June 1972

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June 01, 1972

• Rocky Mount Telegram Rocky Mount, North Carolina Thursday, June 01, 1972 - Page 15 — Teen-Age Chess Expert Advises Teaching The Game To Children — “‘I learned at that age and Bobby Fischer did and so did most of the other players I have come in contact with,’ he continues. ‘In the United States it may seem early but in the Soviet Union it's normal.’” Read More

• The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Thursday, June 01, 1972 - Page 14 — Television Cameras at Fischer-Spassky — [Uncertain where the paper got its information.]

• Hi-Desert Star Yucca Valley, California Thursday, June 01, 1972 - Page 24 — Chess Champs — Twentynine Palms High School's Royal Rooks Chess Club with trophy after winning a tournament with Perris High School …

• New York Times, New York, New York, Thursday, June 01, 1972 - Page 40 — Chess: Renewed Study of Openings Is Leading to New Lines by Al Horowitz — The systematic study of the openings has recently experienced a real boom, and such analysis has become more and more a part of the routine of every serious chess player. No longer can even a strong player ignorant of the latest developments in the openings expect to do well against weaker opponents more “booked up” than he.
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June 02, 1972

• The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Friday, June 02, 1972 - Page 24 — Rights to Televise Broadcast of Fischer-Spassky Match — ABC talked with Bobby Fischer about televising his coming chess match with a Russian but failed to get a guarantee of the kind of cooperation networks expect in return for rich TV rights fees. But PBS expects to carry the match on TV, in simulated format… Read More

• The Windsor Star Windsor, Ontario, Canada Friday, June 02, 1972 - Page 26 — World Checkers Championship —GEORGE ORT, my Netherlands correspondent who misses little on the overseas airwaves, informs that a Dutchman, name of Tom Sybrant has just won the world checkers championship in Hengelo, Holland, at expense of the Russians who have dominated the game, as they dominated chess, since the forties. Sybrant seems to presage a parallel with the chess scene in which American Bobby Fisher is presently to tackle world champion Boris Spassky of Russia in a 24-game match in Iceland.
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• The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Friday, June 02, 1972 - Page 92 — Storm Surrounds Arrabal's Plays — …But we never talk about art or the theatre. Once in a while about technique, yes. But we talk mainly about chess. About Bobby Fischer. When I was in jail in Spain, Beckett came to my aid. And so did Arthur Miller, Ionesco and Ingrid Bergman. Beckett wanted to come to my trial. They all offered to be witnesses in the court.” Read More

• The Capital Times Madison, Wisconsin Friday, June 02, 1972 - Page 47 — State Chess Champ Says Game Is Another World by Whitney Gould — … Contrary to the popular stereotype the chess player is not necessarily a neurotic with an intellect as freakishly over-developed as the Charles Atlas muscle man's physique, though it helps. Dorman says, to have a logical mind, capable of breaking down problems into their component parts. “But there's always an element of mystery, a level of uncertainty,” he adds. “Not even someone like Bobby Fischer knows everything about the game.
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June 04, 1972

• The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, June 04, 1972 - Page 55 — Goodrich, O.J. Among Dewar Net Entrants — “Other players in the round-robin doubles competition will include Merlin Olsen, Rams; Mike Garrett and Deacon Jones, San Diego Chargers; Gene Washington, San Francisco 49ers; Elgin Baylor, formerly of the Lakers, jockey Bill Shoemaker; Rick Barry, New York Nets; world chess champion Bobby Fischer;…”
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June 05, 1972

• The Austin American, Austin, Texas, Monday, June 05, 1972 - Page 28 — Celebrities To Play In Tourney — Rancho La Costa, Calif. (AP) — Bobby Fischer, the chess master making one of his rare public appearances, rated the biggest threat to defending champion Hank Greenberg Monday in the second annual Dewars' Sports Celebrities Tennis Tournament. Fischer, who meets Russia's Boris Spassky in Iceland July 2 for the world chess championship, is training at the La Costa Country Club with daily tennis and running routines. He says physical fitness is vital to chess.
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• The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Monday, June 05, 1972 - Page 47 — Tennis Nobody? — “With such strange bedfellows as Bill Shoemaker, chess wizard Bobby Fischer, sportcaster Marty Liquori, Hank Greenberg, O.J. Simpson and Rick Barry, they are staging something called “The Second Annual Dewar's Sports Celebrity Tennis Championships” this afternoon at La Costa…”
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June 06, 1972

• The Missoulian Missoula, Montana Tuesday, June 06, 1972 - Page 9 — Chess Champ? — Bobby Fischer, American chess master who'll meet Boris Spassky of Russia for the world championship in Iceland in July, hits a serve while competing Monday in the second annual Dewar's Sports Celebrity tennis tournament at La Costa Country Club in Rancho La Costa, Calif. His partner is Gail Goodrich of the Los Angeles Lakers professional basketball team. The tournament was won by Hank Greenberg and Bob Boyd, Southern California basketball coach. Read More

• The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Tuesday, June 06, 1972 - Page 47 — Greenberg, Boyd Win Net Tourney — Rancho La Costa (AP) — Hank Greenberg, 60-year-old former slugger of the Detroit Tigers, and Bob Boyd, USC basketball coach, won the Dewar's Cup in the second annual Sports Celebrities Tennis Tournament Monday. Climaxing a 16-man round-robin doubles tournament with changing partners, they defeated Gail Goodrich of the Lakers and O.J. Simpson of the Buffalo Bills, 6-0, in the final match at La Costa Country Club. Several sports figures competed, including Bobby Fischer, U.S. chess grand master, who is preparing for a July 2 world championship match against Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. Read More

• Tampa Bay Times St. Petersburg, Florida Tuesday, June 06, 1972 - Page 35 — Is Tennis Everybody's 2nd Game? — It's hard to say what, exactly, is the cause of tennis' recent popularity upsurge. More and more celebrities are taking it up — why? Maybe because tennis is a purgative, a way to rid yourself of the tensions that build in your everyday life. The men pictured here don't have your everyday tensions. Above is Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, whose grimace of concentration tells you it's an election year. At right is chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer, who's relaxing before going into serious training for his world title match with champion Boris Spassky of Russia. ★ Read More

• Progress Bulletin Pomona, California Tuesday, June 06, 1972 - Page 23 — Segura Amazed With Power From Celebrity Tennis Trio —Rancho La Costa, Calif. (UPI) — Old pro Pancho Segura shook his head in envy and said. “I'd like to have about half the strength and power these boys have.” The game was tennis and he was talking about 0.J. Simpson, the Buffalo Bills star running back, Rick Barry, the New York Nets basketball star and Los Angeles Laker guard Gail Goodrich. The three athletes were among 13 sports figures who took part in Monday's Dewar's Sports Celebrity Tennis Championships at La Costa Hotel.
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June 07, 1972

• Philadelphia Daily News Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wednesday, June 07, 1972 - Page 45 — Chess Nuts No. 1 U.S. Hero Bobby Fischer — Chess nuts can follow their No. 1 U.S. hero, Bobby Fischer, into battle against the Soviet Union's Boris Spassky next month through a package offered by Orbitair International Ltd. of New York. The site is Reykjavik, Iceland and the price is $623 a person for the two-week tour. Play starts July 2. The price includes seats to six matches, sightseeing and use of a room in a Reykjavik hotel to play chess. Play originally was scheduled in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, but the U.S. Chess Federation refused to put up a $35,000 guarantee for Fischer's appearance and the Yugoslavians rescinded the invitation.
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June 08, 1972

• The Gazette Cedar Rapids, Iowa Thursday, June 08, 1972 - Page 31 — Gligoric in New York — New York — When Bobby Fischer meets Boris Spassky for the world chess championship in Iceland next month, Svetozar Gligoric, the Yugoslav chess grand master, will play the match on his own board in New York, and write up each game move by move. As soon as the match is over, it will be set in type to be published as a book by Simon and Schuster. The book will be published two days after the match. Read More

June 10, 1972

• The Gazette, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Saturday, June 10, 1972 - Page 14 — Dewar Celebrity Tennis Championships — “…Others were Willie Shoemaker, the great jockey; Marty Liquori, the noted mile runner, and Bobby Fischer, the chess master. Tennis doesn't seem to have lost any of its popularity.”

