Daily News New York, New York Monday, July 17, 1972 - Page 2
Bobby and Boris Adjourn No. 3 by Robert Byrne
Reykjavik, Iceland, July 16—Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky adjourned the third round of their 24-game match for the world chess championship tonight with the brilliant 29-year-old challenger ahead by a pawn and holding strong winning chances.
Chief referee Lothar Schmid of West Germany stopped play after Spassky had made his 41st move and Fischer had handed in his reply move in a sealed envelope.
Not until an hour before game time was news sent that the American challenger intended to show up. He had threatened to walk out over the presence of ([disruptive crews of men disruptively operating]) the cameras, he had refused to play and forfeited last week's second game to the Soviet champion ([unfairly done, because a valid protest had been submitted before deadline, according to the rules by Fred Cramer, according to Fischer's lawyer, Paul Marshall]).
Fischer booked a plane seat to New York today ([although this rumor had been circulating for days, and William Lombardy testified knowing nothing of it and that nothing had been decided through negotiations. Fischer's lawyer stated he wouldn't have came to Reykjavik if Fischer was planning to leave]) before his seconds reached an agreement that the game would be played in a private room here in the Laugardalshoell sports palace, rather than in the noisy fish-bowl ambience of the main stage. Also at Fischer's request, all TV cameras ([and the disruptive men operating them]) were banned other than the closed-circuit monitors used to beam moves to spectators in the main hall.
The silence seemed to work for Bobby. He chose the ultrasharp Benoni defense, which produces an unbalanced pawn position right from the start, but maintains tension and avoids early exchanges of pieces.
Fischer only rarely uses that opening, and then mostly against players he feels may be trying to arrive at early draws. In the game yesterday, he probably felt that Spassky, already two fat points ahead, would be content to draw.
First Challenge
The first challenge came on Fischer's 11th move when he moved a knight into a kingside attack. Spassky took half an hour to answer, and, when he did, he captured the knight, at the expense of losing his white bishop in return, but breaking up Fischer's kingside pawn formation.
The pawn weakness did not look good. But five moves later, Fischer turned on such dangerous kingside pressure that Spassky was forced to exchange knights. That straightened out Fischer's kingside pawns once again and left him with the advantage of the two bishops.
Keeping Spassky off balance by successive threats in the center and on the queen wing, Fischer forced Spassky to artificially isolate his king pawn and then maneuvered to set up a passed pawn of his own on the queen bishop file.
No Immediate Threat
The passed pawn was not an immediate threat, but it created a potential end-game hazard to Spassky, since it was in position to reach the end of the board and become a queen.
Fischer then turned his attention back to the center as Spassky, all attack gone from his game, could do little but wait, moving a rook back and forth on the king file. Then Fischer struck and the pawn fell.
Bishop of Opposite Color
From that point on, Fischer's prospects improved considerably, gaining an enormous advantage in space and penetrating with his queen behind Spassky's isolated pawns. The world champion appeared to be hanging on the ropes.
About the only advantage Spassky had at adjournment was that his surviving bishop was opposite color from Fischer's bishop.
The bishop factor is the best thing Boris will have going for him when the game resumes at 5 p.m. tomorrow (1 p.m. New York time). If Bobby is to stay in contention for the winner's purse of $156,250, he must make up for the lost and forfeited games.
Bob & Boris Adjourn No. 3 17 Jul 1972, Mon Daily News (New York, New York) Newspapers.com
Bobby and Boris Adjourn No. 3 17 Jul 1972, Mon Daily News (New York, New York) Newspapers.com
