The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 8

1 4 8A THE CHARLOTTE OBSERVER Sun July 9 1972 8A TN Fischer Do II attle Spassky Set To By BOB QUINCY Few words will be spoken The crowd will not applaud No cheerleaders Will' call out "Give me an days in Reykjavik and as I recall it a chess match would have been welcome entertainment Polar bears catch pneumonia up there The wind blows constantly and the nearest tree is somewhere across the Yet the amazing angle of the opera- tionis the attention the match has drawn People who had never seen a chess board outside a department- store are suddenly fascinated Observer Staff Writer Two men with eccentric viewpoints and a dedication to excellence have made 'a chess match the most exciting ''sports" event of the week Chess indeed is a game In the past month it has become a sport commanding headlines the size written for Wimbledon tennis and Olympic qualifications Until Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky came along a championship chess match rated no more than a couple of paragraphs on the third page On second thought why not peddle the results to the entertainment editor? Rip' money is at stake Fischer playing the role of a holdout stimulated inflation and new glamor The winner's share will be $100G00 almost 75 times greater than in the past Chess was played for peanuts before the Fischer-Spassky showdown It will come off Thursday unless one of the combatants begins to sulk or goes in hiding sc711-77r-17- 7 4 Lt '1 i :1 'At i ::44 1 -4 1(: ff 't0 1 "st 4: CA 1 0-ti :4:: :4" 4' 1 147) :::4 1- 1 :3 -it kl 4 1 ::4 I tl: ''f 0: 41 4 tg '1 rit it' -1 oor ts1 41 111 41el -91' tos L) 'N't 71 -2: -t i's 4 A A i yoa---- P7771 gi I Fischer is a whiz kid from Brooklyn He was beating some of the best brains in the business at the age of 10 He Is brash a loner and displays the confidence of Mu hammad It is the same game that has been played for thousands of years but it has now been turned into an extravaganza Whether the competitors intended to reach the public with a jazzed-up campaign isn't known If there is a blueprint for the present popularity those who drew it up should be knighted It is easier to explain the operation of a television set than to explore the fine points of chess to the beginner A crack chess player's concentration power is one of the rare gifts of man Alexander Alekhine a Russian once took on 32 opponents while blindfolded and played every game to a finish Players like Spassky and Fischer are thinking eight to 10 moves ahead as they confront the board If Fischer thumps Spassky on Tuesday the Russians won't take kindly to the loss The American is perhaps the most unpopular foreigner in sport as far as the Russians are concerned They consider chess their national game But Bobby Fischer plays to win and he is given a good chance to humble Spassky Spassky the current king relates more to the human race than Fischer who can be rude crude and abrupt Spassky is friendly and outgoing for the most part Both men are emotional They have been known to cry in action Each has supreme confidence in his own ability but Fischer appears to be the sharper of the two over the past year The Russian is an ex-soccer player who works out constantly He jogs and shadow boxes to keep his 5-foot-10 176-pound frame in trim Fischer stands 6-2 weighs 190 and he bikes and punches a heavy bag to keep in shape Both men sleep until noon daily Watching Spassky compete with Fischer won't provide the same thrills as the Stanley Cup playoffs or the Super Bowl Each of the 24 games will last five hours "No one is in my class" puffs 29-yearold Bobby "The odds are listed as three-toone in my favor They should be 20-1" Spassky is a Russian celebrity who must carry his country's zeal for chess championships He lives in a swank (by Russian standards) apartment earns 550 rubles (about $600) per month and is not a member of the Communist party The match is slated for a small arena In Reykjavik Iceland I once spent a couple of AP Photo Bobby Fischer Left Meets Boris Spassky In Center Is Chess Federation Official Chess Moves Should Please Women's Lib Ch( Sho a FOAM tEDDING SALE SAVE '6014 PER SET! Sears )111 411" CS 1 f7 1 I li I rrr '7 111 li l' 11 5 cg fsir iI'l 4 CO le I 11 No' fl 1 V' ilk lcdoori i I6 4111111W 1 1 I il II 'ill )1 ill 4 lli Ill I 1 I '1 ti l' 1 I- II I I 1 i 1 1 1 1 III i I '''q Yt -1 tolA '3' I'l 4 0 itt 1 kyiliir4c hi Allitti 1:: By EARL KING (C) 1972 The New York Daily News "Look at that will ya? Two grown men playing with dolls" Such was the observation of an infantry first sergeant some years back when he wandered through the company day room and found two of his draftees playing chess And such no doubt have been the thoughts of millions of people around the world in recent days as they read of the pre-tournament tantrums of Bobby Fischer who at latest report will meet Boris Spassky Thursday in the world championship chess match Why all the fuss? It's only a game True And only a game of dolls by Sergeant Whatshisname's undeniably perceptive account But still the annals of chess are replete with tales of murder madness and moral outrage the likes of which make the Fischer furor pale by comparison And chess at its best is an ultimate expression of man's desire to create a perfect order of things in which human intelligence is the sole varlabl a meticulously worked out statement of the human condition on the uses of power Take the male chauvinist king for example Of all the