• Northwest Arkansas Times Fayetteville, Arkansas Saturday, June 10, 1972 - Page 11 — Thorpe Returns From Chess Meet — “His competition in the 47-man tournament included Prof. Arpad Elo, rating statistician for USCF, Fred Cowan, vice president of the World Chess Federation and Marshall Rohland, past president of USCF. Both Prof. Elo and Cowan work closely with chess master Bobby Fischer, Thorpe reported.” Read More

June 11, 1972

• Austin American-Statesman Austin, Texas Sunday, June 11, 1972 - Page 21 — World Title Match Rated Tossup by Chess Experts by Larry Eldridge — (Christian-Science Monitor) When Bobby Fischer was asked how he'd take a defeat in his coming world championship chess match, the brash American challenger replied: “If I lose, I won't be upset, because I'll know it was a fluke.” Remarks such as these, combined with Fischer's phenomenal success over the past couple of years, have lulled many Americans into believing that he can't be beaten.
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• Daily News New York, New York Sunday, June 11, 1972 - Page 152 — Chess Champs Stalemated? —By Robert Byrne, FAR AND AWAY, some of the most intricate and dazzling moves in the world championship chess match between the incumbent Soviet king, Boris Spassky, and the clean-cut American challenger, Bobby Fischer, have already been played—and the match doesn't even start until three weeks from today. These are the off-board maneuvers involving where and under what conditions Boris and Bobby will duel with their kings, queens, castles and whatnot.
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• The Cincinnati Enquirer Cincinnati, Ohio Sunday, June 11, 1972 - Page 29 — Father's Day Chess Gift — “With one of these handsome new chess sets to inspire him, who knows… Dad may turn out to be another Bobby Fischer!” ★

• Honolulu Star-Bulletin Honolulu, Hawaii Sunday, June 11, 1972 - Page 50 — Tennis Enjoying New Wave of Popularity — “The only non-athlete entrant was Bobby Fischer. the U.S. grand chess master who is hooked on tennis. It was obvious that something big is happening in tennis when a dozen of America's greatest athletes and a world chess genius turn out together to play what was once regarded as a ‘sissy’ game.” ★ Read More

June 13, 1972

• The Dispatch Moline, Illinois Tuesday, June 13, 1972 - Page 12 — Tass Writer Says Fischer, Spassky Equal —Moscow (UPI)—American chess champion Bobby Fischer is “egocentric, capricious, obstinate and hot-tempered” but has an “approximately equal” chance to defeat Soviet world champion Boris Spassky in their title match next month, Tass said today. A commentary by the news agency's chess commentator, Yakov Rokhlin, said the match for the world championship that begins in Reykjavik, July 2, may depend on “who will be first to seize the initiative.” Tass called Spassky, 35, “a universal chess player.”
  “His rich intuition enables Spassky to effect sharp tactical turns in a fluid involved position,” Rokhlin said.
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• News-Journal Mansfield, Ohio Tuesday, June 13, 1972 - Page 6 — Chess Matches — Q — When is the contest for the world chess title to be? I think it's to be the United States' Bobby Fischer against the Russian Boris Spassky. — K. J., Walker Lake Rd.
  A — No definite date has been set, but the matches are to start no later than June 25. Watch the papers for the date. Belgrade, Yugoslavia, will host 12 games and Reykjavik, Iceland will host the other 12. Read More

• New York Times, New York, New York, Tuesday, June 13, 1972 - Page 40 — Chess: Fischer Displays Confidence In Comments on Title Match by Al Horowitz — Speculation and discussion continue to be stirred about the 24-game match scheduled between Bobby Fischer of the United States and Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union in Reykjavik, Iceland, for the world chess championship. The match, slated to begin on July 2, will go to Fischer if he scores 12½ points.
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June 14, 1972

• Lansing State Journal, Lansing, Michigan, Wednesday, June 14, 1972 - Page 37 — Bobby Fischer Sellout Victim —This report should properly go in the diplomatic pouch. Slug it “For Eyes Only” with one copy to the Secretary of State, one to the President. Burn promptly after reading. Get Henry Kissinger on it at once. The United States is walking into another Communist trap. It's going to be the same old story. It's going to be a conflict of their choosing, on their grounds, under their terms. It's going to be the same old crush, a conflict we probably can't win because a stalemate is almost built in. It's going to have demilitarized zones, sanctuaries, the whole lot. International quicksand. It's the Bay of Pigs, Panmumjom, the sellout all over again. We're playing for a tie, as usual. And, a tie, they win.
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• Calgary Herald Calgary, Alberta, Canada Wednesday, June 14, 1972 - Page 13 — Fischer Ready For Test —By Al Horowitz, The New York Times, Copyright, 1972, New York — When, on July 2, many-time United States chess champion Robert Fischer sits down to play the first game of his world championship match against title holder Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, it will be the first time in 71 years that an American has participated in a match for chessdom's highest title. Although Samuel Reshevsky took part in a tournament held in 1948 to determine the successor to the throne left vacant by the death of Alexander Alekhine — and finished fourth — no American has faced a reigning world champ in a head-to-head confrontation for the title since Frank J. Marshall in 1901, when he suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Emmanuel Lasker.
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• Fort Worth Star-Telegram Fort Worth, Texas Wednesday, June 14, 1972 - Page 30 — 7 Year Old's Advice: 'You Gotta Have Quick Eyes' - Son 'Inherited' Interest in Chess by Sandra Hawk — “…While the Paynes are following the career of Bobby Fischer with interest, Kevin was especially intrigued with a recent Life magazine article on the chess whiz which described the physical training he undergoes prior to a match. “It said there are more strains on a chess player than on a pro football player,” Kevin notes.… Read More

June 16, 1972

• The Miami Herald Miami, Florida Friday, June 16, 1972 - Page 6 — Brainy Sport Looked Down On — On July 2, Robert J. Fischer of the United States begins a 24-game chess match with Boris Spassky of Russia for the championship of the world. Even though there are several million chess buffs in the country, this event is literally ignored by the news media. Fischer is one of the outstanding chess geniuses of all time, being even more talented than the great Paul Morphy, the United States and world champion of over a century ago.
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• The York Dispatch York, Pennsylvania Friday, June 16, 1972 - Page 1 — Spassky Claims Fischer Fears [Disqualification] From Red Champs — Moscow (UPI) — World chess champion Boris Spassky said today his American challenger Bobby Fischer “appears to be suffering from a persecution mania and thinks that Soviet chess players are determined to harm him.”
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June 17, 1972

• The Baltimore Sun Baltimore, Maryland Saturday, June 17, 1972 - Page 3 — Spassky answers Fischer barbs —Moscow—Boris Spassky, the generally reserved and modest world chess champion, finally answered his American challenger's psychological warfare campaign yesterday with the cerebral equivalent of a right to the jaw. The American, Bobby Fischer, “seems to have acquired a sort of persecution complex,” Mr. Spassky said at a press conference here. The champion made the remarks in response to persistent questioning about his reactions to Mr. Fischer's needling of the Soviet chess establishment.
  
  Taken in historical context… Soviet Chess 1917–1991 - Page 303, Andrew Soltis, Spassky added: “When we have all lost to Fischer, will all of us be dragged on the carpet?” Read More

• The Dispatch Moline, Illinois Saturday, June 17, 1972 - Page 50 — Friendly Game Grows Into Chess Club — “What began as a little chess game between two boys has grown into the 4th St. Chess Club of East Moline,” explains Gene Curry, 3413 4th St. East Moline. Curry's son, Craig, 7, and the neighbor boy, C.J. Lehne, talked their dads into playing in a tournament last summer. “When it came time for the tournament, about 20 little boys came bringing their chess men and boards.” “The boys have a club bulletin board on which they keep track of Bobby Fischer and chess happenings.” Read More

