Today in History

September 01, 1972
Checkmate!
American Bobby Fischer defeats Russian Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, Iceland, to become the world chess champion, the first American ever to win the title. His win brings chess to the world stage as a competitive sport. After years in seclusion, Fischer has rematch with Spassky in 1992 in Sveti Stefan, Yugoslavia, where he wins again. His travel to Yugoslavia violates a U.S. embargo, and Fischer does not return to the U.S. He later renounces his U.S. citizenship and became a resident of Iceland, where he dies January 17, 2008.



Today's Feature History Article

Reds versus Whites

A masterpiece in porcelain replays old struggles between Bolshevik and Czarist opponents




 



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