The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 86

WORLD NEWS Chess greats lament Fischer's reclusion American left game after '72 win Ho ho no: Santa booed by purists Spaniards stress Epiphany instead I Reuters Newsservice REGGIO EMILIA Italy When the greatest players in chess gathered in Italy for a nostalgic reunion the name on all their lips was that of the one former world champion who did not turn up the elusive Bobby Fischer All 14 grandmasters attending an international Category 18 tournament here the highest-ranked event in chess history are still pondering what made Fischer give up after winning the world title 20 years ago "Fischer and Alexander Alekhine are the best players in history" said current world champion Garry Kasparov "There must have been a reason why he left chess and it's a great pity for the chess world that he has not played for 20 years He was a chess genius" The only one of seven surviving world chess champions not to show up for the tournament here which ends today the 48-year-old American has lived a reclusive life since giving up competitive chess after his 1972 victory Staying in touch One of the few people still in touch with him is Boris Spassky the former Soviet champion who lost to Fischer in that epic battle in Iceland at the height of the Cold War "I've met Bobby several times in the last two years but I don't like to talk about it because Bobby does not like publicity" Spassky said Fischer's obsession with avoiding the limelight is legendary and a recent visit to Pasadena Calif where he lives now only served to increase the mystique surrounding him Staff at the local post office said an old woman usually picks up his mail Fischer lost his crown by default to Anatoly Karpov in 1975 after falling out with the World Chess Federation "I very much wanted to play that match against Bobby" Karpov said "I was optimistic about my chances but I believe Fischer was frightened of losing that match He kept putting off the start" Both Kasparov and Karpov are competing in the tournament here Former champions Mikhail Botvin-nik and Vasily Smislov arrived in Italy Thursday to watch the closing MARCH INS FLORIDA 1B CHURCHES CELEBRATE 2BR MADRID (AP) Draped over a fashionable shopping street red and white lights form the image of Santa Claus a modern intruder for purists hoping to retain the essence of Spain's ancient holiday traditions "It's an example of how Santa Claus is taking over" Isabel Fernandez said Sunday the eve of the traditional Epiphany holiday "Today children know more about Santa Claus than they do about our own tradition of the Three rungs" Today Spaniards exchange gifts and celebrate the Epiphany a holiday that predates the celebration of Christmas and marks the Three Kings' visit to the newborn Jesus Christ described in the Bible Epiphany which means revelation signifies the moment the Bible says Jesus was revealed as the messiah to the Magi Traditionally it is the major yuletide celebration in Spain and the only day of the season Spaniards give presents Holiday competition But in recent years the commercial countdown to Dec 25 and other Christmas symbols such as Santa Claus and decorated trees have competed against Epiphany Many Spanish children now receive gifts on both days For their parents Christmas used to be a day for a family dinner and nothing else "The influence of American television the American movies about Santa Claus the store advertisements the billboards" Fernandez said "When did you ever see the Three Kings in a movie?" In Greece and other Orthodox Christian areas Epiphany is an important religious event and some sects celebrate Christmas on Jan 6 Mainstream Greek Orthodox priests cast crucifixes into the sea and rivers to bless the Associated Press THREE KINGS DAY: A man dressed as one of the Three Wise Men waves from a float near Madrid's Puerta del Sol during a parade Sunday marking the Epiphany RECLUSE: Bobby Fischer In 1972 photo rounds and were joined Sunday by Spassky and Mikhail Tal leaving Fischer as the only one of the surviving champions to stay away Youngest grandmaster Chicago-born Fischer who learned to play chess at the age of 6 and became the youngest grandmaster in history at the age of 15 almost lost his chance for the 1972 title by turning up late for his match with Spassky "I could have won the match without a fight because Bobby didn't come to the match on time If I had won without a fight I would always have been ashamed of myself and felt I was not a real champion because I did not play Fischer" Spassky said "It seems our match in Reykjavik killed both of us" he added "Fischer because he never played in public again and me because I lost the title "Bobby was like a fish in my hands in that encounter a fish that I always thought I was going to land but one which always escaped my grasp" Luis Rentero who organizes chess tournaments in Spain spoke with Fischer during a recent visit to Los Angeles and said the American was still angry that the Russians took away his title "I offered him $2 million to play some of the world's leading grandmasters but he has yet to answer He is still in good chess shape and still considers himself champion of the world" Rentero said waters on Epiphany also known in some places as the 12th day of Christmas