in having look it is low easy in delights queen camoflauge of f3 er vantage white in ho hum ascent for queen chimera,

elevated rook in conicals a done jam I suppose a wave in queen eyes c3,

then for headings 38.Rd8+ lucky fob styriker 38...Qxd8 I'm all forthright again do it double in xray it is hob sequester 39.qxc3+ in crick etc back hod duplicate 39...qf6 just among it brave get able it is ar king h8 good jail in son escape it her in bind i f6 spot,

for thatch queen in weave a path us tell this aint over 40.Qxf6 for flambasted you gouge they establish one crow in manage see rook drive in d8 over free the key together 38...Qxd8 cam 39.quxc3+,

I can almost hear Bobby saying with a bemused sigh, "Beginners..."

38. Rd8+ Qxd8 39. Qxc3+ Qf6 40. Qxf6# 1-0

OR

I can almost hear Bobby saying with a bemused sigh, "Beginners...">

Then black should give up another pawn after 28.Bxc4. But when black managed to take the open e file 32...Re1 and 33...Qe8, the game suddenly began more sharp, and white decided to return major pieces rook and queen for defense playing 34.Qf3 and 35.Rd1,and returned one pawn after 35...Rxb2, and this pos.(my opinion) was already draw, if black played 36...Re2 with threat Re3 and Re1+ (diagram).

click for larger view

"now how can I pass a tempo and make it look plausible?"

Fourteen-year-old Bobby Fischer of Brooklyn won the 1957 U.S. junior championship by the convincing score of 8.5-.5. The nation's youngest master gave up only one draw, to runner-up Gil Ramirez of San Francisco. Ramirez, who is simultaneously State Champion and State Open Champion, also lost no games to post a 7.5-1.5 score. Stephen Sholomson of Los Angeles, who lost to Fischer and Ramirez and drew one game, was third, 6.5-2.5. Ronnie Thacker of Richmond was fourth, 6-3, ahead of six players tied for fifth, 5.5-3.5.

SAN FRANCISCO SCENE OF U.S. JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP

Thirty-three young hopefuls set their sights on '56 Champ Bobby Fischer's title when Tournament Director George Koltanowski officially opened play in this nine round Swiss tourney, July 8. Bobby's second Junior Championship, at the advanced age of 14, should remain in the record book for a long, long time. Young Fischer lost no games, and only a draw with second place Gil Ramirez marred his perfect record.

Play continued through the July 14th, <the auditorium of Spreckles-Russell Dairies providing spacious, light and quiet setting for the matches. The host company provided milk and ice cream for the Juniors. A monumental quantity of each disappeared.> Sponsorship of the tournament was shared by Chess Friends of Northern California and the Chess For Youth Committee.

The number of entries was among the highest ever recorded in this event, but fell short of anticipations. Only seven states other than California were represented: Fischer from New York; Andy Schoene from New Jersey; James Bennett of Texas; Tom Heldt Jr. and Warren Miller from New Mexico; Bobbie Killough Jr. of Kansas; Richard Owen of Utah; and Bob Walker from Oregon. As a result, pre-tournament favoritism settled on Fischer, Ramirez, and Los Angeles' favorite son, Stephen Sholomson.

As one might expect, play was spotty. Rich Owen's well-played 1st round draw against Gil Ramirez illustrates one extreme. Our GAME OF THE MONTH, reported on page 8 of this issue represents the other. Inexperience and "tournament jitters" claimed several victims, 10-year-old Fred Wreden among them. A couple of Freddy's games deserved a better fate than his score shows.

<In addition to trophies, Bobby Fischer walked off with his second consecutive portable typewriter.> Gil took home a radio, and Sholomson now owns a handsome leather bag. Five book prizes also were awarded. Getaway Day featured, besides the prize awards, a blindfold Knights' tour by 11-year-old Bobby Killough.

As told to our founder Eric Hicks, by local chess master and long time San Francisco resident, Roy Hoppe.

Fischer began playing tournament chess in 1956. When he won the US Junior Championship in 1956 in Philadelphia, he did it as an unknown. It was the only major tournament he played in that year and it was considered in the scholastic community to be sort of a fluke. He was 13 years old. He was much lower rated then the rest of the contenders, a big psychological advantage because no one knew who he was or how well he could play. Plus the top rated junior of the day, Gil Ramirez did not play in the tournament. For winning first place in the US Junior of that year, Fischer won a portable electric typewriter. Reportedly he was not pleased with this prize.

In 1957 the Junior Championship happened in San Francisco in the Spreckles-Russel Dairy on 14th and Mission, just two blocks from the current Academic Chess headquarters. The morning before the tournament was scheduled to start the dairy hosted a milk and ice cream party for the young players. Bobby was nowhere to be seen. Young Bobby became the talk of the crowd. He was a type of mysterious character, who then would appear and disappear off of the scene. No one had seen him since his dramatic unexpected win of the 1956 tournament. According to Roy, the consensus on the scene was that no one expected Fischer to win the 1957 championship. Gil Ramirez was the overwhelming favorite.

