<In Budapest he became a family man, raising a daughter and a son.

At the same time during tournaments, his fellow chessplayers were used to finding him with another constant companion, the Brazilian master Ruth Cardoso, and the situation reminded me of a film I had seen, The Captain’s Paradise.

This captain, played by Alec Guinness, runs a ship between Gibraltar and Morocco. In Gibraltar he is married to a solid English woman and leads a quiet life. In Ceuta, the Spanish enclave in Morocco, he is also married, to a Spanish lady who fullfils his wilder dreams. In his cabin he keeps a two-sided portrait of both wifes that on each trip, half-way through the Strait of Gibraltar, is turned so that the wife who is awaiting him comes into sight. Ruth Cardoso, a very nice woman, died in 2000.>

It may have been the case that Benko offered to give up his spot if all the others agreed. If they didn't all agree he would keep his spot.

"The idea for me to step down and give Fischer my place was my own; it was made voluntarily and without pressure from anyone.

I felt that as one of the world's strongest players he should have the right to participate in that critical Interzonal."

Pal Benko; Chess Life & Review, July 1975.

I've never heard this discussed, but I'd hope that Benko at least spoke to the other 9 players first, and got a verbal promise from them not to take the spot if he made it available.

That was what was widely assumed in 1972 but here is the 1975 Benko article in full.

Pal Benko (kibitz #216)

Benko is making it clear he steps aside only if Bobby takes his place. The other players were not offered Benko's place nor were they asked to forfeit their spot because the spot was only open to Fischer, if Fischer refuses then Benko plays.

The way I see it is if one of the other USA players had insisted on taking Benko's place then the deal was off. Benko plays. So why ask them? Pretty pointless asking them to forfeit a place in an event they were never going to take part in.

That was what was widely assumed in 1972 but here is the 1975 Benko article in full.>

Hi Geoff,

The book I cited also quotes Lombardy as saying something like, "You know I want to play in the interzonal. There's only one person I'd step aside for, and that's Fischer."

This topic has been discussed at length a few times one here and not always on the relevant thread. Many hands dived in and it all got a bit murky.

I recall one good source saying before the Benko offer the USCF started negotiations with FIDE about the possibility of letting Fischer into the Interzonal soon after he played in the Rest of the World match and ceded top board to Larsen. This was a new Bobby Fischer, one willing to bend a little.

In that case they must have asked Bobby first about the possibility of him playing in the interzonal if Benko or Addison dropped out. (I doubt if they even considered asking Reshevsky to cede his spot. Sammy was already in the Interzonal before the 1969 US ch. he was ceded in from the previous W.C. title.) There was a letter or editorial in the Chess Life and Review suggesting a way be found to get Fischer in.

Benko is the only player involved (AFIK) that gave us full details. He got $2,000 and a job as a second. He says it was his idea and not pressurised, I believe him. However did the other players involved get a hush-hush sweetener? I think not as the agreement was nobody else but Fischer was to take place Benko's place so why bother asking them.

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1. e7 Re3 2. g7 Bb3 3. Rc7+ Ka6 4. Kf2 Re4 5. Rc6+ Kb7 6. Re6 Rxe6 7. g8=Q Rf6+ 8. Kg3 Bxg8 9. e8=Q and Blakc cannot escape the loss of a piece. 6. Re6 is an example of the Novotny theme:

It's a bit murky actually what happened.

But Benko makes it perfectly clear he ceded his place to Fischer and only to Fischer and no one else.
So why bother asking anyone who finished below Benko if they want Benko's place when they were never going to get it.

Why bother asking Fischer if he wants the place when he is never going to get it - if Burger so decides... which is as it should be.

This a horse long flogged dead and not doubt it will rise again in the future. There are comments, links, opinions and speculation all over this site on various threads discussing this.

Benko says he thought of the idea of dropping out and giving Bobby his place. He discussed it with it Bobby adding the stipulation if Bobby took his spot then no 'walk outs.'

With that on the cards USCF asked FIDE if one of their players dropped out of their Zonal could Fischer take their place. FIDE agreed - so if anyone has beef about this then blame FIDE.

Back then everyone wanted Fischer back chasing the title. Of course FIDE would agree.
As soon as the organisers of the Palma de Mallorca Interzonal had wind that Fischer might be playing they offered him a $15,000 appearance fee, which was more than the first prize.

The may have asked other American players involved if this was OK but I'm thinking why would they bother.

Benko only drops out if Fischer agrees to take his place. If a player objects and the objection stands then Benko is back in and who ever objected is still not playing.

I'm staying with Benko as the best source on this. He was main character involved. Edmondson played his part but the idea came from Benko.

Flogging Dead Horse (part 2).

I did some poking about in the 1970 Chess Life and Review. Well worth it. Apart from Fischer hunting I found some great puzzles/studies and a few very good articles not connected with Fischer.

But back to the matter in hand and in a nutshell.

