World Chess Hall of Fame. 1972 Fischer-Spassky: The Match, Its Origin, and Influence

Saint Louis: World Chess Hall of Fame, 2022. — 30 p.The new exhibit explores the high-stakes 1972 World Chess Championship between Bobby Fischer and Russia's Boris Spassky and its many ripples on the game and the world.Fifty years ago, right in the middle of the Cold War, an eccentric American named Bobby Fischer upended a long reign of Russian dominance in chess, and the world was forever changed. Untold numbers throughout the world, fascinated by the high-stakes 1972 World Chess Championship and its symbolic status within the Cold War, became obsessed with the game.An exhibition at the World Chess Hall of Fame, opening Thursday 18 August 2022, and running through spring, explores the match and the ripples that it had on the game, in addition to situating the match within its important historical context. In the “Match of the Century,” played in Reykjavik, Iceland, Fischer defeated Russian Boris Spassky, ending Russia's 24-year hold on the top echelon of the sport.