So you think Chess is all about brains, you couldn’t be more wrong
Abhimanyu Kulkarni, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, November 05, 2014
The debate whether Chess is a sport has been going on since times of yore. Many detractors say that there is no physical effort invovled in Chess.
Chess, unlike popular notion, is not only brains. There is a fair bit of brawn. It is a non-contact sport, but players fight it out tooth and nail. Tigran Petrosian lost 30 pounds in his match with Mikhail Botvinnik. Anatoly Karpov was thoroughly exhausted after his first match with Gary Kasparov in 1984.
Over the years, the Chess World Championships have produced some truly unforgettable battles.
Here’s taking a look at three of the fiercest and the most dramatic of those duels:
BORIS SPASSKY vs BOBBY FISCHER, 1972, REYKJAVIK
This match is referred to as the ‘Match of the Century’. The Cold War is at its peak when eccentric American Bobby Fischer takes on defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. Soviets had dominated the sport for 24 years and Spassky was the clear favourite even though Fischer had a much higher Elo rating.
Both went all guns blazing and justified the immense hype media had created around the match.
The start was a little dramatic with Fischer declining to take part unless he was offered 30% of the television and broadcasting rights along with the prize money. He missed the opening ceremony, and only made an appearance 10 minutes after Spassky had made his first move in the opening game. Spassky went on to win the match with ease.
Fischer put forth another demand asking for cameras to be removed from the game area. He seemed so preoccupied with these whims that the scoreline soon read 2-0 in Spassky’s favour.
Fischer needed 12.5 points from 24 games, while defending champion Spassky would have retained the crown with a 12-12 draw.
The American was temperamental, but a genius, which he displayed amply in the games that followed. He won the third and fifth game to level the scores at 2.5-2.5.
Fischer won the 21st game after 7 draws to clinch the championship with 3 games to spare.
The ‘Match of the Century’ had all the ingredients of a box office thriller — suspense, drama, action, heartbreak.
GARRY KASPAROV vs VISHWANATHAN ANAND, 1995, NEW YORK
Kasparov had been stripped of his title by World Chess Federation (FIDE) for his match with Nigel Short in 1993, which was held outside the chess body’s auspices. Nevertheless, he was widely considered the legitimate world champion.
Kasparov created the Profession Chess Association (PCA) and held a series of candidates matches to choose an opponent for himself. Anand came out as the top contender.
The match was played on the Observation Deck on the 107th floor of the World Trade Center in New York, and it was to last 20 games instead of the traditional 24.
Nakamura is a champion tennis, soccer, and basketball player. He’s an all around great athlete.