AThe Herald-News Passaic, New Jersey Wednesday, February 16, 1972 - Page 3
Iceland Seeks Chess Details
Reykjavik, Iceland (AP) — The president of the Icelandic Chess Federation expressed surprise yesterday at the decision to hold the Spassky-Fischer world championship match in both Reykjavik and Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
Gudmundur Thorarinsson said Iceland was not fully consulted and planned to seek clarification of the terms under which the match will be split.
The International Chess Federation in Amsterdam announced Monday that Soviet titleholder Boris Spassky and American challenger Bobby Fischer will play the first 12 games in Belgrade and the final 12 in Reykjavik.
Thorarinsson said an agreement between the two cities must be reached on how to split costs and payment of the winner's purse.
Iceland will take a gamble in hosting the second half of the contest because the match could be decided in Belgrade, he said.
The match was divided because the players could not agree on a location for the match, set to begin no later than June 25. Spassky wanted Reykjavik and Fischer favored Belgrade.
