AThe Daily Oklahoman Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Sunday, July 15, 1956
Youngest Chess Champ Arrives For Play Here
Photo Caption: Bobby Fischer, 13, of Brooklyn, studies a chess problem at the headquarters of the $3,000 U.S. open chess tournament in the Biltmore hotel. Bobby, who last month became the youngest person in history to win the U.S. junior chess title, will play in the U.S. open starting Monday.
Bobby Fischer, 13, of Brooklyn, the youngest U.S. junior chess champion in history, arrived in Oklahoma City alone on a bus Saturday and promptly started studying chess problems.
Bobby will play in the $3,000 U.S. Open chess tournament which starts Monday at the Biltmore hotel. He was met at the bus station by Jerry Spann, the tournament chairman, and taken to tournament headquarters in the Biltmore hotel.
There, he got to work on the chess set, working out problems. He will stay during the two-week tournament with Ernest Gill, 3300 NW 19, who is a member of the Oklahoma City Chess club.
So far, he's traveled to Cuba, Florida, Philadelphia and Lincoln, Neb., for chess tournaments. It was last month at Philadelphia that he won the U.S. junior championship.
He's ‘A’ Student
Besides playing chess, he's also a Dodger fan and likes to play baseball. He'll start his freshman year in high school next year and he admits to usually making “A” grades.
He was wearing a T-Shirt, jeans and tennis shoes Saturday morning, and said that reporters and photographers didn't bother him “too much.” He's also been on television.
He's played in simultaneous chess matches where one player plays up to 25 other men at one time. He was the one man.
“How do you remember what's going on in all those 25 games at once?” he was asked.
“You don't have to,” he replied. “You just look at each board when you get to it.”
Tourney to Open
Play in the tournament begins at 7 p.m. Monday in the civic room of the Biltmore hotel, with play each night to midnight through July 28, with the exception of July 21, when there will be a speed match.
The finals on July 28 will start at noon rather than 7 p.m.
Chess leaders from all over the world will be on hand, although just what ones won't be known for sure until the registration closes at 1 p.m. Monday. Many players including those from Yugoslavia and Russia, have expressed an interest but it isn't known for sure if they'll be here.
The tournament director will be George Koltanowski, a master of blindfold chess. But Kathy Grant another chess player who is also a movie star and whose name has been linked romantically with Bing Crosby, won't be able to get here for the first week of the tournament.
200 Expected
Spann said he talked with her by telephone and she said she will try to be here for the second week of the tournament. Besides playing chess, she is also queen of the United States chess federation.
About 200 players are expected for the tournament; first prize is $1,000, and there are 19 other cash prizes. In addition, everyone who finishes in the top half of the standings will get topflight medals.
Spann said the tournament is open to any chess player and there are no qualifying rounds; anyone who enters can play through the whole tournament. The entry fee is $15, plus $5 for U.S. Chess federation dues if the entrant is not already a member.
He said more Oklahoma players are needed for the tournament. There will be a women's championship if 12 or more women want a separate women's championship, but they often play in the same tournament with men.
So far, Spann said, New York is leading in the number of out-of-town entries in the tournament, with Chicago and Detroit running neck-and-neck for second. Entries have also come in from such places as the University of Florida professor from Gainesville, Fla., and entries from Laramie, Wyo.; Minnesota; Albuquerque, N.M., and Aberdeen, Md.
The Cuban and Mexican champions are also entered.
