The Gift of Chess

Notice to commercial publishers seeking use of images from this collection of chess-related archive blogs. For use of the many large color restorations, two conditions must be met: 1) It is YOUR responsibility to obtain written permissions for use from the current holders of rights over the original b/w photo. Then, 2) make a tax-deductible donation to The Gift of Chess in honor of Robert J. Fischer-Newspaper Archives. A donation in the amount of $250 USD or greater is requested for images above 2000 pixels and other special request items. For small images, such as for fair use on personal blogs, all credits must remain intact and a donation is still requested but negotiable. Please direct any photographs for restoration and special request (for best results, scanned and submitted at their highest possible resolution), including any additional questions to S. Mooney, at bobbynewspaperblogs•gmail. As highlighted in the ABC News feature, chess has numerous benefits for individuals, including enhancing critical thinking and problem-solving skills, improving concentration and memory, and promoting social interaction and community building. Initiatives like The Gift of Chess have the potential to bring these benefits to a wider audience, particularly in areas where access to educational and recreational resources is limited.

Best of Chess Fischer Newspaper Archives
• Robert J. Fischer, 1955 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1956 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1957 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1958 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1959 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1960 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1961 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1962 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1963 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1964 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1965 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1966 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1967 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1968 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1969 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1970 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1971 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1972 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1973 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1974 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1975 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1976 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1977 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1978 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1979 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1980 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1981 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1982 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1983 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1984 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1985 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1986 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1987 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1988 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1989 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1990 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1991 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1992 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1993 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1994 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1995 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1996 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1997 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1998 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 1999 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2000 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2001 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2002 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2003 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2004 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2005 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2006 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2007 bio + additional games
• Robert J. Fischer, 2008 bio + additional games
Chess Columns Additional Archives/Social Media

Chester Fox Mafia Threatened to Sue Shelby Lyman for a Commentary on 1972 Match!

Quad-City Times Davenport, Iowa Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 2 ()

Fischer would not have liked those cameras. HUGE troubles made by Chester Fox. Very unfair to Shelby Lyman…
Wow. The unbridled greed of Chester Fox and company.
This is adequate enough explanation why Fischer vehemently opposed cameras.
Fischer's sense of justice and equity. Those cameras were a really serious annoyance to good sportsmanship & the good of the game!

Chess Interest Grows
NEW YORK (AP) — Promotional aspects of the Fischer-Spassky world championship chess match are becoming as important as they are in any big league sport.
Chess matches are not usually world happenings. But with the keen interest sparked by American Bobby Fischer challenging Russian Boris Spassky for the world title, it's a different situation.
The Icelandic Chess Federation has put up close to $200,000 for the 24-game match, to be held for two months in Reykjavik, Iceland, starting July 2.

THE GAMES will be played in the Reykjavik Sportshall, which seats about 3,000 people. The match will be open to the public, and tickets will cost $5 a game or $75 for the 24 scheduled games.
Of the $200,000 put up, some $125,000 will be paid in prizes to the players, according to the federation.
Fischer, 29, and Spassky, 35, also will divide 60 per cent of the income from films and television.
The federation has signed a 99-year contract with Chester Fox and Co., Inc. for exclusive worldwide visual rights, including rights to film the match and still photos of the match taken inside the Sportshall.
Fox and the federation will split the profits equally.
The price Fox paid for the rights is undisclosed. But he did say he would have to spend some $200,000 for the color filming.

“I GUESS its a coup, but it's quite an undertaking,” Fox said in New York.
He has asked for bids from interested television stations in countries throughout the world. He is concerned with the highest bidders in each country, and if a contract is signed, he will spend them film clips as the match progresses.
In the United States, ABC has contracted for exclusive film rights. The Fox film segments will be shown Saturdays on the ABC program. “Wide World of Sports.”
However, in the United States, Channel 13 — WNIT, New York — and Teleprompter Cable TV have planned programs discussing the action at the match, without the use of the Fox film.

