World Chess Championship 1972 World Chess Championship 1972 The World Chess Championship 1972 was a match for the World Chess Championship between challenger Bobby Fischer of the United States and defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. The match took place in the Laugardalshöll arena in Reykjavík, Iceland, and has been dubbed the Match of the Century. Fischer became the first American born in the United States to win the world title, and the second American overall (Wilhelm Steinitz, the first world champion, became a naturalized American citizen in 1888). Fischer's win also ended, for a short time, 24 years of Soviet domination
Bobby Fischer at his home in 1952. In the summer of 1955, Fischer, then 12 years old, joined the Manhattan Chess Club, the strongest chess club in the country. Fischer's relationship with Nigro lasted until 1956, when Nigro moved away. In June 1956, Fischer began attending the Hawthorne Chess Club, based in master John "Jack" W. Collins' home. For years it was believed that Collins was Fischer's teacher and coach, even though Collins stated that he did not teach Fischer. It is now believed that Collins was Fischer's mentor, not his teacher or coach. Fischer played thousands of blitz and offhand games