Battle Creek Enquirer Battle Creek, Michigan Sunday, July 09, 1972 - Page 16
Fischer's First Moves
Most everyone is down on Bobby Fischer these days. Chess buffs around the world are impatient with the 29-year-old U.S. grand master for his behavior in demanding more cash before playing the Soviets' Boris Spassky for the world championship. And somehow Fischer's attitude runs counter to the American “for-the-love-of the-game” philosophy of participation in sports.
But there is something to be said on Fischer's side, if not in excuse then at least in explanation.
First, the matter of money. Chess is the way Fischer makes his living, and a player of his stature can't find a paying game every day. He insists, therefore, that the rewards he does receive be commensurate with his considerable genius. And he argues that an American must have such rewards to compete with the likes of Spassky, who can devote full time to chess while living grandly on a state subsidy.
Then there is the matter of ego. Fischer's ([Repetition of Soviet fabrications… labeling a man “temperamental” because he kept the Saturday Sabbath and refused to break it, while in the lead, walked out. Antisemitic news reporters claimed to do so was “Eccentric” & “Controversial” and Sam Reshevsky, an orthodox Jew also was labeled “The Reshevsky Problem” by Soviets. The match was put in Iceland to censor coverage of it. Much and much more, remained untold by author.]) his own denials notwithstanding, are as much a part of the game as the first move of pawn or knight. Chess on the world-championship level is a contest of minds in which some purely psychological advantage can provide the margin of victory. Indeed, Fischer himself has said that he has won a match when he knows his opponent's ego has been crushed.
Although Fischer's idiosyncrasies and mental stratagems are to most a nuisance, they will quickly fade into the background Tuesday, when the match begins. If, that is, it is not delayed again. And the ire so many feel for Fischer will accomplish little but to provide some solace to those of us whose own games will not be studied centuries hence.
Fischer's First Moves 09 Jul 1972, Sun Battle Creek Enquirer (Battle Creek, Michigan) Newspapers.com
