AThe Morning News Wilmington, Delaware Friday, October 29, 1971 - Page 34
Fischer's Unnoticed Triumph
In almost any other country, Bobby Fischer would be a genuine sports hero on a part with Joe Namath, Wilt Chamberlain, or Muhammad Ali. But his current sweep toward the world's chess championship, which has made him a headline name in even the Soviet Union, has attracted about as much attention here as a rousing game of skittles.
There is little doubt that Mr. Fischer is one of the best players in the history of chess, one of the world's oldest games. Before meeting Tigran Petrosian for a match that ended this week, Mr. Fischer had won 20 straight games, mos of them against fellow grandmasters. That is an incredible feat; it is the equivalent of pitching 20 consecutive no-hitters, or bowling 20 straight 300 games.
From his series against Mr. Petrosian, Mr. Fischer will now go to meet Boris Spassky, the world champion from the Soviet Union. A mark of the esteem in which the Russians hold Mr. Fischer is that he is now called “Robert” in the newspapers; once they merely regarded him as an overly brash pretender to the throne.
The Russians take chess seriously. A grandmaster is paid by the state to play chess. Mr. Spassky is provided with an automobile and a country home. Mr. Fischer, by comparison, makes a living from tournament prizes and exhibition games, earning less than the average middle linebacker.
Perhaps chess does not fit the American temperament. In Argentina, where the Petrosian-Fischer match was held, fans lined up for tickets 12 hours before game time. But a chess match, which may run five hours, does not lend itself to instant replays or trite analysis.
It is unlikely that Mr. Fischer's successes, even if he should win the championship, will bring him fame and fortune at home. But in the Soviet Union, ah — there he would be more popular on a state visit than President Nixon.
