Short and competent history of the famous 1972 chess match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, Iceland. This match--which featured appalling behavior from Fischer and scrupulous sportsmanship from Spassky--not only permanently changed the economics of chess, but it became a metaphor for the cultural and political differences between the Soviet Union and the USA. [A quick affiliate link to Amazon for those readers who would like to support my work here: if you purchase your Amazon products via any affiliate link from this site, or from my sister site Casual Kitchen , I will receive a small affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!] Before getting to the many dramas of the match itself, author George Steiner gives a thumbnail history of chess across the modern era. The reader learns about all the major chess champions of the last century or so--their styles, their idiosyncrasies, their various declines and downfalls. Fischer's p...
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