New York Times, New York, New York, Thursday, October 05, 1961
Tal Wins Chess Tourney, With Fischer Second
Latvian Turns Back Najdorf in Final Round at Bled
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U.S. Champion Is Unbeaten but Finishes a Point Back
Mikhail Tal of Latvia, a former world champion, won the international chess masters tournament at Bled, according to a report from Yugoslavia yesterday. he took his nineteenth-round game and finished with totals of 14½—4½.
Bobby Fischer, United States champion, was the runner-up with 13½—5½.
The score of the 25-year-old Latvian grand master comprised eleven victories, seven draws and one loss. The reversal, in the second round, was at the hands of Fischer.
Tal, paired with Miguel Najdorf of Argentina, had the white forces in a Sicilian defense set up by his opponent. After forty moves an adjournment was taken with the Latvian having an advantage in a rook and bishop versus a rook and knight ending.
Nine additional moves were made upon resumption and the Argentinian resigned.
Fischer played the Queen's Gambit declined, exchange variation, with Boris Ivkov of Yugoslavia. The steady play of the Slav resulted in their halving the point after sixty-two moves.
Fischer had the distinction of emerging undefeated.
After surviving eighteen rounds without a loss, Svetozar Gligoric, Yugoslavia, met his match in the final round. Pitted against Tigran Petrosian, the Soviet champion, the Slav was unable to make any positional gain with the black pieces in an English opening. He held out for forty-eight moves and then resigned. Gligoric's score of 12½-6½, was tied by Petrosian and Paul Keres of Estonia.
Keres was content to split the point in an evenly contested Caro-Kann defense with J.H. Donner, the Netherlands, in twenty-three moves.
Next in the standing, with 10½-8½, were Ewfim Geller, Soviet Union, and Dr. Petar Trifunovic, Yugoslav champion. Geller drew a French defense with Ludek Pachman, Czechoslovakia, in nineteen moves, and Trifunovic halved the point with Klaus Darga, West Germany, in a Queen's Indian defense lasting only sixteen moves.
Boris Parma, Yugoslavia, world junior champion, finished in the first division with a plus score of 10—9. He defeated Mijo Udovic, Yugoslavia, in thirty-four moves of an English opening.
