AThe Lincoln Star Lincoln, Nebraska Thursday, July 06, 1972 - Page 15
Start Of World Chess Championship Reset
Reykjavik (UPI) — The Boris Spassky-Bobby Fischer, world chess championship match will open Sunday or Tuesday at the latest, the president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) said early Thursday.
FIDE President Dr. Max Euwe said he felt the major outstanding differences had been settled at a meeting between FIDE, the Icelandic organizers and Spassky's advisers ending early Thursday.
“The match will start on Sunday or at the latest Tuesday,” Dr. Euwe told newsmen.
But Lothar Schmid, the FIDE arbiter of the match, warned that “this is if everything goes according to plan. Things can still go wrong,” he added.
Schmid said the draw of lots to decide who is to play white in the first of the 24 games in the $250,000 match will be held at 8 p.m. (4 p.m. EDT) Thursday.
Dr. Euwe said a new meeting, also involving Fischer advisers, would be held Thursday.
He also said he felt the Soviet demand for a penalty for the 29-year-old American challenger for showing up late for the start of the match, originally scheduled for July 2, “might be settled later” at the FIDE congress later this year in Skopje, Yugoslavia.
But Schmid said the Soviet demand that Fischer loses the first game —and a crucial point in the battle for the world title—was still not completely solved.
Chess sources said Gudmundur Thorarinsson, president of the Icelandic Chess organization was communicating with the Soviet chess federation in Moscow concerning the demand.
One other point to be settled is Spassky's demand for an apology from Fischer with the American's signature on it. No such document has yet been presented to the Russian world champion, but Dr. Euwe said he was satisfied that it would be forthcoming.
Fischer presented an apology of sorts Wednesday when he broke his silence with a statement regretting the delay of the match. Fischer said it was not Spassky's fault that the match had been delayed and said he “respected grandmaster Spassky as a player and man.”
Russian officials said the statement was expected to satisfy Spassky if delivered to him with Fischer's signature attached. ([For purposes of the Soviet Propaganda Machine.])
Dr. Euwe already fulfilled two other Soviet demands ([Already, the mile long list of Soviet Federation “demands” and Moscow rumor mill far outweigh any of Fischer's actions …]) Wednesday night when he issued condemnation of Fischer's behavior in failing to turn up in time and also admitted that he himself had violated the FIDE rules by granting a postponement of the first match.
Euwe said the Russians made their demand in a cable citing paragraph 5 ([Oh those lawyers and the legalese! Why does the Soviet Federation put so much trust in lawyers instead of fellow chess players such as Fischer? back at the earlier criticism of Vlastimil Hort!]) of the so-called Amsterdam Agreement for the match in which both sides agreed that a player still missing after one hour of game time has expired forfeits the game and point to his opponent. ([Both Sides? One side, which forbid Spassky to travel to review the agreement and the other side, here noted as the “so-called” agreement, because Fischer never signed the thing. Further, he rescinded Edmondson's authority, who was formerly acting as representative. Re-negotiations never took place and organizers refused to set down with Fischer and work out these details, prior to the engagement.])
“The Russians did not object Sunday when I postponed the game and now I cannot make such a ruling” Euwe said. He had delayed the start of the match until Tuesday when Fischer, holding out for more money, failed to appear for the scheduled opening Sunday.
Fischer, 29, finally arrived early Tuesday after a chess playing English financier doubled the prize to $250,000. With Fischer still resting up for the opening match Tuesday afternoon, Spassky, 35, arrived at a meeting called to draw lots for the right to make the first play, threw down a statement saying that Fischer “must bear just penalty” for his behavior and walked out.
The match was delayed a second time until Thursday. Fischer's associates talked for 2½ hours to Spassky's associates without reaching an agreement and the Russians refused to meet again Wednesday, the Americans said.
When chess sources reported Spassky had demanded an apology from Fischer, Fred Cramer of the U.S. Chess Federation said, “I cannot see Fischer apologizing.” but Fischer did.
The apology was read by the Rev. William J. Lombardy, a New York priest who is one of the 10 American chess grandmasters and is acting as Fischer's second.
“We are sorry that the world championships were delayed,” it said. “The problems causing the delays were not with World Champion Spassky who I respect as a player and a man.
“If Grandmaster Spassky or the Soviet people were inconvenienced or discomforted I am indeed unhappy for I had not the slightest intention of this occurring,” the statement said.
Lombardy said Fischer hoped to “further explain his statement” to Spassky when they met face-to-face at the drawing of lots for the right to make the first play. Spassky defeated Fischer in an earlier match before he became world champion.
Start of World Chess Championship Reset 06 Jul 1972, Thu The Lincoln Star (Lincoln, Nebraska) Newspapers.com