CHANNEL 13 plans a move-by-move commentary and analysis on the match by chess master Shelby Lyman who will work from a studio in Albany, N.Y. using vertical boards to illustrate the moves.
The extensive coverage would start Sunday, July 2 and run from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., nationally. It would continue three times a week throughout the match, with shorter broadcasts Tuesday and Thursday for cities on the Eastern seaboard.
Richard Gitter, lawyer for WNDT, said Fox and the federation threatened to go to court, if these plans were not abandoned.

Chess Interest Grows

Brad Darrach was a skilled manipulator with a history of defamation, who lured Fischer in, and then wrote his novel of slander and defamation… after promising he would publish nothing personal.
https://bfchos.blogspot.com/2018/06/brad-darrachs-history-of-defamation.html
After reviewing certain facts, I don't think Bobby was being so very paranoid, after all.

Brad Darrach, a history of manipulation, defamation… *just coincidentally* acquaints Bobby just in the nick of Moscow's time frame (March 1972)… to further isolate Bobby… (See this additional compilation, “Why Bobby Fischer Did Not Want to Play in Iceland”) and after winning the match and humiliating Soviet egotism… is instrumental in destroying Fischer's life.
The Soviets succeeded in completely isolating Fischer, by location, by Chess Federation/Chester Fox, and an exclusive contract with Brad Darrach?… No. Brad Darrach was lying about that too:

“…Fischer told a reporter that the story that he had sold Life magazine an exclusive interview during the match with Spassky was ‘a dirty lie.’” ‘I was busy,’ he said. ‘If I'd given an interview to every body that asked, I'd have lost the match.’” New York Times, 9/23/1972
So-called Exclusive Rights Contract between Bobby Fischer and Brad Darrach

This article clearly states, Fischer says he befriended Darrach in March 1972

The Honolulu Advertiser (Honolulu, Hawaii) 01 Apr 1977, Friday, Page 29

Brad Darrach History of Defamation

Springfield Leader and Press Springfield, Missouri Wednesday, June 28, 1972 - Page 13 ()

It's $5 a Game To See Champs
By Ann Hencken
New York (AP) — Promotional aspects of the Fischer-Spassky world championship chess match are becoming as important as they are in any big league sport.
Chess matches are not usually world happenings. But with the keen interest sparked by American Bobby Fischer challenging Russian Boris Spassky for the world title, its a different situation.
The Icelandic Chess Federation has put up close to $200,000 for the 24-game match to be held for two months in Reykjavik, Iceland, starting July 2.
The games will be played in the Reykjavik Sportshall, which seats about 3,000 people. The match will be open to the public and tickets will cost $5 a game or $75 for the 24 scheduled games.
Of the $200,000 put up, some $125,000 will be paid in prizes to the players, according to the federation.
Fischer, 29, and Spassky, 35, will also divide 60 per cent of the income from films and television.
The federation has signed a 99-year contract with Chester Fox and Co., Inc. for exclusive worldwide visual rights, including rights to film the match and still photos of the match taken inside the Sportshall.
Fox and the federation will split the profits equally.
The price Fox paid for the rights is undisclosed. But he did say he would have to spend some $200,000 for the color filming.
“I guess it's a coup, but it's quite an undertaking,” Fox said in New York.
He has asked for bids from interested television stations in countries throughout the world. He is concerned with the highest bidders in each country, and if a contract is signed, he will send them film clips as the match progresses.
“We'll be negotiating straight through Sunday and beyond. It's been very hectic. There's a lot of interest in it, more so in the rest of the world than in the U.S.,” said Fox, who adds that the only two countries which have sent cables saying they would not bid are Kuwait and Jordan.
“We've spoken with Tass, briefly… There hasn't been that much interest from the Russians.” says Fox, adding that he will not name countries negotiating, or those which have signed contracts, until negotiations are finalized.
In the United States, ABC has contracted for exclusive film rights. The Fox film segments will be shown Saturdays on the ABC program “Wide World of Sports.”
Fox declined to say how much ABC paid for the rights. He did comment that he has not suggested bid prices for those interested.
“I find the news media have their own way of evaluating this. They're immensely fair,” said Fox, adding he has used a sliding scale depending on the country.

