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The King's Men Sun, Mar 19, 1972 – Page 11 · The Courier-Journal (Louisville, Kentucky) · Newspapers.com
The King's Men: Will Spassky Balk on Venue? He Must Play or Forfeit Title by Merrill Dowden
There's a rumor abroad—and at this stage it's only a rumor—that the much-heralded world-championship chess match between the present title-holder, Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, and the American challenger, grandmaster Bobby Fischer, might not take place after all.
Here's what has happened:
Dr. Max Euwe, a former world champion himself and now president of the International Chess Federation, has warned Spassky that if he refuses to accept the venue set for his match with Fischer, he must forfeit his title.
Spassky and the United States challenger failed earlier to agree on a match site and Euwe ruled that the 24 games must be divided equally between Belgrade, Yugoslavia, Fischer's choice, and Reykjavik, Iceland, favored by Spassky. The Russian has protested the decision.
It would be nice to have an American world chess champion, by forfeit or otherwise. But what a disappointment for chess players and fans around the world if the confrontation between these two giants of the checkered squares failed to materialize. It would be much more satisfying, of course, to see the young American defeat his Soviet antagonist across the board.
Most observers feel that the chance that the match won't take place is very small indeed. Spassky has intense pride and unbounded faith in his playing skill, as all great players must have. So the guess here is that the match will indeed be held at the two designated sites, with the games getting under way no later than June 30, and Fischer emerging the winner in a close, hard battle of wits.
Here's a Bobby Fischer game typical of his brilliance in positional play. Before playing, study the diagram. Black's position is already beyond salvation, but he moves 19… Q-K1. Fischer (White0, now gets Black's resignation in three. How?
