Author: Kashdan, Isaac (1905-1985) signed by Bobby Fischer, Tigran Petrosian, Jan Hein Donner, Miguel Najdorf, Lajos Portisch, Borislav Ivkov, Samuel Reshevsky, Bent Larsen and Wofgang Unzicker
Year: 1966
Publisher: Piatigorsky Cup Committee
Place: Santa Monica
Description:
16 unpaginated pages with facsimiles, photographs. Octavo (8 1/2" x 5 3/4") bound in original publisher's spiral spine with red wrappers and cup in silver and black to cover. Signed by all participants next to their photograph in the program along with a short biography of each contestant. (Not listed in Betts) First edition.
After the success of the First Piatigorsky Cup (1963), the second was organized by Gregor and Jacqueline Piatigorsky in Santa Monica, California at the Miramar Hotel from July 17-August 15, 1966, with Isaac Kashdan directing. The stellar field included the current and next two World Champions plus a slew of Candidates-level grandmasters in a double-round robin event: Jan Hein Donner, Robert James Fischer, Borislav Ivkov, Bent Larsen, Miguel Najdorf, Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian, Lajos Portisch, Samuel Reshevsky, Boris Spassky, Wolfgang Unzicker. The Piatigorskys invited both Reshevsky and Fischer in spite of the Fischer - Reshevsky (1961) match fiasco. The 1966 Piatigorsky Cup tournament ranks as on of the strongest chess competitions ever held on American soil. It is on a short list that includes New York 1924, New York 1927, and the Sinquefield Cups. Held during the Cold War, when tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union were high, the Piatigorsky Cup represented a triumph of diplomacy. The tournament was a double-robin competition in which all participants played each other twice. The Piatigorskys produced an elegant trophy for the event that featured a "love cup" designed by Tiffany & Company as it centerpiece. With Bobby Fischer participating in the event, ensured that the top American talent of the period was represented in the competition. It also meant that the field of ten players contained one World Champion (Petrosian) as well as two future ones (Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky). After a strong start followed by a disastrous performance mid-tournament Fischer mounted an amazing comeback to tie with the tournament leader Spassky, in the standings. Their game in the penultimate round attracted a record 900 spectators and served as a preview of the excitement the two would generate six years later in their epic 1972 World Chess Championship match in Reykjavik, Iceland. The two played a hard fought draw. Spassky then won his lat game against Jan Hein Donner, who was at the bottom of the standings, while Fisher's game against Petrosian ended in a draw. Spassky achieved a narrow victory over Fischer, winning $5000.
Condition:
Some of the combs in the spiral binder chipped off else a near fine copy.
SOLD 2018