AThe Argus Rock Island, Illinois Saturday, August 14, 1971 - Page 4
Brain Power Is Slighted By Fandom by Julian W. Ramsey
Chess requires more brains than any other form of competition, yet its stars receive the least attention in the U.S. This was understandable while the Russians and other foreigners monopolized the honors, but now the U.S. has a chess wizard in Bobby Fischer and it is time to give him some attention.
Fischer, a one-time Brooklyn prodigy, at 28 has become about the greatest chess player in the world. In 12 successive game victories he knocked off Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen for the right to challenge the world champion, Boris Spassky of Russia, for the international title.
While chess requires more gray matter than any other form of competition, it is likely that football requires less, unless track be included, yet is the most popular American sport.
You could never teach an animal to play chess — not even a monkey, a dolphin or a crow — and if you did, he wouldn't be very good at it. […] This isn't intended to downgrade athletics, but to point out that physical dexterity is a matter of muscular coordination and quick reflexes, in which animals excel. Those who strive at it are entitled to their monetary rewards. But chess requires sheer brain power and it seems too bad that a player like Bobby Fischer has more admirers in Russia than in the U.S.
