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In 1972, when Fischer and Spassky played the championship tournament, Fischer demanded to play the games in a ping pong room stating too much distractions as his reason. Later (if I am not wrong) he returned to the main hall to play the rest of the games. What was all this about? I mean weren't there distractions then? What kind of psychological warfare was this?

GloriaVictis
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Dark_Knight
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    It's not clear what you are asking. Can you please clarify? None of the 3 questions in your entry are meaningful questions for this forum. – Brian Towers Nov 11 '16 at 22:02
  • Care to explain why? – Dark_Knight Nov 12 '16 at 04:10
  • "What was all this about?" is the not the sort of question that invites a definitive answer. It is an invitation to speculation and gossip. Your other questions are the same. – Brian Towers Nov 12 '16 at 10:04
  • Ok.. I agree you are right about this question but I don't think my other questions were inappropriate.. – Dark_Knight Nov 12 '16 at 10:36
  • You're wrong! "I mean weren't there distractions then?" What kind of nonsense is that? It has nothing to do with chess. " What kind of psychological warfare was this?" Same for that. – Brian Towers Nov 12 '16 at 20:17
  • Agree to disagree brother.. Psychology is an important aspect of chess. Studying not only your opponent moves but her/his body language is also important. I appreciate you haven't downvoated my question but if you still feel it's useless, feel free to do so.. – Dark_Knight Nov 13 '16 at 02:17
  • All 3 of your questions invite speculative answers rather than definitive ones. Psychological questions which invite definitive answers are welcomed. We have had such in this forum regarding the psychology of draw offers, for instance. Excellent books covering psychological aspects of chess have been published. Examples: Jonathan Rowson's "Seven Deadly Chess Sins" and Nikolay Krogius' "Psychology in Chess". I'm sure there are more. – Brian Towers Nov 13 '16 at 21:07

1 Answers1

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Fischer objected to the proximity of the spectators, the intensity of the lighting, and the noise of the cameras. He did not request a separate venue. It was the organizers who suggested the ping-pong room as a compromise to address his objections. They then set to work modifying the conditions in the main playing hall to meet his demands.

By the start of Game 3, they had been able to reduce the lighting, rearrange the seating of spectators, and relocate the cameras so their noise would not be heard by the players.

jaxter
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    I think it was by the start of games 6 that the organizers had been able to reduce the lighting, rearrange the seating of spectators, and relocate the cameras. But still a great answer. I thought that it was Fischer who demanded to play the games in a ping pong room. – Dark_Knight Nov 14 '16 at 13:26