ANew York Times, New York, New York, Saturday, July 08, 1972 - Page 22
Chess Champions' Aides Fill Many Roles by Harold C. Schonberg
Reykjavik, Iceland, July 7 — After a week of confusion over the championship chess match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky, Reykjavik is returning to its normal activities.
When the champion and his challenger met last night to draw for the first game on Tuesday, and the match was declared officially under way, there was a huge collective sigh of relief. No longer is the name of Bobby Fischer — or “Bubby Fissa,” as it is generally pronounced here — on everybody's lips.
Speculation still runs high, however, about the outcome of the match. And, as the champion and challenger settle in for a long siege, attention has also been directed at their entourages — the groups of quiet men who were in the eye of the storm around the match for a week.
Although the storm has abated, it does not mean that no problems remain. The two players still have to give their approval to Exhibition Hall, the site of the match.
Some changes, none of them major, may have to be made at the hall. The marble-inlaid chess board, built into the elaborate table, has created problems. Its squares are a little too large in relation to the pieces, and a regulation wooden board may be substituted.
Virtuoso chess players have a kind of spatial relationship that would be disturbed if the proportion between chess piece and chess square was out of line, just as pianist would be disturbed if the keys on an instrument were a bit wider.
Fischer Moves to Hotel
Fischer moved from the private house reserved for him into a hotel, because there had been a good deal of construction noise in the vicinity and Fischer sleeps most of the day, arising at 3 or 4 p.m. Another house is being sought for him.
Much of the players' time is spent with the delegations that will accompany them through the match. The role of the entourages is to provide companionship, give advice on strategy and release the tension as the first game approaches. Both players spend hours each day at the board with their companions, dreaming of prepared variations and other devices with which to confound each other.
The uncertainty about the match earlier in the week has affected box office sales. Exhibition Hall, which has been provided with about 2,300 seats — more can be added if necessary—is not sold out for the Tuesday opening. Ticket sales dropped to nothing while the negotiations were in progress.
It is hoped by the sponsors that, with the future of the match no longer in doubt, the chess-loving public here and abroad will take the opportunity to see what has been variously billed as “the chess match of the century” and “the chess match of all time.”
A Disparate Group
The entourages that accompany the champion and the challenger are a disparate group, but they have one thing in common—a knowledge of, and love for, chess. Among them are a Roman Catholic priest, a psychologist, an athlete and a gaggle of grandmasters. Their mission is to soothe the antagonists, fight for their man, interpret rules and rulings and, in general, act for him as best they can.
Spassky came here on June 21 with a delegation of three. All are chess players. They are the grandmasters Efim Geller and Nikolai Krogius, and international master Ivo Nei (pronounced “nay”). Geller is Spassky's second. According to the rules of chess, as set forth by the International Chess Federation, a player in a match is entitled to any number of seconds. Iceland invited Spassky and Fischer to bring three along, if they desired. They turned up with one each.
Basically the duties of a second involve analysis of adjourned positions. Very often a game is not finished under the normal time control of 40 moves in two and a half hours and has to be played off the following day. The player and his second, or seconds, may stay up all night, analyzing the adjourned position.
The second also acts as the player's factotum. He shields him, sees to it that he gets rest and eats properly, wakes him up if necessary (there are cases where careless seconds let their man sleep when he was supposed to be in the hall, playing off an adjourned game), entertains him and keeps up his spirits. A good second is also valuable because he knows the peculiarities of the player's opponents.
In Geller, Spassky has a second who knows Fischer's playing habits as well as anybody. Geller has won more games from Bobby Fischer than any other living player; his record is five victories and two draws, as against four victories for Fischer.
A Grandmaster in 1952
Like most Russian chess players, Geller has a college degree. Soviet bureaucrats make a big thing about the general education of their chess masters, and have made the point time and again in connection with Fischer, who left high school in his junior year. Geller has a degree in economics. A grandmaster in 1952 and the champion of the Soviet ([Pseudo/Fiction])Socialist Republics in 1955, Geller is one of the world's strongest players.
Krogius, 42 years old, became a grandmaster in 1964. He is a psychologist and is reputed to be one of Spassky's closest friends. Spassky is said to be subject to fits of depression: he is an emotional man who has been known to weep when he loses a game. If that happens here, Krogius will be present to take care of him.
A Mystery Man
The mystery man of the Russian delegation is Nei, who like Krogius, ever talks in public. He is here as Spassky's trainer, and he jogs and plays tennis with the champion. Tennis is Spassky's favorite sport. To please Spassky, the Icelandic Chess Federation put up the only tennis court in the country.
Chess on the Spassky-Fischer level demands a strong body because of the rigors of three games a week, plus adjourned games, plus sleepless nights fretting over mistakes, plus (in Spassky's case) the psychological pressures imposed by the importance of the match to his country.
2 Aides With Fischer
As a chess player, Nei is ranked No. 2 in his native Estonia. Paul Keres is No. 1, Nei plays in Russian tournaments, but has not made much of a mark in international chess.
