India, Sept. 6 -- On September 1, 1972, America's Bobby Fischer stepped into immortality as he dethroned Russia's Boris Spassky to become the world chess champion, concluding a politically charged and globally watched 21-game duel that transformed the 64 squares into a Cold War battleground.

HT chronicled the "Match of the Century" - played in Reykjavik, Iceland - which became as much a clash of cultures as of personalities: the outspoken and eccentric Fischer versus the measured and grounded Spassky. The Soviet chess machine was at the height of its dominance, having held the world title for 24 years. It fell to 29-year-old Fischer, a chess prodigy-turned-phenom, to snap that monopoly.

"I am tired of being the unofficial champion," HT ...