The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, October 09, 1960
Russians Favored In Leipzig Tourney
The Soviet Union is sending a team of six grandmasters to the Chess Olympics in Leipzig which is probably the strongest aggregation ever to represent one country in a single event.
Leading the line-up will be recently crowned world championship Mikhail Tal, and the man he succeeded, Mikhail Botvinnik. Others, according to a report in the New York Times, are Paul Keres, Victor Korchnoi, Tigran Petrosian and Ewkim Geller.
The entry of the United States, announced last week, makes a roster of 37 nations ready for the opening bell on Oct. 16. Several others may still be heard from. Following is the list:
Albania, Austria, Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Ecuador, England, East Germany, Finland, France, Greece, the Netherlands, Hungary, Iceland, India, Israel, Italy Lebanon, Monaco, Mongolia, Norway, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rumania, the Soviet Union, Sweden, Spain, Tunisia, the U.S.A., West Germany and Yugoslavia.
Our team finished in fourth place in the previous team championship tournament at Munich two years ago and should do at least as well this time. The Russians, who won by a wide margin, are heavily favored to repeat.
Your editor is leaving for New York Tuesday morning to join his teammates for the flight to Germany. Robert Byrne is coming from Indianapolis. The others on the U.S. team, all New Yorkers, are Bobby Fischer, Arthur Bisguier, Nicholas Rossolimo and Raymond Weinstein.
Because of the short notice, not all the funds needed for the team's expenses have been subscribed. A national fund-raising drive has been undertaken by the U.S. Chess Federation, the American Chess Foundation and the People-to-People Chess Committee.
Anyone wishing to contribute should make his check payable to U.S. Chess Federation — Team Fund, and send it to Chess Editor, Los Angeles Times.
