The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, January 03, 1971 - Page 121 — Oscar To Fischer As Player of Year — The Chess Oscar for the outstanding player of 1970 was awarded to American chess ace Bobby Fischer by a practically unanimous vote of members of the International Association of Chess Journalists. The announcement was made during the closing ceremonies of the Interzonal Tournament in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Fischer won the tournament by the overwhelming margin of 3½ points over his nearest competitors. Fischer started his 1970 series of triumphs by defeating former world champion Tigran Petrosian by 3½, as part of the match between the USSR and the rest of the world. Easy victories followed in strong tournaments in Rovinj-Zagreb, Yugoslavia and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Playing first board for the U.S. in the Chess Olympics in Sieges, West Germany, Fischer scored 10-3. second only to world champion Boris Spassky of the USSR. In all, Fischer played 73 tournament and match games, of which he won 49, drew 21 and lost only three. The losses were to Kovacevic of Yugoslavia in Rovinj, to Spassky in Siegen, and to Bent Larsen of Denmark in Palma. With 59½ points out of 73, Fischer had a percentage of 81.5, a remarkable feat in grandmaster chess. It was particularly noteworthy because of the high quality of the opposition he faced throughout. Spassky placed second in the vote for the Oscar. In a relatively inactive year he won tournaments in Leiden and Amsterdam, Holland, and won the gold medal for best score in the Chess Olympics. He scored 28 points of a possible 39 for 72%. Larsen, who had won the Oscar two years ago, was third in the list of the top 10 of 1970. Following were three Russians. Mark Taimanov, Eufim Geller and Lev Polugaevsky. The others were Lajos Portisch. Hungary: Paul Keres, USSR: Vlastimil Hort, Czechoslovakia and Victor Korchnoi, USSR.
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Asbury Park Press Asbury Park, New Jersey Sunday, January 03, 1971 - Page 47 — A Dark Horse Qualifies — Among the six qualifiers in the recent interzonal tournament at Majorca, Robert Huebner, 22, of West Germany, came through as a real dark horse. Considering the strength of the field and Huebner's youth, he might have been given only an outside chance of finishing in the top six. But from the very first round, the West German representative served notice that he belonged in classy company, as he gained a draw against Bobby Fischer of the United States in the following hard-fought game…
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The New York Times New York, NY Sunday, January 03, 1971 - Page 28 — Triumph and Tragedy in Interzonal by Al Horowitz — Grandmaster Bobby Fischer of Los Angeles captured first place in the interzonal knockout round robin of Majorca, Spain, 18½-4½. He outdistanced the 24-man field by 3½ points, winding up with a seven-game winning streak. Among the defeated stars in this final spurt is Grandmaster Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany, who earlier had been heading the list by half a point. Appended is the Benoni Defense, Uhlmann vs. Fischer. This is a radically new and dynamic line that grants White a winning impetus after 12. … NxKP. This shocker is based on the alternative 13. PxB BxN; 14. PxB NxP/6 with a big plus for Black. As the game goes, after 21. … N-Q2, Black's two pawns plus outweigh backward development. Returning one pawn, Fischer cuts down to the skeletal basics, where his active knight overpowers White's awkward bishop. Hence, resignation is justified. If 25. RxQP 35 K-K4, etc. Despite this defeat, Uhlmann finishes strongly in the event. 14-9, tied with Grandmaster Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union for fifth and sixth qualifiers in the forthcoming elimination matches. Besides Fischer, the other qualifiers were Grandmasters Yefim Geller of the Soviet Union, Robert Huebner of West Germany and Bent Larsen of Denmark. Each posted 15-8.
The disappointment of Majorca is the performance of the youngest player in the event, Henrique Mecking of Brazil. Though he defeats a few higher-rated antagonists, he blunders in some games where he has the lead and ends out of the qualifying running. In any case the grandmaster accolade eludes him, even though he is more qualified than others in this upper echelon. Mecking's grievous defeat is as White in a King's Indian Defense vs. Lajos Portisch of Hungary. First, he might have enjoyed a speculative spree if he continued with 18. P-K5 with abandon. Particularly note 20. R-B2 — a courageous decision implying a profound appraisal of the situation. Though buffeted about in the spirited mid-game, Mecking survives even with the loss of the exchange and attacks in all quarters. The youth, however, is blind to a queen sortie by his foe, entailing a discovered check. Thus, after 40. … R-K5ch, White surrenders a game which he should have won. The most thrilling cliffhanger is the Sicilian Defense, Dragolijub Minic, Yugoslavia, vs. Taimanov. Black's victory encompasses his command of the light-colored long diagonal. After 19. … PxP, it is crystal clear and it is the turning point in Black's ultimate victory. 20. BxP is foreclosed by 20. … RxB; 21. QxR BxPch; winning for Black. Hence, Black has all under control, zigzagging from wing to wing to gain material.
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The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Sunday, January 10, 1971 - Page 85 — Chess : It Was a Good Year — Looking back, 1970 was something of a good year in chess. It was the year in which Robert J. Fischer terminated his silence, caused by what he called “hang-ups,” and came back to tournament play, to defeat Petrosian in a match, win tournaments in Yugoslavia and Argentina by fantastic, unheard-of pluralities, and come at the head of the Interzonals. His record was marred only by a loss to Spassky in the Olympiade and one to Larsen in the Interzonals. Fischer says Spassky was lucky in their game and that it will be different next time. It was the year in which Russia defeated the world in the match of the century, and by the precious margin of one point, and won the Olympiade (though Korchnoi fell asleep and failed to show up at one game). But strangely it was the year in which the Russian stranglehold on International Chess play was broken. No longer did the Russians dominate every tourney—indeed, they had to struggle for position against Fischer, Larsen, Uhlmann, Portisch, Gligoric and Hort. What will 1971 bring? All eyes are on the World's Championship. Quarter-finals of the World's Championship will be played in March. In July, the winner of the Petrosian-Huebner match will play the Korchnoi-Geller winner and the winner of Fischer vs. Taimanov will play the winner of Larsen vs. Uhlmann. In September the finals will be played. In the spring of 1972, a 24-game match for the world title. Our quiet view is that Spassky, Larsen and Fischer are the three top players in the world, that Petrosian is the fourth and highly dangerous, that Fischer in the end will triumph, if his temperament does not eliminate him. If this be true, chess will jump in 1971 out of humble columns such as this and on to the front page. Popular demand brings this victory by John Curdo against Jackie Peters in the 1970 Boston Open. On the sixth move, Curdo effects a questionable maneuver in the Ruy Lopez. Peters gets a strong initiative which fades away.
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The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, January 10, 1971 - Page 113 — Challenge Matches To Start In March — Now that the Interzonal Tournament of 1970 is history, the next step for those qualified is a series of matches to determine the challenger for the world chess championship now held by Boris Spassky of the USSR. American ace Bobby Fischer will be favored, based on his overwhelming victory in the Interzonal. He finished 3½ points ahead of those tied for second, Eufim Geller of the USSR, Robert Huebner of West Germany and Bent Larsen of Denmark. Also in the top six are Mark Taimanov of the USSR and Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany. They will be joined by two seeded players, both of the USSR, former world champion Tigran Petrosian, and the last to be eliminated in the previous cycle, Victor Korchnoi. Dr. Max Euwe, recently appointed president of the International Chess Federation, supervised the drawing of numbers to determine the pairings for the matches. Fischer is scheduled to play a 10-game match in March with Taimonov. Larsen will meet Uhlmann in the same half of the draw. The two winners will then play each other in July, also in the best of 10 games. Matches are also scheduled in March, with the opponents Petrosian vs. Huebner and Korchnoi vs. Geller. The two winners will also play it off in July. The two survivors of the series to that time will play a final match of 12 games in September. The winner will have earned the right to a match for the title with Spassky. This will be in the spring of 1972, with 24 games to be contested. The sites for the matches have yet to be determined. Every effort is being made by the U.S. Chess Federation to have at least the Fischer-Taimanov match played in this country. Funds could probably be raised to have all four of the first matches played here, if the players and their federations would agree. Offers to stage all four matches have already been made by Spain and Yugoslavia.
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The Courier-Journal Louisville, Kentucky Sunday, January 10, 1971 - Page 14 — Many Keres' Masterpieces Played While In His Teens —Although the world championship has eluded him, the Estonian grandmaster, Paul Keres, has for years been in the very top echelon of contenders. He remains today one of the greatest players of this century. I have been browsing through a selection of Keres' games selected and annotated by the late Fred Reinfeld. What impresses me is that so many of these gems were played while Keres was still in his teens. Keres was only 19 when he produced this 19-move beauty, played during the Sixth Olympiad at Warsaw in 1935. Before playing, study the diagram. William Winter (Black) has just moved 12…B-Q3. Keres' reply is devastating. Can you find it?
Indeed, this observation was made by Reinfeld himself. “It may safely be asserted,” Reinfeld wrote, “that the games of no other master—not even Morphy or Alekhine—rank with those produced by Keres at the comparable ages of 16 to 20. Only the games of Alekhine played during the some age span are worthy of comparison.” It should he pointed out, however, that Reinfeld's statement was written before the arrival on the chess horizon of America's celebrated Bobby Fischer, who won the national championship at the age of 14 and has remained all but invincible ever since. This detracts not from the magnificent games produced by Keres during his early years. The three motifs which weave incessantly through his games during this period are: Attack, gambit and sacrifice. Brilliancies abound, making the games of exceptional interest.
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The New York Times New York, NY Sunday, January 10, 1971 - Page 31 — Chess: Initial Ups and Downs at Majorca — In order were the favorites: Bobby Fischer, U.S.A.; Bent Larsen, Denmark; Yefim Geller, Soviet Union; Lajos Portisch, Hungary; Vlastimil Hort, Czechoslovakia; Vasily Smyslov, a former world champion of the Soviet Union […] The six who qualified were Fischer, 18½-4½; Geller 15-8; Wolfgang Heubner, a 22-year-old dark horse from West Germany…
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Times Colonist Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Saturday, January 23, 1971 - Page 28 — Relaxed Champion Talks About Chess —At Palma de Mallorca, shortly after the Inter-Zonals began, I came across Lajos Portisch, the Hungarian champion, enjoying the afternoon sun on the terrace of the Hotel Victoria. He was carrying a copy of the daily chess bulletin and a Hungarian translation of one of Earle Stanley Gardner's mysteries. “How do you think the tournament is going?” I asked. “Very well,” he answered. “We have many talented players here this year.” “Who do you think will win?” “There are many fine players … The Americans seem especially good. One of them (guess who?—Ed.) is the most talented I have ever seen, and I think he has a chance to win the world title.” “How is chess in Hungary?” “Interest is constantly growing. We have many experts, tournaments and chess clubs. We had our own Chess Olympics in Budapest this year.” “What is the great attraction of the game to you?” “It is a sport as well as a science. It demands knowledge, psychology, intuition—without intuition you cannot play chess! It is very important to start very young. I didn't—I began at 12, and it should have been at the age of six or seven. It's exactly like music: You have literally to build chess into your fingers! And still, you cannot learn everything, but you can develop a great knowledge and an individual style. But you must feel it, just like music. “My parents wanted me to be a violinist, and I did study when I was younger. Then chess came into my life, and it became more important. I made it my life, and now music is my hobby.” “And the detective stories?” “Just a relaxation …” “Do you think you will be among the first six?” “Who knows? I hope so, but win or lose, I'll enjoy myself. I love the game.” As it happened, Lajos almost made the first six—but not quite. Here are the final standings in the Inter-Zonals at Palma de Mallorca: Robert Fischer, U.S.A., 18½. Robert Huebner, West Germany, Efim Geller, U.S.S.R., Bent Larsen, Denmark, 15 points each. Mark Taimanov, U.S.S.R., and Wolfgang Uhlmann, East Germany, 14. Lajos Portisch, Hungary, and Vassily Smyslov, U.S.S.R., 13½. Lev Polugajevsky, U.S.S.R., and Svetozar Gligoric, Yugoslavia, 13. Oscar Panno, Argentina, and Henrique Mecking, Brazil, 12½. Vlastimil Hort, Czechoslovakia, 11½. Boris Ivkov, Yugoslavia, 10½. Dragoljub Minic, Yugoslavia, and Duncan Suttles, Canada, 10. Sammy Reshevsky, U.S.A., 9½. William Addison, U.S.A., and Milan Matulovic, Yugoslavia, 9. Renato Naranja, Philippines, Miroslav Filip, Czechoslovakia, and Tadev Uituman, Mongolia, 8½. Jorge Rubinetti, Argentina, 6. Eleazar Jimenez, Cuba, 5½. The matches for 1971 are: Tigran Petrosian-Huebner: Korchnoi-Geller; Fischer-Taimanov, and Larsen-Uhlmann. Here's a game between two of the U.S. masters Portisch praised: Robert Fischer (white) vs. William Addison (black)…
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The New York Times New York, New York Sunday, January 24, 1971 - Page 142 — Chess: A Sharp Assault and a Deep Plot — Which is more important in chess, tactical flair or strategic soundness? Imperturbable philosophy or studied psychology? The appended games, among the best of 1970, illustrate the interaction of these aspects of play. The Ruy Lopez, Grandmaster Bobby Fischer [house guest of ‘Chess Mom’ Lina Grumette and resident of Southern California] vs. Arthur Bisguier of Hartsdale, N.Y., is from the Buenos Aires International. Bisguier never evades the black side of the classical Spanish game. He has scored many victories in this way and this time he essays an original and gallant assault instead of adhering to the orthodox. His scheme encompasses 11 … BxPch. If Fischer were coerced into 12. KxB, this strike would be sufficient for at least a draw with 12. … Q-R5ch. However, White side-steps with 12. K-B1 and a black piece is left hanging in mid-air, as it were. Thus, the mandatory 12. … P-Q4 allows. 13. Q-R5. White's big threat, 14. RxNch, is overwhelming. Black must lost his bishop and remain in an awkward defensive role after which the foe's batteries are trained on his king. His three pawns are hardly the equivalent. International master, Heikki Westerinen of Finland vs. Grandmaster Larry Evans of Nevada in a Sicilian Defense is from Siegen, West Germany, Olympiad. Evans is on top board for the American team in the absence of Fischer from the lineup. A critical situation arises after 12. P-K5. The point is that Evans rejects the risky 12. … PxKP, which hands the foe a prepared attack with a mating threat. If, for instance, 12. … PxKP; 13. NxP PxN; 14. B-N6ch K-B1; 15. PxNP PxP; 16. BxP K-N2; 17. Q-N3 KxB; 18. BxNch KxB; 19. R-B1 mate. Sharp complications erupt in all quarters here on. Evans snatches a pawn and holds it to the bitter end. But the loot places the American on the defensive throughout most of the conflict. “The game was a little hard on the nerves, even mine,” said Evans. “Trying to win with the black pieces always requires a certain degree of risk.” Evans consolidates his position with 25. … B-B5, reinforcing the knight and attacking a pawn as well. White resigns. The threat of 42. … P-Q6 is decisive. During the last round of the Eastern Open at Washington, D.C., the junior stars, Mark Diesen, White, and Ed Kitces square off in a slugging match. The second player, who delivers the first blow and the last punch, knocks out White's king after 24 moves. The victory enables Kitces to tie for the junior prize with six points out of eight, equal with Jack Kempler.
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The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, January 24, 1971 - Page 98 — New USCF Ratings — The annual rating list of the U.S. Chess Federation, appearing in the December issue of the monthly magazine Chess Life & Review, is always big news to the thousands of tournament players in the U.S. Most chess tournaments in the country, whether on a local, state or national level, are rated by the USCF. The requirements are that every participant in a tournament be a member of USCF and that a very moderate rating fee be paid. The ratings are a comparative record of performance, with the number for each player moving up or down based on his results. Classifications are established, ranging from senior master, 2400 and over, down to Class E, under 1200. Leader for a number of years, with a current rating of 2762, is Bobby Fischer. In fact, he is the highest rated player in the world, based on the voluminous statistics compiled by Prof. Arpad Elo of Milwaukee. Fischer gained slightly over his 1969 figure of 2745, best at the time. At his level any gain is clue to a superlative score, whereas even a good but not brilliant result would mean loss of points. This is indicated by the next five players on the 1969 list, all of whom lost some ground in the latest ranking. Samuel Reshevsky, current U.S. champion, dropped from 2629 to 2572. Larry Evans went from 2591 to 2567, and Pal Benko from 2566 to 2534. Two names of international grandmasters appear on the list for the first time, as a result of having played in American tournaments. They are Bent Larsen of Denmark, in second place with 2658, and Lubomir Kavalek of Czechoslovakia, fourth with 2569. Kavalek has applied for U. S. citizenship, and expects to take an active part in the American chess scene. Others on the top 10 of the latest list are William Lombardy, 2523; Robert Byrne, 2515; Walter Browne, 2493, and William Addison, 2478.
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The Courier-Journal Louisville, Kentucky Sunday, January 24, 1971 - Page 52 — Fischer Finishes First In Interzonal at Palma — My good friend and newspaper colleague, Bob Barnard, suggests that it's high time the King's Men had something to say about the most recent achievements of the incredible Bobby Fischer. The point is well taken, because Fischer is the brightest star to rise on the American chess horizon since the golden era of Paul Morphy, more than a century ago. Fischer captured first place in the recent interzonal tournament at Palma, Majorca, winning the 24-man round-robin knockout by the considerable margin of 3½ points. His final score was 18½, and this included 15 wins over the world's greatest players. In the course of the tournament, the American grandmaster from Los Angeles exploded the myth of Soviet invincibility, scoring 3½ points out of a possible 4 against the best the Russians could muster against him. He defeated the Czechoslovakian players, 2-0, and East Germany, 1-0. Despite this astounding show of strength, Fischer oddly could do no better than split the point against the three Palma participants who finished at the bottom—Naranja of the Philippines, Jimenez of Cuba, and Uituman of Mongolia. A number of pre-tournament favorites failed to qualify for the coming elimination matches for the world title challenge. Among them was the noted Yugoslavian grandmaster, Svetozar Gligoric.
Fischer was bad news, as usual, for just about everybody he met during the Tournament of Peace, held last year at Rovinj and Zagreb, Yugoslavia. In today's game, Fischer, White. forces M. Udovcic to resign in 31 moves. The latter, however, came up with a very pretty move after Fischer's 16. K-K2. Pretty, but to no avail. Before playing, study the diagram and see if you can find it.
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Asbury Park Press Asbury Park, New Jersey Sunday, January 24, 1971 - Page 35 — The Chessboard: Fischer Facing Tough Foe — Bobby Fischer of the United States faces a tough opponent in the opening round of the candidate matches from which eventually will emerge a challenger for the world title now held by Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. Fischer, winner of the interzonal elimination tournament at Palma, Majorca, will be pitted against Grandmaster Mark Taimanov, a compatriot of Spassky. Taimanov finished the interzonal in a tie for fifth and sixth places with Grandmaster Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany. Both wound up with scores of 14-9. In the following game, Taimanov defeats Dragoljub Minic of Yugoslavia, a surprise qualifier for the 24-man interzonal…
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Fort Lauderdale News Fort Lauderdale, Florida Sunday, January 24, 1971 - Page 48 — Chess by Ben Miller — Many are skeptical of the King's gambit, particularly if employed in tournament play. Lacking this skepticism is Robert Fischer, since he lost in 29 moves against Spassky's King's gambit.
El Paso Times El Paso, Texas Sunday, February 14, 1971 - Page 117 — An Exclusive Interview - Boris Spassky — There was one game which will be part of chess history, the game Spassky played against Robert Fischer at the Chess Olympics in Siegen, Germany. Nothing else seemed to exist that day. Spassky won the game and afterwards analyzed it for about ten minutes for the public in the demonstration room. Bobby Fischer was a sad man. They could not get him to say anything. Afterwards I talked to Spassky on his way to the hotel and he told me that one game does not mean much, although this particular game, before it took place, had become an important one to millions of chess fans all over the world. But enough of this. Let's see how he answered some of my questions: “The Chess Olympics is always a great holiday, but it is high time that the FIDE changes some of its rules for the semi-final competition. Most people know most of the teams that will make the finals, so why waste time?” asked Spassky. “Congratulations on winning the Chess Olympics for the tenth time.” I said. “Do you think your team was as good as in previous years?” “Yes. We did not try too hard in the preliminaries because all we wanted was to qualify. In the finals, we found that most teams we met were just as old and maybe as tired as we were. There's no question in my mind that all teams need new blood, including our own. Our team was the oldest, by the way. Had we put in Botvinnik or Keres, I feel we would have really been weaker. Tal is not the Tal of yore. He has lost much of his spark since his sickness, and it will take a while before he will be well enough to play on an Olympic team.” “You know that Tal and Fischer has spurred interest in the game. Who do you think is the greater?” “Tal did most to spur the imagination of the youth, but it is great to have a figure like Fischer nowadays,” said Boris. “An old question, Boris, but who do you believe is your greatest threat?” “Naturally it is Fischer but, unfortunately, he does not want to go through the Interzonal so that he can play me. He says that he won't play in the Interzonal unless the rules governing the matches that follow are changed in certain ways. He naturally would like to play me a match outside the domination of the FIDE, which is very hard for me to agree to.” “How about Petrosian winning the right to play you for the third time for the world title?” “It would be an interesting match, but I still believe Fischer will win that right if he participates.” “When do you intend to prepare for your next world match?” Spassky smiled: “Every game I play is a preparation for my next match.” “What do you think of Fischer's wins in Zagreb and Buenos Aires? He also feels he can wins against you in a match.” Spassky's face became more serious. “It shows that Fischer, besides being a genius, works hard. But about beating me, that is a matter of opinion. I would, if I played a match with him, worry more about how I should prepare for the match than about its outcome.” Space doesn't permit us to print the Fischer-Spassky game this week, but we plan to next. In the meantime, here is a bolt out of the blue, from the Olympics at Siegen.
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The New York Times New York, New York Sunday, February 14, 1971 - Page 95 — Pairing for Elimination Matches — A Series of elimination matches, starting in the Spring and ending in the Fall of 1971 will include the six qualifiers from the recent Majorca, Spain, round robin knockout and the two Soviet stars, former champion Tigran Petrosian and Viktor Korchnoi. The first-round pairings are Petrosian vs. Robert Huebner, the 22-year-old surprise qualifier from West Germany who began in the interzonal as a mere international master; and Korchnoi against his compatriot Yefim Geller, who finished with 15-8, tied with Huebner and Bent Larsen of Denmark. The winners of the above matches will they play each other. In the first round, Bobby Fischer (temporary house guest of 'Chess Mom' Lina Grummette of Los Angeles) who topped the International by 3½ points with 18½-4½, will face Soviet's Mark Taimanov, who had amassed a 14-9 score. Bent Larsen of Denmark will be paired with Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany, 14-9, and the winners of the above two matches will play each other. The two finalists will then play a longer match, the winner of which will play Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union for the world title. Statistically considered, Fischer's prospects of taking the challenger's role are better than all the candidates. It is pertinent, for example, that among Fischer's triumphs was a 3½-½ sweep against the Soviet contingent. this included victories over Geller, Taimanov and former world champion Vasily Smyslov, and a draw with Lev Polugayevsky. The three games appended highlight the stylistic drives of five of these candidates. The Sicilian Defense, Petrosian vs. Fischer is from the tournament of Peace at Zagreb, Yugoslavia, 1970. This is the fifth meeting between these stars within a 60-day period. In the previous four clashes, Fischer has won two and drawn two. Energetically, Petrosian exploits a new idea in the opening and, after 11. … Q-Q1, White enjoys the better game. But with 19. PxP, Petrosian relaxes. And, after 20. … K-R1, Fischer activates his men. The draw is a justified end. The Nimzo-Indian Defense, Taimnanov vs. Larsen, is the key game in the 1970 Vinkovici, Yugoslavia, International, won by the Dane. He tops the 16-man round robin, 10&half-4½. The turning point arrives after 14. Q-N3. The threat against Black's queen knight pawn must be countered. Larsen comments: “My next move, 14. …P-KN4, is not really risky. It's necessary.” Of course, White cannot take this pawn for Black would win a piece with … P-Q5. In the ensuing complications, Larsen comes up with the winning defense and only move. Truly amazing is 23. … B-N5. This enables Black to counter powerfully with 25. … Q-Q7. If White varies 26. R-B1, PxNP opens the king knight file against White's king. The rest is desperation. The Sicilian Defense, Duncan Suttles of Canada vs. Geller, is from the Majorca Interzonal. Black's skillful blend of strategy and tactics pays off in a superior position after 20. … P-Q5. This way, Black achieves a passed pawn no matter how White replies. The clincher is 25. … P-N5. This potential queen is the main cog in the winning scheme.
