Authors: Frank Brady
2
“Anyone
should be able to become a master,” he said with certainty
Observation by author, circa 1960.
3
Public
pairing ceremonies were the custom, he loudly pointed out, in all European and most international tournaments
Observation by author, December 1960.
4
“Simple,” said Bobby in response, “just do the pairings over again”
Telephone conversation between Bobby Fischer and an official of the U.S. Chess Federation. December 1959.
5
“Note his dungarees and [plaid] shirt in contrast to his opponents’ business suits and ties.” Parade
, October 27, 1957, p. 22.
6
He introduced Bobby to his tailor in the Little Hungary section of Manhattan PRO
, p. 35.
7
She set up a trust fund with Ivan Woolworth
Agreement between Ivan Woolworth and Regina Fischer, July 15, 1960, FB.
8
Regina, ever irrepressible and somehow aware of the adverse weather
Letter from Regina Fischer to Bobby, April 4, 1960, MCF.
9
Unsurprisingly, he won all the games NYT
, August 26, 1960, p. 9.
10
He suggested that Regina undertake a hunger strike for chess NYT
, October 12, 1960, p. 43.
11
Although separated in age by almost four decades, the two players became relatively close and remained so for years CL
, December 20, 1960, p. 15.
12
The cerebral melee ended in a draw NYT
, November 2, 1960, p. 45.
13
A short while later
, Chess Life,
in describing the incident CL
, March 20, 1961.
Bobby Fischer’s interview in a publication that was attempting to expose the Worldwide Church of God was one of the most revelatory ever published about his religious beliefs. That article and interviews of players at Curaçao in 1962 added to the sources for this chapter.
1
he and his sister took a taxi to a victory dinner for Bobby at Vorst’s
Interview of Jack Collins by author, January 1961.
2
“Fischer has not lost a game in an American tournament since 1957.” CL
, January 20, 1961, p. 1.
3
It didn’t help that a study had been published that year in
American Statistician
magazine
Ernest Rubin, “The Age Factor in Masters Chess,” reprinted in
CL
, February 20, 1961, pp. 40–43.
4
During the summer of 1961 a sixteen-game match between the two players was negotiated and a prize fund of $8,000 was promised NYT
, August 19, 1961, p. 15.
5
When four world-class chess players—Svetozar Gligoric, Bent Larsen, Paul Keres, and Tigran Petrosian—were asked PRO
, p. 42.
6
Early in his career he
did
play before sundown
Hooper and Whyld, p. 22.
7
He simply couldn’t play at that time, he said. “It’s ridiculous.” NYT
, August 15, 1961, p. 36.
8
She could always come to the game after the concert, he argued CL
, August 1961, pp. 213–20.
9
Reshevsky paced up and down, a few spectators waited patiently NYT
, August 14, 1961, p. 20.
10
Bobby ultimately sued Reshevsky and the American Chess Foundation
“Chess Stars Heading for Court Battle”
The Daily Gleaner
, Kingston, Ontario, April 27, 1962.
11
“It’s up those metal stairs.”
The source of the information following, pages 137–39, consisted also of interviews with Bobby Fischer, circa 1964, and with Ralph Ginzburg, circa 1962.
12
an interview with Bobby for
Harper’s
magazine
Ralph Ginzburg, “Portrait of a Genius or a Young Chess Master,”
Harper’s
, January 1962, pp. 49–55.
13
In preparation for the interview, Ginzburg had read Elias Canetti’s classic work
Auto-da-Fé See Canetti.
14
“I don’t want to talk about it! Don’t ever mention Ginzburg’s name to me!” PRO
, p. 47.
15
It honed his instinct and forced him to trust himself CL
, February 1962, p. 25.
16
“the number comes up again and again [the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours of practice]”
Gladwell, p. 41.
17
“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”
Gladwell, p. 41.
18
Bobby signed it using the Russian Cyrillic alphabet, needing to change only a few letters. CL
, February 1962, p. 25.
