AAsbury Park Press Asbury Park, New Jersey Sunday, August 15, 1971 - Page 57
Draws Mar Soviet Match
In marked contrast to the candidates' match between Bobby Fischer of the United States and Bent Larsen of Denmark, in which the American won six games straight, the match between Tigran Petrosian and Viktor Korchnoi, both of the Soviet Union, was deadly dull, producing eight draws in the first eight games.
Even the Russian chess fans, who for the most part think their chess heroes can do no wrong, reportedly grew restive as the encounter continued its placid way. Small wonder, then, that Fischer has become a hero in his own right to the Soviets, who up until now have no been exactly lavish in their praise of the American grandmaster's accomplishments.
Their change of heart might be better understood through a comparison of the first game of the Korchnoi-Petrosian match with the first game of the Fischer-Larsen match published here earlier.
