New York Times, New York, New York, Friday, April 07, 1972 - Page 32
Yugoslavia Asks for $35,000 To Insure Fischer's Appearance
The International Chess Federation has asked the United States Chess Federation to post a $35,000 guarantee that Bobby Fischer will appear in Belgrade to compete with Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union for the world championship.
The request was relayed in a cablegram sent from Amsterdam by the secretary of the international federation, H.J.J. Slavekoorde, and received yesterday at the American federation's offices in Newburgh, N.Y. It was made on behalf of the Yugoslavian sponsors of the match, who have threatened to cancel it since Fischer raised objections to the financial arrangements.
John Hudson, administrative director of the American federation, said the nonprofit organization had no way of raising $35,000 and was looking for “an angel” to put up the sum.
It was not clear whether a request for a similar financial guarantee had been asked of Spassky. Mr. Hudson said that the cablegram had indicated that both sides had been asked to deposit $35,000.
However, a sponsor in Belgrade told a newsman there that the Russian had been required to present only an insurance policy against ill health. “Spassky is a reasonable man,” the sponsor, Aleksander Matanovic, was reported to have said. But Fischer caused an uproar by reportedly demanding part of the proceeds in addition to his share of the $138,000 purse, a record for a chess match.
Earlier this week, Fischer notified the international federation, which had threatened to disqualify him, that he agreed to abide by the terms and conditions already set.
The 29-year-old chess genius — the first American to play for the world championship since the elimination system began — has a reputation for imposing conditions upon matches that sponsors refuse to meet, and for refusing to participate if something is not to his liking.
