ANew York Times, New York, New York, Sunday, May 21, 1972 - Page 336
New Body Twist: Eggheads Tone the Muscles, Athletes the Mind by Alan Truscott
Whether a brilliant body can function effectively when harnessed to a dull mind is a question provoked by some recent evidence suggesting that a brilliant mind can be handicapped by a dull body. If a chess champion or a bridge expert needs to keep physically fit, perhaps a sports star benefits by being mentally agile.
By a small coincidence, United States stars of the chessboard and the bridge-table are in physical training this month in preparation for world championship contests later in the summer.
Brooklyn-bred Robert Fischer, an undisputed genius, is in Grossinger, N.Y., preparing for the chess battle of the century—his world championship match against the Russian titleholder, Boris Spassky. After months of international dispute with the International Chess Federation in the middle, this is now expected to start in Reykjavik, Iceland, on July 2.
Calisthenics Beside the Tube
Fischer believes firmly that physical fitness is a vital element in his preparations, and he adopts a regimen reminiscent of a boxer working up for a major bout. Each morning he does calisthenics in front of his television set. Later in the day he is likely to swim, play tennis and bowl.
Fischer's chess successes in recent years have been phenomenal, and no doubt owe something to his fitness. The reigning world bridge champions, on the other hand, have been intermittently faithful to the idea that physical training is important, and this has been reflected in their results.
The Aces are a professional team—the only one in the world—sponsored by the financier, Ira Corn Jr. of Dallas: Jim Jacoby, Robert Wolff, Bob Goldman, Mike Lawrence and Bob Hamman, with Paul Soloway, who has recently replaced Bill Eisenberg. For two years they trained seriously in Dallas, with a program that included not only bridge but also jogging and table tennis, and won a string of victories which included two world titles in 1970 and 1971.
Last year, three members of the team moved from Dallas to Los Angeles and the training program was abandoned. Since then their results have been disastrous—no victories, and a much-heralded defeat in a high-stake match in Las Vegas against the Italian Blue Team, which monopolized the world title until it retired in 1969.
Next month the Aces should clash again with the Blue Team in Miami Beach, Fla. If they survive the 40-team qualifying round robin in the World Team Olympiad they are likely to meet in the semifinal or the final, when stamina will be an important factor.
Also competing in the Olympiad as a member of the United States women's team is bridge's best-selling author, Dorothy Hayden of Riverdale, N.Y., who heads all American women experts in the world rankings. She is almost the only one among them who believes in the importance of physical fitness in coping with the strains and tensions of tournament play. This month she is seizing every opportunity to play tennis, or exercise at the newly opened Spa Health Club, 505 Park Avenue.
[…]
It is not necessary, of course, for mental-cum-physical training to be a matter of conscious planning. Fischer's opponent, Boris Spassky, is exceptionally fond of sport for its own sake, and like his American rival plays tennis, swims and does gymnastics. Whether they will choose to play tennis against each other on their free days while in Iceland remains to be seen, but they will surely be the fittest-ever pair of world chess champion contenders. …
