AThe Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, July 31, 1966 - Page 92 (★)
Players Equal In Piatigorsky Cup
One of the surprise, in the early rounds of the Piatigorsky Cup Tournament is that all 10 competitors seem almost exactly on a par.
All are grandmasters of wide experience, invited as the best chess players in the world. Yet even in grandmaster tournaments someone usually takes command easily, another performs poorly.
As this is written, after the sixth round, there is only one point difference between first and last places in the standings. The top score is 3½-2½, and the bottom 2½-3½.
One factor that accounts for the closeness of the scores is the high percentage of draws. Only eight games were won of the first 30 played. In the first Piatigorsky Cup competition three years ago, half the games were drawn, 28 of 56.
Yet most of the games, including those drawn, were fine specimens of chess. Many brilliant examples of strategy and tactics of a high order can be found.
In some cases of seemingly placid, uneventful games, there were ideas beneath the surface that both players were aware of, traps that they avoided, perhaps opportunities missed.
Two of the players counted upon to add excitement to the tournament have not as yet displayed their full prowess.
First is world champion Tigran Petrosian of the USSR, fresh from his successful defense of the title in match play against his compatriot Boris Spassky.
It is not merely that Petrosian had not won a game at this writing, with one loss and five draws, but that he had not shown the forcefulness, the accuracy expected of him.
The other disappointing performer is our own champion, 23-year-old Bobby Fischer of Brooklyn. At least twice he had games that seemed made to order for his vigorous attacking_style, and he did not or could not follow through.
The only winner of two games was Bent Larsen of Denmark, who defeated in successive rounds Miguel Najdorf of Argentina and Fischer. The only two-game loser was Borislav Ivkov of Yugoslavia, curiously to the aforementioned Najdorf and Fischer.
The halfway point of the tournament will be reached today with the playing of the ninth round starting at 1 p.m. at the Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica.
Paired together are Fischer and Petrosian, with The American ace having the white pieces. This is undoubtedly the most eagerly awaited encounter of the tournament, and if both are in good form, real chess will be seen.
The other pairings are: Jan Donner of Holland vs. Spassky; Wolfgang Unzicker of West Germany vs. Ivkov: Larsen vs. Lajos Portisch of Hungary, and Najdorf vs. Samuel Reshevsky of Spring Valley, N.Y.
Nine more rounds are on the schedule, with pairings as in the first nine, except that colors are reversed. Playing dates are Sunday afternoons and Monday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, through Aug. 15. Tuesdays and Fridays are devoted to adjourned games.
Following are details through the sixth round. See the news section of The Times for more current results and standings.
