ATallahassee Democrat, Tallahassee, Florida, Sunday, July 10, 1988 - Page 80
Previously, we wrote about a reported appearance of the reclusive ex-world champion Bobby Fischer in a Manila chess club last August.
Indeed, it was Fischer. His trip had been arranged by Florencio Campomanes, president of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) in cooperation with Philippine chess organizers.
Although Fischer was paid a fee and all expenses, he gave no interviews, talks or exhibitions. So why the trip?
One theory was offered to me by a Manila sports writer, “As everyone knows,” he told me, “Fischer is still unbeaten. Anyone who could get him back into competition would reap great publicity.”
“There's tremendous interest in Fischer. He's like Muhammad Ali. I think Campomanes, who has been accused of associating too closely with the Russians, would like to bring back Fischer, an American.
“And Philippine grandmasters and other strong players are not getting the kind of financial and logistical support that they used to get before Campomanes became FIDE president and took up residence outside the Philippines.
“A Fischer chess event here would change that.”
In 1975, Fischer turned down a $5,000,000 offer to defend his title against Anatoly Karpov in the Philippines, because of a disagreement with FIDE over the terms of the match.
Although Fischer seems no more ready to return to the chess arena than ever — nothing seems to have come out of the Manila visit — he still exhibits the brashness and bravado for which he is so famous.
He is reported to have told friends in Manila that he is better than both World Champion Garri Kasparov and ex-champion Anatoly Karpov. And that he could beat either one of them without a warm-up match, even though he hasn't played competitive chess for 15 years.
Below is a game played by Fischer in the 1966 Havana Chess Olympiad against Svetozar Gligoric of Yugoslavia.
