AEllwood City Ledger Ellwood City, Pennsylvania Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 7
News in Sports: World Chess Title Competition by Turk Pierce
Chess may not be considered a sport, but some very intense competition will begin Sunday in the unlikely locale of Reykjavik, Iceland, when Bobby Fischer of the U.S. will challenge Boris Spassky of the U.S.S.R. for the world title.
Fischer, a chess prodigy since he was a young teenager about 15 years ago, has had an erratic career, ([Fischer himself was not “erratic”, if anything, Fischer's personal lifestyle would be considered “boring”, a sentiment Bobby agreed with, but his career may have been viewed as “erratic,” just as Reshevsky's was, when he too had no illusions about butting his head against the brick wall of Soviet “Grandmaster Draws” and pre-arranged games during the 1950s. Many a chess columnist and enthusiast knew, Reshevsky had the talent and skill to take the title, but that the Soviet would never permit it.]) but this time he is given a better than even chance to defeat Spassky and wrest the title from the Soviets, who have had it locked up since 1948.
Spassky has advantages in that he must score only 12 points to defend the title (over a 24-game series) while Fischer needs 12½ to become the new champion, and that Spassky is 5-0 in head-to-head play against Fischer. Fischer, however, in gaining the finals, has played superlative chess, at one point winning 12 games in a row (most world-class chess games are tied and this feat was compared to pitching 12 no-hitters in a row).
Fischer is an avid bowler, and bowled for four hours after gaining the finals by winning a match that ended at 2 a.m.
Highlights of the matches will be on television, and even if you have little knowledge of chess, ([it is important to note, that the term in its full context, does not necessarily denote gender bias. In the given context, “chauvinism” denotes strong national or political biases.]) chauvinism should have you interested in the outcome.
