The Ottawa Journal Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Saturday, January 10, 1970 - Page 36
Match In Jeopardy
The latest on the proposed best of 18 games match between Bobby Fischer, U.S.A., and ex-world champion, Mikhail Botvinnik, USSR, is that Bobby now insists that the match decision be based on the first to score six wins, draws not to count. He also stipulates that there must be no spectators or photographers in the playing room. This may seem far-fetched but these conditions are the some as those laid down for the Capablanca vs. Alekhine world championship match of Buenos Aires in 1927.
However, the Leiden Chess Club, sponsors of the match, insist the earlier conditions, which Fischer is reported to have agreed to, verbally, must be accepted, and have set a deadline. If Bobby turns it down they will arrange a quadruple round robin tourney among Botvinnik, Spassky, Larsen and Jan Henk Dormer, Dutch grandmaster.
Larsen Wins
Bent Larsen, Denmark, now the main representative of western chess prestige, won the international at Palma, Majorca, in a very strong field, which included world champion Boris Spassky, ex-champion, Tigran Petrosian, and Viktor Korchnoi, all of USSR. His victory was all the more remarkable in that he had only scored 1½ pts. in his first five games! Spassky and Petrosian were undefeated but drew too many.
A game by the winner:
