World Chess Championship 1972

The World Chess Championship 1972 was a match for the World Chess Championship between challenger Bobby Fischer of the United States and defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. The match took place in the Laugardalshöll in Reykjavík, Iceland, and has been dubbed the Match of the Century. Fischer became the first US-born player to win the world title. Fischer's win also ended, for a short time, 24 years of Soviet domination of the World Championship.

Fischer won the right to challenge for the World Championship after some dominant performances during the qualification cycle, in which he defeated some of the world's leading players by unprecedented margins. The first game was played on July 11, 1972. The 21st and last game, begun on August 31, was adjourned after 40 moves, with Spassky resigning the next day without resuming play. Fischer won the match 12½–8½, becoming the eleventh undisputed world champion. The match was covered in the United States on ABC's Wide World of Sports and by Shelby Lyman on WNET.