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Chess Sun, Apr 9, 1972 – 212 · The Boston Globe (Boston, Massachusetts) · Newspapers.com
The on-again-off-again World Championship tournament is apparently on again. Here are developments in recent days:
Bobby Fischer, on the threshold of the World Championship, declined to accept the agreement to play at Belgrade beginning June 22, on grounds of inadequate purse. And, he dismissed the stalwart Ed Edmondson as his representative.
FIDE apparently gave him an ultimatum to play as previously agreed or forfeit his right to compete for the title. That Bobby could refuse seems incredible, but he did so at Sousse a few years ago [Because the organizers were attempting to force Fischer into breaking the Sabbath day, a thing expressly forbidden by our then, mutual church], and without the expert Edmondson guidance this naive genius may be like a ship without a rudder. [Untrue. Fischer believed God was his “ship's captain” and faithfully followed the Hebrew religious commandment that commands no work be done on the 7th day, from Friday Sunset till Saturday Sunset, during the tournament in Sousse. Either Harold Dondis' personal Antisemitic prejudice against Judaism-related religions, or lack of knowledge about the actual events in Sousse, better explain the intent of Dondis' statement].
The latest news is that FIDE asked Belgrade, which had canceled the match, for an extension to last Tuesday. Bobby wavered and finally cabled that he would play.