Two men will be associated with Fischer, and the closest will be his second, the Rev. William Lombardy, a 35-year-old grandmaster who is rated as the best chess-playing clergyman since Bishop Ruy Lopez in the 16th century.
Father Lombardy has been a personal friend and a chess board foe of Fischer's since childhood. Their paths separated when Father Lombardy entered the Roman Catholic Church some years ago. Father Lombardy had to devote his time to his studies and to curtail his chess activities. But at one point, he was considered the most promising young player in America.
When he became world junior champion in 1957, he won all 11 of his games. He became a grandmaster in 1960, winner of the United States open championship in 1963 and co-winner in 1965. He currently teaches English at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx.
Fred Cramer of Milwaukee, a former businessman who plays a fair game of chess, has been acting as Fischer's assistant. He came here alone on June 25, and found himself embroiled in controversies with the International and Icelandic Chess Federations. Later he was assisted by Fischer's lawyers, Andrew Davis and Paul Marshall.
Acting for Bobby Fischer is rather a thankless job. As Mr. Cramer once blurted out, “I am authorized only to complain and not to approve.”
Press and Sun-Bulletin Binghamton, New York Saturday, July 08, 1972 - Page 5
Master Bobby Fischer Defended: It's Hard to Judge Chess 'Genius' by Tom Muller
The criticism of American chess master Bobby Fischer for his actions at the world chess championship is unwarranted because “geniuses are not properly judged by the ordinary mortal's standards.”
That is the opinion of Harold C. Evans of Binghamton, a former president of the New York State Chess Association and former New York State Amateur Chess Champion.
Fischer has been strongly criticized by some U.S. chess enthusiasts for his failure to show up at the scheduled world chess championship with Boris Spassky of Russia at Reykjavik, Iceland, last week.
Fischer refused to participate until more prize money was offered. He later apologized to Spassky for the delay and the championship is expected to begin Tuesday.
“In assessing Fischer's actions, it is imperative that we weigh the long and arduous path that Fischer has had to pursue in a free democracy,” Evans said. “Chess is not subsidized in this country as it is in Russia.
“In the whole realm of American chess, only a handful of masters have been able to eke out a miserable living.
Evans calls Fischer “possibly the greatest chess genius the world has ever known,” who has scored “the most impressive string of victories the world has ever witnessed.”
Spassky will also benefit from Fischer's holdout for higher stakes, Evans said, and “since Fischer has already sincerely apologized for not making the deadline, it seems the match should be started without further ado.”
“Until the advent of Fischer, people labored under the peculiar idea that all chess players were eccentrics who had no need for money or a living,” Evans, who lives at 2 Grand Boulevard, said.
“Chess, due to Fischer's Herculean efforts, is rapidly becoming recognized in this country as the great sport and art it truly is. This act in itself should make us all thankful to Fischer and force all of us to wish him well. Too long everyone tried to belabor what is wrong with the U.S.A. and Americans.”
Fischer will “make America Number One in chess,” Evans said. “I feel strongly on this matter. We've got something great in him.”
★
Daily Press Newport News, Virginia Saturday, July 08, 1972 - Page 4
Bobby Fischer “Antics”
Bobby Fischer jeopardized his chances at wresting the world chess championship away from the Russians by delaying the start of the matches in Iceland and in the process made himself the villain of the piece. ([Among the very long list of offenses of villainy by Eastern organizers who were unleashing a flood of false reports in earlier months to support their plots to disqualify Bobby Fischer, and replace with Tigran Petrosian, along with their refusal to any direct communication to iron-out pre-match details…demanding Fischer orally agree to new arrangements he'd neither seen nor read when Belgrade dropped the first half of the matches and Euwe then reneged on his word to offer the first half of the matches “first come, first serve”; Australia bidding a whopping $225k -- with a mere 25k going for organization expenses and Mexico bidding $175k! et cetera]) The Soviet demand that the first match be forfeited ([further of the most un-sportsmanlike conduct!]) to titlist Boris Spassky could have been heeded and even the entire series conceivably was in the balance. There was in fact no real precedent for the chess world to handle such misconduct as that of the always irrepressible American grand master.
But Bobby Fischer got what he wanted (more money in the kitty) and may also have upset the composure of his opponent: “psyching” is a familiar tactic when grand masters meet each other, and is Fischer's particular forte. Moreover, the was never one to worry about whether people liked him.
In trying to judge Fischer's conduct, however, it is important to note that the Russians subsidize their top chess competitors on a grand scale while nothing like that happens in this country, where chess activities are seldom given prominence. And Fischer's grab for funds wasn't so dissimilar from what has been going on in the main arena of American sports.
The American challenger did redeem himself somewhat by apologizing twice to Spassky for the delay (the matches are now set to begin on Tuesday) and for any distress or discomfiture he caused — a gesture that hardly was in keeping with his “bad boy” reputation but perhaps for that reason more effective.