Quiz No. 132. Observing the minutia is the forte of every grandmaster in any position. That is one way to avoid predicaments. Here, for example, in Unzicker vs. Fischer, with Fischer as Black, a peripheral view discloses one of White's important pawns is en prise. The win of this unit places Black in a problem. White wins quickly. How? (The answer is printed upside down below the diagram.).
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El Paso Times El Paso, Texas Sunday, May 02, 1971 - Page 78 — The Poisoned Pawn Variation — (c) This spectacular move had been prepared by Byrne in home analysis for use against U.S. Champion Robert J. Fischer. (Fischer had been successful with the Black pieces a few weeks previously against a Bulgarian grandmaster who played 15. NxP.) Since Byrne did not have the White pieces against Fischer, he decided to try out his new move in the present game. (d) Threatens 19. R-KR3. We have not heard the end of the “poisoned pawn variation.” Robert Fischer plays it both for Black and White with success. Such is Chess!
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The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Sunday, May 02, 1971 - Page 170 — Fischer-Taimanov at Vancouver — The Fischer-Taimanov match, rumored to be held in Venezuela, then Milan, will definitely be played in Vancouver, B.C. beginning May 13, according to a special bulletin of the USCF. Taimanov will have as his seconds, Grandmasters Vasiukov, Kotov and Balashov. The spectators will not have much of a show, for they will not be permitted in the same room as the players. They will only look at a demonstration board, which could just as well be situated in New York. Korchnoi-Geller will play at Sochi, U.S.S.R., Petrosian-Huebner, at Seville, Spain. All matches will begin on the same date.
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Asbury Park Press Asbury Park, New Jersey Sunday, May 02, 1971 - Page 36 — The Chessboard - Gruenfeld a Sturdy Defense — The defense has been championed by Reshevsky, Botvinnik, and Fischer among others.
The New York Times New York, New York Sunday, May 02, 1971 - Page 240 — Larsen-Uhlman Elimination Match by Al Horowitz — Of the forthcoming matches that will ultimately determine the challenger to world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, the one that has attracted the most attention both here and abroad is that between Bobby Fischer and the Russian Grandmaster Mark Taimanov. As a result, however, the other matches have been somewhat neglected. To inveterate Fischer-watchers, the meeting between Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany and Bent Larsen of Denmark is, next to the main event, the most important, because the winner of that match will play the winner of Fischer's match with Taimanov in the semi-final round. And, while most prognosticators pick Larsen to win, Uhlmann is allowed much better chances against him than Taimanov is supposed to enjoy against Fischer. This match is, to some extent, a battle between opposing styles of play. Larsen, usually thought to be, after Fischer, the strongest grandmaster in the West, is a very aggressive, unorthodox player, a fighter to the last move, always looking for an opportunity to complicate the struggle. His methods have earned him what is perhaps the most impressive tournament record of all recent topflight players.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Thursday, May 06, 1971 - Page 40 — In World of Big-Time Chess Fischer's a Refreshing Pro by Bill Rayner — Robert J. Fischer, of Brooklyn and California, plays chess for money. He also plays to win, across the board and away from it, with a mixture of consummate skill and lofty arrogance that has engendered a love-hate relationship in the cautious, excitable world of big-time chess. Consider the thoughts of world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union: “Fischer's weak points in chess are a secret … I am sincerely sorry there is such a gulf between him and the chess world.” And Fischer's [unauthorized] biographer, Frank Brady: “He is easily the loneliest person I have ever met.” And Argentine grandmaster Miquel Najdorf: “He prefers to enter chess history alone.” In a world where “norms” are set and strived for, where a draw rather than a win is often the prime objective, where many spend more time hoarding their grandmaster title than in exploring the beauty of the game, Fischer's drive and professionalism are like a strong breeze through a stuffy drawing room. To become a grandmaster, there down at the club playing the Centre Counter defence, you must first become a master. Then you try to get invited to enough international tournaments to secure enough points to be rated an international master. Then you must get invited to the very best international tournaments, where the grandmasters play, and score well enough to be rated a grandmaster. Once a grandmaster, though, you get the best guarantees and the fattest expenses. All you have to do is meet your norm every so often, which brings us to the farce known as the 1968 Sarajevo tournament. It was won by grandmaster Dragoljub Ciric of Yugoslavia. He had five wins and 10 draws. Those 10 draws averaged 16 moves each. The first 16 moves in chess often take less than would the Baltimore Colts to score a first down. All grandmasters are not professionals, of course, although the Russian players and those from other East European countries are subsidized by their governments as is usual in international competition. Which brings us back to Bobby Fischer now 28 and a grandmaster since he was 15. Notwithstanding the opinion of the Victorian gentleman quoted at the beginning of this account, Fischer is intelligent enough to seek every edge he can before he even sits down to play. He simply believes he is the very best chess player in the world and wishes to be treated accordingly. By this time next year, he could also be the first world champion from outside Russia since 1946. Starting next Thursday, Vancouver will be a way station for Fischer on his drive for the title. He will meet, at the University of B.C., the Soviet Union's Mark Taimanov in one of eight challengers' round matches. Taimanov, at 45 in the ebb of his career, is nevertheless one of the top U.S.S.R. grandmasters. If Fischer beats him, in a best-of-10-game match, he will qualify for the semi-finals. This is followed by a final match between the two remaining challengers, the winner of which meets world champion Spassky early in 1972. For those who boggle at the length of the National Hockey League season, the cycle of competitions to pick a challenger for Spassky started in 1969. The challengers' playoffs will consume much of this year. SNIPPED DUE TO BREVITY & CONTINUES
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The New York Times New York, New York Thursday, May 06, 1971 - Page 56 — Soviet Chess Aides Protest Conditions Set by Fischer — A last-minute obstacle to the Bobby Fischer-Mark Taimanov chess match scheduled to start in Vancouver, British Columbia, on May 13 was threatened briefly by the Soviet officials yesterday when they learned that no spectators were to be present during play—a condition set forth by Fischer. The match is part of the eliminations to select a challenger for a world title contest against Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. The condition was in violation of the international rules, the Soviet officials stated, and therefore Taimanov would not play. Dr Max Euwe of the Netherlands, president of the International Chess Federation and a former world champion countered with a threat to substitute Lajos Portisch of Hungary, next in the qualifications, for Taimanov. In turn, this elicited the response that all four Soviet players would drop out—Grandmasters Yefim Geller, Tigran Petrosian, a former world champion, and Viktor Korchnoi, as well as Taimanov. Dr. Euwe then suggested a complete substitution of the Soviet delegation. Finally, a reply came that Taimanov was on his way, according to Col. E.P. Edmondson, executive director of the United States Chess Federation.
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The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, May 09, 1971 - Page 88 — Fischer, Taimanov Start Thursday — Bobby Fischer, best hope of the U.S. for the world chess championship, and Mark Taimanov of the USSR, also after that goal, will start the first game of their match Thursday afternoon in the Graduate Center of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. The two grandmasters will contest a 10-game series, with 5½ points required to win the match. Games will be played on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Play will be continued the following day if a game is not completed in the first session. The players will be in a room by themselves, with only the officials and seconds present. Spectators will be in a large area, watching the game on wall-boards, with moves being transmitted from the playing room. If the match is tied after 10 games, up to four additional games will be played on a sudden death basis, with a win for either player deciding the outcome. If still tied after 14 games, a toss will break the deadlock. Three other matches will also start on Sunday, the protagonists being among the group of eight who previously qualified for the series of elimination encounters. Facing each other will be Bent Larsen of Denmark and Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany in the Canary Islands, Spain; former world champion Tigran Petrosian of the USSR and Robert Huebner of West Germany in Seville, Spain, and two other Soviet stars, Eufim Geller and Victor Korchnoi, in Sochi, USSR. The semi-finals are scheduled for early July. The winners of Fischer-Taimanov and Larsen-Uhlmann will battle it out in another 10-game match, as will the other two victors. The survivors will met in a final 12-game match in September to determine the official challenger for the championship match with titleholder Boris Spassky of the USSR, which will be for the best of 24 games some time next spring. All the games of the Fischer-Taimanov match will be published in The Times as soon as available, as well as selected games of the other matches. Who will win? Based on his fantastic successes last year, Fischer is favored by most experts to be the eventual challenger. This would break the pattern of all-Soviet championship matches which has existed since Mikhail Botvinnik first won the title in 1948. The four Russians in the match series are all older than their rivals. They have considerably more experience in high level competition, but probably have lost some of their zest and will to win, essential qualities for a champion. The youngest player is Huebner, 22, who was the greatest surprise when he qualified in the Interzonal Tournament last December. He is given little change to go any further, however. Fischer is another matter. He won the U.S. championship before he was 14, and became an international grandmaster a few months later, the youngest in history. His record in international tournaments is already legendary, and he is now the highest rated player in chess annals. He has never before persisted in following the prescribed course for world championship contenders, however. This time he may go all the way. The other non-Russians are Larsen and Uhlmann, both 36. Larsen is the more aggressive player, and far more successful in tournaments. He may take the challenger's seat, should Fischer fail. Of the Russians, Geller is 46, Taimanov 45, Petrosian 42 and Korchnoi 40. None of them measures up in this or other respects to Spassky, who is 34.
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Asbury Park Press Asbury Park, New Jersey Sunday, May 09, 1971 - Page 13 — Another Step for Fischer — United States Grandmaster Bobby Fischer takes another step along the road toward the world chess championship Thursday when he begins his candidates' match with Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union in Vancouver. Ten-game matches among the six other candidates will be conducted concurrently in widely scattered spots around the world. Former world champion Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union and Grandmaster Robert Huebner of West Germany will play their match in The Netherlands; Bent Larsen of Denmark and Wolfgang Uhlmann of Easter Germany will meet in the Canary Islands and Viktor Korchnoi and Efim Geller of the Soviet Union will contest their match in their own country. The four winners of these matches will advance to the semifinals and eventually a challenger for the title, now held by Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, will emerge. Taimanov's play is not widely known in this country, although it is conceded that he is a worthy opponent for Fischer. Here is the score of one of Taimanov's wins in the international tournament held last year at Skopje, Yugoslavia, where he tied for first place…
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The Courier-Journal Louisville, Kentucky Sunday, May 09, 1971 - Page 50 — Fischer-Taimanov Match Starts Thursday in Canada — Will Bobby Fischer of New York and California bring the chess championship of the world to the United States at long last? Critics disagree on his chances. One thing is certain, however. Fischer can take a giant step in that direction by winning the world championship quarter-finals match with the Soviet Union's Mark Taimanov. The two will open this titanic struggle Thursday in Vancouver, Canada. The games will continue through June 7. What does Fischer himself think of his chances? “I believe it will now be the first time that both finalists in the candidates matches are not from the Soviet Union,” he said in an interview. “I don't think that Taimanov in our group can defeat both me and Larsen. (Bent Larsen, the Danish grandmaster.) I hope it will be either me or Larsen who plays for the title against (Boris) Spassky, but it is difficult to make predictions. In short matches surprises are possible.” Caution seems to have replaced cockiness in Fischer's outlook. Although he was the absolute winner of the interzonal at Palma, he added: “I am not in the best shape. I feel I am not sufficiently played in; I need more tournaments. Candidates matches require thorough preparation. I have so far played matches only with Cardoso (1956) and Reshevsky (1961).” Such modesty is hardly in the Fischer image. Still, the guess here is that when the chips are down, he will do very well for himself.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Thursday, May 13, 1971 - Page 1 and 2 — Big Match Postponed - Room For Dispute in Chess World by Bill Rayner — A “Nyet!” rang through the hallowed halls of the University of B.C.'s Graduate Centre Wednesday, thereby stalling the world chess championship match between grandmasters Bobby Fischer and Mark Taimanov. Fischer, of the U.S., and Taimanov, of the Soviet Union, were to begin the 10-game match today, but a dispute over playing conditions has forced postponement of the first game until Sunday. The Russian growls of protest began in the afternoon over the center's TV room, chosen by the Canadian Chess Federation as site of the match. They continued during the night while a frantic search was made of the center for a room suitable to both Fischer and Taimanov. The TV room, it seemed, was too small. “I cannot breathe in this room,” said Taimanov to his Russian interpreter, grandmaster Alexei Kotov. Fischer also rejected the room at first glance Wednesdays, but later changed his mind and agreed to play. At one point during the day Kotov and classics dean Malcolm McGregor, UBC's representative, held a heated discussion over use of the center's library. It was the only room acceptable to both factions, but McGregor refused to allow its use. He said the center was a private club and he could not bar students from one of their most popular gathering places. “It's like strangers coming into a private home,” he said. He also took the position that the TV room was accepted for play by the CCF as representatives of the players, and that the players should be told to play in it. “Tell them to stop acting like children,” he said. McGregor's adamant stand brought a flood of anti-Canadian and anti-UBC rhetoric from Kotov. He accused both UBC and Canada of a lack of hospitality, and at one point threatened to take the four-man Russian team home to Moscow. Earlier, Kotov had declared, with heavily-accented sarcasm, that Canada was a poor country, especially for chess. “Spain, yes; Belgrade, yes. But Canada, no, no,” he said. Kotov also said he would advise world champion Boris Spassky not to play in Vancouver this summer. (Spassky is scheduled to play in the Canadian Open here in August and September.) The meeting with McGregor also included Max Euwe, former world champion and now president of the international Chess Federation (FIDE); Bozidar Kazic, FIDE official from Yugoslavia, and match referee; and CCF representative Elod Macskasy and George Bryant, both of Vancouver. Fischer and Ed Edmondson,, executive-director of the U.S. Chess Federation, were not present. Fischer left UBC early for his hotel, taking Edmondson with him. Edmondson and Fischer, however, later took part in negotiations which lasted late into the night. It now appears certain that the playing site will be shifted to another spot on the UBC campus. The disputants will spend today looking at several possibilities. One of them is the penthouse of the Angus building. There are problems to be solved, however, regarding adequate lighting and removal of furniture. There is also the question of finding a suitable room for spectators to watch demonstration boards or closed circuit TV. The Russians' reaction to the original playing room seems to stem in part from their unhappiness with Fischer's demand for a room with no spectators. FIDE had granted this demand before the two players arrived in Vancouver, despite the Russians' protests. At one point Wednesday, Taimanov was shown and immediately accepted as a site the education faculty auditorium. As a professional pianist, he said, he preferred to play chess also before large crowds. Fischer, of course, turned down the auditorium. Winner of the match, if it ever gets started, will advance to the semi-finals of the challengers' round. Other matches scheduled to start today are between Denmark's Bent Larsen and East Germany's Wolfgang Uhlmann; West Germany's Robert Huebner and Russia's Tigran Petrosian, and Russians' Viktor Korchnoi and Yefim Geller.
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Friday, May 14, 1971 - Page 31 — Checkmate for Giants of Chess by Paul Raugust — Two days of bitter wrangling over the site for the world chess quarter-final match between Robert Fischer of the United States and the Soviet Union's Mark Taimanov was halted Thursday night when the World Chess Federation ordered the two grandmasters to use facilities at the University of B.C.'s Student Union Building. The 10-round match, rescheduled to begin Sunday afternoon, was to have opened at UBC's Graduate Centre Thursday afternoon, but objections to those facilities from both sides started a frantic search for another site Wednesday afternoon. Taimanov insisted that tradition be observed and spectators be allowed to attend the match. Fischer had demanded that spectators be excluded, claiming they interfere with his game. Various alternatives were explored Thursday, including facilities at International House and the Angus Building, both on the UBC campus, but none would satisfy both sides. Dr. Max Euwe of Holland, a former world champion and now head of the international body, put an end to the dispute Thursday evening by ordering the match to be held in the Student Union Building. In effect it was a major concession to the Soviet grandmaster as spectators will now be allowed to attend the proceedings. However, Dr. Euwe has asked that the lighting be changed to meet Fischer's demand for indirect lighting in time to allow the match to start Sunday. The match is scheduled for 10 rounds, but will end whenever a player reaches 5½ points. A victory counts one point and a draw ½. Rounds are to be played Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting at 4 p.m. daily. Each player must make 40 moves in 2½ hours or else forfeit the round. Dr. Euwe will preside at the traditional tossing of the coin to decide who plays white in the first round. He plans to return to Holland later today.
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Friday, May 14, 1971 - Page 3 — World Chess Tournament - Opposites Clash in Chess Thriller by Paul Raugust —The undercurrent of tension in the room was unmistakable. The four-man Russian delegation was huddled in one corner, shoulders shrugging and hands gesticulating to emphasize the discussion. In another corner the conversation was being conducted in German; one didn't need to understand the language to know how serious the discussion was. Only one man in the room was not involved in the talks. Robert Fischer, the 28-year-old American grandmaster was seated by himself at a competition table, absently toying with a chess piece. Someone announced that the press had arrived, talk halted and expressions changed to strained smiles. We had been invited to photograph and interview Fischer and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union on Wednesday, the day before the world chess championship quarter-final match between Fischer and Taimanov was to be played at the University of B.C.'s Graduate Center. Taimanov was persuaded to sit opposite Fischer at the competition table; the chess board would make an interesting focal point for photographs. The two grandmasters looked at each other seriously, then Fischer moved his queen to emulate control of center. Taimanov smiled and replied by moving four pieces at once, then both players began randomly pushing pieces about like school boys. The ice had been broken and the photographers were having a field day. The first question directed at Fischer destroyed the scene. Both he and Taimanov was adamant in their opposition to the room. The Soviets wanted a large theater-like hall for the competition, the Americans objected to outside noise and lighting. Visions of the Berlin wall crisis. Charges and counter-charges began to fly. The Canadian Chess Federation representatives looked embarrassed and shocked as Canada was accused of being a bad host and poor choice for a match of such stature. The facilities had earlier been approved by the World Chess Federation and its president, Dr. Max Euwe of Holland, continued to insist that he saw nothing objectionable in them now. Fischer, on whose insistence on quiet, indirectly lighted facilities and a ban on spectators the Graduate Center TV room had been chosen, listened to the discussion briefly, then snapped at his U.S. Chess Federation delegate, “I thought this had all been done. Can we get out of here?” This was just the kind of response expected of the stubborn U.S. grand master. He has a history of controversy at tournaments. His demands have won him few friends on the professional circuit. Dressed in a black suit and white shirt he looked every bit the silent introvert that he is professed to be. Only Fischer's game is well known to the public. He considers himself the best player in the world and demands to be treated accordingly. Conversely, he is recognized as one of the game's most brilliant tacticians. He concedes no quarter to an opponent and criticizes the game's acceptance of draws in competition. Taimanov, on the other hand, seems the complete opposite. In his fashionable brown suit, he greeted everyone with openness and friendship. He talked of himself freely through an interpreter. Sometimes accused of reckless optimism in his game, he is nevertheless recognized as one of the best contemporary competitors. This is his second attempt in 18 years at the world title. Taimanov's life is divided by two careers. He is also a professional pianist and says the two careers really complement each other. Besides if one ever failed, he would always have something else to fall back on. He is married and speaks of his life in terms of his family. He concedes that Fischer is one of the great chess players today, but insists that his age of 46 will not handicap him against the youthful Fischer. Taimanov would not comment on the controversy over the UBC facilities other than to say he would prefer to have spectators at hand — “a room in which one can breathe.” Controversy seems to be a way of life for chess professionals. Theirs is a world of 64 squares that provides rewards seldom amounting to much much more than expense money for the individual competitors.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Friday, May 14, 1971 - Page 29 — That's one for the Russians as Chess Dispute Solved by Bill Rayner — The Russians have won the first skirmish in the Great Chess War here. Max Euwe, president of the International Chess Federation, ruled Thursday that the world chess championship quarter-final match between Bobby Fischer of the U.S. and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union be played in the Student Union Building movie theater at the University of B.C. His decision ended two days' search for playing facilities after Taimanov rejected the TV room at UBC's graduate center Wednesday. That room was selected by Canadian Chess Federation officials in deference to Fischer's request for a private playing area with no spectators. Euwe's choice of the theater means spectators will be allowed to watch the 10-game match. It also is a victory for the four-man Russian delegation, whose veto Wednesday forced a three-day postponement of the match. Fischer took the decision calmly. “Let's play,” he said “I'm willing to play anywhere.” Neither Fischer nor Taimanov have seen the theater, on SUB's lower level. First game, originally scheduled for Thursday, will be played at 4 p.m. Sunday. By then fluorescent lighting, another condition of Fischer's will be installed in the theater. First player to score 5½ points wins the match (wins are worth one point, draws half a point). He then will advance to the semi-finals of the challenger's round. Winner of the eight-man playoffs will meet world champion Boris Spassky of Russia in 1972 for the title. Meanwhile, in Moscow, Viktor Korchnoi of Russia defeated fellow-countryman Yefim Geller in Thursday's first game of their quarter-final match. At Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands, Bent Larsen of Denmark and Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany, adjourned their first quarter-final match in the 44th move after six hours' play. It will be finished today. And at Seville, Spain, Tigran Petrosian of Russia and Robert Huebner of West Germany, adjourned their first quarter-final match in the 41st move after five hours of play. It will be finished Saturday. The second match of 10 will be played today.
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Arizona Republic Phoenix, Arizona Friday, May 14, 1971 - Page 23 — U.S.-Soviet Fuss Causes Chess Shift — Associated Press, Vancouver, B.C. — A dispute over playing conditions forced postponement of a world chess championship quarter-final match here between Bobby Fischer of the United States and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union. Fischer, 28, and Taimanov, 45, were to begin the 10-game match yesterday at the University of British COlumbia's Graduate Center. An official said the first game has been rescheduled for Sunday to allow time for a suitable playing room to be chosen. The dispute arose when both Fischer and Taimanov rejected the graduate center's television room, chosen by Canadian Chess Federation officials for the match. Both said the room was too small. “I cannot breathe in this room,” said Taimanov. Fischer was less adamant about the size of the room but complained about the lighting and the possibility of crowd noises from an adjacent corridor. Their rejection touched off a frantic search, sometimes marked by heated discussion. The only room in the building acceptable to both sides was the center's library. But Dean Malcolm McGregor of UBC refused to allow use of the library, saying that the center is a private club and he cannot bar students from one of the popular gathering spots.
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The Orlando Sentinel Orlando, Florida Friday, May 14, 1971 - Page 26 — Room Called Small; Chess Match Delayed — Vancouver, B.C. (Reuter) The world chess championship quarter-final match between grand masters Bobby Fischer of the United States and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union, scheduled for Thursday was postponed because of a dispute over playing conditions. The dispute arose when both Fischer and Taimanov rejected the playing room as too small. The first game was rescheduled for Sunday.
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Star-Phoenix Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada Friday, May 14, 1971 - Page 7 — A Game of Chess — Vancouver (CP) — The World Chess Federation Thursday night ordered Robert Fischer of the United States and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union to use facilities at the University of British Columbia's student union building for their world chess quarter-final match now scheduled to begin Sunday. The 10-round match was to have opened at UBC's graduate center Thursday afternoon, but objections to those facilities from both sides started a search for another site Wednesday afternoon.
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Rocky Mount Telegram Rocky Mount, North Carolina Friday, May 14, 1971 - Page 11 — Chess Match Adjourned — Las Palmas, Canary Islands (AP) — Bent Larsen of Denmark and Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany adjourned their first match Thursday in the quarter-finals of the World Chess Championships. The match was adjourned after six hours of play in the 44th move. It will be finished Friday. In another quarter-final match at Sevilla, Spain, the match between Tigran Petrosyan, Russia, and Robert Huebner, West Germany, also was adjourned after five hours in the 41st move. It will be finished Saturday. The quarter-final at Vancouver, B.C., involving Bobby Fischer of Los Angeles and Soviet grand master Mark Taimanov was postponed until Sunday because of a dispute over a room.
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The Guardian London, Greater London, England Friday, May 14, 1971 - Page 6 — Chess - Bayoneting the Alekhine — Everybody on the international circuit from Bobby Fischer downwards now relies on Chess Informant (published in Yugoslavia but multi-linqual) as their main source of opening ideas.
The Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Saturday, May 15, 1971 - Page 4 — Chess champions Robert Fischer of the United States and Mark Taimanov of Soviet Union each won a point in a complicated dispute over the site of their world quarter-final match now set to start Sunday at University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Taimanov got his wish for spectators at the match, Fischer got his demand for indirect lighting at Student Union Building. Match was to have started Thursday.
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The Gazette Montreal, Quebec, Quebec, Canada Saturday, May 15, 1971 - Page 50 — Ivory Tower - In the arrangements for the match between Bobby Fischer, USA, and Mark Taimanov, USSR, in the Challengers knockout tourney of the world series, now going on at Vancouver, Fischer insisted on complete privacy. So that they will play in a small separate room, while the public will follow progress on a demonstration board in an assembly hall. Counting House - Whether Fischer is the best player in the world is still to be decided, but for business acumen he is still far ahead of any present or past expert. Well-wishers succeeded in getting him in to the Interzonal without having to qualify by paying Pal Benko, USA grandmaster, $2,000.00 to give up his earned place in that event to Bobby. Fischer still balked about finances until they came up with a purse of $15,000.00. Presumably this will be divided into three lots of five grand each as he produces what they expect from him in the Interzonal (which he won), the Challengers (now playing), and the final title match with world champion Boris Spassky, USSR, in 1972.
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The New York Times New York, New York Saturday, May 15, 1971 - Page 34 — Korchnoi Advances In Chess Tourney — The Soviet Grand Master, Viktor Korchnoi, defeated a countryman, Yefim Geller, in Moscow on Thursday in the first game of their challengers' quarter-final for the world chess championship. Geller exceeded the time limit on the 36th move and Korchnoi was declared the victor. In Las Palmas, Canary Islands, a Danish chess master, Bent Larsen went to a one point lead yesterday after his first quarter-final world championship match against Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany who conceded defeat. In Seville, Spain, former world champion Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union and Robert Huebner of West Germany drew in their first two matches yesterday. Both matches lasted five hours and reached 41 and 42 moves respectively. Today will be a rest day for the two masters, and tomorrow they will play the third games in the series. The ultimate championship winner will meet the Soviet chess champion, Boris Spassky, for the world title in Moscow next year. And in Vancouver, British Columbia, Mark Taimanov, a Soviet grand master, drew the opening white men in a 10-game series with Bobby Fischer and eight-time United States champion that starts tomorrow.
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Monday, May 17, 1971 - Page 35 — World Chess Match - Fischer Gets Jump on Russian by Paul Raugust — U.S. chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer, of Brooklyn, N.Y., played a strenuous half-hour of tennis for relaxation before his world championship quarter-final match at the University of B.C. Sunday afternoon. Apparently it was the correct prescription. Fischer, who was about 10 minutes late in getting from the tennis match to the chess match, appeared a certain victor of the opening round Sunday night. It was adjourned on the 40th move after nearly five hours of play to 2 p.m. today. If Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union refuses to resign, Fischer appears in a strong enough position to force fate in three or four moves when play resumes. The Russian lost all hope of forcing a draw in the late stages of the match when the two players traded queens. Taimanov, enjoying the advantages of white in the opening game, didn't appear to be in the same league as the youthful Fischer as he failed to mount a strong attack. Employing an orthodox version of a King's Indian defense, Fischer took advantage of an adventuresome N-KN5 by the Russian grandmaster on the 12th move to gain a one-pawn advantage, an advantage he continued to hold throughout the balance of play Sunday night. That move, in effect, gave Fischer the initiative, space and development advantages usually enjoyed by white. Most players are satisfied to win a half-point for a draw when playing black. In all probability Fischer will continue his pre-game tennis exercises for the remainder of this match. Scheduled for 10 rounds, it ends whenever a player reaches 5½ points. A win is worth one point, and draws ½ In other quarter-final matches over the weekend, Soviet grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi and Yefim Geller tied on the 36th move in their second game Saturday in Moscow. Korchnoi won the first match Thursday when Geller exceeded the time limit on the 36th move. The score now stands at 1½ for Korchnoi to ½ for Geller. Another Soviet grandmaster, Tigran Petrosian and Robert Huebner of West Germany, playing in Sevilla, Spain, tied Sunday on the 27th move in their third game. The two players also tied their other two matches and the standing now is 1½ points each. In Las Palmas, Canary Islands, East Germany's Wolfgang Uhlmann defeated Denmark's Bent Larsen in 46 moves in their second game Sunday. The match, adjourned after 41 moves Saturday, lasted a total of seven hours. The two players now are tied with one point each in two games. The first match Friday was won by Larsen when Uhlmann gave up after 44 moves.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Monday, May 17, 1971 - Page 7 — Fischer Scores Victory in Opening Chess Game by Bill Rayner — Bobby Fischer of the U.S. took the lead in his world chess championship quarter-final match today when Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union resigned without further play. The game was adjourned Sunday night with Taimanov in a lost position. He sealed his 41st move, but resigned today before the continuation was to begin. Fischer now leads the match, 1-0. Playing black, Fischer had essayed the King's Indian defense against Taimanov's queen pawn opening. A new wrinkle on the 11th move, plus Taimanov's passive play in the opening, allowed Fischer to control the game. Taimanov tried an adventure on the queen side but came out of it a pawn down. He then sacrificed a rook for a bishop and attempted pressure on the king side. After a briskly-played opening, the game slowed down while the players explored the complicated position created by Taimanov's 30th move. After some delicate maneuvering, Fischer started exchanging pieces and soon both queens were gone. Taimanov by then had regained the pawn and started collecting more. However, at adjournment, Fischer had the heavier artillery plus two connected pawns in the center and a rook on the eighth rank. A mating attack by white was in the offing when Taimanov sealed. Taimanov started the game at precisely 4:01 p.m. and started Fischer's clock running. Five minutes later, Fischer strolled up to the stage of the Student Union Building movie theater at the University of B.C., where the 10-game match is being played. He pondered several seconds, then made his first move. Neither player was in time trouble as they neared their 40th move, although Fischer's pressure caused Taimanov to think several minutes over his 41st move. The game was played before an orderly crowd of more than 200. Fischer glanced toward the audience several times during the game but displayed no irritation. It was his demand for the game to be played in a private room, contested by the Russians, that delayed the opening game three days. Second game is scheduled for Tuesday at 4 p.m. First player to score 5½ points wins the match (one point for a win, ½ point for a draw). He will then advance into the semi-finals of the challengers' round. Ultimate winner of the challengers' round will meet world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union for the title in 1972. In other weekend action, East Germany's Wolfgang Uhlmann defeated Denmark's Bent Larsen on the 46th move, tying their quarter-final at 1-1. Victor Korchnoi and Yefim Geller, both of the Soviet Union, drew in 36 moves, while Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union and West German's Robert Huebner drew in 27 moves. Korchnoi leads Geller 1½-1½, while Petrosian and Huebner are tied at 1-1.
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The San Francisco Examiner San Francisco, California Monday, May 17, 1971 - Page 22 — U.S. and Russia - Chess Masters Knock Off at 40 — Vancouver — (AP) — Grandmasters Bobby Fischer of the United States and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union adjourned the opening game of their world chess championship quarter-final match yesterday after the 40th move. At adjournment, Fischer, playing black, was two pawns down but held a strong position. The game was to be completed this afternoon. Taimanov opened passively against a king's Indian defense and was a pawn down entering the middle game. He sacrificed the exchange, however, and created complications by exerting pressure on black's kingside side. Fischer fought free and exchanged queens. Allowing black to collect pawns, he meanwhile placed a rook on the eighth rank and mounted a mating attack. White sealed his 41st move. The game, postponed three days because of a dispute over playing facilities, was held before an audience of 200 in the University of British Columbia's student union building movie theater. The second game will be played tomorrow. Winner of the 10-game match advances to the semi-finals of the challengers' round. Eventual winner will meet world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union for the title in 1972.
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The New York Times New York, New York Saturday, May 18, 1971 - Page 34 — Fischer Defeats Taimanov in Chess by Al Horowitz — Vancouver, British Columbia, May 17 — The American chess paladin, Bobby Fischer (house-guest of Los Angeles area resident, Lina Grumette), an eight time United States champion, won the first game today in his 10-game match with Grandmasters Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union. The game, started yesterday in the movie theater auditorium of the students building of the University of British Columbia, was adjourned in a hopeless position for the Russian after 40 moves. This morning, Taimanov resigned without resuming play. This match is one of four quarter-finals in a competition that will establish the challenger for the world title, now held by Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. Before the chess match began, Fischer played a round of tennis with a Vancouver chess expert, George Bryant. Fischer was on hand for his meeting with Taimanov five minutes after his clock had started. He shook hands and squared off.
Fischer Sets Up Defense. Spectators had expected 1. P-K4 and a classical opening. Instead, Fischer was confronted with 1. P-Q4 and he set up the King's Indian Defense, marked by the fianchetto of black's king bishop. It is now about a century since the pioneer appearance of this line. In the eyes of enterprising players, the major advantage of this difficult opening is that its closed nature involves the minimum exchange of pieces and the maximum amount of complications. As a result, the positions in this defense give rise to a wide variety of combinational possibilities. Hence, the continued popularity of the defense is among self-reliant and imaginative players who are willing to take their chances in midgame. With 9. B-Q2, Taimanov introduced an original idea of his own. The bishop, however, would have been better deployed on some other square.
Bishops's Absence Felt. Only a few moves later, the absence of the bishop from its original square was felt and resulted in the loss of time. On moves 12 and 13, White relied on an old-time stratagem to anchor his knight on K6. The plan lacked support and soon White was a pawn behind. In effect, White had introduced a gambit where no gambit had existed before. With little to hope for, White bided his time and waited a chance for countermeasures. With 30 RxBch, white introduced a variety of forays and retreats, tactics to put up resistance. But from there on, Fischer cut down material as well as he could and at adjournment, there was little left for Taimanov to play for. The second game is scheduled for tomorrow.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Tuesday, May 18, 1971 - Page 8 — World Chess - Fischer Has Edge In Match — U.S. grandmaster Bobby Fischer has both the lead and the white pieces today for the second game of the world chess championship quarter-final match here. Fischer took a 1-0 lead Monday in the 10-game match with Russian grandmaster Mark Taimanov when Taimanov resigned their adjourned Sunday game without further play. Winner of the match will advance in the challengers' round for the right to meet world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union for the title. Fischer's vital opening game victory came as a result of his King's Indian defense as black against Taimanov's queen pawn opening. When the game was adjourned, Taimanov was in a lost position. Today's game was to start at 4 p.m. in the Student Union Building movie theater at the University of B.C. Meanwhile, young Robert Huebner of West Germany continues to hold his own against former world champion Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union in their quarter-final match in Seville, Spain. Huebner, 24, holds only international master rank, but drew Monday for the fourth time with Petrosian. Both have a 2-2 score. In other action, Russian grandmasters Viktor Korchnoi and Yefim Geller drew in the third game of their match in Moscow, Korchnoi leads 2-1. At Las Palmas, Canary Islands, the third game was adjourned between grandmasters Bent Larsen of Denmark and Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany. That match is tied at 1-1.
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Tuesday, May 18, 1971 - Page 5 — World Chess Match - Fischer Wins Opening Round by Paul Raugust — Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union, faced with an indefensible position in his opening world championship quarter final match, resigned before play was resumed at the University of B.C. Monday afternoon. The match had been adjourned on the 40th move after nearly five hours of play Sunday night. Winning the opening game gives Fischer a tremendous advantage in the balance of the scheduled 10-round match. Should the remaining games all be drawn, Fischer would win the match on the strength of the opening game. The extent of Fischer's advantage should be born out Tuesday when the second round gets underway as the American grandmaster will be playing white. Taimanov played white in the first round but lost his advantages early in the game when he played a risky N-KN5 that not only cost him a pawn, which he never regained, but the space and development initiative of white. Many championship competitors are satisfied in being able to draw a game when playing black. Although scheduled for 10 rounds, the match ends whenever a player reaches 5½ points. A win counts as one point and a draw as ½. Winner of the match will advance to the semifinals to decide who will play world champion Boris Spassky of the U.S.S.R. in Moscow in 1972. Fischer appeared in a strong enough position to force a mating in the late stages of the game Sunday. It was surprising that Taimanov did not concede the game then. The Russian had lost all hope of forcing a draw in the late stages of the match when the two players traded queens.
In other quarter final matches over the weekend, Soviet grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi and Yefim Geller tied on the 36th move in their second game Saturday in Moscow. Korchnoi won the first match Thursday when Geller exceeded the time limit on the 36th move. The score now stands at 1½ for Korchnoi to ½ for Geller. Another Soviet grandmaster Tigran Petrosian and Robert Huebner of West Germany, playing in Seville, Spain tied Sunday on the 27th move in their third game. The two players also tied their other ten matches and the standing now is 1½ points each. In Las Palmas, Canary Islands, East Germany's Wolfgang Uhlmann defeated Denmark's Bent Larsen in 46 moves in their second game Sunday. The match adjourned after 41 moves Saturday, lasted a total of seven hours. The two players now are tied with one point each in two games. The first match Friday was won by Larsen when Uhlmann gave up after 44 moves.
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The Argus Fremont, California Tuesday, May 18, 1971 - Page 2 — Chess: Botvinnik On Fischer by Richard Shorman — (Former world champion Mikhail Botvinnik discusses the Fischer-Taimanov quarter-final candidates' match, now under way at the University of British Columbia. The excerpt below has been translated from “Shakhmaty v SSSR,” No. 2, 1971.) Everyone wonders how Taimanov will fare in his match against Fischer. I do not think that Taimanov is at his best in match play and so I believe that he will have a difficult time of it. But if he prepares thoroughly enough, Taimanov is capable of putting up very stern resistance. Fischer took first place (at the candidates' tournament in Mallorca) by a wide margin. Does it follow that he will play as well in a match, that he will surmount the match-play barriers between him and the world championship? In order to win the world title Fischer will have to contest matches against at least three Soviet grandmasters. The first consists of 10 games, the next involves 12, and the last requires 24. And he must win all three events. Based on past experience, I would say that, properly prepared, our grandmasters have little to fear from Fischer. Fischer played especially well in the interzonal competition after he was virtually certain of first prize. While others worked under considerable pressure, Fischer was able to finish up calmly. But victory over strong opposition in a tournament is not the same as winning match play, where the approach to training differs entirely. A tournament pits you against a new man each day. Playing match games with a single opponent demands preparation that is more thorough, concrete and precise. Fischer and Larsen have proven that they know how to prepare well. Indeed, both Fischer and Larsen have shown themselves to be very good chess professionals. And today, only professionals can play good chess.
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The Leader-Post Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada Tuesday, May 18, 1971 - Page 25 — Fischer Wins Opening Match — Vancouver (CP) — Bobby Fischer of New York won the opening game of his 10-game match against Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union Monday when the Russian grandmaster resigned without further play. The game had been adjourned Sunday night with the U.S. grandmaster holding a commanding position after the 40th move in the first game of the quarter-final elimination match to decide a challenger for the current world champion, Boris Spassky of Russia. Fischer now leads the match 1-0 with the second game scheduled to be played today.
Las Palmas, Canary Islands (AP) — Grand masters Bent Larsen of Denmark, and Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany adjourned on the 41st move their third game of the world chess championship quarter finals Monday. The same will continue today. The two players are tied in the standings with one point each in two games. The first one Friday was won by Larsen when Uhlmann gave up continuation after 44 moves.
Moscow (Reuter) — Soviet grand masters Yefim Geller and Viktor Korchnoi drew their third game in the world chess title quarter final match on the 35th move here Monday, Tass news agency reports. The score now stands at 2-1 in favor of Korchnoi. Tass said the first nine moves duplicated exactly the position that developed in the first game between Mark Taimanov of Russia and Bobby Fischer of New York, played in Vancouver Sunday. Tass said after that opening, Korchnoi started a pawn offensive but later agreed to a draw after Geller secured footholds in centerboard.
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The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Tuesday, May 18, 1971 - Page 4 — Russian in Third Chess Draw — Seville (Spain), Monday. — Robert Huebner, of West Germany, and former world champion Tigran Petrosian, of the Soviet Union, remained level last night after drawing their third consecutive game in the World Chess title quarter-finals match here. In Vancouver, the first game of the quarter-final match between Grandmaster Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union and Bobby Fischer of the U.S. was adjourned tonight on the 41st move. Fischer (black) had a strong position at adjournment. In Las Palmas, Danish chess master Bent Larsen conceded defeat to East Germany master Wolfgang Uhlmann late last night in their second match. Uhlmann conceded defeat in the first match of their quarter-final series, so both players are level with one point each. (AAP-Reuter)
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News Herald Port Clinton, Ohio Wednesday, May 19, 1971 - Page 10 — Fischer Leading Chess Playoff — Vancouver, B.C. (AP) — The second game of the world chess championship quarter-final match between Bobby Fischer of the United States and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union was adjourned Tuesday night on the 45th move. Fischer, playing white, was a pawn ahead and in a position where he normally would force a win. The game was to be continued Wednesday. Fischer leads the 10-game match, 1-0. The winner will advance in the challengers' round, with the survivor to meet world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union for the title in 1972.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Wednesday, May 19, 1971 - Page 6 — Adjournment Time Again in Chess by Bill Rayner — Adjourning a game in chess is rather like kissing your mother-in-law: It's done only when necessary. But grandmasters Bobby Fischer of the U.S. and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union nevertheless did it again Tuesday night in their world championship quarter-final match. On the 45th move and after five hours of play, the adjourned the second straight game of the 10-game-match in the Student Union Building movie theater at the University of B.C. This time, Taimanov as black sealed his 45th move in a position that had him a pawn down, with Fischer maneuvering for a win. Fischer's king pawn opening prompted Taimanov to dive into an unusual variation of the Sicilian defense. However, Fischer was just as prepared as he, and the first 12 moves were played rapidly. With the queens off the board and Fischer obtaining a strong attack position in compensation for the loss of a pawn, Taimanov spent 47 minutes on his 13th move. Then, with his king uncastled and a weak queen pawn, Taimanov had to employ all his resources for a defense. Eventually he managed some counter-play, giving up a pawn of his own in an attempt to reach a draw. However, a blunder with his rook on the 38th move while in time trouble enabled Fischer to snatch up a pawn and regain the initiative. Required to make 40 moves in the first 2½ hours, Taimanov played his 40th move just seconds before his time expired. Taimanov's questionable 38t move rendered helpless a passed pawn he had shepherded down to the seventh rank. Fischer's capture left him with a pawn majority on the queenside, where both kings were located. The end-game position thus reached is one which Fischer seldom fails to turn into a victory. And Taimanov, had he noticed, was deprived of the moral support of the three Russian analysts accompanying him. They spent most of the game watching the Stanley Cup hockey final on television in another part of the SUB. A crowd of close to 100 watched the chess game. For the second time Fischer started late, allowing five minutes to elapse on his clock before making the first move. The game will be continued today. Fischer leads the match 1-0 after Taimanov resigned without further play in Sunday's adjourned game. Third game is Thursday at 4 p.m.
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Nanaimo Daily News Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada Wednesday, May 19, 1971 - Page 19 — U.S. Player Holds Lead In World Chess Title Play — Vancouver (CP) — Second game of the world chess championship quarter-final match between grandmasters Bobby Fischer of the U.S. and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union was adjourned Tuesday night on the 45th move. Fischer, playing white, was a pawn ahead and in a position where he normally would force a win. The game will be continued today. Taimanov chose an unusual variation of the Sicilian defense against Fischer's king pawn opening and the game began with a flurry of moves. Both queens were off the board by the 10th move, and white was a pawn down. Taimanov then seemed to lose his way, however, and spent 47 minutes on his 13th move. With Black's king uncastled, Fischer had a strong attacking position for his pawn deficit. But Taimanov, playing under time pressure, defended stoutly and returned a pawn to Fischer in a bid to reach a drawish ending. He made his 40th move with just seconds remaining on his clock (each player must make the first 40 moves in 2½ hours). En route, however, he blundered on the 38th move with his rook, allowing Fischer to capture a pawn on the seventh rank. The pawn, under attack by Fischer earlier in the game, had developed into a strong passed pawn which forced white to break off his attack. Fischer leads the 10-game match, 1-0. Winner will advance in the challengers' round, with the survivor to meet world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union for the title in 1972. Las Palmas, Canary Islands (AP) — Grandmasters Bent Larsen of Denmark and Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany tied on the 44th move for the third adjourned game of the World Chess Championship quarter-finals Tuesday after half an hour of play. The match was adjourned Monday in the 41st move. The fourth game of 10 will be played today. Each has won one match, lost one and tied one for 1.5 points.
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The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Wednesday, May 19, 1971 - Page 5 — Chess: 1st Round Win To Fischer — Vancouver, British Columbia, Tuesday. — Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union resigned without further play yesterday in his adjourned game with Bobby Fischer of the U.S. giving Fischer a 1-0 lead in their World Chess Championship quarter-final match. Taimanov, two pawns ahead, had no defense to a mating attack. The game was first of a 10-game series. In Moscow, Soviet Grand Masters Yefim Geller and Viktor Korchnoi drew their third game in the quarter-finals match on the 35th move. The score now stands at 2-1 Korchnoi's way.
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Wednesday, May 19, 1971 - Page 32 — Fischer Confident of Victory — Bobby Fischer of the United States and Soviet grandmaster Mark Taimanov adjourned the second game in their world championship elimination match here Tuesday night after the five-hour time limit elapsed. Adjournment came on the 44th move with Fischer holding an edge in board strength with a bishop over a knight. The 28-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y., native confidently predicted after the game that he would win. If Taimanov, 46, does not concede the game beforehand, play will resume this afternoon. Taimanov resigned in the first game, played at the University of B.C. Sunday, before it could be resumed Sunday, giving Fischer a one-point lead in the scheduled 10-round quarter-final match. The competition ends whenever a player reaches 5½ points. It is being held to decide who will meet world champion Boris Spassky of the U.S.S.R. in Moscow next year. In an independent version of the Sicilian Defense, Taimanov proved a much stronger opponent Tuesday than he was in the first game. Known as a strong end-game player, he was in a good position to force a draw until the late stages of the game when he failed to capitalize on an opening to attack white, choosing instead to withdraw into a defensive shell. A shortage of time may have been responsible for Taimanov's oversight. He used up 45 minutes of his 2½ hours to make his 13th move. A player must complete 40 moves in that time or forfeit the round. On Fischer's request, spectators are not being allowed to follow the game with their own chess sets any longer. The American said his game was disrupted Sunday when a viewer accidentally tipped a set over.
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The Daily Times-News Burlington, North Carolina Wednesday, May 19, 1971 - Page 68 — Chess Tourney Match Adjourned — Vancouver, (AP) - The second game between Bobby Fischer of Los Angeles and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union in a quarter-final elimination round to determine a challenger for the world chess championship was adjourned Wednesday on the 73rd move. It was the second adjournment of the game, which began Tuesday. Wednesday's continuation began on the 45th move. Fischer holds a 1-0 lead in the 10-match series.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Thursday, May 20, 1971 - Page 43 — Chess Game Adjourned Again - It Was Bobby's Bad Day by Bill Rayner — Wednesday was not a good day for U.S. grandmaster Bobby Fischer. First of all, he failed to make any headway against Soviet Union grandmaster Mark Taimanov in the adjourned second game of their world chess championship match. After 3¼ more hours of play, the game at the University of B.C. was adjourned once again — this time on the 73rd move. Fischer, 28, also was moved to complain to match referee Bozidar Kazic about Tiamanov's physical maneuvers. The 45-year-old Russian's pacing up and down the stage at the Student Union Building's movie theater apparently did not help Fischer's concentration. Then Fischer got hungry, leading to one of the fastest adjournments in chess history. Before Taimanov had even written down his sealed move, Fischer was off the stage and gone for dinner. As white, Fischer entered today's play with a one-pawn edge on the queen-side. He could not capitalize, however, gave up the pawn and shifted sights to the kingside. Taimanov did just as well over there, managing to simplify the position to where Fischer had the only pawn left on the board. With other material equal, Taimanov stood a better chance of drawing than when play began. Fischer leads the 10-game match, 1-0. Third game will be played today at 4 p.m., with Wednesday's adjournment being picked up Friday. The match is part of a series of eliminations designed to pick a challenger to world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. In other action, Soviet grandmasters Viktor Korchnoi and Yefim Geller adjourned their game in Moscow Wednesday on the 43rd move. Korchnoi leads the series, 2-1. In Las Palmas, Canary Islands, grandmster Bent Larsen of Denmark defeated East German grandmaster Wolfgang Uhlmann on the 39th move, giving Larsen a 2½-1½ lead.
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Nanaimo Daily News Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada Thursday, May 20, 1971 - Page 10 — Chess Duel Adjourned In Vancouver Match — Vancouver (CP) —The second game between Bobby Fischer of the United States and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union in a quarter-final elimination round to determine a challenger for the world chess championship was adjourned Wednesday on the 73rd move. It was the second adjournment of the game, which began Tuesday. Wednesday's continuation began on the 45th move with Fischer, playing white, a pawn ahead on the queen side. Taimanov managed to regain the pawn, however, and Fischer shifted his sights to the kingside. Taimanov forced an exchange which left Fischer with the only pawn on the board. In the simplified position left at the end of play, however, Taimanov had good drawing chances. The two grandmasters will resume the game Friday. Meanwhile, third game of the 10-game match is scheduled for today. Fischer holds a 1-0 lead in the match, part of a challengers series to pick an opponent for world chess champion Boris Spassky, in a challenge to be staged in Moscow next year.
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Thursday, May 20, 1971 - Page 31 — Russian Makes Comeback by Paul Raugust — Russian grandmaster Mark Taimanov did his homework well Tuesday night. Teetering on the brink of defeat in the second game of his world chess championship quarter-final match with American Bobby Fischer, Taimanov evened the score Wednesday afternoon, forcing a second adjournment in the game on the 72nd move. More than 8½ hours have been spent on the game during the two days. Taimanov had been down a pawn and the strength of a bishop over a knight, but he quickly evened the count when Fischer chose to leave a pawn unprotected in favor of utilizing his king in a king-side-counter-attack. Fischer's attack never materialized into anything of major consequence. Fischer leads the match by one victory, but with Taimanov getting back the advantages of white in today's game, the Russian could tie it up with a win today and with what looks like a certain draw when play resumes in the second game Friday. The 28-year-old Fischer stormed out of the University of B.C. Student Union Building auditorium at adjournment. During the course of play he had an angry exchange with chief arbiter Bozidar Kazic of Yugoslavia about Taimanov's habit of taking a walk after each move. Fischer said this distracted him from his game. Kazic, however, declined to take any action and the Russian continued his walking habits. Meanwhile, the fourth game between Soviet grandmasters Viktor Korchnoi and Yefim Geller, played in Moscow Wednesday, was adjourned on the 43rd move. The game opened with a variation of the Sicilian Defense. Korchnoi now leads the 10-game series 2 to 1. Bent Larsen of Denmark won his fourth game in Las Palmas, Canary Islands in his match against Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany who gave up on the 39th move. Larsen leads the series 2½ points to 1½. There was no play in the Seville, Spain, series on Wednesday. The competition is being held to decide who will meet world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union in Moscow next year. The challengers qualified in a tournament held in Spain last year.
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The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Thursday, May 20, 1971 - Page 5 — Fischer: Pawn Lead — Vancouver (British Columbia), Wednesday.— Grand Masters Bobby Fischer, of the United States, and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union, last night adjourned the second straight game of their world chess championship quarter final match. At the adjournment on the 45th move, Fischer was a pawn ahead, and appeared to have good winning chances. The game will be continued today. Fischer leads the 10-game match 1-0.
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The Alton Democrat Alton, Iowa Thursday, May 20, 1971 - Page 3 — Bobby Fischer, America's Hope for Chess Champion — Chess — a game about which the frph knows virtually nothing—is something, though, we have heard about since infancy since our elders played it and the pater was one of the experts of the Orange City chess club. In those days Capablanca, the Cuban chess master, was one of the top players. He played the Sioux City chess club which had arranged a circle of tables around the room. Capablanca moved from one table to the next, taking in the situation on each board at a glance and making his move. At that session, Dad had the only board that the Cuban master conceded was a draw. It's more than one hundred years since this country has had a chess champion, notes the Hemet, Calif., News, and if anyone can do it Bobby Fischer is the best hope we have. Bobby started playing at the age of six, notes The News, and won the United States championship in 1958 at the age of 14. “In September of that year he became the youngest grandmaster in the history of the game.” Bobby is now 26. An American-Russian chess battle was scheduled to get underway in Vancouver, B.C., May 13, and The News says the affair will carry a great deal of suspense. It was to be the first of ten games between U.S. champion Bobby Fischer and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union, one of four matches that started on the same days in as many countries to determine who will challenge Boris Spassky of the USSR for the world championship. Four of the eight players in the opening matches May 12 were Russians. “Although played in silence, chess has a remarkable similarity to the lethal contests which, tradition says, occurred between gunslingers of the Old West,” reminds The News. “The participant is on his own, with no resources except his individual skill. Furthering the similarity, rarely does one player meet another without silently trying to calculate their relative strengths or experiencing the blood-tingling desire to best him. And against a skilled pusher of pieces, a mistake can be as irretrievable as a too slowly drawn gun. “Origin of the game is unknown, but attributed to any one of a number of nations, all of them ancient. The first known historical document connected with chess is an inscription on a tablet in a pyramid at Giza, dating back three thousand years before Christ. “The game is a sweet poison that, can, if retained, rob people of the time and interest to acquire wealth or power in other fields.”
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New York Times, New York, New York, Thursday, May 20, 1971 - Page 38 — Chess: Portisch No. 1 Substitute For Six-Man Eliminations by Al Horowitz — When Lajos Portisch of Hungary and Vasily Smyslov of the Soviet Union, a former world champion, finished in a tie for seventh place in last year's interzonal tournament at Palma, Majorca, neither could have been precisely overjoyed. The players who finished in the first six places in that tournament qualified for the series of matches now under way to determine the next challenger to the present world champion, Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. Because the man who finished seventh in the interzonal was next in line for a place among the qualifiers and would substitute for any of the first six who could not or would not play in the elimination matches, a six-game match to break the tie between Portisch and Smyslov each winning one game, and drawing four, but, this time the tie was broken in favor of Portisch, who made the better score against the top players at Palma. This became far more than of academic interest a few days ago when Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union threatened to withdraw from his scheduled match with Bobby Fischer of the United States in a dispute over whether spectators were to be allowed in the playing room (Fischer had stipulated that spectators were to be excluded). When the International Chess Federation president, Dr. Max Euwe of the Netherlands, threatened to substitute Portisch in the match against Fischer, Taimanov withdrew his protest and Portisch was again out in the cold.
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New York Times, New York, New York, Thursday, May 20, 1971 - Page 38 — Fischer, Taimanov Adjourn 2D Contest — Vancouver, B.C., May 18 —Bobby Fischer (house guest of California resident Lina Grumette), the eight time United States chess champion, adjourned his second game here against Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union. Fischer opened with 1. P-K4 and Taimanov decided on a Sicilian defense. The game was adjourned with Fischer a pawn plus. In addition, he had a passed pawn that will be difficult or impossible to stop. Fischer won his first game against Taimanov. The match is one of the quarter-finals to establish the challenger for the world chess championship, now held by Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.
LAS PALMAS, Canary Islands, May 19 (AP)—Grandmasters Bent Larsen of Denmark and Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany drew their adjourned game in the chess quarter-finals yesterday. Each one won one, lost won and tied one. Their fourth game of 10 will be played today. The fourth game between the Soviet Grandmasters Viktor Korchnoi and Yefim Geller, in Sochi, the Soviet Union, was adjourned yesterday. According to Tass, the Soviet press agency, the position was favorable to Geller, who was playing white. Korchnoi won the first game and the second and third were drawn. The score is thus 2-1 in Korchnoi's favor.
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Friday, May 21, 1971 The Big Chess Battle (Continued) The controversy...
Posted by Bobby Fischer's True History on Friday, May 22, 2020
The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Friday, May 21, 1971 - Page 45-46 — The Big Chess Battle — Eyes of the chess world are on Vancouver — site of quarter-final elimination play between American Bobby Fischer and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union. The controversy that delayed start of play toward the world title matches, and how Canada came to host the action, is featured in the story below. On Pages 4 and 5, a profile of Al Horowitz, who is here from New York to cover the match; assessment of early play by Fischer and Taimanov in Horowitz's column that runs regularly in Spotlight; and a report on the first game, the game that set the scene for the playoff. The chess piece on Spotlight's cover is from a hand-carved ivory set of Chinese origin, between 150 and 250 years old, owned by Ford's Antiques on Granville … CONTINUED ★
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Friday, May 21, 1971 - Page 46 — Chess Columnist Ex-U.S. Champ — Al Horowitz, who has made his name synonymous with chess the world over, backs up his comments on the game with an unusual set of credentials. A columnist on chess with the New York Times, Horowitz is a three-time U.S. open champion who has represented his country in the world team championship six times. The U.S. has won the championship only four times and Horowitz served on three of the winning teams. He has had a hand in the writing of more than 30 books on the game and one, Chess Openings, Theory and Practice, is considered the bible of the game by many of its followers. A $15 text, it has sold more than 18,000 copies. … CONTINUED
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Friday, May 21, 1971 - Page 29 — World Chess Match — While Fischer Fidgets, Taimanov Adjourns by Bill Rayner — Frustration combined with satisfaction was U.S. grandmaster Bobby Fischer's lot out at the University of B.C. Thursday night. This unusual emotional mixture came about on the 42nd move of his world quarter-final chess game with grandmaster Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union. There was Fischer, attacking vigorously, with Taimanov's king reeling and a bishop about to fall on the next move. But the Russian insisted on the adjournment, and sealed his 42nd move while Fischer fidgeted. When Taimanov does resign, probably without resuming play today, Fischer will hold a commanding 2-0 lead in the 10-game match. Thursday's game, the third in the match, is scheduled for resumption today. Also scheduled for today is the adjourned second game, now in its 73rd move. In Thursday's game, Taimanov took his white pieces straight into the same King's Indian defense that Fischer threw at him in the opening game. For a while, he played more aggressively. He gave up a pawn and broke his rook through on the queen's bishop file. But an attack that looked promising actually suffered from too loose a deployment of white's pieces. Taimanov took all this in while spending 74 minutes on his 20th move. When he did play, he began a retreat that quickly gave Fischer control of the board. Fischer sliced open Taimanov's position, forced the Russian to part with his queen in exchange for two lesser pieces, and began stalking the black king. Taimanov played on for several moves in a lost position. At adjournment his king was in check, and his bishop and knight peril. Fischer leads the match 1-0 by virtue of his victory in the adjourned first game. Winner of the match advances in the elimination series designed to pick a challenger for world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, in Seville, Spain, international master Robert Huebner of West Germany and ex-world champion Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union Thursday drew their fifth straight game. In Moscow, Yefim Geller defeated Viktor Korchnoi. The two Russian grandmasters are tied at 2-2, while the Huebner-Petrosian match is also tied, 2½-2½.
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Nanaimo Daily News Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada Friday, May 21, 1971 - Page 2 — U.S. Player Near Victory In Chess Play — Vancouver (CP) — The third chess game between Bobby Fischer of the United States and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union, a quarter-final elimination round to determine a challenger for the world chess championship, was adjourned Thursday. It was scheduled to be continued today, along with the second game adjourned Wednesday in the 73rd move. At Thursday's adjournment, on the 42nd move, Taimanov was in a hopeless position. His king was in check by Fischer's queen, which simultaneously was attacking a bishop. Taimanov seemed certain to lose more material and suffer his second loss of the match against no victories. Despite losing the opening game as white to Fischer's king Indian defense, Taimanov ventured into an almost identical variation Thursday night.
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Friday, May 21, 1971 - Page 31 — Neither Will Give In - Chess Champs at Loggerheads by Paul Raugust — Soviet grandmaster Mark Taimanov appears to have time enough to burn. While Bobby Fischer of the U.S. steadfastly refuses to offer draws in games that can end in nothing but forced draws, Taimanov is countering by refusing to resign in games that are nothing but losers. The two grandmasters, playing at the University of B.C. in a world chess championship elimination match, so far have started three games in four days of play, but each day has ended in an adjournment. Two games are now adjourned and, even if they are still undecided during play today, a fourth game will be started Sunday. The outcome of only one game has been decided so far, and even that game had been adjourned. On Thursday, Taimanov got himself into the same sort of mess as he was in the first game. He duplicated the first game's opening 10 moves, and ran up against the same brick wall of Fischer's King's Indian Defense. Time again was the big factor as the Soviet master spent 72 minutes on his 20th move. This left him approximately two minutes per move to complete the remaining 20 mandatory moves. The 19th move turned out to be the one that turned the tide for Fischer as it allowed him to take an offensive position. At adjournment, Fischer was in a position to take Taimanov's bishop, leaving him with a rook, knight, king and three pawns to defend against black's four pawns, queen and king. Play will resume on the second game, which experts see as a forced draw, this afternoon. It was adjourned Tuesday and again Wednesday after more than 8½ hours of play in the 72nd move. Fischer has publicly criticized the game's acceptance of draws and therefore is not likely to make such an offer to Taimanov. If the game ends within two hours of play, the players will have two hours to settle the third game. Otherwise play on adjourned games will resume Monday. In the only other game played in the quarter-finals Thursday, Viktor Korchnoi conceded defeat to a fellow Russian, Yim Geller, in the fourth game in Moscow. Korchnoi won their first game a week ago and the second and third games were drawn.
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The Guardian London, Greater London, England Friday, May 21, 1971 - Page 4 — Chess : Can You Beat the Champs? by Leonard Barden — Black plays and helps White mate in three moves (by Pal Benko.) Successful solvers of this week's problem will have the rare distinction of beating Fischer, Keres, Botvinnik, and Geller! The mating sequence consists of three black moves and three white moves. Black moves first and both sides then cooperate so that White mates on his third move. CONTINUED
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Warren Times-Mirror and Observer Warren, Pennsylvania Friday, May 21, 1971 - Page 8 — Chess Match Continues — Seville, Spain (AP) — Tigran Petrosian of Russia and Robert Huebner of West Germany planed to their fifth consecutive draw Thursday in their quarter-final match in the World Chess championship to determine a challenger for champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. Thursday's game was declared a draw on the 14th move, leaving Petrosian and Huebner tied at 2.5 points in the 10-game match. The second game in the quarter-finals involving Bobby Fischer (house guest of Los Angeles area resident Lina Grumette) and Mark Taimanov of Russia at Vancouver, B.C., was adjourned Wednesday night on the 73rd move. Fischer won the first game on the 40th move and leads 1-0.
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New York Times, New York, New York, Saturday, May 22, 1971 - Page 28 — Fischer Leading In Chess, 3 To 0 — Takes 2 Adjourned Games in Vancouver Match by Al Horowitz — Vancouver, B.C., May 21. — Bobby Fischer (house guest of Los Angeles area resident, Lina Grumette) won two more games today in his quarter- finals match with Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union. The score now stands at 3-0, with the fourth game to be started tomorrow. This match is one of four to establish the challenger for the world chess championship, now in the hands of Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. Last Sunday Fischer won the first game and appeared to be well on his way to winning the second. But an inadvertence deferred the victory until today. Picking up the position of Game 2 where he had left off after an adjournment after 77 moves, Fischer had his work cut out for him. He was a pawn ahead but difficulties obtruded. Exchanging pieces would result in a draw, and most other lines open to him would yield no more. Fischer exhibited a precise maneuvering so that each move of his bishop would balance the scope of the knight. Ultimately he cleared the path of his passed pawn, and when it no longer could be impeded on its march to the eighth rank, Taimanov resigned. Altogether, the game took 94 moves. Immediately at the conclusion of the second game, Taimanov resigned the adjourned third game, which he could no longer sustain.
More Draws Posted Grandmasters Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union and Robert Huebner of West Germany played their sixth consecutive draw yesterday in their 10-game quarter-finals match to determine the challenger for the world chess championship. They will play their seventh game at Seville, Spain, on Sunday. They each have 3 points. At Las Palmas, Spain, Bent Larsen of Denmark and Wolfgang Uhlmann of West Germany drew their fifth game. They also will play again Sunday. Larsen has won two games and Uhlmann one, with two draws. The score is thus 3 to 2 in favor of Larsen.
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The Orlando Sentinel Orlando, Florida Saturday, May 22, 1971 - Page 11 — Fischer Gets Lead In Chess Over Russian — Vancouver, B.C. (Reuter) American grand master Bobby Fischer defeated Soviet grand master Mark Taimanov twice Friday to take a 3-0 lead in their world chess championship quarter-final match. Both victories came in adjourned games. In the first game, Taimanov resigned on the 89th move with Fischer about to queen a pawn. The game appeared to be a draw when play started, but Fischer displayed flawless endgame technique for the win. TAIMANOV then resigned without further play the remaining adjourned game. When play was halted in that game Thursday night, Fischer had maneuvered Taimanov into a lost position and was threatening to capture most of the Russian's remaining material. Fischer now is in good position to win the 10-game match and advance in the elimination series for a challenge to world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Saturday, May 22, 1971 - Page 35 — For Those Watching, An Aura of Genius by Bill Rayner — Some say watching a chess game is like watching grass grow. Not so. Even to the most casual chess player in the audience, the Bobby Fischer-Mark Taimanov match out at the University of B.C. is a combination of fascination, suspense and endless speculation. The setting is this: Fischer and Taimanov sit at a specially constructed chess table in the center of the stage at the Student Union Building movie theater. The stage is brilliantly lighted by fluorescent lights, hastily installed at the demand of Fischer. The audience, which has ranged from 50 persons up to more than 200, sits in darkness. They follow the play from two demonstration boards. A huge sign on the stage implores: “Silence Please.” The first 10 moves or so of each game are played quickly as the combatants run through well-memorized variations. Those spectators keeping score of the game scribble down the moves hastily. When the play slows down, several rush out of the theater to the lobby, there to check the sequence of moves, argue and speculate. A theoretical novelty in the opening is analyzed. Taimanov and/or Fischer is pronounced in trouble and /or in a winning position. Sometimes the discussion reaches a level several decibels above the required whisper. Then Fischer and Taimanov may glance distractedly toward the source of the trouble. Referee Bozidar Kazic of Yugoslavia walks out from his position behind the wings to gaze sorrowfully at the audience. An official of the B.C. Chess Federation scurries into the lobby to shush the crowd. Apart from the three glum Russian advisers to Taimanov — who are spending less and less time in the theater — the audience is almost exclusively pro-Fischer. They have learned to look for that tell-tale sign of Fischer irritation. When he is upset, when the taut spring inside is wound to its very tightest, his right leg begins to move. Up and down the knee jerks, faster and faster, almost uncontrollably. Then, with the problem solved, or the irritation removed, it slows down. When Fischer, tall, gangling, looking all the world like a painfully shy teen-ager, comes loping up the aisle from the stage and through the lobby after the close of play, he is regarded with awe. He looks at no one, and no one dares approach him. Sometimes someone says, “Good game, Bobby.” Sometimes he will say “Thank you,” sometimes not. At the end of Friday's first adjourned game, which Fischer won brilliantly in 89 moves, the audience burst into applause. It was a spontaneous acknowledgement of this giant among them.
