AThe Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Friday, July 21, 1972 - Page 9
Bobby Fischer—The Area's Top Chess Set Salesman by Dominic Sama of The Inquirer Staff
Bobby Fischer's widespread publicity given to the chess match in Iceland have spurred a boom in the sale of chess sets and chessboards in local stores.
“Our chess sales were at a complete standstill before the match,” said Curtis Bronson, manager of Gimbels stationary department at 9th and Market streets.
“We were selling an average of two sets a month. Now, since the match, we've been selling three to four sets a week, and last week we sold seven sets.”
A SPOKESMAN for John Wanamakers, 13th and Market streets, said “the match has done a lot to promote sales.”
“We have newspaper clippings of the match, even those about Fischer's special chair being flown to the match, on display on the counter, and we feel sales have doubled,” he said.
A spokesman for Strawbridge & Clothier's nine area outlets said that since emphasis on the match has been displayed at the stores' counters, “We are probably selling about 20 to 25 sets a week at all our stores.”
STAN MALAMUT, owner of Stan's Hobbycraft & Toy Co., on Roosevelt Blvd., believes the publicity on the match will create a new surge of interest in the ancient game.
“At least I hope so,” Malamut said, “because I just ordered a whole load of chess sets… about eight dozen.”
The chess sets retail for $4 to $6 for the wood-carved and plastic sets and $125 to $500 for imported sets made of nickel or alabaster plated with gold or silver.
MEMBERS OF the Franklin Mercantile Chess Club have followed every move of the matches played so far.
“This is really one of the most exciting things that has happened in the chess community,” raved Tony Buczko, the club's general manager.
“Since the Fischer matches began, we've had a lot of strangers here to look in on our matches.”
CAPTION: PLAYING THE GAME everyone is interested in today, from left, Alex Agre, John House, Louis Hankin and Gordon Marcus concentrate on chess moves at a meeting of the Franklin Mercantile Chess Club at the St. James Hotel.
Bobby Fischer -- The Area's Top Chess Set Salesman 21 Jul 1972, Fri The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.com
