Chess

MUCH was said and written at the time about the Fischer-Spassky World Championship match in Reykjavik that so captivated the world in 1972. However, much of it was inaccessible as it appeared in a foreign language.

Now 30 years on, we can relive this seminal moment in chess history with the first English translation of an acclaimed classic: Fischer World Champion by Dr Max Euwe and Jan Timman, two of the greatest names in Dutch chess.

What makes the book all the more interesting is that Euwe, a former world champion himself, was the President of FIDE during this period and he therefore played a central role in what he describes as the "wretched business" going on behind the scenes - after Henry Kissinger finally persuaded Fischer that he had to do his "patriotic duty" by flying to Iceland to defeat the Russians at the height of the Cold War.

From Euwe’s vantage point as president, he had a unique insight to all the in-fighting and petty squabbles as Fischer found fault with everything in sight - venue, the number of games, the prize-fund, the television rights, the cameras, the lighting, the chairs etc. And, on the analytical front, 20-year-old Timman, one of the world’s finest analysts, gives a typically deep, yet very concise insight to what was happening over the board during the match.

R Fischer-B Spassky

World Champ 1972, (6)

QGD Tartakower

1 c4 e6 2 Nf3 d5 3 d4 Nf6 4 Nc3 Be7 5 Bg5 0-0 6 e3 h6 7 Bh4 b6 8 cxd5 Nxd5 9 Bxe7 Qxe7 10 Nxd5 exd5 11 Rc1 Be6 12 Qa4 c5 13 Qa3 Rc8 14 Bb5 a6 15 dxc5 bxc5 16 0-0 Ra7 17 Be2 Nd7 18 Nd4 Qf8 19 Nxe6 fxe6 20 e4 d4 21 f4 Qe7 22 e5 Rb8 23 Bc4 Kh8 24 Qh3 Nf8 25 b3 a5 26 f5 exf5 27 Rxf5 Nh7 28 Rcf1 Qd8 29 Qg3 Re7 30 h4 Rbb7 31 e6 Rbc7 32 Qe5 Qe8 33 a4 Qd8 34 R1f2 Qe8 35 R2f3 Qd8 36 Bd3 Qe8 37 Qe4 Nf6 38 Rxf6 gxf6 39 Rxf6 Kg8 40 Bc4 Kh8 41 Qf4 1-0