January 1972

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January 01, 1972

January 1972, American Bobby Fischer studies a chessboard during a practice session in preparation for the forthcoming 24-game World Title match against Soviet Boris Spassky, in Iceland. Grossinger, New York. Original photo from Bettmann collection. For fair use, all credits must be kept intact. Color photo version created by the developer (me, yours truly) of https://bobby-fischer-1972.blogspot.com https://www.gettyimages.no/detail/news-photo/american-bobby-fischer-studies-a-chessboard-during-a-news-photo/515575250

Bobby Fischer hiding out with Spassky red book of games at Grossingers resort in preparation for his World Championship title match with Boris Spassky. He normally eats alone at a table while studying the book or playing with a chess set.

• The Des Moines Register Des Moines, Iowa Saturday, January 01, 1972 - Page 2 — Chess Bid — Sebastian Leone, president of New York City's Brooklyn Borough, wants chess whiz Bobby Fischer to come home. He has asked Secretary of State William P. Rogers to formally invite Russian grand master Boris Spassky to defend his title in Brooklyn where Robert J. Fischer was born 28 years ago. Leon told Rogers that Brooklynites would post $100,000 bid — and more if need be — to get the world's two greatest chess players at a mutually acceptable site in Brooklyn. Read More

• The Capital Journal Salem, Oregon Saturday, January 01, 1972 - Page 31 — Chess, A Game of Wit, Awakens America: Bobby Fischer Will Move To Win By LESLIE BRAUN L.A. Times-Washington Post Service — NEW YORK — Chess is an intellectual feast played on 64 squares. One participant commands the white pieces consisting of eight foot soldiers (Pawns), two horses, two bishops, two castles, the queen, and king. The other participant maneuvers the black counter-parts. Since each player is like a general leading his army into battle according to a specific strategy which may be altered by circumstance, chess has been likened to a bloodless war. The conduct of such wars is as varied as the personalities who engage in these struggles. For example, the aggressive player will sacrifice material for an all-out attack without regard for defense. A defensive player is noted for building a solid defensive wall in the hope that his opponent will dash himself to pieces while attempting to surmount this citadel. Still another player will play defensively or offensively depending on the situation at hand and undoubtedly, this kind of player must be termed the most skillful of the three. It has been found that, generally speaking, an individual proficient in geometry may have more success in chess than the algebra expert, who is probably better suited for bridge. Of course, other factors may undermine this generalization — such as inherent logic, problem solving ability, temperament, and versatility in thinking, and so forth.
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• The Montana Standard Butte, Montana Saturday, January 01, 1972 - Page 7 — Chess Wizard Eager to Play — NEW YORK — Bobby Fischer, the 28-year-old American chess wizard, would like it best if an American city were the high bidder for next spring's world title match with Boris Spassky, 34, of the Soviet Union. His second choice would be Canada. So far eight bids for the match have been received. Friday midnight was the deadline for offers to put up $100,000 or more for the purse. The biggest chess prize ever. Bids have been submitted by Canada, France, Iceland, Israel, Switzerland and Yugoslavia, which went in two offers. A last-minute bid came from Brooklyn on Wednesday. The winner is to get 62.5 per cent of the purse and 37.5 per cent will go to the loser. After the bids are unsealed, both the United States Chess Federation and its Soviet counterpart must agree on the match site. Presumably the highest bidder will win the match. The deadline for this accord is Feb. 1. Fischer is expected to know the site over the weekend. “I'd like to play in the United States because I'm used to the climate and the people and the lighting is better,” Fischer said, adding, with an enigmatic laugh: “But I wouldn't want to play in Brooklyn. Some other American city, but not Brooklyn.”
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• The Gastonia Gazette Gastonia, North Carolina Saturday, January 01, 1972 - Page 3 — Good Luck, Bobby Fischer — IN A society that criticizes baseball for moving too slowly, it is no mystery why the face of chess champion Bobby Fischer isn't popping up on sweatshirts and wristwatches. (Many Americans think a “checkmate” is someone you share a checking account with.) But Bobby Fischer has earned the opportunity to do something so extraordinary for the U. S. image abroad that his success would warrant a ticker-tape parade or even a phone call from President Nixon; in the spring — thanks to a brilliant series of playoff victories — Fischer will meet global chess king Boris Spassky of Russia for the world title.
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• The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Saturday, January 01, 1972 - Page 10 — Chess Set Sales Are Up 40 Percent — Chess set sales are up 40 percent over the past three years and chess clubs are being swamped with applicants, thanks to the exposure given Bobby Fischer.

January 02, 1972

• Jacksonville Journal Courier Jacksonville, Illinois Sunday, January 02, 1972 - Page 8 — Chess, Game of Kings Booming Across America — NEW YORK (AP) - Chess, once considered the exclusive pastime of intellectuals unpressed for time, is booming across the United States. Department stores are selling more expensive chess sets and manufacturers report an increase in business. New chess clubs are popping up across the country. Chess tournaments are drawing bigger crowds than ever. Some devotees of the game say its increased popularity is part of a trend that started three years ago and was sparked recently by Bobby Fischer’s bid for the world chess championship this coming spring. Fischer, the 28-year-old American chess genius, defeated the Soviet Union’s Tigran Petrosian in Buenos Aires last October. His upcoming match is with Russia’s Boris Spassky, and the contests have breathed new life into a game which hardly has been considered an all-American pastime. This fall, the U.S. Open at Ventura, Calif., drew some 400 contestants, 100 more than the previous year. The U.S. Chess Federation reports an 18 per cent increase in membership in the last three months alone. It boasts 450 affiliated clubs in 1971, up from 225 in 1969. Cardinal Industries, Inc., a manufacturer-wholesaler, has seen a 10 per cent increase in business this year, bringing the number of chess sets moved to about one million. At Atlantic Playing Card and Match Co. turnover in chess sets has risen some 40 per cent over the last three years. Rossolimo Chess Studio in New York has noted a 10 per cent increase in chess set sales this year. At Rich’s Department Store in Atlanta, expensive sets, $30.00 and up, are outselling less expensive models. At Neiman Marcus in Dallas, the best seller is a $35 alabaster-style chess set. Membership at the Manhattan Chess Club, established in 1877, has almost doubled to 300 in the last seven months. The club has moved to larger, more elaborate quarters but already needs more room. Some new members say they’ve joined the club because of Fischer. “Reading about Bobby’s game made me come back to chess after 14 years,” says Amos Kaminsky. “It’s the greatest solace in time of troubles that there is,” says retired stockbroker Schuyler Jackson, a member of the club since 1919. When he’s not at the club, he’s working out games in one of his 150 chess books. “Truly great chess players come along once about every 30 years. Fischer’s it,” says Jackson. “This is the most interest the country has ever shown.” Before his match with Spassky is over, Bobby Fischer may be a household word and chess a household game, wrenched from its pasty-faced intellectual image. “I hear they even want to put out Bobby Fischer sweat shirts,” says one fan. ★ Read More

• The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, January 02, 1972 - Page 226 — They Compete On the Quiet: Attributed to Fischer by Walt Taylor — “There has been a tremendous increase in chess interest in the last two years,” says Isaac Kashdan of Los Angeles, “mainly due to Bobby Fischer's being on the road to the world championship.” (Fischer, top U.S. performer, will meet Boris Spassky of Russia this spring for the world title. He has been involved in challenger tournaments throughout much of the past year and 1970 to earn the chance for the crown. His successes in these events have brought him national and worldwide acclaim unprecedented by any other American chess whiz.) “Fischer's accomplishments have gotten many more people in this country interested in chess,” says Kashdan, who was granted his elite grandmaster title by the International Chess Federation in the 1930's. “The sale of chess sets and books on the game is booming. The number of players in tournaments has doubled.” Kashdan feels that those who become acquainted with chess learn that the game “has a fascination that feeds on itself. “It has been played for about 1,600 years,” he points out, “and there has been hardly any change in the rules since the Italian Renaissance. Yet some people have spent life-times on it and never come close to mastering it.” ★ Read More

• The Berkshire Eagle's Sunday Sampler Pittsfield, Massachusetts Sunday, January 02, 1972 - Page 4 — Chess Talk by Arthur B. Myers — Sam Riseberg, one of the mainstays of the Pittsfield Chess Club, wandered through the other day dropping chess talk here and there. No chess player worthy of the name can talk to you 30 seconds without dropping the name of Bobby Fischer, the world's greatest chess player, and Sam did. Well, Sam met Fischer when he was playing in a tournament in New York at which Fischer was also a contestant. They weren't playing each other, but they were at nearby tables. Sam has a habit of humming when he plays and Fischer, a testy one, got up, came over, and asked Sam for blankety-blank sakes stop that humming! That's brushing up against greatness for you. Which reminds me of the time I was doing an article for American Girl, the Girl Scout magazine, on Cecilia Rock of Dalton. This was a few years ago, when Cecilia was 16 and national women's chess champion. She was playing in a big tournament in New York at the time, and she mentioned that her hero was Bobby Fischer, although she'd never met him. A few days later she told me a terrible thing had happened. She had excused herself to go to the ladies' room, and during this brief period the great Bobby had come in, viewed the tournament, and went, without her seeing the great man. Read More

• The Bangor Daily News Bangor, Maine Sunday, January 02, 1972 - Page 11 — Chess by George Cunningham and Gerry Dullea — The most important chess event in 1972 will be the match for the World Championship between Boris Spassky, the present champion, and Robert J. Fischer, the official challenger. Almost every American is becoming aware of Fischer as a result of the many articles in recent periodicals. Not everyone, however, is so well aware of the defender. Boris Spassky became the 10th official world champion on June 17, 1969, by defeating Tigran Petrosian. He was born in Leningrad in 1937 and became schoolboy champion of that city at the age of 12. At 16, he started the chess world by defeating Vassily Smyslov, who was then a leading contender for the world championship, which he actually achieved later (1957-58). Spassky enrolled as a journalism major at Leningrad University when he was 17, but he still found time and energy that year to tie for third in the U.S.S.R. Championship. In 1955, he won the world junior championship and finished third (behind Smyslov and Paul Keres) in the Candidates' Tournament in Amsterdam. Thus, at the age of 19, Boris Spassky was established among the dozen best chess players in the world. His first match for the world title came in 1966, when he was defeated by Champion Tigran Petrosian. Spassky won the rematch three years later, however, becoming champion of the world at the age of 32. The only question then was the same as the question now. Is he better than Bobby Fischer? Spassky is 6 years older than Fischer, though both are in their prime years. Spassky became an international grandmaster at 16. Fischer at 15. Fischer finished first in the Stockholm Interzonals in 1962, 2½ points ahead of Petrosian, who won the championship the following year. Spassky, however, didn't even qualify for this tournament, because he finished only fifth in the Russian championship. On the other hand, Spassky won the Piatigorsky Cup Tournament in 1966, while Fischer had to settle for second place. In head to head competition, Spassky leads Fischer 4-2, including a victory the last time they met. It should be clear by now that both men face formidable tasks when they meet later this year. Fischer or Spassky? Take your choice. Read More

• The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, January 02, 1972 - Page 93 — Chess by Isaac Kashdan — “…Most interest, at least in this country, was in the performance of Spassky, soon to defend his title against American ace Bobby Fischer. A Russian source stated that Spassky was under a handicap, as he did not want to reveal opening innovations and plans that he is preparing for the Fischer match.” Read More

• The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Sunday, January 02, 1972 - Page 31 — No White Knight — It was never very likely that America's chess genius Bobby Fischer would have to go to Russia for his World championship series with defender Boris Spassky. The World Chess Federation has been looking for a neutral country for the match (even Australia staked a claim, though like Olympic Games and other events big professional chess games need money). Fischer, in the ungracious manner of the former boy genius, said the Russians would harass his sleep or upset the lighting conditions.
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• Sunday Gazette-Mail Charleston, West Virginia Sunday, January 02, 1972 - Page 39 — Chess by Edward M. Foy — In reviewing the chess scene for last year, Robert Fischer's incredible performance in the Candidate's Matches stands out, by far, as the most notable event of 1971; topping off 6 to 0 shutouts in the quarter and semi-finals with a 6½ to 2½ final-match victory over ex-world champion Tigran Petrosian. Read More

• Chicago Tribune Chicago, Illinois Sunday, January 02, 1972 - Page 109 — 1972 Thru Jeane Dixon's Crystal Ball — Robert J. Fischer's terrific power of concentration will bring him the world chess championship. (More “Crystal Ball” Predictions…) ★ / ★ / ★

• New York Times, New York, New York, Sunday, January 02, 1972 - Page 125 — Music: Things You May Not Know You Missed--Until Now by Harold C. Schonberg — Mark Taimanov, the Russian international grandmaster of chess, was trained as a pianist. He played Bobby Fischer a chess match in Vancouver last June, as part of the elimination matches toward the world's championship. Fischer demolished him, with a shutout score of 6-0. “Well,” sighed Taimanov philosophically, “I still have my music.” Read More

January 03, 1972

• The Guardian London, Greater London, England Monday, January 03, 1972 - Page 13 — Chess: Challenge for 1980 by Leonard Barden — The Alekhine Memorial Tournament in Moscow last month was the first major international event in Russia since 1967. Though the Soviet grandmasters took the top seven places, it was a limited success in view of the absence of Fischer, Larsen, Portisch, or Gligoric among the entrants from other countries. There is concern in the Soviet Union about Spassky's modest results during 1971 with the world title match against Fischer approaching Spassky lost to both Petrosian (see this feature, December 20) and to Korchnoi; only a finishing sport gave him a reasonable score of 9½ from the 13 games. A Soviet commentator wrote that “it seems that in most games of the Memorial the world champion's principal aim was training.” Moscow confirmed Fischer as the favorite for the world title match, but also indicated his most likely challenger around 1980. Anatoly Karpov, aged 20, shared first prize with Stein, ahead of four world champions, in a style reminiscent of the young Botvinnik. Karpov is the most promising Soviet player since Spassky and Tal in the middle fifties, and if he does well this week and next at Hastings it will provide a needed boost to the sagging middle-aged image of Russian chess. This week's games are a selection from Alekhine Memorial. Read More

• The Windsor Star Windsor, Ontario, Canada Monday, January 03, 1972 - Page 10 — The Game of Bluff — In a topsy-turvy world, even the austere game of chess seems to be subject to sudden change. It used to be said that chess was the Russian game just as poker was the American game. And there were good comparisons of national characteristics to back up the statement. Chess is slow-moving, ponderous, and cerebral, a contest in which the victor outthinks his opponent. Poker is swift, dependent at least in part on intuition as well as thought, and with a large bonus for successful bluffing. It was perhaps no surprise, then, that the world champion chess players for the past 23 years have all been Russians, and that the challengers have all been Russian grand masters. But now a new star, an American, has made a strong bid for world chess supremacy. He is Bobby Fischer, who at 28 defeated a Russian expert in Buenos Aires in October and is now making arrangements to meet the world champion, Russian Boris Spassky. Over the holiday weekend the two men talked by telephone, and the location for the world championship match is soon to be chosen. Fischer's victory over his last Russian opponent was so easy that some chess experts felt the Russian, at 42, was too old for more appearances in world competition. How the young American will fare against the present world champion is being debated. But the Russian passion for victory need suffer no reverses—if the world chess championship goes to an American, the Russians can always get up a world poker tournament. Read More

January 04, 1972

• New York Times, New York, New York, Tuesday, January 04, 1972 - Page 30 — Fischer and Spassky Match Draws High Cash Bids by Robert D. McFadden — The largest cash prizes in the history of tournament chess—sums up to $152,000—were offered yesterday in the international competition for the site of next summer's world championship match between Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union and Bobby Fischer of the United States. Fifteen bids from 10 nations and five cities, ranging from $40,000 from Colombia to Belgrade, Yugoslavia's, $152,000 offer, were opened at the World Chess Federation headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. In the last 30 years, the largest prize for a chess match was the $12,000 put up in Buenos Aires last October when Fischer defeated Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union for the right to meet Spassky in a 24-game world championship match.
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• The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Tuesday, January 04, 1972 - Page 2 — Sports — Boris Spassky, the world chess champion from Russia, has his followers worried following his sixth place finish in a recent tournament -- his last before defending his title against America's Bobby Fischer. ★

• The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Tuesday, January 04, 1972 - Page 37 — Belgrade Bid Tops For Chess Playoff by Isaac Kashdan — A bid of $152,000 by Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is the highest of 15 submitted as prize money for the world chess championship match between titleholder Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union and Bobby Fischer of the U.S. The winner will receive 62.5% of the prize money and the loser 37.5% in the best-of-24-games series expected to last two months starting next June. Runner-up was Argentina, with $150,000. That country hosted the match in which Fischer defeated the USSR's Tigran Petrosian, former world champion, for the right to become the challenger. The purse there was $12,000. The players have until mid-January to advise the World Chess Federation in Amsterdam of their order of preference, and after a comparison the federation will announce the site. Each player has one veto of the announced site, with the federation making the final determination. Fischer has said he would prefer the U.S. or Canada, but the highest bidder was expected to win. Other bids included Iceland, $125,000; Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, $120,000, and the Chicago Convention Bureau and Bled, Yugoslavia, each $100,000. Bidding lesser amounts were West Germany, Brazil, Holland, Montreal, Zagreb, Yugoslavia; Switzerland, Greece, France, and Colombia. Factors to be considered in the choice include playing conditions such as lighting, air conditioning, control of spectators and weather. Read More

• Lansing State Journal Lansing, Michigan Tuesday, January 04, 1972 - Page 1 — Belgrade Offers High Bid For World Chess Tournament — New York (AP) — The Yugoslavian capital of Belgrade has offered a high bid of $152,000 to be the site of next June's world championship chess match between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer. The U.S. Chess Federation disclosed Monday that 10 nations and five cities had competed in the bidding that produced the largest cash prize offers in the history of tournament chess. Fischer, who defeated Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union last fall in Buenos Aires to reach the championship round, said the bids were “not bad—they'll have to do.” He declined further comment. Belgrade's offer does not mean it will automatically be named the host city. Both Fischer and Spassky, also of the Soviet Union, will review the bids and submit their preferences. If they have the same first choices, the matter will be decided. If not, negotiations will ensue and if these prove fruitless, Dr. Max Euwe, president of the World Chess Federation will select the site, subject to one veto from each player. Other bids received were from Iceland, $125,000; Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, $120,000; Argentina, $100,000; Brazil and the Netherlands, $80,000 each; West Germany, $92,000, and Greece $52,000, among others. Winner of the 24-game championship match will receive nearly two-thirds of the total prize with the loser getting a shade over one-third. ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ Read More

• The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Tuesday, January 04, 1972 - Page 31-37 — 'I'm Still King' — Russia's Boris Spassky, the world's best chess player, comes off poor effort to face Fischer's challenge, by Harry Trimborn. Moscow— The man with the penetrating green eyes and the neat reddish-brown sideburns sat soberly as an official read off the final standings in the Alekhine Memorial Chess Tournament … (This article first appears in 1971, Guardian, December 29, 1971, No Sparks From Spassky.) ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / Read More

• Daily News New York, New York Tuesday, January 04, 1972 - Page 4 — Belgrade Bids High for Superchess — Amsterdam, Jan. 3 (Special) — Belgrade pledged today an unprecedented $152,000 jackpot in its bid to be chosen site of the forthcoming world chess championship match between Soviet defender Boris Spassky and U.S. challenger Bobby Fischer. The chess-happy Yugoslavian capital's guarantee of prize money was disclosed when Dr. Max Euwe, president of the World Chess Federation, opened 15 sealed bids from would-be hosts of the East-West showdown. All offers were unusually lucrative for a chess competition, which usually pays off more in glory. This reflected the keen worldwide interest in the colorful American contender, now 28, and his bid to end Russia's 23 years of chess supremacy. Second biggest bid was $150,000 prize money from Argentina, scene of Fischer's recent 6½-2½ triumph over Russian Tigran Petrosian. Iceland's $125,000 bid was a surprise third. The Chicago Convention Bureau's $100,000 offer was the only U.S. entry. Three other Yugoslav cities besides Belgrade were in the competition. Colombia's $40,000 jackpot was the smallest bid. Winner of the competition, which must begin not later than this June 3, will get 67.5% of the prize money; the loser's share will be 32.5%. Expenses are paid for both contestants. Since conditions other than prize money are specified in the bids, there is no assurance that Belgrade will be chosen by Brooklynite Fischer and Spassky. If they fail to agree by Feb. 1, Euwe will pick up the site. ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ Read More

• Detroit Free Press Detroit, Michigan Tuesday, January 04, 1972 - Page 24 — Belgrade Bids $152,000 For World Chess Meet — New York —(AP) — The U.S. Chess Federation disclosed Monday that bids opened in Amsterdam for the site of the Boris Spassky-Bobby Fischer world championship chess match next June showed Belgrade the highest bidder. The Yugoslavian city's $152,000 offer of prize money for the match was reported by E.B. Edmondson of the federation. FISCHER HAS SAID he would prefer a match in the United States or Canada, but the site was expected to go to the highest bidder. Fischer won the right to challenge Russia's Boris Spassky, the world champion, when he defeated Tigran Petrosian, also of the Soviet Union, in Buenos Aires last fall. He said he could not express any opinion on the bids until he had studied them further. “I like to play in the States,” he said, “but it's a question of money.” The Chicago Convention Bureau offered $100,000 — the minimum set for the biddings — as did Bled, Yugoslavia. Other bids reported by Edmondson, who said they were unprecedented, included $120,000 by Sarajevo, Yugoslavia; $125,000 by Iceland, and $150,000 by Argentina. The total amount of the successful bid will be given to the players, with the winner receiving 62.6 percent and the loser 37.5 percent. Mr. Edmondson said a total of 15 bids were opened at the World Chess Federation headquarters in Amsterdam and that copies of all bids will be sent to Mr. Spassky and Mr. Fischer. They have until mid-January to inform Dr. Max Euwe, world federation president of their order of preference. Euwe will compare the preferential list and announce the site, then each player will be allowed one veto of the announced site. Other bids received before Dec. 31 closing were from West Germany, Brazil, Netherlands, Canada, Switzerland, Greece, France, Colombia and Zagreb, Yugoslavia. ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ Read More

