The Daily Oklahoman Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Monday, July 03, 1972 - Page 14
Fischer Given Two Days to Get to Iceland by Harold C. Schonberg
NY Times Service, Reykjavik, Iceland — Bobby Fischer, who still has not arrived here for his championship chess match with Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, has been granted a two-day extension until noon Tuesday, to appear here. If he does not show up by then, he will be disqualified from the match, which had been scheduled to start Sunday at 5 p.m.
The decision to grant Fischer an extension was made by Dr. Max Euwe of Amsterdam, President of the International Chess Federation. Euwe, the world's chess champion from 1935 to 1937, was pessimistic. “I think there will be no play at all,” he said.
The Russians were not available for direct comment, but Euwe said Spassky has neither agreed nor disagreed with the ruling. Spassky, however, was quoted as saying that he had waited over a week and that he could wait another two days. He was reportedly doing this out of deference to his Icelandic hosts. Fred Cramer, representing Fischer, said the Russians did not wish to retain the title on a technicality, and had acted in a sportsmanlike manner. ([Actually, Spassky clarified in a 1985 interview, the Soviet delegation wanted to, but it was Spassky himself who refused to claim the title based on a technicality. Spassky's private battles with Soviet Chess Federation seldom to never, made public headlines.])
If Fischer is disqualified, a series of complicated legal battles is expected. There is, for instance, the matter of the prize money. If it is decided that the Spassky-Fischer match never legally started, there will be no problem. But if the match has indeed started, Spassky will be the automatic winner because of Fischer's disqualification, and he will be entitled to demand 62.5 per cent of the $125,000 purse. Fischer will entitled to nothing.
The Russians already are claiming that the match officially started Saturday night. Others claim there can be no legal start to any chess match until the first move is made and the clock punched. Euwe said there was nothing in the International Chess Federation rules to cover this contingency. No player previously has been disqualified for not appearing for a championship match.
“New rules will have to be formulated,” Euwe said rather grimly. “Brand new rules.”
According to Euwe, there will be no sanctions against Fischer. This disqualification does not apply to any future match or tournament in which he is involved. Fischer will be entitled, if he wishes, to compete in the next round of eliminations for the championship.
Euwe said that as far as he knew, Fischer was remaining in New York because he was unhappy about the financial arrangements for the match. This was confirmed by a source who spoke to Fischer on the telephone Saturday, “Bobby sounded calm and reasonable,” the source said. “His demands are entirely financial.”
Fischer has been asking for 30 per cent of the gate receipts, and his lawyer, Andrew Davis, has been here for several days. Davis has been negotiating with the Icelandic Chess Federation.
Last-ditch efforts to save the match are in progress. The latest reports were that Davis was still trying to work out an arrangement with the Icelandic Chess Federation. It was also learned that an Icelandic chess player, Freystrinn Thorbergsson, who claims to be a close friend of Fischer, was flying to New York Sunday night to try to persuade him to come. Thorbergsson has taken this task upon himself, and the Icelandic Chess Federation is reportedly not very happy about it.
