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■ 1 *- i___.___ New port, {fi.L) Uojly Newt/Mo/nmy, April 7,1975 HCHESS ANALYSIS/By ELLIOTT K. STEIN - -Bobby Fischer demanded routine courtesy, got none from officialsThe conventional wisdom in the world of sports and games holds Bobby Fischer entirely responsible for the default of his world chess title to the official challenger, the S-yearoId Soviet Grandmaster Anatoly Karpov. It would be bad enough if l^onid Brezhnev, Indira Gandhi and Jane Fonda held Fischer solely responsible. But such responsibility is fastened on him even by his fellow Americans. Such language as troubled, “eccentric,” “rude” and “greedy” are applied regularly toFischer.To achieve some balance, it is the intent of this article to present Fischer’s case as fairly as possible, even conceding his faults where .they seem to exist.It is argued that Bobby Fischer is greedy, as though this represents some sort of fault in a professional competitor. Well, what professional competitor isn’t? Ernie D is greedy, Marvin B is greedy, BiU Walton is greedy, Billie Jean King is greedy, Jimmy Connors is greedy, and Chrissie Kvert is greedy,^ etc., etc. And yet, unless the particular athlete or competitor fails to deliver, or reneges on his promise as Walton seemed to do this season and Barnes did early In the year, hardly anyone scores that competitor for his greed. These people areprofessionals and have a right to get as much for their services as the market will bear. Isn’t the nam c of the game free enterprise? As a matter of fact, the ability of a superstar in any competition to raise the level of earnings*for himself Inevitably raises the take-home pay for lesser talents.Billie Jean King’s fight for a fair income for women lennis players brought, through the publicity it generated, perhaps more money for women tennis professionals Uian even'she originally dreamed of. Similarly, Fischer’s public performance relating to money, site and other demands before Ins match with Boris Spassky brought money to chess that no one had over dreamed of.Before Fischer, world chess championships were played inrelative obscurity for a few thousand dollars. World chess ehampionshlpmatchesnoware worth more than $1 million. By refusing to play Karpov unless his non-monetary conditions were met, Fischer threw away an estimated- $3.75 million, expected to be the winner's share. Isn't the figure the amount for which Catfish Hunter agreed to play for the Yankees?So, if it wasn’t greed that made Fischer give up his title, what else could it be? Afler all, the man who spurns $3.75 million can't be considered purely greedy. There must be some other reason. •Is Fischer troubled, eccentric? Well, these are value words and a look at Hie behavior of other talented persons should indicate that action considered non-normative in others Is not so strange for them Einstein used to walk around in an old sweater, wilh bis hair uncombed and imeut. Schweitzer saved old envelopes tc write himself memoranda, musical scores and what-not. Some concert pianists refuse to play if the concert hall temperature is one degree off what they consider ideal. Bill Bussell wouldn’t sign autograph books or appear for ceremonies honoring him. leo Durceber used to spend the first ID minutes of the baseball game rubbing out the lines for the third base coach’s box and Babe Ruth would consume a dozen hot dogs during a game. Even as phlegmatic an athletic genius as Hank Aaron dumped a box of stra wherries over a reporter’s head last year. So what else is new?What then is hugging Fischer? Nothing much except that he wanted to defend his title under the best possible conditions, to be accorded the ordinary courtesies extended to a world champion. And having failed to achieve these requirement, Fischer simply would have nothing more to do with the entire affair. Having in his mind been denied the perquisites to which a world champion is entitled, he answered the international chess authorities wilh a discourtesy of his own— that is, he failed to answer them at all.Aha, now we come to the crux of the situation. Why was Fischer so determined to get just the conditions he wanted before agreeing to defend his litle against Karpov? The answer lies in Fischer’s statement made on several previous occasions, that the Russians cheat at chess. Does this mean theymove the pieces when no one is looking? Nd, nothing as crude as llial. The Russians, Fischer explained, usually win chess tournaments by such devices as agreeing to quick draws against each other. The quick draws give each Soviet contestant a half point without unduly tiring him, while players of other countries may struggle (or two days to achieve a draw. Accordingly, well rested Russian players ace in better shape, fatigue-wise, when meeting chessmasters from other countries. Aside from chess, competitors in other sports in the West gel very liUle protection from their national authorities when they play against East Zone players or teams. The East Zone authorises play to win, linking victory to national prestige. The Western authorities, on the other hand, seem determined to demonstrate some kind of junior high school civics class goodwill, even a! the expense of their own athletes. A lew examples from recent years should demonstrate the truth of this:-Hie theft of the 1572 Olyinptc basketball title by the Soviet Union after they twice lost il fair and square in regulation time.—The smirking manner of an East German diving referee, seen on television, as he regularly gave low scores to Western competitors in the Olympics.—The outright steal of gold medals from Rick DeMont and Bob Seagren in Ehe Olympics by late rulings that one man’s medicine and the other man’s vaulting pole were illegal.—The naive acquiescence of the United States to make an unprecedented defense of the Davis Cup against Romania in Bucharest. Fortunately we got away with that one.—The equally naive acquiescence of the National Hockey League and the World Hockey Association to send their best players Into action against the Russian naliwal.leam, in top shape from playing all year, before the Canadian playersIra ining season even began.Under these conditions, Fischer felt quite property that If no one else would look out for his interests, he would have to do so himself. The final Indignity, the one never visited on a world champion before, is the one that provided the excuse for the internal iona I chess authorities to take away Fischer's title. Unfortunately, no one in the American communications media has taken the trouble to point it out.When Fischer challenged Spassky for the litle, the rules slated tliat should the championship scries end dead even, Spassky would retain his crown. Fischer asked for the same courtesy in his proposed series with Karpov - to retain the title if [he series reached a 9-9 tie. This was denied him and he was given 24 hours to take it or leave it, a deadline that was magnanimously extended another 24 hours.Fischer evidently reasoned, incorrectly, that a rule that applied lo champion Spassky should apply to-champion Fischer. Apparently the Americans among the international authorities were, as American officials usually seem to be, insufficiently articulate or determined to protect their man.Elsewhere in this issue of the Daily News, an article appears that attempts to deal satirically with this Fischer-Karpov rtor y. On e element of satire is that it should contain a gr a in of truth enlarged to a ludicrous conclusion. In case anyone reading that article think it was based entirely on fantasy, this piece was written to spell out the facts. Fischer was Jobbed nut of his litle, even as the U.S. basketball team and Bob Seagren were jobbed out of their gold medals, and the record somewhere should show as much in a straight account of the entire business.
Newspaper Details
Newport Daily News
Newport, Rhode Island, US
Mon, Apr 07, 1975
Page 20
Full Page
Clipped by
Los A.
CA, USA 26 Jan 2023
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