AClarion-Ledger Jackson, Mississippi Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 38
In Earlier Match, Boris Spassky, left, of the Soviet Union, and American Bobby Fischer, are shown in a match at the World Chess Championships in Siegen, Germany, on September 20, 1970. Spassky is reigning World Champ.—AP Wirephoto.
Clarion-Ledger Jackson, Mississippi Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 38
American Chess Genius Meets Russian Champion In Bid For World Crown by Mary Ellen Myrene, Associated Press Writer
When he won his first U.S. chess championship at the age of 14, Bobby Fischer observed with nearly galling relish, “I like to see ’em squirm.”
Now 29 and facing Russia's Boris Spassky for the world title, Fischer remains one of the most controversial—and most successful—players in the game's history.
While his actions outside tournaments may be unexpected and perplexing, his game inside is legendary—an aggressive strategy dotted with ferocious attacks that have left his opponents exhausted.
Bobby Fischer wants—no more and no less—to win. And he has done so with incredible consistency, winning a total of eight U.S. championships and dominating recent international play.
Described by chess master Anthony Saidy as “the most rounded chess genius of all time,” Fischer now seeks the only title that has ever eluded him—the world championship held by the Russians since 1948, and by Spassky for the past three years.
Fischer, a solidly built 6'-2" bachelor, was born in Chicago and, after his parents were divorced, moved to Brooklyn with his mother and an older sister in 1949.
His first contact with chess came a short time later when his sister brought home a small, dime store chess set and taught him the moves from an instruction sheet.
Joining the Brooklyn Chess Club at 8, Fischer earned a Reserve Rating in the strong Manhattan Chess Club by the time he was 12 and had played in his first national tournaments.
He burst into the big time one year later, winning the U.S. Junior chess Championship and having one of his competition games acclaimed by elder chess statesman Hans Kmoch as “the game of the century.”
At the age of 14—turned out in a T shirt, dungarees and sneakers—he won his first national championship. At 15 he became the youngest chess competitor in history to win the rating of grand master.
DONE MORE
In the years that have followed, Fischer has done more than any man before him to popularize the sport of chess in the United States, and single-handedly, has generated more controversy.
Over the years, Fischer has complained about the lighting, the scheduling, the spectators, the air conditioning, the living conditions and the purses of his matches, and he quit some of them.
He refused to compete in the last two world championships eliminations, charging that the Russian players had rigged the tournaments by playing for draws against one another and for wins against Westerners.
As a result, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) has tightened its rules on tournament draws and changed the challengers' competition from round-robin to man-to-man elimination.
“SENSE OF MISSION”
Now mounting his first real bid for the world title, Fischer appears to have tempered his quarrels with officials to pursue what he calls “a sense of mission to win the championship.”
I'm tired of being the unofficial champion,” he said. As he faces the opening game in Reykjavik, Iceland, Fischer is riding a wave of victories unprecedented in the history of chess.
In the first of three elimination matches to determine the challenger to Spassky, Fischer defeated Soviet grand master Mark Taimanov by the starting score of 6-0—the first time in chess history that one grand master had shut out another without a single drawn game.
Two months later, Fischer attacked Denmark's brilliant Bent Larsen like a computer steamroller and won again, 6-0; it was the equivalent of pitching back-to-back perfect games in baseball.
19 STRAIGHT WINS
With 19 consecutive victories in grand master play, Fischer then secured his right to play Spassky for the title, defeating former world champion Russian Tigran Petrosian, 6½ to 2½. No chess player in history could show a record like it.
Now primed mentally and physically for probably the most important match of his career, Fischer has no doubt about the outcome.
“It's nice to be modest, but it would be stupid if I did not tell the truth,” he says, “I should have been world champion ten years ago.”
New York Times, New York, New York, Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 31
Iceland Chess Unit Tries To Curb News Coverage, Special to The New York Times
Reykjavik, Iceland, July 1 — The Icelandic Chess Federation pressed its efforts today to prevent television stations and chess clubs around the world from staging play-by-play reconstructions of the world chess championship matches while they are under way.
Some television stations had planned to offer simultaneous recreations and analyses, using news agency accounts filed during the course of the matches.
Virtually all 85 newsmen as signed to cover the matches here, except for correspondents of The New York Times and The Associated Press, have signed an agreement declaring that they will limit their coverage to three reports during each game.
However, The Associated Press has made an oral agreement with the federation to limit dispatches to five during each game. Officials of the news service declined to discuss the issue.
The New York Times refused to sign the federation proposal on the ground that it would involve prior restraint on reporting, even though in practice the proposal would not have had any practical impact on coverage.
Failure to conform to the federation's restrictions on coverage means denial of access to press facilities.
Harold C. Schonberg and Al Horowitz, who are covering the matches for The Times, will purchase spectator tickets instead of using the press facilities provided by the federation. They were assured by telephone officials here that they would be able to use telephones with out restriction.
The Icelandic Chess Federation took the position that it had put up the highest purse in chess history, $125,000, for the players, and incurred other costs that would bring its expenses above $200,000.
To recoup, the federation said, it entered into a contract to grant exclusive film rights to Chester Fox, Inc., and also made an agreement to let the World Chess Network have all move-by-move broadcasts.
Newsmen were asked by the federation to sign the following statement before receiving press credentials:
“We hereby request permission for our duly authorized representative to attend the world chess championship matches between Boris Spassky and Robert Fischer, which are to be staged in Reykjavik commencing on or about July 2, 1972.
“In return for your granting this license to us to cover the championship matches, we agree to be bound by the following limitations:
“1. Our reports will be news reports and will be used only for bona fide news purposes.
“2. Our reports will not be the basis for any recreation, reproduction or other unauthorized use of the play-by-play of the match.
“3. We will only make three reports per game and each report will be at least five minutes after either player makes a move.
“This above document will be used and no reporters or news agencies will get press accreditation unless signing.”
Photographers Protest The proposal drew considerable opposition from newsmen on the scene. Photographers in particular protested when they were told they would not be allowed even to take cameras into the hall where the match was to be held.
Reykjavik's leading news paper, Morgunbladid, contended that the restrictions were unconstitutional and said it would fight them.
Tass, the Soviet press agency, said: “The Americans have paid a lot of money for the monopoly rights to transmit the moves from the hall with the corresponding ban on other journalists to report the moves to their agencies earlier than five minutes after it is made.
“The Icelandic journalists' union protested to the organizing committee over the restrictions in reporting the moves,” Tass added. [Tass comment on it own view of how the accreditation agreement will affect its coverage was not available in New York.]
WNET to Proceed Today
In New York, WNET-TV, Channel 13, said it would go on the air at 1 P.M. today with whatever plays it could get, and with analyses by Shelby Ly man, a chess master. If the match is put off for any reason, some of their past plays would be described.