• The Herald-Journal Logan, Utah Tuesday, January 04, 1972 - Page 6 — Bobby Fischer Impressed: Knicks Edge Bucks In Closing Seconds: Frazier Plays Game Pros Dream About by Milton Richman —New York (UPI)— Bill Russell has seen a couple of basketball games in his time. He isn't easily impressed. Especially by what he sees on a basketball floor. What he saw Monday night at Madison Square Garden impressed him though. Tremendously. Bobby Fischer, the international chess grand master who meets Russia's Boris Spassky for the world championship soon, hasn't seen as many basketball games as Bill Russell. But he's an even tougher nut to crack. He doesn't get impressed about anything. It was different Monday night. He showed up for his first basketball game in more than five years and he was impressed, too. So were such otherwise cold cucumbers as Willis Reed, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, Oscar Robertson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. They all paid the highest praise one professional can pay another and all talked about the same man—Walt Frazier of the New York Knicks. Walt Frazier played the king of game Monday night kids like to dream about. Grown men, too. What's more he picked the perfect time. With the game nationally televised and a capacity 19,588 on hand, Frazier ran off 13 straight points in the final 2:38, collaborated with Phil Jackson in a vital heart-stopping “steal” 20 seconds from the end and wound up receiving one of the most tumultuous ovations ever accorded any athlete at Madison Square Garden for leading the Knicks to a 101-99 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in a move-like finish. “Great!” that's the only way to describe it,” said Bill Russell, on hand to do the color commentary for national TV. “The last time I ever saw anything like it was in 1958 when Bob Pettit scored 51 points in the final game of the playoffs against us (Boston). They (St. Louis) beat us and he got 19 of their last 21 points.” Bobby Fischer blinked his eyes when he saw the Knicks gain possession 20 seconds from the end with the scored tied 99-all. Earl Monroe passed off to Bill Bradley on his left. Bradley gave the ball to Frazier, who nearly lose it, but quickly regained control and began his move with eight seconds left. Frazier killed five more seconds and then with only three remaining, he hit with a jumper and the whole place went plumb mad. “You're used to complete quiet when you play,” Dave Debusschere said to Bobby Fischer in the Knicks' dressing room afterward. “What did you think?” “Very exciting,” Fischer said, giving the question proper thought before answering. “What did you think of Frazier?” someone else asked the blond chess whiz. “Extraordinary,” Fischer said, much more quickly this time. “Fantastic,” put in DeBusschere. “He was just incredible at the end.” Willis Reed, sitting on the Knicks' bench with tendonitis, called Frazier's performance “unbelievable” and Monroe remarked “It's getting so you sort of expect it from him.” Oscar Robertson, who vainly tried to keep Frazier from getting off his game-winning shot, said, “You can't take it away from him, he played a great game” and Jabbar agreed “he hit some tough shots there at the end.” Tough wasn't really the word.
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• Chicago Tribune Chicago, Illinois Tuesday, January 04, 1972 - Page 19 — Belgrade Tops Chess Site Bids by Joseph Zullo — New York, Jan. 3—The United States Chess Federation disclosed today that Belgrade has entered the highest bid for the world championship chess match next June between Bobby Fischer, 28, the American champion, and Boris Spassky, 34, of the Soviet Union. Fischer said tonight he would have to “wait and see” before deciding whether to accept the $152,000 offered in prize money by the Yugoslavian city.
  Will “Wait and See” Fischer said he would first confer with Col. E.B. Edmondson, head of the United States Chess Federation, on details of the bids made by various countries to stage the world match. Earlier in the day Edmondson said bids opened in Amsterdam for the privilege of staging the world match showed that Belgrade's bid was the highest. Other high bids reported by Edmondson, who said they were unprecedented, were $150,000 by Buenos Aires, $125,000 by Iceland and $120,000 by Yugoslavia. In Buenos Aires, however, Carlos Gomez, secretary general, of the Argentina Chess Federation, disputed the announcement that Buenos Aires was second in the bidding with $150,000. His federation offered $100,000, he said, and “I myself sent the cable offering this figure.” The Chicago Convention Bureau offered $100,000. Fischer, reached in the Park-Sheraton Hotel, said that among the considerations he would take up with Edmondson are “other factors, such as subsidiary benefits.” He refused to elaborate until he had spoken to Edmondson. Under established rules, the winner of the match will get 62.5 per cent of the purse and the loser 37.5 per cent. If the $152,000 bid is accepted, the winner would get $95,000 the loser $57,000. Both the U.S. Chess Federation and its Soviet counterpart must agree to the match site, but presumably the highest bidder will get the match. The deadline for agreement is Feb. 1. Fischer, who was born in Chicago and reared in Brooklyn, won the right to challenge Spassky, who has held the world championship since 1969, by defeating Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union in Buenos Aires last fall. Petrosian is a former champion.
  Confident of Victory Fischer is on record as saying he would play Spassky “regardless of the site,” adding that although he wants the money, he wants “the title even more.” Should Fischer win the 24-game match, he would become the first American chess champion. He is the first American challenger since the championships were instituted in 1866 when Wilhelm Steinitz of Austria defeated Adolf Andersen of Germany. Since 1951 all the champions and challengers have been Soviet players. Read More

• Deseret News Salt Lake City, Utah Tuesday, January 04, 1972 - Page 20 — Dick Cavett Show — Sandy Duncan, Ralph Nader and chess champion Bobby Fischer; Channel 4, 11:30 p.m.

January 05, 1972

• The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Wednesday, January 05, 1972 - Page 4 — Yugoslav Bid For Spassky-Fischer Duel — New York, Tuesday. — A record $US 152,000 in prize-money has been offered to chess giants Boris Spassky of Russia and Bobby Fischer of the United States if they hold their world championship contest in Yugoslavia. According to the U.S. Chess Federation, the bid from Belgrade topped 14 others from eleven countries. The U.S. Chess Federation's spokesman, Mr. E. B. Edmondson, said Argentina had offered U.S. $150,000 [(Argentina corrected this, stating the offer was for 100k)] Iceland $US 125,000, and Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, $US 120,000. Spassky is the reigning world champion and Fischer, the young American chess genius, is the first non-Soviet challenger in nearly 25 years. Fischer had said he would prefer to play in the United States or Canada, but the only North American bids were from Chicago and Montreal. Each was believed to have offered $US 100,000 — the minimum bid admissible. Fischer is a hero in Yugoslavia and Spassky is reportedly not keen to play there. Fischer has already said he does not want to play in Russia.—Derryn Hinch. Read More

• The Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wednesday, January 05, 1972 - Page 10 — A Real Pro — American chess champion Bobby Fischer, when asked about possible sites for his world title match next June against Boris Spassky, the defending champion, was not at a loss for words. “For me the first and the most important thing is money,” Fischer said. “Climate comes second. I repeat, money is most important.” Well, it sounds as though chess is at last on its way to becoming a major sport — right up there with football, basketball and baseball. ★ / ★ Read More

January 06, 1972

• Press and Sun-Bulletin Binghamton, New York Thursday, January 06, 1972 - Page 8 — Chess King Fischer Said 'Mercenary' — Moscow (AP) — The Soviet Union's leading sports newspaper today accused U.S. chess master Bobby Fischer of a mercenary attitude toward his match against Russia's Boris Spassky for the world crown. Sovietsky Sport charged Fischer with “anarchy” and “disrespect” because he said he would only meet Spassky in a city that offered to pay them enough. The paper's chess commentator, A. Roshal, expressed fear that Fischer's demands will force the world chess community to raise the stakes at future international competitions. “Other players will probably share his point of view—to see chess primarily as a means of enrichment,” Roshal wrote. He said Fischer was putting money before the game and thus “inflicts damage on the art of chess.” Roshal also complained that Fischer ruled out Moscow as the site of the championship match. “It is unjust that the International Chess Federation did not stipulate the match should be held in the reigning champion's motherland,” he added. To date, Belgrade has put up the highest big with $152,000. Spassky has said that if he cannot play in Moscow, he would prefer a Scandinavian site where the climate is close to that of his native Leningrad. ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ Read More

• New York Times, New York, New York, Thursday, January 06, 1972 - Page 34 — Chess: Handing Fischer a Move Is Hardly a Prudent Idea by Al Horowitz — The Center Counter Game, below, in which Bobby Fischer met Karl Robatsch, an international master and former Austrian champion, was played at the Varna Olympiad of 1962. Right from the start, after the first move, 1. P-K4 P-Q4, White and Black engaged in an exchange. Much more than material was swapped. There were tangibles against intangibles—force, time and space.
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• The Herald-News Passaic, New Jersey Thursday, January 06, 1972 - Page 20 — Chess Goes Big Time — The prospect of prize money of $150,000 or more for the coming world championship chess match between the U.S.'s charismatic star, Bobby Fischer, and the current titleholder, Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, makes one thing abundantly plain: chess can no longer be laughed off as a funny game for little old Europeans. Just as Joe Namath's $400,000 bonus for signing with the Jets made the turnstiles click, so the largest chess prize in history is bound to turn on people whose knowledge of the game is slight. Even Fischer, who has said often in interviews since he started his climb towards the championship match that he was interested in money and the more the better, professed himself not displeased. The prize money bids offered by 15 difference cities in 10 nations were “not bad,” he said, adding that anyway, “they'll have to do.” The top offer of $152,000 came from Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Other high offers were $100,000 by Argentina, site of last October's semi-final between Fischer and Tigran Petrosian of the U.S.S.R.; $125,000 by Iceland, $120,000 by Sarajevo, Yugoslavia; $100,000 by Bled, Yugoslavia, and $100,000 by the Chicago Convention Bureau. The Chicago offer is expected to be ruled out by Spassky, since each player has the right to reject any site in his opponent's homeland. The glamour of the Fischer-Spassky title match is dramatized by the fact that in the last 30 years the highest cash prize on record was the $12,000 put up by Buenos Aires for last October's Fischer-Petrosian semifinal. There will now be negotiations between the players' representatives before the site is finally selected. Each will submit preferences to the World Chess Federation's president, Dr. Max Euwe, by mid-January. If their top preferences are the same, the choice will be decided. If they are not, negotiations will follow. If they still can't agree, Dr. Euwe will make the decision, subject to one veto by each player. Of the total prize, 67½ per cent goes to the winner, or about $100,000. The loser will get 32½ per cent, or about $50,000. Funny game for little old Europeans? Forget it! Read More