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Star-Phoenix Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada Saturday, May 22, 1971 - Page 25 — Chess Quarter Finals - Controversy Delays Start by Harry Mather — After a delay of three days arising out of a controversy on playing conditions and facilities, one of the world chess quarter finals between grand masters Bobby Fischer (U.S.A.) and Mark Taimanov (U.S.S.R.) got under way in Vancouver. First game of this 10-game match was won by Fischer with the black pieces, after having been adjourned following the regulation 40 moves. With a lost position, Taimanov resigned before resumption of play, leaving the American with a 1-0 lead. The second match game on Tuesday (given below) has developed into a 'marathon'. After two adjournments, the result is still in the balance after 75 moves. While Fischer and Taimanov are contending one of the quarter finals in Vancouver, six other quarter finalists are battling it out in other parts of the world. In the Canary Islands at Las Palmas, grandmasters Bent Larsen of Denmark and Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany have played three of the 10 games and are tied with 1½ points each, while across the bay over in Spain, grandmasters Tigran Petrosian (U.S.S.R.) and Robert Huebner (West Germany) are establishing drawing records (even for grandmasters!) with five successive draws for a tied score of 2-2. In Moscow, Viktor Korchnoi conceded defeat to Yefim Geller in the fourth game. They each have a win and two matches were tied. Now for the benefit of the chess public who may not be fully aware of what this is all about, a few words are in order: For the purposes of world championships, the world is divided into several population and geographic zones (Canada is zone No. 6), and a three year cycle is required to establish a new champion. Representatives from the various zones then compete in an inter-zonal tournament and the top six, plus the previous champion and challenger, then compete among themselves in a knock-out set of matches. These quarter finals are scheduled to be completed by June 15, and after a brief rest the four winners will then commence the semi-final knock-out matches. It should also be pointed out to those unfamiliar with tournament play that each player has to make a required number of moves in a set time, but after five hours of play all games are adjourned. The second game between Fischer and Taimanov went as follows: with Fischer playing the white pieces: 37. PxP R-Q5; and here Taimanov is reported to be in severe time trouble with only a matter of seconds to complete his 40th move. It appears that under time pressure, his next move is in error—allowing Fischer to capture the advanced pawn. The game continued: 45. P-B4, and here Taimanov sealed his 45th move indicating an adjournment. After the adjournment the game continued next day as follows: 45. … K-Q2 73. K-N3 — adjourned again, with good drawing chances. The third game between Fischer and Taimanov came to an adjournment on Thursday night, with Taimanov in a hopeless position after the 42nd move. His king was in check by Fischer's queen, which simultaneously was attacking a bishop.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Saturday, May 22, 1971 - Page 35 — Fischer Rips Through Cold War Chess Strategy by Bill Rayner — “Let's go home,” said Bobby Fischer to companion Ed Edmondson of the U.S. Chess Federation. Home for the U.S. grandmaster meant back to his hotel, with a crushing twin victory in his pocket over Soviet grandmaster Mark Taimanov in their world chess championship quarter-final match. The two victories in adjourned games Friday came in just 39 minutes. They gave Fischer a 3-0 lead in the match and bolstered his reputation for being the most dynamic player in the game today. When play started in the Student Union Building movie theater at the University of B.C., Fischer and Taimanov were in what appeared to be a drawish position in their twice. But Fischer, playing the white pieces and relentless stalking the win, gave the veteran Taimanov, a classic lesson in endgame technique. With rook, bishop and pawn against black's rook and knight, Fischer coaxed Taimanov into a position where rooks were exchanged. Then Fischer demonstrated the absolute superiority of a bishop over a knight, making positional moves with his bishop that shut off Taimanov's king from any further part in the action. Taimanov's knight was soon helpless to halt the advance of Fischer's pawn. After a futile check, Taimanov resigned on the 89th move with the pawn one square away from queening. Fischer, grinning broadly, went off for a stroll while Taimanov remained in front of the board, trying to figure out where he went wrong. When Fischer returned, Taimanov then resigned without further play in the other adjourned game, suspended Thursday night on the 42nd move. In that one, Taimanov was in an obviously lost position. SNIPPED FOR BREVITY / CONTINUED
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The Leader-Post Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada Saturday, May 22, 1971 - Page 25 — Sports in Brief - Bobby Fischer of the United States Took a 3-0 lead —Vancouver (CP) — Bobby Fischer of the United States took a 3-0 lead Friday against Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union in their quarter-final elimination round to determine a challenger for the world chess champion. The U.S. grand master's first of two victories Friday came in the twice-adjourned second game of their 10-game match. Then he posted victory No. 2 when the Russian grandmaster resigned the third game, adjourned from Thursday on the 42nd move, without further play. Fischer, who won the open game of the round, now needs only two wins and a draw from the remaining seven to advance to the elimination semi-finals. The eventual winner of the eliminations will meet world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union in 1972 for the world title. Tigran Petrosian of Russia and Wolfgang Huebner of West Germany played to their sixth consecutive draw at Seville, Spain, Friday in a 10-game elimination quarter-final leading to the world chess championship. At Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, Bent Larsen of Denmark and Wolfgang Uhlmann of West Germany drew in their fifth-round game. Larsen holds a 3-2 lead by virtue of two victories to the West German's one in previous games. The remaining game was also drawn. The eventual survivor of the eliminations will challenge Boris Spassky of Russia for the world title in Moscow next year.
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Saturday, May 22, 1971 Russian Resigns Twice More - Fischer, 3;...
Posted by Bobby Fischer's True History on Sunday, May 24, 2020
The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Saturday, May 22, 1971 - Page 57 — Russian Resigns Twice More - Fischer, 3; Taimanov, no score By Paul Raugust — Unrelenting determination and an abundance of talent has given Bobby Fischer of the United States a three-point lead in the world chess title elimination match being played at the University of B.C. The Soviet Union's Mark Taimanov conceded games two and three Friday afternoon, placing Fischer within 2½ points of winning the match. Playing for the third day in a game that started Tuesday, the Soviet grandmaster failed to halt Fischer's determined attack. Fischer, a Brooklyn, N.Y. native, had been criticized at the conclusion of the second day of play for refusing to offer a draw to the Russian, a concession the youthful American seldom makes. Experts saw the game as a forced draw after Fischer lost the initiative of white in the Sicilian Defense. Taimanov's resignation came on the 88th move. The game had gone nearly 9½ hours during the three days of play. The two grandmasters were also scheduled to continue play on the third game, adjourned Thursday, but Taimanov conceded it before play resumed. The match is scheduled for 10 games, but ends whenever a player reaches 5½ points. A win counts as one point and draws a half. Game four is to get underway at 4 p.m. Sunday. Tigran Petrosian of Russia and Robert Huebner of West Germany played to their sixth consecutive draw Friday in another quarter-final match. Their seventh game is to be played at Seville, Spain, Sunday. At Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Bent Larsen of Denmark and Wolfgang Uhlmann of West Germany drew in their fifth game. They also will play against Sunday. Larsen has won two games and Uhlmann one with two draws. Winner of their match advances against the winner of the Fischer-Taimanov match. The competition is being held to decide who meets world champion Boris Spassky for the title in Moscow next year.
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The Gazette Montreal, Quebec, Quebec, Canada Saturday, May 22, 1971 - Page 48 — Fischer Leads in World Series Match — The hope of the western world, Bobby Fischer, USA, defeated Mark Taimanov, USSR, in 40 moves playing a King's Indian Defense in the first of their best of ten games series at Vancouver. Start was delayed three days when the Russian objected to the low ceiling and air-conditioning and the site had to be moved from the Graduate Center to the Students Union Auditorium of the University of B.C. Players and public are in the same room. Results in other matches in various parts of Europe: Korchnoi, 2, Geller, 1; Petrosian 1½, Huebner, 1½ (3 draws); Larsen, 1, Uhlmann, 1 (a win each).
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The Ottawa Journal Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Saturday, May 22, 1971 - Page 52 — On Again, Off Again, On Again — The first game of the Fischer vs. Taimanov match in the Challengers knockout match tourney at Vancouver did not start as scheduled on Thursday, May 13, at the graduate center of the University of British Columbia. The Russian grandmaster objected to the low ceiling and the air-conditioning, something which he was not used to. He wanted a room with a window that could be opened. Difficult to find in modern buildings but the search was on. The library had a door but the school authorities vetoed that suggestion. Finally a suitable place was found in the Students Union Auditorium to which the public would have to be admitted if they were to see anything at all. Fischer apparently agreed, a set up which he had previously objected to because of the noise factor. The lighting arrangements were altered to conform to his standards. The first game, deferred to Sunday, May 16, was adjourned at the 40th move with Fischer two pawns down. In the other matches going on in various parts of Europe the scores are: Korchnoi, 1½—Geller, ½; Petrosian, 1½—Huebner, 1½ (3 draws); Larsen 1, Uhlmann 1 (a win apiece).
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The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, May 23, 1971 - Page 123 — Fischer Wins First In Taimanov Match — American chess ace Bobby Fischer, starting off with the black pieces, defeated Mark Taimanov of the USSR in the first of their 10-game series in the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. This was the first serious game for Fischer this year, after a brilliant run of successes that earned him the Chess Oscar for 1971. Taimanov started complications with a knight maneuver that eventually cost him a pawn. He later gave up the exchange for chances on the king side. Fischer's position was secure, however, and he started counter measures directed at Taimanov's king. The result was an exchange of pieces which simplified Fischer's task. The game was adjourned, but resigned by Taimanov without resuming play. In the final position N-K4 wins easily for Fischer. At this writing the second game was adjourned after two sessions and 73 moves. Fischer had a pawn plus, but in a position with very little play that was likely to result in a draw. The match came close to being called off before it started. Fischer had specified that there were to be no spectators in the playing area. Only the players and officials were to be present, with the spectators elsewhere watching the game on special wall boards, with closed circuit TV also available. The Russians objected that this was against the rules for grandmaster chess events, that spectators should be in the same area, with the players on a stage or otherwise separated. Dr. Max Euwe of Holland, president of the International Chess Federation, ruled that the separate room was approved, provided it was satisfactory in other respects. On Thursday, May 13, when the match was to start, both Fischer and Taimanov objected to the room which had been prepared. Fischer because it was too small and Taimanov because it was air conditioned and had no windows. This was in the Graduate Center, a modern, completely air-conditioned building. After much searching and discussion another site was chosen, the auditorium of the Students' Union Building. Here the players were on a stage and spectators in the rows of seats. This time Dr. Euwe overruled Fischer's original objection to spectators. Last Sunday the match began.
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Asbury Park Press Asbury Park, New Jersey Sunday, May 23, 1971 - Page 38 — The Chessboard - U.S. Eyeing Larsen Match — While the interest of United States chess fans is drawn almost entirely to the candidates match between U.S. Grandmaster Bobby Fischer and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union, now well under way in Vancouver, they are not unmindful of the importance of another candidates match being played concurrently half-way around the world. If Fischer should win his match—and he is favored to do so—then he must meet the winner of the match between Grandmaster Bent Larsen of Denmark and Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany now in progress in the Canary Islands. On form Larsen would probably be the toughest opponent for Fischer, but Uhlmann has many times proved to be a dangerous contender. In their encounter in the 1970 interzonal, Larsen defeated Uhlmann after a protracted struggle.
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The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Sunday, May 23, 1971 - Page 166 — Chess - Fischer Gains 3rd Straight — Vancouver, BC — Bobby Fischer of the United States took a commanding 3-0 lead Friday against Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union in their quarterfinal elimination round to determine a challenger for the world chess champion.
Bent Larsen of Denmark and Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany drew their third game. Each has won one, lost one and drawn one. Viktor Korchnoi leads Yefim Geller 2-1.
The first Fischer game is at the end of this column.
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New York Times, New York, New York, Sunday, May 23, 1971 - Page 195 — Chess : Bigger, But Still Confusing by Al Horowitz — Presumably, he already knows a little about the history of this line: that it was long ago abandoned because Black's possession of the two bishops seemed to afford adequate counter-chances, but that for the last few years Bobby Fischer has played it for White with good success, and that this has caused a revival of interest in it. Fischer's recent game with Argentinian Grandmaster Rubinetti, gleaned from “Informant 10,” shows one of the currently popular ways to play it. Black equalizes in the opening, but makes a bad blunder (20. … R-R5—20. … P-KN3 is correct) and quickly succumbs.
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The Argus Fremont, California Monday, May 24, 1971 - Page 1 — Chess: Fischer Wins Opener, Leads Match 3-0 by Richard Shorman — The first of ten scheduled match games between America's Robert Fischer and the Soviet Union's Mark Taimanov ended in victory for Fischer after five hours of play. Only once during his last three major tournaments, all of which he won by impressive margins, did Fischer use the King's Indian Defense, and then not in the form adopted against Taimanov. The Soviet grandmaster avoided the more popular opening continuations, including the variation which bears his name, choosing instead an obscure line less likely to have been deeply analyzed by his ambitious foe. The ensuing complications saw Fischer grimly holding on to an extra pawn's worth of material while taking the heavy punishment meaded out by Taimanov in return. At long last, however, the attack was beaten back and superior force carried the day against greater mobility. SNIPPED FOR BREVITY … CONTINUED WITH GAME ANALYSIS
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The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Monday, May 24, 1971 - Page 37 — Chess Test Postponed by Illness — Vancouver, B.C. — Illness tonight forced postponement of the fourth round of the world chess championship quarterfinal match between U.S. grand master Bobby Fischer and Soviet grand master Mark Taimanov, as the Russian complained of high blood pressure. The round will be added on at the end of the match. The next round is scheduled for Tuesday. Fischer leads the match 3-0 and needs only 2½ points more to win and advance in the elimination series for a challenger to world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union next year.
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Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph Colorado Springs, Colorado Monday, May 24, 1971 - Page 20 — World Chess Enters Quarter-Finals by the Associated Press — Grandmasters Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union and Bent Larsen of Denmark recorded victories Sunday in quarter-finals play of the World Chess Championships but illness forced postponement of the Bobby Fischer-Mark Taimanov elimination match. In Seville, Spain, Petrosian defeated Robert Huebner, West Germany, in 40 moves. This was the seventh match between the two players and the first victory by Petrosian. The other six games finished in a tie. Petrosian made a Sicilian defense in the match which lasted five hours. The Soviet player has four points and Huebner three. The eighth match of the ten-match round will be played Monday. In Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Larsen beat Wolfgang Uhlmann, East Germany, in the 36th move of their sixth match.
Larsen made a Meran defense. The match lasted 4½ hours. He now has four points and Uhlmann has two. The seventh match of the ten-game round will be played Tuesday. And in Vancouver, B.C., Soviet Grandmaster Taimanov, 45, asked postponement of the fourth game to seek treatment for high blood pressure.
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The Des Moines Register Des Moines, Iowa Monday, May 24, 1971 - Page 2 — Postponement — Illness has forced postponement of the fourth round of the World Chess Championship quarter-final match between U.S. grand master Bobby Fischer and Soviet grand master Mark Taimanov. The Russian complained of high blood pressure. Fischer of New York City leads the match 3 to 0 and needs only 2½ points more to win and advance in the elimination series for a challenger to world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.
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New York Times, New York, New York, Monday, May 24, 1971 - Page 28 — Petrosian and Larsen Win In World Chess Tourney — Grandmasters Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union and Bent Larsen of Denmark recorded victories yesterday in quarter-finals play of the World Chess Championships, but illness forced postponement of the Bobby Fischer-Mark Taimanov elimination match, according to The Associated Press. In Seville, Spain, Petrosian defeated Robert Huebner, West Germany, in 40 moves. This was the seventh match between the two, and the first victory by Petrosian. The other six games were tied. In Las Palmas, the Canary Islands, Larsen beat Wolfgang Uhlmann, East Germany in the 36th move of their sixth match. He now has four points and Uhlmann has two.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Tuesday, May 25, 1971 - Page 39 — Taimanov's Illness Delays Chess Match by Bill Rayner — The chess match here between Bobby Fischer and Mark Taimanov survived a medical crisis over the holiday weekend and is scheduled to continue today at 4 p.m. Soviet grandmaster Taimanov, 45, early Sunday was put under doctor's orders to rest for 48 hours, thus forcing postponement of that day's scheduled fourth game of the 10-game match. He had complained Saturday of not feeling well, and because of faulty translation, his symptoms were first described as heart palpitations. However, an electrocardiograph at St. Paul's Hospital Sunday proved negative and Taimanov's illness was diagnosed as high blood pressure. U.S. grandmaster Fischer, 28, was noncommittal about the postponement. He spent the weekend “taking it easy.” Because of Sunday's postponement and an earlier dispute over playing facilities, the 10-game match is now several days behind schedule. It will be delayed even more next Sunday. This normal playing date will be skipped because of Fischer's religion, leaving only two games scheduled for this week. However, with Fischer's leading 3-0, most observers expect him to wrap up the match in the minimum six games. Winner of this quarter-final will advance in the elimination series to pick a challenger for world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, West Germany international master Robert Huebner, 24, withdrew Monday from his quarter-final match in Seville, Spain, with ex-world champion Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union. Huebner, citing frayed nerves, withdrew after Petrosian defeated him in 40 moves Sunday in the seventh game. The first six games were drawn. In Moscow Monday, Soviet grandmasters Viktor Korchnoi and Yefim Geller drew after 27 moves. Korchnoi leads the match 3½-2½ following a victory Saturday. Sunday, Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen defeated East German grandmaster Wolfgang Uhlmann in the Canary Islands to take a 4-2 lead.
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Wausau Daily Herald Wausau, Wisconsin Tuesday, May 25, 1971 - Page 26 — Nerves Get to Chess Champion by the Associated Press — West Germany's Robert Huebner, citing frayed nerves, withdrew from the World Chess Championships Monday before the scheduled eighth game of his quarter-final elimination match against Russian Grandmaster Tigran Petrosian. Huebner, beaten by Petrosian in 40 moves Sunday after their first six games of the 10-game series at Seville, Spain, ended in draws, said his nerves were too disturbed for him to continue with any chance of success. In Monday's other quarter-final action in Moscow, Soviet Grandmasters Viktor Korchnoi and Yefim Geller played to a draw after 27 moves of the sixth game of their series. Korchnoi holds a 3½-2½ lead over his countryman. The other quarter-final series—pairing American Grandmaster Bobby Fischer (house-guest of Lina Grumette, a resident of California) against Russia's Mark Taimanov at Vancouver, B.C., and Bent Larsen of Sweden against Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany at Las Palmas, Canary Islands—are to be resume today. Fischer has a 3-0 edge over Taimanov and Larsen leads Uhlmann 4-2. The tournament will provide a challenger for world champion Boris Spassky of Russia. At Seville Monday, the British referee offered to postpone the Huebner-Petrosian game for a few days and continue play behind closed doors. But the German Grandmaster refused and Petrosian was declared the winner. The games had been played in a lecture room before 200 spectators daily.
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Tuesday, May 25, 1971 - Page 27 — Chess Round Postponed — The fourth round in the world chess championship elimination match between Russia's Mark Taimanov and Bobby Fischer of Brooklyn, New York, was postponed Sunday until today. The Soviet grandmaster was reported to be suffering from high blood pressure. Fischer leads the match by three games to none.
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The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Tuesday, May 25, 1971 - Page 5 — Soviet Chess Master Ill — Vancouver, Monday. — Soviet grand master Mark Taimanov complained of high blood pressure today and officials postponed the fourth round of his quarter final world chess championship match against U.S. grand master, Bobby Fischer. Fischer leads 3-0. In Seville, Spain, Tigran Petrosian (USSR), former world champion, beat Robert Huebner (West Germany) last night, breaking a six-game run of draws. Petrosian leads 4-3. Bent Larsen, of Denmark, surged further ahead in his clash with Wolfgang Uhlmann, of East Germany by winning their sixth game at Las Palmas, Canary Islands. Larsen leads 4-2.
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The Capital Journal Salem, Oregon Wednesday, May 26, 1971 - Page 41 — Fischer's Chess Lead Still at 3-0 — Vancouver (AP)—Grandmasters Bobby Fischer of the United States and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union adjourned Tuesday night the fourth game in their world chess quarter-final elimination match. At adjournment on the 41st move, Fischer held a slight positional advantage. Taimanov had asked postponement of Sunday's game because of illness. Fischer leads the 10-game match 3-0. The winner of the match must score 5½ points to advance in the candidates' series to pick a challenger for world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Wednesday, May 26, 1971 - Page 21 — World Chess - Taimanov Marks Time-Again by Paul Raugust — Russia's Mark Taimanov, for the fourth straight game, asked for an adjournment of play Tuesday night in his world championship elimination match with Bobby Fischer of Brooklyn, N.Y. Playing at the University of B.C. Student Union Building, the Soviet grandmaster halted play after 40 completed moves. It is to be resumed this afternoon. Fischer, who leads the match three games to none, opened with P-K4 that set up a Sicilian Defense that had a striking resemblance to the second game in the match, the only other time Fischer played white prior to Tuesday. At the adjournment the American held a slight edge in board strength by virtue of a bishop over a knight. The players were even in pawns, at six each, a rook each and of course the kings, with the only difference being Fischer's bishop over Taimanov's knight. The earlier Sicilian Defense lasted more than 9½ hours in three days of play halting on the 88th move. In Tuesday's game, Fischer pressed a strong attack from the outset, and took advantage of a serious Taimanov miscue on the 16th move that resulted in Fischer's holding the bishop over the knight. From then on Fischer consolidated his position, trying down black's knight and king behind the queen-side pawns and leaving him little room to maneuver. Taimanov received criticism from his play from one of his own countrymen. Alexander Kotov, of the Russian Chess Federation, said both players are making serious mistakes. In his opinion Taimanov should have won two games and drawn the third. He said Taimanov “played terrible” in Tuesday's game, although he faulted Fischer for not taking a pawn in the early stages which would have given him a certain winning hand. Kotov will have certainly put his ample analytical talents to use overnight to find the best course of attack for Taimanov today. Fischer also will have had an expert available for analysis overnight. His second Larry Evans, a three-time U.S. champion and twice a Canadian open champion, arrived in Vancouver Tuesday afternoon. In Las Palmas, grandmasters Bent Larsen of Denmark and Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany adjourned their seventh game on the 42nd move. Larsen, playing white, started with a Reti opening. Uhlmann opposed with a variation of the New York defense. The game will be finished this afternoon. Larsen leads the standings with four points to two. Winner of the match meets the winner of the Vancouver match. The competition is being held to decide who meets world champion Boris Spassky of the U.S.S.R. in Moscow next year.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Wednesday, May 26, 1971 - Page 38 — Plays Well In Chess Match -- Two-Day Rest Perks Up Taimanov by Bill Rayner — A doctor's prescription for 48 hours' rest seemed to be just what Soviet Grand Master Mark Taimanov needed in his chess match with U.S. grandmaster Bobby Fischer. Taimanov, grounded for high blood pressure, was in his best form of the 10-game match Tuesday, achieving good drawing chances at adjournment in the fourth game. When the two players went home for the evening with Taimanov sealing his 41st move, he held a solid position as black. With pawn strength equal on both wings, Fischer was trying to break through in the center with a rook and bishop against Taimanov's rook and knight. However, there seemed little chance he would breech black's meticulously constructed defenses. The game was played quickly, with adjournment coming after just four hours of play. Taimanov, in a variation of the Sicilian defense, swapped material early, leading to an equal position. Never venturing far afield, he allowed Fischer some spatial advantage while he shored up some weak pawns. Fischer exerted pressure on the center but adroit reaction by Taimanov denied him the breakthrough he sought to black's seventh and eighth ranks. Fischer, with a 3-0 lead in the 10-game match, did not play as crisply as in the first three games. He needs but 2½ points in the remaining seven games to advance to the semi-finals of the elimination series to pick a challenger to world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. The game, postponed from Sunday because of Taimanov's illness, was played before an audience of close to 100 in the Student Union Building theater at the University of B.C. It was to be continued today. If any adjournment help was needed, Fischer had available the services of U.S. grand master Larry Evans of Reno. Evans, here officially to cover the match for a U.S. sports magazine, has acted as Fischer's second in the past. Meanwhile, the seventh game of the match between grand masters Bent Larsen of Denmark and Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany was adjourned on the 42nd move Tuesday. Larsen leads the series, 4-2.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Thursday, May 27, 1971 - Page 41 — Fischer Mastery Crushes Taimanov by Bill Rayner — Robert J. Fischer is not like you and I. And he's not like Mark Taimanov either, as the Soviet grandmaster found out Wednesday in their chess match out at the University of B.C. The U.S. grandmaster proved once again that he is no ordinary chess player, taking a tranquil adjourned game and turning it into his fourth straight victory over Taimanov. In a tour de force that was brilliantly consummated in 30 moves and 1½ hours, Fischer once again proved the worth of a bishop over a knight and the power of the passed pawn. Up to adjournment on the 41st move it had been Taimanov's best game of the match. But some slight inaccuracies Wednesday allowed Fischer to send his bishop on wide-ranging forays and to transfer his king to the queen-side. Then, on the 62nd move, Fischer sacrificed his bishop. In compensation he received two passed pawns that were convoyed by the king toward the eighth rank. With his remaining piece, a knight, out of position and his king helpless to halt the advance, Taimanov resigned on the 71st move. Taimanov now has lost twice each with the black and white pieces. His trusty Sicilian defense as black Tuesday and Wednesday once again failed in the endgame. He seems mesmerized, as have most other players before him, by Fischer's style. Any little error he makes brings swift punishment by Fischer, leading to the inevitable Fischer win. All four games to date have been adjourned. Of the two which needed overnight analysis, Fischer alone has out-thought Taimanov and his three Russian advisers. As one observer put it, one wonders whether the Russian style of chess by committee is valid anymore. Fifth game of the match was scheduled for 4 p.m. today at the Student Union Building theater. Fischer now needs 1½ points in the remaining six games to advance in the elimination series to pick a challenger for world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. In other action Wednesday, Bent Larsen of Denmark and Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany drew on the 44th move of their seventh game in the Canary Islands. Larsen leads the match, 4½-2½. In Moscow, Soviet grandmasters Viktor Korchnoi and Yefim Geller adjourned their seventh game on the 41st move. Korchnoi leads, 3½-2½.