or Little Christmas "This holiday Epiphany never had a consumer angle" said Professor George Moustakis a theologian in Greece Outside influence in Spain increased dramatically following the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 and the nation's entry into the European Community six years ago brought further changes The Jan 6 holiday predates Christmas by about 100 years The Roman Catholic church in the 4th Century began celebrating Christ's birth on Dec 25 and Jan 6 was set to mark the visit of the Magi The concept of the familiar red-suited Santa first appeared in the But in Spain Kings' Day is still tremendously popular Parades are held Sunday night led by the Kings represented by men painted in blackface "I don't see it celebration of Epiphany disappearing but it could happen" said Fernandez "The one advantage of Christmas is that kids have all of their school holiday to play with their toys When the toys only came from the Three Kings you wound up taking them to school the next day" The country's largest parade takes place in Madrid where children use upside down umbrellas to try to catch candy tossed by the Kings The parade features dozens of floats horse-mounted units and musical groups 1800s in New York The Christmas tree dates to medieval Germany Although Christians throughout the world celebrate Epiphany Spain is the only European nation where the Dec 25 holiday was not also a major holiday Italians tend to celebrate both days telling children the good witch brings gifts to good kids and coal to bad ones on Jan 6 In Rome's main square children and parents did last-minute shopping and enjoyed festivities Sunday In one booth children could get their photo taken with Santa in a 1 950s Fiat Wine and cake Portuguese mark the day with a glass of port wine and a slice of special cake Museum remembers golden age of ocean liners The University of Miami School of Medicine is conducting research studies for the treatment of anxiety with new medications If you have some of the symptoms listed below and are 18-65 years with no serious medical illnesses please call to participate Feeling nervous shaky or worried Problems falling or staying asleep Panicky or fearful without reason Feeling on edge irritable impatient twice as long as sailboat crossings at the time The exhibition goes on to the first regular service between Europe and North America in 1838 by the Sirius and Great Western ships The final part of the exhibition features the 1960 launch of the 55000-ton luxury liner France When President Charles De Gaulle led the crowd at the St Nazaire shipyard in singing France's national anthem he could have had no inkling that the ship would be a commercial disaster The advent of the Boeing 707 jetliner opened the way to mass air travel in the early 1960s and passenger traffic on the trans-Atlantic liners slumped The France was withdrawn from immigrants seeking sanctuary in the New World at the turn of the century They were often left to huddle below the decks Steamships carried 34 million would-be immigrants from Europe to New York's Ellis Island The exhibition records some of the tragedies that befell ocean liners such as the 1912 sinking of the Titanic While trans-Atlantic crossings may be a thing of the past holiday cruises to sunny destinations have become increasingly popular But gone forever are the exquisitely carved wooden panels and beautiful tapestries that graced the smoking lounges Today's ships are decorated with plastics and synthetics service in 1974 and sold to a Norwegian cruise operator The exhibition's main emphasis is on the period between the two world wars the golden age of floating palaces such as the French liners Normandie and He De France and Britain's Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth The first-class dining hall of the Normandie was longer than the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles Palace residence of France's kings It could sit 700 people The exhibition includes elegantly recreated state rooms and private dining rooms from some of the best known French liners complete with priceless crystal and Art Deco furniture In stark contrast it also recalls the grim trans-Atlantic crossings of 5 Difficulty concentrating 6 Anticipating the worst unable to relax Reuters News Service PARIS Parisians fed up with the city's wet gray winter can find solace in a new exhibition that vividly recalls the glamorous era of trans-Atlantic passenger liners During those grand years of the "floating palaces" passenger lists were a who's who of high society including millionaires and Hollywood movie stars Visitors to the "Paquebots de Legende" (Legendary Liners) exhibition in the Maritime Museum at the Palais de Chaillot can recapture the atmosphere of that period They can have their picture taken while posing next to deck chairs salvaged from famed liners or leaning against a ship's deck railings The exhibition which opened last month and runs until March includes hundreds of models maps posters films and other memorabilia covering a century and a half of sailing history It records the first uncertain attempts at trans-Atlantic steam travel in 1819 which took 28 days For further information call: 547-6795 8:00 pm 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