January 07, 1972

• The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Friday, January 07, 1972 - Page 34 — Chess: Suttles-Spassky Game Replayed by Al Horowitz — The world titleholder Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, and Bobby Fischer of New York, the American challenger for the world championship, will meet in a match before the end of June. Belgrade was the highest bidder for the match, and it likely will be held there. Below is a game played by Spassky against Duncan Suttles, the Canadian champion in the Canadian Open at Vancouver last year […] In the United States chess championship of 1963-64, Fischer met Grandmaster Pal Benko, also in a Pirc Defense. Fischer giving free rein to his imagination, made short shrift of the defensive barrier. A sacrifice of material made the hostile king an easy target and a rook offer pinpointed the Black king until White invaded perforce. Read More

• New York Times, New York, New York, Friday, January 07, 1972 - Page 39 — Fischer Due to Take On 20 In New Rochelle on Sunday — Bobby Fischer, who will play a match for the world chess championship with Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union before the end of June, is scheduled for a simultaneous exhibition against 20 selected members of the Westchester Shore Chess Club at 3 P.M. Sunday. The games will be played in the community room of the National Bank of Westchester in New Rochelle. The arrangements were made by Harry Klein, president of the club, and Rosser Reeves of the American Chess Foundation, who is president of the Manhattan Chess Club. Read More

• The Pittsburgh Press Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Friday, January 07, 1972 - Page 26 — Our White House Coach — Things will really get serious, though, when Mr. Nixon takes a direct hand in the coming world championship chess match between Bobby Fischer of the United States and Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. Imagine this scenerio unfolding: Lights burn late at the White House. Finally he messages Mr. Fischer; “Use Sicilian Defense against Spassky.” Communications being what they are these days, the message goes to the U.S. Sixth Fleet. The admirals, who don't play chess, assume that Spassky is the new Soviet cruiser that has been bugging them. They reach for the contingency plan, code-named Sicilian Defense. It calls for bottling up the Soviet navy in the Mediterranean. Much unpleasantness follows… Read More

January 08, 1972

• The Miami Herald Miami, Florida Saturday, January 08, 1972 - Page 114 — A Cheque-Mate For Bobby — It is written that “cricket is a game which the English, not being a spiritual people, have invented to give themselves some conception of eternity.” These words come to mind at the flap in Moscow over the alleged mercenary tendencies of U.S. chess master Bobby Fischer. The Russians say that Bobby won't meet their champ for the world's checkmate crown unless some city pays them enough to perform. One bid is in — Belgrade's — and we're at a loss to understand why. Chess probably was invented in India, where the people have some time on their hands. There and everywhere it's a game of great skill, but it's awfully slow going. What the TV rights worth at $20,000 and upwards a minute? Not much, we'd say, unless that is the price for mass treatment of insomnia. ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ Read More

• Philadelphia Daily News Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Saturday, January 08, 1972 - Page 12 — Before the Yugoslav bid of $152,000 for the world championship chess match between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer, NBC's Dick Schapp asked Fischer if he would accept Russia as a site for the match. Fischer insisted: “Absolutely not. I could never play my best there.” Schapp wanted to know “what could they do to you to upset your play?” The tight-lipped Fischer replied: “Well, for one thing, a maid would call me every morning at 6 to tell me my laundry was ready.”
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• The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Saturday, January 08, 1972 - Page 16 — They're All Playing Chess from Robert Darroch in London —Suddenly everybody's playing—of all things—chess. Sales of chess sets are booming, shooting up 20 per cent in the United Sets over the past six months. And in Britain chess club membership lists are filled. The most obvious reason for this upsurge of interest in one of the world's oldest games can be given in two words: Bobby Fischer. His campaign to wrest the world chess championship from the bear-like grip of the Russians (who have had a monopoly of it for over a generation) is attracting the sort of interest normally reserved for Wimbledon or the Olympic Games. When blind, blue-eyed Fischer played “Tiger” Petrosian, the Russian former world champion in Buenos Aires recently, their every move was avidly followed by the world's 60 million chess players. And when Fischer triumphed, winning the right to face the world champion, Boris Spassky, the news made front pages all over the world. Already dozens of cities in Europe and South America are clamoring to be the venue for the “match of the century” between 28-year-old Fischer and 34-year-old Spassky scheduled for next year. Favorites at the moment are Rio de Janeiro; Brazil; Bogota, Colombia; and Zurich, Switzerland.
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January 09, 1972

• St. Louis Post-Dispatch St. Louis, Missouri Sunday, January 09, 1972 - Page 18 — Russians Call Bobby Fischer Mercenary — Moscow, Jan. 8 (UPI)—The newspaper Sovietsky Sport criticized American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer this week for wanting to play where he will be paid most. A commentary by A. Roshal cited a recent interview by a Yugoslav grandmaster in which Fischer reportedly said, “Money is the most important part (of chess) for me.” Sovietsky Sport said, “Fischer has a rare talent and his selfless efforts have made him capable of building a brilliant chess game. “It goes without saying that an artist's job is paid at all times. But the paradox of Fischer, who is worshiping the golden calf, is that by making moves he puts money in first place.” The newspaper called this “a lack of respect for the traditional spirit of sports competition.” Fischer will play world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union for the world title later this year. A site for the match has not been chosen. Read More

• The San Francisco Examiner San Francisco, California Sunday, January 09, 1972 - Page 188 — Chess for Cash — “FISCHER MAGIC” some chess fans called it. Bobby Fischer, the 28-year-old American high school dropout who will play the Soviet Union's World Champion Boris Spassky 24 games for the championship sometime this year, calls it simply, “money.” Ten nations and 5 cities (4 of them in Yugoslavia) had bid for the two-month long championship match. Highest cash prizes offered (67½ per cent to the winner) in the last 30 years was the $12,000 paid in Buenos Aires last October where Fischer beat Tigran Petrosian for the right to meet Spassky. Top bid this time was an eye-popping $152,000 from Belgrade, Yugoslavia … (Argentina retracted the reported error that it had bid $100K - Chicago Times). But both Fischer and Spassky could make their own choices from the list, then dicker for a final match site. Read More

• The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, January 09, 1972 - Page 111 — Chess by Isaac Kashdan: $152,000 Bid For World Title Match — For the first time in its long history, chess has advanced from an intellectual pastime to big business. A record sum of $152,000 was bid by Belgrade, Yugoslavia as the prize for the world championship match between titleholder Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union and American chess genius Bobby Fischer. Bids were submitted by 12 countries in three continents, indicating the tremendous world wide interest in the coming encounter, which is expected to start late in June and probably last for two months. Argentina was runner-up in the financial race with $100,000 (Argentina corrected this error reported in the press, having bid only $100k). The recent match between Fischer and former world champion Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union was held in Buenos Aires, and the Argentines are evidently ready for more. Fischer won the match by a score of 6½-2½, the culmination of a magnificent series of victories that earned him the status of official challenger for the championship. The purse then was $12,000, of which Fischer received $7,500 and Petrosian $4,500. Other major bids were $125,000 by Iceland and $120,00 by Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. The former is a particular surprise, since Iceland had not previously been involved in major chess events. The Chicago Convention Bureau offered $100,000 to stage the match, as did Bled, Yugoslavia. The players had agreed, however, not the play in either the U.S.A. or the U.S.S.R. The Soviets did not make a bid. Other amounts offered were: West Germany, $92,000; Brazil and Holland, $80,000; Montreal, Canada, $75,000; Zagreb, Yugoslavia, $70,000; Switzerland, $60,000; Greece, $52,000; France, $50,000 and Colombia, $40,000. The winner of the match with receive $62.5% of the total, and the loser 37.5%. They will play a maximum of 24 games, with 12½ points required for victory. In the event of a tie, Spassky will retain the title. The bids had to be submitted by Dec. 31 to the International Chess Federation, and can no longer be changed. Other essential factors also had to be submitted at the same time, including the exact playing site, lighting, air conditioning, control of spectators and probable weather during the match. The next step, to be completed by Jan. 15, is for Fischer and Spassky to list their choices in priority order and notify Dr. Max Euwe of Amsterdam, Holland, president of the federation. Dr. Euwe will then compare the lists and announce the site. Each player may still veto one choice, with the federation making the final determination. Read More

• Sunday Gazette-Mail Charleston, West Virginia Sunday, January 09, 1972 - Page 29 — Chess by Edward M. Foy — Following Robert Fischer's decisive defeat of Tigran Petrosian last Fall, a player in Moscow's Central Chess Club was heard to remark, hopefully, “But we've still got Spassky,” True. But the results of the recently completed Alekhine Memorial Tournament in Moscow might raise the question, So what? […] Spassky, meanwhile, could do no better than tie (with Mikhail Tal) for sixth position, one-half point behind Petrosian and one-half point ahead of the only American in the event, Robert Byrne. Vlastimil Hort and David Bronstein also equaled Byrne's 9 to 8 performance. V. Savon, the new USSR champion, tied for 12th place. Incidentally, Spassky lost to both Petrosian and Korchnoi. In spite of the Alekhine Memorial, Moscow, 1971, however Boris Spassky is still the chess champion of the world and he will be the most formidable opponent Robert Fischer ever faced—when these two grandmasters square off for their title match in the Spring. Referring once more to the Alekhine Memorial tournament, it should not be overlooked that Grandmaster Robert Byrne turned a more-than-creditable performance. Byrne's FIDE rating (2510) was better than that of only one of the 18 contestants, L. Lengyel—who finished in last place! For that matter, Karpov's 2540 rating was surpassed by 13 of the 18 players. Read More

January 10, 1972

Businessman Bobby Favors High Bidder Mon, Jan 10, 1972 – 11 · The Province (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) · Newspapers.com

