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Chess Wed, May 24, 1972 – 6 · The Signal (Santa Clarita, California) · Newspapers.com
Match Of The Young Veterans
When Russian World Champion Spassky (35) and his American challenger Bobby Fischer (29) meet in their 24-game match for the world title, the two will be young in years but rich in chess experience and successes.
Spassky was 12 when his game from the Leningrad Youth Championship gained world fame. Fischer was 13 when he won the Rosenwald tournament, which included the U.S. Championship, in 1956.
Fischer refused to play in the 1964 Inter-zonal and his abrupt departure after a commanding lead in the Candidates' tournament in Sousse, Algiers three years later meant actually self-imposed exile.
Both are great players and worthy of playing in this match which is rightly called “The Match of the Century.” Interest in chess circles is running fever high all over the world.
Spassky leads Fischer in individual encounters by 3-0 and two draws, but you can be sure that does not faze Bobby, who for years has been proclaiming himself the “true champion of the world.”
Let us take a look at both players' most outstanding records so far. They won:
Boris Spassky: 1955, World Youth Title; 1959, Riga; 1959, Moscow; 1960, Mar del Plata; 1961, USSR Champion; 1964, Interzonal Amsterdam; 1964, Belgrade; 1965, Sochi; 1965, Candidates; 1965/66, Hastings; 1966, Santa Monica; 1967, Beverwyk, 1968, Candidates; 1969, World Champion; 1969, San Juan; 1970, Leyden; 1970, IBM Amsterdam; 1971, Open Canadian Championship.
Robert Fischer: 1957-1967, USA Champion; 1960, Mar del Plata (1-2 with Spassky); 1967, Monte Carlo; 1967, Skopje; 1968, Natanya; 1970, Buenos Aires; 1970, Rovinj-Agram; 1970, Interzonal Majorca; 1971, Candidates.
