LCCC Meets This Monday - and Happy Birthday Boris Spassky!

Come on by this Monday at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Brighton, Michigan for our next meeting. Casual chess is still available from 4pm until 10pm. But our 2022 Fischer Random 960 tournament continues. You can still enter this tournament (no cost) and we do have a player without an opponent for the next round so, there you go!

Here are the pairings for the next round. You have White if you are the first name:

Board 1: Paul M – Ken T

Board 2: Pete B – Mike N

Board 3: Levi T – Vince V

Board 4: Mary B – AJ E

Board 5: Sam T – Jim G

Board 6: Charlie S – Jeff S

Board 7: Leo B -  TBD or Bye

Stop by to play or to watch some alternative chess action!

In honor of Boris Spassky's birthday, here are some insights into a great chess player and human being!

Boris Spassky turned 87 on January 30^th. One of the finest chess players to ever live and a true sportsman in every sense of the word. Even Bobby Fischer, who hated the Russians, praised Spassky as a true champion and great man. I have played over many of his games and am amazed at his talent.

People forget history or are not correctly taught it (so we are doomed to repeat it, but I digress). But Bobby Fischer lost to Boris Spassky in the first game of the biggest World Chess Championship the world has ever seen. Then, Fischer being Fischer did not show up for game two.  He claimed there was too much noise in the playing hall from the television cameras and does not show up for Round 2. Spassky leads 2 – 0.

Fischer demanded that from now on, the games be played in what was basically a closet off the main stage for privacy and silence. This of course was out of the question to the sponsors, the organizers and of course the Russian government! It looked like Spassky would go up 3 – 0 and probably win the match on forfeit. All he had to do to remain world champion was show up at the chessboard as scheduled.

But Spassky told them all he would not win that way and would play Fischer in that back room! Not only making everyone mad at him but defying the KGB! All of the then Soviet Union wanted and needed this victory over the West. Spassky could be actually putting his life on the line!

Fischer won that game, and they returned to the stage for the rest of the match. Fischer won the match against a now frazzled opponent. How different the world, and the chess world would be if Spassky was not a true gentleman and sportsman? We will never know.

Walter Dobrich (Vlad to his friends) is no stranger to Canadian chess. Vlad is a master level player. But more important, Vlad was an excellent chess promoter and organizer.  He disappeared into the world of backgammon in the late 1970’s and became a great player there also! Today Vlad has opened a club in Toronto and he organizes blitz tournaments every week and writes this tribute to Boris Spassky:

I’ve had some personal interaction with him when he was World Champion. He played in the Canadian Open in Vancouver in 1971. I was there as well, and we both arrived at round six with 5-0 scores and consequently were paired for round six. Showing no respect, I played what I later learned was his pet line in the Nimzo-Indian against him (I had no respect!). After some 30 or so moves I was ready to resign but I saw a chance for a futile attack where I would get to check him once or twice – I could one day tell my grandchildren “I checked the world champion Boris Spassky!" I saw I would have to resign after four moves.

For some reason he appeared to be lost in concentration before making his next move which was forced. I looked up, “Why is he looking? This is trivial.” At which point I saw his eyes were bright red! I thought "I am insulting him when he is clearly tired from last night.” His next two moves were slightly different from what I expected, and I was forced to resign in three moves instead of four!

Some ten minutes later, in the post-mortem room, we played out the opening where he told me that I had misplaced my QB at which point I looked up to see his eyes were bright white. I said,  "Boris, your eyes were red like a rabbit’s 10 minutes ago, now they’re white again!" His answer was “Caruso was a great singer, he sang beautifully, effortlessly. But in between performances he always had to change his shirt!” What a compliment to me! Especially when I recall that he played sitting sideways to the board as if he had only a passing interest in the position.

A day or two later we were walking the UBC campus and entered the student’s common room where there was a group of some dozen or so crowded around a chess board going over the days game from the tournament. Boris casually squeezed into the group and suggested some play. At that point, whoever was the chief expounder on the game swatted him away as if he were some annoying bug. Smiling broadly, Boris retreated. The students never knew who it was that tried to make a suggestion!

After the tournament, we happened to be strolling a main avenue in Vancouver. I said “We have a major tournament in Toronto this weekend (the Labour Day Open at the CNE) perhaps you would like to play?”

“Unfortunately, my flight goes from here to Ottawa and then to Moskva” said Boris.

"Well, we can always change the ticket at a travel agency” said I, just as we approached a travel agency!

“You can do that?” said Boris.

Ten minutes later we were leaving the travel office with a rerouted ticket by way of Toronto.

“This will not cause some problem for you?” said I.

“The KGB has 100 files on me, 101 will make no difference.” said Boris.

And so, we ended up having a great Labour Day Open with five other GMs as well as the reigning World Champion. The GMs were (if I recall) Larsen, Benko, Browne, Byrne and Bisguire. There was a tie for first with Spassky and several of the GMs. I was the tournament director and can say that I directed the only weekend Swiss tournament in the history of chess to boast a reigning world champion as a participant!

Walter (Vlad) Dobrich

Next Meeting Feb 7 - Fischer Random Tournament Starts - and Bobby Fischer's Death Anniversary

LCCC meets again this coming Monday night at 4pm to 10pm at the Brighton Michigan Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant. Come by for casual chess - and a (FREE to enter) Fischer Random 960 Chess Tournament!  In honor of the man who gave us this variation of regular chess, here is a little bit of history:

On January 17, we mark the 14th anniversary of the death of the greatest chess player that has ever walked the earth, Bobby Fischer (left).