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Statesman Journal Salem, Oregon Thursday, May 27, 1971 - Page 38 — Fischer Triumphs - Chess Aces Draw — Vancouver (AP) — Bobby Fischer of Brooklyn, New York and house-guest of Los Angeles area resident, Lina Grumette, defeated Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union on the 71st move of an adjourned game Wednesday to take a 4-0 lead in their World Chess Championship quarter-final elimination match.
Chess Aces Draw - Las Palmas, Canary Islands (AP) — Grandmasters Bent Larsen, Denmark, and Wolfgang Uhlmann, East Germany, agreed to a draw on the 44th move of their seventh game in the World Championship Challengers quarter-final chess match Wednesday.
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Thursday, May 27, 1971 - Page 35 — World Chess Match - Fischer Has Russian On The Ropes by Paul Raugust — Bobby Fischer has moved within 1½ games of winning his world chess championship elimination match with Russia's Mark Taimanov. Fischer defeated the Soviet grandmaster for the fourth consecutive time Wednesday afternoon in a game that displayed the American's often-touted but hitherto rarely seen brilliance at the University of B.C. It was the 28-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y., native's best game of the match. The fifth game is scheduled to begin this afternoon and, it would not be surprising if Taimanov conceded the entire match should he lose today when he will be enjoying the advantages of white. Wednesday's game had been continued from Tuesday. At resumption of play Fischer held only a slight edge in board strength by virtue of a bishop over a knight. After swapping rooks on the 44th move, Fischer had Taimanov effectively pinned. Taimanov's only remaining major piece was a knight but that was left immobile as it was forced to defend the king-side pawns. With his back against the wall, Taimanov was forced to accept Fischer's sacrifice offer of a bishop on the 62nd move. In the end the sacrifice cost Taimanov three pawns, riddling his queen-side defenses and reducing his strength to two pawns, one knight and the king. Fischer had five pawns and the king left and was threatening to regain his queen when Taimanov resigned on the 71st move. Meanwhile, in Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Bent Larsen of Denmark and Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany agreed to a draw on the 44th move of their seventh game Wednesday. The game was adjourned Tuesday on the 42nd move. Larsen now has 4½ points to Uhlmann's 2½. Winner of this match will advance against the winner of the Vancouver match. Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union has already won a berth in the finals of series B by defeating Robert Huebner of West Germany. Petrosian will meet the winner of a match being played in Moscow between Russian grandmasters Yefim Geller and Viktor Korchnoi. The seventh game in the Moscow match was adjourned Wednesday on the 41st move. Tass news agency said the game was in a complex position at adjournment. Korchnoi leads the series by 3½ points to 2½ The over-all winner of both series will advance against world champion Boris Spassky of Russia in a match to be played in Moscow next year.
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The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Thursday, May 27, 1971 - Page 54 — U.S. Star Wins in Chess Play — Vancouver, B.C. — Bobby Fischer of the United States took a 4-0 lead here today in his world chess championship quarter-final match against Mark Taimanov, defeating the Russian in 71 moves. The game had been adjourned on the 41st move with Fischer (house-guest of Santa Monica, Calif., resident, Lina Grumette) playing white, attempting to break through Taimanov's position. He finally took advantage of the Russian's cramped defense to sacrifice a bishop and gain control of the queen-side. Two connected passed pawns proved to be the difference and Taimanov resigned. The victory, Fischer's fourth straight, leaves him with 1½ more points to score in the 10-game match to advance in the elimination series and challenge world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.
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The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Thursday, May 27, 1971 - Page 5 — Chess Game Adjourned — Vancouver, Wednesday.—The fourth game of the world chess championship quarter-final match between grandmasters Bobby Fischer of the United States and Mark Taimanov, of Russia, was adjourned last night on the 41st move. Fischer, who leads the 10-game match 3-0, needs two and a half points in the remaining seven games to advance in the elimination series to find a challenger to world champion Boris Spassky, of Russia. (AAP-Reuter).
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Edmonton Journal Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Thursday, May 27, 1971 - Page 50 — Bobby Fischer vs. Mark Taimanov Fourth Round — Bobby Fischer defeated Mark Taimanov on the 71st move of an adjourned game Wednesday to take a 4-0 lead in their world chess championship quarter-final elimination match. In a brilliantly- played end game highlighted by the sacrifice of a bishop, the U.S. grandmaster took 30 moves and 1½ hours to post his fourth consecutive win in the 10-game match. At adjournment Tuesday, Fischer and Soviet grandmaster Taimanov were in what appeared to be an equal position. But Taimanov could not hold his cramped position against Fischer's freewheeling bishop. When Fischer, playing white, did sacrifice the piece, he obtained in compensation two passed pawns on the queen-side.
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New York Times, New York, New York, Thursday, May 27, 1971 - Page 43 — Fischer Beats Taimanov Again; Now Leads in Chess Match 4-0 by Al Horowitz — Vancouver, British Columbia, May 26—Bobby Fischer of New York, defeated his Soviet opponent, Mark Taimanov, for the fourth game in a row in their quarter-finals knockout chess match. The match is one of four to qualify a challenger for the world championship, now held by Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. The Fischer-Taimanov match is a 10-game affair with a 5½ point score needed for victory, of which the American has already posted 4. Today's game had been adjourned, at which time not a pawn difference existed between the antagonists. But Fischer retained a number of intangibles, such as time, space and force. He also had a commanding bishop to his opponent's knight, and he knew how to command the bishop. In a few moves Fischer set the stage. To begin with, he swapped rooks. Then he tied down the enemy's king and knight to the defense of pawns. Then he maneuvered with precise tempo, in such a way that neither the enemy knight nor king could move without leaving something unguarded. This tactic, known as zugzwang, compels a player to move against his will and impair his own position. The next game will be played tomorrow.
The Match Results In another quarter-finals match, Bent Larsen of Denmark and Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany, playing in Las Palmas, Spain, agreed to a draw on the 44th move of their seventh game yesterday, according to The Associated Press. And Tass, the Soviet press agency, reported in Moscow that the seventh game of the quarter-final match between two Soviet grandmasters, Viktor Korchnoi and Yefim Geller, was adjourned on the 41st move. There is to be a playoff today.
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Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, The Evening News Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Friday, May 28, 1971 - Page 30 — Fischer Holding Chess Initiative — In Vancouver, grandmasters Bobby Fischer of the United States and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union Thursday night adjourned the fifth straight game in their quarter-final elimination match to select a challenger for the World Chess Championship. At adjournment after 41 moves, Fischer was a pawn ahead and held the initiative. The game was played cautiously by both sides. Entering the end game, Fischer had control of more space and Taimanov was forced on the defensive. The game will be continued today. Fischer holds a 4-0 lead in the 10-game match and a win in the fifth game would leave him needing only a draw in the remaining games to advance to the semi-finals. The eventual winner of the elimination rounds will meet Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union in 1972.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Friday, May 28, 1971 - Page 31 — Fischer Again? -- Mop-Up Time in Chess Match by Bill Rayner — Another mop-up operation appears in store for Bobby Fischer today in his chess match with Mark Taimanov. As usual, the fifth game in their world championship quarter-final was adjourned Thursday night, and as usual, the U.S. grandmaster held the upper hand. At adjournment after the 41st move, Fischer was a pawn up and held the initiative. In a tactical confrontation of queens and rooks, he controlled more space and had forced the Soviet grandmaster to go on the defensive. Leading 4-0 in the 10-game match, Fischer decided Thursday on the Gruenfeld defense. It was a departure from his usual King's Indian as black in previous games here. Taimanov, who knows a little about the Gruenfeld, too, went into a long-discarded variation he had resurrected last year at the U.S.S.R. - World match. Play centered around a fight for control of the queen's file. Both players moved cautiously and had used up most of their allotted clock time when the 40th move arrived. Taimanov had a tempo for most of the game, but just before adjournment, his pressure on the queen's file faltered and Fischer managed some counterplay. Pieces were exchanged and both players went pawn hunting for a while. Fischer came out of it with the more active queen and a 3-2 pawn majority on the kingside. If Fischer wins in the adjournment today, the fifth straight, he will need only a half-point to advance to the semi-finals of the challengers' round. Eventual winner of the elimination series will meet world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union for the title in 1972. Meanwhile, in the Canary Islands, East Germany grandmaster Wolfgang Uhlmann defeated Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen in the eighth game of their match. Larsen now leads, 4½-3½.
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The Guardian London, Greater London, England Friday, May 28, 1971 - Page 25 — First match game, Vancouver 1971 King's Indian Defense review by Leonard Barden —There is really only one possible choice for this week's game, which gave Fischer a good start to his world title quarter-final match. First match game, Vancouver 1971 King's Indian Defense.
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The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Friday, May 28, 1971 - Page 40 — Fischer Leads In Chess Match — Vancouver, B.C. — Robert Fischer (of New York and temporary house guest of Lina Grumette, a Los Angeles, California area resident) won his fourth straight game here yesterday in a chess quarter-final match with Mark Taimanov of the USSR to determine a challenger to world champion Boris Spassky of the USSR. The Associated Press reported that Fischer adjourned the fifth game, also in a winning position. A win would virtually clinch the best-of-10-games match.
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The Jackson Sun Jackson, Tennessee Friday, May 28, 1971 - Page 14 — Larsen Close To Chess Win — (AP) Grandmaster Bent Larsen of Denmark is just one point from victory in his World Chess Championship challengers quarter-finals with East Germany's Wolfgang Uhlmann. Larsen lost a bid Thursday to win the 10-match competition when he gave up after the 41st move in their contest at Las Palmas, Canary Islands. Larsen needs 5½ points to win. He now has 4½ to Uhlmann's 3½. The ninth match is scheduled for Sunday. In another quarter-final match being held in Moscow, the seventh game of the Viktor Korchnoi-Yefim Geller series was postponed because Korchnoi was indisposed. The game had been adjourned Wednesday. In Vancouver, grandmasters Bobby Fischer of the United States and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union Thursday night adjourned the fifth straight game in their quarter-final elimination match to select a challenger for the World Chess Championship. At adjournment after 41 moves, Fischer was a pawn ahead and held the initiative. The game was played cautiously by both sides. Entering the end game, Fischer had control of more space and Taimanov was forced on the defensive. The game will be continued today. Fischer holds a 4-0 lead in the 10-game match and a win in the fifth game would leave him needing only a draw in the remaining games to advance to the semifinals. The eventual winner of the elimination rounds will meet world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union in 1972.
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Friday, May 28, 1971 - Page 35 — World Chess Match - Taimanov Rallies in the Fifth Round by Paul Raugust — Mark Taimanov of the U.S.S.R. and Bobby Fischer of Brooklyn, N.Y., adjourned the fifth round in their world chess championship elimination match here Thursday night. Adjournment came on the 41st move after the five-hour time limit expired. The two grandmasters have yet to complete a game on the day it started. Taimanov, who has lost four games straight to Fischer, played his strongest game of the series with a Gruenfeld Opening, maintaining the initiative of white throughout the game. But at adjournment, the game appeared headed for a draw. Fischer was holding a one-pawn advantage, but it didn't seem likely that he would be able to hold the advantage for long. Taimanov held a positional edge throughout, and, although it appeared at one stage that Fischer might trap white's queen, the Soviet grandmaster deftly evaded the tactic. In the late stages of the game, Fischer appeared indecisive as he jockeyed his king from K1 to B1. In effect this was a wasted move and it allowed Taimanov to strengthen his hand. The game is to be resumed this afternoon, because of a religious holiday, Fischer has asked that game six be postponed until Tuesday. The Vancouver match and three others being played around the world will decide a challenger for world champion Boris Spassky of Russia. The title match is to be played in Moscow next year. In the only other game played Thursday, grandmaster Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany defeated Bent Larsen of Denmark in their eighth game in Las Palmas, Canary Islands. The win gave the East German 4½ points to Larsen's 3½. The ninth game is to be played Sunday.
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The Orlando Sentinel Orlando, Florida Saturday, May 29, 1971 - Page 21 — Five Moves Give Fischer Chess Win — Vancouver, B.C. (Reuter). American grand master Bob Fischer won an adjourned game in only five moves Friday to take a 5-0 lead in his World Chess championship quarter-final match with Soviet grand master Mark Taimanov. In the game, adjourned Thursday after the 41st move, Taimanov was attacking briskly when he blundered away a rook. He resigned on the 46th move.
FISCHER, playing black, had an extra pawn and a slight edge in position at adjournment. When play opened Friday, Taimanov counter-attacked quickly, regaining the pawn and harassing Fischer's king. However, Taimanov chose to win another pawn with his rook. Fischer then made a simple move with his queen to check Taimanov's king and simultaneously attack the rook.
WITH HIS ROOK about to be captured and checkmate imminent, Taimanov resigned. The victory leaves Fischer needing only half-a-point to win the 10-game match. He will then advance in the elimination period being held to pick a challenger for world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. The sixth game in the match is scheduled here Tuesday.
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The Indiana Gazette Indiana, Pennsylvania Saturday, May 29, 1971 - Page 18 — Fischer Wins Chess Match — (AP)—A blunder by Soviet Grandmaster Mark Taimanov on the 46th move Friday enabled U.S. Grandmaster Bobby Fischer to win his fifth straight game in their quarter-final elimination round to determine a challenger for the World Chess Championship. The game had been adjourned Thursday after the 41st move with Fischer a pawn ahead and holding a slight initiative. In only five moves and five minutes of play Friday, Taimanov managed to regain the initiative, then lose a rook and the game.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Saturday, May 29, 1971 - Page 14 — Chess Match - Blunder Gives Win To Fischer by Bill Rayner — There is a tragedy of sorts being played out these days on the stage of the Student Union Building theater at the University of B.C. It is the haunting tale of a 45-year-old professional chess player being humiliated again and again by a younger, more talented man. For Soviet grandmaster Mark Taimanov, Friday was another disastrous episode in his 10-game world championship quarter-final match with U.S. grandmaster Bobby Fischer, 28. In just five moves and five minutes of play in the game adjourned from Thursday, Taimanov blundered and lost his fifth straight game. At adjournment after the 41st move Thursday, Fischer seemed to hold a slight edge. He had an extra pawn and a more mobile queen. But when the game resumed Friday, Taimanov went briskly to the attack. He regained the pawn, exchanged bishops and attacked black's king. Then, forcing Fischer's queen to move to the king's file, he snatched another pawn. It was a blunder of classic proportions, seen only rarely in international chess. SNIPPED FOR BREVITY - CONTINUED
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Saturday, May 29, 1971 - Page 31 — World Chess Match - Queen Checks King and Crowns Russian by Paul Raugust — U.S. grandmaster Bobby Fischer defeated Mark Taimanov of the USSR for the fifth consecutive game Friday to pull within half a point of winning the world chess championship quarter-final match with the Soviet grandmaster. The victory, on a surprisingly bad move by Taimanov, came with only eight minutes showing on the clock after it was resumed from Taimanov. Fischer, laughing with joy, jumped off stage and accepted the congratulations of U.S. Chess Federation vice-president Ed Edmondson while the small audience of about 60 persons looked about in bewilderment. Some didn't realize what had happened until Fischer had left the University of B.C. auditorium. Most of the fans had come to the game prepared for another drawn-out end game. It had adjourned Thursday on a similar note to an earlier game that had lasted 88 moves and that took over 9½ hours of playing time over three days. Speed is not one of the characteristics of the Taimanov-Fischer games. When play started Friday, Taimanov evened the strength of the two sides at two pawns, a bishop, rook, queen and king each. That was on his 42nd move; five moves later it was all over. After trading bishops, Taimanov left his king vulnerable by taking a pawn with his rook. Fischer, as if in disbelief, stood up and looked at the audience, shrugged his shoulders and resumed play with a check from his queen, a move Taimanov had obviously miscalculated. The Soviet grandmaster resigned without further play. He could have delayed the inevitable checkmate by sacrificing his rook, but the outcome was in no doubt. Taimanov has lost three times while playing white and twice with black. The match is to be resumed Tuesday with Fischer enjoying the advantages of white. A member of the Soviet Chess Federation, Aleksandr Kotov, said Taimanov, 46, will not concede the match. He blamed Taimanov's poor record on his physical condition. One game had to be postponed on doctor's orders because of Taimanov's high blood pressure. The match is one of four being held at various locations around the world to decide a challenger for world champion Boris Spassky of Moscow.
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The Gazette Montreal, Quebec, Quebec, Canada Saturday, May 29, 1971 - Page 54 — Game of Kings: World Series Match — The first game of the match, postponed from May 13th to the 16th, and played in the movie theatre auditorium of the Students Union of the University of British Columbia. Fischer, who had been playing tennis with George Bryant, secretary of the CFC, arrived five minutes after his clock had been started by the referee, shook hands with his opponent and started play.
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Nanaimo Daily News Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada Saturday, May 29, 1971 - Page 2 — Bobby Fischer Moves Ahead — Vancouver (CP) — A blunder by Soviet grandmaster Mark Taimanov on the 46th move Friday enabled U.S. grandmaster Bobby Fischer to win his fifth straight game in their quarter-final elimination round to determine a challenger for the world chess championship. The game had been adjourned Thursday after the 41st move with Fischer a pawn ahead and holding a slight initiative. In only five moves and five minutes of play Friday, Taimanov managed to regain the initiative, then lose a rook and the game. He opened briskly in the adjournment, regaining a pawn, trading bishops and attacking Fischer's king. But on the 46th move, he snatched up another black pawn. Fischer then checked the white king with a fork that simultaneously attacked the rook. With his rook lost and mate to follow shortly, Taimanov resigned. Fischer now needs only a draw in the next five games of the 10-game match to advance in the challengers' playoff series. Eventual winner of the series will meet current world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union for the title. Sixth game here is Tuesday, held over from Sunday because that day is a religious holiday for Fischer.
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Star-Phoenix Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada Saturday, May 29, 1971 - Page 20 — Chess Quarter Finals - Nerves Force Retirement by Harry Mather — After six successive draws and one win, former champion Tigran Petrosian (USSR) was conceded the match by West Germany's Robert Huebner. The young German grandmaster withdrew after the seventh game, citing frayed nerves as his reason; and although offered an adjournment of a few days by the British referee, still declined to continue, leaving Petrosian the match winner by a 4-3 score. In Vancouver, Robert Fischer of the USA continued to dominate the match in his quarter final against Mark Taimanov (USSR) with a perfect 4-0 score; and barring a miracle, seemed destined to advance to the semi-finals. Like Huebner of Germany, Taimanov is reported to be in poor health and was granted a one day adjournment for medical attention. In the Canary Islands, Bent Larsen of Denmark increased his lead over Uhlmann of East Germany to 4½-2½ after seven games and needs only one point to clinch the match; while in Moscow the only real close battle is being waged between the Soviet grandmasters Korchnoi and Geller. After six completed games and one adjournment still in the balance, Korchnoi has a small edge of 3½-2½ with four games to go. The four winners of the quarter-finals will play off the semi-finals during July, and the two finalists will then compete later in the fall for the right to challenge world champion Boris Spassky sometime in 1972.
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The Ottawa Journal Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Saturday, May 29, 1971 - Page 54 — Taming The Russian Bear — With three wins in succession in his match with Mark Taimanov at Vancouver, American grandmaster Bobby Fischer might be charged with unnecessary cruelty in laying on the lash in teaching his somewhat clumsy pupil a few tricks. At any rate he has been granted a few days off to nurse his wounds. The 1st and 3rd encounters are given below. Scores in the other matches of the Challengers tourney abroad are: Larsen, 4; Uhlmann, 2; Korchnoi, 3½; Geller 2½; Petrosian 4; Huebner, 3. Losing the 7th game after six draws, Huebner has resigned the match for reasons of health. All matches are for the best of 10 games.
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New York Times, New York, New York, Saturday, May 29, 1971 - Page 43 — Fischer Takes 5-0 Lead In World Title Chess Match — Vancouver, British Columbia, May 28—Bobby Fischer of (correction) Brooklyn, the United States chess champion, beat Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union today in the fifth game of the world chess championship quarter-finals. The victory gave Fischer a 5-to-0 lead—a half point, or the equivalent of a draw, from clinching the match. The winner of the playoff tournament will play Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, who is the current world chess champion.
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The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, May 30, 1971 - Page 30 — Fischer Four Up In Taimanov Match — Bobby Fischer, the first American to have a real chance to gain the world chess championship in recent years, seems certain to overcome the current obstacle in his way, Soviet grandmaster Mark Taimanov. Fischer won the first four games in succession in the 10-game series with Taimanov being played at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. That put him close to the goal of 5½ points required to win the match. The second game was much the longest to date, lasting 87 moves in three sessions. When first adjourned after 45 moves it seemed to be a clear win for Fischer, with a strong pawn ahead. However, Fischer gave up the passed pawn on his 54th move, when B-N3 was much superior. He still won a pawn on the king side, but by the time of the second adjournment, on the 73rd move, the game had simplified and Taimanov had excellent drawing prospects. Taimanov went wrong when he exchanged rooks, perhaps forgetting that a knight is particularly weak at holding back a rook pawn. A few moves later Fischer had advance the pawn, which could no longer be stopped. The third game was also adjourned, but in a position that was hopeless for Taimanov, and he resigned without resuming play. The opening was identical with that in the first game for 10 moves. Taimanov again sacrificed a pawn for possible chances on the king side. He might have had good chances with 20. Q-KR3. Instead he retreated and Fischer counterattacked quickly. Later Taimanov gave up his queen, but Fischer's superiority was already clear. Taimanov asked for a postponement of the fourth game, scheduled last Sunday, when he was ill. The game was played Tuesday, with no better result for the Russian. Once again an adjournment took place, with the forces even. Fischer had a somewhat better position in the ending. He found a sacrifice of a bishop to gain two passed pawns, and these were enough for victory.