A cable television station, Teleprompter Manhattan Cable TV, serving 45,000 subscribers in northern Manhattan, has planned play-by-play descriptions and analyses by the Rev. William Lombardy, one of 10 American chess grandmasters. Joseph C. Groth Jr., its general manager, said it had contracted with The Associated Press for reports.
United Press International refused comment and declined to confirm whether it had made any agreement. UPI had planned play-by-play reports.
The Soviet is certainly not “protesting”. No, it would like to blame Bobby Fischer for its deliberate censorship and has made ‘advance preparations,’ so that it may lay blame on its willing pawn, its accomplice, the Icelandic Chess Federation, for fulfilling on Moscow's dictate of censorship… but Bobby Fischer told America, long before this censorship circus is now, coming to light in the press, the Soviet would spare no effort to hide their devastating defeat from the world via censorship.
New York Times, New York, New York, Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 31
Fischer Seeks a Postponement by Harold C. Schonberg
NYTimes, Reykjavik, Iceland, July 1—Bobby Fischer has asked for a two-day postponement for his chess match with Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, according to Andrew Davis, Fischer's lawyer.
Thus the match—and there is no certainty that the international chess tournament will be held—would start on Tuesday instead of 5 P.M. tomorrow.
There was no immediate reaction from the Russian delegation. It was learned that Mr. Davis—in a meeting with officials of the Icelandic Chess Federation the referee, Lothar Schmid; Max Euwe, president of the International Chess Federation; and Fred Cramer, who is acting for Fischer—pleaded fatigue on the American chess player's part.
The officials will meet tomorrow to discuss the request by Fischer, who failed to board the last regularly scheduled flight to Iceland tonight from Kennedy International Airport in New York City.
Fatigue, Mr. Davis said, is an impediment to playing, and he pleaded that the American challenger was thus not medically fit to start the match.
Fischer, who has delayed his trip here several times, is now expected to arrive tomorrow morning. Asked by Mr. Schmid why the challenger had not arrived earlier, Mr. Davis contended that reporters had spotted Fischer at Kennedy International Airport on Thursday night and had “prevented” him from leaving. He added that Fischer would not travel from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday for religious reasons.
Actually, Fischer was not “prevented” from leaving Kennedy Airport Thursday night. He arrived there about 11 P.M., was spotted in an airport restaurant with Mr. Davis by reporters and photographers and ran away, disappearing somewhere in Queens. Mr. Davis finally got on the plane alone and flew here.
Those who contend that Fischer is playing a war of nerves are saying that in effect the match has been going on for a long time, psychologically, and that the American challenger has merely been intensifying the battle in recent days by remaining in seclusion, uncommunicative and yet, through his intermediaries, still demanding.
The famous Fischer temperament, thus, is seen as “erratic behavior” by the people who have committed big stakes to the match, but as clever strategy by Fischer partisans, who believe that his flight cancellations this week and his on-again, off-again approach, are carefully calculated.
According to the rules, a player is allowed the postponement of three games if he can show a medical certificate. Fischer, however, does not believe in doctors, nor, according to his lawyers, does he approve of the official position of the Icelandic Chess Federation, which demands such verification.
Mr. Davis proposed that the American player make an appearance tomorrow in a ceremony with Spassky to make the drawing for the first game—that is, to flip a coin to see who would have the white pieces, which give the advantage of initiative to their player. If the Russians agree to this, Mr. Davis said, the United States delegation is prepared to offer the Russians an extra medical postponement.
Some observers are calling the Fischer request for postponement a battle in the continuing war of nerves on Fischer's part. But Spassky appeared in good spirits today. He was seen at lunch laughing and joking, and obviously entirely relaxed.
Fischer's absence from the inaugural ceremony tonight at the National Theater is causing a good deal of local indignation.
An elaborate ceremony had been planned. Originally the President of Iceland was scheduled to make a speech, followed by the Lord Mayor of Reykjavik, the Russian Ambassador, the American chargé d'affaires, and other notables. Much of this still went on, although the President, who was in the audience, did not speak.
Local Indignation
Negotiations are continuing between Mr. Davis and the Icelandic Chess Federation about the 30 per cent share of the gate receipts that Fischer is demanding. The stage of the Exhibition Hall, where the match is scheduled to take place, is ready, and the seats in the auditorium are being placed into position.
There is something sad about the stage, which has been so carefully prepared and conceivably may never be used. Three of Iceland's first artisans designed a heavy mahogany table for the occasion. It weighs about 300 pounds, its squares for the chessmen are marble inlays and there are two small matching side tables for the players to use for refreshment. After the match the table is to go to a museum.
Set up on the squares, all ready to go, are the 32 pieces of a John Jacques and Son chess set. These pieces, flown in from England, are hand-carved, lead-weighted, and cost about $300. The entire stage is covered with a heavy green carpet and there is even an extra beige carpet under the table itself.
If Fischer does not show up and the match is declared forfeit, the new challenger will be Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union, but the site for a Spassky-Petrosian match would have to be renegotiated. Fischer beat Petrosian in the final elimination match in Buenos Aires by a score of 6½ to 2½.
The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 65
Fischer vs. Spassky: Chess Masters Hold Their Breath by Harold Dondis, Globe Chess Columnist
Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer will be sitting down today (at least this was the plan as of yesterday) at the Sports Palace at Reykjavik, Iceland, before a breathless audience of Grandmasters, chess votaries and amateurs. The atmosphere will be as highly charged as any chess encounter in history because Bobby Fischer is an unparalleled phenomenon and Boris Spassky is an extraordinarily gifted player of immense scope.
Fischer must be favored despite three losses and two draws against Spassky and although Grandmasters know the games of Fischer and Spassky in microscopic detail, it is probably on the basis of past performance that they and the whole world must predict the result. One can recognize a single move as brilliant, but chess performance is like a chain which must have healthy links every step of the way.
By this test, Fischer will be the victor by a four or five point majority. This is the prediction of Arpad Elo, the rating expert. Fischer has an early triumphant first in the qualifying round—perfect scores against Taimanov and Larsen and an overwhelming win against Petrosian. Spassky's performances in Canada and Moscow were mediocre. His win of the title was by a slight margin over Petrosian. The question is whether Spassky with his indirect, complex style, with his waiting game, his penchant for the obscure, can by some vital force overcome the straight-forward, no-nonsense attacking game of Bobby Fischer. Now we must see.
Fischer vs. Spassky: Chess Masters Hold Their Breath 02 Jul 1972, Sun The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) Newspapers.com
The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 79
Tempers Will Run Hot In Iceland by Charles Fraser
THE CHESS match which will decide who is the best player in the world looks all set to erupt into a war of nerves unheard of in this usually scholarly game.
Russia's champion, Boris Spassky (right), will be accompanied by a team of tacticians, plus his own doctor and chef.
U.S. grandmaster Bobby Fischer (left) fights alone — to prove what he has been saying for years: that he is the supreme champion.
TODAY, THE normally quiet little Icelandic capital of Reykjavik is due to start what one of the contestants has already called “probably the greatest sports event in history…bigger even than the Frazier-Ali fight.”
That description comes from American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer who, at 28, is getting his long-awaited chance to challenge for the world chess championship.
Fischer, who has been startling the world by last-minute antics about whether he will appear in Iceland or not has never doubted his own greatness. When recently asked who was the best player in the world, he replied: “It's nice to be modest, but it would be st*p*d if I didn't tell the truth — it's Fischer.”
And in Reykjavik he is due to meet the Russian reigning champion, Boris Spassky, to prove to everyone else that his supreme self-confidence is no d*lus**n.
So Fischer's challenge, which the Russians have been forced to take seriously following a string of brutally one-sided victories, has taken on a political color.
A Loner
But, perhaps most remarkably of all, Fischer is a total loner in a business where most of the top men rely heavily on advice, support and help of many kinds to gain and maintain success.
The picture of two men in the middle of a big auditorium hunched over the chess board is a deceptive one. They may look alone, but in fact most of the modern champions have gone into action with a whole team of advisers.
These advisers can be divided into three groups, medical, technical and psychological.
Reigning champion Spassky has his personal doctor with him in Reykjavik. Being in peak physical condition is vital. And to make sure that his charge has no food problems in a strange country, the doctor will be helped by a special chef to prepare Spassky's meals.
Then there are the technical experts, the men who have specialized in different aspects of the game.
And, finally, there are the psychological advisers — the psychiatrists and analysts who try both to probe the opponent's possible weaknesses, and warn about his greatest strengths.
Spassky has in Reykjavik a fellow grandmaster who is a trained psychologist, as well as Yuri Averbakh, an analyst.
Averbakh has the highest regard for Fischer, both as a chess player and as a psychologically dominating opponent.
And that, just as much as Fischer's undoubted skill as a technical player, must be worrying the Spassky team.
One of the old non-Russian world champions, Dr. Emanuel Lasker of Germany, was said by one defeated opponent to have won because of his mesmerizing hypnotic gaze, and Fischer succeeds also in shrouding himself in an aura of invincibility which must give him an advantage over Spassky before they actually start playing.
But Fischer's weakness may be his lone-wolf attitude. Until earlier this year, he had the President of the US Chess Federation as his mentor. But he dismissed him during ([presumably, because Fischer and Edmondson were both mutually, contacts of the press on a regular basis]) ill-tempered(?) ([Fischer was reported by NY Times sending a telegram to FIDE, “apologizing if there were any misunderstandings” regarding his intent to play… however, the temperament of Belgrade organizers may justly be called into question while on that topic)] negotiations over the money he should get out of the Spassky match.
Fischer has few friends and no interests outside of chess. ([This is certainly not true! He was part of a massive religious circle, which consisted the other, less known half of his life, and separate from a massive circle of friends in world chess. Just because Fischer didn't advertise it, it's not the same, as not having.])
He is confident and demands conditions be conducive to concentration during tournament proceedings. He has walked out of a couple tournaments, the first due to a referee breaking the rules of engagement during the Fischer-Reshevsky tournament, failure to obtain Fischer's consent for a change in schedule, which was entirely the fault of referee Irving Rivise in which Rivise illegally forfeited the game, giving Reshevsky the point and in Tunisia, a scheduling problem arose due to organizers' antisemitic bias. They had no problem if Fischer broke his Sabbath. Fischer was in the lead, but refused to compromise his principles. So Fischer walked. Perhaps organizers will reconsider discriminating against contestants based on gender, race or religion in the future.
The rules of chess specifically outlaw any harassment of the opponent, but judges often cannot stop everything. Emanuel Lasker's pungent cigars, for example, were claimed to be the source of as much success as his hypnotic stare.
Fatal Flaw
So if the Russian team can spot a weakness in Fischer's psychological armor — however impenetrable his technical defenses may be — they may be able to open up a fatal flaw.
For, unlike Spassky, Fischer has no one to turn to if things do start to go wrong. ([This is not so. Fischer's sister, his good friend William Lombardy, his friend and mentor Archie Waters, and many others were present in Reykjavik, Iceland. Fischer didn't advertise his support network.]) So far, he has never needed anyone. He has been winning ever since he was American champion at 14, and has never had to face the prospect of defeat.
Fischer has [(allegedly, no source of quote given)] said that his match against Spassky is “really the free world against the … Russians.” He's wrong. It's really Bobby Fischer — and Bobby Fischer alone — against the most powerful Soviet chess team ever assembled.
Tempers Will Run Hot In Iceland 02 Jul 1972, Sun The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) Newspapers.com
Tempers Will Run Hot In Iceland 02 Jul 1972, Sun The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) Newspapers.com
The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 20
Chess Championship Opens and Absent Fischer Asks Delay by Joe Alex Morris Jr., Times Staff Writer
Reykjavik, Iceland — The world chess championship was formally declared open Saturday night despite the fact that American challenger Robert J. (Bobby) Fischer was nowhere in sight.
And the likelihood that the American challenger would appear in time for the scheduled 5 p.m. (10 a.m. PDT) start of the first game of the 24-game match appeared even dimmer when Fischer's lawyer asked to postpone the match until Tuesday.
Lothar Schmidt of Germany, the chief referee, said early today he didn't recognize the legitimacy of the request made by Andrew Davis, Fischer's lawyer.
Flags and Oratory
The pomp and circumstances—complete with flags, oratory by the Soviet ambassador and the American charge d' affaires, and national anthems—went on as scheduled. Icelandic authorities could not imagine that Fischer would abandon his long struggle to the chess summit because of an argument over a paltry few thousand dollars.
They were not giving up hope that the 29-year-old American prodigy would be on hand to face Russian world champion Boris Spassky in the first of 24 matches scheduled to run until Aug. 24.
But grave doubts were cast over the whole picture by an unseemly squabble with Icelandic authorities over money. Fischer was demanding the players get 30% of the gate in addition to the $125,000 plus 60% of television and picture rights the Ice-
Chess, Continued from First Page
landers have already promised them.
“We are trying to avoid financial disaster,” said Iceland Chess Federation President Gudmundur Thorarinsson. “We are not budging.”
The financial rewards were 10 times greater than for any previous match, he said.
Spassky was asked if the match would start today. “I don't think so,” he answered in English.
The financial dispute jeopardized Fischer's chance to end 45 years of Soviet domination over world chess and also his chance to become the second American world champion. The first was Paul Morphy, who in 1857 was the second world champion.
Fischer's representative and the chief arbiter, Schmid, a German publisher of Wild West books, agreed that the special chess board to be used in the match was not good. It reflected glare from the fluorescent lights insisted upon by Fischer.
