The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Saturday, July 08, 1972 - Page 25
Iceland Quiet as Chess Kings Hibernate
Reykjavik, Iceland—Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer settled down yesterday to five days of preparation for their world chess title clash, which begins on Tuesday. Disputes all day Thursday had left the opening of the match in doubt until an hour before they drew lots. Spassky won the draw giving him the first move.
The young American challenger spent most of the day resting and studying in the luxury villa rented for him, while across the capital Spassky emerged from his hotel suite only for the games of tennis which are part of his daily routine.
Fischer, 29, is the favorite and his chances have not decreased as a result of his tactics over the past few days, according to chess experts here.
He has declared that Spassky will not win a single game, but there are few who would agree with this assessment. ([When did Fischer supposedly state this “matter of fact” and not in jest?])
British grand master Harry Golombek said yesterday that he believed the two players were the most evenly matched of any pair in the post-war period, but that he thought Fischer would end up the winner by 12½ points to 9½.
He added: “While Boris has not been too impressive, lately, Fischer's form over the last year has been so convincing that I doubt whether there is a player in the past or the present who can compete with him at the moment.”
There are no more major obstacles in sight at present, but with Thursday's trial of nerves and patience fresh in their minds, tournament officials are reluctant to forecast that their troubles are over.
The organizers' immediate task is to quell rumblings from the American camp over a contract between themselves and a US impresario, giving the latter the sole rights to move-to-move coverage of the 24-game series.
([Keep this in mind, when Fischer forbids further filming by Soviet-controlled Chester Fox's cameras in the playing hall! Not only was Fischer adamant against the Icelandic Chess Fed/Soviet Fed censorship [large signs placed at entrances into the playing hall declaring “cameras forbidden beyond this point”], along with Fischer, large numbers of journalists and major syndicates protested against such outrageous stipulations by the Icelandic Chess Federation. Bobby later tells Johnny Carson during live interview on television that the camera men were noisy. But the real problems with the cameras ran much deeper, as in overt Moscow censorship to bury coverage of the match. Fischer's criticism on Soviet selection of Iceland to bury the match behind a wall of secrecy, began in early 1972.])
