The Indianapolis Star Indianapolis, Indiana Sunday, August 23, 1959
Young Hoosiers Take To Chess
NOT UNTIL the last two Olympic Games did Russia assert itself as a power in international sports.
But there is one game the Soviets have dominated for more than 30 years. That's chess.
A fine crop of young American players now is threatening the Russian chess domination, largely thanks to thousands of junior chess clubs popping up across the country. Indiana has more than two dozen such clubs.
One of them may include another Bobby Fischer.
Young Fischer created a sensation last January when he defeated five-time champion Samuel Reshevsky for the American title. Fischer is a 16-year-old Brooklyn (N.Y.) schoolboy, and polo-shirted teen-agers just don't go around whipping international grand masters. But, Bobby did—twice.
Fischer had gone practically unnoticed before the tournament. He looked like just another bright kid prospect—much like hundreds of today's teen-age Hoosier chess players.
Indianapolis, alone, has about 20 chess clubs—many of them composed largely of teen-agers. The Central and Senate Avenue YMCAs, the Jewish Community Center and the South Side YWCA are among agencies with junior clubs. Many local high schools also have chess organizations, not to mention several independent chess clubs for young people.
SPOTTING talent in young players is very, very difficult, according to Donald Byrne of Indianapolis—a man who should know.
Byrne is the fourth ranking player in the United States, although he has been fairly inactive during his five years' residence in Indiana. He was on the American team that whipped the Russians two years ago at Moscow.
Byrne has played against Bobby Fischer and admits he has seen no one here (or anywhere else) who looks as good.
It's a long step from competing in city and state meets to the “big time” of national and international competition, and few players have the innate ability to make the transition.
About the only way one can find out, Byrne says, is to play the best ones. But, he doesn't recommend that until one really is ready.
