Back in 1972, when Fischer opposed Boris Spassky for the world championship chess title, the game was propelled to an extraordinary high, which no one had ever realistically witnessed. It was dubbed the ‘Match of the Century’. People literally stopped what they were doing to listen to aired broadcasts on radio, or television commentary, for those who were fortunate to be blessed with that medium of communication. My brothers, my grandfather and my grandmother and I listened to shortened analyses of the match on BBC radio. I can still hear that clear, unmistakable voice announcing, “This is London calling,” amid a beeping sound. The match was being held within the framework of Capitalism versus Communism. No one in my family had ever heard of a game called chess. But we realized eventually, it was a fight between America and the Soviet Union. Of course, we were all backing America, the underdog (Fischer had never won a game from Spassky); and, after all,
