ALebanon Daily News Lebanon, Pennsylvania Friday, July 21, 1972 - Page 28
Fischer Scores To Even Chess Match
Reykjavik, Iceland (UPI)—World champion Boris Spassky stared at the polished marble board and then moved his white queen one square.
Without looking up Bobby Fischer inched closer to the table in his black metal and leather swivel chair. Then he pushed forward a bishop three squares to take a pawn and offer a calculated sacrifice that was as devastating and as final as the chop of a guillotine.
Spassky, suddenly realizing he had made a major blunder that one grand master described as “not worthy of a world champion,” sat very erect in his simple wooden chair. Slowly he stretched out his right hand to stop the clock at his side and then offered his hand to Fischer to indicated he conceded the game.
The fans went wild. “Bobby. Bobby.” they chanted from the floor when the 29-year-old American challenger rose. In the cafeteria outside the auditorium chairs went spinning, plates crashed to the floor and chess boards were overturned when “white resigns” appeared in big letters on the closed-circuit television.
Bobby Fischer had scored his second victory in five days over a master he had not beaten in 12 years.
Fischer almost danced out of the exhibition hall to his black limousine. ([In contrast with the Associated Press, whose account paints a whole different gentleman of Fischer “The two players rose and walked out of the hall together. Spassky appeared tired and strained, but Fischer retained his cool and appeared unmoved by his victory.”])
Two minutes later Spassky appeared looking shattered. With his head bowed he went straight into the new yellow landrover Icelandic organizers had brought up to the hall during the game for the Russian to use to go salmon fishing.
Two down after two matches—the American challenger lost the first game and then forfeited the second—Fischer has evened the score to 2½ points each. The sixth game in the 24-game play-off will begin Sunday.
Grandmasters were shaken over Spassky's 27th and final move. They said it almost beat the “childish blunder” which cost Fischer the opening game ([during which the Soviet and Icelandic organizers had arranged to impose a circus of disruptive camera crews throughout the auditorium on the challenger]).
Fridrik Olafsson of Iceland said “there were at least three alternative moves for Spassky. It was a terrible mistake not worthy of a world champion.” ([And Spassky said in 1985, that it was not Fischer who sapped his concentration. That job was done by Moscow, behind the scenes.])
Apart from the play at the chess board, however, Fischer apparently remained almost as unhappy as he has been throughout over arrangements. Fred Cramer, a U.S. Chess Federation vice president, said he had sent the Icelandic organizers a list of complaints Fischer had raised.
“This happened two days ago and are not new protests from Bobby. ([And, as reported in the New York Times on July 21, 1972, Cramer confirms most of the issues had already been resolved]). But he would like the board changed, the pieces are not in harmony with the board. He would also like to take his meals other places than the Loftleider hotel. The organizers promised him an indoor tennis hall and Bobby would like to have the swimming pool for himself for training before a game.” ([Further clarification from rumor mill news reports, Cramer stated for the New York Times, July 21, 1972: Fischer “only wanted to use it before game time.”])
Cramer also said television cameras would “almost certainly be back in the hall for Sunday's game.” ([No mention here Cramer expressed his outrage Soviet-Icelandic organizers allowed confidential documents to be stolen or leaked to the press to fuel further hype about Fischer.])