After the ROW v the USSR some bod puts $25,000 on the table in gold! for a Fischer - Spassky match. Both players are interested but it is a non-starter, Russia will not allow it. (page 246)

There all kinds of mumbles and grumbles throughout that year about the world needs and wants a Fischer - Spassky match.
Trifunovic (page 364) actually wants FIDE to cede Bobby straight into the candidates matches. (you can imagine the furnace blazing on these pages today if that had happened.)

Miro Radjocik (page 369) interviews Fischer and tells him that Benko may be interested in giving up his board in the Interzonal for a fee. Fischer replies Benko may do that but he [Benko] would not ask for a fee.

That is July 1970. I can find no mention of this of what happened next but moves were going behind closed doors. And going by what Evans says (see below) FIDE allowed Bobby back into the World Championship after a vote at the end of the 1970 Olympiad, September 1970. (I guessed at that date, a good guess because all the reps were there. Of course they could have held an emergency meeting later on.)

On to January 1971.

Evans reports Benko gave up his spot to Bobby;

"FIDE voted at its last meeting [the one I've guessed at] to allow the 27 year old American ace to play in the Interzonal if one of his countrymen would step down to make room for him.
Pal Benko agreed to step aside for Fischer, as did the designated first-alternate, Bill Lombardy. as well as all the other players in the U.S. Zonal. "

So it looks like they WERE all asked to make room for Fischer.

Fischer returns to chess and even gives up board one to Larsen in the ROW v USSR match. Everyone is delighted.

(BTW before Fischer gave up board one Spassky was asked about this match and his feelings about him possibly facing Fischer, Spassky replied he was looking forward to it and Bobby may win a game - 'Chess fans like surprises.' Brilliant!)

Fischer is back and after Rovinj / Zagreb (1970) We get the interview starting on page 368 https://uscf1-nyc1.aodhosting.com/C... where it states;

"In a published interview he even went so far as to say that he would soon become the champion of the world, that he thought he could beat Spassky and that he would play in the' next Interzonal if someone would step out and give Fischer his place."

I've not found that article in Chess Life, it must be out there out somewhere, possibly in a foreign newspaper. Then Fischer is told; '...one hears the rumor that Benko would oblige for a certain sum of money.' Bobby said Benko would not do it for money.

So around about then things happen. Benko has put forward his idea to the USCF, (he says it was his idea and I've never heard anyone say otherwise) so they approach FIDE, can we let in Fischer in place of Benko. YES!!

They asked the players if this was OK. YES!!
They probably asked the players before approaching FIDE as the Benko idea was being tossed about in the rumour market. But Evans gives the impression it was after the FIDE meeting said yes - but he does say they did ask the players.

<Pal Benko’s Pairing “Zwischenzug” Won Him a U.S. Open Title (Exclusive to A Pawn Made Flesh)

A tournament director’s questionable final-round pairing change played a big part in determining one of the two U.S. Open chess co-champions 50 years ago.

I [Jon Jacobs] learned this little-known detail from Bill Goichberg, whose Continental Chess Association partnered with the U.S. Chess Federation to organize and co-sponsor the 1974 U.S. Open Championship in New York City. The story is told for the first time ever here and in American Chess Magazine’s December issue. Even the participants in that tournament who are still alive probably are unaware of what happened.

With one round to go in that ’74 Open, four grandmasters and two players who lacked FIDE titles were in the running for 1st place. Hans Böhm, a young Dutchman rated 2285, led the field with 9-1/2 points out of 11 coming into the final Round 12. The other five contenders had 9 points: Czech GM Vlastimil Hort; American GMs Benko, Bisguier, and Lombardy; and Danny Kopec, a future IM then rated just 2200.

As the highest-rated among the 9-point scorers, Hort was paired against front-runner Böhm. Among the other four players, Chief TD George Koltanowski, who had been directing U.S. Opens since 1947, applied Swiss System pairing rules and paired Benko with Bisguier and Lombardy with Kopec, Goichberg told me.

Those pairings were posted on a sheet in the tournament hall.

That’s when things took a strange turn.

“At some point with the round still with many hours to go, Benko walks into the room and he sees the pairings,” said Goichberg. “He goes to Koltanowski and he said, ‘This is not fair! I played all these strong players… I should get Kopec!’ And Koltanowski says, ‘Okay.’ He changed the pairings.”

GM Benko’s zwischenzug (in-between move) got him a final-round opponent rated some 300 points below the one he’d been set to face under the first set of posted pairings that Goichberg says had reflected normal TD practice. (For what it’s worth, in the next-to-last round Benko had defeated [Jon Jacobs], who was rated 2260. . . .

According to Goichberg, nobody else seemed to be aware of what happened. Benko beat Kopec as expected and finished tied for 1st-2nd place with Hort who defeated Böhm. Lombardy and Bisguier played to a hard-fought draw. When Lombardy later found out about the pairing switch, he was furious, Goichberg said.

Here are the winning entries, by David L. Brown, and Gianni Donati respectively. Benko named both of co-winners. Those of a mind to can pick which one they like better.

Both are White to Play and Not Mate in 3. But more specifically, the game still has to be in progress after White's 3rd move. White can't stalemate Black, nor can he get mated himself. As indicated by the suffix "Help", both sides are trying to keep the game going.

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