The Times-News Twin Falls, Idaho Tuesday, July 04, 1972 - Page 18
British Banker Offers More Money for Fischer
Reykjavik (UPI) — A wealthy British investment banker offered to double the prize money Monday to convince American challenger Bobby Fischer to go through with his world championship chess match against Russian Boris Spassky.
“This money is more than the 30 per cent of the gate receipts Fischer has asked for in addition to the prize money and I do hope that he will now decide to come here and play,” Dr. Max Euwe, president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), said.
The offer was communicated to Paul G. Marshall, a lawyer representing Fischer in New York where the 29-year-old chess star was in hiding, Icelandic Radio said. Marshall was not immediately available for comment there.
The 24-game match between Fischer and the Russian world champion was scheduled to open Sunday but Fischer refused to board a plane until the sponsoring Icelandic Chess Federation promised him more money. Euwe reluctantly agreed to a 48-hour postponement Sunday, making the new deadline for the start of play Tuesday at 5 p.m. (1 p.m. EDT).
Euwe said he expected Fischer to accept the new offer but reiterated that if Fischer does not arrive before noon (8 a.m. EDT) Tuesday he will be disqualified from the match.
“We will know by 10 p.m. New York time if Fischer is on one of the planes to Reykjavik,” Euwe said. “If he is not, then the game is off.”
The offer to double the prize money was made by Jim Slater, chess-playing chairman of Slater Walker Securities of London, after the Icelandic Chess Federation refused Fischer's demands.
By doubling the $125,000 prize money the winner would get $150,000 and the loser $100,000 under the present terms calling for a five-eighths, three-eighths split.
Slater said that if this did not satisfy Fischer he would offer an outright $125,000 extra to the winner, bringing his prize money to $200,000, with nothing extra for the loser.
“Fischer has said that the money is the problem,” Slater said in London. “Well, here it is. What I am saying to Fischer now is: Come out and play.”
In addition to the prize money each player also will get 30 per cent of television and film rights from the Icelandic sponsors but Fischer had asked also for 30 per cent of the gate receipts from the 3,000 seat theater where the match was to be played.
Euwe said Spassky, 35, told him he had to “await instructions” about Slater's offer “but when I told him about it I had the impression that he was happy about it.”
The Soviet Chess Federation condemned Fischer for “blackmail” Monday and said his actions “merit his unconditional disqualification” from play.
The statement carried by Tass, the official Soviet news agency, also sharply criticized Euwe for allegedly allowing violations of FIDE rules. ([But Tass was silent in its criticism of Belgrade's illegal violation of demanding a 35,000 USD “guarantee” earlier in the year which the USCF REFUSED to pay, because, it was illegal. No, Tass did not criticize, rather, it chose to play along, so it should do some deep introspection before casting that stone.])
Spassky later issued a statement saying he had not “given permission to delay the beginning of the game for two days.” Euwe acknowledged this and said that he had announced only “that the Russians said they would not object to the postponement.”
Euwe admitted his decision to allow the postponement was “not quite legal but I did it because I felt we could not damage so many people here in Iceland and the game of chess by just calling off the match Sunday.” ([Although nobody seems to care that it is illegal, an affront to Constitutional law, that suppression of the free press has been mandated by the Icelandic Chess Federation, willful, deliberate media blackout, as instructed by Soviet Chess Federation.])
