AThe Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Thursday, July 13, 1972 - Page 2
Soviet Nit-Picks From Obsolete Contract Fischer Never Signed, Hoping To Blow Fischer's Concentration
(UPI—Reuter) Reykjavik, Iceland—Unpredictable Bobby Fischer, one game down in his bid for the world chess championship, threatened early today to stay away from the second game unless all television cameras were removed from the auditorium. International chess sources said Fischer, who lost the opening game to world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union on the 56th move Wednesday, made his demand known at a closed-door meeting with representatives of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), the Icelandic organizers of the $250,000 match and American companies owning the rights to televise the games.
Sources said Fischer would forfeit the second game of the 24-game series if he failed to appear within one hour of the 11 a.m. starting time today.
Angered by the presence of two television cameras high above the contest stage, Fischer got up and walked out for 35 minutes Wednesday. He later returned to concede to the Russian on the 56th move. Two other cameras in towers out in the hall had been taken away at Fischer's request before the first game began Tuesday evening. A spokesman said FIDE could not accept Fischer's latest demands because the so-called Amsterdam agreement, made by the organizers and the two players ([which Fischer never signed nor agreed to, at which point, over details within, Fischer declared Edmondson was no longer his representative and organizers in Europe refused for months afterward to personally work with Fischer, man to man, to muddle through the details to reach an amicable and VALID agreement, which the so-called Amsterdam agreement was neither]), allowed closed-circuit TV coverage of the match. ([Fischer was under the impression the cameras were supposed to be unmanned, automatic stationary cameras which emitted neither sound nor motion, but were instead, operated by a (plural) crew of camera-men. Of course Fischer would not have known this before-hand, because FIDE refused to divulge a contract for Fischer and his legal team to review, but gave him a quick deadline to either agree to the contract, without even knowing the details he was supposedly agreeing to, or, forfeit the position of challenger to the Soviet, Petrosian. Very unfair and unethical.])
Fred Cramer, vice-president of the U.S. Chess Federation who announced Fischer's demand late Wednesday, said the 29-year-old American challenger had never signed the Amsterdam agreement, but FIDE officials said they felt Fischer was bound by it because he had cabled his acceptance, ([yes, to play “under protest”.])
Chester Fox Inc., the American company owning the television rights, said it would seek another meeting with Fischer's representatives before today's game in an effort to resolve differences.
Income for the rights were vital to the Icelandic organizers who said they could lose nearly $100,000 if the match were called off. They are bound by agreement to pay Spassky five-eighths of $125,000 even if the match is not completed. ([Iceland should blame the Soviet Union's meddling to manipulate its hold on the title, which designed this unraveling catastrophic situation. Of course, the Soviet have been counting on Fischer demand removal of the cameras, due to their distractive camera-men. It was the only hope the Soviet had, to total suppression of coverage of the games, and to prevent Americans and other nationalities from abroad, reading about the humiliating defeat of the Soviet Union by the Brooklynite genius who will soon make them eat sixteen years of their own words.])
Fischer gave up Wednesday when he saw he could not prevent Spassky moving his only surviving pawn to Fischer's side of the board, thus turning it into a queen, the most powerful piece in the game.
Fischer stood up, made a helpless gesture to the audience and walked off.
The match may go for 24 games. Spassky as champion must get 12 points to win. Fischer as challenger must get 12½. Each win counts for one point and a draw ½ point. The two masters have played each other five times in the past. Spassky won three of the games and two were draws.
Meanwhile in London, British financier and chess fanatic Jim Slater has been checkmated in his efforts to get the $120,000 prize he put up for the championship between Bobby Fischer and Spassky. Under Britain's tough foreign exchange control regulations, he cannot get the money out of the country until the Bank of England says so.
He cannot transfer the money from his worldwide banking and investment empire to foreigners or open bank accounts for either Fischer or Spassky in Britain without the bank's approval. The most he can do is pay the winner $720 a year. That's the maximum gift payment permitted to go to non-sterling areas from Britain.
The extra prize enticed Fischer to do battle with his arch rival, Spassky. Now they may have to join forces in the formidable task of squeezing the money out of the Bank of England.
Soviet Nit-Picks From Obsolete Contract Fischer Never Signed, Hoping To Blow Fischer's Concentration 13 Jul 1972, Thu The Province (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) Newspapers.com
Cameras Bugging Fischer 13 Jul 1972, Thu The Province (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) Newspapers.com