19
“A charmer” CR
, November 1961, p. 347.
20
Tal [Sighing]: “It is difficult to play against Einstein’s theory.”
Fischer,
My 60 Memorable Games
, p. 196; also in
CL
, March 1952, p. 58.
21
Bobby was not happy with his eventual second-place showing in the tournament CR
, November 1961, p. 323.
22
he was also having difficulty keeping food down PRO
, p. 50.
23
the British Broadcasting Corporation invited him to London to appear on a show called
Chess Treasury of the Air Tiller, p. 124.
24
Bobby spent a British Christmas with his mother and her new husband
Letter to Regina Pustan from Bobby Fischer, January 1963, MCF.
25
“I wasn’t just ‘trusting in God’ to give me the moves.”
“The Painful Truth,” interview of Bobby Fischer in
Ambassador Report
, June 1976.
26
Bobby wrote a preachy letter to his mother
Letter to Regina Pustan from Bobby Fischer, March 9, 1964, MCF.
27
A good and tolerant life was the best life, she said
Copy of letter, perhaps unsent, to Bobby Fischer from Regina Pustan, August 1964, MCF.
28
“If anyone tried to live by the letter of the law, it was me” Ambassador Report
, June 1977.
29
“The more I tried [to be obedient] the more crazy I became,” he noted
“The Painful Truth,” interview of Bobby Fischer in
Ambassador Report
, June 1976.
30
the real prize for Bobby was to qualify for the Candidates tournament
Conversation with author, April 1962.
31
“Bobby Fischer’s margin of 2½ points reflects his complete domination of the event.” CL
, April 1962, p. 69.
32
entered Bobby’s room at the Hotel Intercontinental in Curaçao shortly after Arthur Bisguier, Bobby’s second, had arrived
. DeLucia, p. 270.
33
“No, you get out!” Benko replied, somewhat illogically
. Interview of Pal Benko by author, summer 2008.
34
“I am sorry that I beat up Bobby. He was a sick man, even then.”
Ibid.
35
The day after the fight, Bobby penned a letter to the Tournament Committee, asking them to expel Benko
.
Chesscafe.com/FromArchive/FromArchive.htm
, “The Fischer-Benko Slapping Incident,” September 1977.
36
the Candidates tournament had furnished “a series of early-round surprises that are probably without parallel in chess history” CL
, August 1962, p. 172.
37
“Chess is better.”
Interview of Arthur Bisguier by author, February 21, 2009.
38
“There was open collusion between the Russian [Soviet] players” Sports Illustrated
, August 20, 1962, accessed December 10, 2009,
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault
.
39
Korchnoi, in his memoir
Chess Is My Life,
backed Bobby’s accusations
Korchnoi, pp 44–45.
40
“He simply wasn’t the best player.”
Interview of Pal Benko by author, July 2000, Philadelphia, PA.
41
The article was reprinted in German, Dutch, Spanish, Swedish, Icelandic, and (with modifications) Russian
. Bobby Fischer, “The Russians Have Fixed World Chess,”
Sports Illustrated
, August 20, 1962.
FBI files of an investigation of Bobby Fischer added facts, heretofore unknown, about his life. Interviews with players who knew him well provided additional insights. Observations by the author served as a catalyst to the research.
1
“tinkering with the engine of a plane”
Quoted in the film
Me and Bobby Fischer
, directed by Fridrik Gudmundsson, DVD, 2009.
2
Winner three times of the World Championship, he’d defeated Alexander Alekhine, José Capablanca, Max Euwe, and Emanuel Lasker
Golombek,
Golombek’s Encyclopedia
, pp. 38–39.
3
Bobby shook hands and said succinctly, “Fischer” CL
, November 1962, p. 262.
4
He knew he was a major representative of the Soviet Union
Interview of M. Botvinnik by author, Skopje, Macedonia, September 1972.
5
His pupil, Anatoly Karpov, said of him that he had an “Olympian inaccessibility”
Karpov, p. 41.
