ANews-Journal Mansfield, Ohio Sunday, March 19, 1972 - Page 63
Chess: Quiet Prevails as Competitors Match Tournament Skills by George N. Constable
A chess tournament is like nothing else in the world. The truly remarkable thing about this game or sport is the complete absence of sound.
Indeed, the onlooker might become quite conscious that he doesn't even exist in the world of the chess player — that he is an intruder. A sedentary game, its players strike poses that have been its trademark for centuries.
The very mood of the game is told in gestures and positions — a hand cups a chin, a thumb and forefinger tug at an earlobe, a hand is clenched.
[…]
“It's the excitement of it. Creativity is involved, you plan each move,” he says.
And it's as simple as pie to draw out a chess player these days. Just toss out a name — Bobby Fischer — and then watch and listen.
Bobby Fischer happens to be the Babe Ruth, the Jim Brown, the Arnold Palmer, the Jim Ryun of American chess. He's a fabulous 28-year-old chess genius who will be playing Russian world champion Boris Spassky this June.
Liederkranz chess club members have never met him or watched him play but they love him. “He's responsible for the rebirth of chess on a world scale today,” Asher says.
“He beat Petrosian in 39 moves, 40 and 46 in the seventh, eighth and ninth games. Wow! I'm rooting for him all the way. Spassky is cool and has a sense of humor,” the teacher says.
Neumann thinks the Russian will retain the world title and “maybe Fischer will win it the next time, in three years.” Louis Kovacs, engineer at Ohio Brass, says Fischer will win because he has all of the qualities.
Jacob Betsch picks the Russian too. “I've been playing chess since I was a kid. I enjoy it. It's better than playing cards,” he says.
Plumber Ivan Sloboda says the world match is going to be close and the winner needs 12½ points. He says the experts pick Fischer 12½ points to 9½. Pipefitter Fritz Zahn adds, “Bobby does it.”.
That's the way Mansfield chess players are talking today.
Chess: Quiet Prevails as Competitors Match Tournament Skills Sun, Mar 19, 1972 – 63 · News-Journal (Mansfield, Ohio) · Newspapers.com
Chess: Quiet Prevails as Competitors Match Tournament Skills Sun, Mar 19, 1972 – 63 · News-Journal (Mansfield, Ohio) · Newspapers.com
