Description:

Bobby Fischer & 20+ Chess Masters Sign 1958 Souvenir Envelope from the Interzonal Chess Tournament for the World Cup

An envelope signed by 23 chess Grandmasters and International Masters, including Bobby Fischer, Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosian, Bent Larson, and others. The souvenir envelope from the 1958 Interzonal Chess Tournament for the World Cup bears a green chessboard cachet at left, inscribed in Slovenian as "Medconski / Sahovski Turnir / Za / Svetovno Prvenstvo / 4, VIII. 1958 / Portorož." The championship name (Tournoi interzonal pour le championnat / mondial d'échecs), place (Potorož, then in Yugoslavia, today Slovenia), and date (August 4 - September 14, 1958) are listed in French below the cachet. The 20+ tournament competitors and arbiters signed their names in blue and pink ink on the face of the envelope. Expected wear including light toning and scattered stains recto and verso, else very good to near fine. 6.875" x 4.875."

A former collector has lightly pencil inscribed numbers on the envelope, corresponding to the order of appearance of competitors' and arbiters' photos in the tournament program; these numbers correspond to a signature legend, 1-23, accompanying the lot. Also included is a 1958 English-language double-sided foldout travel brochure for Portorož, the site of the chess tournament. The brochure touted this connection with its article, "In the Sign of the Black and White Squares." Near fine. Extends to a full size of 16" x 8.25."

The 21 tournament players and 2 arbiters of the 1958 Interzonal Chess Tournament for the World Cup (including 14 Grandmasters and 9 current or future International masters) represented top-ranked players from around the world. Russian-Latvian Grandmaster Mikhail Tal won the 1958 Interzonal with a score of 13.5 points, but American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer, a Grandmaster at age 15 and the youngest tournament player by 7 years, tied for fifth.

Hosted by the World Chess Federation, or FIDE, Interzonal competitions were held approximately every three years and were usually comprised of between 20-24 chess players, drawn from among the best of a number of geographical zones. The results of Interzonal competitions determined the next cycle of players eligible for the Candidates Tournament, and then finally the World Championship Tournament. The FIDE hosted Interzonal competitions between 1948-1993.

The signers include, in order of appearance of the tournament program:

1) Harry Golombek (1911-1995), British chess player, International Master after 1950. Arbiter.

2) Vladimir Vukovic (1898-1975), Croatian chess player, International Master after 1951. Arbiter.

3) Oscar Panno (born 1935), Argentine chess player, Grandmaster after 1955

4) Héctor Rossetto (1922-2009), Argentine chess player, International Master after 1950

5) Raúl Sanguineti (1933-2000), Argentine chess player, International Master after 1957

6) Oleg Neikirh (1914-1985), Bulgarian chess player, International Master after 1957

7) Bent Larson (1935-2010), Danish chess player, Grandmaster after 1956

8) Luděk Pachman (1924-2003), Czechoslovak-German chess player, Grandmaster after 1954

9) Miroslav Filip (1928-2009), Czech chess player, Grandmaster after 1955

10) Rudolfo Tan Cardoso (1937-2013), Filipino chess player, International Master after 1957

11) Friðrik Ólaffson (born 1935), Icelandic chess player, Grandmaster after 1958

12) Géza Füster (1910-1990), Hungarian-Canadian chess player, International Master after 1969

13) Boris de Grieff (1930-2011), Colombian chess player, International Master after 1957

14) László Szabó (1917-1998), Hungarian chess player, Grandmaster after 1950

15) Yuri Averbakh (born 1922), Russian chess player, Grandmaster after 1952

16) David Bronstein (1924-2006), Russian chess player, Grandmaster after 1950

17) Tigran Petrosian (1929-1984), Russian chess player, Grandmaster after 1952

18) Mikhail Tal (1936-1992), Russian-Latvian chess player, Grandmaster after 1957

19) Bobby Fischer (1943-2008), American chess player, Grandmaster after 1958

20) James Sherwin (born 1933), American chess player, International Master after 1958

21) Pál Benkő (1928-2015), Hungarian chess player, Grandmaster after 1958

22) Svetozar Gligorić (1923-2012), Serbian-Yugoslav chess player, Grandmaster after 1951

23) Aleksander Matanović (born 1930), Serbian chess player, Grandmaster after 1955

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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March 30, 2022 10:30 AM EDT
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