ANew York Times, New York, New York, Sunday, December 25, 1960
Chess
To chess players, the year 1960 was the most significant since Paul Morphy's meteoric ascent to the world title in 1857, the year before the New Orleans genius crossed the Atlantic to lay waste to the battlefield of chess in Europe.
Giving definite promise of stepping into Morphy's shoes, Mikhail Tal, a 23-year-old Latvian representing the Soviet Union, developed an aptitude for the game that carried him swiftly to the front.
His defeat of Mikhail Botvinnik by the score of 12½—8½ elevated Tal to the world championship.
Bobby Fischer of Brooklyn started 1960 with the successful defense of his United States title.
A South American trip took Fischer to Mar del Plata and Buenos Aires in response to invitations. At Mar del Plata, he tied for first place with Boris Spassky of Russia, 2 points ahead of David Bronstein of the Soviet Union.
Samuel Reshevsky of Spring Valley, N.Y., in one of the most outstanding performances of his career, tied with Victor Korchnoi, Soviet champion, for first place in the tournament at Buenos Aires celebrating 150 years of Argentina's independence. Reshevsky also won a ten-game match with Pal Benko in New York.
The United States team won the world students' tournament at Leningrad with a score of 41-11, 1½ points ahead of Russia. The Olympic team championship at Leipzig went to Russia with 34 points. The United States was runner-up with a total of 29.
