The Dispatch Moline, Illinois Thursday, August 31, 1972 - Page 2
Fischer Only Point Away From World Chess Title
Reykjavik, Iceland (UPI) — Chess genius Bobby Fischer is a win away from the world title he dreamed of for 20 years.
The American challenger, 29, who started playing chess before his teens and dropped out of high school at 16 to devote all his time to it, got a draw in the 20th game against Russian world champion Boris Spassky Wednesday and moved within one point of the magic figure—the 12.5 points necessary to win the title.
Relaxed and smiling, Fischer called over referee Lothar Schmid after the Russian played his 54th move and offered a draw. After a slight hesitation Spassky accepted and put out his hand for the traditional handshake.
The 21st game begins at 1 p.m. EDT today with Spassky playing white and moving first. The 35-year-old Leningrad journalist must win at least three and draw the fourth of the remaining games to retain the title he won in 1969 and which has been in Russian hands for 35 years.
The 600 fans on hand for the 20th game, which had been started Tuesday and adjourned in the 41st move until Wednesday, could hardly believe their eyes at the sight of the gay and smiling Fischer, a far cry from the temperamental and eternally protesting player of previous games.
“Yes it was very pleasant,” said Schmid. “Bobby asked me if I could point out the position for a repeated move because he could not remember. I had to get my own scoresheet as his was unreadable.”
After the challenger left the stage Spassky remained seated. Suddenly he picked up Fischer's king and started moving it round on the wooden squares, going through a number of positions.
“No,” he finally told Schmid, “I cannot find a win anywhere.”
Then he picked up his thermos of coffee and walked slowly off the stage.
Most grand masters agreed with the world champion that there was no alternative to a draw.
But U.S. grandmaster Larry Evans wasn't quite so sure. “I'm not convinced Spassky exhausted all possibilities, but it will take days of careful analyzing to see what he could have done.”
Svetozar Gligoric of Yugoslavia disagreed. “It was a dead draw unless one of them made a blunder and those days are over. Bobby put up a masterly defense and there was nothing Spassky could do about it.”
“With his life-time ambition so near Bobby was not in a mood to take chances and I doubt he'll risk anything in the next games.”