• The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Monday, January 10, 1972 - Page 11 — In Choosing the Championship Site… Businessman Bobby Favors High Bidder by Alden Whitman, New York Times — NEW YORK—Bobby Fischer, the 28-year-old American chess wizard, would like it best if a U.S. city were the high bidder for next spring's world title match with Boris Spassky, 34, of the Soviet Union. In an interview here, he said, his second choice would be Canada. Eight bids for the match had been received as the deadline approached for offers to put up $100,000 or more for the purse, the biggest chess prize ever. Bids had been submitted by Canada, France, Iceland, Israel, Switzerland and Yugoslavia, which sent in two offers. A last-minute bid came from Brooklyn on Wednesday. The winner is to get 62.5 per cent of the purse and 37.5 per cent will go to the loser. After the bids are unsealed, both the United States Chess federation and its Soviet counterpart must agree on the match site. Presumably the highest bidder will win the match. The deadline for this accord is February 1. “I'd like to play in the United States because I'm used to the climate and the people and the lighting is better,” Fischer said, adding, with an enigmatic laugh: “But I wouldn't want to play in Brooklyn. Some other American city, but not Brooklyn.” The Brooklyn-bred Fischer did not elaborate, but he is accustomed to playing his matches in such metropolitan centres as Buenos Aires and Belgrade. He earned the right to challenge Spassky, who has held the world championship since 1969, by defeating Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union in Buenos Aires last fall. Petrosian is a former champion. “I'll play Spassky regardless (of the site),” Fischer said. “I want the money and I want the title even more.” The money, he added, is very important (“I've plenty of ways to spend it”) because “chess is my business.” Fischer believes his chances of taking the world title are good. “I'm looking forward to the match.” he said. “I'm definitely confident that I'll master Spassky.” Should Fischer win the 24-game match, he would become the first American world chess champion. As it is, he is the first American challenger since the championships were instituted in 1866. Since 1951, all the champions and challengers have been Soviet players. Although Fischer is accounted young at 28, he will not, if wins, be the youngest champion. Mikhail Tal of the Soviet Union was 23 when he gained the title in 1960. Fischer will be 29 on March 9. ★ Read More

• The Herald-News Passaic, New Jersey Monday, January 10, 1972 - Page 11 — Cry of 'Checkmate, Comrade' Spurs Sales of Chess Sets by David M. Levine, Herald-News Staff Writer — What can a lanky 28-year-old high school dropout do for the American economy? Just ask the hundreds of North Jersey businessmen about one of the most popular games sold over the past few months. It's chess. And the young man cited for the surge in set sales is Bobby Fischer, whose upcoming match with Russian Boris Spassky is seen as something of an international political confrontation. “It's getting to be a very patriotic thing to do,” laughed one variety store owner who did not want to be identified. “That Fischer guy is doing a lot — everybody seems to be buying them.” The image that chess is reserved for society's intellectuals is diminishing and Fischer's victory over Russia's Tigran Petrosian in Buenos Aires has been credited with giving a spark of life to the game whose popularity was thought to be on the decline. The United States Chess Federation of New York reports an 18 per center increase in membership. And it currently boasts 450 affiliated clubs, up from 225 in 1970. Membership in the 95-year-old Manhattan Chess Club has almost doubled to 300 during the latter half of last year. The club, officials say, has been forced to move to larger, more elaborate quarters, but already needs more rooms. Locally, chess is growing in popularity among North Jersey students. The Passaic-Clifton YMCA chess club meets twice weekly and has been successful in attracting new members. The team is forging to the front in the struggle for leadership of the North Jersey Chess League, consisting of 12 teams which compete against other leagues for championship titles. A spokesman for the Joseph Rosenberg Co., 216 Madison St., Passaic, pointed out a 50 per cent increase in set sales during 1971, as compared to 1970. Players are buying fancy hand-carved French sets — selling from $6.75 to $25 each — but cheaper $5.95 sets remain popular too. “Bobby Fischer sure has done a lot for chess merchandising,” the Rosenberg spokesman said. But the picture is not entirely rosy. Joseph Myers, manager of J. & L. Meyers department store in Montclair, said there has been no increase in chess set sales in response to Bobby Fischer's new-found popularity, “But,” he added, “the $1.19 sets have experienced generally good sales during the year.” William McCloskey, assistant manager of J.C. Penney department store in Dover said he had 60 sets in stock one week several months ago and they were quickly sold out. “It's not a big seller normally, but we have plans to bring in more sets.” And a sales manager at the W.T. Grant Co. department store at Clifton plaza said that he could have used more than the 48 or so sets in stock during the Christmas shopping season. He said the sets were just slightly more expensive than a checker game so the store didn't push chess set sales. Many manufacturers have been working overtime in producing sets to meet hefty demands from around the country. Rossolimo Chess Studio of New York noted a 10 per cent rise in sales last year. And Cardinal Industries Inc., also of New York, turned out about one million sets, 10 per cent more than in 1970. In the meantime, chess is in the process of shaking its snobbish image while manufactures pat the young man from Brooklyn on the back for breathing new life into an old game. Read More

• The Bangor Daily News Bangor, Maine Monday, January 10, 1972 - Page 8 — These Are Big-Money Times — Chess is an ancient and honorable game — a fascinating test for those with the brains and patience to play it well. But apparently today's star players have succumbed to the same fever that afflicts star athletes — a surging desire to cash in on their talents. America's new chess champion, youthful Bobby Fischer of Brooklyn, is to meet Soviet champion Boris Spassky this year for the world title. He recently said that the site of the tournament would depend upon which city in the world would put up the most money for the honor of playing host. “For me, the first and most important thing is money,” Bobby said in a recent interview. Well, it appears that he and his Russian rival are going to reap some money — a lot of money. While the site has not been decided, formally designation, Belgrade offered a top bid of $152,000. Argentina said it would put up $100,000 if the match were held in that country, including one from Iceland. (Iceland? Brrrr!) Chicago's convention bureau made the highest U.S. Bid — $100,000. The money is to be divided by the players; 62.5 percent for the winner and 37.5 for the loser. Not a bad week's work, or however long it takes to play a world title match. We're not being critical of Bobby. Not when a man can get $100,000 a year for hitting baseballs over the fence, for dunking little white balls into holes and for throwing footballs or carrying them. We just find it interesting that chess players are getting into the money act. ★ Read More

• The Miami Herald Miami, Florida Monday, January 10, 1972 - Page 149 — The Communists sometimes seem so really naive. Now they're calling chessmaster Bobby Fischer an anarchist because he wants higher and higher bids for a world championship match with Boris Spassky. Belgrade has offered $152,000; Bobby thinks the ante should be raised. The Russians say that he should think of the game first, money afterward. However, masters of chess have to eat, and Fischer has a bigger appetite than a heavyweight wrestler. ★ / ★ Read More

January 11, 1972

Robert James Fischer heads out as an invited guest to David Frost's Bermuda “Lunch Getaway,” January 11, 1972. Original b/w photo by Guy DeLort/WWD/Penske Media. For fair use, all credits must be kept intact. Color photo version created by the developer (me, yours truly) of https://bobby-fischer-1972.blogspot.com/ https://www.gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/bobby-fischer-participates-in-david-frosts-lunch-getaway-to-news-photo/1448597089

Robert James Fischer plays tennis during David Frost's Bermuda “Lunch Getaway” Jan. 11, 1972. Original b/w photo from the Fairchild Archive/WWD/Penske Media. For fair use, all credits must be kept intact. Color photo version created by the developer (me, yours truly) of https://bobby-fischer-1972.blogspot.com/ https://www.gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/bobby-fischer-plays-tennis-during-david-frosts-lunch-news-photo/1469007966

Robert James Fischer plays tennis during David Frost's Bermuda “Lunch Getaway” Jan. 11, 1972. Original b/w photo from the Fairchild Archive/WWD/Penske Media. For fair use, all credits must be kept intact. Color photo version created by the developer (me, yours truly) of https://bobby-fischer-1972.blogspot.com/ https://www.gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/bobby-fischer-plays-tennis-during-david-frosts-lunch-news-photo/1469007776

Robert James Fischer plays tennis during David Frost's Bermuda “Lunch Getaway” Jan. 11, 1972. Original b/w photo from the Fairchild Archive/WWD/Penske Media. For fair use, all credits must be kept intact. Color photo version created by the developer (me, yours truly) of https://bobby-fischer-1972.blogspot.com/ https://www.gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/bobby-fischer-plays-tennis-during-david-frosts-lunch-news-photo/1469006011

Robert James Fischer plays tennis during David Frost's Bermuda “Lunch Getaway” Jan. 11, 1972. Original b/w photo from the Fairchild Archive/WWD/Penske Media. For fair use, all credits must be kept intact. Color photo version created by the developer (me, yours truly) of https://bobby-fischer-1972.blogspot.com/ https://www.gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/bobby-fischer-plays-tennis-during-david-frosts-lunch-news-photo/1448596967

Robert James Fischer plays tennis during David Frost's Bermuda “Lunch Getaway” Jan. 11, 1972. Original b/w photo from the Fairchild Archive/WWD/Penske Media. For fair use, all credits must be kept intact. Color photo version created by the developer (me, yours truly) of https://bobby-fischer-1972.blogspot.com/ https://www.gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/bobby-fischer-plays-tennis-during-david-frosts-lunch-news-photo/1448596964

Robert James Fischer plays tennis during David Frost's Bermuda “Lunch Getaway” Jan. 11, 1972. Original b/w photo from the Fairchild Archive/WWD/Penske Media. For fair use, all credits must be kept intact. Color photo version created by the developer (me, yours truly) of https://bobby-fischer-1972.blogspot.com/ https://www.gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/bobby-fischer-plays-tennis-during-david-frosts-lunch-news-photo/1448596090

Robert James Fischer plays tennis during David Frost's Bermuda “Lunch Getaway” Jan. 11, 1972. Original b/w photo from the Fairchild Archive/WWD/Penske Media. For fair use, all credits must be kept intact. Color photo version created by the developer (me, yours truly) of https://bobby-fischer-1972.blogspot.com/ https://www.gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/bobby-fischer-plays-tennis-during-david-frosts-lunch-news-photo/1448596059

January 13, 1972

• The Miami Herald Miami, Florida Thursday, January 13, 1972 - Page 138 — Letters To The Editor: Champion Chess Game Won't Be Slow Going — The comments made in your Jan. 8 editorial concerning your “loss to understand why” Yugoslavia has made a bid for the forthcoming World Chess Championship Match between Boris Spassky of the USSR, the present world champion, and Bobby Fischer, of the United States, are not entirely objective. Obviously, you are not a chess aficionado and you are not familiar with the overwhelming foreign press and TV coverage (by satellite) of important chess events such as that given Bobby Fischer's recent crushing defeat of the Russian number two grandmaster, Tigran Petrosian, recently at Buenos Aires. During this match, TV viewers around the world, with the exception of the United States, saw a game-by-game and move-by-move commentary as did newspaper readers in every country in Europe who followed the news on their front pages. This event is of momentous interest to chess players the world over for it makes the first time in more than 100 years that an American champion has emerged who has earned the right to challenge a grandmaster with the stature of the present world champion, Boris Spassky, the man who is the greatest chess player of a nation of 10 million chess players. Consequently, how could such an event, which nations such as Chile, Argentina and even Iceland are bidding in the six-figures to attract, be as you say “awfully slow going,” when it involves a 28 year old capitalist upstart by the name of Bobby Fischer who is favored to become the next world title holder? - Robert Tralins ★ / ★ Read More

