Pensacola News Journal Pensacola, Florida Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 23
Fischer Demands More Cash To Play Chess Champion
Reykjavik, Iceland (AP) — Bobby Fischer has made a last-minute demand for more money to play in the world chess championship against Russian Boris Spassky, informed sources said Thursday.
They reported that the 29-year-old American challenger has sent an ultimatum to the Iceland Chess Federation “two or three days ago,” saying he would not show up unless he got 30 per cent of the gate receipts on top of the unprecedented sums already guaranteed.
Under the agreement Fischer and Spassky signed with the federation, the players will share a purse of $125,000, with the winner getting five-eighths of it. In addition it was agreed that they would each get 30 per cent of receipts from sales of television and film rights for the match.
Fischer canceled scheduled flights to Reykjavik, Tuesday and Wednesday. This had led to speculation that he was waging a war of nerves with titleholder Spassky.
The 24-game match is due to start on Sunday in a 2,500-seat sports palace where seats are sold for $5 a game.
Since receiving Fischer's new demand, Icelandic Chess Federation officials have been in almost constant touch with Fred Cramer, a former president of the American Chess Federation, acting as Fischer's advance man, the informants said.
It was learned that the Icelandic federation wanted to avoid a rupture and was seeking a compromise. Officials were said to feel the federation could not afford any additional expenses.
However, the sources said that while the federation might have trouble breaking even if the match went on as scheduled, it would not stand to lose if the match were canceled.
Lothar Schmidt, the West German chosen to referee the match, expressed shock when he was told of the stand off shortly after his arrival Wednesday, informants said. The news was conveyed to him by Fridrik Olafsson, an Icelandic grandmaster, they added.
The sources contended the deadlock over money was the main reason Fischer did not arrive from New York as expected.
One ranking American chess expert, who knows Fischer—but may not have known about the financial dispute—said he felt Fischer was waging a war of nerves against Spassky ([Evans was wrong. Again.]).
