AThe Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, January 01, 1961 - Page 46
Fischer Leads, 5-1 In U.S. Title Chess
Bobby Fischer, 17-year-old Brooklynite who has won the United States chess championship for the last three years, is leading the current tournament with a score of 5-1, according to a report from the New York Times.
Fischer has moved along smoothly without the loss of a game, defeating Raymond Weinstein, William Lombardy, Hans Berliner and Herbert Seidman and drawing against Charles Kalme and former U.S. champion Samuel Reshevsky.
For five rounds Arthur Bisguier kept pace with the champion, tying at 4-1. In the sixth round Bisguier played speculatively with the black pieces against Berliner, castling on the queen side. In the early play Bisguier won a pawn, but Berliner's open lines and strongly placed pieces soon forced the win.
In the same round Fischer faced Seidman, who countered the Ruy Lopez with the dangerous Marshall Defense. Fischer sacrificed the exchange to lead into an ending in which he had a passed pawn which forced the issue.
Bisguier and Lombardy are tied for second place with 4-2 scores. In fourth place, with 3½-2½, is James Sherwin, who has drawn five games and defeated Paul Benko. The latter game marked the only dispute in the tournament to date.
Benko claimed the game and refused to continue on the basis that Sherwin had disturbed him. The fact that Benko was hopelessly lost at the time undoubtedly contributed to his disturbance. At any rate the referee, Frank Brady, ruled against him.
Reshevsky, who has adjourned games against Seidman and Robert Byrne, will move up in the standings should he add these to his winning column. Byrne, who took second prize in last year's event, lost his first four games in succession. He is expected to score in an adjourned game with Charles Kalme.
Following are the standings of the players after six rounds, and games from the tournament:
