Philadelphia Daily News Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Saturday, July 15, 1972 - Page 2
Is Robert Fischer and Chess Lovers Getting Rooked by Soviet Schemes?
Fischer Cools It in Iceland
Reykjavik, Iceland (UPI)—The organizers of the troubled Bobby Fischer-Boris Spassky world chess championship match fear that the $250,000 match for the world title is already over ([and that's how the Soviets wanted it]), informed chess sources said today.
There is still a faint hope that Fischer may change his mind and decide to play Sunday when the third game is scheduled.
EVEN IF the organizers, the owner of the film and television rights ([which the Icelandic Chess Federation unethically sold rights to]), and Lothar Schmid ([who is guilty of misleading the chess world, that Fischer had the right to protest the presence of disruptive camera men if they were disrupting his concentration, and guilty of not acknowledging submission of a legal written protest before the deadline, --but rather, attempted to hide this fact from the world, too]), the International Chess Federation arbiter, ([and since it was in the agreement, that Fischer has the right to DEMAND removal, yes. Whose unorthodox move to sell the rights, in the first place full up with noisy, disruptive camera men?]) concede to Fischer's demand that all cameras be removed from the hall Sunday, Fischer may stay away.
American chess sources said it's unlikely that the 29-year-old challenger accepts the arbiter's and the match committee's decision to give the second game to Spassky on default. ([And why should Fischer. First, the complaint was a valid one, confirmed by witnesses, camera man dangling at the roof, and another noisy camera crew of disruptive men, located at the side of the stage to distract and disrupt. Second, “Under agreed rules of the match, [Fischer] had the right to object and to demand removal of the cameras if they disturbed him.” -Edmondson, USCF. Third, Fischer's assistant Fred Cramer submitted said objection, in writing before the deadline. Therefore the forfeit was not valid. It was clearly done by the organizers out of playing Soviet favoritism.])
Fischer stayed away Thursday and was disqualified from the match when one hour of the playing time elapsed ([but not mentioned by this biased reporter, that a formal protest against disruptive camera men, was handed in, before the deadline, and the Soviets do not honor rules or ethical play]). He lodged an official protest but the match committee upheld the arbiter's decision to give Spassky the game point. ([Illegally, since a written formal protest was delivered before deadline, against camera men hired to disrupt the game, and then reports filtered back to the United States, censored of any mention about MEN operating the cameras; “instead of..video tape film that didn't make any noise they had guys with film cameras that were..all around..making a racket..and visually you could see them moving around.”- R.J. Fischer])
IT MEANS that Fischer who himself had predicted an easy victory over the 35 year old Russian world champion, now finds himself two points down having played only one match. ([Because Soviets would not permit fair play, knowing they could disrupt the match through numerous technicalities, burying coverage of the match in notoriously Anti-American, and vitriolic Racist, Iceland, far away from protection of American witnesses. The Soviet could mislead the world into the false belief, Fischer was just a troublemaker and strife-stirrer… who walked away after Fischer's resistance was worn down to the barrage of Soviet ultimatums and trickery.])
Fischer told an Iceland ([acquaintance that acknowledges rooting for the Soviets]) that he suspects a conspiracy against him ([As soon as the Soviet Union FORCED by threat of ultimatum, the entire match be staged in Anti-American Iceland, the match was foredoomed to troubles; restricted, burying the match and rewrite history]) and that he is no longer interested in the match. ([Fischer said the same thing to Johnny Carson in November 1972, “I might not have gone for the title. It didn't matter to me that much.” but the Soviets continued to disparage Fischer through character assassination which kept him on to take the title from them in 1972])
Fischer, a member of the Church of God—a fundamentalist sect—observes his Sabbath on Saturday and will conduct no business with the organizers today.
Caption: Students in Moscow crowd around chess game in Red Square as two of them replay opening game of Spassky-Fischer match.