He was the most exciting player the game had seen since Paul Morphy. People who have met him often use the word ‘electrifying’ to describe his presence when he walked into a room. His games, even as a boy, attracted multitudes of spectators and admirers. He had superstar magnetism.

No chess player ever received mail from hundreds of female fans. Many with marriage proposals! Bobby Fischer was idolized around the world ever since he burst on to the scene at the age of 13. Fischer became the youngest US champion at the age of 14. At 15 he was already an elite grandmaster and candidate for the highest title in the chess world.

But he had to deal with reality: the cold war was raging, and the Soviet political leaders, tried to refuse to allow an American, no matter how talented, to threaten their national game. There was much talk, and evidence of collusion between Fischer’s Soviet opponents to try to stop him. And the KGB stalked Fischer all of his career.

The FIDE world championship structure was deliberately designed to thwart any threat to the Soviets. Fischer’s long march to become the 11th World Champion was a one-man battle against the chess world dictatorship. Much has been proven to be true since secret documents have been made public recently.

When Fischer briefly withdrew from competition because of ‘Soviet cheating’ in the early 60’s, he toured the US and Canada, giving simuls and lectures. Bobby’s lectures were filled with profound thoughts and ideas.

Of course, Bobby could be a difficult person. Fischer developed an ego to go along with his superstar status. He demanded the best conditions from organizers. He walked out if something was not perfect. He represented something that was the beginning of the professionalization of chess.

In 1967, the US chess federation received an invitation from the Prince of Monaco for three American chess players to play in the Monaco International Chess Tournament, but with the condition that one of those three player must be Fischer. Fischer participated and won the tournament but proved to be a bit difficult to manage. The following year, the US chess federation received another invitation from the Prince for three players to participate in the tournament, but with the condition that NONE of the players be Fischer!

Fischer disappeared from international competition for about 18 months in the late 60’s, making a comeback in the spring of 1970. Shortly before this, he co-authored a best-selling book of his games. The excitement that Fischer generated in the chess community was palpable! There has never been anything like it, or since. He was a god to chess amateurs! The living legend had descended from the clouds to settle business with the Soviets.

Bobby won everything he played in in 1970, and he played many times then! His games were amazing. If Mozart was a chess player, then he surely would be Fischer. Bobby was quickly nearing his peak. It was especially for this reason that there was unparalleled interest when Spassky met Fischer at the Siegen Olympiad. (Spassky won!)

Then in 1971 began Fischer’s run up to Mount Olympus. 6-0 scores against both Taimanov and Larsen, in the qualifiers to play Boris Spassky for the world title. Nobody could believe it! Taimanov lamented “Maybe I’ll take up the piano.” Larsen was hospitalized for high blood pressure.

The American media started to take notice. The Soviets’ attempts at thwarting the American genius were over. Fischer had pressured FIDE to put in place a qualification structure where collusion and cheating were next to impossible.
When Fischer met the Armenian (Russian) grandmaster and former World Champion Tigran Petrosian in Buenos Aires in late 1971, thousands of spectators showed up every game. There was pandemonium in the streets! Hundreds of journalists from all over the world flew into the Argentine capital to watch history unfold.

And what a great match it was! Fischer won the first game. Petrosian the second. After 5 games, the match stood even. But then Fischer won 4 games in a row!! Petrosian had never lost 4 games in a row in his entire life. Fischer had earned the right to play for the World Championship! And we all know how history turned out. Spassky saved his honor but could not stop what had been destined by the gods.

It is known that in the run up to the 1972 negotiations for the Fischer-Spassky match there were grave obstacles that had to be overcome. Fischer wanted more prize money. The Soviets refused to give an inch in the negotiations. Fischer more than once backed away. But the world in 1972 was still at the height of the Cold War, and it was important for both the Americans and the Soviets that the match take place. In the end, high level politicians saved the day. Henry Kissinger had to phone Bobby to convince the American genius to go to Iceland. After all, Fischer was a patriot….at that time.

In 1975, the much-anticipated Karpov vs Fischer match never took place! Fischer ignored the five-million-dollar prize fund. Fischer never played again until 1992 (and then just as quickly disappeared). The story of the life of a rebel genius, it seems must end in tragedy! The gods need reasons to cry. It was for political reasons that the 1972 match was saved by the White House, and that by the time 1975 came around the world was already, a different place.

Chess and Fischer was simply no longer a priority. Fischer was already a living legend and had nothing to gain. He had won the World Championship. Chess was popular and booming, and we should not let escape that the chess politicians in FIDE saw little advantage by having Fischer risk losing his title to a Russian. Every serious chess player/fan all wish they could turn back the clock and re-write the fateful decisions made.

What does Bobby Fischer mean to me personally? As a chess player he represents something that is bigger than the game itself. Chess can never have a big appeal (compared to football, soccer or even poker) by itself. It is a difficult game that requires work and dedication. It requires an unusual combination of passion and craziness to be a chess player or fan.

Undoubtedly, in my lifetime, Bobby Fischer will have been the only individual to have made chess universally appealing and may be the only one to do so.

We must also remember that Fischer was only too human. He had to deal with the pressures of superstardom alone. He had no real family, and very few friends. He was a fragile human being with mental health issues.

And like every true genius, there must some element of tragedy, something that makes us feel sad within when the story is complete. It is the tragedy of Bobby Fischer that he never played again after winning the World Championship. It is a tragedy about his final years in disgrace, finally finding a friendly haven in Iceland.