Doctors Order Diet and Exercise to Pep Up Fischer’s Chess Game

Doctors put chess legend Bobby Fischer on a strict diet Friday because he has eaten so much since he emerged from seclusion that it is dulling his play, sources said.

Physicians also prescribed a lot of walking and swimming for Fischer, according to sources close to the organizers of the $5-million match between the quirky American prodigy and rival Boris Spassky in this Montenegrin resort.

Fischer, after a brilliant winning game at the start of the match early this month, barely staved off a third consecutive defeat Thursday by managing a draw. Spassky, born in the old Soviet Union and now living in France, is leading 2-1 with three draws.

Organizers said the temperamental Fischer, obviously dejected by his poor play and blaming it on outside interference, has demanded that a protective glass panel be placed between players and public. He has also requested construction of a glass bell to seal off the podium in Belgrade where the match will move after one of the players scores five points.

The two champions are playing what the organizers dubbed “the revenge match of century,” a replay of their world title encounter in Iceland in 1972, which Fischer won to become the first American in this century to hold the coveted chess crown.