Bobby Fischer & Boris SpasskyIn 1972, Robert James "Bobby" Fischer and Boris Spassky battled for the World Chess Championship in the most widely followed match in the history of Chess. It was a disastrous start for Fischer, who lost the first 2 games in strange fashion. The first game was lost by an uncharacteristic blunder in a clearly drawn endgame. The second game was lost by forfeit, when Fischer refused to play the game in a dispute over the playing conditions. When the tournament organizers refused to give into his demands and the match appeared destined for a forfeit victory for the reigning Champion, Spassky yielded since it would have been a hollow victory. The third game was moved to a back room, away from the cameras whose presence had upset Fischer during the first game. The match continued and Bobby Fischer fought his way back and decisively defeated Spassky by a final score of 12.5 - 8.5, having won 7 and losing only 1 of the remaining games. Fischer's win was a momentous victory for the United States during the time of the Cold War. The iconoclastic American almost single-handedly defeating the mighty Soviet chess establishment that had dominated world chess for the past quarter-century.