens (2222), drew Anthony Santasiere
(2333), drew Ken Smith (2216), drew Wilmer E. Stevens (1872), beat Dale Ruth
(1971), beat Dr. Orest Popovych
(2176), drew Dr. Stephen Popel (2328), and beat Jerry
Donovan (2180).
A.M. Swank – Fischer, US Open, Oklahoma City, Rd 1, July 16,
1956
1.e4 c5 2.Ne2 Nc6 3.b3 Nf6 4.Nbc3 e6 5.Bb2 d5 6.Ng3 Bd6
7.Bb5 O-O 8.Bd3 Ne5 9.Be2 Ng6 10.Nb5 Nxe4 11.Nxe4 dxe4 12.Nxd6 Qxd6 13.g3 e5
14.c4 Bh3 15.Bf1 Bxf116.Rxf1 f5 17.Qc2 Ne7 18.O-O-O Nc6 19.Bc3 Nd4 20.Bxd4 exd4
21.Kb1 Rae8 22.Rfe1 Re5 23.d3 Rfe8 24.Qd2 exd3 25.Rxe5 Qxe5 26.Qxd3 Qe2 27.Rd2
Qxd3+ 28.Rxd3 Re1+ 29.Kc2 Re2+ 30.Rd2 Rxd2+ 31.Kxd2 f4 32.Kd3 Kf7 33.a3 Kf6
34.b4 b6 35.Ke4 Kg5 36.gxf4+ Kg4 37.f3+ Kh3 38.f5 Kxh2 39.f4 Kg3 40.bxc5 bxc5
41.a4 a5 42.Kd5 d3 43.Kxc5 d2 0-1
Fischer – H. Gross, US Open, Oklahoma City, Rd 2, July 17,
1956
1.Nf3
Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Bf5 4.O-O e6 5.d3 Bc5 6.Nbd2 Nc6 7.a3 a5 8.Qe1 Bg6 9.e4 dxe4
10.Nxe4 Nxe4 11.dxe4 O-O 12.Be3 Qe7 13.Qc3 Bxe3 14.Qxe3 Rad8 15.Rad1 Rxd1
16.Rxd1 Rd8 17.Rxd8+ 1/2-1/2
C.F. Tears – Fischer, US Open, Oklahoma City, Rd 3, July 18,
1956
1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.d3 g6 4.g3 Bg7 5.Bg2 d6 6.f4 e6 7.Nf3
Nge7 8.O-O O-O 9.Rb1 Rb8 10.Ne2 f5 11.Be3 b5 12.e5 Nd5 13.Bf2 dxe5 14.Bxc5 Re8
15.fxe5 Nxe5 16.Nxe5 Bxe5 17.c4 Qc7 18.cxd5 Qxc5+ 19.Kh1 Qd6 20.d4 Bg7 21.dxe6
Bxe6 22.d5 Bf7 23.b3 Rbd8 24.Nf4 Be5 25.Ne6 Bxe6 26.dxe6 Qxe6 27.Qe2 a6 28.Rfe1
Qf7 29.Rbd1 Bc3 30.Rxd8 Rxd8 31.Rd1 Rxd1+ 32.Qxd1 Kg7 33.Qf3 Qf6 34.Qb7+ Kh6
35.Qb8 Qd4 36.Qf8+ Qg7 37.Qxg7+ Kxg7 38.a4 Kf6 39.Bb7 bxa4 40.bxa4 a5 41.Kg2
Ke5 42.h4 f4 43.Bc6 Be1 44.gxf4+ Kxf4 45.Kh3
1/2-1/2
Fischer – P. Lapikan, US Open,
Oklahoma City, Rd 4, July 19, 1956
1.Nf3
Nf6 2.g3 d5 3.Bg2 Bf5 4.O-O e6 5.d3 c6 6.Nbd2 Na6 7.a3 Nc5 8.c4 b5 9.Nd4 Qd7
10.Nxf5 exf5 11.Nb3 h6 12.Be3 Ne6 13.Nd4 g6 14.Qb3 Rb8 15.Nxc6 Qxc6 16.cxd5 Nc5
17.Qc3 Qd6 18.Bxc5 Qxc5 19.Qxf6 1-0
Brian Owens – Fischer, US Open, Oklahoma City, Rd 5, July
20, 1956
