Chess 31 Aug 1913, Sun The San Francisco Call (San Francisco, California) Newspapers.com
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July 21, 1972 The Signal, Chess by George Koltanowski, Santa Clarita, California
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Chess 21 Jul 1972, Fri The Signal (Santa Clarita, California) Newspapers.com
Chess by George Koltanowski
Fischer Wins: Score Tied, Reykjavik Iceland.
America's Bobby Fischer, playing the black pieces again, won the fifth game of the World Championship Chess Match yesterday by defeating Russia's Boris Spassky in an unusually short game. Spassky resigned after only four hours of play.
The victory moved Fischer into a tie for the championship at 2 ½ - 2 ½. The next game is scheduled for Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. (PDT).
July 21, 1972 Deseret News Chess by Harold Lundstrom
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What's Fischer's Problem? by Harold Lundstrom
Judging by the many snide remarks by generally unknowledgeable television commentators, newspaper reporters, and cartoonists, one would think that America's great chess hope, Robert (Bobby) Fischer was some kind of fiend from the netherworld. Really, no human being could be so perverse as he is pictured by some commentators.
Fischer's demands have been so extensively emphasized that non-chess players are interested, and wonder.
The highest amount of money ever divided by the players in a world-title match has been $14,000; Bobby was successful in getting it to $250,000.
Who ever heard of golf champions, fighters, or any other world championship match playing for peanuts?
What does money really mean to Spassky? He is a national hero of the USSR, handsomely supported by the Russian government. WHo supports Fischer in his long months of preparation or between tournaments in which even if he wins he receives only $1,000 or so?
Fischer goes to Iceland, or any other international tournament, with one “second,” period. In the case of the current match he also, it appears from the news, took a couple of lawyers. Who pays them?
Though the match and tournament rules permit a “second,” the facts are that Spassky can actually have 25 grandmasters as his “second.” Thus, while he goes to bed for the night following an adjournment, he has grandmasters analyzing every possible move all night.
Fischer has one, so that he probably spends part of the night himself analyzing.
Fischer is subject to the food and other accommodations available.
It has been reported many times that the Russian players arrive outside the USSR for their big games with a chef, a cook, a doctor, a nurse, a masseur, a physical therapist, a valet, and who knows what else.
And who goes with Bobby? One “second,” period.
Why was Bobby so fussy about the physical accommodations? One reason has to be that he has come violently to distrust the Russians.
Right or wrong, he is not sure but that the Russian grandmasters in the audience are signalling to Spassky. This is a vicious suspicion, of course, but it apparently is one that Fischer has come to.
There are tournament records, almost galore, of where the Russians, when playing each other, play for a draw (frequently on the 11th move), and then turn all their efforts to playing for a win against all others. This problem can't obtain in Iceland, but it probably is one of the reasons for Bobby's suspicions.
Surely, if Bobby weren't the great player he is, with most judging him to be the probable victor over Spassky, his demands would not be so seriously considered.
In any event, he has brought chess to the front page; he has secured a decent purse for a world title match; he has secured top accommodations and facilities for a world match.
Maybe Fischer's methods haven't always been those of a trained diplomat, but how else do you get through to the Russians?
One other factor: Fischer was only 17 in his first encounters with Spassky who was then an international grandmaster. Little wonder that Fischer's record of that time wasn't too impressive.
What's wrong with Bobby Fischer? Not enough to deserve the vicious television, radio, and press that he is receiving.
Chess 21 Jul 1972, Fri Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah) Newspapers.com
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'til the world understands why Robert J. Fischer criticised the U.S./British and Russian military industry imperial alliance and their own Israeli Apartheid. Sarah Wilkinson explains: Tweets by swilkinsonbc |
 “What a sad story Fischer was,” typed a racist, pro-imperialist colonial troll who supports mega-corporation entities over human rights, police state policies & white supremacy. |
To which I replied: “Really? I think he [Bob Fischer] stood up to the broken system of corruption and raised awareness! Whether on the Palestinian/Israel-British-U.S. Imperial Apartheid scam, the Bush wars of ‘7 countries in 5 years,’ illegally, unconstitutionally which constituted mass xenocide or his run in with police brutality in Pasadena, California-- right here in the U.S., police run rampant over the Constitution of the U.S., on oath they swore to uphold, but when Americans don't know the law, and the cops either don't know or worse, “don't care” -- then I think that's pretty darn “sad”. I think Mr. Fischer held out and fought the good fight, steadfast til the day he died, and may he Rest In Peace. Educate yourself about U.S./State Laws -- https://www.youtube.com/@AuditTheAudit/videos After which the troll posted a string of profanities, confirming there was never any genuine sentiment of “compassion” for Mr. Fischer, rather an intent to inflict further defamatory remarks. |
This ongoing work is a tribute to the life and accomplishments of Robert “Bobby” Fischer who passionately loved and studied chess history. May his life continue to inspire many other future generations of chess enthusiasts and kibitzers, alike.
March 9, 1943 - January 17, 2008The photograph of Bobby Fischer (above) from the March 02, 1956 The Tampa Times was discovered by Sharon Mooney (Bobby Fischer Newspaper Archive editor) on February 01, 2018 while gathering research materials for this ongoing newspaper archive project. Along with lost games now being translated into Algebraic notation and extractions from over two centuries of newspapers, it is but one of the many lost treasures to be found in the pages of old newspapers since our social media presence was first established November 11, 2017.