The Russians take chess very seriously and if Spassky loses it will for them be a national catastrophe. Youngster there take up chess on the scale that young Americans try to develop skills in baseball, football and basketball; the world championship has been in Soviet possession 35 years. Undoubtedly if Fischer wins it will be a start toward putting chess on a new footing in this country and excellence in this mind-testing endeavor is something of which anyone would have reason to be proud. We'll still be rooting for Bobby Fischer even though he has done much to make that difficult. ([Further “Antics,” such as keeping the Saturday Sabbath, which was contrary to the mainstream American's day of worship, Sunday, kept by the overwhelming majority of Xtian Protestants, along with the irreligious Soviets, cause, and license to ridicule and denounce a man as “temperamental” in their antisemitic fervor, public scorn in the press when he chooses to walk out while in the lead at a tournament rather than risk offense to his God. If it were the other way around, had Fischer's dispute been against being forced to work on “Sunday,”, American press editorials would've given Fischer nothing but high praise and shining reviews of Fischer's example to all on his personal “Devotion to Faith”.])
Bobby Fischer "Antics" 08 Jul 1972, Sat Daily Press (Newport News, Virginia) Newspapers.com
The Evening Sun Baltimore, Maryland Saturday, July 08, 1972 - Page 3
Blood-Thirsty Chess: Check These Moves, Mate
New York (AP) —The insulted egos and white-knuckled tensions before the Fischer-Spassky chess match may seem to be a blazing battle, but pale beside the tales of blood-thirsty games in Medieval Iceland.
Chess boards in the 12th and 13th Centuries were often the center of treachery, revenge, intrigue and murder, according to sagas of the time.
Games were often interrupted because somebody was getting hacked to pieces.
When a certain King Louis lost a chess game to Rognvald, he stood up in a fury, shoved his chess men into a bag and smashed his opponent in the face with it, leaving him a bloody mess.
“Take that!” exclaimed the king.
Rognvald rode off in a panic. But his brother stayed to split the king's skull open.
These stories are sagas from Willard Fiske's “Chess in Iceland and in Icelandic Literature,” published in 1905.
It is said that Bobby Fischer, American chess champion, has gotten the highest stakes in history of chess for his series beginning Tuesday in Reykjavik with Boris Spassky, the world champion.
Even though thousands of dollars in prize money are on the line, today's championship prize is chicken feed.
Rognvald played King Louis for his head.
Woman Was Prize
A woman was the prize in one knightly saga. A king put up his horse, falcon and sword for a maiden and engaged in a game, winner take all. The king lost. He left the game on foot, unarmed and unloved.
“Little consolation do you derive from the game of chess for now I own your costly objects! said his competitor.
Talk about concentration. Today, Fischer feels the glare of the elaborate chess table in Reykjavik may be too bright. It may distract him. Fischer could take a lesson from King Valdemar, in the year 1157.
The king concentrated so hard on his chess game that when Canute V gave him a big kiss, he didn't even look up from the board.
Troops Got His Attention
It took a troop of enemy soldiers rushing into the room to get his attention. The king leaped up to fight. He fell with a wounded thigh. But his men covered him with their bodies for protection. They were chopped to bits, and the king escaped. The game was never finished.
Concentration could have been the downfall of Eric Plovpenning, a wise ruler, it is said. He was lured to the chess table by his blackhearted brother in the summer of 1250. The brother abused Eric as he sat playing chess, and Eric was killed that very night.
“Poor King! Little did he merit so cruel a checkmate!” was the comment from Fiske.
Check These Moves, Mate 08 Jul 1972, Sat The Evening Sun (Baltimore, Maryland) Newspapers.com
The Baltimore Sun Baltimore, Maryland Saturday, July 08, 1972 - Page 4
Disputes Left Match in Doubt Before Drawing
Reykjavik, Iceland (AP) — Disputes all day Thursday left in doubt until an hour before they drew lots that Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer would play for the world chess championship, informed sources reported yesterday.
Telephone calls from the camp of the Russian champion and the American challenger confirming that play would start Tuesday reached the organizers at about 7 P.M., or 50 minutes before Mr. Spassky reached the playing hall for the draw. He won the draw—giving him the important first move.
Referee Almost Quits
The sources said that during the disputes, Lothar Schmid, of West Germany, the chief referee, twice threatened, to quit.
Harry Golombek, acting in the absence of Dr. Max Euwe, president of the International Chess Federation, overruled Mr. Schmid and said, “We will go on.”
Having dropped their demand that Mr. Fischer forfeit the first game because of his late arrival for the scheduled start last Sunday, the Russians asked Thursday morning that Mr. Spassky be allowed to rest until Tuesday.
Demands Seesaw
They said he was “tired and upset” by all the controversy and delay.
Paul Marshall, a lawyer, and the other men representing Mr. Fischer first rejected the request, saying the American insisted that the match start Sunday.
Federation officials intervened and obtained American agreement on condition that Mr. Spassky put the request in writing. The day dragged on while officials tried to locate Mr. Spassky, who was finally found through the Soviet Embassy. He consented to write it.
Mr. Fischer then demanded days off in September for religious holidays recognized by the Worldwide Church of God, the fundamentalist sect he follows, if the match runs over its scheduled end-of-August finish. More negotiations ensued.
