New York Times, New York, New York, Friday, October 09, 1959
Fischer Gains Tie In Benko Match
U.S. Champion Plays To Draw After 42 Moves in Replay of Adjourned Chess
There was no change in the positions of the eight contestants in the challengers' chess tournament in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, yesterday after four adjourned games had been played.
Bobby Fischer, the United States champion, drew his matches from the sixteenth and seventeenth rounds, according to a report received from Yugoslavia. The 16-year-old Brooklyn student remained in sixth place with a score of 8—10.
Fischer's seventeenth-round game with Paul Benko of New York was drawn by consent after forty-two moves. Then Fischer resumed play with Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union.
A fine struggle for superiority had marked the play during the first session, after castling on opposite sides of the board. Before adjournment each had obtained additional queens by pawn promotion and Fischer had a slight edge.
After resuming play Fischer tried to capitalize on that advantage, but Petrosian found a way out of the difficulty. A draw by perpetual check followed.
Svetozar Gligoric, Yugoslavia, won his seventeenth-round game from Fridrik Olafsson of Iceland in fifty moves. Vassily Smyslov, Soviet Union, defeated Benko in the eighteenth round in fifty-two moves.
Mikhail Tal of the Soviet Union now is leading the field by two points.
However, in his third encounter with Smyslov, a former world champion, Tal was fortunate to gain a draw by means of a perpetual check.
Smyslov, who had established two connected passed pawns on the queen's side of the board, was a piece ahead and challenged an exchange of queens. Tal had to repeatedly offer the sacrifice of his rook to end the game.
