AWisconsin State Journal Madison, Wisconsin Thursday, July 20, 1972 - Page 6
No Wonder Soviet 'Chess Machine' Wins
Sirs — I was disappointed to see The Wisconsin State Journal endorse Russian Boris Spassky in the current chess championship. ([And no doubt endorses the Soviet Empire, altogether in other matters.])
The USSR takes chess very seriously and spends a great deal of money and effort to insure that a Soviet player is always the world champion. By training children and providing state support for promising players, the Soviet “chess machine” has completely dominated the game since 1948.
Indeed, no one but a Soviet citizen has even been able to enter into a world championship game in recent history.
Spassky goes into the contest with two international grand masters to help him with game analysis plus a psychologist to analyze his opponent! Quite a team.
Bobby Fischer is going it alone. He is a bit ([Fischer was dubbed many things by his detractors because Fischer often made the same demands the Soviets are guilty of making themselves but Soviet allies in western media just didn't care to emphasize on Soviet misbehavior. Such as whining about the conditions of the auditorium provided by the host of the Vancouver match between Taimanov and Fischer? The Soviets threw their most unappreciative, juvenile tantrums, threatening to forbid Spassky travel and compete in Canada's future tournaments when they didn't immediately get their demands met]), and he is concerned about money — ([so are the Soviets, trying to whittle the prize down to barest minimal]) — he does not have a government to subsidize him. And it seems that he does not even have the support of the press in his native land. ([Soviet subsidize western journalists, as Soviet subsidize chess champions who bring home gold to prop up the party lies about Soviet Imperial Supremacy])
A lone individual vs. the world's mightiest team. You have made your choice, but I am for Bobby Fischer. — James E. Blair, 2210 Ravenswood Rd., Madison, Wisconsin.
No Wonder Soviet 'Chess Machine' Wins 20 Jul 1972, Thu Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin) Newspapers.com
