AThe Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Sunday, January 11, 1959
Bobby Fischer Successfully Defends Title at U.S. Chess Championship
Bobby Fischer of Brooklyn successfully defended his United States chess championship by drawing his 11th round of the Rosenwald Trophy tournament at the Manhattan Chess Club, Jan. 4.
Fischer, a student at Erasmus Hall High School in Flatbush, was the only undefeated player in the tournament. He won six games and drew five for a score of 8½-2½.
Fischer's nearest rival, Sam Reshevsky, drew his final round game with Pal Benko in 14 moves. Reshevsky's final score of 7½-3½ was made up of five games won, five drawn and one lost—to Fischer.
Fischer's defeat of Reshevsky in the sixth round was the turning point of the tournament.
Larry Evans (former champion), Donald Byrne, Arthur Bisguier (former champion), William Lombardy (world junior champion) and James Sherwin all posted fairly high scores. Pal Benko, who qualified for the challengers tournament and was this department's pre-tournament choice couldn't recover from a slow start and had a 4½-5½ score (with one game adjourned).
The New York Times said of the pivotal Fischer-Reshevsky game:
“The youth caught the old master napping in an obscure trap in the much-analyzed Sicilian Defense…(at move 8) Reshevsky, overanxious to be rid of the powerful White bishop went astray. Fischer was prepared for it. He sacrificed the bishop, brought out the black king, seemingly in safe retreat, and then parted with a knight. The black queen was hemmed in and had to be abandoned in exchange for the two pieces.”
