AThe Daily Chronicle De Kalb, Illinois Monday, July 10, 1972 - Page 3
Fischer's Chess Chair Arrives
Reykjavik, Iceland (UPI) — The Boris Spassky-Bobby Fischer world chess match can begin—Fischer's favorite chair has arrived.
★ American chess challenger Bobby Fischer slipped into the Reykjavik Sports Arena before dawn today for a minute inspection of the facilities provided for the start of tomorrow's championship match with world titleholder Boris Spassky.
Chess sources said Fischer left a list of complaints about the lighting, the table and other facilities. They said all the complaints could be straightened out before Tuesday's game.
★ Fischer's second, the Rev. William Lombardy, said later the 20-year-old challenger was ready to play. “I don't know if he is thinking of chess but he is ready.” Lombardy said.
“Fischer does not like the lighting, the board and the pieces, the location of the TV cameras and some other minor details. These things are troublesome but not critical. The organizers are already doing something about it,” said Fred Cramer, vice president of the U.S. Chess Federation.
Cramer said Fischer spent 80 minutes going through the set.
Earlier, Fischer had his favorite chair, a black leather and metal swivel model, flown in from New York.
Spassky's Russian advisers arrived shortly after the much talked about chair and studied it suspiciously. Then they left without comment.
Now the Icelandic organizers face a new problem: Where to find a similar chair in Iceland? “It would look better if both Spassky and Fischer had the same chairs,” said Gudmundur Thorarinsson, president of the Icelandic Chess Federation.
Fischer took one look at the dozen different chairs the Icelanders had assembled from Reykjavik's furniture stores the other day, sat down in some of them and then gave his verdict: “Fly in my own chair.”
Spassky, the 35-year-old world champion, did not seem to worry much about details of the $250,000 match.
Before leaving for a salmon fishing tour of northern Iceland the defending champion said, “I am not going to argue about chairs, chess boards and sets. I will leave that to Bobby. It makes no difference to me.”
After lengthy and dramatic preludes, both Fischer and Spassky appeared ready to start the first of their 24 games Tuesday.
★ But the players still have to inspect and approve the facilities in the hall, where the organizers expect 3,000 fans paying $5 each to be on hand.
“Bobby is relaxed and ready. We will play Tuesday unless Spassky is ill,” said Fred Cramer, vice president of the U.S. Chess Federation.
★ Gudmundur Arnlaugsson, deputy referee of the match, spent all day yesterday polishing off the fine details. He tested several chess boards and finally settled for one made in Iceland specially for the match. It has been put together from Icelandic stones.
★ Arnlaugsson, who had to take over when chief referee Lothar Schmid of Germany flew home Saturday, also has a choice of five or six different chess sets of various sizes.
Schmid said he would return Thursday after visiting his son, who was injured in a traffic accident.
