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The World Chess Championship 1972 was a match between challenger Bobby Fischer of the United States and defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union for the World Chess Championship. The match took place in the Laugardalshöll arena in Reykjavík, Iceland and has been dubbed the Match of the Century. Fischer became the first American born in the United States to win the World Championship and the second American overall to win the title (Wilhelm Steinitz, the first world champion, became a naturalized American citizen in 1888). Fischer's win also ended, for a short time, 24 years of Soviet domination of the World Championship. The first game started on July 11, 1972. The last game began on August 31 and was adjourned after 40 moves. Spassky resigned the next day without resuming play. Fischer won the match 12½–8½, becoming the eleventh undisputed World Champion. ==Background== The match was played during the Cold War, but during a period of increasing détente. The Soviet Chess School had long held a monopoly on the game at the highest level. Spassky was the latest in an uninterrupted chain of Soviet world chess champions, stretching back to the 1948 championship.〔Evans & Smith 1973, p. 8〕 Fischer, an eccentric〔"Fischer, according to some of the psychiatrists who are regulars at the Manhattan Chess Club, is a paranoid and is 'psychotically suspicious, like most paranoids'." Roberts, Schonberg, Horowitz & Reshevsky 1972, p. 75〕 29-year-old American, was a vocal critic of the Soviet domination of chess, because he believed that Soviet players gained an unfair advantage by agreeing to short draws among themselves in tournaments.〔"Bobby Fischer, then as now the ''enfant terrible'' of the chess world, charged that the Russians were in collusion, agreeing to draw with each other while playing no-holds-barred games with non-Russians, and to nothing to jeopardize the position of whichever one of them was leading." Roberts, Schonberg, Horowitz & Reshevsky 1972, p. 35〕 In August 1962 ''Sports Illustrated'', and then in October the German magazine ''Der Spiegel'', published a famous article by Fischer "The Russians Have Fixed World Chess" in which he expounded this view.〔(Bobby Fischer: The Russians Have Fixed World Chess ) 〕〔(Bobby Fischer: Schacher im Schach. Das abgekartete Spiel der Russen ) 〕 Fischer himself rarely agreed to early draws in unclear positions. The expectations on Spassky were enormous because for the Soviets, chess was part of the political system.〔"Throughout all the Soviet comments on their chess successes runs the theme that more than chess is at stake. For example, when Botvinnik won the world title in 1948 ''Pravda'' commented, 'Botvinnik was not simply playing chess, he was defending the honour of his country', and in 1961 ''The Moral Code of the Builder of Communism'' stated, 'Our task is to educate chess-players towards communist consciousness, love of labour and discipline and loyalty to the good of society. Alexander 1972, p. 46〕〔"When Botvinnik won the Nottingham tournament of 1936, ''Pravda'' said in an editorial that his victory was a triumph of Marxist–Leninist chess". Donner 2006, p. 138 (originally published in ''De Tijd'', June 28, 1972)〕〔"Spassky, of course, was carrying a burden that Fischer was not laden with: he was playing not only for himself, but also for the Soviet government, the Soviet system. He represented an ideology. Soviet chess players were supreme, so the theory went, because the Soviet social, political and governmental system was so much better." Roberts, Schonberg, Horowitz & Reshevsky 1972, p. 108〕 While Fischer was often famously critical of his home country ("Americans want to plunk in front of a TV and don't want to open a book ..."), he too carried the burden of expectation because of the political significance of the match.〔(Fisher's 1972 Match Was Cold War Battle ) January 19, 2008〕 No American had achieved the world championship since the first champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, became a naturalized American citizen in 1888.〔(Steinitz entry at World Chess Museum and Hall of Fame ). Chessmuseum.org. Retrieved on 2009-03-03.〕 The excitement surrounding the match was such that it was called the "Match of the Century",〔Perhaps the best-selling book on the match was subtitled ''The New York Times Report on the Chess Match of the Century'' (Roberts, Schonberg, Horowitz & Reshevsky 1972). Gligorić's book on the match was also subtitled ''The Chess Match of the Century'' (Gligorić 1972).〕〔"Even before a move has been made, this breathtaking, blood-curdling and heartrending encounter is justly being labelled as 'the Match of the Century'." Donner 2006, p. 136 (originally published in ''De Tijd'', June 28, 1972)〕〔Byrne & Nei 1974, p. vii〕 even though the same term had been applied to the USSR vs. Rest of the World match just two years before.〔The term is used that way in Russian, and also by Edmar Mednis in his book ''How to Beat Bobby Fischer''. Mednis 1997, p. 247〕 Spassky, the champion, had lost the world championship match against Tigran Petrosian in 1966.〔Kažić 1974, pp. 230–31〕 In 1968, he won matches against Efim Geller, Bent Larsen, and Viktor Korchnoi to again win the right to challenge Petrosian for the title.〔Kažić 1974, pp. 194–96〕 This time Spassky triumphed, winning 12½–10½.〔Kažić 1974, pp. 231–32〕 He is often said to have (had) a "universal style", "involving an ability to play the most varied types of positions".〔Kasparov 2004a, p. 182〕 However, Garry Kasparov notes that "from childhood he clearly had a leaning toward sharp, attacking play, and possessed a splendid feel for the initiative."