Rematch between Robert Fischer and Boris Spassky in 1992 as an Attempt to Break through the Sports Sanctions in Yugoslavia

The article examines the attempt of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to organise a breakthrough of the sports sanctions imposed on the country on 30 May, 1992. As a result of these sanctions, the country’s athletes were forced to participate in sports competitions without national emblems and flags. The next step was to be a complete ban on the participation of Yugoslav sport organisations in international competitions. In order to break through the international information blockade, the leadership of the FR of Yugoslavia tried to organise a commercial match between Robert Fischer and Boris Spassky, two veteran chess players, who played in the 1972 “Match of the Century.” The conference was organised by Jezdimir Vasiljević, a businessman who combined the cigarette and oil trade with the banking business. The results of this costly adventure were dubious. With the complete domination of huge international media corporations, positive results were almost impossible. However, the episode itself remains a bright page not only in the gloomy history of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, but also in the history of chess.