AThe Lincoln Star Lincoln, Nebraska Friday, August 13, 1965 - Page 10
Castro: No Political Hay Over Chess Meet
New York (AP) — Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro said Thursday he was above trying to make international political hay out of a dispute over whether the U.S. chess champion should go to Havana for a tournament.
“Our country has no need for such fleeting propaganda,” Castro said in a cable-gram to Bobby Fischer, 22, U.S. chess king.
Instead, the Cuban prime minister suggested that perhaps the American champion feared losing and had fabricated an excuse to avoid the competition.
“If you have become frightened or regretful of your initial decision (to play by telephone) it would be better for you to contrive another pretext and have the courage to be honest,” he said.
The international squabble began last month when the U.S. State Department refused permission for Fischer to enter Cuba for the Capablanca Memorial Chess Tournament in Havana on the grounds he did not meet the qualifications set by the department for travel to Cuba.
Fischer then agreed to play in the tourney by telephone with his, and his opponents moves, relayed to and from Havana by telephone.
Last week, however, reliable sources in Havana were quoted as saying the Cuban prime minister viewed the State Department refusal as “a propagandistic victory for Cuba.”
On hearing of the reports, Fischer sent Castro a cable-gram Wednesday withdrawing from the competition saying he objected to statements attributed to Castro.
