The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 53

si -V a' Sun June 2i 1972 THE MIAMI HERALD Fischer at Top Form for Chess Title Match ranean hiding places) that a positional player like Spassky with his tendency to draw games might find himself exhausted from waiting for the other shoe to drop bitter end and there is this curious thing about his opponents: They keep caving in to extreme exhaustion Tigran Petrosian the former world champion who was opponent in the Buenos Aires semifinal match had to check into a hospital at one point And Bent Larson whose personal dislike for Fischer is no secret apparently found it torturing to sit across the board from this arrogant young man who to see SPASSKY MAY feel extra pressure because of his deliberate and classically correct playing style Although games have the apparent clearness of a stream of fresh running water they often have concealed within them byzantine twists that only Bobby foresees Chess is a game of legerdemain: Your opponent can see all of your pieces and you can see all of his so you don't conceal pieces but ideas A winning chess combination is at its most basic level a ruthless demonstration of the logical superiority of your ideas And Fischer is able to bury his ideas so deeply into his middle-game positions (or perhaps to extract them from their subter- game that millions of Americans play and yet American newspapers cannot quite bring themselves to believe that many readers understand chess notation Radio and television find it even harder to cover chess because the printed record of the moves in a game is the only really satisfactory way of presenting it The concept of a live radio broadcast of a chess match is mind-boggling and perhaps only Bob and Ray could handle it lovely day here in Reykjavik With sunny skies and Cub Scout Pack 14 is in the stands for Bobby Fischer Recognition Day What will finally happen I suppose is that Spassky and Fischer will have their rendezvous with destiny and a lot of people will not understand why it was so momentous Chess is a game of the imagination and its most exciting moments do not happen on the board but in the minds of its players When Fischer finally makes his move that is what we see But the passion is to be found in the secret places of his mind where he considers all of the possible moves on the board and rejects them all but one That moment of decision is private and only a chess player fully understands it IT IS willingness to take chances and his ability to extract deep combinations from seemingly shallow positions that make him a popular favorite in the Soviet Union In a country where chess is the national sport the national passion and some say the national soul there is an impatience with the conservative playing styles of many of the current Russian grand masters While Fischer was mowing down Larson 6-0 with an unending flow of innovative chess the Russians Petrosian and Korchnoi were bogged down in their quarter-final match with eight drawn games in a row This is also a record of sorts but a sterile one And so the Russians like Fischer who is the most popular American in the Soviet Union since Van Cliburn Maybe they like him personally but they admire his style Of the five games they have played previously Spassky won three and there were two draws But that necessarily mean r7 fA aro mi d'S He lives alone In hotel rooms relentlessly studying the literature of chess He has no close friends He is 29 years old and for a long time now he has been considered the best chess player of all time One week from today in Reykjavik Iceland Bobby Fischer will find himself seated across a chess board from a stocky fierce-looking man named Boris Spassky This Armenian (he is almost always described as a in the newspapers because sports-page adjectives are in short supply for chess) is the chess champion of the world and it will be Bobby mission to reduce the number of Armenian chess champions to zero while raising the number in the United States to one BOBBY COULD have had a crack at the title several times during the past decade but at the last moment he always has drawn back He charged that there was a Russian conspiracy to keep the world championship in Soviet hands Conspiracy or not no non-Russian has played in a championship match since 1951 There were other things Fischer complained about the lighting was wrong the flashbulbs were a nuisance the crowds in the hall would not keep still But mostly he held back from the series of tournaments leading to the world championship because he said the system was loaded in favor of the Russians At first his objections were dismissed as petulant and unreasonable because in the world of chess Bobby Fischer is not well-liked An American grand master once said of him: get House Hunting? Read the Classified Ads much in terms of their championship match FISCHER IS in the top of his form and for the past year has played grand master-level chess with more success than any other player in the history of the game Spassky however came in third a year ago in a tournament in Toronto (where players ranked as equal are played against each other) First and second places were won by Pal Benko and Robert Bryne two American grand masters acknowledged to be inferiors And in this Alekhine Memorial