Continued from last week
Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, was the location for the encounter between Fischer and Spassky. For over two months the attention of the world was focused on that tiny city in that northern island. Reykjavik had suddenly become the capital of the world. Words like Poisoned Pawn, the Sicilian Defence and the Queen’s Gambit entered the international consciousness. All over the world moves were relayed by the wire services and through the air to radios and television stations. In Guyana we got results and details of the games from the radio and newspapers.
As the match was being played, the Guyana Chess Federation was established, and Prime Minister Forbes Burnham became its first President. The year was 1972. Three years later, Guyana hosted the first-ever Caribbean Chess Championship. Fischer had brought the match to fever pitch in the summer of 1972 and made of it a thrilling drama that far transcended a mere chess match, first by not showing up in Reykjavik; then by appearing and starting his usual round of demands, threats and complaints; by engaging in the most hysterical theatrics ever witnessed in a sporting event; and by losing the first two games (the second on a forfeit ), yet coming from behind and completely smashing the champion. Of such deeds are legends made.
The match was controversial. The first game was controversial. For 28 moves the game was uneventful. Then Fischer made a notorious 29th move, seizing a poisoned King Rook Pawn and shortly thereafter losing his Bishop and the game. Was it a blunder or a deep conception that misfired? Grandmasters present could not believe that so precise a technician as Fischer could make such a horrible amateurish endgame blunder when he was the finest endgame player in the world. Was it deep psychological warfare, an act that was carefully conceptualized to be unleashed at the appropriate time? Fischer knew he would have lost his Bishop if he took the Pawn. In endgame theory, even the lowliest of patzers knows that if you take the Rook Pawn with a Bishop, the Knight Pawn moves one square forward and traps the Bishop. Or did Fischer impulsively try to force a dead-drawn position into a win?
A Fischer eruption followed his loss of the first game to Spassky. He said he would not continue playing unless the television cameras were removed from the playing hall. The cameras were too noisy, he said. Fischer’s super-acute hearing was being assaulted. Perhaps that was why he blundered and lost the first game. Perhaps. Everyone concerned tried to work out a compromise. Lawyers ran around helplessly. The television towers were removed and the camera equipment was hidden in a wall adjoining the stage. That did not suit Fischer. Fischer demanded that all equipment be physically removed or else he would not show up for the second game. The cameramen removed their shoes and all the change that was in their pockets. Surely that would satisfy Fischer’s supersensitive ear. No, said Fischer. The cameras must go. The cameras were still in the playing hall when Spassky arrived promptly at the designated time to begin the game. No one could find Fischer. When one hour had elapsed, according to the rules of chess, the game was forfeited and Spassky was declared the winner. He said it was a great pity.
Following the forfeit of the second game, Fischer booked reservations on a number of flights that were departing from Iceland. At the last minute however, he indicated that he would play the third game if it were held in a private room away from the television cameras. Spassky and the Russian team agreed. Spassky did not know it at the time, but it was the beginning of the end for him. Fischer played flawlessly and with finesse. He had sealed a move at adjournment that placed Spassky’s King in check. Spassky and his seconds analysed the position throughout the night. Upon resumption of the game the next day, when the envelope with Fischer’s sealed move was opened, Spassky resigned without continuing. Bobby Fischer had sealed the correct move the night before. It was Fischer’s first win against Spassky in years of competitive play.
To be continued