Schmid also suggested the organizers lay deep pile carpeting in the hall, normally a sports arena, to muffle noise. The chairs have been changed for the same reason, and every furniture store in Reykjavik was ransacked Saturday for possible seats for the two competitors themselves.
Fischer was not expected Saturday. He belongs to the Church of God, which considers Saturday as the Sabbath and forbids travel on that day.
As it stands, he could make a flight arriving here this morning. But this leaves him less than 12 hours to rest up and to go over the final details of arrangements.
Under normal tournament rules, Fischer could miss three games before forfeiting. Spassky would get three points for those games, of course, and he needs only 12 to retain his championship whereas Fischer needs 12½ to win.
The Russians has been here since June 26, playing tennis and riding about in a Ford Bronco, the car he asked for and which travels well over this volcanic island's rough tracks. Fischer asked for a Mercedes limousine with automatic drive.
The Icelanders are particularly bitter over Fischer's tactics because they were counting on filling the hall here with 3,000 persons every night, at least at the start, to bring in the revenue they need to stage this tourney.
They've already spent $50,000 and will spend much more even if Fischer never shows.
“People are not coming to Iceland and the Icelandic people are not buying tickets until they are sure Fischer is here,” said federation chief Thorarinsson. So far, they've sold only two-thirds of the tickets for the opening match, and far fewer for the subsequent ones.
The Icelanders nevertheless were putting on the best front possible.
“He accepted to play in Iceland,” Thorarinsson said, “and he's not the type to break his word.”
The match has created intense excitement in the relatively large world of chess fanatics, not only because of the big power aspects of an American challenge to Soviet domination but because it had seemed likely to be an exciting match. Fischer is a dramatic and sometimes almost impulsive player, a strategist first and foremost, whereas Spassky is a supreme tactician.
The match almost bogged down in a tremendous hassle—just when it seemed arranged that half the games be played in Reykjavik (Soviet choice) and half in Belgrade (Fischer's choice and the city offering the most money.)
That arrangement collapsed when the American Chess Federation refused a Yugoslav demand for a financial guarantee that Fischer would show up — a move which in today's hindsight ([was not “wise” it was ILLEGAL and that's why USCF's Edmondson refused to go along with extortion. If Belgrade and Reykjavik couldn't handle this match, they should have left it up to those more financially equipped to, such as Australia, Mexico or Argentina. Belgrade accused Fischer “might not show up”? It appears he's making good on their idle-rumor mill.)]
On past record Spassky should beat Fischer. He has done so three times and drawn twice in five matches with the American. But he is 35, which is pushing the old age limit for chess champions, and the brash young American may still be approaching the height of his prowess.
If Fischer does not show up, Spassky will play the Russian defensive strategist, Tigran Petrosian, for the title.
Considering that he has put his life into getting to this very point, many of the chess buffs gathered here found it inconceivable that Fischer would throw it all away for a few thousand extra dollars.“If he wins here, he'll be set for life,” one said. “Bobby is no fool, and only a fool would throw away this opportunity.”
Chess 02 Jul 1972, Sun The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) Newspapers.com
The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 20
Fischer Fans Gain in Numbers, Confidence by Isaac Kashdan, Times Chess Editor
Bobby Fischer will be the challenger in Reykjavik, Iceland, when he faces world chess champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union for the title.
It should be the other way around, in the opinion of Fischer and a growing coterie of supporters. They feel the boy (now a man of 29) from Brooklyn should have been champion 10 years ago.
While this is an old story to chess buffs, what matters now is that the match is on, with 24 grueling games to go.
How do you assess their chances? Look at the record. They have met five times, and Spassky has three wins. Two games ended in draws.
'70 Olympics Match
Their most recent match was during the Chess Olympics in Siegen, West Germany, in 1970.
Fischer had the black pieces, a slight disadvantage. Spassky was ready to simplify and equalize in the early stages, but Fischer sought to complicate the game, taking risks to develop a win.
At the critical point Spassky counterattacked. Intent on his own plans, Fischer did not react quickly enough, and Spassky won in a pretty finish.
They played twice in the Piatigorsky Cup Tournament in Santa Monica in 1966.
Fischer was in one of his rare slumps and seemed disheartened.
He lost two games in a row before meeting Spassky. The Russian soon had the better game, played more energetically, and nudged his advantage to a win.
KASHDAN PREDICTS
Bobby Fischer should defeat Boris Spassky in 20 or 21 of the maximum 24 games scheduled. The final score should be between 13-7 (65% for Fischer) and 12½-8½ (60%).
Fischer Rallied
The score was a factor in their second game in the next to last round. Fischer had rallied and move into a tie for first place with Spassky.
This time Spassky played the blacks. He was determined to draw the game, and let the tournament decision go to the final round. It was a hard, well-played game on both sides, and a draw was the proper result.
Spassky's strategy was successful. In the final round Spassky defeated the tailender, Hans Donner of Holland, while Fischer was held to a draw by former world champion Tigran Petrosian. Spassky gained first prize by a half-point margin.
For the last two years the record is all in Fischer's favor. He has won matches and tournaments by amazing margins. Since winning the title in 1969, Spassky's play has been mediocre.
The official explanation is that the champion has been holding back, saving his best moves for Fischer. They say he has many new ideas to try on the one major threat to Soviet chess hegemony.
What is the secret of Bobby's success? If there is a one-word answer, it is accuracy. He seldom makes a mistake.
Fischer's method is to pressure his opponent until he makes a single misplay. He will take immediate advantage, and never relax until he has won decisive material or forced a checkmate.
Spassky has a seemingly easier style. He does not mind clearer positions, and will accept a draw rather than gamble.
However, Spassky also has the ability to create positions impossible to analyze thoroughly in the limited time of a match game.
In such situations Spassky's judgment is excellent, at least as good as Fischer's. It is in such tense struggles that anything can happen.
The Sacramento Bee Sacramento, California Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 6
Chess Champ
Boris Spassky, center, world champion of chess receives a toast from American Charge d'affaires Theodore Tremblay at the opening ceremony of Iceland's National Theater in Reykjavik. At left is Russian Ambassador Sergei Astayin. AP Wirephoto
Daily News New York, New York Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 177
Oh, Ploy! Bobby's Late and Boris Fires an Aide by Robert Byrne, Special Correspondent of THE NEWS
Reykjavik, Iceland, July 1—With barely 24 hours to go before he has to make his opening move against world champion Boris Spassky in the 24-game match to settle the world chess championship, Bobby Fischer, the 29-year-old challenger, still had not arrived here.
There still is time for Fischer to reach the Reykjavik exhibition hall, Laugardalsholl, by 5 p.m. tomorrow, but how he expects to ready himself for a grueling five-hour playing session against Russian Spassky is the question. After the transatlantic flight, and the four-hour time change, a traveler needs acclimation, but that's out of the question now.
If this delay is a ploy aimed at unnerving Spassky, Fischer is in for a surprise.
