The Gazette Montreal, Quebec, Canada Tuesday, September 04, 1956
Young Chess Whiz Earns $60 Deflating 19 Within 2 Hours
Thirteen-year-old Bobby Fischer, of Brooklyn, N.Y., United States open junior chess champion and fourth-ranking player in the American open, yesterday took just two hours to defeat 19 challengers in a special tournament following the first Canadian open chess championships which ended on the weekend.
The youth disposed of the players in an average of 6.5 minutes apiece in the simultaneous match, played at the Mount Royal Ave. YM-YWHA. Only one opponent, William Oaker, of Montreal, managed to draw with the “boy wonder.”
Fischer originally was scheduled to have taken on 80 players with International Master Larry Evans of New York, who Sunday captured the Canadian open championship. But there were so few challengers that Fischer appeared alone.
One of the defeated candidates, Jack Thompson, played Fischer three times and lost each game. Thompson had traveled from Louisville, Ky., specifically for the opportunity of playing Fischer.
The exhibition matches, which cost each entrant $3, were set up to permit average chess players to test their skill against a master. All proceeds went to the Brooklyn youngster.
Fischer, who started slowly in the championships here last week, ended high among the ranks of the 88 players entering the championships.
Tournament directors announced that next year's closed championships, which are restricted to former Canadian champions or runner-ups, will be held in Vancouver.
Next August, Toronto will be host to the World Junior Championships. Top-ranking juniors from several countries will participate. The site of the next Canadian open championships has not yet been decided. It will be a biennial event.
