You are right, that was the summer of the Fischer-Spassky chess tournament. Walking up and down the boardwalk in New Jersey, every shop had these crazy-looking electronic "Pong" games, which were housed in these six-foot-high pedestals that were covered in candyflake vinyl upholstery, like a "Kustom" guitar amplifier.
One of the big songs of that summer was Going To Take Some Time, by the Carpenters.
“I remember that summer of 1972 very well. My parents took us on vacation to Asbury Park, NJ, mainly to get me away from the too-hot romance I was involved in with a high school classmate.”
This is a great thread. I grew up in Belmar, 5 miles south of Asbury Park on the shore. Summer of 72 was, for me, the summer between elementary school and high school. I went to Manasquan HS but many of my friends went to Asbury Park HS.
I played in the Ocean Grove Summer Band, we practiced in the old North End Hotel right on the Ocean Grove/Asbury Park border. 10 CC and KISS played in a venue close to the Palace Amusements that summer. I think it was called the Sunshine Inn or something like that.