Bobby Fischer Goes to War: How the Soviets Lost the Most Extraordinary Chess Match of All Time

GLOSSARY

a1… b1… g1… h1… a2… h2, and so on—Each of the sixty-four squares on the chessboard has a unique coordinate, from a1 to h8. a1 to a8 runs down a “file,” from white to black; al to h1 runs down a “rank,” from one side of the board to the other. This is the algebraic notation for identifying squares on the board. Thus, “Re3,” means the rook moves to the “e3” square. In 1972, most people operated with another language. A white move of the pawn to e4—the pawn to the fourth square of the king file—was written down as “P-K4.” When black moved, his/her moves were seen from his/her side: thus, if black moved his/her king’s pawn two squares (to e5), this was also jotted down as “P-K4.”

Castle—A maneuver in chess in which the king moves two squares and the rook jumps over it to the adjacent square. Each side can perform this maneuver only once per game. This is the only maneuver in chess in which two pieces are moved simultaneously. It is allowed under the following conditions: 1) there can be no pieces between the king and rook; 2) neither the king nor the rook can previously have moved; 3) the king cannot be in check; 4) nor can the king pass over a square that is under attack by an opposing piece.

Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU)—The governing body of the Communist Party. The general secretary (or first secretary) was the true leader of the USSR.

Checkmate—The king is attacked and cannot escape; the end of the chess game.

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)—Founded in 1908 as the Bureau of Investigation, it is the investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Justice and answerable to the U.S. attorney general. Broadly, it investigates cases where a federal interest is involved. At the period of this story, its name was inseparable from that of J. Edgar Hoover, who had been director since 1924.

Fédération Internationale des échecs (FIDE)—Formed in 1924, it has responsibility for the organization of chess at the international level, including the rules of play and international championships. The membership is of national chess federations.

Grandmaster—The highest international ranking of a player. The title is earned through a complex rating system but essentially requires several strong results in top-class tournaments. “International master” is the next highest ranking. In 1972, there were approximately ninety grandmasters; there are now six times that number.

Icelandic Chess Federation (ICF)—Responsible for organized chess in Iceland.

Komitet Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti (KGB)—Committee for State Security, successor to the secret police, the NKVD.

Komsomol—The Youth League of the Communist Party.

Narodnyi Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del (NKVD)—People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs, the state security organization until 1943. With its own armed force and control over the penal system, it answered directly to Stalin and included the political police, ordinary police, and border troops.

Opening—There are no fixed frontiers separating the three phases of chess—the opening, the middle game, and the ending—but the opening covers the first moves of the game, often well known to the players from their experience and from study to the players; in the middle game, the majority of the pieces will still be on the board, but the game will have entered virgin territory; and the ending is usually marked by the disappearance of the queens.

Politburo—The policy-making body or cabinet of the CPSU Central Committee and center of Soviet political power.

Second—A chess player who supports another player, in a tournament or a match, with opening preparation and, when unfinished games were adjourned, with adjournment analysis.

United States Chess Federation (USCF)—Responsible for organized chess in the United States.

USSR Council of Ministers Committee for Physical Training and Sport (GosKomSport)—In effect, the Sports Ministry, coming under the jurisdiction of the Council of Ministers. Constitutionally, GosKomSport was part of the government but in practice was answerable to the corresponding Central Committee department. It ran chess through its chess committee, the Central Chess Club, and the USSR Chess Federation. (Referred to here as the Sports Committee.)