Shannon Bailey, Chief Curator of the World Chess Hall of Fame, stopped by to speak with Nancy about the happenings at the institution, including the exhibition 1972 Fischer/Spassky: The Match, its Origin, and Influence. ------
1972 Fischer/Spassky: The Match, its Origin, and Influence celebrates the 50th anniversary of the American Robert "Bobby" Fischer's historic win over the Russian Boris Spassky's legendary gameplay in the 1972 World Chess Championship, ending 24 years of Soviet dominance in the sport. The show features more than 500 artifacts, including chess pieces used in pivotal game three of the "Match of the Century," a replica of the tournament table created by the makers of the original and never-before-exhibited books from the personal library of Bobby Fischer. The exhibition also highlights pieces from the World Chess Hall of Fame collection, loans from the Fischer Library of U.S. Chess Hall of Fame Inductees Dr. Jeanne Cairns Sinquefield & Rex Sinquefield, and from photojournalist and Fischer confidant Harry Benson CBE and recently-donated artwork by the LeRoy Neiman & Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation. ----
About Bobby Fischer: A chess prodigy, Fischer began playing the game of chess at the age of 6 and by the age of 16 was the youngest player ever to win a U.S. Junior Championship; win a U.S. Championship (record still stands today); become a grandmaster ever at the time; become an international player at that time, and qualify for the Candidates Tournament. In addition, he won the U.S. Open in 1958, was the first non-Sovet to win an Interzonal in 1962, and authored My 60 Memorable Games in 1969, which is widely considered to be one of the greatest pieces of chess literature. Fischer won all eight of the U.S. Chess Championships that he participated in and won all 11 games in the 1964 U.S. Championship—a record that still stands today. He appeared on the pages of LIFE Magazine and Sports Illustrated and on numerous television programs, bringing the game of chess to a wider audience in the United States. Prior to qualifying for the World Championship match, Fischer won 20 consecutive games in 1970-71 against the world’s top players. ------