Although there was substantial media coverage, and some drama, public interest in this rematch was not nearly as great as with the 1972 World Championship match in Reykjavík, Iceland.
The match was played in late 1992 in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which was under UN sports sanctions.
Due to the breach of sanctions, the United States issued a warrant for Fischer's arrest, and he never returned to his home country.
After defeating Spassky to win the title of World Champion in the World Chess Championship 1972, Fischer was scheduled to defend his title in 1975 against the winner of the 1974 FIDE Candidates Tournament, Anatoly Karpov.
Instead, Fischer demanded the format be changed to that used in the very first World Championship, between Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort, where the winner was the first player to score 10 wins with draws not counting.
In case of a 9–9 score, the champion would retain title, and the prize fund split equally.
The delegates voted in favor of Fischer's 10-win proposal, but rejected the 9–9 clause as well as the possibility of an unlimited match.
[3] In response, Fischer refused to defend his title, and Karpov was declared World Champion by forfeit.
Seventeen years later, Fischer entered negotiations with sponsors willing to fund a match under his proposed format, settling on a bid from Yugoslav millionaire Jezdimir Vasiljević.
Fischer insisted that since he had not been defeated in a match, he was still the true World Champion.
He further claimed that all the games in the FIDE-sanctioned World Championship matches, involving Karpov and his challengers Korchnoi and Kasparov, had prearranged outcomes.
[4] He then played a rematch of the 1972 World Chess Championship against Spassky.
The purse for the rematch was 5 million USD, with 3.35 million USD of the purse to go to the winner,[5][6][7][8] and even the loser would get an excellent prize for which Spassky was grateful to Fischer.
[citation needed] It was Fischer's fame that made this event possible.
[citation needed] The match started in Sveti Stefan near Budva, an island off the coast of Montenegro.
The match rules required a player to win ten games (draws not counting), with no adjournments.
After a player had won five games, the match would take a 10-day recess and continue in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.
Fischer's score of 17½ out of 30 (counting draws) against Spassky gave him a performance rating of 2660,[9] which would have put him at No.
[10] Yasser Seirawan believed that the match proved that Fischer's playing strength was "somewhere in the top ten in the world".
[11] Kasparov himself was dismissive of Fischer, stating that "Bobby is playing OK, nothing more.
"[12] Jeremy Silman wrote that Fischer's level of play was inconsistent: Games 1 and 11 were very highly regarded, but overall the level of play was below that of the world championship matches of Kasparov.
[13] After Fischer's victory, he proclaimed himself as the "Undefeated Champion of the World".
Fischer's participation led to a conflict with the US government, which warned Fischer that his participation in the match would violate an executive order imposing US sanctions on Yugoslavia.
He continued to play occasional events, but never participated in a world championship cycle again.
The players reached a Benoni Defense (ECO A56) after 5...Bg7,[50] which transposed to a King's Indian Defence after 6.Bg5.
[51] Spassky should have played 9.Qd2 Nh5 10.Be2 Nxg3 11.hxg3 a6 12.Nf3 Nd7 13.0-0 Rb8 14.a4 with a slight advantage for White (Minev).
The players reached a Benoni Defense (ECO A56) after 6.Bd3,[71] which transposed to a King's Indian Defence after 7.Nf3.