Brownwood Bulletin from Brownwood, Texas • Page 15

To Bobby Fischer, chess is a sport and he's the champ i ja. M5A Sports PfEW Y- Dfippmg wet-which made his long, bony face look even longer-htifiched and bare- Foot and blue-robed, Bobby Fischer came out of the shower to answer the door. Ofie o'clock in the afternoon, but his small hotel room was dark behind him Curtains were drawn. Mo A 8 1 foi- the on from the bathroom. "Sorry said Fischer, to his expected visitor, "just got up a few minutes ago.

Be with you right away" fJe padded back to the bathroom, closed the door. Pitch black. The visitor stood for a surprised moment in the a s. then fumbled along the wall fot the light switch. Mysterious and controversial, famous and infamous, one-time child prodigy and current U.S.

chess champion, Bobby Fischer lives in hotel rooms. He has no permanent residence. For now, this Park-Sheraton room is also his training field. Some time before June 30, Fischer will challenge the reigning world chess champion, Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, for the title. "It will be," Fischer will say later, "probably the greatest sports event in history.

Bigger even than the Frazier-Ali fight. It is really the free world against the lying, cheating, hypocritical Russians." Fischer's live-in training field is spare. Two single beds, one rumpled, take up much of the space. A TV set in the corner. An alarm clock on the bedstand.

No clothes are strewn about. On the made bed is a small, open satchel, fn i( are some papers and four magazines: U.S. News World Report Rsquire. The Plain Trulh ia Hible-oriented news magazine i and Playboy. On the desk are the tools of his trade, the tools of his single passion, the tools that as the New York Times music critic has written, Fischer employs with a genius that is as unique as Beethoven's; on the desk is a chess board.

The "board" is actually a kind of soft plastic, the chess pieces are wooden but almost weight- NBC's valentine different NEW YORK (AP) NBC's early Valentine for this season was a portrait of young love set to contemporary music. The program, "Love, Love, Love," was a "Hall of Fame" special Tuesday night and it tried to be -different in a low-key way. Helen Reddy, Mac Davis and a group called Bread sang softly, sadly and romantically about love. Against this background, the cameras wandered far and wide to focus on six young couples, from puppy-love teens to young marrieds, from San Francisco to Philadelphia. There was lots of clutching and kissing, wandering around hand-in-hand and generally, the program had a pleasant quality of innocence about it.

The free form, however, re- COMPLETE INSURANCE SERVICE suited in an hour that was so soothing that after about 30 minutes, it became soporific. The producer, Bob Banner, used something of the same technique in his first special starring skater Peggy Fleming. The result was a stunning show because its mood material was background for a central core of the exciting skating of the star. ABC's "Movie of the Week" was another of those pilots for a future series. The show, "Second Chance," seemed to be a woeful waste of acting talent.

Brian Keith played a successful stockbroker busily building an ulcer to the point he decided to drop out of moneymaking in order to rebuild a Nevada ghost town with people, like himself, who needed a new direction in life. So far, so good. He populated the place with a former Las Vegas dancer who always wanted to be a teacher; a carpenter and barkeep who had served prison terms; an aging pro football player who wanted to work around horses. Elizabeth Ashley played Keith's city- centered wife; Juliet Prowse was the teacher and Rosey Grier the village blacksmith. idea was sort of engaging, but the story wandered off in all directions and towards the end it was so strangely edited, some essential part of the story seemed to be missing.

Midseason time shifts apparently have helped NBC's "Ironside" more than any other show. In the most recent Nielsen ratings, it follows CBS's "All in the Family" and ABC's "Women in Chains," a madefor- TV movie, at the top. Among the new shows, neither ABC's "Sixth Sense" nor NBC's hour-long dramatic shows- picked up much steam. And ABC's anthology type "Comedy Hour" hasn't caught on at all. Lathams to assist in DAV convention Joe Latham, senior vice commander, Texas Disabled American Veterans, and Mrs.

Latham, hospital and welfare chairman of Texas DAV auxiliary, attended a planning meeting of top DAV officers for the state convention to be held in Houston June 16-18, 1972. They are members of the DAV chapter and auxiliary No. 45 respectively in Brownwood. less. Convenient to carry wherever he goes.

A book of chess moves called "Chess informant," in seven languages, is open, there are marks alongside some of the games, and marginal notes. Fischer stays up late goinj over past games, historica games, Spassky's games. Quickly, he puts on a dark maroon suit, white shirt and a maroon tie that says "Playboy" on it and is interspersed with bunny symbols. All dressed, he returned to the bathroom, then popped out a few minutes later. His face was covered with shaving cream, "Say, would you mind putting the chain on the door.

The maid or somebody might walk in," he said. Shaved, he showed upon request a particularly "dumb" move he saw in one of the games from the book. "But cion't write what the move is," said Fischer. "I don't want to leak anything to the Russians." His fingers are long and he jabs a piece down, making the others twitch. He was also proud of the chess set.

