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Chess 19 Jul 1972, Wed The Signal (Santa Clarita, California) Newspapers.com
Chess: Fischer Closes the Gap by George Koltanowski
American chess ace Bobby Fischer turned the tables and closed the gap between himself and the Soviet Union's Boris Spassky by winning the third game of the World Championship Match late Monday. It was the American's first victory in the match, which is now a week old, and it was his first victory ever against the Russian Grandmaster.
The game, which was played in a closed back room of the exhibition hall did not go long after the Sunday night adjournment. The game had been moved to a table tennis room at Fischer's insistence because he claimed the ([disruptive crews of men operating]) television cameras in the main hall had distracted him ([with auditory and visual disruptions, and according to the actual rules, Fischer's demand the camera operators be removed, should have resulted in immediate expulsion, but with Pro-Soviet, Anti-American organizer bias, breaking rules out of favor toward their Soviet favoritism, the organizers forced the bulky, noisy camera issue, knowing they would blow Fischer's chances at gaining a point or two to win the title. Giving the Soviet a two-point advantage was no accident. If FIDE had obeyed the rules it set when Belgrade withdrew, at least half the tournament would've been staged in either Australia or Argentina, or one of several other high bids, squabbles over cameras would have never occurred.])
The game, which was played in a closed back room of the exhibition hall did not go long after the Sunday night adjournment. The game had been moved to a table tennis room at Fischer's insistence because he claimed the television cameras in the main hall had distracted him.
The new quarters were apparently to his liking, as he regained the form which had brought him to the finals and carefully diagnosed a weakness in Spassky's attack and bore down on him.
Playing the black pieces again as he had done in the opening round, Fischer used the Benoni Defense which is said to maintain tension and prevent exchange of pieces. Midway through the game, he spotted a weak pawn on Spassky's king side and, after bearing down on it, captured it on the 32nd move. Spassky was unable to retaliate and the game was adjourned when Fischer sealed his 41st move in an envelope.
Here is the game up to the adjournment time, a point at which most grandmasters present said was high in Fischer's favor.
On the resumption of the game late Monday Bobby Fischer did not even show up. Referee Lothar Schmid opened the envelope containing his sealed move written the night before and executed it on the board before the troubled Spassky.
The move was 41. … B-Q6ch. After studying the position for about three minutes, Spassky slowly reaching over and stopped his clock. There was no way to answer. Fischer was threatening to capture another pawn, and possibly even checkmate if the Russian was careless.
Fischer's victory brought the score of the 24-game match to 2-1 in favor of the World Champion Spassky. Though still a full point behind, there was jubilation in the hearts of the American's chess camp. They know that once Bobby starts winning, he is almost unstoppable.
“The only man that can beat Fischer,” said a Yugoslav Grandmaster, “is Fischer himself.” He was referring to the problems that the youthful and unpredictable American has beset upon himself ([due to Soviet allies throwing monkey-wrenches into organization]) in this championship series.
Round number four was scheduled for 10:00 a.m. yesterday (PDT) and it was Fischer's turn to play the white pieces. The match, however, had been scheduled again in the main exhibition hall against Fischer's protest, and there is some question as to whether Bobby, now on a winning streak, will show up to play.
