(2 of 2)
Going into the eighth game, the word from the Russian camp was "nichevo" (no problem). Spassky soon had more problems than he could handle. On the eleventh move, Fischer elaborated a variation on the English opening that left the champion pondering for 55 minutes; on the 16th move, Fischer sprang a neat if obvious trap that forced the loss of Spassky's rook; on the 21st move, Bobby shattered Spassky's shaky defense with a Zwischenzug (in-between move), a ploy that is covered in every chess primer. In ragged retreat, Spassky resigned 16 moves later. That gave Fischer a 5-to-3 lead (he needs 12½ points to win the match, Spassky needs 12). Said U.S. Grand Master Isaac Kashdan: "Spassky seems demoralized and unable to cope with the incisive accuracy of his opponent. Barring a complete reversal of form, Fischer's lead is likely to increase."