When I met Boris this afternoon on the steps of the Saga Hotel where he is staying and mentioned that Bobby could not get here until Sunday morning, he merely shrugged his shoulders in unconcern.
With Spassky were Efim Geller, Nikolai Krogius and Ivo Nei. Absent was the head of Spassky's team of analysts-trainers, Igor Bondarevsky. He had been fired. When Boris was asked what happened to the friend who had guided him through so many triumphs in the past, he replied, “It was nothing personal. We disagreed about the chess (anti-Fischer match) strategy.”
Meanwhile, the organizing committee was fighting a defensive campaign on two fronts. Fischer now is demanding 30% of the gate receipts and replacement of the match referee, Lothar Schmidt of West Germany, fearing that the Russians could pressure any referee still an active player by threatening to blackmail him from tournaments.
But Schmidt reminded me as we checked the stage lighting for the fifth time this morning, “yes, I am a grandmaster, but my publishing business makes me independently wealthy. I am in my 40s now and play chess only when I feel like it. There's nothing the Russians can do to reach me.”
A Second Front
The second front was opened by the press, which objects to the exclusive contract the organizers have signed with the World Chess Network, which denies all others the right to broadcast move-by-move plays of the games.
Gudmunder Thorarinsson, president of the Icelandic Chess Federation, refused to change the rule but—has challenged anyone to come up with a workable compromise. Press credentials will not be validated for those who fail to sign a pledge that they will not engage in instant transmissions of the moves.
Fischer remained in hiding Saturday in the New York area. As a member of the Church of God, a fundamentalist Protestant sect that observes the Sabbath on Saturday, Fischer prefers not to fly until after sundown. A 9:30 p.m. Icelandic Airlines flight out of Kennedy International Airport thus remained the only direct connection to Iceland.
Fischer's lawyer, Paul G. Marshall, would say only, “I expect Bobby Fischer to do the proper thing for Bobby Fischer.” A long-time friend and fellow international grand master, the Rev. William J. Lombardy, who talked with Fischer Friday, predicted he would arrive in Reykjavik in time for the match.
The Wichita Eagle Wichita, Kansas Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 3
Spassky, Right, Awaits Chess Foe
American Bobby Fischer to meet Russian.
Chicago Tribune Chicago, Illinois Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 189
Chess: Spassky Psyched and Well Studied for the Onslaught of Bobby Fischer by James Yuenger, Chief of Moscow Bureau
BORIS SPASSKY took a chess-playing psychologist along when he flew to Iceland to complete preparations for defending his world chess championship against Bobby Fischer.
The presence of the psychologist is one indication of the importance the Russians attach to keeping Spassky in top mental shape for the titanic emotional struggle scheduled to open today in Reykjavik's 5,000-seat Sports Palace.
At a press conference in Moscow a couple of weeks ago, Spassky appeared in superb physical condition and was poised almost to the point of blandness as he fielded questions from newsmen. He said he was eager for the long-awaited title match, he felt fine, he was prepared.
Spassky is almost never put on public display as he was then. Many earlier requests for individual interviews had been ignored. And there was something in the atmosphere that led some people to suspect that the press conference had been carefully staged as a ploy to shake Fischer up long-distance.
There was, for instance, Spassky's comment that the 29-year-old American challenger—judging by his insistence that the Russians were trying to avoid him and his thinly-veiled charge that they cheat— had “some sort of persecution complex.”
The fact of the matter is, tho, that many Russians have the uneasy feeling that Spassky will be beaten.
Altho he's only 35 years old, he is widely viewed as a member of the older generation of top Russian players, along with such masters as Mikhail Tal, Mikhail Botvinnik, and Tigran Petrosian. The inference is that he's slightly stale.
They're afraid that Fischer's well-known prickliness over playing conditions, his wrangle over the site and the size of the purse for the upcoming match, his recognized brilliance, and his very youth have all contributed to a psychological aura that Spassky won't be able to handle.
Any serious student of chess knows that there are many ghosts to haunt Spassky—a parentless childhood, a first marriage that went on the rocks, and a series of crushing defeats, beginning when he was a boy, on his way to the world title.
Spassky was nine years and an orphan [his parents had been killed in the siege of Leningrad] when he first visited the chess club at the Leningrad Palace of Young Pioneers. In one of the rooms, Victor Korchnoi, only 15 years old but already bidding for grandmaster status, was giving an exhibition of simultaneous play.
Spassky was pushed into an empty seat, his head barely clearing the table, whereupon Korchnoi announced contemptuously, “I can play this kid blind.”
He was in 22 moves. Young Boris Vassilievich burst into tears and ran home, determined never to return.
Then there was the 25th Russian championship in 1958 when Spassky, then 21, astounded the nation for several days by coming out of left field and beating everyone in sight. Then he blew everything with one stupid move—and again burst into tears.
That, Spassky says now, was the turning point in his career. It began a period of intense introspection during which he developed the iron control that permitted him to withdraw in the late stages of the 1961 championship without cracking and to bounce back from a narrow defeat by Petrosian in the 1866 championship.
What Spassky said about that 1966 match is a good tipoff to the attitude he is taking into the arena against Fischer:
“I want to note without any false modesty that in 1965 I was already a stronger player than Petrosian. But when two players meet in a match, their relative chess strength is relegated to the background.
“The one who is objectively the weaker of the two can win the match, for example, as a result of better preparation and a good knowledge of his adversary as well as of his own weaknesses and strong points.
“In match play the human personality reveals itself in all its diversity. In 1966 Petrosian was superior to me as a personality. He was a mature person who knew his worth. I was inferior to him in many ways. The Germans have a good saying: “You can't entrust a serious matter to a person under 30.” In 1966 I was still under 30. I realized in the course of the match that defeat was inevitable and I was prepared for it. I was disappointed, of course, but I did not make a tragedy out of it.”
For all that, there are still lapses. Last spring Spassky finished far back in the Alekhine Memorial Tournament in Moscow, giving rise to two speculative theories—that he was experimenting in preparation for Fischer, or that he was unwilling to disclose his secrets in open play.
Spassky himself says simply “I played poorly.” To make that admission may have been a sign of maturity, but it could not have set well with the rulers of the Soviet chess world.
Petrosian, whom Spassky finally defeated in 1969 to assume the world title, believes the Russian champion will beat Fischer. He added cautiously, however, that Spassky's chances would be better in an intense and lengthy contest—which may well be the case this time in Reykjavik, given Spassky's penchant to go for a draw when things are not all going his way.
Speaking of Fischer's sensational shutouts of the U.S.S.R.'s Mark Taimanov and Denmark's Bent Larsen in the interzonal matches last year, Petrosian called the young American “an exceptionally dangerous rival for any Chess player.”
Will Spassky succumb to “Fischer - fear?” Robert Byrne, the American grandmaster, isn't sure.
