AThe Courier-Journal Louisville, Kentucky Sunday, October 03, 1965 - Page 50
Fischer Is 2nd In Capablanca, Won By Smyslov of Russia
Maybe American Grandmaster Bobby Fisher isn't the world's greatest chess player, as he is reported to have unblushingly stated in a recent interview but he is still a hard man to beat.
And after more than a year's boycott of the world's major tournaments (he was most conspicuous by his absence) Fischer was still good enough to wind up in a three-way tie for second place in the Capablanca Memorial Tournament at Havana. Sharing second-place honors with him were Borislav Ivkov of Yugoslavia and Ewfim Geller of Russia.
Not surprisingly, the tournament was won by Russia's Vassily Smyslov, former world champion. Smyslov finished the 30-day, 20-round marathon with 15½ points, a bare half-point ahead of Fischer, Ivkov and Geller.
And Fischer won his individual encounter with Smyslov.
Fischer, competing by telephone and teletype from New York because the State Department wouldn't grant him a visa to visit Cuba, defeated Wolfgang Pietzsch of Germany in the final round. This game went only 24 moves.
Twenty-two players from 15 countries participated in the tourney, named in honor of Jose Raul Capablanca, world champion from 1921 to 1927.
