Odd, Odd Case of Bobby Fischer

[The Straight Story]

Odd, Odd Case of Bobby Fischer

It’s no exaggeration to call Bobby Fischer both one of the most admired and one of the most reviled figures in American history. The admiration is prompted by his precocious rise to the pinnacle of the chess-playing world and his galvanizing 1972 cold-war-era triumph over Boris Spassky, the Soviet champion. The vilification stems from the monstrousness he exhibited in later years. On Sept. 11, 2001, he told a radio interviewer, “Yes, well, this is all wonderful news,” and, “It’s time to finish off the U.S. once and for all.” Thanks to the Internet, those comments will live forever.

A man of such extremes is no easy subject for biographical study. For one thing, the many Fischer outrages and eccentricities could too easily be sensationalized. For another, Fischer’s story cannot be told without detailed attention to chess. But Frank Brady, who knew Fischer for many years and is “internationally recognized,” according to the jacket copy of his new book, “Endgame,” as “the person most knowledgeable about the life and career of Bobby Fischer,” seems unusually well qualified to capture his many facets and contradictions. He has the wisdom to recognize that genius would not be genius if it could be easily explained.

“Endgame” is a rapt, intimate book, greatly helped by its author’s long acquaintance with Fischer, who died in 2008, and his deep grounding in the world of chess. Mr. Brady was the founding editor of Chess Life, the official magazine of the United States Chess Federation, but his book is entirely accessible to readers who have never heard of that publication. Nor does “Endgame” require any prior knowledge of chess luminaries, chess strategies (no charts here) or chess tournament etiquette. It requires no expertise to appreciate a one-liner like the one the 19-year-old Fischer delivered after a visit to a brothel in Curaçao. “Chess is better,” Fischer said.

Mr. Brady, a biographer dangerously drawn to megalomania (he has also written books about Aristotle Onassis and Orson Welles), takes a demystifying approach to Fischer’s eccentricities. He sees the person behind the bluster, and he presents that person in a reasonably realistic light. Mr. Brady also makes use of unusually good source material, from Fischer’s own unpublished manuscript to 50 years’ worth of his own conversations with Fischer’s associates, mentors and relatives. Note the omission of the word “friends.” Fischer never had them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/books/24book.html?src=twrhp

[Raine]

1. THANKS this is interesting

I've always found Fischer to be fascinating.

[The Straight Story]

2. as a kid he was one of my heroes, spent many hours studying his games

And his match against Spassky (both on and off the board) was the stuff of legend.

[Lionel Mandrake]

9. I used to study Fischer's games, too.

Fischer did a lot for chess. The publicity he generated, both good and bad, made the public more aware of chess.

Once I was playing in a tournament. I had Black, and my opponent chose the King's Gambit. By coincidence, I had just read Fischer's article, "A bust to the King's Gambit", in the American Chess Quarterly. I adopted Fischer's strategy and won that game.

[tammywammy]

3. Thanks for posting this

This book sounds fascinating. Adding it to my soon to read list.

[Lionel Mandrake]

4. K&R

I was going to compliment you on your writing, but I see now that your post was copied verbatim from a book review.

You might have mentioned the author, Janet Maslin.

Still, it's a worthwhile thread.

[checks-n-balances]

6. "I was going to compliment you...your post was copied..."

Please.

No quotation marks, but he did include the NYT link where he got it. But I saw no evidence that the OP was trying to pass off the writing as his own. Yes, he copied & pasted. Happens ALL THE TIME on DU! At least you said it was worthwhile.

I'm amazed that TSS is writing at all, considering that he just saw his son off to war just a few days ago.

Read his journal sometime.

[Lionel Mandrake]

7. Cutting and pasting is okay.

And I agree that the OP wasn't trying to pass off the writing as his own. I just think it is better to clarify who wrote what within the post, and not depend on the link for attribution. Not that this is a big deal.

The OP did limit the quotation to 4 paragraphs, in accordance with DU rules.

[WinkyDink]

5. It’s no exaggeration to call Bobby Fischer both one of the...most reviled

It’s no exaggeration to call Bobby Fischer both one of the most admired and one of the most reviled figures in American history.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ummmm...yes, yes, it is. A HUGE exaggeration. Bobby Fischer is not "in American history" AT ALL. He MIGHT get a small mention in a Cultural Studies book.

And I say this as a BF erstwhile fan, before the anti-Semitic crazy set in.

[Codeine]

8. +1

It was a rather wild overstatement. 99% of the public has probably never even heard his name.

[unblock]

10. i was in a plane on the reykjavik tarmac when the pilot announced fischer had become world champion

i learned from his games. i learned to love and admire his chess much the way i love and admire the works of wagner.

great stuff, but try to ignore the person behind the masterpieces.

[Lionel Mandrake]

11. An apt comparison

Bobby Fischer and Richard Wagner -

Both were creative, and both were anti_Semitic.

Daniel Barenboim created quite a stir in 2001, when he dared to conduct a piece by Wagner in Jerusalem.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1428634.stm

[slackmaster]

12. "Reviled" is "Deliver" spelled backwards

K&R for posting about one of the most interesting chess champions evar.

[Jack Rabbit]

13. This book may be interesting

I don't think to understand Bobby Fischer one needs to know how to play chess, but a grounding in psychology might help. Fischer had an uneasy relationship with his mother, so one might wonder if that was reflected symbolically in his disdain for playing the Queen's pawn on the first move. Of course, the conflict with his mother may have had something to do with his fanatic rejection of his Jewish heritage and perhaps even his rejection of America (one's own country, least we forget, is another matriarchal symbol). I'm not a psychologist, but it is fascinating how Fischer's most intense dislikes were tied up in symbols of the female. A Freudian would have a field day examining Fischer.

[SpiralHawk]

14. Pondering the next move...