AThe Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tuesday, July 18, 1972 - Page 6
At Conventions, as in Chess...
Chess is traditionally a game of patience as well as endurance. Contestants match wits, eyeball-to-eyeball, not only for hours but for days. When playing time in a particularly close encounter reaches marathon proportions, participants usually recess, get a good night's sleep, and resume with clear heads the following day. Some old-timers say the best rule of thumb is to call it quits for the evening when there's no more beer in the refrigerator.
Showing commendable respect for the clock, challenger Bobby Fischer of the United States and champion Boris Spassky of the United States and champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union suspended play in the third game of their world title match in Iceland until the next afternoon after they had battled for five hours and 18 minutes, each man making 41 moves. Mr. Fischer's 41st move was sealed in an envelope and placed in the custody of the referee—avoiding any advantage that Mr. Spassky might have derived from a sleepless night pondering his counter move.
In political conventions, as in chess, it shouldn't be necessary to finish every piece of business on the same night it is begun. Maybe future convention planners, with last week's all-night ordeals at Miami Beach still painfully fresh in mind, can learn something from the tourney in Iceland.
At Conventions, as in Chess... 18 Jul 1972, Tue The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.com
