Mortal Games
Page 35
“Yes, chemical,” he said, considering a moment. And then, imperturbably, “I feel very optimistic for 1993. I will play great chess. We will continue the work in the United States. Chess in the schools, yes.
“Then, in 1996 I will take the championship away from FIDE, make an independent promotion. . . . Campomanes will create a new world champion, but who will care about him?”* By now we had been speaking for about an hour and a half, and Kasparov was already twenty minutes late for his meeting downstairs in the restaurant. “Fred, you know there is still a small chance for the world championship in New York in ‘93,” he said.
“What?”
“The four guys downstairs have interest. Probably it won’t happen. We’ll see. A small chance.”
“Really?” I was thinking, why are you here now instead of down there? You’re late! But I had long ago learned the answer to this question. Garry wasn’t yet ready to leave. Garry would go downstairs when the moment was propitious. From his manner I knew that he wanted to talk more about his plans for the future. Then he would probably glance at the newspaper and check his messages. At exactly the right moment, Kasparov would stride into the restaurant with a hard but detached expression, suggesting that he had been wrenched from matters of great importance. It is both thrilling and intimidating to meet the world champion for the first time. He is an historical figure. You sweat, don’t want to blow this opportunity. You can tell that he won’t tolerate small talk. His stare is calculating and cold. He is making lasting judgements.
“Fred, look at this, will you,” Garry said, and I half expected him to pull a typed draft of a Wall Street Journal article from his jacket pocket. I knew that I would have trouble concentrating on the article. It is always nerve-wracking to be with Garry when he is late. I wonder, should I be responsible and push him out the door or should I revel with him in his naughty and blissful truancy? But it wasn’t a Wall Street Journal article that Garry wanted to show me. Garry quickly peeled off his sports jacket, and, casting a quick grin my way, he jogged a few bouncy strides across the room and suddenly vaulted into a handstand. I had no idea that he could do this.
“I’ve reconstructed my optimism,” he said from this unlikely position. “The engine is running again. Not so much energy as before, but very steady. Watch this.” Garry began doing slow push-ups from the handstand position. “Bet Josh can’t do this,” he said. “I can play better than I did in ’92.” Garry’s face was red. He would be thirty years old soon, no longer a prodigy. “Could never do this before, Fred. Five. I can do five of them.”
*About six weeks later, the 1993 challenger, Nigel Short, phoned Garry Kasparov and asked if he were prepared to break from FIDE and play their match under the auspices of a new professional chess management organization. Kasparov replied without hesitation, “I’ve been waiting for this chance for eight years, since 1985.” They announced their intentions to the press and opened the bidding for the PCA World Chess Championship, to be held in September, 1993. This move would shake the existing structures of world chess management and may prove to be the death knell for FIDE.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Fred Waitzkin was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1943. He went to Kenyon College and did graduate study at New York University. His work has appeared in Esquire, New York magazine, the New York Times Sunday Magazine, the New York Times Book Review, Outside, Sports Illustrated, Forbes, the Huffington Post, and the Daily Beast, among other publications. His memoir, Searching for Bobby Fischer, was made into a major motion picture released in 1993. His other books are Mortal Games, The Last Marlin, and The Dream Merchant. Recently, he has completed an original screenplay, The Rave. Waitzkin lives in Manhattan with his wife, Bonnie, and has two children, Josh and Katya, and two grandsons, Jack and Charlie. He spends as much time as possible on the bridge of his old boat trolling baits off distant islands with his family.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
Copyright © 1993 by Fred Waitzkin
Cover design by Greg Mortimer and Mauricio Díaz
ISBN: 978-1-5040-4301-4
This edition published in 2017 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
180 Maiden Lane
New York, NY 10038
www.openroadmedia.com
FRED WAITZKIN
FROM OPEN ROAD MEDIA
Find a full list of our authors and
titles at www.openroadmedia.com
FOLLOW US: