RIP Boris Spassky

[Starman]

Russian chess grandmaster Boris Spassky dies aged 88

Bobby Fischer's Soviet nemesis during his superstar run in the early Seventies.

 

[BTExpress]

A wonderful sportsman who never should have agreed to play Game 3 in that "ping pong" room when Fischer was down 2-0 and complaining about everything (camera noise, crowd noise, lighting). He was all set to leave Iceland, and Spassky had him by the throat.

But he agreed, lost the game (the first time he'd lost to Fischer in seven games) and just lost his mojo after that.

A few games later Fischer played a masterpiece of a game, and after Spassky resigned he stood and applauded his boorish asshole opponent.

 

[LanceyHoward]

A wonderful sportsman who never should have agreed to play Game 3 in that "ping pong" room when Fischer was down 2-0 and complaining about everything (camera noise, crowd noise, lighting). He was all set to leave Iceland, and Spassky had him by the throat.

But he agreed, lost the game (the first time he'd lost to Fischer in seven games) and just lost his mojo after that.

A few games later Fischer played a masterpiece of a game, and after Spassky resigned he stood and applauded his boorish asshole opponent.

Spassky will always be associated, unfairly, with Fischer in the United States. But I am reminded of this story from Sports Illustrated about Fischer:

SI Flashback: Bobby Fischer

An SI all-timer.

 

[BTExpress]

Off and on for almost two years, I had been to all those places and more looking in vain for Robert James (Bobby) Fischer.

That reminds me, Spassky always called Fischer "Robert James."

 

[dixiehack]

Of all the “you had to be there” moments I wasn’t there for in the 70s, I am fascinated by the idea that chess captured the public’s fancy for a hot minute.

 

[BTExpress]

I thought Liev Schreiber did a good job as Spassky in Pawn Sacrifice.

Had a hard time with 5-foot-8 Tobey Maguire playing the gangling 6-1 Fischer.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Of all the “you had to be there” moments I wasn’t there for in the 70s, I am fascinated by the idea that chess captured the public’s fancy for a hot minute.

The early '70s were a weird time in sports. In '72, the chess match was the biggest story of the year (Munich Massacre not sports story IMO). There was live if remote play by play of each match on PBS (naturally). The next year's big story was Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs. Then in '74, it was Evel Knievel's try to jump the Snake River Canyon.

 

[Woody Long]

Spassky will always be associated, unfairly, with Fischer in the United States. But I am reminded of this story from Sports Illustrated about Fischer:

SI Flashback: Bobby Fischer

An SI all-timer.

****ing criminal that SI's site has that story bylined as "SI Staff." It was written by Bill Nack, arguably their top writer ever.

 

[BTExpress]

It was peak time for ABC's "Wide World of Sports" and CBS' "Sports Spectacular."

Bowling on ABC was pretty big, too.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

It was peak time for ABC's "Wide World of Sports" and CBS' "Sports Spectacular."

Bowling on ABC was pretty big, too.

Don't forget "Superstars" and "Battle of the Network Stars."

 

[BitterYoungMatador2]

Of all the “you had to be there” moments I wasn’t there for in the 70s, I am fascinated by the idea that chess captured the public’s fancy for a hot minute.

What if I told you the second most-watched event on Wide World of Sports in 1978 was two middle aged man playing pool?

Number one was an Ali fight.

 

[Songbird]

Spassky will always be associated, unfairly, with Fischer in the United States. But I am reminded of this story from Sports Illustrated about Fischer:

SI Flashback: Bobby Fischer

An SI all-timer.

It does say Nack in the address bar: https://www. si. com/more-sports/2008/01/18/fischer-wnack

 

[Songbird]

Spassky will always be associated, unfairly, with Fischer in the United States. But I am reminded of this story from Sports Illustrated about Fischer:

SI Flashback: Bobby Fischer

An SI all-timer.

"To find him, to see him, had become a kind of crazy and delirious obsession, the kind of insanity that has hounded other men in search of, say, the Loch Ness monster."​

Sounds like Pearlman trying to track down Sports by Brooks.

 

[HanSenSE]

The early '70s were a weird time in sports. In '72, the chess match was the biggest story of the year (Munich Massacre not sports story IMO). There was live if remote play by play of each match on PBS (naturally). The next year's big story was Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs. Then in '74, it was Evel Knievel's try to jump the Snake River Canyon.

I remember those PBS broadcasts. They had a teleprinter on the set that sounded an alarm after every move. The hosts would then walk over to a big board and show the new position. A 1970s version of CNN's magic wall. We still got an afternoon paper then and they'd run not only stories on the front page, but a move-by-move chart.

As for popularity, it was the Cold War and an American was beating a Russian ...'

 

[BTExpress]

I don't remember that ringing bell thingy until Karpov-Kasparov. Did they really have it for Fischer-Spassky and I missed it? :eek:

 

[da man]

Of all the “you had to be there” moments I wasn’t there for in the 70s, I am fascinated by the idea that chess captured the public’s fancy for a hot minute.

 

[da man]

 

[Michael_ Gee]

Way back in 1979, when SI had its 25th anniversary, my Phoenix colleague George Kimball pointed out that in the magazine's very early years in the '50s, it had several horses, a dog, a deer, and a duck on its covers before it ran one with an NBA player.

 

[da man]

Of all the “you had to be there” moments I wasn’t there for in the 70s, I am fascinated by the idea that chess captured the public’s fancy for a hot minute.

It was similar to when Americans were winning the Tour de France. How much of a "thing" in the Tour in the U.S. now?

 

[da man]

Don't forget "Superstars" and "Battle of the Network Stars."

Superstars was cool because those people were actual athletes -- I remember Bob Seagren winning the first one and thinking that was awesome.

The network stars BS? Not at all interested.