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Subject: Remaking All the Right Moves in NW; Fischer-Spassky Game Analysis at D.C.
Date: Sun, 1 Nov 92 09:14:31 EST
Message-ID: <44.1992Nov1.091431@AmeriCast.com>

Remaking All the Right Moves in NW; Fischer-Spassky Game Analysis
at D.C.  Center Enthralls Enthusiasts<By Santiago
O'Donnell=Washington Post Staff Writer=

It's a bloodbath. An epic battle that keeps everybody on the edge
of their seats.

Several nights each week, chess junkies gather in Northwest Wash-
ington for a blow-by-blow rehash of the Bobby Fischer-Boris Spas-
sky match.  As described by international master Eugene Meyer,
the games combine the suspense of a Hitchcock thriller, the vi-
ciousness of a Redskins battle, the drama and artistry of a Shak-
espearean play.

"This is much more interesting than a movie, and I haven't seen
any good movies lately anyway," said John Webb, 28, a consulting
firm employee.

But it's not just for chess that they come. Many want a chance to
admire the prowess of American chess great Bobby Fischer, who is
playing in his comeback match, after 20 years of reclusion,
against his old Russian foe.

"He's sort of the Elvis of chess, except Elvis is dead and Fisch-
er came back," said Mira Madans, a computer technician.  Meyer or
one of his guest analysts reads each move from a card and posi-
tions the cardboard pieces on a canvas chessboard hung on the
wall, reproducing a game played earlier in the day in Belgrade.
But neither Meyer nor most of the spectators find out the result
in advance. "It's more fun this way," Meyer says.

The game analysis has attracted crowds of up to 70 people to the
U.S.  Chess Center on game days since the match began two months
ago. The center, which opened this summer at 1501 M St. NW, also
offers tournaments and classes for players of all levels and sum-
mer chess camps and after-school programs for inner-city youths.

The analysis sessions begin at 7 p.m. and last about two hours.
After 27 matches, Fischer leads Spassky 9-5 in victories and is
one win away from taking the match.

With the end in sight, last week's games had spectators salivat-
ing from the first move.

"White's attacking the king side and black's attacking the queen
side and they're practically ignoring each other," said Meyer
after the first few moves in Game 25. "It's as if both players
are saying, 'I don't care what you do, I'm going to get to your
king first.' "

A few plays later: "They're both thinking, 'Let's go for blood,'
but black looks like a tempo or two behind."

Throughout the games, the crowd peppers Meyer with what-ifs. Each
response forces Meyer to rearrange at least a half-dozen pieces
in every possible direction.

Meyer loves to anticipate what will happen next, and usually he
guesses right. But occasionally Fischer or Spassky shocks every-
body with a surprising move, prompting a loud, drawn-out audience
response:

"Waaaaaaaow!" In addition to their knowledge of the game, audi-
ence members bring a healthy dose of chess humor to the sessions.
At a recent game, Spassky's king was surrounded by Fischer's
pieces and he appeared on the brink of defeat.

What can Spassky do in this situation? Meyer asked the crowd.
"Offer a draw?" somebody shot back.

After the games, there is time to discuss Fischer's bizarre life
and his remarkable return after dropping out of sight at the peak
of his game.

Of course, everbody is quick to condemn Fischer's well-known an-
tisemitic and sexist beliefs. But the consensus at the chess
center, even among women and Jews, seems to be: He's a jerk, but
he's our jerk:

"He's an embarrassment, but he's an American," said David Sher-
man, a proofreader for the IRS. "He beat the Soviets at a game
they had dominated for a long time, when the Soviet Union was us-
ing chess to prove the superior nature of scientific socialism."

"I admire his play," said computer analyst David Hartley. "But
he's enhanced a lot of people's opinion that chess players are
weirdos, and that's just not true."<02:44 11-01C9999-----

Copyright 1992, The Washington Post.  This story is from the
Washington Post's Capitol Edition On-Line and is not to be ar-
chived or redistributed.

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poration (usa@AmeriCast.COM)