When the first round started, Fischer was still not present. The young players were kind of whispering to each other on how the defending champion did not even show up to defend his crown. 10 minutes after the clocks had started, Fischer burst into the room, with a dramatic entrance that few in the room will ever forget. Fischer stormed in, and walked with extreme confidence and arrogance as if he was on a grand mission. Kids who were standing near the door when he walked in clamored over to greet him. Fischer ignored them determinedly walking straight to the tournament Director's table. Bobby was wearing patched and holed Levis, two different colors of Converse tennis shoes, and a flannel shirt. His head was shaved, by all accounts an intimidating presence.

George Koltanowski, world blindfold champion, and legendary California chess organizer was the tournament director for this event. He was stunned to see young Bobby storm across the room. Everyone in the quite tournament hall heard Bobby ask, "What's first prize?!" Koltanowski walked Bobby to the prize table and showed him an electric typewriter, identical to the one he one the year before. Bobby stomped his feet and raised his voice and screeched, "I do not want another typewriter!" to the dismay of everyone.

Ivan Vegvary, a player in the tournament who was standing nearby kind of snickered and said, "Don't worry about it because your not going to win it."

Ivan would be remembered for this comment.

Fischer glared at Ivan and said, "You don't know me."

Roy remembers himself and others taken back by this brash entrance.

In swiss tournaments, the highest rated players play against the lowest rated players in the early rounds. Everyone was anticipating Gil Ramirez, the highest rated junior at the time, and Bobby Fischer to meet in one of the last rounds. Both Bobby and Gil finished their rounds early.

Outside of the tournament hall, Gil was playing speed chess with some other kids. Bobby walked up, observed for a moment and then walked away.

After winning his second round game, Bobby walked out again, and the strongest players in the tournament including Gil were playing speed chess again. Gil offered this time for Bobby to sit down and play. Bobby shook his head again and walked away. "Too weak" he said to a flabbergasted bystander.

Everyone watching the speed chess match was stunned, and no one had a doubt after that who was going to win the tournament. Grand Master Najdorf commented, "Its like angels are moving his hand!" a comment Roy would never forget.

Roy, who was 13 at the time, told me that this event forever changed him. All at once, in the midst of a great young chess genius, Roy realized his own limitations in chess. Roy would play Bobby in Davis California in a beautiful win for Fischer that would later be published. Fischer bought Roy a drink in New York after Roy achieved his chess master's rating.

As for Bobby and Gil? Bobby of course won the 1957 Junior Championship in San Francisco with a final score of 8.5 out of 9. He won a second typewriter that he would create the manuscript "My 60 Memorable Games" on. For all the young players at the tournament, they already knew who was going to win after that memorable speed chess challenge. Gil then offered Bobby a ride to Cleveland to play in the US Open Championship. Bobby and Gil shared a room but were not the best of buddies. Bobby won the US Open Championship (an adult tournament) with a black eye, that by all accounts he got from a punch from Gil.

Fischer became the youngest chess world champion of all time.

You see everything you need to know about Bobby in this account. The genius, the brashness and disdain for decorum, the competitiveness, the domination, the need and the will to not just win but to crush opponents.

Whatever force of nature formed him had already completed its work by this young age. What was especially striking was the public nature of his complaints about Tournament prizes and starting times.

Surely he received sponsorship from patrons in NYC. Was no one able to sit down with the young Bobby and lay down the law? His behavior was surely well known by this time to others who knew him.

Even now, nearly 80 years since his birth and 12 since his death we can only wonder what might have been if he could have won victory over himself - the one opponent he could seldom best. The one incident that comes to mind is playing second board to Larsen's first in the USSR vs Rest of World tournament.

If you compare winning percentages among the chess greats, Bobby's 72.4% surpassed all his peers. Carlson has only a 62.5%, Kasparov 69.8%. Alekhine, Capablanca and Lasker were all between 73% and 74%.

The difference is this. Bobby's legacy is 751 tournament games, several US Championships and one World Championship.

Kasparov has played more than 1500 tournament games and was Champion for close to 20 years. He went through two grueling matches with Karpov. Carlson has almost 1800 games to date.

That reminds me of a story I read titled "The Day I Fought Sugar Ray". It was about a fast-improving boxer who fancied himself pretty good. Then one day he found himself in the ring fighting Sugar Ray Robinson, one of the all-time greats. After the beating he took he realized that he would never be as good as he thought he could be.

The same story had a section about a racing driver, Chuck Daigh. Daigh was driving the Scarab Formula 1 car which was not competitive, and he had been doing this for a while. He recognized the weaknesses of the car but though that he had gotten as much out of the car as the car had to give, and that no one could do better.

Then the Scarab's owner, Lance Reventlow, saw Stirling Moss and asked him if he could try out the car. Moss agreed and the first time he took out the car he lapped as quickly as Daigh ever had, and this in a car that he had never driven before. And every time that he went around the track he was quicker. At that point Daigh realized that he was never going to be as good as he thought he could be.

Several possibly could, but they probably didn't want to. There was a story (likely not true) that circulated in the middle 1960s after I started playing competitive chess. Several people (from NYC?) supposedly had offered to take up a collection and provide Fischer with psychiatric help. Then someone pointed out "What if he gets cured and decides that he no longer wants to play chess?" At which point all talk about getting him help stopped.