AFitchburg Sentinel Fitchburg, Massachusetts Friday, September 03, 1971 - Page 6
Wachusett Chess Club To Begin Season Sept. 7 Fri, Sep 3, 1971 – Page 6 · Fitchburg Sentinel (Fitchburg, Massachusetts) · Newspapers.com
Wachusett Chess Club To Begin Season Sept. 7
The executive board of the Wachusett Chess Club has announced that it will commence its 1971-72 season on Tuesday, Sept. 7, starting at 7:30 p.m. at the Fitchburg YMCA on Wallace Avenue.
The board encourages all chess players in the area, despite their level of play, to attend the first session and partake in the activities. The first meeting will feature a detailed report on the progress of U.S. grandmaster Bobby Fischer, who has been clobbering the opposition on his way to the world championship chess title.
After having soundly defeated Russian grandmaster Mark Taimanov 6-0 and Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen by an identical score, the 28-year-old Fischer has one more obstacle to surmount before he can play world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union for the coveted title. That one obstacle is the Armenian grandmaster and former world champion Tigran Petrosian.
Petrosian and Fischer have clashed over the board 18 times in the past 13 years, with the score presently standing at 3 wins apiece and 12 draws. The tie, however, will be broken by the end of their 12-game match, which is scheduled to begin in the third week of September, presumably in Yugoslavia. The 42-year-old Petrosian should be somewhat pessimistic about his chances, since his last win against Fischer was back in 1962 when the American superstar was 19 years old and still on his way up.
Last year in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, the phenomenal Fischer trounced the overcautious Petrosian twice in a four game match and effortlessly drew the remaining two games.