The dispute that nearly caused Mr. Schmid to walk out was a demand by Mr. Marshall that restrictions on transmitting move-by-move reports of the games be lifted. Rights to a running play-by-play have been sold, and correspondents are limited in the number of times they can transmit the moves.
The Baltimore Sun Baltimore, Maryland Saturday, July 08, 1972 - Page 4
Slater Plays Business as Chess -- Fanatically
London (AP)—James Slater, the British businessman who helped finance the Fischer-Spassky chess championship duel, built up a worldwide business empire with the skill of a chess master whittling away an opponent's defenses.
“Chess and investment both require the same mixture of science and art, intuition and analysis,” he once said.
Mr. Slater should know—he is a chess fanatic who once was expected to be a schoolboy champion. Checks got the better of checkmate, but he still plays and gets his kicks subsidizing tournaments in Britain.
$130,000 Offer
He finds time to play on a chessboard in his office—usually against himself—while he plots his next million.
Mr. Slater, 43, put up $130,000 to lure Bobby Fisher, the American chess champion, to Reykjavik to play world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union after the challenger complained the stakes were not high enough.
The multimillionaire said he just wanted to see the controversial game of the century take place.
That $130,000 was the same amount of money Mr. Slater had when he quit his job as an auto corporation executive eight years ago.
Within a year, Mr. Slater had wheeled and dealed that stake into a half million pounds. Today, he masterminds an investment empire worth more than $500 million on the stock exchange.
Business Is Like Music
He has a knack for spotting badly run companies with big potential, piling up strategic share holdings, taking them over and transforming them into profit-making concerns.
So far, Mr. Slater has notched about 20 corporate scalps with almost casual ease and left old pros of London's financial district open-mouthed in wonder and waiting for a big fall. But soft-spoken Mr. Slater is not fazed by the prophecies of doom.
“I mean to be around for a long-time and make this company a great deal bigger—and that won't take long to do,” he said.
He is able to pile up profits of more than $30 million a year through his ability to scan pages of complex figures and grasp crucial points in a matter of minutes.
Care, Dare More
“Looking at a page of figures is to me what listening to a concerto is to a musical person,” Mr. Slater says. “A mistake, or an opportunity or an exciting situation jumps right out and hits me in the eye, just as a wrong note or a well-played passage can be heard at once by a musician.”
Everyone from directors to doormen owns shares in his empire. He explains: “It makes them care more. It makes them dare more. They soon realize that calculated risk-taking is what business is all about.”
Like the chess masters he is financing, he does not leave himself exposed if he can help it. He has insured his life for about $25 million, and his five directors each for a tenth as much, to give his empire a cash boost if he and his lieutenants die.
Golf, Pool Chess
Mr. Slater lives in a modest mansion he built in his bachelor days. He is married now and has two sons and two daughters.
He usually spends only three days a week in his office atop the skyscraper headquarters of his empire, near St. Paul's cathedral.
The son of a smalltime businessman who died when Mr. Slater was at school, the tycoon spends Fridays working at home just so he can be with his family.
Weekends he plays golf, swims in the pool at his home—plays chess.
He became hooked on the game when he was 11 and was soon playing against British champions. At 16, he stopped playing seriously to study accounting.
“The game was too time-consuming,” he says.
He sponsors an annual international tournament at the coastal resort of Hastings. He has financed next year's world under-21 championships to encourage young players.
Now he has paid a small fortune for the most expensive chess game in history, but he will not be there to watch. He will follow it in the papers.
There is one thing even he cannot afford—the time.
Slater Plays Business as Chess -- Fanatically 08 Jul 1972, Sat The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland) Newspapers.com
Spokane Daily Chronicle Spokane, Washington Saturday, July 08, 1972 - Page 20
New Chess Woes Crop Up
Reykjavik, Iceland (UPI)—The Boris Spassky-Bobby Fischer world chess championship match, already delayed for nine days, ran into new problems today when the chief arbiter left Iceland.
U.S. chess sources said Fischer, the 29-year-old American challenger, is “at peak form and raring to go” into the first game Tuesday against the world champion, Russia's Spassky.
But the sources said there might have to be another postponement—until Thursday—since chief arbiter Lothar Schmid will not be back in town until then.
Son Injured
Schmid, a West German grandmaster and the owner of a book publishing firm in Bamberg, flew home this morning and said he would return Thursday. He said he was leaving because one of his sons had been injured in a traffic accident.
Schmid's assistant arbiter, Gudmundur Arnlaugsson of Iceland, will be in charge of final preparations, which include the touchy job of picking the chess sets and board to be used.
Schmid said he had invited the two players to come to the hall together tomorrow to check on the facilities and hopefully approve them. But his meeting was called off after Schmid left.
Spassky also left town and went north with Icelandic friend and chess player, Freysteinn Thorbergsson, on a salmon fishing trip Russian officials said Spassky would be back Monday, at the latest.
Bid Turned Down
Thorbergsson also invited Fischer along, but the American turned down the invitation to observe his Church of God's Sabbath from last night until tonight.
