AThe Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Wednesday, February 09, 1972 - Page 14
Chess Talks Deadlocked
New York — A stalemate has been reached in negotiations for the site of the world chess championship match between U.S. grandmaster Bobby Fischer and defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.
Ed Edmondson, executive director of the U.S. Chess Federation, said today the players could not agree on the site, and the decision is now up to Dr. Max Euwe, president of the World Chess Federation (FIDE).
Euwe will choose the site Thursday. Several countries have bid for rights to host the 24-game match, but Edmondson said the choice has been narrowed to Reykjavik, Iceland and Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
Fischer prefers Belgrade which bid $152,000, while Spassky is reported to prefer Reykjavik, whose bid was $125,000. Another top bidder was Buenos Aires, which bid $150,000.
Edmonton denied reports out of Moscow by the New York Times and Tass news agency which said he and Soviet negotiator Victor Baturinsky had come to agreement on the site.
He said neither player has made meaningful concessions, thus throwing the decision into Euwe's lap, as provided by FIDE regulations.
The match is expected to begin in late June.
