Understanding before Moving 177: Chess history in a nutshell (58) chessbase.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from chessbase.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The FIDE Council awarded the title of Honorary Grandmaster to Andreas Dueckstein (Austria) and Iivo Nei (Estonia) for their consistently strong results in the 1950s-70s. Nei was an 8-time Estonian who tied for first with Paul Keres in Beverwijk (later Hoogovens). Dueckstein won the Austrian national championship three times and obtained victories over the likes of Mikhail Botvinnik and Bent Larsen. | Photos: Ron Kroon and Wim van Rossem / Anefo (Dutch National Archives)
The traditional Tata Steel international invitation tournament series, annually ongoing since the year 1938, held in Wijk aan Zee and earlier in Beverwijk, is a highlight in the calendar of classical chess. Eduard Frey presents funny Trivia from the rich history of this remarkable tournament. | Photo: Playing Hall, Organiser
After draws in games 14 and 15, Fischer still had a three-point lead in the World Championship match, and the Spassky side was getting nervous. The Champion was fighting hard, but not getting any points. Suspicion arose that Fischer might be using secret weapons: hypnosis, devices planted in the lights or the chairs, and even perhaps assistance from an "IBM" (Russian for "computer" at the time). All this was formally investigated, while Fischer continued to coast.
Fischer leads by three points. The Match of the Century was coming to a head, with Spassky, despite all his efforts, unable to reduce the deficit. "I felt that Fischer was like a large fish in my hands," he lamented, "one that was slippery and hard to hold on to. At certain moments I let him slip. And then again the psychological torment would begin. Everything had to be begun again from the start ." Spassky was beginning to feel despondent. | Photo: Skáksamband Íslands