ANew York Times, New York, New York, Sunday, March 05, 1972 - Page 56
Soviet Union Accepts Belgrade and Reykjavik as Title Chess Sites
New York Times, Moscow, March 4—The Soviet Union, in a major concession, agreed today to having the chess world championship match between Boris Spassky, the Soviet titleholder, and Bobby Fischer, the American challenger, held in two European cities.
The agreement, to play the first half of the match in Belgrade, the site preferred by Mr. Fischer, and the second half in Reykjavik, Iceland, which was Mr. Spassky's first choice, represented a compromise after the two players had failed to agree on a single city.
The compromise had been proposed by Dr. Max Euwe, chairman of the World Chess Federation, under international rules that gave him the right to fix a championship site if the two sides did not reach agreement.
The Soviet Union declared at first that it did not feel itself bound by Dr. Euwe's ruling on the ground that he had previously violated regulations by extending a deadline for submission of preferred match sites by Mr. Fischer.
However, the Soviet Chess Federation relented after Dr. Euwe went to Moscow this week in an apparent attempt to persuade the Russians to agree to the compromise.
A Soviet statement, made public by Tass, the official press agency, said the Russians were ready in principle to discuss the two-city compromise, although they continued to contend that the compromise was contrary to established procedure of playing the 24-game match in a single city.
In a letter signed by Victor Baturinsky, director of the Central Chess Club of the Soviet Union, and handed to Dr. Euwe after discussions here, the Russians agreed to meet in a few days with chess representatives from the United States, Yugoslavia and Iceland to discuss details.
The meeting was expected to be held next Friday in Amsterdam, headquarters of the International Federation. Under the rules, the world championship match must start by July 1.
Belgrade Offers $152,000
Mr. Fischer, who won the right to challenge Mr. Spassky by defeating Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union in the final elimination round, was understood to have preferred Belgrade, on the ground that it offered the largest cash prize—$152,000. The winner of the match is to get 62.5 per cent and the loser 37.5 per cent.
Mr. Spassky's choice of Reykjavik was based on his preference for a European city whose summer climate would be closest to that in his native Leningrad. He has found Belgrade too warm for his comfort in summer.
Iceland offered a $125,000 purse for the entire match. One of the problems that must be resolved in the final discussions, is the division of the cash prizes between the two cities.