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The Courier-Journal Louisville, Kentucky Sunday, May 30, 1971 - Page 30 — Let's Hear It! U.S. chess star Fischer has Russian in a bad way — (AP) Bobby Fischer, the U.S. grandmaster from (correction) New York, has virtually clinched his quarter-final match with Mark Taimanov of Russia in the World Chess Tournament eliminations to determine a challenger for champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. Fischer beat Taimanov for the fifth straight time on the 46th move Friday in Vancouver, B.C. He now needs only a draw to advance to the semifinals. The sixth game in the 10-game match is scheduled Tuesday. Viktor Korchnoi beat Yefim Geller in Moscow last night on the 56th move for a 4½-2½ point lead after seven games.
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Lansing State Journal Lansing, Michigan Sunday, May 30, 1971 - Page 3 — Chess Star To Display His Skill — Internationally known chess master Miguel Najdorf of Argentina will give two exhibitions Wednesday night in the Gold Room of the Student Union at Michigan State University. Najdorf—one of the few men in the world to beat Russian World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik—first will play three or four opponents simultaneously while blindfolded, beginning about 7 p.m. His second exhibition will be to play 30 Lansing area players simultaneously. His appearance will be sponsored jointly by the Lansing and Michigan State University chess clubs. There will be no admission charge. Najdorf was born in Poland, but migrated to Argentina shortly before World War II and since then has been one of that country's foremost players. At one time he was considered to be among the five top players in the world. Last September during the World Chess Olympics in Siegen, West Germany, one of Najdorf's few losses was to U.S. Champion Bobby Fischer.
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The Record Hackensack, New Jersey Sunday, May 30, 1971 - Page 82 — In Defense of Chinese Checkers — Poker has its Scarne, bridge its Benito Garrozzo, chess its Bobby Fischer. Chinese Checkers needs no glory names.
The San Francisco Examiner San Francisco, California Tuesday, June 01, 1971 - Page 20 — World Chess Play — Moscow — (AP) — The field of grand masters seeking a chance to unseat the Soviet Union's world chess champion, Boris Spassky, next spring has been narrowed to four. They are the survivors of the quarterfinals of the challengers tournament, a slow ritual that began last year and will climax this September when two finalists battle for the right to meet Spassky with his title at stake. The quarterfinal play began May 13 and the first to reach the semifinal stage was the Soviet Union's Tigran Petrosian. Petrosian was leading 4-3 in the play at Seville, Spain, when his opponent, Robert Huebner of West Germany, gave up eight days ago. Yesterday, Bent Larsen of Denmark and Viktor Korchnoi of the Soviet Union moved up to the semifinals. Larsen, playing at Las Palmas on the Canary Islands, defeated Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany, 5½-3½, while Korchnoi beat his countryman, Yefim Geller, 5½-2½. One quarterfinal contest is still in progress at Vancouver, B.C., where Bobby Fischer of the United States has a 5-0 lead over Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union and needs only half a point more to win. Fischer's victory is regarded as certain. The semifinal competition gets under way July 4, with Korchnoi playing Petrosian and Larsen meeting Fischer. The place of play has not yet been announced. Larsen, Korchnoi and Petrosian have all been on the semifinal level before. In 1968 Larsen was defeated by Spassky in the semifinals of the tournament to find a challenger for Petrosian, then world champion.
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The Courier-Journal Louisville, Kentucky Tuesday, June 01, 1971 - Page 22 — Soviet Grandmaster Korchnoi Gains World Chess Semifinals — Moscow (AP) — Soviet grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi eliminated countryman Yefim Geller from the World Chess Championship quarter-finals yesterday, defeating him on the 38th move of their eighth game. Korchnoi will next play in the semi-finals against Soviet grandmaster Tigran Petrosian later this year. In another match being held at Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, Grandmaster Bent Larsen of Denmark defeated East Germany's Wolfgang Uhlmann, who resigned on the 64th move. The game was the ninth of their scheduled 10-game series. Larsen finished with the 5½ points necessary for victory while Uhlmann had 3½. The Danish player will meet the winner of the Bobby Fischer-Mark Taimanov series being played in Vancouver, B.C. The American presently leads the Soviet grandmaster 5-0. The world title now is held by Russian Grandmaster Boris Spassky.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Tuesday, June 01, 1971 - Page 4 — 2 Advance In Chess — Las Palmas, Canary Islands (Reuter) — Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen qualified Monday night for the semi-finals of the world chess championship series by beating East German Wolfgang Uhlmann in the quarter-finals. Larsen won the ninth game of his encounter with Uhlmann to eliminate the East German, 5½ points to 3½. In Moscow, Soviet grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi also advanced Monday be defeating Yefim Geller, another Soviet grandmaster, in the eighth game of their quarter-final. Korchnoi won the match, 5½ to 2½. Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union has already advanced to the semi-finals over Robert Huebner of West Germany, while Bobby Fischer of the U.S. leads Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union, 5-0.
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New York Times, New York, New York, Tuesday, June 01, 1971 - Page 40 — Two More Advance To Chess Semifinals — Two more berths were filled yesterday in the semifinals of the competition to determine a challenger for the world chess title now held by Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. The Associated Press reported that Viktor Korchnoi of the Soviet Union had defeated a country man, Yefim Geller, in their quarter-final match in Moscow, and Bent Larsen of Denmark had eliminated Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany in the Canary Islands. Earlier, Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union, a former world champion, had advanced to the semifinals by defeating Robert Huebner of West Germany in Seville. Only the match between Bobby Fischer of the United States and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union remains to be completed in the quarter-finals. Fischer has a 5-0 head in the 10-game match being played in Vancouver, British Columbia. Korchnoi defeated Geller on the 38th move of their eighth game for a 5½-2½ score. Larsen won when Uhlmann conceded on the 64th move of their ninth game, the Dane lifting his margin to 5½-3½. In the semifinals, Korchnoi will face Petrosian, and Larsen will oppose the winner of the Fischer-Taimanov match. The survivors will play for the right to meet Spassky.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Wednesday, June 02, 1971 - Page 8 — Only a Handshake Needed For Fischer Chess Victory by Bill Rayner — Only the formality of a handshake from Mark Taimanov will signify the resignation of the Soviet grandmaster in the sixth game of their world chess championship quarter-final match. It will also signify a stunning 6-0 sweep by Fischer of the 10-game series and qualify him to meet Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen in the semi-finals of the challengers' round. Fischer, two pawns ahead and in the process of breaking a pawn through to the queening rank, had Taimanov in a hopeless position on the 43rd move Tuesday night. But Taimanov, following the Russian game plan of delaying every decision as long as possible, asked for adjournment — the sixth straight in the match. Taimanov, playing the Sicilian defense with the black pieces, made some slight errors in the opening which allowed Fischer to slice open his kingside pawn formation. However, he maintained a strong center and had room for a direct assault on white's king. The attack came, but was half-hearted and easily rebuffed by Fischer. Taimanov then tried a foray on the queen-side but lacked the resources to carry it out successfully — a theme that ran through all six games. Taimanov once again lost his way in the pawn infighting. Fischer always had a move that was just a little bit better and entered the endgame with marked superiority. A draw Tuesday was all Fischer needed to win the match, but he was not about to offer it to Taimanov. At adjournment, all the ingredients for a Fischer victory were present: pawn superiority, mobility and tempo. He had a rook and knight against Taimanov's rook and bishop, and was in the process of demonstrating that a bishop does not always have superiority over a knight—especially when the knight belongs to Fischer. If Fischer gets by Larsen in the semi-final match, the Russians (either Tigran Petrosian or Viktor Korchnoi) will get another chance to deny him his ultimate aim: a title match with world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Wednesday, June 02, 1971 - Page 25 — World Chess Match - Fischer Poised For Sixth Win by Paul Raugust — American Bobby Fischer's bid to make a sweep of his world chess title elimination match with Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union was temporarily halted on Tuesday night when the Russian grandmaster asked for an adjournment in the sixth game of their match. Taimanov has lost all give games played in the match so far, the worst drubbing a grandmaster has taken in recent memory. Fischer can take the match with a win or draw when play resumes today. The deciding sixth game was adjourned on the 43rd move after nearly five hours' play. Fischer was in a commanding position with a two-pawn advantage. For the third time that he has played white in the current match, Fischer opened with the confident P-K4 move to set the stage for a Sicilian Defense. Fischer took control of center early in the game and forced the Soviet grandmaster into a defensive position. The American's foraging bishop's split Taimanov's pawns into three vulnerable groups. At adjournment two of Taimanov's three remaining pawns stood unprotected. Experts regarded the game as a certain victory for Fischer. If the American wins he will have become one of four men in the running to unseat world champion Boris Spassky of Moscow. The four are survivors of the quarter-finals of the challengers' tournament that will reach a climax in September when two finalists battle for the right to meet Spassky in Moscow next year. Soviet grandmaster Tigran Petrosian, who lost the world title to Spassky in 1969, was the first to reach the semi-finals when Robert Huebner of West Germany gave up eight days ago. Petrosian was leading 4-3 in Seville, Spain. On Monday Bent Larsen of Denmark and Soviet grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi reached the semi-finals. Larsen, playing at Las Palmas, Canary Islands, defeated Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany 5½-3½. Korchnoi beat countryman Yefim Geller 5½-2½ in Moscow. Semi-finals are to begin on July 4 with Korchnoi playing Petrosian in Moscow. Larsen will meet the winner of the Fischer-Taimanov match at a site to be determined. Of the semi-finalists, Fischer will be the only newcomer to that elite upper level of chess competition. He previously shunned the challengers' tournament.
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The Parsons Sun Parsons, Kansas Wednesday, June 02, 1971 - Page 16 — Fischer Moves Nearer Chess Playoff Sweep — Vancouver, B.C. (AP) — The sixth game in the series to select a challenger for the World Chess Championship adjourned here Tuesday with U.S. Grandmaster Bobby Fischer holding a strong lead. At adjournment on the 43rd move, Fischer was two pawns ahead of Soviet Grandmaster Mark Taimanov and it appeared only the formality of Taimanov's resignation was needed today. The victory would give Fischer a 6-0 sweep in the best-of-ten-game match. Winner of the quarter-final elimination match will meet Danish Grandmaster Bent Larsen in a semi-final game of the challengers' playoff. The winner of the challenger series will meet world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union for the title.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Wednesday, June 02, 1971 - Page 37 — Fischer Scores 6-0 Sweep in World Chess Match by Bill Rayner — The formality of a handshake today closed another chapter in the chess career of Bobby Fischer. For U.S. grandmaster Fischer, the handshake from Mark Taimanov signified the resignation of the Soviet grandmaster in the sixth game of their world chess championship quarter-final match. It also signified a stunning 6-0 sweep by Fischer of the 10-game series and qualified him to meet Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen in the semi-finals of the challengers' round. Fischer, two pawn ahead and in the process of breaking a pawn through to the queening rank, had Taimanov in a hopeless position on the 43rd move Tuesday night. But Taimanov, following the Russian game play of delaying every decision as long as possible, asked for adjournment — the sixth straight in the match. Taimanov, playing the Sicilian defense with the black pieces, made some slight errors in the opening which allowed Fischer to slice open his kingside pawn formation. However, he maintained a strong center and had room for a direct assault on white's king. The attack came, but was half-hearted and easily rebuffed by Fischer. Taimanov then tried a foray on the queen-side but lacked the resources to carry it out successfully — a theme that ran through all six games. Taimanov once again lost his way in the pawn infighting. Fischer always had a move that was just a little bit better and entered the endgame with marked superiority. A draw Tuesday was all Fischer needed to win the match, but he was not about to offer it to Taimanov. At adjournment, all the ingredients for a Fischer victory were present: pawn superiority, mobility and tempo. He had a rook and knight against Taimanov's rook and bishop, and was in the process of demonstrating that a bishop does not always have superiority over a knight—especially when the knight belongs to Fischer. If Fischer gets by Larsen in the semi-final match, the Russians (either Tigran Petrosian or Viktor Korchnoi) will get another chance to deny him his ultimate aim: a title match with world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.
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Nanaimo Daily News Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada Wednesday, June 02, 1971 - Page 2 — U.S. Player Nears Sweep In Chess Play — Vancouver (CP) — Grandmasters Bobby Fischer of the United States and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union adjourned the sixth game Tuesday night in their quarter-final elimination match to select a challenger for the world chess championship. At adjournment on the 43rd move, Fischer was two pawns ahead and moving in for the kill. It appears that only the formality of Taimanov's resignation is needed today to give Fischer a 6-0 sweep of the best-of-10-game match. Fischer, playing white against Taimanov's Sicilian defense, allowed the Russian to gain a strong pawn center. Taimanov, however was forced to cede Fischer control of the flanks. After a half-hearted attack on the kingside, easily rebuffed by Fischer, and another inconclusive foray on the queen-side, Taimanov was forced to turn the initiative over to Fischer. The U.S. player then attacked Taimanov's center and had control of the board at adjournment. Winner of this match will meet Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen in a semi-final match of the challengers' playoff. Winner of the challenger series will meet world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union for the title.
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Times Colonist Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Thursday, June 03, 1971 - Page 3 — Soviet Grandmaster Resigns - Fischer Eyes World Chess Title — Vancouver (CP) — Bobby Fischer, fresh from a one-sided victory here over Soviet grandmaster Mark Taimanov, said Wednesday he is confident he will go on to win the world chess title. The Russian resigned Wednesday without further play in the adjourned sixth game of their quarter-final elimination match to seek a challenger for the world crown, giving Fischer a 6-0 sweep of the best-of-10 match. “The Soviets have been putting up road blocks for me for years, but I know I'm the best,” said the 28-year-old Fischer, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y. “I should have been world champion 10 years ago.” He said he stands to make “easily $100,000 a year as a professional” if he wins the world title, now held by Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. He received $1,250 in prize money for his win here while Taimanov got $750. Fischer, a grandmaster since he was 15, next meets Bent Larsen of Denmark in a semi-finals scheduled to start July 4 at a site yet to be determined. The Danish grandmaster defeated grandmaster Wolfgang Uhlmann of East Germany, 5½-3½. The other semi-final starts July 4 in Moscow between Tigran Petrosian and Viktor Korchnoi, both of the U.S.S.R. Petrosian defeated Robert Huebner of West Germany 4-3 and Korchnoi beat fellow Russian Yefim Geller 5½-2½. The winner of the challenger will meet Spassky in 1972. Taimanov, 46, said Wednesday that Fischer undoubtedly is the best non-Soviet player he has met in his 19 years of international competition as a grandmaster. Taimanov, who had a high blood pressure condition that caused one game in the series here to be postponed on doctors orders, blamed his poor showing against Fischer on ill health. He said he also had violent headache attacks during several games here. “If it had not been for these circumstances, I would have won games one and three and changed the complexion of the match,” he said through an interpreter. “But as it was, I made mistakes that I never made before, even as a small boy.”
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New York Times, New York, New York, Thursday, June 03, 1971 - Page 35 — Fischer Wins Taimanov Match By Taking 6th Straight Game — Vancouver, British Columbia, June 3— Bobby Fischer [correction: 'of New York'] won his match here with Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union by taking the sixth game, making his score 6-0. The match was part of the quarter-finals to decide a challenger for the world championship, now held by Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. The sixth game had been adjourned last night when Taimanov, refusing to quit a contest that was clearly lost, sealed his 43d move. But today he resigned. The game began as a Sicilian Defense, each side prepared to anticipate new tactics and strategy. This time Taimanov, playing Black, permitted Fischer to swap a bishop for a knight, doubling Black's king-bishop pawns and rendering them weak. As a result, however, White parted with a minor exchange — a bishop for a knight. On Move 15, White swapped another bishop for a knight. But black did not recapture; instead, he played 15. … RxN. After 18. 0-0, Q-KN4, Black obtained a median pawn cluster and immediately Fischer concentrated on it. With R-Q1 it was under attack and not easy to defend. Black played, for example, 22. … Q-K4. Had he played 22. PK4, he might have been ensnared with 23. RxP, PxR; 24. NxPch, winning the queen. When white played 23. Q-Q3, Black decided he could not hold onto his pawns. Hence he continued with 23. … R-B1. Of course White accepted the pawn and looked around for more. There followed an exchange of queens. With his 23d move, Black created new weaknesses, which let White penetrate. On move 43 White had collected much more than he would require and Taimanov sealed his move — really a gesture of despair. (The chess column referring to this match appears on Page 36.)
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New York Times, New York, New York, Thursday, June 03, 1971 - Page 36 — Chess: Fischer Makes Exit Laughing In His Match With Taimanov by Al Horowitz — Baseball players call them “laughers.” A team will go out and score, say, eight runs in the first inning, and coast on in from there, looking like nine supermen playing sandlot kids. Also they will have incredible luck: Everything they hit will fall in, and everything the other guys hit will be right at somebody. But on another day, they will be on the receiving end of the same kind of game. Such apparent mismatches happen in chess as well, where they are even less explicable than in the physical sports. Two players of roughly equal strength will meet and one will play like a genius, and the other like a dope. Perhaps the loser is just tired, or has a lapse of memory and stumbles into a losing line in the opening. Perhaps he is not in the mood for chess. Whatever the explanation, he can solace himself with the thought that some other day it will be his opponent's turn to play like an idiot, scant consolation though that may be.
Surprising Score Although such games happen fairly frequently, even among grandmasters, a long match in which nothing goes right for one of the competitors is rare indeed. But the just-completed match in Vancouver, British Columbia, between Bobby Fischer [correction: of New York] and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union certainly looked like a “laugher,” and nobody, least of all Taimanov, can say why. It is, of course, safe to say that Fischer is the better player and was heavily favored to win, but who would have predicted that after six games Fischer would be the winner by 6-0? Taimanov is one of the world's leading theoreticians on the openings. He is the author of the definitive work on the Nimzo-Indian Defense. He is also a great authority on the 5. B-K2 variation of the King's Indian; his games with that line have contributed inestimably to clarify the problems confronted by both sides. One remembers his game against Najdorf in the 1953 tournament at Zurich, for example, or his games against Larry Evans in the 1954 United States-Soviet match. In keeping with his reputation he brought a little surprise with him to Vancouver: 9. B-Q2 is a new move, and one that Taimanov must have subjected to a thorough analysis before he played it in the first game of his match with Fischer. It is astonishing, therefore, that the opening in the first game went so badly for him. He may have overlooked that Black can play 16. … QxP, allowing White to capture the QNP in exchange, although this is mere conjecture. What is plain is that, by the 15th move, Black has the advantage. In the third game Taimanov tried out his new move again, and this time followed it up differently to get the superior position out of the opening. When he varies with 11. Q-N3, it is to force Black to weaken his queenside, a weakness of which White takes clever advantage. With 19. R-B6, however, (the idea is that if 19. … PxN, 20. B-B4, Black cannot play 20. … B-K3) he loses time, and throws away the whole of his advantage. It is the kind of thing that happens to a man for whom, for some inexplicable reason, nothing is destined to go right. (A story on the Fischer-Taimanov match appears on Page 35.)
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Statesman Journal Salem, Oregon Thursday, June 03, 1971 - Page 37 — Fischer Gains World Chess Semis Vancouver (AP) — Soviet Grandmaster Mark Taimanov resigned without further play Wednesday in the adjourned sixth game of his World Chess Championship quarter-final elimination match with Bobby Fischer, giving the U.S. grandmaster a 6-0 sweep of the match to select a challenger for the World Chess Championship. Fischer now meets Danish Grandmaster Bent Larsen who earlier defeated East Germany Grandmaster Wolfgang Uhlmann 5½-3½. The series is being held to determine a challenger for world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Thursday, June 03, 1971 - Page 5 — Food, Drink -- and Chess Follow in Wake of Match by Bill Rayner — The winner and the loser in the world chess championship quarter-final match here relaxed Wednesday night over food, drink — and the ubiquitous chess set. Grandmasters Bobby Fischer of the U.S. and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union earlier in the day had completed their match when Taimanov resigned without further play in the adjourned sixth game. Despite the result, a stunning 6-0 sweep by Fischer, both players insisted that the match was tougher than it appeared. “The games were much more difficult than the final results showed,” said Taimanov. “But I have not made such mistakes since my childhood.” However, he congratulated Fischer on his well-deserved success, and ruefully commented, “Although it is a sad situation for me, in chess as in life, there is sometimes defeat.” He wished Fischer luck in his next match, “but not the one after because then he will be playing with my countryman.” Taimanov said he was not really in form for the match, although he regards Fischer as one of the strongest chess players in the world, and maintained that ill health contributed to his poor result. As for the prevailing view that the four-man Russian team only confused Taimanov during the match, he had this say: “The Russians have these sayings: Two minds are better than one, and you can't spoil porridge by putting butter on it.” He added that only one of his three countryman actually helped him with the games. Fischer, intense and candid, was still playing the games well into the evening. With the help of his pocket chess set, he and Taimanov recreated some of the positions in the match and conducted brief postmortems on where the Russian went wrong. At one point, Fischer also recreated from memory a position he had in a 1958 game against another Russian player. He said he did not expect six straight wins when he began play, but of course was happy with the result. “All games were difficult,” he said, “and were not one-sided over the board.” Fischer felt he and Taimanov were equal enough that he expected only a 5½-2½ decision in his favor. Fischer said he was satisfied with the arrangements—a contentious point at the beginning of the match—and praised the Canadian Chess Federation organizers. The 800 fans who showed up for the six games and adjournments were a shock to both Fischer and Taimanov — who are used to playing before much larger crowds in Europe. Fischer also noted the lack of radio and television coverage of the match and complained about one newspaper account of the fifth game. Quoted as saying “My gosh,” the deeply religious Fischer pointed out to The Sun that this term is a form of blasphemy and he did not say it. Taimanov now will accept a tournament invitation from either Sweden or Holland in July. “On one hand I would like to exclude thoughts of chess from my life, but on the other hand I would like to rehabilitate myself in the eyes of the chess world,” he said. Fischer's next stop on the road to a showdown with world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union is a semi-final match with Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen. Larsen, who earlier this week defeated East Germany grandmaster Wolfgang Uhlmann, will play Fischer in July somewhere in the U.S. Most observers feel Fischer will get by Larsen and then meet either Tigran Petrosian or Viktor Korchnoi, both of the Soviet Union. The Russians themselves feel Korchnoi will be Fischer's final opponent in the elimination series. Faced with the very real prospect of not having a Russian world champion for the first time since the Second World War, they insist that Korchnoi or Spassky has the resources to beat Fischer. Taimanov was not expected to win, but Fischer's handling of this highly-ranked Soviet grandmaster makes the U.S> player a solid favorite to break the Russian grip on the world title. If he does, his price will go up (Fischer made $1,250 by winning here, Taimanov $700 for losing.) Fischer sees himself making $100,000 a year as world champion. That's a hefty chunk, but Fischer, as a professional chess player, figures he is worth every move of it.
