http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080118/ap_on_re_eu/obit_fischer
I admire him for not being afraid to be strange.
I’m sorry to hear that–he was a troubled soul. If ever you want to see a touching movie about chess and/or a “stage parent,” you must see “Searching for Bobbie Fischer,” an absolute gem.
Susan
That’s the one with Ben Kinsley, right? Good one.
Ben Kingsley, Laurence Fishburn, and an amazing little boy (can’t think of his name) playing the chess prodigy. It’s an incredibly sweet movie.
Susan
I have played a lot of chess and Bobby Fisher was kind of a hero to me when I was a kid. I remeber following the game in Iceland in 1972 with great interest. I´ve got many of his games in books and as computer files and although i don´t play chess much these days it´s always a joy to look at (and analyze) one of Fisher´s games. Pure genius! It´s like listening to a piece of music by Mozart or a painting by Rembrandt. He was one of the greatest chess players ever. May his troubled soul rest in peace!
If you´ve got access to a chess-set take a look at this short gem from New York in 1963. Fisher is playing the Evans gambit.
[Event “New York (USA)”]
[Site “New York (USA)”]
[Date “1963.??.??”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Fischer Robert J (USA)”]
[Black “Reuben Fine”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “C52”]
[PlyCount “33”]
[EventDate “1963.??.??”]
- e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O dxc3 8.
Qb3 Qe7 9. Nxc3 Nf6 10. Nd5 Nxd5 11. exd5 Ne5 12. Nxe5 Qxe5 13. Bb2 Qg5 14. h4
Qxh4 15. Bxg7 Rg8 16. Rfe1+ Kd8 17. Qg3 1-0
That little boy is Josh Waitzkin, and it is in an interesting story. The movie is based on a book his father wrote about his road to the US Junion championships. A child prodigy like Fischer, Waitzkin is a lot saner, probably because chess is not the be-all and end-all of life for him.
Here’s his website, and he’s also the teacher in the Chessmaster series of video/computer games. He is, unfortunately, presently inactive in competition.
I was trying to think of the name of the little boy who plays Josh Waitzkin in the movie–it’s Max Pomeranc. I love the way he goes through the movie with his shoes untied.
Susan
I knew a fellow who lived downstairs from Fischer
and his mother in Brooklyn–where I grew up too.
Said Fischer and his mother were constantly
fighting. I reckon that plus the sort of mathematical/
logical genius that borders on madness, pretty
much explains what went wrong with his life.
Brooklyn in those years must have been
one of the craziest places on earth.
At least he had his day. I suspect he was, or
would have been, the greatest chess player
in history.
Yes, he was an admirable role model –
Check and mate! An interesting fellow indeed.
Anstapa
Geez, Gonz, yer such a buzzkill…
Bobby Fischer’s mother was Jewish. From what I understand, if your mother is a Jew, then so are you. I suppose it is hopelessly too complicated, psycholigically speaking, to wonder why he developed such a hatred for the Jewish people.
Another thing that interests me is his genius. You have to be extemely gifted to be the best chess player in the world. It is hard for me to imagine that genius, such as his and Mozart’s, for example, is merely the result of brain structure, a hardware manifestation or a fluke of birth, if you will. It seems to me that there has to be something more involved here, but, of course, not being a genius, I don’t know what it is.
I think Fischer had demons. He wasn’t just strange–he was downright unlikeable and obviously filled with anger and hate. But there are few people in the world whose deaths I’d celebrate and his isn’t one of them.
Susan
One of my favorite movies.
He just likes to harrass Cranberry.
I love listening to a good painting. (Especially pointillism; it’s so percussive.)
There are even people who hate themselves!
Touché! 
That sentence could have been better formulated!
But I agree pointillism is a bit percussive - a bit like jazz!
Yep. Everybody should ignore him (Gonzo) as best and as much as they can.