Artefacts include souvenirs from 1972 ‘Match of the Century’ between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer
A vast collection of chess memorabilia, including souvenirs from the 1972 “Match of the Century” and considered to be the largest and most important of its kind in private hands, is to be auctioned at Sotheby’s in London next month.
The collection belonged to the German grandmaster Lothar Schmid, whose passion for the sport extended way beyond the board.
Considered one of the foremost German chess players, Schmid is best known for being chief arbiter of the legendary 1972 World Chess Championship match in Reykjavik between Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union and the American Bobby Fischer.
His score notes from the encounter, labelled the “Match of the Century”, along with those of Spassky and Fischer, as well as other souvenirs from the cold war showdown, are among the items up for auction from the collection, which contains more than 50,000 artefacts spanning several centuries.
