From the archive, 12 July 1972: Fischer's late opening gambit in Reykjavik
Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer finally made it to the world championship chessboard tonight and there was an almost palpable sense of relief throughout the auditorium at the sports stadium here, that chess had at last taken over from the ballyhoo.
Yet Fischer was characteristically late. Promptly at 5pm Spassky walked on to the stage accompanied by the West German referee Herr Lothar Schmid, who had raced back to Iceland from his son's car crash in West Germany.
Spassky immediately played his opening pawn to Queen four, and the match was underway.
Spassky sat for a while and then walked around the board. Five minutes later he and Herr Schmid had left the stage and it was bare. At 5.10pm Spassky returned, followed by Fischer who received markedly less applause.
Fischer responded with his knight to king's bishop three – the Nimzo Indian defence – and within five more minutes there were eight moves and the battle was well and truly underway.
In the event the game was adjourned ritually at the fortieth move when Spassky put his next move in a sealed envelope for the resumption tomorrow afternoon.
It was a fascinating evening with both players apparently aiming at an honourable draw until Fischer traded his remaining bishop for two pawns and the game took on a new dimension with a rapid removal of the principal pieces.
The theatre took on the atmosphere of an intensive care ward in hospital as the spectators tiptoed in and out and talked in whispers.
Below the theatre, experts were giving a live commentary on the moves – not as fast as the Derby perhaps, but no less fascinating to the people crowding in. The game was not a sell-out. The auditorium was largely full but there were many spare seats for latecomers.
For the Icelanders there was plenty to see and do. One of the attractions was us journalists pumping out descriptions of the contest in a welter of ticker-tape and dashing in and out of the temporary telephone boxes.
Meanwhile back on the stage the two grandmasters continued to play, each move following rapidly on the other. As usual Fischer was the more restless. Full of orange juice and well stocked with apple juice for the match, he jumped up and wandered about in a sort of shambling lope.