Sport: Scenario for a Stalemate

Trying to keep track of the pregame maneuverings in the Fischer-Spassky match is as confounding as the game itself. The moves have been fast, frantic and just plain farcical. A running account of the shenanigans resembles the notation for a twelve-move grand-master stalemate:

WHITE Spassky

1. Boris arrives in Reykjavik two weeks before the match.

2. Boris sighs, "If he doesn't come, we'll all go home. It's as simple as that."

3. Boris says he is "insulted" by Bobby's delaying tactics and demands a written apology.

4. Mollified, Boris agrees to play the first game. He wins.

5. Boris appears for the second game.

6. Boris paces backstage while organizers frantically relay word to Bobby that they will unplug the cameras.

7. Boris is declared the winner of the second game on a forfeit. "It is a great pity," he says.

8. Boris says, "Bobby seems to be thinking about everything but chess."

9. Boris says, "I'm tired of this circus," and he goes salmon fishing.

10. Boris complains of hearing street noises in the room and demands that the game be moved back to center stage.

11. Boris says he does not care whether the cameras go or stay, explaining that "I'm a farm boy at heart."

12. Boris says, "I wonder what's wrong with Bobby?"

BLACK

Fischer

1. Bobby demands 30% of the gate receipts and goes into hiding in New York City.

2. Bobby, enticed by an English millionaire's offer to double the $125,000 purse, flies to Reykjavik at the last minute.

3. Bobby complies, confessing that "I was carried away by my petty dispute over money."

4. Bobby says he is distracted by the TV and movie cameras and refuses to play the second game unless they are removed.

5. Bobby, stripped to his underwear, sits playing chess in his hotel room, the door bolted, the telephone pulled from the wall.

6. Bobby says that just knowing the cameras are around is enough to unsettle him and he refuses to budge.

7. Bobby, claiming that "there is a conspiracy against me," files a formal protest against the forfeit.

8. Bobby threatens to fly back to the U.S.

9. At the last moment, Bobby agrees to play the third game in a secluded, second-floor room in the hall. He wins.

10. Bobby goes along and again calls for the removal of the cameras. He salvages a draw in the fourth game.

11. Bobby makes 14 new demands including a new hotel room, a new car, restaurant expenses and exclusive use of a swimming pool and a tennis court.

12. Bobby wins the fifth game.