6
When the game was adjourned, it appeared that Fischer’s position was clearly superior. CL
, November 1962, p. 261.
7
“Look,” he said. “Botvinnik is getting assistance!”
Botvinnik, pp. 170–78.
8
No official protest was put before the tournament committee PRO
, p. 66.
9
Mysteriously, the nineteen-year-old wrote a letter of apology to Dr. Eliot Hearst
Interview of Dr. Eliot Hearst by author, February 7, 2009, by telephone.
10
Aboard the
New Amsterdam
once again
DeLucia, p. 96.
11
Botvinnik might have been able to become Premier
DeLucia, p. 96.
12
But back in Brooklyn, Bobby said he just no longer wanted to be involved with those “commie cheaters,” as he called them
. Conversation with author, circa December 1962, New York.
13
Saidy’s position was powerful, and Bobby’s was precarious
. Observation of author, 1964.
14
Saidy’s blunder gave Fischer an opportunity to develop a winning endgame
Interview of Anthony Saidy by author, February 21, 2009, by telephone.
15
Fischer’s first prize for his two weeks of intensity and brilliance was just $2,000 NYT
, January 4, 1964.
16
“Fischer was playing against children,” he said CL
, August 1964, p. 202.
17
he’d said that he would never play in the FIDE cycle again because it was stacked in favor of the Soviets
. “The Stalemate of Bobby Fischer,”
CL
, April 1964, p. 186.
18
General George B. Hershey, head of the Selective Service bureau
Author’s discussion with Harold M. Phillips, circa spring 1964.
19
Alfred Landa, then assistant to the president, said
Interview of Alfred Landa by author, circa spring 1964, New York.
20
Bobby Fischer was classified 4F
Draft deferment card, 1964, MCF.
21
Nonetheless, the State Department flatly refused to recognize him as a legitimate columnist CL
, September 1965, p. 191.
22
“Cuban travel criteria make no provision for validation for the purpose of participating in chess competitions.”
FBI investigation file of Robert James Fischer, 1958–1967.
23
Furious, Bobby cabled Castro NYT
, August 25, 1965, p. 36.
24
Upon receiving word from Castro, Bobby confirmed his participation NYT
, August 25, 1965, p. 36.
25
The tick of the chess clock was the only sound heard
Observation of author, who was a referee during the Havana match, August 1965.
26
Bobby had to play this strange, isolated form of chess every single game
“Fischer Against the Odds,”
NYT
, October 24, 1965, p. X30
27
Still, he tied for second, a half point behind Russia’s Vasily Smyslov, the former World Champion NYT
, September 28, 1965, p. 10.
28
They rigorously studied his opening, middle game, and endings
Vladimir Linder and Isaac Linder, “From Morphy to Fischer, Who’s Next?” ten-page unpublished essay, Moscow, 2002, p. 8.
29
“We
must
get Bobby Fischer,” Gregor Piatigorsky told his wife
. Piatigorsky, p. 166.
30
The story of how Fischer went into a swoon
Kashdan, pp. xix–xx.
31
Fortunately, drawing deep from his inner reserves, Bobby
did
climb CR
, October 1966, p. 296.
Letters and postcards to Jack Collins, and widespread media coverage that appeared in the general and chess press for Fischer’s three matches leading up to the World Championship, provided most of the sources for this chapter.
1
He won the Monte Carlo International and ungallantly refused to pose for a photograph with His Royal Highness Prince Rainier CR
, May 1967, p. 131.
2
when Princess Grace awarded him his cash prize
Michael Hoffer, “Boris
Spassky Interview and Fischer-Spassky Retrospective,” posted in
Chess History
,
http://yes2chess.com
.
3
he led the American Olympiad team to Cuba
Andrew Soltis,
Karl Marx Plays Chess and Other Reports on the World’s Oldest Game
, p. 51.
4
because of the refusal of the organizers to agree to his scheduling demands CR
, December 1965, p. 355.
5
“Leave me in peace!” Newsday
, December 1967.