Before leaving Spassky said he was not going to argue about the practical arrangements or the picking of sets and boards. “I will leave that to Bobby — it makes no difference to me,” the 35-year-old champion told newsmen.
Fred Cramer, vice president of the U.S. Chess Federation, said the arrangements although “far superior to anything we have seen before,” could cause some problems. “But they are not important enough to wreck the match,” he said.
Cramer said Fischer was “absolutely relaxed and feeling great.”
He said he and Fischer came out of hiding last night and dined in public in a Reykjavik restaurant.
“Funnily enough nobody recognized Bobby,” Cramer said. “He had a great time. He loves the fish here in Iceland and he had fresh boiled salmon and orange juice.”
The Honolulu Advertiser Honolulu, Hawaii Sunday, July 09, 1972 - Page 87
Latest Chess Crisis: The Judge Bugs Out
Before departing Schmid said he was not entirely happy with the massive mahogany chess table provided by the organizers.
“IT'S NOT VERY practical and I would like another table,” he said. “On the other hand it's sad to discard it since the Icelanders have had it specially made and intent to put it in a museum after the match.”
Schmid Complains About Chess Board 09 Jul 1972, Sun The Honolulu Advertiser (Honolulu, Hawaii) Newspapers.com
The Cincinnati Enquirer Cincinnati, Ohio Sunday, July 09, 1972 - Page 2
Fischer, who is staying in the presidential suite at Loftleider Hotel—the plushest in town—and sometimes at a private guarded house put at his disposal, went swimming Friday before the Sabbath.
“He has access to the hotel swimming pool after hours,” Cramer said. “He is swimming like an athlete and he is in great physical form.”
Championship Chess Match May Face Further Delay 09 Jul 1972, Sun The Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, Ohio) Newspapers.com
The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Saturday, July 08, 1972 - Page 8
The Chess Match (Yawn) Is Set
The world championship chess match at long last is set to start Tuesday ([these arrangements would have been worked out long before, if Eastern and European organizers had bothered to consult, man-to-man, with Bobby Fischer during the Spring season of 1972, but they refused]), and one wonders how even the greatest chess enthusiasts, by now can really much care.
The match was supposed to start a week ago, but the preliminaries unfortunately resembled the hassles to which one is accustomed before, say, a Muhammad Ali fight. ([Coincidental, what is not however, is the sore loser approach {and the Soviet KNEW, months in advance, they were going to lose} the “winning is everything” attitude of the Soviet federation whose actions jeopardized the tournament and put the challenger in a forced position to react just as he did, the challenger, “Robert J. Fischer” being the sole reason the entire world had their eye on the match, in the first place! Everything calculated by the Soviets who could not care less if they damaged the world's perception of Chess in their attempts to retain the title through scurrilous means; for years, flooding the press with negativity to demoralize Fischer, for all that matters in Moscow, is that the home team wins at all costs]). This has been a little disconcerting to those who had been fooled into thinking that chess was as genteel as, well, ladies' tennis, although, come to think of it, ladies' tennis isn't half so genteel as it once was, either.
Maybe that's the rub. It isn't how you play the game, son, it's whether you win or lose. In this case, the moves started long before the rivals, the Russian champ, Boris Spassky, and the American genius, Bobby Fischer, even agreed on terms. They resembled Paris peace negotiators in their early inability to agree even on the shape of the table and the lighting. It is fitting that most of the arrangements were made for them by their seconds, as in old-fashioned duels.
Mr. Fischer, it has been said, has acted in the best tradition of American athletes in demanding, and getting, more prize money than he had agreed to in the beginning {[with Australia bidding $225,000 before the Soviet Union twisted Euwe's arm into reneging on his promise, “first come, first serve” bids?]), with the pot now raised to the nice level of around $300,000. Well, if you're going to play chess for money, we always say, you might as well make it worthwhile. We just hope the British chess enthusiast who put up additional $125,000 out of his own pocket gets his money's worth.
On your marks, Boris and Bobby, and may the best man win. But remember, the one who douses the lights when the other is making his move will be disqualified.
The Chess Match (Yawn) Is Set 08 Jul 1972, Sat The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) Newspapers.com
Evening Standard London, Greater London, England Saturday, July 08, 1972 - Page 7
Chief Chess Arbiter Flies Home
Reykjavik, Saturday. New complications which might further delay the start of the Boris Spassky-Bobby Fischer world chess match arose today when the chief arbiter left Reykjavik.
Lothar Schmid, a West German Grand Master picked by the International Chess Federation as arbiter said he was going home because his son had been injured in a traffic accident.
Meanwhile, Fischer has changed his headquarters to the royal suite of the luxurious Loftleider Hotel after a clandestine move from his rented villa on the other side of the capital.
He made the move yesterday after complaining that he was unable to sleep properly in the daytime because of the noise made by building workers nearby.
The Morning News Wilmington, Delaware Saturday, July 08, 1972 - Page 48
Pre-Draw Deal Saved World Match
Reykjavik, Iceland (UPI)—Boris Spassky gave up his demand that Bobby Fischer forfeit the first game of their world championship chess matches in return for Fischer's agreement to postpone the game until Tuesday, U.S. chess sources said yesterday.
