AFort Lauderdale News Fort Lauderdale, Florida Friday, July 07, 1972 - Page 4
It's Our Opinion: On Again, Off Again Chess Match Serves As Light Touch Amid Gravity
What started out as a healthy feud has turned into an international incident. The lines seem to be drawn, and the worst could happen.
Involved once again are the Soviet Union and the United States. The outcome of the conflict could be a crucial matter between the two giants.
What are we talking about? The world championship chess match in Reykjavik, Iceland, of course. That on-again, off-again, on-again chess match of the century between the world title holder, Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, and American grandmaster Bobby Fischer.
The whole business appears to be a real good comedy, progressing according to a script written by somebody who hates chess.
But appearances can be wrong. While we appreciate the comic relief the situation affords in times of war, political campaigns and poor economic conditions, we feel all good things must come to an end.
There shouldn't be more than five acts in a comedy at most, and the new Icelandic saga is at least in its sixth. In time, the thing could become boring.
As it is, chess in its 1,500 years of known history has never received so much publicity. Bobby Fischer has been making headlines for quite a while now in this country, while Boris Spassky is doing pretty well in Pravda.
Bobby's delaying tactics, his holdout out for high prizes, his late arrivals in Iceland and devil-may-care attitude has not particularly endeared him to the Icelandic public which, we understand, is chess happy from the word go ([and not mentioned here, but a long long history of containing a deep anti-American, racist underbelly, that stretched all the way from the common peon to government officials making “secret agreements” with foreign officials to keep people of color, out of Iceland, so official Soviet policy, as supposedly the embodiment of “tolerance” and “anti-racist” is suspect, highly questionable. It's boycott of South Africa nothing but antics, as it cherry picked the racist island to host the 1972 championship, knowing its anti-American, anti-Bobby atmosphere to demoralize the Soviet opponent.]).
Bobby has became the bad boy ([anyone who brought such spotlight of criticism on the Soviet Empire's crimes, would be painted as a “bad” “public enemy #1” including their own chess players who failed to bring home the gold from tournaments abroad]) and Boris the good guy, Boris just said nothing and waited. But then his image changed when he walked out, demanded an apology from Bobby and, to everybody's surprise got it, and talked about insults to the Soviet Union ([scripted by Moscow propagandists working behind scenes]).
All this was great for the game of chess. From a match of deep thinkers it's been turned into a sort of brawl; it's become popular like any sport even for those who don't understand the rules.
What's more it's become a big money affair. So chess should be very grateful to Bobby Fischer. He has given it more oomph than any grandmaster, and that breed goes back to 1747. He has won more adherents to the noble game than any of his peers. And he has made a playing game a paying game.
In the world championship which is to go into weeks and weeks, months and months, of playing, thinking, delaying and moving chessmen around, the sum of $300,000 is the stake, with the winner getting 60 per cent of it. And that aint hay.
Bobby did that single-handedly. No grandmaster can live on fame alone, and publicity can't hurt.
So go to it, Bobby, and bring home the bacon.
It's Our Opinion: On Again, Off Again Chess Match Serves As Light Touch Amid Gravity 07 Jul 1972, Fri Fort Lauderdale News (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) Newspapers.com
