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Chess by Isaac Kashdan Sun, Jan 9, 1972 – 111 · The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) · Newspapers.com
Chess by Isaac Kashdan: $152,000 Bid For World Title Match
For the first time in its long history, chess has advanced from an intellectual pastime to big business. A record sum of $152,000 was bid by Belgrade, Yugoslavia as the prize for the world championship match between titleholder Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union and American chess genius Bobby Fischer.
Bids were submitted by 12 countries in three continents, indicating the tremendous world wide interest in the coming encounter, which is expected to start late in June and probably last for two months.
Argentina was runner-up in the financial race with $100,000 (Argentina corrected this error reported in the press, having bid only $100k). The recent match between Fischer and former world champion Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union was held in Buenos Aires, and the Argentines are evidently ready for more.
Fischer won the match by a score of 6½-2½, the culmination of a magnificent series of victories that earned him the status of official challenger for the championship. The purse then was $12,000, of which Fischer received $7,500 and Petrosian $4,500.
Other major bids were $125,000 by Iceland and $120,00 by Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. The former is a particular surprise, since Iceland had not previously been involved in major chess events.
The Chicago Convention Bureau offered $100,000 to stage the match, as did Bled, Yugoslavia. The players had agreed, however, not the play in either the U.S.A. or the U.S.S.R. The Soviets did not make a bid.
Other amounts offered were: West Germany, $92,000; Brazil and Holland, $80,000; Montreal, Canada, $75,000; Zagreb, Yugoslavia, $70,000; Switzerland, $60,000; Greece, $52,000; France, $50,000 and Colombia, $40,000.
The winner of the match with receive $62.5% of the total, and the loser 37.5%. They will play a maximum of 24 games, with 12½ points required for victory. In the event of a tie, Spassky will retain the title.
The bids had to be submitted by Dec. 31 to the International Chess Federation, and can no longer be changed. Other essential factors also had to be submitted at the same time, including the exact playing site, lighting, air conditioning, control of spectators and probable weather during the match.
The next step, to be completed by Jan. 15, is for Fischer and Spassky to list their choices in priority order and notify Dr. Max Euwe of Amsterdam, Holland, president of the federation.
Dr. Euwe will then compare the lists and announce the site. Each player may still veto one choice, with the federation making the final determination.