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.g3 O-O 5.Bg2 d6 6.Nf3 Nbd7
7.O-O e5 8.e4 exd4 9.Nxd4 Nc5 10.Re1 a5 11.h3 Re8 12.Bg5 h6 13.Bf4 Nfd7 14.Be3
c6 15.Qd2 Ne5 16.Qe2 a4 17.Rad1 Qa5 18.f4 Ned7 19.Kh2 a3 20.Qc2 axb2 21.Qxb2
Nb6 22.Bf1 Nba4 23.Nxa4 Qxa4 24.Qg2 Rxe4 25.Nb3 Re8 26.Nxc5 dxc5 27.Bxc5 Be6
28.Rb1 Bxc4 29.Rxe8+ Rxe8 30.Rb4 Bxf1 31.Rxa4 Bxg2 32.Kxg2 Re2+ 33.Kf3 Rc2
34.Ra8+ Kh7 35.Be3 b5 36.Ra7 Kg8 37.Ra8+ Bf8 38.f5 g5 39.f6 Rc3 40.Ke4 Rc4+
41.Kf5 Rc3 42.Ke4 Rc4+ 43.Kd3 1/2-1/2
Fischer – A. Santasiere, US Open,
Oklahoma City, Rd 6, July 22, 1956
1.Nf3
d5 2.g3 Nc6 3.d4 Bg4 4.Bg2 Qd7 5.O-O g6 6.c4 Bg7 7.cxd5 Bxf3 8.Bxf3 Nxd4 9.Bg2
e5 10.dxe6 Nxe6 11.Bxb7 Rb8 12.Bg2 Qxd1 13.Rxd1 Bxb2 14.Bxb2 Rxb2 15.Nc3 Ne7
16.Rab1 Rb6 17.Nb5 O-O 18.Nxa7 Rfb8 19.Rxb6 Rxb6 1/2-1/2
Ken Smith – Fischer, US Open, Oklahoma City, Rd 7, July 23,
1956
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6
7.Qd2 h6 8.Be3 Ng4 9.Be2 Nxe3 10.Qxe3 Be7 11.f4 Qc7 12.f5 O-O 13.Bg4 Nc6
14.Nxc6 bxc6 15.O-O Bg5 16.Qf2 Rb8 17.Rab1 d5 18.fxe6 Bxe6 19.Bf3 Qe5 20.Qc5
Bf4 21.g3 d4 22.Qxe5 Bxe5 23.Na4 Bxa2 24.Rbe1 Rb4 25.Nc5 Rxb2 26.Nd3 Rb5 27.Ra1
Be6 28.Rxa6 Rc8 29.Be2 g6 30.Re1 Bh3 31.Rd1 Be6 32.Nf4 Rc5 33.Nxe6 fxe6 34.Bd3
Kf7 35.Ra7+ Rc7 36.Rxc7+ Bxc7 37.Ra1 Ke7 38.Ra4 e5 39.Kg2 Kd6 40.Kf3 Ra5
41.Rxa5 Bxa5 42.Ke2 Kc5 43.Ba6 Kb4 44.Kd3 Ka3 45.g4 g5 46.Bb7 c5 47.Bc6 Kb2
48.Ba4 Kc1 49.Kc4 Kd2 50.Kxc5 Ke3 51.Kd5 Bc7
1/2-1/2
Fischer – W. Stevens, US Open, Oklahoma City, Rd 8, July 24,
1956
1.e4
e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Nxe4 6.d4 b5 7.Bb3 d5 8.dxe5 Be6 9.c3 Bc5
10.Nbd2 O-O 11.Bc2 Nxf2 12.Rxf2 Bxf2+ 13.Kxf2 f6 14.exf6 Qxf6 15.Kg1 Rae8
16.Nf1 Ne5 17.Ne3 Nxf3+ 18.Qxf3 Qxf3 19.gxf3 Rxf3 20.Bd1 Rf7 1/2-1/2
Dale
Ruth – Fischer, US Open, Oklahoma City, Rd 9, July 25, 1956
1.e4
c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e5 7.Nf3 Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.h3
Nbd7 10.Re1 b5 11.a4 b4 12.Nd5 Nxd5 13.Qxd5 Qc7 14.Qb3 Nc5 15.Qxb4 d5 16.exd5
