Nichevo No Longer

Before the "Super Bowl of Chess" began in Reykjavik, Iceland, there was one big imponderable: how would America's Bobby Fischer, the volatile, temperamental challenger, hold up emotionally in the long, best-of-24-games grind against Russia's Boris Spassky, the cool, deliberate champion? Fischer was quick to give an indication. Down 2 to 0 in games, he not only came back to win the third game but seemed actually to mellow in the process. "I've never seen Bobby in such a friendly, purring mood," said Fred Cramer, Fischer's representative from the U.S. Chess Federation. After negotiating Fischer's demand to have the squares on the playing board reduced from 2 1/4 in. to 2 1/8 in., Cramer reported that "Bobby actually thanked me. Imagine that!

Bobby thanking me for something!"

Suddenly, battling Bobby had the series tied up 2 1/2 to 2 1/2 (one point is awarded for a win, 1/2 point for a draw). The big question became: how was blissful Boris holding up? As if to discount rumors that he was close to a breakdown, Spassky turned out on the tennis courts, reassuring everyone that "everything is normal." He said that he was writing a book about his lost games. Now, he joked, he had a new chapter.

After the sixth game last week, Spassky had another chapter. Fischer, playing white, surprised everyone by launching a queen's gambit, an opening he had never before played in 16 years of grand-master competition. Spassky countered with his favorite Tartakover variation, a defense with which he had never lost a tournament game when playing black. Fischer virtually refuted the Tartakover with an unexpected bishop foray on the 14th move, then went on to corner Spassky's helpless king in a withering queen-rook-bishop crossfire. After 41 moves, Spassky acknowledged his defeat by standing up and applauding Fischer along with the audience.

Later, over a plate of flounder and three 12-oz. glasses of orange juice in a local restaurant, Fischer talked about holding the world title for 30 years. Gloated Cramer: "If this were a boxing match, they'd stop the fight. Spassky is clearly overmatched."

Undaunted, Spassky tried some oneupmanship of his own in the seventh game. First, he exchanged his chair for an exact duplicate of the $470 leather-and-chrome swivel model that had been imported from the U.S. for Fischer. Then, playing white, Boris began with Bobby's patented opening of PK4 --the king's pawn moved two squares forward. As early as the tenth move, the bold, innovative play by both grand masters turned the game into a free-for-all. Fischer gained a strong advantage but then, seemingly overconfident, frittered it away as Spassky came back to salvage a draw.

Going into the eighth game, the word from the Russian camp was "nichevo" (no problem). Spassky soon had more problems than he could handle. On the eleventh move, Fischer elaborated a variation on the English opening that left the champion pondering for 55 minutes; on the 16th move, Fischer sprang a neat if obvious trap that forced the loss of Spassky's rook; on the 21st move, Bobby shattered Spassky's shaky defense with a Zwischenzug (in-between move), a ploy that is covered in every chess primer. In ragged retreat, Spassky resigned 16 moves later. That gave Fischer a 5-to-3 lead (he needs 12 1/2 points to win the match, Spassky needs 12). Said U.S. Grand Master Isaac Kashdan: "Spassky seems demoralized and unable to cope with the incisive accuracy of his opponent. Barring a complete reversal of form, Fischer's lead is likely to increase."

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