The compromise was worked out in a backstage room of Reykjavik's main sports hall Thursday night a few minutes before the American challenger and the world champion from Russia appeared on stage to draw lots for the first move, the sources said.
The 24-game, $250,000 match originally was scheduled to begin last Sunday, but was delayed by Fischer's failure to show up and the Russian's demands that he be punished.
“ONE of our conditions to play the match at all was that the Russians give up their demand for the first match point,” said Fred Cramer, a vice president of the U.S. Chess Federation.
Cramer said minor obstacles might still crop up before the first game, “but nothing serious enough to endanger the start of the match.
“Bobby would have liked to start play on Sunday, but we agreed to another postponement,” he said. “The Russians apparently felt we had done it once to them and now they wanted to do it to us.”
HE was referring to an International Chess Federation (FIDE) decision to postpone the match July 2 when Fischer did not show in time for the opening game. The Russian Chess Federation said the postponement violated FIDE's own rules.
Spassky won the draw Thursday night and will play the white pieces, which means he will make the very first move of the match. Fischer will play black.
The two opponents appeared relaxed and in a good mood when they met in the hall for the first time since they arrived here. Spassky even wished Fischer good luck when they shook hands.
THEY may meet again once before Tuesday. Lothar Schmid, the FIDE judge, would like both to inspect the facilities together. They tested chairs, the board and the chess pieces Thursday night.
THERE was talk of Fischer flying in his own chair from New York unless he finds a suitable one here. Schmid has four or five different chess sets from which to pick the match set. The organizers have also treated the marble playing board with acid to take away the glare on the surface.
The Kansas City Star Kansas City, Missouri Saturday, July 08, 1972 - Page 26
The Moves Began Before the Match
After much fancy international footwork and three postponements, the great world chess championship between America's Bobby Fischer and Russia's Boris Spassky is finally (or should one say tentatively?) to begin Tuesday. The inclination of the average onlooker is to conclude that both principals, to differing degrees have forfeited some of the public respect heretofore accorded them for their supremacy in this sport of mental acuity.
Yet this may not be the case at all. It could be that Messrs. Fischer and Spassky have been indulging in a device becoming increasingly familiar even in much-more-physical sports such as shot putting—anywhere that a head-to-head confrontation is involved. It is called “psyching” your opponent: Any gimmick or change of ordinary routine designed to upset a foe's confidence or concentration. It may range from advance comments to the press to abrupt displays of prowess before the competition is scheduled to be joined.
Spassky, already pouting at photographers who attempted to monitor the exercise workouts which were part of his countdown to match time, was ripe for psyching when Fischer, at the last moment, held out for a larger purse. Yet so eager are world chess buffs to get these two to the checkered board that an English financier tossed another $130,000 into the pot and Fischer finally boarded a plane for Iceland.
But now Spassky, possibly feeling a need for some face-saving at having been kept waiting or perhaps trying a little reverse psyching, balked and demanded an apology. His Soviet backers, lacing a little Slavic practicality into the face-saving, proposed that Fischer forfeit the first game of the 24-game set, but did not press the demand.
Fischer, then came back with his change-of-pace pitch, being unexpectedly gracious, almost abject, in his written confession of bad form and declarations of admiration for Spassky. But the atmosphere was strained rather than cordial as the two met to drawn pawns for the white pieces and first move.
Upsetting as all this may have been to lovers of chess (if few others), the net effect is that the two men now will play for $300,000 instead of $170,000. The match has attracted world-wide attention and one American network now plans to carry it on television. The though occurs, then, that Fischer and Spassky may have known what they were doing all along—show biz calls it “building the house.” While the two may be starting even against each other Tuesday they are already several moves ahead of the rest of us.
([Fails to emphasize Belgrade organizers refuse to communicate with Fischer to iron out prematch details. Or, tell about Belgrade's illegal 35,000 USD demand for a guarantee the USCF refused to shell up. Or, that Soviets picked Anti-American, racist, Iceland who forbid black personnel on Icelandic soil, to achieve censoring coverage. Plots to disqualify Fischer based on Soviet rumor mill, replacing with a Soviet… so much more, remained untold by author.])
The Moves Began Before the Match 08 Jul 1972, Sat The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Missouri) Newspapers.com
The Californian Salinas, California Saturday, July 08, 1972 - Page 2
New Complications Arise In Fischer-Spassky Match
Reykjavik, Iceland (UPI)—New complications, which might further delay the start of the world chess championship match between Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union and American Bobby Fischer, arose today when the chief arbiter left Iceland.
Lothar Schmid, a West German grand master picked by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) as arbiter, flew home this morning and said he would not return until next Thursday—when the second game is scheduled to be played.
Schmid, who runs his own publishing firm in Bamberg, said he was going back to Germany because his son had been injured in a traffic accident.
Schmid had invited world champion Spassky and challenger Fischer to come to the chess hall together Sunday to study the facilities and, hopefully, approve them.
