A1961
Samuel Reshevsky and Bobby Fischer at their 1961 tournament which took place in New York and California. Original photo by Herbert Dallinger.
Samuel Reshevsky, Robert J. Fischer, Jacqueline Piatigorsky, José Ferrer and Lina Grumette in 1961 Fischer-Reshevsky Series Match.
August 14 1961
Samuel Reshevsky and Bobby Fischer during their 1961 match (New York/California). The final position from the 5th game is on the board from July 27.
Much has been said of the superiority of former U.S. champion Sammy Reshevsky or young Fischer, the contemporary reigning U.S. champion. Reshevsky believed he could defeat Fischer in tournament play. Upon reaching Los Angeles, California, referee Irving Rivise (standing, black suit) broke tournament rules, without obtaining young Mr. Fischer's consent, changed the schedule for a SECOND TIME, setting start time back to an earlier hour, to accommodate his personal schedule allowing Rivise to arrive earlier at the San Francisco U.S. Open. Mr. Fischer's point was forfeited when he refused to show. News outlets published widespread distortions about events, claiming Piatigorsky's cello was an underlying cause. In a Los Angeles Times interview, organizers confirmed the change in schedule was to accommodate Mr. Rivise's scheduled trip to San Francisco and without Mr. Fischer's consent.
See: The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Monday, August 14, 1961
Chess Champ Forfeits by Failing to Appear
U.S. chess champion Bobby Fischer forfeited his 12th match game with former champion Samuel Reshevsky when he failed to appear on time Sunday.
The match, set for the Herman Steiner Chess Club, 8801 Cashio St., at 11 a.m. was declared forfeited after the supervising committee waited an hour for Fischer to show up.
A spokesman for the committee said Fischer had protested the starting time was “too early” and that he wanted the match to begin at the time originally scheduled, 1:30 p.m.
The time had been advanced, it was explained, to permit the referee and the committee to be on hand for a championship tournament scheduled to open in San Francisco today.
Fischer and Reshevsky were engaged in a 16-game match and had completed 11 up until Sunday's forfeiture. The final four games were to have been played in New York. The two contestants had been tied in the number of victories.
