November 1972 & 1997 'On the Cover'

How quickly we tend to forget. Last month, in October 1972 & 1997 'On the Cover' (October 2022), we saw Bobby Fischer on the cover as 'The World Champion!!'. This month his historic feat already risks sliding into the back pages of CL&R.

Left: '?'
Right: 'Herculean Labors'

Chess Life & Review (50 Years Ago)

Grandmaster Walter Browne, left, after winning the 1972 U.S. Open in Atlantic City. N.J. USCF Executive Director Ed Edmondson is at right. Crosstable [inside]. Photo by Col. Paul L. Webb.

The last time we saw GM Browne 'On the Cover' was the 1972 portion of the May 1972 & 1997 post (May 2022), where he was a co-winner at Lone Pine. The November 1972 issue was his third cover appearance that year, two more than Fischer.

'Crosstable [inside]' was the bulk of the 2-1/2 page U.S. Open tournament report, along with a list of winners. The written report was a six-paragraph box titled, 'The Open: Kolty Komments', including everything you needed to know about the site's air conditioning.

More on the Fischer - Spassky match followed the Koltanowski report. I've already mentioned Anthony Saidy's write-up, 'A Tale of Two Titans - Ten Weeks That Shook the Chess World', in Hatchet Job (June 2022). Saidy was followed by GM Robert Byrne's analysis of games 12 and 13 (out of 21 games played).

Chess Life (25 Years Ago)

Thank you, Frank Elley, for never throwing anything away. Including the slide of the artwork by Jack Jones.

Which you received in 1983. Sent to you by McLean & Friends, Atlanta, Georgia, [phone].

This work, done as a sample for Chess Life, doesn't quite represent the era of Hercules, but it is a fine tribute to our Weekend Warriors who did battle over the Labor Day weekend, vying for state and regional championships.

The related five-page article, also titled 'Herculean Labors', covered Labor Day tournaments from eight states. An article by Rachel Landry featured an interview with then FIDE World Champion Anatoly Karpov, plus his relationship with GM Ron Henley and Smartchess Online. Is this worth a follow-up?