"Look at these pieces." he said. "Smooth and light, no hard edges, beautifully carved. The best set for playing that I've ever seen, Here, feel this knight." He talked about chess as a sport. "Sure, it's a sport," he said. "And when newspapers put it in entertainment and arts sections, that's downgrading chess, completely out of place.

"You've got to be in top condition to play chess. You have to concentrate in a tournament for five hours at a time, day after day. And when there's an adjournment, you've got to stay up late analyzing strategy. The tension and the need for stamina are brutal. One mental lapse and you're through.

That's why a lot of great chees players are over the hill by 40. Too old for the strain. "Spassky even has a physical trainer. I do my own physical conditioning. I don't eat fatty foods.

I keep my Designers soy bore look 'in' for summer Hobby Fischer Tuniny up. weight at 180 pounds. I like to exercise with the Jack LaLanne Show. He's a got a fun personality. I play tennis, too.

Not too good, though. But I like the new metal racquets. Now I can even get the ball over the ne( sometimes He laughed. "I've begun to bowl, (hat's a great sport. Jogging" No.

jogging is loo dull. "I'd compare chess to basketball. Basketball players pass the ball around until they get an opening. Like chess, like the mating attack." His brown eyes widened. He laughed.

Back to the Spassky match. A place and exact time have not yet been set. "But the buildup will be terrific," said Fischer. "Like the Ali-Frazier fight, though I don't approve of boxing; I think it's immoral." He said, though, that he admires Ali as an athlete. Which other athletes does he admire? "I don't follow sports much, except when it's news Lee Trevino, when he won these Opens and was on the covers of Time and Newsweek.

But I like Willie Mays a lot. Like his basket catch. He gives all he's got. He's not one of those slag- gards. He loves the game.

"I grew up in Brooklyn, was a Dodger fan. I liked Don Newcombe because he was a good hitter. He wasn't satisfied with being only a good pitcher, like most pitchers. "I like JoeNamath. I think he's got class.

He sacrifices himself. A champion needs that. He's got these terrible knees and probably should be retired. But when he plays he is not worried about being hit, getting the ball off is all-important. "Too many times, people don try their best.

They don't have the keen spirit the winning spirit. And once you make it, you've got to guard your day go in like an unknown to prove yourself. That's why I don't clown around I don believe in wasting time. My goal is to win the world's chess championship to beat the Russians. I take this very seriously." (NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE ASSN.) NKW YORK a woman has a good throat, a great back or a terrific set of ribs, she'll have a chance to show it off this summer.

Since long evening skirls threaten to obscure tanned legs, designers are busy drumming up interest elsewhere. The halter look continues to blossom in summer fashions. The bare midriff has made a move. And cut-out dresses are on the way. At the Givenchy Nouvelle Boutique spring-summer collection shown Tuesday, the bare midriff turned up in a simple brown pants outfit.

A caftan was slit to the waist. A dress back was chopped in a circle. Several couture designers have gone to the halter, but rejected the bare middle as too much: James Galanos, Bill Blass and Geoffrey Beene. Galanos likes halters for day and night. They're crisped up with neat piping.

Blass has gotten barer for summer. He's showing his halters without the matching wraps he used for spring. "I don't think the bare midriff is right for couture, it may be just a come on, with tongue in cheek," said Geoffrey Beene, who's adopted the halter for his summer line, priced $175 to $400. Donald Brooks disagrees. He's always like bare middles, "for the couture customer in a smaller size." His halters are draped, Grecian boy style, an outgrowth of the large-ruffled tops he did for spring.

"I have no halters in the summer line. I did that two years ago. They're late," says Rodrigues for Peter Clements, who is making cut-out dresses instead. When women aren't trailing around in bare-looking evening dresses, they may wear Galanos's covered dresses with pleated skirts or Bill Blass' jersey evening pajamas. Galanos did not concentrate on pants for day, as he feels women arc tired of them He was more interested in "serviceable anrl rhir" day dresses with their own jackets, or shirt dresses The Givenchy boutique collection featured pants with pleated, belted tops and neat shirt dresses for day.

Nixon at a glance WASHINGTON i APi-Here, at glance, is what President Nixon told Congress today in his third annual "State of the World" message. Accomplishments Striking progress was made in 1971 toward building "a stable structure of world peace a more-balanced alliance with our a more- creative connection with our adversaries." Disappointments Chief among the "several sharp disappointments" of 1971 was the failure to negotiate a Vietnam peace. Others included the inability to prevent the Indian-Pakistani war, lack of su- cess in finding a Mideast solution and the expulsion of Nationalist China from the United Nations. Dangers Continued Russian buildup of airpower and offensive missiles coupled with questionable diplomatic behavior "raise serious questions concerning Soviet objectives." Prospects A first-step agreement in the U.S.-Soviet strategic-arms-1- imitation talks might be ready for signing by the time he reaches Moscow in May. (NEXT: Russian Vendetta.) Guarantee Mutual Life Company Major Malor Medical Medical 646-5043 JAMES L.WILLIAMSON MASTER CLEANERS Coggin and 3rd.

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