Chess, one of the oldest and most famous board games, has always held a standing in the intellectual realm. For those of us who play the game competitively, we have always acknowledged the role of Chess in Russian history, especially during the cold-war era. Although Chess has always been a popular Western game, it wasn’t until the mid-1800s that Chess began to transform into a competitive sport. Wilhelm Steinitz, an Austrian, became the first official World Champion in 1886 until 1894. Until World War II, the champion title moved between several players, bouncing the ownership between European countries and America, although the Soviet Union held the highest number of top players. However, the post war period completely changed the championship. The Soviet Union changed its position on the FIDE, joining the organization in order to have a word in the selection process of a new World Champion. It was in 1948 that the first FIDE World Champion was crowned, the Russian player Mikhail Botvinnik. This marked the beginning of a two decade long championship, with each match being played in Moscow by two Soviet players. It was not until 1972 that the first finalist from outside the Soviet boarders appeared on the scene. The young American player, Bobby Fischer, who dominated the qualifying rounds, defeating three of his four opponents by an unheard-of score of 6-0, was ready to challenge the Soviet Chess Machine.
The Match of the Century, as it was called, is widely accepted as the most famous match in Chess history. The match was a best of 24 games, with wins as 1 points and draws as a half point, with the match ending at a score of 12.5 (a 12-12 score would result in a win for the defending champion). On July 11th, 1972, Bobby Fischer and defending Soviet champion Boris Spassky met in Reykjavik, Iceland, and the match began. The game started off as an obvious draw, until Fischer blundered, resulting in a loss. Game two was forfeited by Fischer, who refused to play unless several of his demands were made. Spassky, in the sporting spirit, agreed to the demands, although the world felt it was over for Fischer. This proved incorrect, as the next three matches resulted in a tied score of 2.5-2.5, with the Fischer-juggernaut continuing into game 13. It was game 13, in which was paused when all observers assured Fischer that the game was a draw, which stunned Spassky. The American stayed up till 8am, looking at the position, returning the next day to play. After losing to an amazing trap by Fischer, Spassky sat silent at the table, unable to comprehend how he had lost. With a lead of three points, Fischer seemed to play lazily, content with his large lead, and Spassky appearing to have accepted his fate. The match ended with a score of 12.5-8.5, with Spassky winning only 3 games (including the forfeit by Fischer) while Fischer won 7, and 11 games being draws.
This concluded the unbroken Soviet dominance. Although he did not defend his title, the American Bobby Fischer had struck a blow to the Soviet Union, with the victory bringing America one step ahead in dominance against the Russians. This match has stayed in history, with movies, plays, and even a historic rematch being played. Although this Soviet machine took a hit, after Fischer, the Russian controlled arena returned, with Russian champions still being among the fiercest in the world.
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chess_Championship_1972
http://www.chessgames.com/wcc.html
http://www.bobby-fischer.net/
Russian at Loyola 
I really like your article and how it explains how competitive relations were in between the USSR and USA for the duration of the Cold War. You do a very good job of explaining the match, and it’s implications on history and the impact that it had at the time. For an American to come into a Russian dominated game, and defeat the defending champion by such a wide margin was a huge deal for the US in a time when the USSR was seen as a sort of “evil empire.” I wonder if the Cold War had not been going on and US-USSR relations were better would it have been such a big deal?
It’s interesting to see how, because we were not fighting in an actual war, sporting and scientific events between the US and USSR was such a big deal. The Space Race, “The Miracle on Ice” between the USA and USSR in the 1980 Olympics became the memorable battles that Americans proved themselves over their Russian adversaries. Even Rocky IV, where the underdog Rocky rebounds after the Soviet fighter Ivan Drago kill’s his good friend in American flag boxing shorts Apollo Creed, to defeat the seemingly unbeatable giant for America, (there’s even an American flag on the cover)
In my personal opinion, had the match been played without the Cold War going on in the background, the match would have most likely gone on like other World Championship Matches: unheard of. Even nearly 40 years later, the Fischer match is still known as the greatest match of all time, because of the events occurring around it. There have been other famous matches, such as the USSR vs. The World (which Fischer was a part of), the rematch between Fischer and Spassky in the 90s, as well as the Deep Blue match (in which computers finally surpassed humans in Chess playing ability).
This post interested me because I often play chess; however, I only play recreationally and for fun. The fact that those two men had to play 24 matches is crazy and tiresome just to think about. I had no idea that the Soviets were such a strong force on the chess-playing front but I was even more startled that an American broke their streak of unchallenged chess champions. I also read that this series of matches was a form of Cold War confrontation. I find it interesting that a game (however serious) like chess would be used on a global scale to prove who was a stronger nation: the US or Russia.
Upon further research I read that there was a rematch 20 years later in 1992 held in Yugoslavia between Spassky and Fischer. The United States warned Fischer that his participation in this rematch was illegal. He acknowledged the claim but decided to play anyways and ended up beating Spassky 10 wins to 5 losses. This action caused him to be wanted for the rest of his life and he was never allowed to return to America again. Funny how much emotion can be stirred from a simple, age-old match of chess.
That is very true, Spassky and Fischer did have a rematch years later. Although it was still a media hyped event, Spassky himself noted that Fischer was obviously rusty, but still one of the greatest living players. It is actually funny to note that although Fischer was labeled as a criminal after the match, for breaking the sanctions by the USA, he was pardoned by Clinton, but then re-criminalized by Bush Jr. Fischer then went missing for years, until reappearing in Japan, where he was arrested because of the reinstated status and tax evasion. Fischer contacted the Icelandic government, and they ended up giving him full citizenship, and allowing him asylum, where he lived out the rest of his life.