Pensacola News Journal Pensacola, Florida Sunday, October 04, 1981 - Page 12
Chess Still No Money Game
Merano, Italy (AP) — Bobby Fischer upped the stakes in world championship chess, but unlike sports heroes and Soviet champions, most Western grand masters must keep on the move to earn a living from the game.
When not on the tournament circuit, many in the world chess elite of about 200 grand masters resort to selling insurance, teaching or writing chess columns for newspapers.
But for defending world titleholder Anatoly Karpov and other top Soviet players in a country where employment is regulated by the state, chess affords financial security and prestige.
Even so, the prize of 500,000 Swiss francs, the equivalent of $260,000, for the winner of the current World Championship Chess match between Karpov and Soviet exile Victor Korchnoi is dwarfed by the financial rewards offered in boxing, football and other spectator sports.
Fischer, the only U.S. World champion ever, created immense interest in chess and commanded high fees. In 1975, the Philippine organization offered a $5 million prize fund for the scheduled Fischer-Karpov world championship match that never took place.
To stage the match here, the organizers, relying on sponsorship by banks and local businesses, have put up $1.2 million and are picking up the hotel tabs for the two chess delegations.
The organizers also will absorb the income taxes the two players will owe the Italian government, according to one of the chief promoters.