Byrne believes that Fischer will win but he says Spassky's strong point will be his ability to find the key that will unnerve Fischer. “He is a far better psychologist than Fischer, and this quality has never failed him.”
Contrasted with the reams of publicity that Fischer has recently permitted about himself, Spassky has stayed well out of the spotlight. He refuses even to talk about his physical training regimen altho it was clearly an arduous one.
The Russian champion lives quietly in a roomy apartment with his second wife and their son, Vassily—who, he noted, turned five years old last week. He seemed almost to view this as a good luck omen.
The pressure on Spassky is fantastic. It comes not only from the knowledge that Fischer may be the toughest opponent he ever faced, but also from knowing that the entire Soviet Union is depending on him to preserve the national pride.
Russian chess players who make it to the top are subsidized to a fare-thee-well, receiving privileges that most average citizens never have. If Spassky loses, not only will he fall from grace as a national hero, but his whole lifestyle may change. The Russians don't like losers.
One senses, therefore, that he feels a tremendous obligation not only to his own competitive sense but to the motherland. He said as much after winning the world title in 1969.
“What do I feel now? Joy? Happiness? No, I experience a feeling of inner satisfaction. Not because I have become world champion but because I have succeeded in beating Petrosian. I feel I have done my duty.”
For all his competence at the chessboard, and the competitive urge that entails, Spassky insists that he is not combative by nature.
“I am a contemplative person,” he says. “But in chess you have to be a fighter, and of necessity I became one. Chess itself spurs you on to certain actions. In some cases it compels you to be active, and in others to show patience and restraint. In short, chess molds your character. As for me, it made me a fighter.”
The last time they met, in 1970, Spassky beat Fischer in three games and two were drawn. Since then Fischer's rise has been meteoric—and Spassky, playing little in public, has watched him coming on like gangbusters.
Now the world will find out whether the world champion is a sufficiently composed and mature man to withstand Fischer's incandescent assault, or whether that 9-year-old boy sobbing at the Leningrad chess club is still in the background.
Chicago Tribune Press Service
Spassky Psyched and Well Studied for the Onslaught of Bobby Fischer 02 Jul 1972, Sun Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois) Newspapers.com
The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 55
Here's How to Play Chess--Then Practice, Read, Watch Pros by Richard M. Weintraub, Globe Staff
With a growing interest in the game of chess, spurred by the Bobby Fischer vs. Boris Spassky world championship match, here's a brief primer outlining the basics of the game for those who have never played. […] Now you know what to do — and why ” all that's left is to find an opponent. Oh yes, there's one other thing — strategy. That comes in three ways: practice, reading a good chess book, and watching two real pros like Fischer and Spassky.
Here's How to Play Chess--Then Practice, Read, Watch Pros 02 Jul 1972, Sun The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) Newspapers.com
Pensacola News Journal Pensacola, Florida Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 47
Chess Club Set July 13
With interest rising in chess due to the world championship matches between American Bobby Fischer and Russian Boris Spassky, a group of Pensacolians have decided to organize a chess club.
An organizational meeting is planned July 13 at John Waite's home, 1813 Maxwell St., at 7 p.m.
Anyone interested in becoming a charter member can call Mike Henderson.
Chess Club Set July 13 02 Jul 1972, Sun Pensacola News Journal (Pensacola, Florida) Newspapers.com
Argus-Leader Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 2
American Chess Master Missing At Time Of Flight
New York (AP)—American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer failed to show up at Kennedy Airport here Saturday night for passage on the last commercial airline flight that could have taken him to Reykjavik, Iceland, in time for the scheduled Sunday start of his world chess title match with Russian Boris Spassky.
The Icelandic Airlines plane departed on schedule without Fischer, and an airline spokesman said the next flight to Reykjavik would not be until 6:30 p.m. EDT Sunday.
Fischer's first game with Spassky was scheduled to begin at noon, CDT, Sunday.
There was some speculation that Fischer, who fled reporters when they spotted him at Kennedy Airport Thursday night, might have taken a flight to another European city and planned to go to Reykjavik from there.
In the past week, Fischer repeatedly canceled his passage on flights to Iceland reportedly because he was dissatisfied with financial arrangements for the match.
The South Bend Tribune South Bend, Indiana Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 70
ABC Sports To Telecast Chess Event
ABC Sports has acquired the exclusive rights to televise the World Chess Championship between challenger Bobby Fischer of the United States and champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.
The coverage on ABC will be the only telecasts of the competition available in the United States.
Highlights of championship games, possibly as many as 24 in all, will be seen on “ABC's Wide World of Sports.” The championship will run a maximum of eight weeks; the first telecast will air at 4 p.m. July 8.
The World Chess Championship will be held in Reykjavik, Iceland, a country of devoted chess aficionados. This marks the first time in history the matches will be played outside the Soviet Union.
The first game will be played Sunday, July 2; the second on Tuesday, the third on Thursday. Thereafter, games will be played every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday for eight weeks.
A maximum of 24 games will be played. As soon as one competitor earns 12½ points, the championship is decided and play is terminated. One point is awarded for a victory, a half point for a tie. Defending champion Spassky needs only a 12-12 tie to retain his world title.
Fischer, a prodigy who stunned the world by winning the United States national championship at the age of 14, has faced Spassky only five times in his career and has never won, losing three games and tying twice between 1960 and 1970. Yet, following his relatively easy succession of triumphs in preliminary competition, Fisher is probably the favorite.
Spassky is the latest tin a long line of Russian champions. A representative of the Soviet Union has held the World Championship for the past 23 years.
Playground Daily News Fort Walton Beach, Florida Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 2
Iceland Awaits Chess Champion
Reykjavik (UPI) - Icelandic officials waited nervously Saturday for U.S. chess Grand Master Bobby Fischer, who is scheduled to start his world championship match against Russian Boris Spassky here Sunday.
Chess sources said the International Chess Federation will presumably disqualify Fischer from world championship play if he fails to show up for the first game at 5 p.m.
Lothar Schmidt, the German Grand Master serving as official arbiter at the match, said the first game may be postponed if the official match physician finds a medical reason for Fischer to ask for a postponement.
The 29-year-old challenger three times postponed his departure from New York without giving any explanation.
Some chess sources said he was playing a game of nerves, trying to upset the 35-year-old champion, who has been in Iceland since June 21 preparing for the marathon match which will include 24 games.
Others said Fischer was stalling because he was not happy with the money offered.
The Icelandic organizers have put up $125,000 in prize money with five-eighths going to the winner and the rest to the loser.
The sources said Fischer suddenly demanded an additional 30 per cent share of the gate receipts but the Icelandic Chess Federation rejected it.
The Times Shreveport, Louisiana Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 6
Fischer Arrival Still Awaited in Reykjavik
New York (UPI) — American chess champion Bobby Fischer kept his Russian opponent waiting and the world watching Saturday, less than 24 hours before the scheduled start of their world championship match 2,600 miles away in Iceland.