Tournament in Moscow Spassky finished in a discouraging tie for sixth and seventh place Now he finds himself going to Iceland as the sole remaining defender of Russian chess supremacy Recently the Soviet government gave him a larger apartment and a car and if he wins he will get $78125 but if he loses has a great deal more to lose than IN THE MEANTIME as the world championship approaches it is amusing to see the American news media gearing up for it We have never been quite able to figure out how to cover chess It is a sport tut go into the sport pages It is a ily in and seats lors and fabrics ission Power wo speed wind-scdrum brakes To name a few ler with 33 years es and tag ASK THE EXPERTS ABOUT PREPARING FOR RETIREMENT AT THE Aventura Retirement Conference id fe Bobby Fincher best ever the greatest chess player in history and he turns out to be a spoiled But a fair analysis of the tournament system seemed to indicate that Fischer had a point and the current world championship is the first played under the reformed rules THERE ARE other possibilities One is that Fischer will find the conditions in Iceland not to his liking and stage another walkout This could happen because of recent falling-out with Lt Col Edmund Ed-mundson USAF (Ret) who is business manager of the US Chess Federation and has devoted much of the last two years to keeping Bobby happy During spectacular victory in the preliminary matches (including his 6-0 wipe-outs of Bent Larson and Mark Taimonov) it was Col Ed-mundson who checked out the playing sites found the quiet hotel rooms made sure the fans would not be per- mitted to bring flash cameras into the hall and hassled room service for the chicken sandwiches and prize sirloins Now Fischer who finds it difficult to sustain long personal relationships is back on his own again A better possibility I think is that Fischer will stay the distance and that Spassky will collapse from a combination of psychological and chess reasons Fischer is a dogged fighter who will defend a lost position to the seen 1 114 Black whiteS 400 11x14 Color $1800 -AftA Xtxf cans i 7 Robert Peterson whose syndicated column "Life Begins At Forty" is in the Miami Herald W6ndell Coltin author of the Medicare column in the Boston Record American Tom Collins author of the widely acclaimed book "The Complete Guide to Retirement" and the popular newspaper column "The Golden Years" in the Chicago Daily News Henry Wallfesh Associated Press retirement columnist Dr Edith Lord professor of psychology University of Miami Helen Rose author of "Begin To Live" and family relations expert Topics Include: Money Management Employment Legal Problems Sex Diet and Nutrition Health Hobbies and more! WEDNESDAY JUNE 28 AT 7:30 PM ADMISSION FREE COUNTRY CLUB 199 Street Biscayne Blvd Miami '72 Impala Four Door Sedan 16469 A car that gets all the fa them in comfort Carpeting throughout New interior Stronger front rear bumpers Turbo-hydra matic tran steering Belted fiberglass tires Heater and defroster shield wipers and washer Full coil suspension Power Steel sideguard beams Automatic ignition key alarm standard factory features It's ready to roll backed by a dej of service Luby Chevrolet a rare bird Plus state local '72Vega 14111 The gem of the smaller Chevrolets designed for economy of maintenance and ease of handling Two speed windshield wipers and washer Seat belts and shoulder harness Heater and defroster Bucket seats Disc brakes Vinyl interior Back up lights Emergency Flasher This little bundle is destined to be somebody's baby nursed by a dealer with 33 years of dependability and service Luby Chevrolet a rare bird 'Plus state local taxes and tag iHaveyo I iftitmu Beta III LUBY CHEVROLET a rare bird 9200 NW 27th Avenue-Miami Florida-696-1711 LUBY CHEVROLET! a rare bird 9200 NW 27th Avenue -Miami Florida jl 3 72 Chevelle Sport Coupe 13337 Designed for quick weekend get-awavs on the roomy well-styled escape machine Full coil suspension Dual cylinder brake system Energy absorbing steering column Safety steering wheel Sideguard door beams Protective inner fenders Padded dash and visor Two speed windshield wipers and washer Back up lights Safety seat belts and harness Make your get-away soon in our machine backed by a dealer with 33 years of experience and dependability in escape machines Luby Chevrolet a rare bird Plus state local taxes and tag Monte Carlo Sport Coupe 13857 To be desired and easilyattainable is the distinction enjoyed by this no-nonsense luxury automobile Power steering Power disc brakes 165 horsepower 350 cubic inch V8 Plush interiors of carpeting and tastefully coordinated fabrics Accessible nstrument panel with electric clock Safety wheel Energy absorbing steerng column with anti-theft lock And much more To see it is to desire it and ifter you desire it back it with 33 years of dependability Luby Chevrole a rare bird state local taxes and tag i 1 PHOTO REPRINTS 1 Any Herald itaff photo i now available at low prie 1 3x10 Black whit 2 00 Color $12 00 LUBY CHEVROLET a rare bird 9200 NW 27th Avcnue-Miami Florida-696-1711 LUBY CHEVROLET a rare bird 9200 NW 27th Avenue -Miami Floridc-696-1711 Add 4ri sales tax and 25c mailing charge This is a public service Photos are for personal use only 1 HERALD PHOTO DEPARTMENT Herald Plaza Miami Fla 33101 Phone' 350-2656.