• The Orlando Sentinel Orlando, Florida Saturday, June 17, 1972 - Page 7 — Spassky: Fischer 'Livening' —Moscow (UPI) — Boris Spassky, the world chess champion, said Friday he felt sorry for American challenger Bobby Fischer because of his “persecution mania” but considered him a “remarkable” player without whom the world of chess would be “very dull.” “If I had the freedom to choose my challenger I would ask for Fischer,” Spassky told a news conference. Their world championship matches start July 2 at Reykjavik, Iceland.
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• The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Saturday, June 17, 1972 - Page 19 — Chess Master Says Fischer Has Complex —By Murray Seeger, Times Staff Writer, Moscow—Looking relaxed and in fine physical condition, Boris Spassky, the world champion chess player, said Friday that the American challenger, Bobby Fischer seemed to have a “persecution com-tricks.” The Russian champion was asked about published statements by Fischer that “the Russians cheat at chess to keep the world title; they have tried by every means to avoid me.”
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• The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Saturday, June 17, 1972 - Page 14 — Spassky Owes Fischer 'Big Barrel of Vodka' —Belgrade (UPI) — World chess champion Boris Spassky figures he owes rival Bobby Fischer “a big barrel of vodka.” In an interview published today by the Belgrade weekly magazine the Soviet champion dispelled rumors of personal animosity between him and America's Fischer, who plays Spassky in Iceland for the world title next month. Spassky said his prestige in the Soviet Union has been so enhanced by Fischer's challenge that the Spassky family has been given a new apartment in Moscow's exclusive Podmoskovje suburb. “All my family consider we owe Bobby a big barrel of vodka.
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June 18, 1972

• The San Bernardino County Sun San Bernardino, California Sunday, June 18, 1972 - Page 52 — World Chess Championship — The World Chess Championship will be held in Iceland starting July 2 and Iceland is issuing a stamp for the event. It will be a 15-kroner value and will depict a chess board plus a legend that tells of the event. Even a temporary post office is being opened at the sports palace and a special cancellation marker will be used during the event. An American, Bobby Fischer is playing the world champion from Russia and Iceland was selected as the site as it is neutral territory.…” Read More

• New York Times, New York, New York, Sunday, June 18, 1972 - Page 29 — Stamps by David Lidman — For the World Chess Championship, starting July 2 at Reykjavik, pitting Bobby Fischer of the United States against Boris Spassky of Russia, Iceland will released a 15-kronner stamp of a chessboard, appropriately inscribed.

• New York Times, New York, New York, Sunday, June 18, 1972 - Page 38 — Spassky's Training Is a 'Secret' As He Prepares to Play Fischer — Chess Champion Is Confident — Sees Defense of Title as 'Great Big Holiday' by Theodore Shabad —Moscow, June 17—Boris Spassky, the world chess champion, declined to reveal yesterday how he was training for his match against Bobby Fischer of the United States, which begins July 2 in Iceland. “Professional secret,” Spassky said, looking fit and tanned at a news conference.
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• The Daily Sentinel Grand Junction, Colorado Sunday, June 18, 1972 - Page 4 — Victories of a Genius —Other Editors, (London Times), Bobby Fischer's victory over Tigran Petrosian in the candidates' tournament in preparation for the world chess championship was a thrilling encounter. Certainly, the result was expected. The American is not a champion who lets his admirers down. He is enjoying a run of breath-taking successes, which has never been paralleled in the annals of chess. Bent Larsen, the Danish master, who had the temerity to claim that he should rightfully occupy number one board, over Fischer in second place, in the recent match between the Rest of the World and Russia, was trounced 6-0 in the semifinals of the present championship…
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• The Atlanta Constitution Atlanta, Georgia Sunday, June 18, 1972 - Page 8 — Chess Play Slated — More than 100 players are expected to compete in the Southern Open Chess Championship at the Atlanta American Motor Hotel July 1-4. Milan Monic, a former junior champion of Yugoslavia who now lives in Alabama, will be defending his title …

June 19, 1972

• The Cameron Herald Cameron, Texas Monday, June 19, 1972 - Page 2 — Chess Championship To Be Played In Iceland —By Thorsteinn Thorarensen, Reuter Correspondent, Reykjavik, Iceland, Iceland is enthusiastically preparing to play host to a world chess championship likely to gain the attention of more people than any other event of its kind ever held. The contest, opening on July 2, has become one of the most fascinating confrontations in the centuries-old history of chess. The American challenger Bobby Fischer, poses the biggest threat in many years to the long hold of Soviet players on the title, and has established a reputation as one of the most colorful and enigmatic players ever to reach world status.
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June 20, 1972

• New York Times, New York, New York, Tuesday, June 20, 1972 - Page 80 — Chess: Despite Petrosian's Record, He Is Only a Fischer Victim by Al Horowitz —Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union, the former world champion, has been a top-ranking player for more than 20 years, but he is probably best known to thousands of new chess fans around the world as Bobby Fischer's latest victim—the man whom Fischer defeated and so earned his forthcoming title match against Boris Spassky, the current champion. Fischer beat Petrosian 6½-2½ in a match held last November in Buenos Aires. The match was tied at the end of five games, but Fischer won four in a row at the end.
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• Daily News New York, New York Tuesday, June 20, 1972 - Page 143 — Chess to Get Replay on TV —A re-creation of the world chess championship match in Reykjavik, Iceland, between Boris Spassky of Russia and Bobby Fischer of Brooklyn will be televised over WNET (Ch. 13). The 24-game match, which is expected to last for several weeks, will begin on Sunday, July 2, at 10 a.m., New York time. The picture on Channel 13 of the move-by-move coverage will originate in a studio of WMHT in Albany.
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June 21, 1972

• The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Wednesday, June 21, 1972 - Page 2 — World Champion Off to Iceland — Moscow (Reuter)—Boris Spassky, world chess champion, left here today for Reykjavik, Iceland, to prepare for his world chess title match against U.S. grandmaster Bobby Fischer. The 35-year old Russian will defend his title against Fischer beginning July 2. The world champion was accompanied by Soviet grandmasters Yefim Geller and Nikolai Krogius and international master Ivo Nei, Tass news agency reported. Read More

• Courier-Post Camden, New Jersey Wednesday, June 21, 1972 - Page 33 — Soviet Chess Great Leaves for Iceland — Moscow (UPI) — World chess champion Boris Spassky left for Reykjavik today to prepare for his title match with Bobby Fischer of the United States, the Tass News Agency said. Yefim Geller and Nikolai Krogius, both international grandmasters of chess, and Ivo Nei, international master, accompanied Spassky. The championship series begins in the Icelandic capital July 2. ★ Read More

• The Kansas City Times Kansas City, Missouri Wednesday, June 21, 1972 - Page 55 — Spassky Arrives For Chess Battle —Moscow (AP)—The world chess champion, Boris Spassky, flew today to Reykjavik, Iceland, to stake his title in a 24-game match with Bobby Fischer, American. Spassky was accompanied by his second, grand master Yefim Geller, and officials of the Soviet Chess Federation. The match will begin July 2. Read More

• The Brandon Sun Brandon, Manitoba, Canada Wednesday, June 21, 1972 - Page 4 — The Big Guns —The next big confrontation between American and Soviet forces, it seems, will take place not in the air, not around the bargaining table and not at sea. It will be at a chess table in Iceland. That's where world chess champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union and the irascible American Bobby Fischer are scheduled to do battle next month.
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• The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Wednesday, June 21, 1972 - Page 9 — Enroute — After an eight-day visit, Cuban Prime Minister Field Castro left East Berlin for Prague, while Boris Spassky (right), world chess champion, left Moscow for Reykjavik to prepare for his July 2 match against American Bobby Fischer.

June 22, 1972

• Des Moines Tribune Des Moines, Iowa Thursday, June 22, 1972 - Page 10 — Spassky: Chess Fight One Big Holiday by Charlotte Saikowski, Christian Science Monitor News Service — Moscow, Russia—It may be only a psychological pose, but Boris Spassky, the Russian world champion, gave every appearance of being in full control of himself as he prepared for the forthcoming match with American challenger Bobby Fischer. “I am in a very good mood,” he said at a rare press conference.
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June 23, 1972

• The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Friday, June 23, 1972 - Page 4 — P-K4 — Reykjavik, Thursday. — World chess champion Boris Spassky, 35, arrived in Iceland last night to prepare for championship matches with Bobby Fischer of the US on July 2.

