AAnderson Daily Bulletin Anderson, Indiana Monday, September 03, 1962 - Page 4
Cold War In Chess 03 Sep 1962, Mon Anderson Daily Bulletin (Anderson, Indiana) Newspapers.com
Cold War In Chess
Chess has long been considered one field in which the United States and Russia might be friendly rivals. If the Russians have appeared to be the better players, still our champions have given them a good run. To all appearances there has been good will on both sides.
The appearances may be misleading. Bobby Fischer, held to be our strongest player, now charges his Russian opponents with helping one another. Many of their tournament games with each other are, he says, pre-arranged so as to result in either draws or outright wins, whichever outcome was best for Russia. In the recent Curacao tournament aiming to select the challenger for the world's chess title, the Russian players broke the rules by talking to one another during matches. They also openly analyzed Fischer's games while they were still in progress.
Some of Fischer's charges would be hard to substantiate. But it would not be surprising if the Russians, who regard almost everything as subordinate to the advance of Communism, should be applying this doctrine to chess also.
