AThe Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, September 06, 1959
Challengers Start Play in Yugoslavia
The most important international chess tournament of the year, which will select a challenger for the world championship, will start Sept. 7 in Bled, Yugoslavia. Eight of the strongest grandmasters in the world will be competing for the right to play a match next year with titleholder Mikhail Botvinnik of Russia.
The youngest entrant will be 16-year-old Bobby Fischer, U.S. champion for the last two years. He has high hopes of moving forward another giant step in his brilliant career.
Also departing from New York will be Paul Benko, former Hungarian champion now permanently residing in the United States. He has been engaged in a series of tournaments all summer and should be in good form.
The strongest contingent, if numbers are a factor, are the Russians, who have qualified former world champion Vassily Smyslov. Paul Keres, Tigran Petrosian and Mikhail Tal. Also in the field are Svetozar Gligoric of Yugoslavia and Fridrik Olafsson of Iceland.
The tournament will be a quadruple round robin, with a total of 28 rounds to be completed by Oct. 29. The first 14 rounds will be played at Bled, the next seven at Zagreb and the final seven at Belgrade.
The Times will carry complete reports of the tournament and a large selection of the games as soon as they are available.
