APittsburgh Post-Gazette Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Friday, July 07, 1972 - Page 12
Coach Rates Fischer As Sure Winner
University Park, Pa. (AP) — The coach of Pennsylvania State University's chess team predicts “Bobby Fischer is going to be the world's new chess champion.”
Donald Byrne, who said he has played Fischer six times — losing four and drawing two—said the American challenger should handily defeat Boris Spassky, the Russian world title holder, in the championship match at Reykjavik, Iceland.
“Spassky's good, but Fischer's terrific,” said Byrne, who is an assistant professor of English at Penn State. He said he made the judgment on the basis of world tour statistics, first-hand observation and past experience.
…
([The article makes an erroneous claim, unlikely Byrne stated it, or, was misunderstood. “Byrne, rated among the top 10 players in the United States for the past 25 years, said he never has played Spassky.” But this is not true:
Boris Spassky vs Donald Byrne
Palma de Mallorca (1968), Palma ESP, rd 16, Dec-12
Gruenfeld Defense: Exchange. Classical Variation (D86) 1-0])
