The Ottawa Journal Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Saturday, August 26, 1961
Match Fiasco
Samuel Reshevsky was declared victor in his match with Bobby Fischer at New York when the latter refused to continue play after being over-ruled in his protest on the hour selected for the start of the 12th game. The game was rescheduled from Saturday to Sunday 11 a.m. in deference to Reshevsky's strict orthodox adherence to the tenets of the Jewish Sabbath. The players were tied 5½ points each in the 16-game match. The committee asking him to go on with the 13th game while final decision on his appeal re the 12th game was reserved. This he rejected. Court action for breach of contract is threatened by both sides.
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”
