1972 June 16

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The Miami Herald Miami, Florida Friday, June 16, 1972 - Page 6

Brainy Sport Looked Down On
On July 2, Robert J. Fischer of the United States begins a 24-game chess match with Boris Spassky of Russia for the championship of the world.
Even though there are several million chess buffs in the country, this event is literally ignored by the news media. Fischer is one of the outstanding chess geniuses of all time, being even more talented than the great Paul Morphy, the United States and world champion of over a century ago.
The competition today is vastly greater and stronger than during that era. Chess is not necessarily an older person's game — most of the masters and grandmasters are well under 40 years of age and, in many cases, considerably under 30 and even 20.
Fischer's income is roughly $15,000 per year and in most instances his expenses are paid personally.
In this contact sport-oriented society of ours, where some illiterate can demand and get $100,000 a year or more for his dubious ability, Bobby Fischer's prowess obviously deserves no recognition.
Intellectual accomplishments appear to have little or no value in our scheme of things. F.P. Conley, Fort Lauderdale

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The York Dispatch York, Pennsylvania Friday, June 16, 1972 - Page 1

Spassky Claims Fischer Fears [Disqualification] From Red Champs
Moscow (UPI) — World chess champion Boris Spassky said today his American challenger Bobby Fischer “appears to be suffering from a persecution mania and thinks that Soviet chess players are determined to harm him.” ([Mr. Spassky was kept in isolation, forbidden to travel, Soviet committee making decisions for him, cut off from an open world of news via soviet censorship. Mr. Fischer has had quite little to say in the press, for most of the time, being unavailable for comment. However, people in the chess world close to Fischer in America and abroad have observed that plots were afoot to disqualify and replace Fischer, starting with Ken Smith's reports; and no sooner than such plots were predicted, news reports appeared confirming the same. The Soviet demanded of FIDE Fischer be disqualified and replaced with Petrosian “if” this and “if” that, with a barrage of defamatory allegations coming out of Belgrade and Moscow to achieve said “disqualification” and “replacement”. Perhaps Mr. Spassky was overhearing rumors that pointed blame at “Soviet Players,” namely himself, when the actual reports implicated tournament “organizers”, not the Soviet player. Perhaps Mr. Spassky was unaware of the full array of news reports filtered and censored through Soviet Kommissars? Who can know anything from behind the darkened veil of Iron Curtain secrecy?)])
Spassky referred to repeated reports that Fischer allegedly has been accusing the Russians of efforts to prevent him from taking Spassky's world championship and of contriving to hold the championship matches against his will at Reykjavik, Iceland.
“There's nothing to it,” the 35-year-old champion said in answers to questions at a news conference, “and I am sorry for Fischer, although every man has a right to say what he pleases.”
Unlike Fischer who is reportedly to have boasted he would beat Spassky, the sandy brown haired, handsome world champion said, “I do not know who will win but I am sure it will be an important and interesting event.”
The Russian and American champions last played against each other in West Germany in September, 1970 when Spassky won three games and drew two.
Aside from the reference to Fischer's “persecution mania,” Spassky refused to be drawn into a verbal slugging match with Fischer and generously praised the American.

Spassky Claims Fischer Fears [Disqualification] From Red Champs Fri, Jun 16, 1972 – 1 · The York Dispatch (York, Pennsylvania) · Newspapers.com

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