Sunday Gazette-Mail Charleston, West Virginia Sunday, January 29, 1967 - Page 39
Great Games by Chess Prodigies
WE RECENTLY discussed Great Games by Chess Prodigies, the late Fred Reinfeld's last chess book and one of his best. The book gives some of the outstanding early games of Paul Morphy, J. R. Capablanca, Sammy Reshevsky and Bobby Fischer. Of course, Morphy never played any of these other players, but Reshevsky was a link between Capablanca and Fischer. Sammy first met the Cuban in 1935 at Margate, at age 23, and scored a notable victory. Capablanca evened the score, however, the following year in a crucial game in the great Nottingham tournament.
Reshevsky's first tournament meeting with (thirteen-year-old) Bobby Fischer ended a draw; Reshevsky went on to win the national championship — for the last time. The following year young Fischer astounded Reshevsky by winning his queen on move 12! And he astounded the chess world by winning the tournament and the United States Chess Championship. At age 14!
Reshevsky did win games from the new chess star after that crushing defeat, but he topped him only once more in a tournament. However, that was the great Buenos Aires Tournament of 1960 and Reshevsky topped everybody there except the Soviet champion, Boris Spassky, who tied him for first place. That was Reshevsky's last great tournament achievement, while Fischer will probably go on to the chess championship of the world.
