ASioux City Journal Sioux City, Iowa Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 4
Who Is Chess 'Bad Guy?'
The forthcoming chess match for the world championship between Bobby Fischer, the U.S. whiz, and Boris Spassky, the Soviet expert, is receiving what politicians would call a “good press.” At least, there has been a lot of coverage of the big event well in advance, much of it centering around Fischer's chest-beating over the playing site and so on.
We noted the other day a news article written from Moscow by an American correspondent for an Eastern newspaper. It was an interview with Spassky, whom the writer described as “quiet in manner and laconic of speech,” while portraying Fischer as the 28-year-old “enfant terrible” of the chess board.
“Bobby Fischer,” the writer explained, “is known for his brashness and bombast, and his squabble over the venue of the match and over the television and film rights has done nothing to enhance his popularity.”
Something like the old horse operas and “rassling” matches, where there's always a “good guy” and a “bad guy.” But — and this worries us a little — the good guy is supposed to win. Hopefully, this traditional pattern won't preclude the U.S. champion from check-mating the “good guy” from the U.S.S.R.