• The Lawton Constitution Lawton, Oklahoma Thursday, January 13, 1972 - Page 12 — Chess Comes Into Own — Fifteen bids from 10 nations and five cities, ranging from $40,000 from Colombia and $152,000 from Belgrade, Yugoslavia, for the tournament to decide the world championship of chess, shows that the game has come into its own. The decision is up to Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, the champion, and Bobby Fischer of the United States, the challenger. The purse is still far short of boxing's million dollar gates. ★ / ★ Read More

January 14, 1972

• New York Times, New York, New York Friday, January 14, 1972 - Page 40 — Off to Bermuda -- for a Bite of Lunch by Charlotte Curtis, NY Times News Service — David Frost took 60 of his better friends to lunch the other day. In Bermunda … Then came Bobby Fischer, the chess champion … [Carl B.] Stokes talked politics. Fischer huddled with Joseph Kraft, the political columnist. “I don't know much about politics,” Mr. Fischer confided. “In fact, I don't know many of these people. … Clive Barnes stretched out on the grass. Mr. Fischer played tennis.… ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ Read More

January 15, 1972

Chess champion Bobby Fischer and entertainer David Frost talking while travelling on an airplane. © Michael Mauney/Time Inc. Images are there denoted with express permission granted for personal, non-commercial use only. For fair use, all credits should be kept intact. https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/eAFUxG4kUytLaw?hl=en

• The Morning Call Allentown, Pennsylvania Saturday, January 15, 1972 - Page 12 — Profit Snafu Perils World Chess Match — Belgrade (AP) — The bank sponsoring Yugoslavia's $125,000 bid for the Fischer-Spassky world championship chess match threatened to withdraw its offer Friday because it said the World Chess Federation reneged on a deal for the profits. Petar Besaraba, director of the Yugoslav Export and Credit Bank, said Belgrade offered $2,000 more than any other city on the understanding Belgrade would retain all profits. Now the chess group was saying income from television coverage would have to be split four ways: between the sponsor, the chess association and the two players, Besaraba complained. Besaraba said on the chess association's terms American challenger Bobby Fischer and Russia's reigning world champion, Boris Spassky, would certainly get more money, but the sponsoring bank would go in the hole. Dr. Max Euwe, president of the chess association, was expected in Belgrade this weekend for talks with the bank. The match is to be played in the first half of this year. ★ / ★ Read More

• The Times Shreveport, Louisiana Saturday, January 15, 1972 - Page 6 — David Frost Lunch Guests Are a Curious Fraternity by Clive Irving — New York — What do these people have in common … chess wizard Bobby Fischer … On the plane home Bobby Fischer devastated all comers with a pocket chess set … ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★

• The Greenwood Commonwealth Greenwood, Mississippi Saturday, January 15, 1972 - Page 4 — Bobby Fischer's triumphs have stimulated new interest in chess — and new awareness among the novices that this ancient game is more than fun and games.

January 17, 1972

• New York Times, New York, New York Monday, January 17, 1972 - Page 28 — Chess: Fischer Shutout in Simultaneous by Al Horowitz — America's top chess player, Bobby Fischer of New York, scored a shutout in a simultaneous exhibition at the Westchester Shore Chess Club on Jan. 9, when he defeated all 20 opponents in 46 minutes, averaging a fraction above two minutes a game. Read More

January 18, 1972

• The Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tuesday, January 18, 1972 - Page 2 — Fischer No Genius, Russian Says — Tigran Petrosian, the former world chess champion from the Soviet Union, said American world title contender Bobby Fischer was no genius. But he refused to speculate on the outcome of the next world title match. Fischer, of Brooklyn, defeated Petrosian 6.5 to 2.5 when they met in Buenos Aires late last year for the right to play present champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. The site of the match this spring has not been chosen. Petrosian said in an interview by the official Yugoslav news agency Tanjug that he felt Fischer “is certainly not a genius.” But asked to speculate on the outcome of the spring title match with Spassky, Petrosian would say only, “It is important to play—not to win.” ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ Read More

January 20, 1972

• The Daily Times Salisbury, Maryland Thursday, January 20, 1972 - Page 14 — From the Sidelines: Check and Mate by Rick Cullen, Times Sports Editor — The call is placed to the Park - Sheraton Hotel in New York City. The telephone in room 2267 rings three times before there is an answer. “Hellllllooo,” answers the victim of the early (9 a.m.) call. After explaining my business and purpose for calling, Bobby Fischer reluctantly agrees to a brief interview. And brief it was — as if he were paying for the call. In almost any other country, Bobby Fischer would be rated a genuine sports hero on a par with Joe Namath, Ted Williams or Jerry West. But in this country, outside of a few blurbs in the newspapers and a spread in Life, Bobby Fischer is virtually unknown. Mysterious and controversial, famous and infamous, one-time child prodigy and current U.S. chess champion, Fischer lives in hotel and motel rooms. He has no permanent residence, even though he was born [in Chicago] and raised in Brooklyn. Some time before June 30, he will challenge the reigning world chess champion, Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, for the title. The date the time and the place has not yet been determined. There is little doubt that at age 28, Bobby Fischer is one of the best chess players in the world. Before meeting Tigran Petrosian for a match that ended recently, Fischer had won 20 straight games, most of them against fellow grandmasters. This is an incredible feat; it would be compared to bowling 20 straight 300 games or pitching 20 consecutive no-hitters. In Argentina, where the Petrosian-Fischer match was held, fans lined up for tickets 12 hours before match time. The enthusiasm is everywhere except the U.S. How does Fischer feel about the lack of interest in chess in this country. “I think its pathetic. Everywhere in the world chess is regarded highly, but not here. I don't suspect it will ever really catch on here, even if I do become the champion.” Fischer feels chess is a national sport and should be recognized. “I feel its comparable to basketball. Basketball players pass the ball around until they find an opening. Like chess, like the mating attack.” He also believes a champion chess player must be in top physical condition. You have to concentrate in a tournament for five hours at a time, day after day. And when there's an adjournment, he said, you've gotta stay up late analyzing strategy. The tension and the need for stamina are brutal. One mental lapse and you're through. At the age of 40, he said, most chess players are over the hill. Just can't hack the strain. “Are we about through?” Just a couple more questions please. “OK, but get on with them.” At what age did you first become interested in chess? “Six.” Understand you are a high school dropout. Why? “Why what?” Why did you drop out of school? “The tournament demands became too pressing. Are we about through?” Any plans for retirement? “Retirement! What could I do if I quit playing chess. No way. Are you through now? I was up all night and don't feel like an interview this morning — especially at this hour.” CLICK! Read More

• The Central New Jersey Home News New Brunswick, New Jersey Thursday, January 20, 1972 - Page 4 — Chess Summit Is Threatened — Belgrade, Yugoslavia (AP) — Belgrade threatened Wednesday to cancel its offer to host the Fischer-Spassky chess summit in protest against “flagrant violation” of the bidding terms. The Export and Credit bank of Belgrade and the Chess League of Serbia—sponsors for the city of Belgrade—outbid all other world and Yugoslav would-be organizers of the match. The contest pits challenger Robert Fischer of the United States against world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. But a second round of bidding ensued when other potential candidates pitched in with offers to relinquish income expected from television and film royalties in connection with the match—something Belgrade organizers calculated on keeping for themselves. In a statement here Wednesday the Belgrade sponsors said bidding should have terminated Jan. 3, when Belgrade was proclaimed the top bidder in Amsterdam. However, FIDE (the world chess federation) was reported seeking a possible share of television rights income for itself and the two players. The Yugoslav Chess Federation lodged a protest charging “flagrant violation of the initial terms of bidding.” ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ Read More

• The Pittsburgh Press Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Thursday, January 20, 1972 - Page 34 — (CRITIC) Chess as a Sport — Chess master Bobby Fischer insists that his game is a sport. “You've got to be in top condition to play chess,” Fischer insists. “The tension and need for stamina are brutal.” — Hmmm! We'd like to see Fischer try 48 minutes of pro basketball or eight minutes of collegiate wrestling and still make those statements. [Edit: Likewise. The critic should test his/her physical and mental stamina during a month-long, top level championship chess tournament.] Read More

January 21, 1972

• Oakland Tribune Oakland, California Friday, January 21, 1972 - Page 16 — David Frost Show — [IMDB (contradictory dates) TV ] — Guests include chess champion Bobby Fischer, Peter Graves, Richard Roundtree, Jim Bailey and consumer activists Lola Redford and Ilene Goldman. Channels 5; 46; 4:30 p.m. ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★

• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Friday, January 21, 1972 - Page 23 — Where Pittsburgh Chess Mates Gather by Mike Kalina — …In addition to sponsoring many local tournaments, the chess club also invites chess luminaries here to engage in simultaneous exhibitions with area players. Bobby Fischer, the U.S. chess whiz who soon will be competing for the world championship, played here a few years ago thanks to the backing of the Pittsburgh Chess Club. And he walked away with 154 victories out of a possible 155. “Fischer is quite a player,” said one chess club member, not prone to overstatement, “and we here at the club feel that he is going to win the world title.” If, indeed, he does, he will be the first chess shark to take the world championship trophy out of the Soviet Union since 1937. The chess club also has a library for its members (more books have been written on chess than on all other games combined) and also publishes a house organ called “En Passant” — which is French for “in passing”, a certain chess move. Read More

January 22, 1972

• Sioux City Journal Sioux City, Iowa Saturday, January 22, 1972 - Page 1 — Chess Match — During the last year, I have become one of millions across the country to discover the fun and excitement of chess. In the last two years, there has been a tremendous rise in the number of chess players in the United States. As a result, international championships are of great interest, especially Bobby Fischer's upcoming match with Boris Spassky in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in May. Where can I obtain a play-by-play transcript of the Fischer-Spassky match? —Jim Smith, Le Mars, Iowa.
  EDITOR: You assume a great deal. Officials of the Sioux City Chess Club indicate no location or date has been picked for the world champion chess match. Belgrade is the highest bidder for the match, but it could be held in the United States or Argentina. Also, the match may be conducted in April, May or June. The English notation of the game can be obtained by subscribing to Chess Newsletter, which is published the 1st and 15th of each month. It can be ordered through Chess Digest Magazine, P.O. Box 21225, Dallas, Texas 75211.
  Results also will be carried in the Chess Express, published twice each month in Switzerland. A subscription may be ordered through Tru-Test Co., Box 5268, Cleveland, Ohio, 44101. Read More

• The Gazette Montreal, Quebec, Canada Saturday, January 22, 1972 - Page 14 — Higher Bid — The Swiss journal “Chess Express in its latest issue, lists the bid of Argentina at $150,000 for the Spassky-Fischer world championship match. Earlier they were listed at $30,000, then boosted to $100,000. Obviously they are being allowed to treat the affair as an auction, if the reports are correct. Where do the rest come in on the deal? Read More

• The Herald Statesman Yonkers, New York Saturday, January 22, 1972 - Page 16 — Tourney Chess Set For County — … The association believes interest has been spurred by American chess player Bobby Fischer's successes and the publicity surrounding his upcoming world championship match against Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. …

• The Post-Crescent Appleton, Wisconsin Saturday, January 22, 1972 - Page 3 — Focus '71 — Bobby Fischer “checkmates” Boris Spassky in the World Chess Championship.

