sports
Chess: iconic Reykjavik Open sparks memory of Bobby Fischer from 1973
The US legend declined a $25,000 offer from shoe firm Clarks to meet the cream of England’s juniors
TL;DR
- The Reykjavik Open is an iconic chess event with a history dating back to 1964.
- The current tournament features top players like Amin Tabatabaei, Bogdan-Daniel Deac, and Vasyl Ivanchuk.
- England has a significant contingent of players, including GM Matthew Wadsworth, GM Simon Williams, and young WIM Bodhana Sivanandan.
- The writer recalls a 1973 proposal for Bobby Fischer to play William Hartston and an eight-board simultaneous match against England's juniors, with a $25,000 offer from Clarks.
- Fischer's lawyer, Stanley Rader, communicated Fischer's refusal of the event.
- The writer believes Fischer would have won such a match, potentially by a margin of 6-2 or 7-1.
- A chess puzzle involving Anton Demchenko and Dmitry Bocharov from the Oskemen Open 2025 is included.