June 24, 1972

• The Ottawa Journal Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Saturday, June 24, 1972 - Page 6 — Bear and Eagle —Next month Bobby Fischer sits down with Boris Spassky to settle the question of whether an American can prove himself the world's best chess player by defeating a Russian world champion. Fischer is in a situation something like David going forth to meet Goliath: he can't look too bad if he loses, but can reap even more fame if he wins.
  Fischer is reputed by some — including, it seems, the Russians — to be the first serious challenger to Soviet chess supremacy in a quarter century.
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• The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Saturday, June 24, 1972 - Page 34 — It's Dogged Bobby vs. Classic Boris —By Roger Ebert, Chicago (CDN) - Nobody knows very much about him, and the few facts have been repeated time and again. He was born in Chicago, raised in several places but mostly in Brooklyn, learned chess when he was 6. He lives alone in hotel rooms, relentlessly studying the literature of chess. He has no close friends. He is 29 years old and for a long time now he has been considered the best chess player of all time.
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• The Times San Mateo, California Saturday, June 24, 1972 - Page 32 — Bobby at the Summit; Will He Topple? —In just one week, Bobby Fischer of the USA will play Boris Spassky of the USSR for the chess championship of this planet. If Bobby wins it he will be the first American ever to win the title. He is already the first American to win the right to play for the title and that in itself is a great accomplishment. But Bobby Fischer is not the first great American chess player. That honer went to one of the greatest chess-masters and one of the most flamboyant players who ever lived. His name was Paul Morphy and he conquered the entire chess world long before there was an organized or recognized championship. Paul Morphy did it all and was finished at the age of twenty-eight.
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• The Berkshire Eagle Pittsfield, Massachusetts Saturday, June 24, 1972 - Page 15 — Boris Spassky Quote —“I have a very high opinion of Fischer as a chess player. He is a great player. The world of chess would be very boring without him.” —Boris Spassky, world chess champion, in training in Moscow for match against U.S. challenger Bobby Fischer.

• The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Saturday, June 24, 1972 - Page 34 — Woman Holds Chess Title — Moscow (UPI) — Nona Gaprindashvili of the Georgian Soviet republic retained Friday the women's world chess championship that she has held for 10 years. She drew in the 15th game against challenger Alla Kushnir.
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• The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Saturday, June 24, 1972 - Page 34 — Chess Meet: Toronto Man Leads — Toronto (CP) — Toronto's Lawrence Day took sole possession of first place in the Canadian closed chess championships Friday night when two rivals, matched head-to-head, adjourned their game after five hours.
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June 25, 1972

• The Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Sunday, June 25, 1972 - Page 54 — Fischer's Ego Matches Skill —New York (UPI). — There are one hundred octodecillion possible moves in the average chess game. Robert James (Bobby) Fischer learned the first dozen or so from his sister in Brooklyn when he was six years old. He picked up a few more from a stock broker in the neighborhood and stunned the chess world by becoming the United States champion.
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• Daily News, New York, New York, Sunday, June 25, 1972 - Page 5 — Certainly Has Good Moves — American chess kingpin Bobby Fischer goes through book charting his opponent's classic moves while relaxing at training table at Grossinger's. Fischer meets world champion Boris Spassky of Russia for title, beginning next Sunday in Iceland. Bobby's Catskill training grind isn't all at chess board as he works out on tennis court (r.) Fischer says athletic breaks are necessary to keep alert and build endurance for long, tiring championship matches.
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• Tampa Bay Times St. Petersburg, Florida Sunday, June 25, 1972 - Page 8 — Not Really Bobby's Bag, But It Pays To Check — U.S. chess champ Robert James “Bobby” Fischer hopes to add some punch to his attack — in chess, that is — by getting in shape physically as well as mentally. Here he works out on Rocky Marciano's old punching bag as he prepares to play Russia's Boris Spassky July 2 in Iceland for the world chess championship. The prize-winning check will be worth $125,000.
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June 26, 1972

New Ping Pong Diplomacy: Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro plays table tennis during visit to the High Tatra mountains of Slovakia prior to arrival in Moscow today. He is on extended tour of Eastern Europe. (UPI Telephoto) https://www.newspapers.com/clip/73431669/new-ping-pong-diplomacy/ https://century-in-chess.blogspot.com/p/june-1972.html https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/cuban-premier-fidel-castro-plays-table-tennis-during-a-news-photo/515401824

• Detroit Free Press Detroit, Michigan Monday, June 26, 1972 - Page 34 — Fischer Mystery: Chess Challenger Cancels Flight —Reykjavik — (UPI)—Bobby Fischer, American challenger to Russian world chess champion Boris Spassky, abruptly canceled his flight ticket to Reykjavik, Icelandic Chess Federation officials said Sunday. Fischer, of Brooklyn, was scheduled to arrive here Monday morning to prepare for the 24-game world chess championship match starting July 2. The prize money totals $125,000 with five-eights going to the winner.
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• The Honolulu Advertiser Honolulu, Hawaii Monday, June 26, 1972 - Page 24 — Spassky vs. Fischer: Sixth Time Around — By Charlotte Saikowski, Christian Science Monitor Service, Moscow, Russia—Boris Spassky wears an air of cool composure these days. It may be only a psychological pose, but the Soviet world chess champion gives every appearance of being in full control of himself as he prepares for the forthcoming match Sunday with American challenger Bobby Fischer. “I am in a very good mood,” he said at a rare press conference.
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• The Herald-News Passaic, New Jersey Monday, June 26, 1972 - Page 3 — Fred Cramer on Fischer and Lighting at Reykjavik — The long awaited chess match between the Russian world champion Boris Spassky and the American challenger, Bobby Fischer, in Reykjavik, Iceland, may be stalemated in a dispute over lighting, Fred Cramer, past president of the U.S. Chess Federation, said last night. Cramer, a consulting illumination engineer and a friend of Fischer, said a battle was brewing between Fischer and a television producer who has arranged for the right to televise the 24-game match scheduled to start July 2.
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• St. Louis Post-Dispatch St. Louis, Missouri Monday, June 26, 1972 - Page 17 — Bobby Fischer Cancels Flight To Chess Match — New York, June 26 — Bobby Fischer, the unpredictable challenger for the world chess championship, abruptly canceled last night his flight to Reykjavik, Iceland, where he is to begin his match next Sunday with Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. Col. Edmund W. Edmondson, head of the U.S. Chess Federation, said he had no reason to believe that Fischer would not appear for the match.
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• The Central New Jersey Home News New Brunswick, New Jersey Monday, June 26, 1972 - Page 18 — First Move In Match - A Dispute —New York (AP) — The long awaited chess match between the Russian world champion Boris Spassky and the American challenger, Bobby Fischer, in Reykjavik, Iceland, may be stalemated in a dispute over lighting, Fred Cramer, past president of the U.S. Chess Federation, said Sunday night. Cramer, a consulting illumination engineer and a friend of Fischer, said a battle is brewing between Fischer and a television producer who has arranged for the right to televise the 24-game match scheduled to start July 2.
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• The Tampa Times Tampa, Florida Monday, June 26, 1972 - Page 2 — Chess Match Still 'On' — Los Angeles (UPI) - When Bobby Fischer didn't show up in Reykjavik, Iceland as expected Sunday there was concern he had changed his mind about meeting Russian Boris Spassky in the world chess championship there July 2. But Fischer, in seclusion here, has every intention of playing Spassky, a chess source said today. Like his game, however, the exact time the American champion will make his move is uncertain.
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• The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City, Utah Monday, June 26, 1972 - Page 16 — Television Today: PBS to Re-create Chess Test by Harold Schindler, Tribune Television Editor — Next week Bobby Fischer of New York will meet Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union in a tournament to determine the world champion of chess. The match will not be televised, since the site of the 24-game showdown is Reykjavik, Iceland, one of the lesser known market areas on the Nielsen survey. Fischer, a young man with a single purpose — to destroy Boris Spassky — is a heavy favorite to do just that.
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• The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Monday, June 26, 1972 - Page 22 — Chicagoan Captures Junior Chess Title by Isaac Kashdan — Craig Chellstorp of Chicago won the U.S. Junior Chess Championship in the tournament completed Sunday at Los Angeles High School. Chellstorp won his first six games, then drew in the final round with his chief rival, Ross Stoutenborough of Riverside. The game lasted just nine moves… Read More