Three times Fischer postponed his departure for Reykjavik mysteriously at the last minute, risked permanent disqualification from world championship play if he was not on a plane Saturday night.
As a member of the Church of God, a Protestant sect which observes the Sabbath on Saturday, Fischer, 29, prefers not to fly until sundown Saturday. That would leave a 9:30 p.m. EDT Icelandic Airlines flight out of Kennedy International Airport as the only direct connection.
Spassky Calmly Waiting
In the Soviet Union, meanwhile, the Soviet news agency Tass claimed Fischer was losing his own “war of nerves” against world chess champion Boris Spassky, who was calmly waiting in Iceland playing tennis and going for long walks.
Fischer was in hiding Saturday and his lawyer, Paul G. Marshall, would say only, “I expect Bobby Fischer to do the proper thing for Bobby Fischer.”
But a longtime friend and fellow international grand master, the Rev. William J. Lombardy, who talked to Fischer Friday predicted he would arrive in Reykjavik in time for the match, settle his differences with the promoters over money, play Russian World Champion Boris Spassky and win the title.
“He gives indication of going and playing,” Lombardy said.
“A man who is that confident about his own skill is not going to pass up the opportunity to play over some minor details which can be ironed out.”
Official Delay Possible
In Reykjavik, German Grand Master Lothar Schmidt, arbiter for the match, said the first game could be postponed if the official match physician found medical reasons for Fischer to ask for a delay. But, officials said, Fischer had to show up by game time or be disqualified.
The Icelandic flight would leave Fischer 10 hours to rest before the start of the match at 5 p.m. Sunday Iceland time (1 p.m. EDT). “I'm sure he'll be well rested for the match,” Lombardy said.
Another Fischer attorney, Andrew Davis, remained on a flight to Reykjavik when Fischer bolted Friday and was negotiating with the president of the Icelandic Chess Federation, Gudmundur Thorarinsson, for 30 per cent of the gate receipts which Fischer was demanding. Original plans called for the winner to receive five-eighths of a $125,000 purse put up by the Icelandic organizers and the loser the remainder.
Unlikely to Agree
Thorarinsson said at a news conference later the talks had produced “some results” but “we still have difficulties.” He said that “from a principle point of view it is unlikely” that the federation would agree to Fischer's demands, which also included 60 per cent of the net profit from the sale of television rights.
Asked by newsmen as he left his hotel to play tennis whether he expected the match to begin Sunday, Spassky said: “I don't think so but I don't know for sure and at this point I don't want to think about it.”
Thorarinsson said each player had the right to ask for postponement of a game three times during the match by pleading illness. “Theoretically these could be the first three games,” he said, but it is up to the official match doctor to decide “and that would be difficult if the player is not in Iceland.”
In New York Marshall refused to discuss the negotiations.
Lombardy said he believed that it was the differences over money that caused Fischer to cancel plans to fly to Reykjavik earlier. “He doesn't feel like moving until they at least make some attempt at settling that,” the priest said. “But I am confident that he will be reasonable. One thing is paramount in his mind and that is to win the world championship.”
War of Nerves
Tass in a dispatch from Reykjavik said, “The American grandmaster Larry Evans, who has [failed at being] Fischer's second, announced on arrival in Reykjavik that Fischer was waging a war of nerves against Spassky.
“But it is Fischer himself who seems to be unnerved,” Tass said. “Spassky went out for a walk early in the morning Saturday … (and) played tennis against the international master Ivo Ney of Estonia.”
As an example of Fischer's alleged nervousness, the Tass dispatch cited Icelandic newspaper reports that said Fischer had canceled a New York-Reykjavik flight at the last minute Friday and “was seen running away from Kennedy Airport in a ft of temper,” after his Thursday night cancellation.
The report, headlined “Match or No Match?” on Tass wires, said “it is just 24 hours before the match is due to start, but will it get going at all?”
The Times Shreveport, Louisiana Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 50
Chess Match Officially Open Despite Absence of Fischer by Ian Westergren
Reykjavik (UPI) — Officials Saturday formally declared play ready to begin Sunday in the world chess championship even though U.S. challenger Bobby Fischer had not yet shown up for his opening bout with champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.
However, Dr. Max Euwe, president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), said in the opening ceremony in Iceland's national theater he was convinced Fischer would arrive in time for the match at 4 p.m. (12 p.m. CDT).
He said it was possible under FIDE's rules to have the first of the 24 games postponed until Tuesday if Fischer wanted it. However, other sources said Fischer could be disqualified if he does not show up for the first game.
Lothar Schmidt, the German Grand Master serving as official arbiter at the match, said the first game could be postponed if the official match physician finds medical reason for Fischer to ask for a delay.
The 29-year-old challenger three times postponed his departure from New York without giving any explanation.
Some chess sources said he was playing a game of nerves, trying to upset the 35-year-old champion, who has been in Iceland since June 21 preparing for the marathon match which will include 24 games.
Others said Fischer was stalling because he was not happy with the money agreement both he and Spassky had accepted. The Icelandic organizers have put up $125,000 in prize money with five-eighths going to the winner and the rest to the loser.
The sources said Fischer suddenly demanded an additional 30 per cent share of the gate receipts but the Icelandic Chess Federation rejected it.
The drawing of lots to decide who is playing the white pieces in the first game was postponed until Sunday morning in the hope that the American challenger will be in town by then.
Spassky did not appear to be disturbed by the last-minute drama surrounding his first defense of the title he won from fellow countryman Tigran Petrosian in 1969.
He locked himself into his hotel with his assistants, who included two Russian grand masters, to relax prior to the first game.
Newsmen and photographers arriving to cover the match were told that they would not be allowed to report the games play by play and that all rights to still pictures in the hall had been sold to an American syndicate.
To get their accreditations newsmen were asked to sign a declaration that they were not going to give a play by play account and that they would limit themselves to three reports from each game. Many refused to sign and decided to buy tickets instead to get into the hall.
Ticket sales were not as brisk as expected. Apparently because the 210,000 chess-mad inhabitants of this island nation were still uncertain whether Fischer would show up.
Asked by newsmen whether he expected the match to begin Sunday, Spassky said, “I don't think so. But I don't know for sure and at this point I don't want to think about it.”
Plays Tennis
The handsome champion then left his hotel to play some tennis for relaxation.
At a news conference the Icelandic Chess Federation president said he had no guarantees that Fischer would show up for the first game Sunday.
“But he is not the sort of man who breaks his work,” Thorarinsson said.
He said there had been “some results” during his talks with Fischer's representatives “but we still have difficulties.”
He confirmed that Fischer had asked for an additional 30 per cent share of the gate receipts on top of the prize money and the 60 per cent of the net profit from the selling of television rights, which the players will share.