January 23, 1972

• The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, January 23, 1972 - Page 152 — Fischer Again Wins Journalist Award — For the second year in a row Bobby Fischer was awarded the Chess Oscar as the outstanding player of 1971 by a vote of the International Association of Chess Journalists. The result was hardly in doubt, though the American ace played only 21 games all year, without entering a single tournament. He still set records that may never be equaled. First came a match with Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union, the first in a series to determine a challenger for the world championship. Fischer won by 6-0, the first such result between grandmasters in the modern era. Then came Bent Larsen of Denmark, who had won the Chess Oscar in 1968, and who for years was considered Fischer's chief rival in the western world. This would be a real battle. It was, with some exciting games of chess. But the result was the same, 6-0 for Fischer. Including seven previous games, that made 19 straight victories for Fischer without allowing a single draw, and all against first-class opposition. The final match of the series was against former world champion Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union, fighting for the chance to regain the title. Here was the great defensive genius of chess, a man who rarely lost. Fischer started with a win, for game 20 on his streak. But that was it, as Petrosian won the second game in brilliant style. The next three games were drawn. Had our hero lost his skill, or finally found his equal? Was this to be the upset of the year? Fischer quickly proved otherwise, winning the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth games. That was the match, and another streak had started, a modest four games long. The main question before the votes were counted was who would gain the second place in the annual list of 10. It had been world champion Boris Spassky for 1970, but his 1971 record was hardly of championship caliber. It was Petrosian who was chosen to follow Fischer, in part at least for his stiff resistance in the early part of the key match. Petrosian had also won two earlier matches, though not too impressively. He had beaten his compatriot Victor Korchnoi by one win and nine draws, and Robert Huebner of West Germany by one win and six draws. The rest of the list was made up almost completely of Soviet Union representatives, the only exception being Vlastimil Hort of Czechoslovakia, who took fifth place. Korchnoi was third and former world champion Vassily Smyslov was fourth. Spassky was sixth. The others were Vladimir Savon, Mikhail Tal, Lev Polugaevsky and Leonid Stein. Read More

• The Courier-Journal Louisville, Kentucky Sunday, January 23, 1972 - Page 51 — The King's Men: Soviets Take Cheap Shot at Fischer as 'Mercenary' by Merrill Dowden — An Associated Press dispatch out of Moscow recently quoted the Soviet Union's leading sports newspaper as saying that American grandmaster Bobby Fischer is taking a mercenary attitude in his forthcoming match against world champion Boris Spassky. Sovietsky Sport charged Fischer with “anarchy” and “disrespect” because he wants to meet Spassky on any site that offers the highest purse. The paper's chess columnist, A. Roshal, accused Fischer of putting money before the game and charged that he thus “inflicts damage on the art of chess.” Well, look who's talking! Such sanctimonious prattle ill becomes the spokesman for a system which parades its chess professionals as lily white amateurs. It's a well-documented fact that the Soviet Government heavily subsidizes its top players. So what's wrong with Fischer wanting to go where the money is? He's a professional, and makes no bones about it. Chess is his only means of livelihood; it's his whole life. Nobody seems to see anything wrong with our professionals in the spectator sports, such as football, basketball, baseball, and boxing, getting paid for their efforts, and very handsomely at that. And I don't believe there's any game, spectator or otherwise, that requires as much of a man before he can reach the very top rung as chess does. Genius alone didn't put Fischer where he stands today. He's been working toward his goal of world champion since he was 6 years old, and working very hard indeed. But even chess champions must eat. Read More

• Chicago Tribune Chicago, Illinois Sunday, January 23, 1972 - Page 240 — Can Computers Ever Learn How to Be People? Reviewed by Martin Gardner — …No digital computer, Dreyfus is convinced, will every play grandmaster chess. Bobby Fischer just doesn't think digitally. It is true that MacHack, the famous chess program at Minsky's Article Intelligence Laboratory at M.I.T., does not play even master chess, although a few years ago, to the whoops of Dreyfus's critics, it trounced him in a game. Moreover, MacHack does not plan moves in the same way Fischer does. (No one knows how Fischer's brain or anybody else's brain works. We don't even know how it remembers anything.) But neither does the ticktacktoe machine calculate the same way as a 10-year-old who plays an unbeatable game. Nowhere does Dreyfus make clear why MacHack could not learn to play master chess by its own electronic techniques… ★ Read More

January 25, 1972

• St. Joseph News-Press/Gazette St. Joseph, Missouri Tuesday, January 25, 1972 - Page 14 — Bobby Fischer May Pay Visit to Yugoslavia — Belgrade (UPI) — United States chess grand master Bobby Fischer may come to Yugoslavia later this month to discuss conditions for his world chess title match against Soviet titleholder Boris Spassky. Yugoslav chess sources said today. Belgrade and Sarajevo are the two Yugoslav cities which have offered to organize the Fischer-Spassky match, which probably will be played in November or December. Two weeks ago Dr. Max Euwe, president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), visited Belgrade and Sarajevo and talked with organizers. The final decision on the venue of the match is to be taken by Fischer and Spassky themselves. ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ Read More

• The Des Moines Register Des Moines, Iowa Tuesday, January 25, 1972 - Page 16 — Over the Coffee: Golf Makes No Athletes — IN THAT case, the athlete of the year is Bobby Fischer, hands down. Fischer, the American chess genius, recently completed a string of 13 straight victories in grand master competition — a feat absolutely unrivaled in the history of the game. The streak has no easy comparison in any other sport. Thirteen straight no-hitters in baseball, maybe. Thirteen consecutive eagles in golf. In football? Thirteen straight touchdown plays against the best opposition available. A feat like that deserves recognition. And if you're looking for the Comeback of the Year, why not Eugene Ormandy? He came back from hip surgery to have a great season as conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Read More

January 26, 1972

• Lincoln Journal Star Lincoln, Nebraska Wednesday, January 26, 1972 - Page 30 — Aleksander Liepnieks Reports on the Looming Shadow of Soviet Censorship by Don Forsythe, Journal Sports Editor — Chess doesn't immediately come to mind when you're discussing lucrative paychecks for participation, but the stakes will be impressive when Bobby Fischer of the United States and Boris Spassky of Russia meet sometime this year for the world championship. Lincoln's Aleksander Liepnieks who keeps close watch on the chess world, offered a briefing on the Fischer-Spassky showdown after a visit last week with Col. Ed Edmondson, executive director of the U.S. Chess Federation who serves as Fischer's manager. At the moment, deliberations are continuing on a playing site. Yugoslavia has bid $152,000 for the right to conduct the competition with other bids of $150,000 from Argentina and $125,000 from Iceland. Liepnieks speculates the championship will be held in Iceland. “The Russians won't agree on Yugoslavia. Fischer is very much liked in Yugoslavia. He's a national hero there. He's also very popular in Argentina.” he says. Even though the Iceland bid isn't as great as the others the Fischer-Spassky winner stands to collect over $78,000 from a $125,000 purse. Fischer, who defeated Tigran Petrosian in Buenos Aires in the championship series semifinals, is hopeful of becoming the first official world champion from the U.S. Russians have held the title since 1948. Fischer, incidentally, had his tournament start at age 12 in the 1955 U.S. Junior Chess Championship in Lincoln. Read More

• The Kansas City Times Kansas City, Missouri Wednesday, January 26, 1972 - Page 30 — Town Square Notes — Prospects of televising the Bobby Fischer-Boris Spassky championship match has sort of rekindled the old man's interest in chess. He figures he might finally get the hang of the game from some good slow-motion instant replays.

January 27, 1972

• Kingsport Times Kingsport, Tennessee Thursday, January 27, 1972 - Page 14 — Eyeball Exercise — …ABC (WKPT in Kingsport) has long been the leader in televised sports. Its Wide World of Sports program, which has been an innovative leader in scanning the breadth of competition, is looking for new ideas, including the Fischer-Spassky chess matches. ABC renewed its contract with NCAA for college football in '72, after misgivings on both sides. ★ Read More

• The Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Thursday, January 27, 1972 - Page 38 — 2 Cities Bidding for Chess Match Belgrade, Yugoslavia (AP) — Edmund Edmondson, executive director of the American Chess Federation, arrived here Wednesday at an invitation of prospective organizers of the chess match between U.S. champ Bobby Fischer and world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. Edmondson will inspect conditions for holding the match in Belgrade and Sarajevo later this year. Belgrade's Yugoslav Crediting and Export Bank and the Chess League of Serbia, the sponsors, offered a purse of $152,000 if Fischer and Spassky agree to play in Belgrade. ★ Read More

January 29, 1972

• The Orlando Sentinel Orlando, Florida Saturday, January 29, 1972 - Page 13 — Bobby Fischer Taken to Lunch in Bermuda — Frost's junket, attended by such luminaries as former Cleveland Mayor Carl B. Stokes, chess champ Bobby Fischer, writer James A Michener and sometime economist John Kenneth Galbraith, probably didn't set him back more than about $12,000 … ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ Read More

• Times Colonist Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Saturday, January 29, 1972 - Page 6 — Chess Master: Chickens and Chess by George Koltanowski — It is almost a year away, yet chess fans should be alerted to what promises to be the greatest chess tournament ever held in these United States. It will last nearly a month, from November 18 to December 13, and will be held in the San Antonio, Texas, Fair Grounds. In Europe, it has been commonplace for large business concerns to sponsor chess events. There are, for example, Amsterdam's IBM International and other tournaments sponsored by Naturel, a big Swiss transport firm, and by Schweppes, International. Up until now, it has been a different story in the U.S. where sponsors scramble for the chance to back football games, auto races, boxing matches — but would not put out a penny for chess. But things have changed, George William Church, Jr., president of Church's Fried Chicken and once sponsor of the San Antonio Open Golf Tournament, has entered the world of chess and has planned a spectacular match which should draw the very best players in the world. There will be $15,000 in prize money, and 18 major masters, most of whom have already accepted, will receive both travel and living allowances. It is already almost certain that this San Antonio Tournament will receive the greatest press and TV coverage ever accorded chess in the United States. Boris Spassky, presently the World Champion, has said he wants to attend. Such other Grandmasters as Russia's Petrosian, Czechoslovakia's Hort, Yugoslavia's Gligoric, Hungary's Portisch, Brazil's Mecking, Australia's Browne, Denmark's Larsen, the U.S.'s Kavalek and Evans, all plan to be on deck. Bobby Fischer who, by that time, may very well be the World's Champion, is expected there, too. George Church's timing cannot be faulted. I expect to be there both as a reporter and as one of the tournament directors. Read More

