The world chess championship between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer at Reykjavik in 1972 was the most widely publicised and eagerly analysed beforehand of any chess match to date. It seized the attention of the world's press and media in general in unprecedented fashion and inspired more books and column inches than any chess contest before or since. Hardinge Simpole now commemorate this stellar chess clash by reprinting the eye witness accounts by Grandmaster Emeritus Harry Golombek OBE and Professor George Steiner. Grandmaster Golombek analyses the moves while Professor Steiner searches for the meaning behind the circus. To top it all, Arthur Koestler, one of the keenest intellects of the 20th century, adds an introduction to complete a remarkable tour de force of intellectual exegesis of a great turning point in world chess.

Introduction by: Arthur Koestler