Central California Chess Voice - 1971-1976

In March of 1970, chess happenings on the world stage intruded into Northern California. Bobby Fischer emerged from his semi-retirement to play second board in the USSR vs Rest of the World match against former World Champion, Tigran Petrosian. He won by a score of 3-1. The articles which appeared in local papers only engendered excitement with the chess players; but didn't draw public attention...yet. Former chessplayers started rejoining their local clubs; CCCA membership and magazine circulation started to grow. When Fischer won the Interzonal by a score of 18.5-4.5 in December of 1970 the general public began to take notice; some trickled into the Northern California chess scene. Fischer's first Candidates match with super Grandmaster Mark Taimanov started out with newspaper coverage on the back page on May 16, 1971 and ended up on the front page after Fischer's 6-0 shutout on June 2, 1971; chessplayers were astounded and the public was intrigued.

Like all periodicals, Chess Voice, was dated several months ahead of when it actually came out. Thus the August-September 1971 issue had the news about the Fischer-Taimanov shutout as well as tournament flyers for the California State Chess Federation's 22nd Annual California Open on September 4-6 and CCCA's First Annual USCF Regional Class on September 11-12. Bobby's second Candidates match with super Grandmaster Bent Larsen ended again with a 6-0 shutout on July 20. 1971. Chessplayers and non-chessplayers alike were ecstatic; Fischer's win against former World Champion Tigran Petrosian by a score of 6.5-2.5 on October 26, 1971 was almost an anticlimax. New players joined Northern California chess in droves and the CCCA encouraged them to enter the weekend tournaments instead of the established chess clubs. The heyday of the chess club was over; the weekend tournament was king.

The October- November 1971 issue often had more than one tournament per weekend, which had been considered bad form in the past. It also had a first hand account of the August 6-21, 1971 United States Open at Ventura by Martin Morrison; the first time since 1961 that the event had been held in California. The February-March 1972 issue advertised the first Louis D. Statham Masters and Experts Class Tournament; a quiet beginning for what was to become one of the most prestigious tournaments in California chess history. While there was a lot more chess being played, in retrospect, it was the calm before the storm.