June 27, 1972

• New York Times, New York, New York, Tuesday, June 27, 1972 - Page 37 — Spassky Rates Fischer Stronger Than in Last Meeting by Harold C. Schonberg — Reykjavik, Iceland, June 26 — Boris Spassky, the chess champion of the world, who has played Bobby Fischer five times and never been beaten by the American, said today that since their last encounter Fischer's game had become “much stronger than before.” Fischer is scheduled to meet Spassky in the opener of their 24-game match for the world title here on Sunday.
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• The Orlando Sentinel Orlando, Florida Tuesday, June 27, 1972 - Page 10 — Spassky Confident Bobby Will Come —Reykjavik, Iceland (UPI) — World chess champion Boris Spassky of Russia said he hoped his American challenger, Bobby Fischer, would show up in time for their first match next Sunday even though he failed to arrive as scheduled Monday at this tournament site. “I don't know why he didn't arrive,” Spassky told a news conference. “Only commander-in-chief Fischer knows,” he added with a broad smile. But Spassky, 35, said he was confident that Fischer would turn up at the capital of Iceland for the start of their 26-game match for the world chess title.
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• Tampa Bay Times St. Petersburg, Florida Tuesday, June 27, 1972 - Page 27 — ABC To Telecast Chess Championship —New York — The American Broadcasting Company said Monday it has acquired exclusive rights to televise the world chess championship between Bobby Fischer of the United States and Russia's Boris Spassky in Iceland. Highlights of the championship games, to start next Sunday, will be shown on ABC's “Wide World of Sports,” starting July 8. Games will be played Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday for up to eight weeks, with ABC showing highlights on “Wide World” each Saturday. Read More

• Springfield Leader and Press Springfield, Missouri Tuesday, June 27, 1972 - Page 12 — As We See It: Bobby vs. Boris —The Attention of some 25,000 Americans who play tournament chess, plus a considerable number of amateurs who simply play for fun, will be focused on Reykjavik, Iceland, Sunday and for several days thereafter. That is the day that Bobby Fischer, representing the United States and Russian Boris Spassky, the current world champion, begin a 24-game title match. At least, that's when they are supposed to start play.
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• The Raleigh Register Beckley, West Virginia Tuesday, June 27, 1972 - Page 4 — With Braun And Brain Can Bobby Beat Boris? —Championship chess is a contest that calls for prodigious amounts of physical as well as mental exertion. To determine how much energy is actually expended by a chess player in a tournament game, a bio-kinetic experiment was conducted at Temple University in 1970. Pulse, heartbeat and other physiological measurements were taken on 12 volunteers during play. The surprising result: Chess is as physically taxing as a strenuous session of boxing or football.
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• Asbury Park Press Asbury Park, New Jersey Tuesday, June 27, 1972 - Page 5 — ABC To Air Telecasts Of Title Chess —New York (AP) — The American Broadcasting Co. said yesterday it has acquired exclusive rights to televise the world chess championship between Bobby Fischer of the United States and Russia's Boris Spassky in Iceland. Highlights of the championship games, to start next Sunday in Iceland, will be shown on ABC's “Wide World of Sports,” starting July 8. Games will be played Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday for up to eight weeks, with ABC showing highlights on “Wide World” each Saturday.
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• Tallahassee Democrat Tallahassee, Florida Tuesday, June 27, 1972 - Page 9 — Wet Chess — We'd like to see Bobby Fischer try this one. Two ambitious teenage chess players in Edinburgh, Scotland, wanted to play an uninterrupted and peacefully quiet game. The only place they could find that fit their needs was the bottom of a local pool. (NANA Photo) Read More

June 28, 1972

• The Orlando Sentinel Orlando, Florida Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 12 — Fischer's Flight Set For Today —Reykjavik, Iceland (UPI) — American chess challenger Bobby Fischer will be in Iceland in time for the start of his 24-game world championship match against Boris Spassky of Russia, one of his advisers said Tuesday. Fred Cramer, a former president of the U.S. Chess Association, said Fischer “will be here in time” but he did not give a date for his arrival.
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• The News-Item, Shamokin, Pennsylvania, Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 8 — Soviet Chess Master Awaiting Fischer — World chess champion Boris Spassky, shown here playing with his son, Vasya, was reported in Reykjavik, Iceland, Tuesday, awaiting the arrival of U.S. chess champion Bobby Fischer. Their 24-game match for the world title, is scheduled to start in Reykjavik Sunday. Photo from Sovphoto (AP Wirephoto) Read More

• The Indianapolis News Indianapolis, Indiana Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 83 — World's Eyes Focus On A Chess Board —It will begin quietly next Sunday afternoon, in Iceland. Promptly at 2 p.m. (Icelandic time), a Russian and an American will sit down to play a game of chess in a small auditorium at Reykjavik. During the five hours that follow they probably will not exchange a dozen words. Nor will the audience. To a casual observer, it all might seem about as exciting and dramatic as a visit to a mausoleum. But there will be no casual observers.
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• The Salina Journal Salina, Kansas Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 23 — Fischer and Spassky Will Split a Bundle of Money —The Icelandic Chess Federation has put up close to $200,000 for the 24-game match. The games will be played in the Reykjavik Sportshall, which seats about 3,000 people. The match will be open to the public, and tickets will cost $5 a game or $75 for the 24 games. Of the $200,000 put up, some $125,000 will be paid in prizes to the players, according to the federation. Fischer, 29, and Spassky, 35, will also divide 60 per cent of the income from films and television.
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• Florida Today Cocoa, Florida Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 1C — Chess Moves To Television —You can come out into the sun and rejoice, chess players, because your sport finally has hit the “big time.” In other words, after hundreds of years of being reserved for the intelligentsia, chess is going on network television. The event is the world championship, which is scheduled to begin this Sunday in one if the sports capitals of the world —Reykjavik, Iceland. The contestants are “Broadway” Bobby Fischer of America and Boris “Boom Boom” Spassky of the Soviet Union.
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• The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 27 — Players Can Follow Games On Own Boards —Each game of the world chess championships will be reported in a form called the Descriptive Notation, which enables other players to follow the game by duplicating each move on their own boards. Each chess piece has its own letter symbol: K-king, Q-queen, R-rook, N-knight, B-bishop, and P-pawn. Pieces on the king's side of the board (the right side, when the white pieces are at the bottom) have the letter K preceding the name of the piece itself (i.e., KP, king's pawn, KR, king's rook, KN, king's knight).
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• Quad-City Times Davenport, Iowa Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 2 — Chess Interest Grows —New York (AP) — Promotional aspects of the Fischer-Spassky world championship chess match are becoming as important as they are in any big league sport. Chess matches are not usually world happenings. But with the keen interest sparked by American Bobby Fischer challenging Russian Boris Spassky for the world title, it's a different situation. The Icelandic Chess Federation has put up close to $200,000 for the 24-game match, to be held for two months in Reykjavik, Iceland, starting July 2.
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• Austin American-Statesman Austin, Texas Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 53 — Fischer-Spassky Duel Becoming 'Big League' — …He has asked for bids from interested television stations in countries throughout the world. He is concerned with the highest bidders in each country, and if a contract is signed, he will send them film clips as the match progresses. “We'll be negotiating straight through Sunday and beyond. It's been very hectic. There's a lot of interest in it, more so in the rest of the world than in the U.S.,” said Fox, who adds that the only two countries which have sent cables saying they would not bid are Kuwait and Jordan.
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• Reno Gazette-Journal Reno, Nevada Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 2 — Fischer Leaves For Chess Match —Los Angeles (AP)—American challenger Bobby Fischer has left Los Angeles after a final round of training for his world champion chess series in Iceland and is scheduled to leave New York tonight for Reykjavik, local sources said today. The secretive Fischer spent about a week in California preparing for his series of 24 matches, set to start Sunday with the recognized champion, Boris Spassky of Russia, the sources said.
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• Asbury Park Press Asbury Park, New Jersey Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 29 — Sports Angles: You'd Never Guess This About Chess —Want to be a good chess player? Then start a weightlifting program, jog 10 miles a day, do calisthenics, climb mountains, get in shape, get physical. I know. “This guy is nuts,” you're muttering to yourself. “Chess isn't even as strenuous as tiddlywinks.” We've all maybe played a little chess on rainy days and watched others play it — old codgers who couldn't see the men without glasses and tender tykes not suited to contact sports.
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• Springfield Leader and Press Springfield, Missouri Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 13 — It's $5 a Game To See Champs —By Ann Hencken, New York (AP) — Promotional aspects of the Fischer-Spassky world championship chess match are becoming as important as they are in any big league sport. Chess matches are not usually world happenings. But with the keen interest sparked by American Bobby Fischer challenging Russian Boris Spassky for the world title, its a different situation.
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• Philadelphia Daily News Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 2 — Taking Pawns Takes Brawn —If Bobby Fischer should beat Russia's Boris Spassky in the world's chess championship tournament next month, Fischer could try checkmating Joe Namath or Joe Frazier next. He'll certainly be in condition for it. According to an experiment at Temple University, chess is every bit as physically taxing as a rugged session of football or boxing.
  THE EXPERIMENT was conducted at Temple in 1970 by Charlotte Leedy, a chess player herself who was then a teaching fellow working on her doctorate.
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• The Berkshire Eagle Pittsfield, Massachusetts Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 1 — World Champion — Boris Spassky, right, with an interpreter, talks over the chess match in Reykjavik.   Read More

