AThe Courier-Journal Louisville, Kentucky Sunday, July 04, 1971 - Page 11
The King's Men -- Fischer Begins Match with Denmark's Larsen by Merrill Dowden
This July 4 will be a landmark in the history of chess.
For this is the day that America's amazing grandmaster, Bobby Fischer, begins his semifinal 10-game match with the Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen. The other semifinal also starts today, in Moscow, between Viktor Korchnoi and former world champion Tigran Petrosyan, both of the USSR.
The winners of these two matches will then clash to determine who will meet the reigning world champion, Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, who will put his title on the line. The guess here is that the ultimate challenger will be Fischer.
Fischer, fresh from his incredible 6-0 sweep over another Russian grandmaster, Mark Taimanov, is favored to defeat the great Dane. This will be a formidable task, because Larsen is rated among the top half-dozen players in the world.
The American has thrived on formidable tasks, however, and he has the best-won-lost record against masters and grandmasters of any living player. Nor is he lacking in self-confidence.
“The Soviets have been putting up roadblocks for me for years” the 28-year-old native of Brooklyn, N.Y., was quoted recently. “But I know I'm the best. I should have been world champion 10 years ago.”
Taimanov, 46, said Fischer undoubtedly is the best non-Soviet player he has met in 19 years of international competition as a grandmaster. He blamed his poor showing against Fischer on ill health and headaches.
Well, who wouldn't get a headache after playing Fischer and getting nothing but goose eggs?