chessmen he is the most important and the mast impotent When trouble comes all he can do is flee something he does feebly one square at a time or as is more often the case call in somebody else to save his skin And isn't that how it's always been with men Gloria? Women's liberation can also take satisfaction with the role and status of the Queen The queen like most chess pieces has assumed different identifies at different times and different places Way back (circa 500 AD) in India and Persia where the game originated and developed the piece comparable to the queen was known as the counselor or general Centuries later when the game immigrated to France the counselor or general changed sex and became the queen Today the thoroughly liberated queen is the most powerful piece on the board A bit of anticlericalism creeps into the game The bishops have a bit more prestige than power When they move the slip around obliquely and whichever color they start out on they stay on throughout the game no matter how badly they are needed on the other color "Look al with dolls" Such wa geant some company day ing chess millions And sue ions of they read of Fischer who Thursday in Why all True An shisname's Iv the annals of madness and the Fischer fu And dies ni a n's desire which human ulously work( on the uses of Take the the chessmen impotent Wh something he as is more of save his skin men Gloria? 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(1 ts ifs: 44 41 il 1 '11'6' -IrItirrt I 4 1 0 ik 4 jr II 1 rt 33: A i Irq ti Rt :4 1:: 40 :0:: I 1 1 4 il CI 14:1 (a 00 SUPS I Otripics r-klitt CZ96) XII At Sale Ends Saturday! ts4 Fantastic Buy! Sag-Resistant Serofoam Mattress or Matching Posture-Mate Foundation For Firm Support I1 laiti'L tie Ends Saturday I 14 Regular $6995 Twin or Full Mattress or Matching Foundation Then there are the knights who gallop boldly around the board jumping other pieces in the process (something not even a queen can do) and for average players winding up in the most unexpected and inconvenient places Last but not least among the major pieces are the rooks or castles The word "rook" means soldier in Persian and that was the piece's identity in the earliest stages of the game That the soldier should be reconceptualized as an object not a person can be viewed as either crass materialism or pragmatic recognition of the emerging impact of technology Last and this time least among the chessmen are the lowly pawns with whom most of us are inclined to identify most closely The pawns bear the brunt of the opening battles in chess most of them are destined for either premature death or Obscurity Yet for all his subordinate stature the pawn is also the most comolex of all the chess pieces On his first move he ha 'he option of moving either one or two squares for' sd a choice not open even to the king When he captures the pawn does so with elegant obliquity like a bishop And uniquely among inhabitants of the chess world the pawn has someplace to go and something to do If he makes it all the way across the board the pawn can be promoted to a queen or any other piece except the king But who wants to be a king? The king really is just a glorified deadended pawn and the game of chess is over when he gets into a jam from which he cannot be extricated Frequently in grand master play the competition ends somewhat short of this disaster when the losing contestant realizes that his position is hopeless and he resigns Often a factor that weighs most heavily In the decision of a resigning player is that his opponent has an upward mobile pawn that just can't be stopped: All of this is of course merely a brief look at chess but it's a subject that we'll be hearing a great deal more on in coming weeks unless we can arrange for a vacation on another planet StillTho matter how fierce the competition gets In the Fischer-Spassky chess tournament the contest is unlikely to get as rough as the I Ith century match between Earl Ulf and British King Canute who finally checkmated the Earl with a broadsword or two 1 Then the around the IN (something no players windi venient places Last but the rooks or in Persian al earliest stages reconceptualiz viewed as eitlnition of the Last a men are the I inclined to id brunt of the 9 destined for ei Yet for also the most first move he two squares I king When In obliquity like And uni world the pay do If he mal pawn can be I except the kirr But who just a chess is over cannot be extr the competitic when the losh hopeless and I Often a cision of a res upward mobil( All of th chess but it's likely for ael snmt vacation or iher-Sp get claa trni oo i tntil rl he Fischer-Sp to Heavy density 512-in thick Serofoam polyurethane foam mattress smooth rayon satin cover Posture-Mate foundation has 54 coils in twin 81 full Completely Sanatized 6 Save this Sale! (0) (11) 9 Each Mattress or Foundation Buy on Sears Easy Payment Plan Sale Ends Saturday icily 75 ROCK HILL MALL GASTONIA DOWNTOWN Sears CHARLOTTE SOUTHPARK 4400 Sharon 3647550 CHARLOTTE DOWNTOWN 700 lryon St 37o 2711 All Stems Open 6 Nights Shop Monday thru Saturday I 9 PM (South Park 930) CONCORD ANNAPOLIS Corettno Molt 786 6111 700' Froniiin Ave I Fronk lin Ave 2188 Cherry Rd 8643411 3663161 SEAM ROEBUCK AND Co kIMOmIONNOIMM Sari 'faction Gucirontood or Your Monty sock 8647811 366-9431 Sari 'faction Gucirontood or Your Monty sock 864-7811 366-9431 786-6141 0 71 CATALOG NUMBERS 364-7100 372-3850 A CATALOG NUMBERS 364-7100 372-3850 v-sftAommmm11-morMIEtAMMWOdSa'IlDab53'4WL.