“But from a principle point of view it is unlikely that we would agree to this request,” he said.
He said any of the players had the right to ask for postponement of games three times, pleading illness, and “theoretically these could be the first three games.” But he added that it was up to the official match doctor to decide “and that would be difficult if the player is not in Iceland.”
Star Tribune Minneapolis, Minnesota Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 6
Chess Group Seeks Limit On Coverage of Tourney
NYTimes News Service. Reykjavik, Iceland — The Icelandic Chess Federation was engaged Saturday in a battle to prevent television stations and chess clubs around the world from staging play-by-play reconstructions of the scheduled world chess championship matches as they are under way.
Of 85 reports seeking accreditation to cover the matches, only the Associated Press and the New York Times were believed to have refused to sign an agreement demanded by the federation, to limit coverage to not more than three reports per game, and to prohibit their use for simultaneous move-by-move reconstructions.
The Associated Press, it was understood, made a verbal agreement with the federation to hold down its dispatches to five during each game. With this understanding, it was not being required to make the pledge to bar unauthorized reproductions.
A correspondent for the New York Times was informed that he would be barred from using communications facilities in the sports palace. The Times had refused to sign the agreement on the ground it involved prior restraint on reporting.
The Time's correspondent purchased spectator tickets instead of using the press facilities provided by the federation, and was assured by telephone officials here that no one could restrict his recourse to telephone service.
The other major American news service, United Press International, refused to comment on whether it had made any agreement; it had planned play-by-play reports.
The Icelandic Chess Federation took the position that it had put up the highest purse in chess history, $125,000, ([Oh nonsense!!! Aside of the whinings how they can barely “break even” which is factually untrue, Soviets attempting to rewrite history with their overreaching censorship: Australia put up $225,000 … Mexico put up $175,000 … even Belgrade who broke its contractual obligations, withdrew … but up $150,000. Bragging rights are denied. Iceland was cherrypicked because it was a guarantee the Soviet Union could BURY the match.]), for the players, and incurred other costs that would bring its expenses above $200,000. ([And how much did that secret deal to hire noisy camera men to distract Robert Fischer, so naturally, he would then fulfill the Soviet plot to achieve total censorship… and bury the match. Must've been lots, considering Chester Fox later sued Bobby for 3.3 million.)]
To recoup, the federation said, it entered into a contract to grant exclusive film rights to Chester Fox, Inc., and also made an agreement to let the world chess network have all move-by-move broadcasts.
Photographers protested when they were told they would not be allowed even to take cameras into the hall where the match was to be held. ([That's what Soviet Scheming works like, every time Fischer was mocked for speaking the truth it in the news media. He had a point after all.])
The Arizona Republic Phoenix, Arizona Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 3
Bobby Fischer Asks Chess Match Delay
Reykjavik, Iceland (AP) — Bobby Fischer's lawyer has asked to postpone the start of today's world championship chess match until Tuesday, but neither the organizers appeared willing to grant the request.
Lothar Schmidt of Germany, the chief referee, said early today he didn't recognize the legitimacy of the request made by Andrew Davis, Fischer's lawyer.
Schmidt said Davis carried no written credentials authorizing him to act in the American grand master's name. But Schmidt said something might can be worked out if Fischer shows up on time for the scheduled start of his match with world champion Boris Spassky of Russia.
The likelihood the American challenger would appear in time for scheduled 1 p.m. EDT start of the first game of the 24-game match appeared dim, however.
Fischer failed to board the last scheduled commercial airline flight that could have taken him from New York to Iceland for the start of the world's richest chess match. The Icelandic Airlines plane departed without Fischer, and an airline spokesman said the next flight to Reykjavik would be 7:30 p.m. EDT—6½ hours after the game was to start.
There was some speculation however, that the 29-year-old grandmaster might have taken a flight to another European city, planning to proceed to Iceland from there.
“If he's on the plane,” Schmidt said, “perhaps we can arrange something if the Iceland Chess Federation and the Russians agree. If not, there will be a problem.”
The problem could be that Schmidt would decide that Fischer had to forfeit his chances to contend for the title.
Gudmunder Thorarinsson, president of the Icelandic federation, organizing the match said, “As far as I'm concerned, the match will begin on Sunday.”
“If Fischer wants a postponement, he needs the agreement of the federation and the Russians. And I don't think he is going to get it.” Thorarinsson added.
It appeared that if Fischer arrived in Iceland before the scheduled starting time and asked for a delay, his chances for playing Spassky would be improved.
Officials involved in preparations for the match have become increasingly less amused by Fischer's conduct. His almost daily demands, from a Mercedes Benz with automatic transmission to a hideaway villa, have tried the patience of the organizers.
To cap the demands came the surprise ultimatum last week that he wouldn't appear on time unless he got a percentage of gate receipts at the 24-game match.
Thorarinsson told an acquaintance last night he wasn't ready to accede.
“I've been trying for more than a year to get the match to Iceland. I would do many things. But I will not bite a sour apple,” he said.
In the past week, Fischer has repeatedly canceled reservations for Iceland. On Thursday, he ducked away from newsmen who spotted him at Kennedy Airport in New York.
The 29-year-old American grand master was balking at a chance to end the Soviet Union's monopoly on the world chess crown because of a last-minute dispute he started by issuing a demand for more money.
In New York, a lawyer associated with Fischer's American attorney in Reykjavik, said the challenger has been concerned because the match will not be televised live in the United States.
“Bobby loves Iceland but it wasn't his choice,” said Paul Marshall, the lawyer in New York. “You can't have live TV coverage there. …
“He said over and over again that he wanted his countrymen to have an opportunity to see the match live.”
Marshall said a lack of satellite tracking stations in the Reykjavik area prevented such live coverage. He added that Fischer wants the match to be handled in a “comfortable, dignified way.”
“A lot of people feel he's committed to greed,” Marshall said. “But he's committed to his own standards of propriety and dignity.”
Fischer's demand was for 30 per cent of gate receipts in addition to prize money and other payments previously agreed on.
The original terms included prize money of $125,000, with five-eights going to the winner, and an even split of 60 per cent of the income derived from the sale of television and film rights to the match. The purse was 10 times greater, than any previous offered for the for the world's title. ([Not true. Australia made top bid of $225,000 with only 25,000 of that total going for expenses, meaning $200k in prize money and Mexico coming in second with a bid for $175,000.])
If Fischer doesn't appear for the match, Spassky would retain the title. It also was likely the International Chess Federation would apply strict sanctions against Fischer in future tournaments the federation sponsors. There also was discussion of a possible suit against Fischer by the ([some unscrupulous sorts, troublesome people who spread rumors, not the general population of]) Icelanders.
Spassky remained composed, chatting amiably with reporters at his hotel and joking about his tennis game. He had a two-hour session with Soviet chess grand master Jivo Nei, a strong tennis player who gave the 25-year-old Spassky a good workout.
