Exploring the Universe


Chess - The Summer Of 1972

Nobody knew what was about to take place.happening in the United States.Chess set
Certainly nobody outside of the mostsales started to sky rocket. Kids were
knowledgeable people in the game. But in thesitting out on their front steps and for the
summer of 1972, Bobby Fischer was about tofirst time in history, weren't playing the
play in the most famous world chesspopular board games of the day or trading
tournament of all time against Boris Spaskybaseball cards, which was very popular
of the Soviet Union. What the world wasespecially in the summertime, but now they
about to witness had never been seen before;were playing chess. Kids who had never
the first United States world chessplayed the game in their life, were glued to
champion.What most people don't understandtheir chess sets and their TV sets to watch
about this tournament, aside from thethe live coverage by a man who became a
significance of Fischer becoming the firstlegend in his own right, Shelby Lyman.People
United States world champion, is that thiswaited on Shelby's every comment along with
tournament turned chess from a seldom thoughthis guest stars, who were known masters and
of sport to a craze that literally captured agrand masters. It was like watching a real
nation and a world.For the people outside ofsporting event as the moves were wired in to
the United States, especially in countriesthe studio and recreated on the large chess
where chess was very popular like the Sovietboard that was nailed to a wall in the
Union, it was the shock of Fischer firststudio. It was the best entertainment around
competing for the title in the first placethat summer and the ratings for the
and then the ultimate shock of him winning.broadcasts were through the roof. This was
This alone made headlines everywhere. Notunheard of for a publicly owned TV station
only wasn't he supposed to win but he wassuch as PBS.Fischer ultimately won the
supposed to be beaten badly. And aftertournament in 21 games by a score of 12.5 to
losing the first two games, the second by8.5. The world was stunned and the United
forfeit because he refused to show up, it wasStates had a new hero. Sadly, the chess
almost certain that his fate was sealed. Butcraze in the United States died shortly after
Fischer made a miraculous comeback andthe tournament ended, but for a very brief
stunned the chess world.But in the Unitedtime chess was the king of sports in the
States, this tournament itself took on aUnited States and Bobby Fischer was its most
whole different meaning. Sure, the countryfamous hero.We have yet to see anything like
was eager to see if Fischer could do thethat summer since and it is doubtful that we
impossible, but something happened thatwill ever see it again.
summer that nobody could have ever foreseen



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