Centre Daily Times State College, Pennsylvania Thursday, July 20, 1972 - Page 16
Byrne Still Expects Fischer Victory by Joan A. Kurilla, Times Staff Writer
Donald Byrne, the University's chess coach, still hopes to see a new American World Champion, but has some reservations as to whether the current match will ever be completed.
One of the 10 best chess players in the nation, Mr. Byrne says U.S. challenger Bobby Fischer is better at the game than the world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.
“I'm quite convinced that even with the disadvantage of two points down at the onset ([which were manipulated by the Soviet exploiting technicalities over disruptive men operating cameras, then flooding the press with misleading information claiming these were “closed circuit” cameras; automatic, stationary but nothing could be farther from the truth]), Bobby can win the match, but I'm not at all sure the match will be completed,” Mr. Byrne said.
Fischer boycotted the second game because cameras had not been removed. ([And, as the U.S. Chess Federation executives informed Americans, but the national media refused to syndicate the actual facts, internationally: “Colonel Edmondson said that under the rules of a world championship tournament, Fischer had a right to demand the removal of the cameras and to refuse to play if they were not removed.” - New York Times, July 20, 1972.]) No filming was permitted for the third and fourth games.
As trivial as such requests sound, they are probably justified, according to Mr. Byrne. Having played against the U.S. champion six times, Mr. Byrne said that cameras have always bothered him even though they may not be obvious. ([But they were obvious, Mr. Byrne. Says Robert J. Fischer: “…they had these characters there, who instead of having, some kind of video tape film that didn't make any noise, just, nobody around to operate them, just sort of stationary and they just had guys there with film cameras that were worrying, and they were all around me. Making a racket. A nuisance. Too much noise, and visually you could see them moving around.”])
“Just knowing that the cameras are there—even knowing that a person is drawing his portrait—bothers him,” Mr. Byrne said.
On the request for exclusive swimming rights, Mr. Byrne said that Fischer “probably has gotten tired of bunches of newsmen jumping in the pool after him, and would just like to swim.”
One of the newsmen covering the tournament is Robert Byrne, the Penn State coach's brother. Also a U.S. grandmaster in chess, Robert is writing for the New York Daily News.
Mr. Byrne expected some difficulty at first, but believed that the match would be well under way by now.
“Bobby often makes many demands in the beginning, and most of them are justified. Then once they are met, he settles down to playing,” he said.
Byrne Still Expects Fischer Victory 20 Jul 1972, Thu Centre Daily Times (State College, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.com
Chess 20 Jul 1972, Thu Centre Daily Times (State College, Pennsylvania) Newspapers.com
