ANTIQUES: Rock and Chess Memorabilia from the ’60, ’70s Heats Up
By ELIZABETH STEWART — JULY 9, 2011
If you missed this next auction, and you are a chess fan, you will be heartbroken, because you could have bought the chess set used by Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in 1972 at the World Chess Championship in Iceland, signed by both masters. The board and the pieces went for $76,275 at Philip Weiss Auctions in New York in April. There’s nothing special about the wooden board, except for the signatures and the provenance. Just another example why provenance is important and should be noted even in your own collections for future generations.
This chess set is the “back room” board – Fischer had a tantrum when he lost his second match and blamed his loss on the cameras in the main hall. So this, the third match board, was used in a small private room with no cameras. Fischer won, and captured the title. And of course the auction house got a hold of Fischer’s letters to Zita, the love of his life, and auctioned them, too for $9,888.
Source: http://www.thedailysound.com
Did Mr. Sinquefield buy it?
Sorry….but I feel nothing but revulsion about this. Like Buzzards picking at his bones. This stuff should be treated with more dignity.
Probably in the Chess Museum hall of fame…and as to his personal letters to Zita…well…that really bugs me that someone could just buy em like that. (Its too soon to release sensitive stuff like that.) Perhaps I’m too sensitive..but it feels wrong to me..perhaps a natural thing but it still bugs me.
Can I survive without this chess set.
🙂
Best regards
Stef
Yes, it went to Rex!