Spotlight: Checkmate

It should have been as simple as black and white. But when an American and a Soviet chess champion met in 1972 for the world title, nothing could have been further from the truth. It should have ended then. But 20 years later after inspiring a musical the two minds have met again in war-ravaged Yugoslavia -- an appropriate setting for their renewed battle. In 1972 American Bobby Fischer challenged then world-champion Boris Spassky in what was later called "The Match of the Century." The Reykjavik, Iceland match kept the world captivated as the two superpowers fought across a chessboard that might as well have been the frontlines of the Cold War. Self-proclaimed "Champion of the Free World" Fischer won the match in 21 games, keeping the public awestruck by his ability and entertained by his antics. In 1986, the musical Chess opened in the West End of London paralelling the Fischer-Spassky match 14 years earlier. Although the Russian was modeled after Chess's author -- Tim Rice -- the American was unmistakably modeled after Fischer. For those who missed the match in 1972, they currently have a chance to witness the boorish behavior of Fischer since a Yugoslav millionaire has posted $5 million in prize money to entice Fischer and Spassky to battle it out once again. And for those who missed Chess's five-year run in London or brief run in New York, Penn Players will be performing a production of the musical in November. Penn Players Chairperson Jesse Hertzberg said Monday that people who have read the script and read about Fischer are amazed by the similarity between the American in Chess and the chessplayer. "The American's name may be Freddy Trumper, but he's just as much of an asshole as Bobby Fischer," Hertzberg said. Even Fischer's loyal fans would agree that chess wizard, like Trumper, has many personality quirks. Most recently Fischer was warned by the U.S. government that by accepting the Yugoslavia challenge, he runs a high risk of going to jail for 10 years and $250,000 in fines for defying United Nations sanctions against Yugoslavia. But the direct similarities mount when one examines the script and the two Fischer-Spassky matches. In the musical, for instance, Trumper ends a press conference by throwing a glass of water on a reporter. Likewise, Fischer has never handled the media well. And currently he refuses to accept any questions in press conferences that are not written. At his most recent conference, Fischer pulled out the U.S. Government mandate ordering him not participate in the Yugoslavia match and spat on it saying, "This is my reply to the order not to defend my title here." In Fischer's opinion, his title is on the line. But techinically, according to the International Chess Federation, he does not have a title to defend. Fischer resigned his world championship title in 1975 when the Federation approved only 177 of his 179 paragraphs of demands to produce "ideal conditions" for world championship chess matches. The esoteric demands included the size and shade of the squares and distance the audience must sit away from the table so he would not be disturbed by the crinkle of candy wrappers. When the Federation, in a panic, conceded to the remaining two requirements, Fischer still refused to defend his title against Soviet Anatoly Karpov. As a result of Fischer's forfeiture, Karpov was named world champion. In the musical, Trumper also makes hefty demands on his Soviet opponent. At one point, Trumper accuses the Soviet advisors of sending signals to his competitor through the flavor of his yogurt. Trumper walks out of the match and demands an apology before he would continue. Vice Chairperson of Penn Players Marc Weitz, said this incident is just one of the many "ridiculous examples" that highlighted the match. But Fischer's idiosycracies continued in 1972. Having been offered thirteen different chairs, the American chessplayer said he found them all unacceptable and would settle only for a seat that he had used in a previous Buenos Aires match. The chair was reproduced at a cost of $528. And Fischer continued to throw his trademark hysterical fits whenever he lost a game. Throughout the entire match, Spassky remained a shining example of modesty and proper behavior. Historians say Spassky's patience and restraint was what kept the match from falling apart entirely. Likewise, in the show, the Soviet remains relatively calm and collected while Trumper mimics Fischer's extravagant behavior. Since his 1972 match with Spassky, Fischer disappeared for 20 years and never played a public game -- turning down purses of up to $1 million. Considering Fischer's notoriety for money-grubbing in the 1972 match, some find this surprising. Fischer demanded thirty percent of the gate receipts in addition to his share of the $125,000 purse and 30 percent of global film and television rights. Having received his demands, at the start of the first game, he declared the television cameras distracting and ordered that they be removed. He lost the second game by forfeit when he refused to play because the cameras were still present. Fischer went so far as to book multiple flights out of Reykjavik, to apparently random foreign destinations including Greenland. But chess officials chased after his airport bound car each time and finally convinced him to play Spassky and the cameras were barred from the rest of the match. Chester Fox, the man who bought the television rights to the match, later sued Fischer for $1 million in damages. Despite all of his hysteric behavior, there is no doubt as to the genius of the man. It is said that Fischer has a distinct memory of the 700 games he has played in matches around the world. But at the same time, he appears to be almost ignorant regarding the rest of the world. When asked by a British reporter in 1972 how he was expanding his intellectual interests, Fischer said he read Playboy magazine regularly. He has also been known to read Fu Manchu stories on a regular basis -- the plot of which concerns the attempts of a "superbrain" to conquer the world. But in this match, experts claim, neither Fischer nor Spassky is expected to play up to their par. Spassky is currently tied for 96th place in the Federation's international ranking and Fischer's playing has been "rusty." Alex Barrasso, Vice-President of the University's Chess Club, also questions the present ability of Fischer. "His openings are atheoretical, at the very least," the College sophomore said. According to Barrasso, in Game 10, Fischer played a variation of a move that was unnecessary. "He'd been playing with other variations of the same move that he could have easily won with," Barrasso said. "The only reason he won was that Spassky made a huge blunder in move 17." Barrasso added that he believes Fischer wants to end the match as quickly as possible. "But I also get the impression that he's either trying to prove a point or he doesn't know what he's doing," the Barrasso added. "If he's trying to prove he's as good as he was 20 years ago, he's not going to do it." Spassky has made a series of mistakes in the last three games and experts say that this is preventing Fischer from showing whether he is back to the level of brilliance that got him the world championship in 1972. However, Spassky has been complaining of kidney trouble and this claim, which has been validated by doctors, enabled him to postpone the 10th game from Wednesday to Saturday. Fischer, on the other hand, seems to be quite content with the proceedings and in an unprecedented move recently declared the playing conditions "excellent." Having been granted his every whim -- including being allowed to wear a "riverboat gambler visor" -- Fischer as of Monday was leading Spassky five games to two. The similarities between the life and art extend beyond the game and into other areas of the players lives. For example, Fischer's current love interest carries an uncanny parallel to the musical. Much of the play revolves around Trumper's sexual relationship with his "second" -- a coach and assistant -- originally from Hungary. Coincidently, Fischer is now travelling with an 18 year-old Hungarian woman as his second. Weitz and Hertzberg said that it is widely believed that the two are dating. "I believe her ranking is about 600 points below his," Weitz said. "It makes you wonder why he would have a second at that [low] level for practice." He added that in Chess, Trumper's second is supposed to be the best female in the world.

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