This touchy job will now be taken over by Gudmundur Arnlaugson, serving as Schmid's deputy.
“This could be critical,” said Fred Cramer, vice president of the U.S. Chess Federation. “Picking the board and the pieces is a much more difficult job than to referee the match as such.”
U.S. chess sources would not rule out the possibility of a further postponement of the first game — already delayed nine days — as a result of Schmid's departure.
The first game of the 24-game match is scheduled to be played July 11.
Fischer stayed indoors today observing the Sabbath, which last from 6 p.m. Friday until 6 p.m. Saturday. Fischer is a member of the California based Fundamentalist sect called the Church of God.
Spassky went salmon fishing with an Icelandic chess player, Froeystein Thobergson, who had invited both players to fly to Northern Iceland where the salmon streams are rich.
If popularity were a determining factor, Spassky would retain his title hands down. Chess-mad Icelanders continually speculate who will win and compare the different personalities of the Soviet champion and his American challenger.
The Guardian London, Greater London, England Saturday, July 08, 1972 - Page 11
Pawns In Time by Michael Lake in Reykjavik
THERE was a breathless moment last night when the two greatest chess players in the world faced each other over the table on the stage — where the world's championship is to begin on Tuesday — and both of them lifted a pawn.
At this instance the air seemed to quiver. One of them was going to thrust his pawn down the board and the other would reply. Both men were oblivious to the crowd and to the officials addressing us. Fischer, bursting with energy was so tempted. Had he moved there is no doubt we would all have been hooked.
The board was displayed to the crowd on a giant closed-circuit television screen and on smaller screens dotted around the walls. One could see their fingers touching the chess men and feeling the weight.
We 200 or so far traveled chess fans or journalists were going to be privy to a magic moment in what has for so many years been regarded as a game for eggheads and grey-beards in total stupefying silence.
Nothing could be further from the truth here in Reykjavik. Fischer and Spassky, both keyed up to such a pitch that they have invested this world championship with the tension of a bullfight, promise a great display of gamesmanship during the next six weeks.
One cannot help being aware of Fischer's presence. He is a very tall solidly built man whose total dedication to chess is mesmerizing. He has great presence. He twitches, drums his fingers, sprawls in his chair, jumps up, walks around.
Spassky is entirely the opposite. Quiet but nervous and with the responsibility for maintaining Soviet domination of the chess world resting on his unhappy shoulders. For there is no doubt that Spassky has been driven to a distressing pitch of nervous tension by the trauma of the past few days. He is going through marital problems at home, and he knows that if he loses the match he will be discredited officially.
Today Spassky went walking, with only one companion, through the streets of Reykjavik. The air is clear after the events of the last few days, and perhaps he is more able now to relax.
Fischer spent the day as usual sound asleep. He did not get to bed until 6:30 this morning after driving with his police escort—like some oriental mogul — into the lava countryside of Iceland, and then to the American air force base at Keflavik, where he played indoor bowls for the rest of the night.
One uncertainty remains over everyone's heads. It has not been officially cleared up whether the Russians have withdrawn their demands that Fischer should forfeit a game for not having been here last Sunday, or whether Spassky will refuse in any case to accept the point.
The match officially began last night with the draw. So there is no legal basis for a forfeit even if there is still a moral excuse for the Soviet demand. The big question is if Spassky's title depends on one game will the Russians demand the forfeit in six weeks' time when the match is over?
Edmonton Journal Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Saturday, July 08, 1972 - Page 2
Fischer, Spassky Rest Up for Match Start Tuesday
Reykjavik (Reuter) — Bobby Fischer, U.S. challenger for the world chess title, and Soviet defending champion Boris Spassky plan to spend most of their time resting to get in mental trim for the start of their match on Tuesday.
While Spassky leaves his hotel only for two daily games of tennis on a court specially set up for him, the American chiefly occupies himself with sleeping and studying chess, sleeping, eating and sleeping some more, according to his second, Rev. William Lombardy.
He said that following Fischer's complaint about the noise made by construction workers outside his house, the organizers had received several offers of other private villas in the island capital.
“It is no secret that Bobby likes to move around,” Rev. Lombardy said Friday night. “I assume he will want to look at these other places as soon as he can find the time.”
Another matter about which Fischer is still not happy is the monopoly on move-by-move coverage of the 24-game championship by an American impresario, who apparently wants to run the match live in closed-circuit broadcasts to cinemas and theatres.
Tournament officials say this is the last outstanding dispute on the horizon but add that they do not consider it to be of such proportions that it will threaten the start of the match.
Meanwhile, Spassky, who in the last week has been on the receiving end of some upsetting psychological warfare on Fischer's part, now seems to be hitting back. ([According to hearsay from an overzealous Soviet third party who presents absolutely no evidence, and should be dismissed because Spassky was not present to make such a statement, in his own words!])
