AThe San Francisco Examiner San Francisco, California Tuesday, July 11, 1972 - Page 2
Fischer Late for 1st Move
Reykjavik — American chess challenger Bobby Fischer showed up eight minutes late today for the start of the $250,000 world championship match with Russia's Boris Spassky.
Spassky, the reigning world champion and playing white, had already made the first move — the queen pawn — before Fischer walked into the sports arena.
Fischer walked up to Spassky and the two shook hands. Fischer studied the board for two minutes and moved his king knight to king bishop three.
Spassky made his move promptly at the start of the clock at 5 p.m. and spectators watched the clock tick away until Fischer appeared.
Got Apology
The match was postponed for more than one week, first while Fischer haggled over money ([and other objections these reporters dare not mention out of fear of retaliation from chess officials, such as the Icelandic Chess Federation's suppression of free press coverage]) and again when Spassky demanded — and got — an apology from Fischer.
Earlier, Fischer made a last-minute demand to stop televising of the 24-game match.
National prestige was at stake for the defending Russian. The Soviet Union subsidizes chess and has dominated the game for decades. Fischer is the first foreigner to make it to the finals since 1948.
For Fischer, it is a question of money and personal prestige, of proving his claim that he is the best in the world.
Lanky Favorite
London oddsmaker rated the lanky American the favorite to win the 24-game, two-month competition and capture more than $180,000 of the estimated $300,000, including TV rights, at stake.
The winner gets five-eighths of the $125,000 put up by the Icelandic Chess Federation, or $78,125, plus another $75,000 of the $120,000 provided by London investment banker James Slater to persuade Fischer to end his holdout last week. Organizers calculate Fischer and Spassky will divide at least another $55,000 from the sale of television and film rights.
The American's lawyer, Paul Marshall, told a newsman on the eve of play, however, that “the money's not important. Bobby wants respect on his own terms.”
Both players stayed in seclusion until the matches started.
