AThe Sutton and Cheam Advertiser, etc., Sutton, London, England, Thursday, November 28, 1957
Leonard Barden's column
Chess news and views
In my last article I wrote about the new Russian genius, Tal—who, incidentally, must be one of the youngest pensioners in the world; like the other Russian grandmasters, he has a monthly State salary for life.
America's answer to Tal is an even more extraordinary player; for who could be expected to win the open chess championship of his country at the age of 14? Yet Bobby Fischer has done this, and has already exceeded the achievements of other great boy prodigies, such as Capablanca and Reshevsky.
Fischer who is expected to compete in the coming Hastings tournament, is an entirely normal schoolboy, apart from his chess genius, even to the extent (according to the American chess magazines) of being simultaneously a supporter of Elvis Presley, the Brooklyn Dodgers and bubble-gum. He has twice obtained brilliant wins against Byrne, one of the best American masters, and has drawn a match game with the former world champion, Dr. Euwe.
Will he become world champion himself? On the one hand, the outlook is promising, for almost all chess prodigies have become great masters; but, unlike Fischer, they did not have to contend against a solid phalanx of Russian grandmasters, with the world title securely in their possession.
