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Chess by Isaac Kashdan Sun, Jan 23, 1972 – 152 · The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, California) · Newspapers.com
Fischer Again Wins Journalist Award
For the second year in a row Bobby Fischer was awarded the Chess Oscar as the outstanding player of 1971 by a vote of the International Association of Chess Journalists.
The result was hardly in doubt, though the American ace played only 21 games all year, without entering a single tournament. He still set records that may never be equaled.
First came a match with Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union, the first in a series to determine a challenger for the world championship. Fischer won by 6-0, the first such result between grandmasters in the modern era.
Then came Bent Larsen of Denmark, who had won the Chess Oscar in 1968, and who for years was considered Fischer's chief rival in the western world. This would be a real battle.
It was, with some exciting games of chess. But the result was the same, 6-0 for Fischer. Including seven previous games, that made 19 straight victories for Fischer without allowing a single draw, and all against first-class opposition.
The final match of the series was against former world champion Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union, fighting for the chance to regain the title. Here was the great defensive genius of chess, a man who rarely lost.
Fischer started with a win, for game 20 on his streak. But that was it, as Petrosian won the second game in brilliant style. The next three games were drawn.
Had our hero lost his skill, or finally found his equal? Was this to be the upset of the year? Fischer quickly proved otherwise, winning the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth games. That was the match, and another streak had started, a modest four games long.
The main question before the votes were counted was who would gain the second place in the annual list of 10. It had been world champion Boris Spassky for 1970, but his 1971 record was hardly of championship caliber.
It was Petrosian who was chosen to follow Fischer, in part at least for his stiff resistance in the early part of the key match. Petrosian had also won two earlier matches, though not too impressively. He had beaten his compatriot Victor Korchnoi by one win and nine draws, and Robert Huebner of West Germany by one win and six draws.
The rest of the list was made up almost completely of Soviet Union representatives, the only exception being Vlastimil Hort of Czechoslovakia, who took fifth place.
Korchnoi was third and former world champion Vassily Smyslov was fourth. Spassky was sixth. The others were Vladimir Savon, Mikhail Tal, Lev Polugaevsky and Leonid Stein.
