The Times-News Twin Falls, Idaho Tuesday, July 11, 1972 - Page 5
Another demand made before chess play starts
Reykjavik, Iceland (UPI) — The $250,000 world championship chess match between American Bobby Fischer and Russia's Boris Spassky was still go today, but Fischer made a last minute demand to stop televising the first of the 24-game series.
“There will be no TV filming tonight, but we hope some other arrangements can be made so they can film later during the match,” said Fred Cramer, vice president of the U.S. Chess Federation.
Fischer said the television cameras, hidden behind cloth-covered scaffolding above the stage where the players will sit, would distract him.
Fischer's opponent, world champion Boris Spassky, said he was ready to play. “Everything is fine with me,” said the Russian.
Cramer said earlier that Fischer was “go, go go.”
The first game was scheduled to start at 5 p.m. (1 p.m. EDT), with Fischer the experts' favorite but Spassky far ahead in the popularity poll.
Both men made final inspection tours of the sports arena where the match will be played. Fischer made an unannounced tour early in the day and Spassky strolled in at noon (8 a.m. EDT).
Spassky studied the chess board and picked out a chair from among several provided by the Reykjavik furniture stores. Fischer earlier had his favorite chair flown in from New York.
Fischer earlier complained about a number of details in the hall, including the lighting, the chess board and the size of the chess pieces, the television cameras and the thickness of the window drapes. ([BOTH sides lodged complaints. The Soviets, had filled Western media outlets with a flood of reports on their demands, upon demands, complaints and scathing invective about Fischer, for months on end, far outnumbering any last minute complaints made by Fischer.])
To accommodate Fischer, the lighting was dimmed and the first row of spectator seats was moved farther away from the stage so the nearest spectator would be about 25 yards away.
An unofficial poll among chess experts assembled in Reykjavik showed the 29-year-old Fischer the favorite. But most of Iceland's 210,000 chess-mad citizens were behind Spassky.
Only a few weeks ago the fans of Iceland were with the American ([ßülls#!!]) but he lost his popularity quickly when he demanded more money and failed to show up in time for the scheduled July 2 start of the match.
([Soviet Propaganda Warning!! The USSR snubbed Australia's legal bid of $225,000 and in a tantrum threatened not to play, forcing Iceland's heavily reduced bid down Fischer's throat… the never ceasing flow of Soviet demands and complaints delayed the match for months.])
While Fischer was in New York demanding more money, Spassky was walking the streets of Reykjavik patting children on the head, conversing with local chess players and piling up points in the prematch popularity contest.
The prize money was raised from the original $125,000 to $250,000 through a wealthy British banker named Jim Slater who came up with more cash to save the match.
