Page 8 - THE ORACLE MAGAZINE October'23 EDITION

THE 1972 CHESS
WORLD
CHAMPIONSHIP
In 1972, the halls of the Laugardalshöll arena
in Reykjavik, Iceland, fell silent as the world
bore witness to a historic chess
championship that would forever alter the
course of chess history. The match featured
the reigning chess world champion, Boris
Spassky, facing off against the American
underdog, Bobby Fischer. Boris Spassky
represented the prevailing chess style of
the time, as the match held in Reykjavik was
the first world chess championship held
outside of the USSR in years. Prior to
Fischer’s sudden arrival, the Soviets had
dominated chess, and the idea that an
American, without help from the Soviet
chess machine, could become world chess
champion, was considered ridiculous.
THE GREATEST SPECTACLE IN CHESS HISTORY:
Fischer was in many ways Spassky’s opposite.
Spassky stood for the collective, as his chess
was crafted, in large part by the soviet players
around him. In contrast, Fischer was seen
studying chess alone after every match,
representing the individual and the power to
overcome being outnumbered.
The match was best of 24, therefore Fischer
needed 12.5 points to win. This short article will
cover only some of the most interesting
matches and facts, and I encourage you to
research more.
Initially, it was unlikely that the match would
happen, as Fischer kept pushing tumultuous
demands, such as taking 30% of television
revenue, a larger prize pool, and, bizarrely
enough, a specific chess set. However, after a
wealthy British investment banker managed to
increase the prize money by 50,000 pounds, as
well as a stern talking-to from the former
national security advisor Henry Kissinger and
former president Richard Nixon, Fischer was
convinced to play.
POINTS IN CHESS:
1 - WIN
½ - DRAW
0 - LOSE
07
THE ORACLE MAGAZINE
by Sebastian Breen
(chess24, 2018)