Word: reykjavik
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...players and their seconds now gathered in Reykjavik for the world championship match are neither shadowy nor unreal-looking men, and they are only occasionally unhappy. The same is true of the millions round the world whose imaginations have been fired by the battle of the giants, Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky. They gather in chess clubs, if they are seasoned aficionados, or in front of the TV in the corner bar, or around a transistor radio if they are out in the boondocks. They scream instructions, encouragement or abuse at the contestants with all the futile energy of spectators...
Like the variations on some tricky gambit, the moves in Reykjavik, Iceland, last week were wild, wicked and just plain wearying. First, World Chess Champion Boris Spassky of the U.S.S.R. requested and was granted a two-day postponement of the 14th game in his title match with Bobby Fischer of the U.S. Bobby, never one to miss an opening, immediately filed a formal protest, charging that Boris' excuse of "not feeling well" was too "vague and indefinite" to justify a delay. Actually, Fischer was just twisting the knife, for he and everyone else in Reykjavik could easily diagnose Spassky...
When the 14th game finally got under way, however, Fischer temporarily restored Spassky's spirits. As Bobby made his 21st move, U.S. Grand Master Larry Evans, who was following the play on a pocket chess set in the press room of the Reykjavik Sports Hall, gasped, and declared, "Bobby's blundered! He's dead lost!" Sure enough, Spassky forced an exchange of pieces that left Fischer a pawn behind and in dire straits. Then, just as shockingly, Boris committed a far more obvious blunder on his 27th move. "They've gone to pieces...
Denmark's Bent Larsen, generally considered the second-best chess player in the West, flew into Reykjavik for a first-hand look at the war of nerves between Soviet World Champion Boris Spassky and U.S. Challenger Bobby Fischer. "Spassky has been thrown off balance," Larsen said. "He probably is boiling inside, and that is not good for him. But he is a strong player, and it is too early to count him out." Two days later, Fischer opened the tenth game of the 24-game tournament with his favorite gambit: arriving nine minutes late. Spassky's countergambit: arriving...
...Bobby, enticed by an English millionaire's offer to double the $125,000 purse, flies to Reykjavik at the last minute...