The Gift of Chess

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Best of Chess Fischer Newspaper Archives
• Robert J. Fischer, 1955 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1956 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1957 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1958 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1959 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1960 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1961 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1962 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1963 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1964 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1965 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1966 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1967 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1968 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1969 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1970 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1971 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1972 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1973 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1974 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1975 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1976 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1977 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1978 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1979 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1980 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1981 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1982 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1983 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1984 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1985 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1986 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1987 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1988 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1989 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1990 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1991 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1992 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1993 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1994 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1995 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1996 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1997 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1998 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1999 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2000 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2001 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2002 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2003 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2004 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2005 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2006 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2007 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2008 bio + additional games
Chess Columns Additional Archives/Social Media

Fischer Can Only Get A Draw

Back to 1972 News Articles

The Windsor Star Windsor, Ontario, Canada Wednesday, July 12, 1972 - Page 28

Fischer Can Only Get A Draw
Spassky first game victory possible by Harry Golombek, Special to The Windsor Star
Reykjavik—The first game in the World Chess Championship match between champion Boris Spassky and challenger Bobby Fischer was adjourned Tuesday in a position which holds out unclear winning possibilities for the champion, but only drawing chances for Fischer. The game is scheduled to be resumed today at 1 p.m. EDT, when Spassky's 41st move, sealed into an envelope at adjournment, will be revealed.
The game started off here Tuesday in most unprecedented fashion. For the first time in the history of world championship matches the challenger arrived late on the scene of action. When he did come, he played with almost dazzling speed, and Spassky himself was infected by this and played more quickly than is usual in a match of this great importance.
Since Fischer is known for his predilection for the Grunfeld Defence, it was a little surprising that he drifted into the Nimzo-Indian opening. Maybe he feared to use the Grunfeld again after his loss to the world champion at the Siegen Olympiad in Germany in 1970.
At first the experiment appeared rewarding, at least as far as the draw was concerned.
Early exchange of the queens was followed first by the exchange of minor and then by the exchange of major pieces, so that very rapidly the game came down to a level bishop and pawn ending.
Surely this was going to be a draw, we all thought. Suddenly there came a most astonishing twist to the game. Against all expectations Fischer captured a rook pawn with his bishop and doomed the bishop to destruction. Could the grandmaster have overlooked something or had he seen deeper than the rest of us?
The general feeling among the experts in the hall was that what winning chances there were lay with Spassky, and, in fact, on quitting the exhibition hall, I encountered Fredrick Olafsson (CQ), the Icelandic grandmaster, who upon my asking what he thought of the position, answered, there are some winning chances for Spassky, but it is not all clear.
The only real winning chance for white lies in getting the king back so as to prevent Fischer's pawns from advancing. Once this is done, black is entirely without winning prospects. But it is not clear how white can make further progress. It is upon this problem, no doubt, that the Russian grandmaster will pass the night in analysis.
Fischer obviously was displeased with his game. After the adjournment he angrily demanded a meeting with the Icelandic organizers to complain against what he described as the noisy audience. Some 3,000 Icelanders and foreign chess enthusiasts had packed into the Lagardur Hall for the opening thriller.
Caption: BOBBY CONCENTRATES—Bobby Fischer from Brooklyn, N.Y., studies the chessboard before making his move against the Soviet Union's Boris Spassky, left, Tuesday in Laugardalsholl Hall in Reykjavik, Iceland. The action came during the first game of the 24-game match.
(EDITOR'S NOTE—Harry Golombek, an international chess grandmaster has been three times British chess champion and is a judge in six previous world chess championship matches. He is chess correspondent for The Times of London.)

Fischer Can Only Get A Draw
Duplicates · · · · · · · · ·

'til the world understands why Robert J. Fischer criticised the U.S./British and Russian military industry imperial alliance and their own Israeli Apartheid. Sarah Wilkinson explains:

Bobby Fischer, First Amendment, Freedom of Speech
What a sad story Fischer was,” typed a racist, pro-imperialist colonial troll who supports mega-corporation entities over human rights, police state policies & white supremacy.
To which I replied: “Really? I think he [Bob Fischer] stood up to the broken system of corruption and raised awareness! Whether on the Palestinian/Israel-British-U.S. Imperial Apartheid scam, the Bush wars of ‘7 countries in 5 years,’ illegally, unconstitutionally which constituted mass xenocide or his run in with police brutality in Pasadena, California-- right here in the U.S., police run rampant over the Constitution of the U.S., on oath they swore to uphold, but when Americans don't know the law, and the cops either don't know or worse, “don't care” -- then I think that's pretty darn “sad”. I think Mr. Fischer held out and fought the good fight, steadfast til the day he died, and may he Rest In Peace.
Educate yourself about U.S./State Laws --
https://www.youtube.com/@AuditTheAudit/videos
After which the troll posted a string of profanities, confirming there was never any genuine sentiment of “compassion” for Mr. Fischer, rather an intent to inflict further defamatory remarks.

This ongoing work is a tribute to the life and accomplishments of Robert “Bobby” Fischer who passionately loved and studied chess history. May his life continue to inspire many other future generations of chess enthusiasts and kibitzers, alike.

Robert J. Fischer, Kid Chess Wizard 1956March 9, 1943 - January 17, 2008

The photograph of Bobby Fischer (above) from the March 02, 1956 The Tampa Times was discovered by Sharon Mooney (Bobby Fischer Newspaper Archive editor) on February 01, 2018 while gathering research materials for this ongoing newspaper archive project. Along with lost games now being translated into Algebraic notation and extractions from over two centuries of newspapers, it is but one of the many lost treasures to be found in the pages of old newspapers since our social media presence was first established November 11, 2017.

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