He [Spassky] was quoted in an ([anti-American]) Icelandic newspaper Friday as telling Yugoslav grandmaster Bozidar Kazik that ([the source of the trouble-making rumor]) Fischer had been behaving as he did “because he now realizes that he is going to lose the match.” ([Is zat so? Says “Bozidar Kazik” and his racist crystal ball! Spassky did not say this, and Iceland was a racist, Anti-American haven, chosen to demoralize the opponent to Soviet Supremacy.])
There are not many enthusiasts in chess-mad Iceland who would concur ([yeah, and neither would Spassky who admitted years later, he knew Fischer was the stronger player! but Spassky remarked he “could've resisted better”]) with that assessment. But as a result of Fischer's recent actions, ([decades of disgraceful Soviet propaganda induced Anti-American hostilities need no further explanation]) Spassky has without doubt ([the Soviet chose Iceland for if they had even chosen Adolf Hitler to compete against the American, the Icelanders would've been rooting for the Soviets! That's no overstatement, the Icelandic professional class, which includes many chess enthusiasts reportedly sympathized with the Nazi regime during World War II! This article ends on a note of utter rubbish Soviet propaganda… the “sympathizing with the Soviet” was a given fact, long before Fischer beat Taimanov, Larsen and Petrosian back in 1971. The choice of Iceland for the location of the 1972 match was entirely a strategic one to prejudice the public in favor of the Soviet Union.])
([Iceland was an Anti-American, Pro-Soviet haven so it's no wonder they disliked Bobby. It was chosen by the Soviet for that very strategic reason. Public disdain of the American, Robert Fischer, had nothing to do with anything Bobby did. Icelanders were chauvinists, despising Americans ... and people of color. Why are they praising the USSR/Soviet Union Empire and its racist affiliates? whilst ridiculing Fischer, who brought along the ONLY black guest, present in all the tournament? Archie Waters, Fischer assistant and mentor, reported being the ONLY black man in the stadium, or any where near the arena for that matter. Why doesn't this problem seem to occur to any of them?
Even if Bobby had appeared on time and accepted the deflated prize achieved by Soviet tricks and manipulation and arm-twisting of FIDE officials... the Icelandic public would have still despised Robert J. Fischer because Iceland had a renown, widespread Anti-American, Anti-Black prejudice spanning all the way back to the WWII era. By itself alone gives reasonable explanation Bobby rightfully insisted upon the ante raised to a reasonable payout. Any American forced to spend two months in that icy chauvinist haven should be heftily compensated!!])
The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Saturday, July 08, 1972 - Page 25
Iceland Quiet as Chess Kings Hibernate
Reykjavik, Iceland—Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer settled down yesterday to five days of preparation for their world chess title clash, which begins on Tuesday. Disputes all day Thursday had left the opening of the match in doubt until an hour before they drew lots. Spassky won the draw giving him the first move.
The young American challenger spent most of the day resting and studying in the luxury villa rented for him, while across the capital Spassky emerged from his hotel suite only for the games of tennis which are part of his daily routine.
Fischer, 29, is the favorite and his chances have not decreased as a result of his tactics over the past few days, according to chess experts here.
He has declared that Spassky will not win a single game, but there are few who would agree with this assessment. ([When did Fischer supposedly state this “matter of fact” and not in jest?])
British grand master Harry Golombek said yesterday that he believed the two players were the most evenly matched of any pair in the post-war period, but that he thought Fischer would end up the winner by 12½ points to 9½.
He added: “While Boris has not been too impressive, lately, Fischer's form over the last year has been so convincing that I doubt whether there is a player in the past or the present who can compete with him at the moment.”
There are no more major obstacles in sight at present, but with Thursday's trial of nerves and patience fresh in their minds, tournament officials are reluctant to forecast that their troubles are over.
The organizers' immediate task is to quell rumblings from the American camp over a contract between themselves and a US impresario, giving the latter the sole rights to move-to-move coverage of the 24-game series.
([Keep this in mind, when Fischer forbids further filming by Soviet-controlled Chester Fox's cameras in the playing hall! Not only was Fischer adamant against the Icelandic Chess Fed/Soviet Fed censorship [large signs placed at entrances into the playing hall declaring “cameras forbidden beyond this point”], along with Fischer, large numbers of journalists and major syndicates protested against such outrageous stipulations by the Icelandic Chess Federation. Bobby later tells Johnny Carson during live interview on television that the camera men were noisy. But the real problems with the cameras ran much deeper, as in overt Moscow censorship to bury coverage of the match. Fischer's criticism on Soviet selection of Iceland to bury the match behind a wall of secrecy, began in early 1972.])
Muncie Evening Press Muncie, Indiana Saturday, July 08, 1972 - Page 1
Check!
Chess experts Bobby Fischer of the U.S. and Boris Spassky of Russia may make more money in their world's championship match next week, but these boys are just playing for fun, in an all-day chess tournament at the Muncie Mall, Murry Newcomb (left), Northside High School student, faces two young opponents, Bryan Ramsey, 7, (second from left) and Kip Rupprecht, 12. A couple of other youngsters look on. — Evening Press Photo by John Crozier.
Check! 08 Jul 1972, Sat Muncie Evening Press (Muncie, Indiana) Newspapers.com