e4 17.Nd2 Nd3 18.Qxe4 Nxe1 19.d6 Bxd6 20.Qxa8 Bb7 21.Qxf8+ Kxf8 22.Kf1 Nxc2
23.Rb1 Nd4 24.Bd3 Bb4 0-1
Fischer – O. Popovych, US Open,
Oklahoma City, Rd 10, July 25, 1956
1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.O-O O-O 5.d3 d6 6.Nbd2 e5 7.e4
Ne8 8.c3 f5 9.d4 f4 10.dxe5 dxe5 11.Nc4 Qxd1 12.Rxd1 Nc6 13.gxf4 exf4 14.Nd4
Nxd4 15.cxd4 f3 16.Bf1 Nf6 17.Ne5 Be6 18.d5 Ng4 19.Nd3 Bc8 20.Bf4 Rxf4 21.Nxf4
Be5 22.Nd3 Bxh2+ 23.Kh1 Bd6 24.Bh3 Ne5 25.Nxe5 Bxe5 26.Be6+ Kg7 27.Rd3 Bxe6
28.dxe6 Kf6 29.Rad1 Re8 30.Rxf3+ Kxe6 31.Kg2 a5 32.a4 b6 33.Rd2 h5 34.Rfd3 Rf8
35.Rf3 Bf4 36.Rc2 c5 37.Rb3 Bc7 38.Rd2 Rf4 39.Rg3 Rf6 40.Rf3 Bf4 41.Rd8 g5
42.Rfd3 Rf7 43.Rh8 Ke5 44.f3 h4 45.Rh6 Rf6 46.Rxf6 Kxf6 47.Rd7 Ke5 48.Rb7 Kd4
49.Rxb6 c4 50.Rb5 Bc7 51.Rd5+ Ke3 52.Rxg5
1-0
Fischer – S. Popel, US Open,
Oklahoma City, Rd 11, July 27, 1956
1.Nf3
Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.O-O O-O 5.d3 d6 6.e4 c5 7.Nbd2 Nc6 8.a4 a6 9.Nc4 Rb8
10.a5 Be6 11.Nfd2 d5 12.exd5 Bxd5 13.Nb3 Bxg2 14.Kxg2 Nd4 15.Nxd4 cxd4 16.Bf4
Rc8 17.Be5 Qd5+ 18.Qf3 Qxf3+ 19.Kxf3 Nd5 20.Bxg7 Kxg7 21.Rfe1 e6 22.Ra3 Rfd8
23.Rb3 Rc7 24.Ke2 Ne7 25.Kd2 Nc6 26.Rb6 Rd5 27.Ra1 Kf8 28.Ra3 Ke7 29.Rab3 Nd8
30.f4 g5 31.fxg5 Rxg5 32.Nd6 Rgc5 33.c4 dxc3+ 34.bxc3 Rxa5 35.Nxb7 Ra2+ 36.Ke3
Rxh2 37.Nxd8 Kxd8 38.Rxa6 Ke7 1/2-1/2
J. Donovan – Fischer, US Open, Oklahoma City, Rd 12, July
28, 1956
1.d4
Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 Nbd7 7.O-O e5 8.h3 c6 9.Be3 Qe7
10.Qc2 a6 11.a4 Re8 12.dxe5 dxe5 13.a5 Nh5 14.Rfd1 Nf4 15.Bf1 Nf8 16.c5 N8e6
17.Na4 Ng5 18.Nxg5 Qxg5 19.Kh2 Be6 20.g3 Bh6 21.gxf4 exf4 22.Bc1 Qh4 23.Ra3
Rad8 24.Rad3 Rxd3 25.Rxd3 Bg7 26.b3 f5 27.Rf3 fxe4 28.Qxe4 Bf7 29.Qc2 Re1
30.Bc4 Qg5 31.Bxf7+ Kf8 32.Rg3 fxg3+ 33.fxg3 Qxc1 34.Qxc1 Rxc1 35.Be6 Re1
36.Bc8 Re2+ 37.Kh1 Re7 38.Kg2 Ke8 39.h4 Kd8 40.Bg4 Re3 0-1
Fischer's
USCF rating in August 1956 was 2349. He was 13 years, 5 months old, the
youngest US master ever. The record stood until July, 1977, when Joel Benjamin
(1964- ) became a master at 13 years, 3 months.