New York Times, New York, New York, Tuesday, August 15, 1961
Fischer Threatens to Quit His Series
He Says He'll Walk Out if Forfeit in Chess Is Upheld
Los Angeles, Aug. 14 (AP)—Bobby Fischer of Brooklyn, the 18-year-old United States chess champion, thinks he has been rooked.
He refused to show up at 11 A.M. yesterday for the twelfth game of a series of sixteen against Samuel Reshevsky of Spring Valley, N.Y. Fischer said he wasn't accustomed to playing in the morning.
The referee called it a forfeit and Reshevsky took the lead in the series, 6½ to 5½. Fischer said forfeits weren't allowed in the series. And if New York officials uphold the forfeit, he said, he won't finish the series.
No one is sure whose move is next.
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”
The problem began ten days ago when local officials rescheduled the twelfth game from Saturday to Sunday. Reshevsky will not play on the Jewish Sabbath.
“I'm not used to playing at 11 — it's ridiculous,” Fischer said. “Why should I accommodate him? Maybe he hoped I'd be tired and he'd get a draw.”
Despite repeated calls and warnings, Fischer refused to leave his Hollywood hotel.
“So when he didn't come by noon,” said Referee Irving Rivise, “I called it a forfeit.”
“I never expected this one,” said Reshevsky. He promptly checked out of his hotel and left for New York, where the series is scheduled to resume tomorrow night.
But Fischer said he wouldn't accept the forfeit. He said:
“We agreed before the match there could be no forfeits. It's just a little joke they're trying to play on me. We just have to play this off in New York.”
Fischer said the officials for the eight games here were “Pro-Reshevsky.”
“They've been making the adjourned games at screwy hours so I'll be tired,” he said.
The temperamental Fischer, who became United States champion at 14, has had previous run-ins with chess officials.
At 15, he threatened to quit a tournament in Chile when he discovered the prize money was $1,000 instead of $2,000. The next year, he protested the way the pairings were drawn in the United States championships but went on to defend his title.
As for the referee here, Fischer said:
“He just thinks I'm a kid or something.”