• Calgary Herald Calgary, Alberta, Canada Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 10 — Chess Star May Yet Be Holdout —Reykjavik, Iceland (Reuter) — Preparations for the world chess championship opening here Sunday now are in full swing—but there is still no sign of the U.S. challenger Bobby Fischer. The Russian world champion Boris Spassky arrived here a week ago to get acquainted with the surroundings and Icelandic chess officials are becoming nervous at the non-appearance of Fischer.
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• The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 71 — For all you chess fans, Ch. 2 —The 25-year wait by the chess crowd since television's inception is about to end, thanks to the fame of Bobby Fischer. Both Channel 2 and the American Broadcasting Co. yesterday revealed plans for coverage of the American's world-title match with the Russian Boris Spassky, which begins Sunday. No live coverage will be available from Iceland for two reasons, the concentration factor and the dead air time. But Ch. 2, through Eastern Education Network and Public Broadcasting hookups will provide the next best thing: simulated moves on camera immediately after they occur, with experts in an Albany, N.Y. studio to explain and speculate about counter plays.
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• Albuquerque Journal Albuquerque, New Mexico Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 4 — Physical Training for Chess — Many persons smirked when they read about Bobby Fischer's physical fitness program as he prepared for the world championship chess match against Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. Fischer's daily regimen includes morning calisthenics in front of his television set, followed by swimming, tennis and bowling. (Close-lipped Spassky won't disclose his own training program, although it is known he likes to play tennis.)
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• Des Moines Tribune Des Moines, Iowa Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 9 — Soviet Chess Champ Sore At Lensmen — Reykjavik, Iceland (AP) — Russian Boris Spassky, who has a reputation for glacial calm, had an outburst of nerves Wednesday, less than a week before he risks his world chess championship against American Bobby Fischer. Spassky stormed off a tennis court and went to his hotel after three photographers began taking pictures of him with Jivo Nei, a compatriot helping him train for the match. “You are ruining our program,” Spassky said.
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• The Ottawa Journal Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 6 — Eagle and Fox? — Sirs: — It was a pleasant surprise to find your editorial on chess (Journal, June 24); the royal game is usually neglected by the press. However, I disagree with your metaphor. Fischer may be a chess eagle, but Spassky is no bear. On the chessboard he is as elusive and decisive as a fox. Thus the fascinating encounter: though eagles fly, many a bird has been tricked by the fox. P. Stark, Ottawa.
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June 29, 1972

• The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 2 — Chess Champ Objects — Russia's Boris Spassky storms off tennis court at Reykjavik, Iceland, disturbed by the presence of newsmen. Spassky, who will defend his chess title against Bobby Fischer of the United States next week, later returned to the court. Both he and Fischer have been in rigorous physical training.
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• Greeley Daily Tribune Greeley, Colorado Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 38 — Will Bobby Fischer Show Up For Chess Match in Iceland —By Ann Hencken, Associated Press Writer, New York (AP) — Bobby Fischer's flight reservation to Reykjavik, Iceland, has been canceled again. The American chess star is scheduled to play Russia's Boris Spassky there for the world championship in chess. There are just a few more flights In Iceland before the chess match is scheduled to start next Sunday. Will Fischer show up for the match? “He said he was going,” grandmaster Larry Evans said Wednesday evening before boarding a plane for Iceland
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• The Orlando Sentinel Orlando, Florida Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 18 — Fischer Not On Flight —New York — Chess whiz Bobby Fischer, expected to leave Wednesday night for the world chess championships, failed to show up for either flight leaving for Iceland.
  One of his advisers, already in Reykjavik to prepare for the start of the championship match Sunday against the Soviet Union's Boris Spassky, said 29-year-old Fischer would be there in time to play but refused lo specify his arrival time.
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• The Orlando Sentinel Orlando, Florida Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 18 — Coverage Of Chess Match Restricted — Reykjavik, Iceland (AP) Organizers of the Bobby Fischer-Boris Spassky world championship chess match will restrict move-by-move coverage and photographs of the contenders inside the contest hall, it was announced Wednesday. The announcement brought protests from news wire services and from two television outlets which are planning in-depth accounts of the 24-game match based on move-by-move reports from The Associated Press.
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• The Des Moines Register Des Moines, Iowa Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 6 — Chess Tourney Coverage Fuss —Reykjavik, Iceland (AP) — Organizers of the Bobby Fischer-Boris Spassky world championship chess match will restrict move-by-move coverage and photographs of the contenders inside the contest hall, it was announced Wednesday. The announcement brought protests from news wire services and from two television outlets which are planning in-depth accounts of the 24-game match based on move-by-move reports from the Associated Press. The first game is scheduled for Sunday.
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• The Des Moines Register Des Moines, Iowa Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 6 — Where Is Bobby Fischer? —New York, N.Y. (AP) — Bobby Fischer failed to make his scheduled flight for Iceland Wednesday night and gave no indication when he would depart for his World Championship chess match with Boris Spassky, scheduled to get under way Sunday in Reykjavik, Iceland. Fischer did not take his place on a Pan American Airways jet-liner that left for Reykjavik. The next scheduled flights to the Icelandic capital are today and Saturday.
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• The Ogden Standard-Examiner Ogden, Utah Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 4 — Bobby Fischer Still Not in Iceland; Adviser Says He'll Play Russian — New York (UPI)—America's chess wizard Bobby Fischer will be in Reykjavik, Iceland, in time for the start of the world chess championships Sunday, a Fischer adviser said Wednesday. The reassurances came after Fischer failed to show up at the airport for any flights leaving for Iceland. He had been scheduled to leave for the world championships Wednesday night. The adviser, already in Reykjavik making preparations for the start of the championship match against Russian chess master Boris Spassky, refused to specify Fischer's arrival time. But he did say Fischer would be there in time for the match.
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• Democrat and Chronicle Rochester, New York Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 17 — Limit Coverage Of Chess Match —Reykjavik, Iceland (AP) — Organizers of the Bobby Fischer-Boris Spassky world championship chess match will restrict move-by-move coverage and photographs of the contenders inside the contest hall, it was announced yesterday. The announcement brought protests from news wire services and from two television outlets which are planning in-depth accounts of the 24-game match based on move-by-move reports from The Associated Press.
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• Nanaimo Daily News Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 19 — Chess Challenger Still Missing —New York (Reuter) — U.S. challenger Bobby Fischer failed to show up Wednesday night for two flights that were to have taken him to Reykjavik, Iceland for his world chess championship meeting with Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. Officials of Pan American World Airways said that Fischer, 29, cancelled his reservation on their flight to Reykjavik. A spokesman for Loftleidir, the Icelandic Airline, said that Fischer had also reserved a seat on Wednesday night's flight, demanding that no one be seated in the row in front of him or the row behind.
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• Dayton Daily News Dayton, Ohio Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 87 — Fischer Gets Chess Title Shot Sunday —Reykjavik — (UPI) — Bobby Fischer's big dream comes true Sunday when he sits down at the checkered board to play world chess champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. The American chess genius considers the world championship match a mere formality. HE HAS SAID time and again that if he just gets a shot at the 35-year-old champion, he is certain of defeating him.
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• Daily News New York, New York Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 374 — The Super Bowl of Chess —When Bobby Fischer sits down across the board from Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, Iceland this Sunday, one of the most controversial battles in chess history will be under way. Fischer is a rebel whose attack is world famous… Spassky is a maverick who can counterattack mercilessly. To the victor goes the world's championship. On the scene in Iceland for Daily News chess fans will be Robert Byrne, a grand-master himself and the author of countless articles and special stories on the game. Byrne, a close friend of Fischer's — when he's not facing him as an opponent — will bring you detailed reports on the world championship matches throughout the games.
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• The Greenwood Commonwealth Greenwood, Mississippi Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 9 — Chess Master On The Court — Russian chess champion Boris Spassky returns volley, Wednesday, as he works out in Reykjavik for upcoming world chess title against American Bobby Fischer. Earlier, Spassky stormed off the court after photographers began taking pictures. “You are ruining our program,” Spassky said. “This is a daily routine which I must get on with.” —AP Wirephoto via cable from Reykjavik.
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• Daily News New York, New York Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 8 — Bobby Off To Play — Los Angeles, June 28 (AP)— American challenger Bobby Fischer has left Los Angeles for his world champion chess series in Reykjavik, Iceland, local sources said today. The secretive Fischer spent about a week in California preparing for the 24 matches, set to start Sunday with world champion, Boris Spassky of Russia.
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• The Evening Sun Baltimore, Maryland Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 26 — Here's How To Get In Shape For a Chess Championship — They say chess is a great mental game, but you'd never know it from the way U.S. king Bobby Fischer prepares. Fischer meets Russia's Boris Spassky beginning July 2 in Reykjavik, Iceland, and he's been playing tennis and punching the bag at Grossinger, N.Y., for the past month. Maybe he figures the Russian will tire just watching.
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• News-Journal Mansfield, Ohio Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 8 — Q: Will the chess championships be on television, and who will be playing? — A: Your question came just in time. The title matches, featuring Bobby Fischer of the United States and Boris Spassky of Russia, will be seen Saturday, July 8 from 5-6:30 p. m. on the Wide World of Sports. The show will be presented from Reykjavik, Iceland, the first time in history that the matches have been held outside the Soviet Union. Spassky has held the world title for the past 23 years and has faced Fischer five times, winning three times and tying twice.
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• The News Paterson, New Jersey Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 26 — DePaul's Chessmen Boast No Fischer But Fly High — “We may not have a Bobby Fischer, but we're working on it.” You see, Bobby Fischer may be the greatest chess player in the country, and maybe the world, if the American beats the Russian, Boris Spassky, come July 2 in Reykjavik, Iceland. Read More