〔 Before the match, Fischer had played five games against Spassky, with two draws and Spassky winning three.〔Alexander 1972, pp. 60–61〕 However, in the Candidates matches en route to becoming the challenger, Fischer had demolished world-class grandmasters Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen, each by a perfect score of 6–0, a feat no one else had ever accomplished in any Candidates match. After that, Fischer had split the first five games of his match against former World Champion Tigran Petrosian, then closed out the match by winning the last four games.〔 "No bare statement conveys the magnitude and impact of these results. ... Fischer sowed devastation."〔Steiner 1974, p. 42〕 From the last seven rounds of the Interzonal until the first game against Petrosian, Fischer won 20 consecutive games, nearly all of which were against top grandmasters. Fischer also had a much higher Elo rating than Spassky.〔Alexander 1972, p. 74〕 On the July 1972 FIDE rating list, Fischer's 2785 was a record 125 points ahead of the number two player – Spassky, whose rating was 2660.〔(All Time Rankings ) – lists the top 10 from 1970 to 1997.〕 Fischer's recent results and record Elo rating made him the pre-match favorite.〔"''Despite his dismal score'' against Spassky, Fischer is the choice of nearly every expert. Indeed, London bookmakers favor him 6-to-5." Evans & Smith 1973, p. 8〕〔Of the players and expert commentators at the annual Hastings Christmas tournament in 1971–72, apart from one International Master who predicted a Spassky victory, almost everyone else predicted that Fischer would win easily. Gligorić 1972, pp. 13–14〕〔"Lay opinion is overwhelmingly in support of Fischer, expert opinion is divided in the proportion of about 2 to 1 in his favour." Alexander 1972, p. 74〕 Other observers, however, noted that Fischer had never won a game against Spassky.〔Bill Goichberg, "Masters and Experts View the Match", ''Chess Life & Review'', July 1972, pp. 409–10 (also available on DVD)〕 Spassky's seconds for the match were Efim Geller, Nikolai Krogius and Iivo Nei.〔 Fischer's second was William Lombardy.〔Alexander 1972, p. 79〕〔Edmonds & Eidinow 2004, p. 156〕〔Brady 2011, p. 184〕〔Lombardy 2011, pp. 219–20〕 His entourage also included lawyer Paul Marshall, who would play a significant role in the events surrounding the match, and USCF representative Fred Cramer.〔Alexander 1972, pp. 77, 79〕 The match referee was Lothar Schmid.〔Roberts, Schonberg, Horowitz & Reshevsky 1972, p. 76〕 For some time, it was doubtful that the match would be played at all.〔Roberts, Schonberg, Horowitz & Reshevsky 1972, pp. 63–64〕 Shortly before the match, Fischer demanded that the players receive, in addition to the agreed-upon prize fund of $125,000 (5/8 to the winner, 3/8 to the loser) and 30% of the proceeds from television and film rights, 30% of the box-office receipts.〔Alexander 1972, p. 77〕〔Roberts, Schonberg, Horowitz & Reshevsky 1972, p. 60〕 He failed to arrive in Iceland for the opening ceremony on July 1.〔〔Roberts, Schonberg, Horowitz & Reshevsky 1972, pp. 62–63〕〔Edmonds & Eidinow 2004, pp. 138–39〕 Fischer's behavior was seemingly full of contradictions, as it had been throughout his career. He finally flew to Iceland and agreed to play after a two-day postponement of the match by FIDE President Max Euwe, a surprise doubling of the prize fund by British investment banker Jim Slater, and much persuasion, including a phone call by Henry Kissinger to Fischer.〔Roberts, Schonberg, Horowitz & Reshevsky 1972, pp. 63–67〕〔Edmonds & Eidinow 2004, pp. 143–44〕 Many commentators, particularly from the USSR, have suggested that all this (and his continuing demands and unreasonableness) was part of Fischer's plan to "psych out" Spassky. Fischer's supporters say that winning the World Championship was the mission of his life, that he simply wanted the setting to be perfect for it when he took the stage, and that his behavior was the same as it had always been. World-class match play (i.e., a series of games between the same two opponents) often involves one or both players preparing one or two openings very deeply, and playing them repeatedly during the match.〔An extreme example of this was seen in the 1927 World Championship match between José Raúl Capablanca and Alexander Alekhine, where all but two of the thirty-four games featured the Queen's Gambit Declined. José Raul Capablanca, ''World's Championship Matches, 1921 and 1927'', Dover Publications, 1977, p. 46, ISBN 0-486-23189-5〕 Preparation for such a match also involves analysis of those opening lines known to be played by the opponent. Fischer had been famous for his unusually narrow opening repertoire: for example, almost invariably playing 1.e4 as White, and almost always playing the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defence as Black against 1.e4.〔Mednis 1997, p. xxviii〕〔"Before the match there was a lot of talk that it is comparatively easy to prepare for Fischer, because he is very conservative in his choice of openings. Especially with White, Fischer plays () almost without exception." Byrne & Nei 1974, p. 106〕 He surprised Spassky by repeatedly switching openings, and by playing openings that he had never, or only rarely, played before (such as 1.c4 as White, and Alekhine's Defence, the Pirc Defence, and the Paulsen Sicilian as Black).〔 Even in openings that Fischer had played before in the match, he continually deviated from the variations he had previously played, almost never repeating the same line twice in the match.〔Gligorić 1972, pp. 48, 65, 87, 91, 113, 117〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「World Chess Championship 1972」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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