AWisconsin State Journal Madison, Wisconsin Monday, August 07, 1972 - Page 3
Fischer Keeps Lead: Spassky Back in Match by Winning 11th Game
Reykjavik, Iceland (UPI) —Boris Spassky won the 11th game of the world chess championship Sunday by forcing American challenger Bobby Fischer to resign on the 31st move, a victory grandmasters said put the Russian back into contention to retain his title.
Spassky's triumph, his first at the chess board since the opening game of the match, cut Fischer's lead in match points to 6½ to 4½ and kept the Russian from falling back into an almost unrecoverable position in the 24-game championship contest.
“IF EVER Spassky needed a good win to recover his confidence, it was today. And what a game he played” said Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen.
“It still has to be Bobby for the match, but it is very much alive again,” Larsen said. Other experts, who were writing off Spassky as a loser prior to Sunday's game, agreed with Larsen's analysis.
The Russian all but assured his victory by capturing Fischer's queen on the 25th move, but the challenger refused to resign at that point and played six more moves before resigning.
THE VICTORY in the 11th game took considerable pressure off the defending champion, but he still must win at least two more games and draw 11 in the remaining 13 games of the 24-game match in order to retain his title. Fischer on the other hand can win the championship merely by drawing 12 of the remaining games. The American can afford to lose one more game.
Spassky was not at the chess board when Fischer resigned, having left the stage after his 31st move to get a glass of water. Fischer sat for about three minutes studying the board and rubbing his temples after Spassky left. He whipped angrily out of his chair at one point to complain to referee Lothar Schmid about noise in the auditorium, then returned to his chair and looked at the board again.
Finally, he slapped a hand on his time clock to stop it, signed his game protocol signifying resignation, got up and stalked out of the auditorium.
THE AUDIENCE of about 1,500 exploded in applause when Fischer stopped his clock, some spectators standing on their chairs and shouting “Bravo! Bravo Boris!”
Spassky sauntered slowly back onto the stage, looked around and appeared surprised that Fischer had departed.
The victory was Spassky's third in 11 games of the match but only his second at the chess board. He defeated Fischer in 56 moves in the opening game of the match July 11 and won the second time by default when Fischer did not show up for the game to protest the presence of television cameras in the auditorium. Fischer then went on to win five and draw three of the next eight games.
AS CHALLENGER, the American must accumulate 12½ match points in order to win the championship and take the victor's $140,000 share of the $250,000 purse. As defending champion, Spassky needs only 12 points to retain the title. One point is awarded to the winner of each game, and each player received one-half point on draws.
The playing hall was packed. Crowds had been pouring in since the doors opened three hours before the start of the game.
The sympathy of the record crowd was with the flagging Russian champion.
Sunday morning Spassky was back on the tennis court, smiling and apparently recovered from last week's nerves.