• The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 94 — ABC Specials — Martin Starger, program head of the ABC-TV network, at a press conference Tuesday expanded on his announcement of last spring concerning network schedule of specials … He also announced ABC will air the World Chess Championship between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky from Iceland, beginning July 8 on the ABC Wide World of Sports, as well as a number of quality movies in their first TV showings … Read More

• The Miami Herald Miami, Florida Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 96 — Bowling: Herald Tourney Lets Bowlers Pick Winning Moves by Dick Evans — Bobby Fischer probably would make a good contestant for The Herald's $1,000 Bowling Classic, which opens this weekend … ★ · ★ · ★

• Ridgewood Herald-News Ridgewood, New Jersey Thursday, June 29, 1972 - Page 57 — World Chess Championship Tournament — Move-by-move coverage of the competition between Bobby FIscher of the U.S. and Boris Spassky of Russia.

June 30, 1972

• The Evening Sun Baltimore, Maryland Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 2 — Fischer In Retreat — Bobby Fischer, American chess champion, runs away from newsmen at New York's Kennedy Airport. He did not leave for Iceland, however, and his world chess championship match against Russia's Boris Spassky. The World Chess Federation is threatening Fischer with blacklisting after reports he is holding out for cut of receipts from match.
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• The Charleston Daily Mail Charleston, West Virginia Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 9 — Hot Line — Q: Why doesn't one of the newspapers give the news every day of the Bobby Fischer chess match which takes place later this month? D. N., Sissonville — A: Bobby Fischer's match with Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union begins Sunday at Reykjavik, Iceland, and the Daily Mail plans stories this week and during the match. You may have seen the story Monday concerning Fischer's unhappiness with the lighting at the match site.
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• New York Times, New York, New York, Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 37 — Iceland, a Chess Land, Waits on Edge for Fischer by Harold C. Schonberg — NYTimes — Reykjavik, Iceland. June 29—There are about 80,000 people here, and at least that many seem concerned day and day—there is no night at this time of the year—with the saga of Bobby Fischer. Everybody is talking about Fischer's demands, about his temperament, about some derogatory things he ALLEGEDLY has said about Iceland.
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• New York Times, New York, New York, Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 37 — Media Oppose Limits On Chess-Match News — An attempt to limit news transmissions from the world chess championship in Iceland has met strong resistance from the news media, including the Associated Press, United Press International and The New York Times. All three said last night that they had instructed their correspondents not to agree to the restrictions.
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• New York Times, New York, New York, Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 37-36 — Chess? It's Two Armies on the March — By McCandlish Phillips — “…as Mr. Lyman talked, the fog parted a little. There was a clearing through which he could spy the plain outline of an intelligible system. It is a good thing that the man can talk well, for he has been selected as the narrator of the world match on Channel 13's exhaustive television coverage of the Bobby Fischer-Boris Spassky match, which will Often require five continuous hours of talk— analyses, interviews, demonstrations and illuminating asides. […] “One of the variables is your opponent's psychology. So you attack a person's psychological weaknesses. You put him under tremendous strain, push him to where he consumes his energy, where he gets exhausted. “When he reaches a point of demoralization, a player can crash, go to pieces, lose. “Bobby Fischer says he waits for the moment when his opponent's ego is crushed.” ★ · ★ · ★ · ★ Read More

• The Daily Reporter Dover, Ohio Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 3 — Fischer Threatened With Blacklisting If He Fails To Show For Chess Match —Amsterdam (AP) — The president of the World Chess Federation has threatened American champion Bobby Fischer with blacklisting following reports he is holding out for a cut of the gate receipts from his World Series with Boris Spassky of Russia. Dr. Max Euwe, the world federation president and veteran Dutch grandmaster, said Thursday night that if the 29-year-old American fails to appear Sunday for the start of the world chess championship in Reykjavik, Iceland, he stands to lose his rights to play for the world title not only this time but perhaps forever.”
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• Journal and Courier Lafayette, Indiana Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 26 — Fischer Threatened With Blacklisting —Amsterdam (AP) — The president of the World Chess Federation has threatened American champion Bobby Fischer with blacklisting following reports he is holding out for a cut of the gate receipts from his World Series with Boris Spassky of Russia. Dr. Max Euwe, the world federation president and veteran Dutch grandmaster, said Thursday night that if the 29-year-old American fails to appear Sunday for the start of the world chess championship in Reykjavik, Iceland, he stands to lose his rights to play for the world title “not only this time, but perhaps forever.”
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• The Pittsburgh Press Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 21 — Man To Beat — Boris Spassky, hero of Russia's national sport with “a great deal more to lose than Fischer” in Iceland, meets the press with Soviet international chess master Jivo Nei, left, and interpreter.

• The Pittsburgh Press Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 21 — Fischer Hides, May Seek Bigger Purse —By Philip Finn, New York — Bobby Fischer, the 29-year-old grand master of chess and mystery, has been in “hiding” in New York while a row about him boils in Iceland. The Brooklyn-born genius booked into room 1003 at the elegant Yale Club on Tuesday and has rarely ventured out. He has refused to comment or say anything about his forthcoming world championship match against Russia's Boris Spassky, scheduled to start in Reykjavik Sunday.
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• Pensacola News Journal Pensacola, Florida Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 23 — Fischer Demands More Cash To Play Chess Champion — Reykjavik, Iceland (AP) — Bobby Fischer has made a last-minute demand for more money to play in the world chess championship against Russian Boris Spassky, in-formed sources said Thursday. They reported that the 29-year-old American challenger has sent an ultimatum to the Iceland Chess Federation “two or three days ago,” saying he would not show up unless he got 30 per cent of the gate receipts on top of the unprecedented sums already guaranteed.
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• The Atlanta Constitution Atlanta, Georgia Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 42 — Absent Fischer Playing 'Nerves'? — Reykjavik, Iceland. (NYT) — American chess grandmaster, Bobby Fischer, expected here Thursday, again failed to show up. His championship match with Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union is scheduled to begin on Sunday, but although Fischer had been booked on a flight from New York, he never boarded the plane. There was hope, however, that he would arrive on Friday.
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• Courier-Post Camden, New Jersey Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 12 — Fischer Has Dreams of World's Chess Title —By Ian Westergren, Reykjavik (UPI)—Bobby Fischer's big dream comes true Sunday when he sits down at the checkered board to play world chess champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. The American chess genius considers the 24-game world championship match a mere formality. He has said time and again that if he just gets a shot at the 35-year-old champion, he is certain of defeating him.
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• The Capital Times Madison, Wisconsin Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 21 — State Champ to Analyze World Chess Match —(Editor's Note: Peter Dorman, a U.W. graduate who now lives in Madison, is the Wisconsin state chess champion. He will contribute occasional articles to The Capital Times sports pages analyzing the world chess championship match that starts Sunday between Bobby Fischer of the U.S. and Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.) Peter Dorman, (Wisconsin State Chess Champion), Sunday, July 2 is the scheduled beginning of the most dramatic contest in chess history: Bobby Fischer, former child prodigy whose play sometimes approaches absolute perfection, finally gets his crack at the world championship.
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• The Windsor Star Windsor, Ontario, Canada Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 22 — Chess Goes Other Way —In Golf Some Players do better at match, rather than stroke play. However, almost all prominent competition today is conducted at stroke play which has two main features - it rewards consistency and hurts the hot and cold competitor, and it keeps the field and more major names around longer. Chess has gone the other way, in part at least because Bobby Fischer demanded it.
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• Arizona Republic Phoenix, Arizona Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 17 — Chess Pros Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer — Chess pros Boris Spassky, left, of the Soviet Union and Bobby Fischer of the United States ponder moves at matches.

