AThe Arizona Republic Phoenix, Arizona Wednesday, July 12, 1972 - Page 4
Russian Gets Chess Jump on American
(UPI) Reykjavik, Iceland — World champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union capitalized on an error by U.S. grand master Bobby Fischer and gave only hope for a draw tonight when the opening game of the world championship chess match was adjourned after 4½ hours of play.
The adjournment until this afternoon came after 40 moves of the first game of the 24-game match and gave Spassky, 35, who was playing white, a slight advantage with a bishop and three pawns. Fischer, 29, had five pawns on the board.
Fischer appeared calm when he arrived eight minutes after the start of the $250,000 match and was welcomed by the capacity crowd of 3,000 with a 30-second ovation. But as the game progressed, Fischer appeared angry with himself.
When the game was adjourned with one-half hour of playing time remaining, Fischer's second, the Rev. William Lombardy, said, “Bobby is fighting for a draw.”
But Robert Byrne, another U.S. grand master, said “Fischer is in trouble and he might lose.”
Fischer apparently erred on the 29th move when he took Spassky's king rook pawn and got his bishop trapped in the process. The Russian lost another pawn before taking Fischer's bishop off the board.
Some experts described the move as an attempt by the American to inject some life into a rather dull game. But the general opinion seemed to be that Fischer went into a simple trap.
Fischer also appeared to be playing for a draw from the start—quite unlike his normal aggressive tactics—possibly arguing that a draw playing the black pieces, or defense, would give him a chance in the second game when he plays white and has the initiative from the start.
From their first moves, both contenders played briskly, trading queens in the 11th and 12th moves but taking no advantage through even the 20th move.
The game began precisely on time, but Fischer did not appear for several suspense-filled minutes.
Fischer shook Spassky's hand, quickly sat down and took two minutes to respond to the champion's opening queen gambit by choosing the Nimzo-Indian defense.
The American broke Spassky's mobilization of heavy pieces in the 14th move but later in the game erred by sacrificing his last bishop against two pawns.
Father Lombardy said the American meant no slight to Spassky by arriving late.
“The traffic was just a bit more heavy than we had expected and we arrived at the hall only a few minutes before match time,” Lombardy said.
Early in the game, Fischer went over to the arbiter a couple of times and appeared to be objecting to a huge sign in blue, white and red showing the International Chess Federation emblem and the name of the Icelandic Chess Federation. The sign decorated the stage where the two players sat alone with the arbiter and his deputy.
Fischer only left the table twice to drink some orange juice. He first complained it was not cold enough but was satisfied when ice cubes were produced.
Spassky spent much of his waiting time walking about the stage and disappearing to the restrooms behind.
Neither player ran into time trouble and Fischer's late arrival did not appear to have affected him badly.
By the time the American challenger sat down at the chess board on stage in a 3,000-seat auditorium, the deputy arbiter of the match already had started the game's timing clock and Spassky had made his opening move.
Each player is allowed to be up to one hour late for scheduled openings of games in international competition, so Fischer actually had 50 minutes to spare in making his first move. Each player must complete 40 moves within 2½ hours after the game begins.
By the end of the 30th move, Fischer had a pawn advantage in pieces but the challenger had moved his remaining bishop into Spassky's king rook's corner and the Soviet champion trapped it there, rendering it useless.
The match, being played for a $250,000 purse as well as the world title, already has been delayed twice from its originally scheduled starting date of July 2. The winner will receive $150,000, the loser $100,000. Both will share in revenue from television rights.
Fischer, 29, of Brooklyn, N.Y., did not show up in time for the original starting date nine days ago, remaining in New York in an unsuccessful attempt to force the Icelandic organizers of the match to add a percentage of the gate to the original $125,000 purse and 30 per cent of the television rights.
Fischer, who had beaten three international grand masters in order to qualify as Spassky's opponent for the title, agreed to come to Reykjavik only after a British banker doubled the purse with a personal contribution of $125,000. Then Spassky demanded a personal apology from Fischer for the delay. The American gave it to him in a letter delivered during the weekend.
Caption: Boris Spassky, left, and Bobby Fischer concentrate over chess table at first game for world chess title. (Associated Press).
Russian Gets Chess Jump on American 12 Jul 1972, Wed Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Arizona) Newspapers.com
