New York Times, New York, New York, Monday, August 14, 1961
Fischer Cites Hour, Misses Chess Game
Bobby Fischer, the (sic) 16-year-old United States chess champion, failed to appear yesterday for the twelfth game of his sixteen-game match with Samuel Reshevsky at the Herman Steiner Chess Club in Los Angeles.
Fischer was quoted as saying that he had forfeited the game because he “was unable to arise so early in the morning” and do himself justice at the chess board.
The game was originally scheduled for Saturday evening, but was moved to 11 A.M. (Los Angeles time) at Reshevsky's request.
Fischer protested the move, but officials warned him to appear or lost. When he failed to appear, Irving Rivise, the referee, declared Reshevsky the victor by forfeit.
Rivise said the game was switched because Reshevsky did not want to play on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath.
“I think Fischer felt this was done,” Rivise said, “to accommodate Reshevsky and he didn't want anything to do with it. We haven't been unreasonable. He has.”
The final four games will be played in New York, beginning tomorrow at the Hotel Empire on Broadway at Sixty-third Street, starting at 6:30 P.M.
Reshevsky is now leading in the series, 6½—5½.
CORRECTION: The schedule was changed twice.
- Changed from Saturday night to Sunday at 1:30 P.M. to which Bobby Fischer consented.
- Changed from 1:30 P.M. Sunday to 11 A.M. Sunday, by Referee Irving Rivise, to accommodate his own trip to San Francisco for the U.S. Open which opened the following day, Monday.
Young Fischer protested that the schedule should be returned to the originally scheduled time of 1:30 P.M. This clarification is documented in the August 14, 1961 Los Angeles Times “Chess Champ Forfeits By Failing to Appear”
