The mad genius of Bobby Fischer
They don't have to search for Bobby Fischer any longer.
The American chess master died yesterday in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he won the most famous match in the history of his game, beating Boris Spassky in the summer of 1972. He was 64.
Like most competitions between the United States and the Soviet Union, the significance of the game was magnified beyond all reason by the real or imagined implications. These contests -- chess, basketball, it didn't matter -- were seen as morality plays, pitting ideologies of good and evil against each other. Sort of like the New York Yankees vs. just about anyone. Just kidding, Yankees fans.
I was there for Fischer-Spassky. I was in the Navy, stationed at the NATO base in Keflavik, doing pretty much what I still do. I was a Navy journalist. In between my normal duties, I occasionally got to go to the big city down the road. One of those days, I covered the chess match. I recall it went on forever and the hot dogs were made of lamb. And even with the confrontation being what it was -- the young, brash American genius from Brooklyn against the established Soviet champion -- it became increasingly difficult to root for Fischer because his eccentricities overshadowed an overwhelming sense of nationalism many of us felt at the height of the Cold War.
In short, Fischer was a jerk, complaining about everything, making incessant demands. Spassky was gracious and urbane. Imagining what might happen to the Soviet back home if he lost, you could almost have some sympathy for him. In the end, Fischer prevailed, and it was a great triumph for the U.S. But at the same time, the Summer Olympics were going on in Germany. The United States lost that controversial basketball game to the Soviets. And, of course, the Munich Massacre, where members of the Israeli delegation were killed, stunned the world and obliterated everything else going on in sports.
Fischer went on to become a bizarre, shadowy figure (hence the irony of the title of the 1993 movie about a child chess prodigy, Searching for Bobby Fischer). Over the years, his eccentricity seemed to blossom into full-blown madness as he railed against the United States, went on anti-Semitic tirades (although his mother was Jewish) and was essentially in exile from the U.S. after breaking sanctions by playing a match in Yugoslavia.
Too often, in the world of competitions, a person reaches the pinnacle of his or her life at a very young age. And nothing after that can ever match what they did at age 30 or 25 or even 18. That's tough. But if they handle the reality with grace and intelligence, what they did in their youth can be a springboard. In the case of Fischer, who was on top of the world at age 29, it didn't have to work out the way it did. Chess isn't that kind of game. You can be superb for years. In fact, Fischer was. But there were other things going on -- invisible demons is the best way to put it, I guess -- that contributed to making him a victim of his own early phenomenal success.
Long, long before the end, Bobby Fischer had lost himself, never to be found again.
Photo credit: Associated Press
Comments
The fine line between genius and madman is not always so easy to measure. Bobby was essentially alone due to his powerful mind's inability to relate on a core level with the vast majority of people. When one is "trapped" intellectually and therefore left to their own thoughts on a consistent basis, it is easy to label their actions as "mad". Bobby was a true genius and his method of play displayed the same earmarks of otherworldly talent that Mozart showed. He was the best ever.
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Franco,
Thanks for the contribution. To reinforce what you say about genius trapped within itself, I'm reminded of stories of Fischer locking himself up and playing for days or weeks against himself.
-- Bill O.
Posted by: Franco D'Amico | January 18, 2008 11:13 AM
He was an unusual character. Isn't there a saying about how close genius and madness is?
Searching for Bobby Fischer is one of those excellent movies, not about chess, but about parents and kids and how hard to push them. Should be a required viewing for parents. I think the title probably turned some people away from viewing it but it isn't a chess movie, but more of a movie about life.
Rich
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Rich,
Thanks for writing. Good movie with one of my favorites, Chicago's Joe Mantegna. terrific cast with Ben Kingley, Laurence Fishburne,a great character actor, David Paymer and even William H. Macy. You're right that chess was the vehicle for the theme you described.
-- Bill O..
Posted by: Rich | January 18, 2008 11:38 AM
Rest in Peace, Mr. Fischer. Whatever demons were on your shoulders are gone. We will sing your glories and your failures, for you were one amazing person in the tapestry of humanity. Checkmate.
Posted by: P. Garrison | January 18, 2008 11:45 AM
I was 18 years old at the time of the Fisher/Spassky match. What you don't know when you're 18 is that you'll be 18 for the rest of your life.
Posted by: gary freedman | January 18, 2008 12:55 PM
On my blog I noted that I was also sort of near the match at the time. My family was returning from Israel and we flew over Iceland. I don't remember if it was over Reykjavik or at the time of the match.
Charles Krauthammer had a column a few years ago in Time magazine arguing that perhaps chess had a maddening effect on people. Gabriel Schoenfeld is skeptical about the madness but reprints a fascinating (and repelling) letter that Fischer wrote to the Encyclopedia Judaica.
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Thanks for the link to the Krauthammer column. Good stuff.
-- Bill O.
Posted by: soccer dad | January 18, 2008 3:06 PM
"Long, long before the end, Bobby Fischer had lost himself, never to be found again."
You're a writer not a chess player! We, true chess players not pretending chess players, always find and always found Bobby Fischer in our games.
Posted by: kupaloids | January 18, 2008 5:56 PM
I intended to give him no quarter because he betrayed his country. However the elloquence of the comments on this site from fellow chess players has changed my mind. Rest it peace.
Posted by: V Racer | January 18, 2008 6:42 PM
RIP Bobby Fischer.
We have created a memorial page to pay tribue to Bobby Fischer at
http://www.people-to-remember.com/wiki/index.php/Bobby_Fischer
Feel free to share your comments and thoughts.
Thanks,
Josh
Posted by: Josh | January 19, 2008 11:03 AM
To Bobby Fisher: You were a true heroe. But this country never understood that you can critize your country (especially if you are right about what you are saying, despite the outrage from people of your country, who cannot think out of their shelves...in other words cannot be objective...) I don't care how much they protest this comment...You Bobby Fisher was absolutely RIGHT!!!
Posted by: bobby fisher fan | May 28, 2008 1:07 AM