January 30, 1972

• Star-Gazette Elmira, New York Sunday, January 30, 1972 - Page 77 — GSA vs. Erasmus Hall High School —… The keyword in Lee's happiness at GSA is “caring.” “In New York, teaching is just a job, nobody cares about how you're doing or whether you even come to class,” he said. “It's different up here. The teachers are real friendly and we know we can go to them with our problems. “It's much easier to study, too, and I guess it's paid off. In New York I had a D average but here I get B's in my courses.” Lee's ambition is to continue his education in college and then return as a teach or coach at GSA. “I like to work with kids,” he said, “and I'd like to help GSA because they helped me.” Brad American, a GSA senior, attended Brooklyn's Erasmus Hall High School, at one time one of the top academic schools in the city and the alma mater of such personalities as Barbara Streisand, and chess champion Bobby Fischer, great Columbia and Chicago Bear quarterback Sid Luckman and Philadelphia '76er basketball star Billy Cunningham. Today its just another of the overcrowded and troubled schools common to New York. “The biggest difference here is that someone yells at me once in a while. Like to get me up in the morning. But I like it here. It's nice, I get good marks, learn and meet people. And most important, I'm doing better.” One of American's teachers said that the GSA student recently handed in a lengthy report. “He said it was the first he had ever done,” the teacher stated. “At Erasmus, if you didn't get what the teacher said the first time, you didn't get it at all and most of the time I didn't get it too often,” American chuckled. “But here the classes are smaller and I catch on to what's happening.” [Sounds like the kind of academic environment conducive to young, future chess champions, on the Autism Spectrum, dropping out.] Read More

• The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Sunday, January 30, 1972 - Page 40 — Chess by Harold Dondis —“Lubomir Kavalek … However, he must wait five years for naturalization unless Congress helps him. His countryman Pachman was beaten savagely as a political prisoner in Czechoslovakia, spent seven months recuperating in a hospital and now has been rearrested. Kavalek is a mild and extremely courteous man who decline to make chess his sole livelihood or interest. When asked about Spassky-Fischer, he picked Fischer by about three points, characterizing Spassky's style as leaning heavily toward safety. […] We have heard that the game from the Peters-Murphy match, won 5½-4½ by Peters, will be published in booklet form. Here is one game in which Peters fortifies Fischer's low opinion of black's chances against the Yugoslav attack. Read More

January 31, 1972

Bobby Fischer, pictured in Amsterdam, January 31, 1972. Robert Fischer was in the Netherlands to attend discussions regarding the upcoming World Championship match with Boris Spassky. Original photo: W. Punt/ANEFO, National Archive Netherlands.

Prime example: This nice photograph, comes from a page which appears very "knowledgeable". They always do. Shrank down...

Posted by Bobby Fischer's True History on Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Bobby Fischer (middle) at Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam for discussions with FIDE chairman Max Euwe (right) about the two-camp to the world championship with Boris Spassky. Left Ed Edmonson (Director of American Chess Federation) Date: 31 January 1972 Location: Amsterdam, Noord-Holland. https://www.alamy.com/bobby-fischer-middle-at-hilton-hotel-in-amsterdam-for-discussions-with-fide-chairman-max-euwe-right-about-the-two-camp-to-the-world-championship-with-boris-spassky-left-ed-edmonson-director-of-american-chess-federation-date-31-january-1972-location-amsterdam-noord-holland-keywords-chess-sports-person-name-edmonson-ed-euwe-max-fischer-bobby-hilton-image340850192.html

• The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Monday, January 31, 1972 - Page 48 — Fischer in Amsterdam for Chess Title Talks — Amsterdam (UPI) — U.S. grandmaster Bobby Fischer arrived in Amsterdam Sunday for talks concerning the date and site of his world chess title match with world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. Fischer was welcomed at Amsterdam airport by Max Euwe, president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) and world champion from 1935 to 1937. Fischer, accompanied by his U.S. Chess Federation official Ed Edmondson, said he was tired and went straight to bed. Euwe later said Spassky had submitted a list of four countries where he wanted to play. Fischer had listed only two possible sites, and neither of these were on Spassky's list, he said. Euwe said he expected Fischer to name two more sites that were agreeable to him, and he said he hoped one of these would also be on Spassky's list. Euwe did not say which sites were listed, but it is known that Yugoslavia, Argentina, Iceland, the U.S., Brazil, The Netherlands, Canada, West Germany and Greece submitted bids to host the championship. Two bids were submitted from Yugoslavia: $152,000 on behalf of Belgrade and $120,000 on behalf of Sarajevo. Canada's bid was $75,000 on behalf of Montreal. Winner of the match gets 62½ per cent of the money and the loser, 37½ per cent. Fischer has said he would prefer to play in the country that offered the biggest amount of prize money. Spassky has said he also would strongly take into account the climate of the site. Fischer earned the right to challenge Spassky for the chess crown by trouncing his three opponents in the candidates' tournament last year. He defeated Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union and Bent Larsen of Denmark by unprecedented 6-0 scores. In the final, he beat former world champion Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union 6½ points to 2½. The date of the world title match also has to be negotiated. Euwe has said he wanted the match to start some time in May, but both players have said they preferred to start later in the year, in June or July. ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ Read More

• The Courier Waterloo, Iowa Monday, January 31, 1972 - Page 5 — Upsurge in Interest in Chess Here — Cedar Valley Club Tourney Expanded — The Cedar Valley Chess club will expand its annual championship competition to include players from Benton, Bremer, Butler, Buchanan, Fayette, Grundy and Tama counties. In announcing this expansion, John Osness, tournament director, said that the feats of Bobby Fischer in becoming chief challenger for the World Chess championship have created an increase in interest in the game. Fischer is the United States' greatest chess player. An open house for beginning chess players is scheduled for the last weekend in March, and Waterloo will host the Iowa State championship April 22-23 at the Clayton House motel. Read More

• The Billings Gazette Billings, Montana Monday, January 31, 1972 - Page 3 — Russ Get Glimpse of U.S. Life — … They are guides at a U.S. exhibit called “Research and Development—U.S.A.” a display of American gadgetry ranging from computers to coffeemakers which opened in this capital of Soviet Georgia Jan. 24. The guides are assigned to the exhibit to explain how the equipment works and what its used for. But they have had to field questions on such varied topics as the Vietnam war, current American rock groups and the planned world championship chess match between American bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. “The guides have been instructed not to initiate political discussions,” said exhibit director John Thomas. “But they are not going to walk away if people ask questions.” “These people are information-starved. They hang on every word you say,” added one of the guides, Nick Grigorovich-Barksk, 26 of Washington. “They stand there like sponges and take everything in…” ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ Read More

• Chess Life and Review, January 1972 - Page 7 — Fischer vs. Petrosian: Getting Ahead by Robert Byrne — Continued from December. After his unsettling start in the first three games, the openings of which were clearly to Petrosian's advantage, Bobby slowly began to get under way. It was Petrosian who backed away from the sharpest continuation in game four, either suspecting or discovering over the board that Fischer had a foolproof defense in hand. What it might have been I suggest in my note to White's move 12. Anyhow, Petrosian may have been a little bit rattled, since he made no serious attempt with the White pieces, acquiescing to wholesale liquidation and a quick draw. The former world champion's super-cautious Petroff Defense in game five gave Bobby the chance for opening advantage for the first time in the match. Unfortunately, he did not follow it up correctly, running into a great deal of trouble, from which he just barely managed to escape. There was still no reason at this point in the series to be confident about Fischer's chances of ending up the victor. But the sixth game was an altogether different story. Bobby answered Petrosian's offbeat Reti Opening very sharply, gaining a small but perfectly clear advantage. In the face of a lifeless game, in which he could only await possible attacks on both wings, Petrosian panicked, opening the Queenside for no good reason. Bobby immediately jumped at the opportunity, breaking through on the QB file, obtaining a protected passed QP and powerful control of Queenside terrain. After a beautifully played ending, Bobby went ahead in the match for the first time since game one.
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Political Smear Campaign: These articles are part of politically-motivated propaganda spanning 1960's till Fischer's death in 2008. Some sources cited; Ralph Ginzburg (sued by Presidential Candidate Barry Goldwater for defamation); Ronald Gross claimed to ‘move to New York’ to substantiate his rumors but GM Isaac Kashdan in L.A. Times meticulously documents the Gross' S. California residency.) Reporter, “Ira Berkow”, creates a fictitious interview with Bobby Fischer to endorse the brand name of a commercial product for “Berkow's” own personal financial advantage, and, for a product Bobby did not use, nor would Fischer have endorsed due to strict adherence to fundamentalist religious convictions. One should find it rather strange that such a ® brand name ™ tie is described in such vivid detail by “Berkow” who failed to produce a single photo of it, so why should he be believed? Perhaps the room was too “dark” as he claims, whilst Berkow describes his bizarre invasion of privacy, confessing rummaging through Bobby Fischer's personal property. One should also find it amazing that the reportedly secretive Bobby, normally kept such things like bags under tight lock and key, mysteriously, welcomes Berkow into his unguarded room and everything hangs wide open so that Berkow can report his “exclusive” plunder of the room … An amazing tall tale concocted from other stories already in circulation in syndicated press. Notably, Larry Evans has injected himself again, as the center of attention in this and other campaigns to publicize X-rated for profit publications, at the expense of Bobby's reputation. “Berkow's” article lacks in authenticity and his blatant promotion of a commercial product is evidence of the lack of intergity and personal ethics. Of particular interest, in every campaign to promote the false narrative that Bobby (a staunch fundamentalist who followed a monk-like seclusion and did not even date non-members) would have ever endorsed what was widely regarded as a publication for adult deviants, though Larry Evans does in his columns! Larry Evans always seems to conveniently pop up wherever its opportunistic to make a name, or financial benefits for himself, and so often provides false sensationalized drivel mixed with half-truths, such as found in Berkow's fictitious article which promotes a photograph of *drum roll* Larry Evans of himself with Bobby (when Bobby was NOT even that close to Evans as Evans would try to mislead readers to believe, i.e., during the Buenos Aires match its reported Evans left and returned halfway through the match, because Bobby didn't need him!) Likewise in Larry Evans' publications he often is found peddling the same X-rated product for his own personal financial benefit. Exploiting the name of the religious Bobby was on par for the opportunistic nature of Larry Evans, but not Bobby who was even reported in 1976 ridiculing Garner Ted Armstrong for his sexual licentiousness. This leads me to conclude Bobby Fischer was no hypocrite, but this propaganda is entirely in line with the deviant nature of Larry Evans to reap financial profits from peddling (for profit) obscene material to the public at Bobby's expense. All claims made by Larry Evans must be taken with a grain of salt ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / ★ / 1,000,000 bribe offered to “take down” Israel's critics (State PROPAGANDA). In 1980, you could earn as much spreading propaganda, as you could winning a chess tournament! For examples where Chess has been sold out for a political agenda and deception, see ★ and ★