Child Prodigies In Chess

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The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, California, Sunday, June 23, 1957

Child Prodigies In Chess
Reshevsky, like Morphy and Capablanca (and Mozart!) went on to much further heights as he grew older.

New Wonders
And now, within the last year or so, two new boy wonders have appeared on the chess scene. One of them is Rodney Phillips of Auckland, New Zealand, who, at the age of 14, has tied for the championship of his country.
Phillips is the youngest player ever to win a Commonwealth championship tournament, if not that of any country. He is about the same age as Pomar was when he first won the Spanish championship. (It must be remembered that Capablanca won the championship of Cuba in “match play”).
In the last two years or so several very promising young players have come to the fore in the USA, such as William Lombardy, Arthur Feuerstein, and Edmar Mednis. The latest, and very possibly the most talented addition to the ranks, is 13-year-old Bobby Fischer.
After winning the USA Junior Championship when still 12, and showing exceptional ability in a number of other events, including the 1956 U.S. Open (a 101 player, 12-round Swiss), where he scored eight and one-half points and was undefeated.