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Arizona Republic Phoenix, Arizona Thursday, June 03, 1971 - Page 8 — Fischer Goes To Semifinal Chess Round — (AP) Vancouver, B.C. — U.S. grand master Bobby Fischer scored a 6-0 sweep of the quarter-final elimination match of the world chess championship yesterday when Soviet grand master Mark Taimanov resigned without further play. The game was adjourned Tuesday night on the 43rd move with Fischer in a winning position. Leading 5-0, he needed only a draw to win the 10-game match and advance to the semi-finals of the elimination series. Fischer now meets Danish grand master Bent Larsen, who earlier defeated East Germany grand master Wolfgang Uhlmann 5½-3½. The series is being held to determine a challenger for world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. At adjournment on the 43rd move, Fischer was two pawns ahead and moving in for the kill. Fischer, playing white against Taimanov's Sicilian defense, allowed the Russian to gain a strong pawn center. Taimanov, however, was forced to cede Fischer control of the flanks. After a half-hearted attack on the kingside, easily rebuffed by Fischer, and another inconclusive foray on the queen-side, Taimanov was forced to turn the initiative over to Fischer. The U.S. player then attacked Taimanov's center and had control of the board at adjournment. In the other quarterfinals, Tigran Petrosian of the U.S.S.R. defeated Robert Huebner of West Germany 4-3 and Viktor Korchnoi beat Yefim Geller 5½-2½. Both are Russian. Korchnoi will meet Petrosian in the other semifinal.
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The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Thursday, June 03, 1971 - Page 5 — Fischer Likely To Join Chess Semi-Finals — Vancouver, Wednesday. — The sixth game was adjourned last night by Bobby Fischer of the United States and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union in their world chess champion- ship quarter-final match. Fischer, who leads the 10-game match, 5-0, was two pawns ahead at adjournment on the 43rd move. He was expected to win in the continuation of the game today giving him a 6-0 sweep of the series. The winner will meet Bent Larsen of Denmark in a semi-final of the elimination series to find a challenger for world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Thursday, June 03, 1971 - Page 47 — World Chess Match: Best for Decade -- Fischer by Paul Raugust — Bobby Fischer sat inconspicuously in the hotel lobby, waiting for the official ceremonies to start. He was early; everyone else was late. With Fischer it's usually the other way around. Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union had conceded the sixth and match deciding game to the U.S. grandmaster earlier in the day, and the ceremonies were the final act in this world chess championship quarter-final. It was an easy victory, Fischer agreed, but he had not seriously thought it possible to win in six straight games. SNIPPED FOR BREVITY … CONTINUED
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Thursday, June 03, 1971 - Page 47 — 'I'm the best' by Paul Raugust — U.S. grandmaster Bobby Fischer has become one of the four men left in the running to unseat world chess champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. Mark Taimanov of the U.S.S.R. conceded the sixth consecutive game here Wednesday to give the 28-year-old native of Brooklyn, N.Y., the most one-sided victory in a grandmaster competition in modern times. Fischer, who has been a grandmaster since age 15, said he is confident that he will go on to win the world title. “The Soviets have been putting up road blocks for me for years, but I know I'm the best. I should have been world champion 10 years ago.” He said if he wins the title he stands to make “easily $100,000 a year as a professional.” He received $1,250 in prize money for the victory here and Taimanov $750. The world chess title is on the line only once every three years. It takes that long for a challenger to wend his way through all the various competitions. The quarter-finalists were selected at last year's interzonal competition at Palma de Majorca, Spain.
CAPTION: Grandmasters Mark Taimanov, left, and Bobby Fischer replay and discuss one of their games Wednesday at end of their match here.
Fischer won 6-0. Fischer now advances against Denmark's Bent Larsen in the semi-finals, scheduled to start July 4 at an as yet undecided site. The other semi-final series, between Soviet grandmasters Viktor Korchnoi and Tigran Petrosian, is to be played in Moscow, also starting July 4. The two winners of the semi-finals are to meet in September with the overall winner going on to meet the world champion next year. Spassky is to play in Vancouver this August in the Canadian open championship. Taimanov conceded the sixth game Wednesday before play could be resumed. It had been adjourned Tuesday with Fischer holding a two-pawn advantage and threatening checkmate. The 46-year-old Soviet grandmaster said in an interview that Fischer undoubtedly is the best non-Soviet player he has met in his 19 years of international competition as a grandmaster. He blamed his poor record in Vancouver on ill health. One game in the series had to be postponed on doctor's orders because of a high blood pressure condition Taimanov suffers from. he said he was also fighting violent headache attacks during several games. “If it had not been for these circumstances I would have won games one and three and changed the complexion of the match.” Taimanov said through an interpreter. “But as it was I made mistakes that I never made before, even as a small boy.”
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The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Thursday, June 03, 1971 - Page 28 — U.S. Chess Ace Tops Russian for 6th Time by Isaac Kashdan, Times Chess Editor — U.S. Chess ace Bobby Fischer defeated Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union for the sixth straight time Wednesday to complete their match in Vancouver. The shutout victory of 6 to 0 was the first ever inflicted on a grand master in championship competition. Fischer gained an advantage of two pawns in the first session of the game Tuesday evening. Taimanov resigned the game and match without resuming play. Fischer now enters the semifinals of the series of matches to determine a challenger for world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. The others who qualified are Bent Larsen of Denmark and two Russians, former world champion Tigran Petrosian and Victor Korchnoi. Fischer and Larsen are scheduled for a 10-game match to start early in July. Los Angeles is one of several cities bidding for the match. Both players have agreed to play here if their financial and playing conditions are met. Petrosian and Korchnoi will play at the same time in Moscow. The winners of the two matches will then meet in September, with the ultimate victor to challenge Spassky next spring.
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The Courier-Journal Louisville, Kentucky Thursday, June 03, 1971 - Page 38 — Checking -- Fischer Gains Semifinals of World Chess Tournament — Vancouver (AP) — Bobby Fischer of the United States notched a 6-0 sweep in the World Chess Championship quarterfinals yesterday when the Soviet Union's Mark Taimanov resigned without further play before the end of the sixth match. The game had been adjourned Tuesday night on the 43rd move with Fischer in a winning position. Leading 5-0, he needed only a draw to win the 10-game match and advance to the semi-finals of the elimination series. Fischer now meets Danish Grandmaster Bent Larsen who earlier defeated East Germany Grandmaster Wolfgang Uhlmann 5½-3½. The series is being held to determine a challenger for world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union.
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Edmonton Journal Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Thursday, June 03, 1971 Chess grandmasters Bobby Fischer of the U.S. and...
Posted by Bobby Fischer's True History on Monday, June 8, 2020
The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Sunday, June 06, 1971 - Page 91 — Candidates Scores — Bobby Fischer, fresh from an unprecedented sweep 6-0 of his 10-game candidates' match with Russian Grandmaster Mark Taimanov, says he is confident he'll go on to win the world chess title. Fischer will play Bent Larsen of Denmark in a semi-final match to start July 4 at a place to be determined.
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The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, June 06, 1971 - Page 130 — Fischer, Korchnoi, Larsen Win Matches — Mark Taimanov of the USSR is a well known concert pianist. He is also a grandmaster at chess who earned the right to compete in the series of matches to determine a challenger for the world chess championship. His artistry as a pianist did not suffer, but Taimanov's chess status received a cruel blow at the hands of American genius Bobby Fischer. Fischer won six games in succession to clinch the match at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. No such result was ever before achieved in the history of grandmaster encounters. The match had been for the best of 10 games, with 5½ points required for victory. The shortest possible number of games was six, and that is all Fischer allowed. Fischer had a minimal advantage in the first session of the fourth game, but it hardly seemed sufficient to win. The game was adjourned with material even except that Fischer had a bishop for Taimanov's knight. In a remarkable demonstration of endgame technique, Fischer advanced his king behind the black pawns. The final blow was a sacrifice of the bishop for three pawns. Taimanov was helpless to halt their advance. The fifth game was the best of the match for 45 of the 46 moves. Taimanov played more aggressively in the opening and had Fischer on the defensive. By adjournment time on the 41st move the game had been equalized, however. When the players sat down for the second session they moved rapidly, evidently having fully explored the possibilities during the intervening hours. One of the fast moves was Taimanov's 46th, an incredible blunder which lost a rook. Either his preliminary analysis had been faulty, or he mentally transposed moves. It would have been a tragic occurrence had the match been close. Fischer needed only a draw in the sixth game to win the match, but this was clearly not his goal. He plays every game to win, no matter what the score, in match or tournament. This game also went to adjournment, but Fischer had two pawns ahead with a relatively easy task. It was a sad end for the outclassed Taimanov. SNIPPED FOR BREVITY / Continued
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Asbury Park Press Asbury Park, New Jersey Sunday, June 06, 1971 - Page 46 — The Chessboard - Favorite Line Gains Point — Grandmaster Bobby Fischer of the United States, employed one of his favorite defenses in defeating Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union in the first game of their candidates match at Vancouver. On Taimanov's opening with 1. P-Q4, Fischer elected to set up the King's Indian Defense, forcing the Russian's resignation in 40 moves. Under the circumstances, one might have expected Fischer to choose the King's Indian or the Gruenfeld Defense, since he has scored many successes with both of these fighting defenses. SNIPPED FOR BREVITY … Continues with analysis of first match
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El Paso Times El Paso, Texas Sunday, June 06, 1971 - Page 78 — Chats on Chess - The Hel Seherin — by George Koltanowksi — From the start of the XIX Olympics at Siegen, West Germany, I noticed her standing as near as possible to Robert Fischer's table. Being co-captain of the U.S. team, I watched the public closely, looking for camera fans who might have flash bulbs. They had to be stopped. The lady was around 50, grey-haired and well-dressed. I never saw her with the same clothes. She rarely spoke to anyone, and then only someone asked her if she could see the game and would like to move forward. Her answer was a whispered “Nein, danke schon.” SNIPPED FOR BREVITY … Story Continued
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New York Times, New York, New York, Sunday, June 06, 1971 - Page 188 — Chess - While the Challengers Battle by Al Horowitz — While the eight Candidates are struggling fiercely in matches to determine who will be his next challenger, world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union waits calmly in the wings. His entrance into the great drama won't come until the spring of 1972, far enough so that his preparations need not yet have swung into high gear. How then does the world champion pass the time? Well, he is reported to be an enthusiastic bridge player, and has been known to tip his hat to a passing lady on occasion. But there can be little doubt that he does play over the games of the Candidates' matches as they are reported in the press, and he may well be inclined to glance now and again at some book in his chess library—like Bobby Fischer's “My Sixty Memorable Games,” for example. SNIPPED FOR BREVITY and Continues
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Friday, June 11, 1971 - Page 55 — Chess - Loser Never Had Chance by Duncan Suttles — Duncan Suttles, 25, of Vancouver, Canadian chess champion, analyzes the world quarter-final match played here between American Bobby Fischer and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union. Robert Fischer, 6, Mark Taimanov, 0. This was the score that made chess history in Vancouver. Never before had a match at the candidates' level of play ended with a perfect score. Although the match received only cursory coverage in the Soviet press and the score was often recorded with no comment, in the long run some reasons will have to be found as to how a leading Soviet grandmaster could have lost so disastrously to any player. Certainly Soviet theoreticians will produce voluminous annotations that will show how Taimanov should have draw this game or won that won. It will be claimed that the games were much closer than the score indicated and that Fischer's victory was due to a combination of luck and perhaps his opponent's ill health (one game was postponed due to Taimanov's high blood pressure.) But these analyses and explanation will probably ignore one factor, the most important one: the dynamic quality of Fischer's play and the incredible aura and tension under which many of his opponents find themselves spellbound and are almost unavoidably led to make mistakes that later appear to be crass blunders. SNIPPED FOR BREVITY … Story Continued
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Arizona Republic Phoenix, Arizona Friday, June 11, 1971 - Page 7 — Game of Chess 'Last Resort of Logic' — It is strange that in Communist countries, chess is so revered. In Mother Russia, millions play the most logical game of all under an illogical system. For many years, the Russians have dominated chess. The current world champion is a Russian, as has been the case for many years. But we in America have a man who, after so many years, has an excellent chance of wrestling the world championship from Russia: A tall, lanky American named Bobby Fischer. I hope that this irresistible person becomes the world champion of chess — the most wonderful of games. Richard J. Brook, Phoenix
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The Guardian London, Greater London, England Friday, June 11, 1971 - Page 7 — Chess - How Fischer Won by Leonard Barden — Fischer's crushing 6-0 victory over Taimanov in their world title quarter-final eliminator makes the young American favorite to win the championship from Spassky next year. Fischer still has to play a semi-final match with Larsen (who beat Uhlmann 5½-3½), beginning on July 4. The final eliminator in the autumn will pair Fischer or Larsen against one of the Russians, Petrosian (4-3 winner against Huebner) and Korchnoi (who defeated Geller 5½-2½). Botvinnik, the former world champion, has castigated Fischer as just an encyclopedic memory man with little originality; but paradoxically Taimanov fully held his own in the openings and it was Fischer's ability to squeeze the most from apparently level endings which broke the Russian's resistance. This week's games and diagram show how Fischer, like Tal on his way to the world title, apparently has developed a psychological hold on his opponents which induces errors and even (as in the fifth match game below) crude blunders. SNIPPED FOR BREVITY … Story Continues
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The Province Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Friday, June 11, 1971 - Page 55 — World Champ Confirms Visit Here by Paul Raugust — World chess champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union has confirmed he will play in the Canadian open championship in Vancouver this summer. About 100 players are expected to compete in the tournament, to be held Aug. 24 to Sept. 3 at the University of B.C. The Canadian open, to be held in Vancouver for the first time, will be held in conjunction with the world congress of the International Chess Federation (F.I.D.E.) A total of $4,100 in prize money will be offered to the finalists in four divisions, with first place in the first division being worth $1,000, second $6000 and third $350. Entry fee will be $25 for seniors and $15 for juniors (under age 19). The Vancouver tournament follows the conclusion of the U.S. open, being held in Ventura, Calif., and it is hoped that many of the international grandmasters competing there will come to Canada as well. The Swiss system of competition will be employed in the Canadian open, with one round scheduled each day over the 11 days of competition. Rate of play will be 45 moves in 2½ hours and 18 moves an hour thereafter. Canadian champion Duncan Suttles of Vancouver has indicated he will be playing. In confirming his intention to play in Vancouver, Spassky said U.S. grandmaster Bobby Fischer has the best chance to challenge him for the world title. The challengers for the world title have been whittled down to four in a qualification tournament. Fischer meets Bent Larsen of Denmark in one semi-finals and two Soviet players, Tigran Petrosian and Viktor Korchnoi, clash in the other. Spassky said Larsen is a seasoned fighter “whose sporting, fighting qualities are even superior to those of his opponent.” (Both Fischer and Larsen refuse to offer or accept draws in international competition.) But Spassky said Fischer “has an advantage as a master of chess.”
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Star-Phoenix Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada Saturday, June 12, 1971 - Page 11 — Chess - Korchnoi's Game Analyzed by Harry Mather — With the quarter finals over and the remaining four contenders taking a month's rest, more detailed results are coming in from the various chess analysts — along with some of the more eventful games. Following is a game played in the Korchnoi—Geller match, along with annotations. This is game 5 with Korchnoi playing white in a Queen's Gambit Opening. 17. R-B2 QR-N1 After this move Black's troubles multiply. His threat long the QN file is not real, and his QR pawn left without protection. Better was KR-QB1. 23. N-Q3 N-B3 Here Black is in acute time trouble, but in any case his position is difficult. 26. NxR White avoids the last trap (QxR((8)) as this would be followed by QxN, and black resigned as the loss of a piece is unavoidable. In the semi-finals starting July 4, Korchnoi is match against former world champion Petrosian; while Fischer of the U.S.A. will take on Larsen of Denmark.
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The Vancouver Sun Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Saturday, June 12, 1971 - Page 5 — Chess Coverage — Editor, The Sun, Sir — I would like to commend The Sun and staff concerned for the fine coverage of the world chess championship quarter final games between B. Fischer and M. Taimanov, concluded recently at UBC. The opportunity to play out the games the way in which the masters did, was indeed a pleasure. I am sure B.C. chess fans join me in hoping The Sun will continue coverage of the semi-final series between Fischer and Larsen scheduled to commence July of this year in New York. A.E. ANDRUSCHAK, Box 10, Lake Cowichan
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The Gazette Montreal, Quebec, Quebec, Canada Saturday, June 12, 1971 - Page 50 — Quartet Advance in World Series — Bobby Fischer, USA, Bent Larsen, Denmark, Viktor Korchnoi, USSR, and Tigran Petrosian, USSR, advance to the next round of the Challengers K.O. Match Tourney of the world series, having defeated their opponents in the first round by the following scores: Fischer 6, M. Taimanov, USSR, 0 at Vancouver; Larsen, 5½, Wolfgang Uhlmann, E. Germany, 3½, at Las Palmas; Korchnoi, 5½, E. Geller, USSR, 2½, at Sochi; Petrosian, 4½, R Huebner, W. Germany, 3½ (retired), at Seville. The next round matches are scheduled for July, each best of ten games: Fischer vs. Larsen, and Korchnoi vs. Petrosian. The winners to meet in September in a best of 12 games match, and the winner of that to play world champion Boris Spassky, USSR, in a best of 24 games match for the world title in 1972.
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The Ottawa Journal Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Saturday, June 12, 1971 - Page 17 — Survivors Advance — In the Challengers Knockout Match Tourney of the world series, Bobby Fischer, USA, has defeated Mark Taimanov, USSR, 6-0, to clinch the 10-game series at Vancouver, and will now meet Bent Larsen, Denmark, who won over Wolfgang Uhlmann, East Germany, 5½-3½, at Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain.
Viktor Korchnoi, USSR finally pulled away from Ewfim Geller, USSR, in the closing rounds of their match at Sochi, Crimea, to score handily, 5½-2½. He has a tough match ahead with former world champion, Tigran Petrosian, USSR, who won from Robert Huebner, West Germany, 4½-3½, at Seville, when the latter retired due to illness. Winners will be the official challenger for a match with world champion Boris Spassky, USSR, in 1972.
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The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Sunday, June 13, 1971 - Page 77 — Big Chess - Fischer To Fore By G. Koshnitsky — THERE were no surprises in the first round of the Candidates' chess matches, all favorites winning. The most closely contested match was between the youthful Robert Huebner of West Germany and the ex-world champion, Tigran Petrosian (USSR). The first six games were drawn, but when Petrosian won the seventh Huebner conceded the match on medical advice. Petrosian will be meeting the USSR champion, Victor Korchnoi, in the semi-final. In the only all-USSR encounter, Korchnoi defeated Efim Geller, 5½-2½. The Danish ace, Bent Larsen, defeated East Germany's Wolfgang Uhlmann, 5½-3½, the longest match of the round, while the hot favorite, the American wonder-boy, Bobby Fischer, disposed of the formidable Mark Taimanov (USSR) with the unprecedented score of 6-0. Before the match, Taimanov optimistically hoped to profit from Fischer's inexperience as a match player. Usually in top match chess contestants do not strive for wins in every game, but try to conserve energy by consolidating a win or two by a few safe draws. The score shows that Fischer not only wanted to win the match and qualify for the semi-final in which he will play Larsen, but also to prove his absolute superiority. Few doubt that Fischer will be playing Boris Spassky for the World Championship at the end of the qualifying series, but the path to the world chess crown is not an easy stroll, even for a genius.
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The Los Angeles Times Los Angeles, California Sunday, June 13, 1971 - Page 112 — Spassky Interview — World chess champion Boris Spassky, in an interview in Moscow last Tuesday, stated that Bobby Fischer had the best chance to take his crown, but “I am not afraid of any chess player. I am only afraid of not being in form, of not feeling right at the time of the match. “Fischer still has to play Bent Larsen of Denmark, who is a battle seasoned veteran. Larsen's sporting, fighting qualities are superior to those of Fischer. Fischer has the advantage of being the greater chess talent.” Two Soviet grandmasters, former world champion Tigran Petrosian and Victor Korchnoi, are to play in the other semi-final match. “They have about even chances,” said Spassky. “The winner will be the one with the stronger nerves, who is better prepared physically for the intricate struggle.” Asked who he would prefer to meet for the title, Spassky stated, “I am not averse to meeting Fischer, but of course I wish success to a Soviet player. Anyone who wins the series of matches will of course be a strong opponent.” Spassky said that the quarter-final match between Fischer and Mark Taimanov of the Soviet Union, which Fischer won by 6-0, was most impressive. “It seemed to me to surpass the other matches from the viewpoint of the art of chess,” he said.
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The Boston Globe Boston, Massachusetts Sunday, June 13, 1971 - Page 160 — Chess - No Upsets, But Fischer Phenomenal by Harold Dondis — The first round of the candidates' matches is over, without upsets. The Elo ratings were fully vindicated. Fischer absolutely blotted out Taimanov with a 6-0 score. Nevertheless Taimanov fought very hard and none of the games were a walk-away. They seemed to have a similar pattern — a close, hard fought struggle, King's Indians or Sicilians, which Taimanov yielding a pawn or weakening by the 40th move. As for Huebner-Petrosian, six straight draws, a Petrosian win on the 7th and the young (22) Huebner's nerves folded so he withdrew. Huebner had said he hated to play Petrosian, for apparently he thought it was like playing against a phantom. Larsen beat Uhlmann, 5½-3½ but had his troubles. Uhlmann had previously had a plus score against Larsen, and came very close again. Geller turned in one brilliant game against Korchnoi, but the latter was predictably stronger by 5½-2½. The sensation so far is again Fischer. A sweep against Taimanov, twice Soviet champion, 10th rated Soviet player, is hardly believable. Taimanov had publicly questioned Fischer's ability in 1968. Botvinnik had written in the Soviet press that Taimanov-Fischer would be close, as Fischer was not all that strong. But the uneducated, unmannerly kid from Brooklyn, from a nation of amateur chess-players, has shaken the Soviet world with this last match win. Not since Lasker blanked Tarrasch some 60 years ago has this happened. Fischer is a purist, playing not only for an audience, nor to compromise, nor to ingratiate, but only to win. He seems lately to refuse draws unless only the Kings are left. Fischer also insisted on playing privately against Taimanov who, as a concert pianist, welcomed an audience. There was no private room so an auditorium was finally used. Larsen, a genius Titan, has said too many concessions have been given Fischer, so negotiating the Larsen-Fischer encounter beginning July 11 will be a problem. The world-wide matches are fast unfolding into a marvelous drama.
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Asbury Park Press Asbury Park, New Jersey Sunday, June 13, 1971 - Page 36 — The Chessboard — Catechism for Chessplayers — Sicilian Defense, Velimirovich (white) vs. Sofrevski (black) Fischer has employed this move with considerable success on White's sixth turn against the Najdorf Sicilian.
The Courier-Journal Louisville, Kentucky Sunday, June 13, 1971 - Page 13 — The King's Men - Fischer-Reshevsky Match Always Stirs Wide Interest By Merrill Dowden — A game between American grandmaster and arch-rivals Samuel Reshevsky and Bobby Fischer always stirs wide interest. And today's was surely no exception because it occurred during the important Interzonal at Palma de Mallorca and it marked Fischer's fifth consecutive victory in that tournament. The game is a Benoni English, a rather extraordinary opening in which Fischer loses several tempi in order to split White's Pawns and create weaknesses which eventually prove his undoing. Grandmaster Larry Evans, who was acting as Fischer's official second, observes that “It is amazing how he manages to gain the initiative so effortlessly with Black, and his winning percentage against grandmasters by now must exceed the record of any other player in the world.” Reshevsky's deteriorating position under time pressure was accentuated by an error on Move 29. Before playing, consider the diagrammed position. Reshevsky (White) has just moved 28. Q-Q7. Can you find Fischer's response?
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