However, in the United States, Channel 13—WNDT. New York, and Teleprompter Cable T.V. have planned programs discussing the action at the match, without the use of the Fox film.
Channel 13 plans a move-by-move commentary and analysis on the match, by chess master Shelby Lyman, who will work from a studio in Albany, N.Y. using vertical boards to illustrate the moves.
The extensive coverage would start Sunday, July 2 and run from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., nationally. It would continue three times a week throughout the match, with shorter broadcasts Tuesday and Thursday for cities on the Eastern seaboard.
Richard Gitter, lawyer for Channel 13—WNDT, said Fox and the federation threatened to go to court, if these plans were not abandoned.
He told them that plans were being continued and that he was authorized by Teleprompter to similarly inform.
“There's something outrageous about the Chess Federation and Fox trying to limit coverage,” said Gitter, “It could have been any kind of major news event.”
“I think the people who'll be watching us will not be the same people who're watching Wide World of Sports. I don't think we're competitive,” said Frank Leicht, vice president and director of programming and administration at Channel 13—WNDT.
“We have stated that we are in favor of absolute the total dissemination of the news. However where a device is used to recreate or simulate private property, well, that is not the use of news but an abuse,” said Richard C. Stein, lawyer for Fox.
He further added, “Mr. Fox has exclusive film rights granted to him by the federation and those are his rights. Any reproduction would appear to infringe on those rights to the detriment of the Federation and Mr. Fox.
James Halperin, lawyer for the Icelandic Chess Federation, denied a report they were served an injunction.
“Our law office hasn't served anyone with a restraining order, he said, adding he would not comment on future plans.
Roone Arledge, president of ABC Sports, has no objections to the proposed plans for outside program on the match.
“I think that would be excellent programming and a good thing for them to do… We're going to do it in a condensed, limited way. As long as we can do what we want to do, we'd be delighted to cooperate,” said Arledge.
“If they do a move-by-move thing, I'll be watching,” he said.

It's $5 a Game To See Champs

'til the world understands why Robert J. Fischer criticised the U.S./British and Russian military industry imperial alliance and their own Israeli Apartheid. Sarah Wilkinson explains:

Bobby Fischer, First Amendment, Freedom of Speech
What a sad story Fischer was,” typed a racist, pro-imperialist colonial troll who supports mega-corporation entities over human rights, police state policies & white supremacy.
To which I replied: “Really? I think he [Bob Fischer] stood up to the broken system of corruption and raised awareness! Whether on the Palestinian/Israel-British-U.S. Imperial Apartheid scam, the Bush wars of ‘7 countries in 5 years,’ illegally, unconstitutionally which constituted mass xenocide or his run in with police brutality in Pasadena, California-- right here in the U.S., police run rampant over the Constitution of the U.S., on oath they swore to uphold, but when Americans don't know the law, and the cops either don't know or worse, “don't care” -- then I think that's pretty darn “sad”. I think Mr. Fischer held out and fought the good fight, steadfast til the day he died, and may he Rest In Peace.
Educate yourself about U.S./State Laws --
https://www.youtube.com/@AuditTheAudit/videos
After which the troll posted a string of profanities, confirming there was never any genuine sentiment of “compassion” for Mr. Fischer, rather an intent to inflict further defamatory remarks.

This ongoing work is a tribute to the life and accomplishments of Robert “Bobby” Fischer who passionately loved and studied chess history. May his life continue to inspire many other future generations of chess enthusiasts and kibitzers, alike.

Robert J. Fischer, Kid Chess Wizard 1956March 9, 1943 - January 17, 2008

The photograph of Bobby Fischer (above) from the March 02, 1956 The Tampa Times was discovered by Sharon Mooney (Bobby Fischer Newspaper Archive editor) on February 01, 2018 while gathering research materials for this ongoing newspaper archive project. Along with lost games now being translated into Algebraic notation and extractions from over two centuries of newspapers, it is but one of the many lost treasures to be found in the pages of old newspapers since our social media presence was first established November 11, 2017.

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