• The Times Munster, Indiana Sunday, July 02, 1972 - Page 46 — World Title Match in Secret —New York (UPI) — The more Bobby Fischer thinks about it the more it bugs him. Why Reykjavik, Iceland? “Why not Rome?” Fischer would like to know. “Why not Paris, Oslo, Zurich, Dallas or New York? Or even Moscow? Any large city where there's people, activity and decent restaurants would be fine. Some place at least where there's something to do at night.” Bobby Fischer, America's 29-year-old chess genius, has a theory about why Reykjavik was picked as the site of the world championship which starts this Sunday. The Russians are the ones who picked Reykjavik.
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• Daily News New York, New York Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 5 — It Takes 2 to Play Chess & Bobby Hasn't Moved — By Gene Spagnoli, The continued absence of U.S. chess genius Bobby Fischer in Reykjavik, Iceland, where on Sunday he is due to begin his match against Russia's Boris Spassky for the world championship — at first attributed to temperament—might realistically be blamed on Fischer's last - minute demand for more money, informed sources said yesterday. Fischer, 29, who canceled flight reservations last Sunday and again Wednesday, is reported to have issued an ultimatum to the Iceland Chess Federation several days ago for 30% of the gate receipts on top of the unprecedented pay-off to which he has already agreed.
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• The Tampa Times Tampa, Florida Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 12 — Fischer — Wants Profit Cut

• Springfield Leader and Press Springfield, Missouri Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 1 — Tass Blames Bobby Fischer for Situation Created by Soviets & Icelandic Chess Federation — The Soviet news agency Tass said there is no certainty that the world championship chess match will be held at all and it blamed the situation on Bobby Fischer, the American challenger to Russian Boris Spassky. Read More

• Tampa Bay Times St. Petersburg, Florida Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 46 — Organizers Seek To Restrict Coverage Of Chess Match —Reykjavik, Iceland (AP) — Organizers of the Bobby Fischer-Boris Spassky world championship chess match will restrict move-by move coverage and photographs of the contenders inside the contest hall, it was announced Wednesday. The announcement brought protests from news wire services and from two television outlets which are planning in-depth accounts of the 24-game match based on move-by-move reports from The Associated Press.
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• Sioux City Journal Sioux City, Iowa Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 4 — Who Is Chess 'Bad Guy?' — The forthcoming chess match for the world championship between Bobby Fischer, the U.S. whiz, and Boris Spassky, the Soviet expert, is receiving what politicians would call a “good press.” At least, there has been a lot of coverage of the big event well in advance, much of it centering around Fischer's chest-beating over the playing site and so on.
  We noted the other day a news article written from Moscow by an American correspondent for an Eastern newspaper.
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• Edmonton Journal Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 29 — Fischer At Kennedy Airport — Fischer was seen Thursday night at New York's Kennedy airport, but Icelandic Airlines said he did not board its flight to Reykjavik. When reporters tried to question him, his bodyguards fended them off. Bobby Fischer pushes past admirers and away from newsmen at a Kennedy Airport coffee shop shortly before he was scheduled to fly to Iceland. Fischer “castled” himself from the newsmen by rushing out into a rainstorm. (AP Wirephoto)
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• The Times Shreveport, Louisiana Saturday, July 01, 1972 - Page 12 — Fischer's Chance in Chess Tilt Periled —Hamburg, Germany (UPI) —U.S. Chess Grandmaster Bobby Fischer may lose his rights as challenger for the world title if he doesn't show up for his Sunday match with Russian World Champion Boris Spassky, the president of the World Chess Federation said Friday. “If he doesn't show up, he will lose his rights to play in the world championship,” said federation head Max Euwe of Holland. “It won't be my decision alone, but the rules of the game.” Euwe, World Chess Champion in 1935-37, was here on a business visit and said he planned to fly to the match site in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday.
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• The Cincinnati Enquirer Cincinnati, Ohio Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 8 — TV-Radio Briefs: Chess Match — The world chess tournament (Boris Spassky vs. Bobby Fischer), due to be colorcast over Channel 48 Sunday from 1 to 6 p. m., has a unique story behind it.
  The action will take place in Reykjavik, Iceland. The telecast, however, will originate from New York. Shelby Lyman, a master chess player and instructor, will receive the play-by-play in New York via teletype. He will then duplicate the moves on a demonstration chess board.
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• Oakland Tribune Oakland, California Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 24 — Television Highlights — Special—“The Fischer-Spassky Chess Championship: A Weekly Review.” Play-by-play account of the World Championship Chess Match between American challenger Bobby Fischer and present world champion Boris Spassky of Russia. Channels 9, 32; 7:30 p.m. Read More

• Daily News New York, New York Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 71 — WNET Doubts Presentation of Re-Creation of the World Championship — Station WNET (Ch. 13) said yesterday there was some doubt as to whether it would be able to present a re-creation of the world championship chess match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky as it planned. The match is scheduled to begin Sunday in Reykjavik, Iceland. The station said the Icelandic Chess Federation was seeking to bar the Associated Press from transmitting move-by-move reports of the event.
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• The San Francisco Examiner San Francisco, California Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 27 — Special: The Fischer-Spassky Chess Championship — Spassky Chess Championship: chess master George Koltanowski previews upcoming match between USSR champion Boris Spassky and America's challenger Bobby Fischer to be televised on Channel 9 Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (30 min.) Read More

• Hattiesburg American Hattiesburg, Mississippi Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 1 — Serious Fischer — A serious-faced Bobby Fischer is shown in a New York Kennedy Airport coffee shop about midnight as he apparently was preparing to fly to Iceland for his world championship chess series with Russian champion Boris Spassky. Seconds later Fischer broke away from the group of photographers and reporters and raced out into a driving rain. Icelandic airlines said he did not board a plane. Story on page 15. (AP Wirephoto) ★
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• Dayton Daily News Dayton, Ohio Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 30 — Channel Hopping — If all goes well in that world chess championship between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky this week end, you can watch the games on “Wide World of Sports” … First match is scheduled to air next Saturday at 5 …                             Read More

• Star-Phoenix Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 10 — Canadian Champion — Peter Biyiasas, 21, of Vancouver, is shown in Toronto following his win in the Canadian Open chess championships. ★

• Ellwood City Ledger Ellwood City, Pennsylvania Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 7 — News in Sports: World Chess Title Competition by Turk Pierce — Chess may not be considered a sport, but some very intense competition will begin Sunday in the unlikely locale of Reykjavik, Iceland, when Bobby Fischer of the U.S. will challenge Boris Spassky of the U.S.S.R. for the world title.
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• Times-Advocate Escondido, California Friday, June 30, 1972 - Page 17 — World Match Most Publicized: Chess in Golden Moments —New York (NANA) — When Bobby Fischer sits down with Boris Spassky in Iceland Sunday, the world will be treated to the greatest chess match—certainly the most publicized—in history. It is a long history dating back at least to the eighth or ninth century, although Montaigne insisted that Alexander the Great played a form of chess 2,500 years ago. Chess has always been the most international of games. Masters competed even while their countries were at war. It also has been a great equalizer, with kings playing paupers and sultans playing their slaves.
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