Ideas, Openings & Improvement

A dispute over bathroom trips led to a forfeited game, a boycotted rematch, and the ugliest week in modern World Championship history.

Fischer finished fourth and accused the Soviets of fixing the tournament against him. Decades later, the consensus is that he was right, and it changed the format forever.

One side brought a man trained to stare. The other brought mirrored sunglasses to stare back. Somewhere underneath the theatre, a genuinely great match was being played.