by Frank Brady
40 He wasn’t absolutely certain he could see the full consequences of allowing Byrne to take his queen Fischer, My 60 Memorable Games, p. 65.
41 “Impossible! Byrne is losing to a 13-year-old nobody.” Hammond Times, February 24, 1957, p. 15.
42 Yet, other than the rapidity with which he was responding to Byrne’s moves, Bobby showed little emotion NYT, October 18, 1956, p. 44.
43 “Bobby Fischer’s [performance] sparkles with stupendous originality.” CR, December 1956, p. 374.
44 Bobby’s game appeared in newspapers throughout the country and chess magazines around the world Kasparov, p. 213.
45 The British magazine Chess relaxed its stiff upper lip, calling Bobby’s effort a game of “great depth and brilliancy” Chess, November 9, 1956.
46 Chess Life proclaimed Bobby’s victory nothing short of “fantastic” CL, November 5, 1956, p. 3.
47 “I just made the moves I thought were best.” AP wire story, February 24, 1957.
48 David Lawson, a seventy-year-old American whose accent betrayed his Scottish birth NYT, December 28, 2008.
49 Lawson’s preference for dinner was Luchow’s Author’s conversation with David Lawson, December 1963, New York.
50 “Many people imagine that the chess club …” BFE, p. 12.
51 “The King stands for the boy’s penis” Reuben Fine, The Psychology of the Chess Player (New York: Dover Books, 1956), p. 12.
52 “You’ve tricked me” Fine, Bobby Fischer’s Conquest of the World’s Chess Championship, pp. 24–25.
53 “it becomes one of the ironic twists of history” Ibid.
54 “Ask me something unusual” NYT, February 23, 1958, p. SM 38.
55 “I went to the phone booth and called my mother …” BFE, p. 12.
56 “it was the title that really mattered” BFE, p. 13.
57 “it was, of course, ridiculous for us to consider,” BFE, p. 13.
58 “Bobby Fischer should finish slightly over the center mark” CR, January 1958, p. 12.
59 “Reshevsky’s busted.” NYT, February 23, 1958, p. SM 38.
Chapter 4: The American Wunderkind
Letters to Bobby’s teacher, Jack Collins, and to his mother, about his visit to Moscow, followed by his entry into the Interzonal, Portorož 1958, illuminated how he felt about his first international tournament. The FBI files on Regina Fischer and the KGB files as paraphrased in the book Russians Versus Fischer also added further evaluative information.
1 hoping to supply information to the House Un-American Activities Committee Letter to FBI under FOI Act, sent July 24, 2009.
2 To others he proclaimed Shakhmatny Bulletin “the best chess magazine in the world” Johnson, p. 131.
3 Bobby made a mental note of which openings being played around the world won more games than others Fischer, My 60 Memorable Games, p. 18.
4 At the Four Continents, Bobby bought a hardcover Russian-language copy of The Soviet School of Chess for $2. Kotov and Yudovich, p. 8.
5 When Bobby was 14, he gave an interview to a visiting Russian journalist CR, January 1959, p. 8.
6 “I watch what your grandmasters do.” CR, January 1959, p. 8.
7 Bobby pored over Buschke’s holdings for hours, looking for that one book PRO, p. 11.
8 When Bobby won the U.S. Championship, Buschke gave him a $100 gift certificate PRO, p. 27.
9 Her oft-quoted statement that she’d tried everything Johnson, p. 127.
10 She also compiled the addresses and telephone numbers Copies of various address books of Regina Fischer. MCF.
11 I. A. Horowitz, the editor of Chess Review, claimed that she was a “pain in the neck” Author’s conversation with I. A. Horowitz, July 1972, New York.
12 “I hope Bobby will become a great chess champion” Letter from Regina Fischer to Maurice Kasper, October 1, 1957, MCF.
13 “Keep it up but don’t wear yourself down at it. Swim, nap.” Letter from Regina Fischer to Bobby Fischer, August 8, 1958, MCF.
14 The $64,000 Question was so popular that even President Eisenhower watched it every week Metz, Robert, CBS: Reflections in a Bloodshot Eye (New York: NAL, 1976), p. 78.
15 “It made interesting conversation while it lasted, anyway.” Bobby reflecting on The $64,000 Question in an essay he wrote, circa 1958, MCF.
16 “I’m not afraid of anything,” Regina answered, “and I have nothing to hide.” FBI file, p. 139.
17 Consequently, there was a sweeping investigation taking place of her activities, past and present FBI file.
18 The confidential FBI report on Regina FBI.
19 Undercover agents rifled through Joan Fischer’s records at Brooklyn College FBI.
20 “My mother,” said Joan Fischer, “is a professional protester.” Joan Fischer, undated and unsourced clipping, FB.
21 Regina had been “kicked out” of the Communist Party FBI report to the director from SAC, NY100-102290, August 24, 1953, p. 1.
22 She sent a letter directly to Premier Nikita Khrushchev Johnson, p. 128.
23 Agents and informers continued to spy on the Fischers FBI report to the director from SAC, NY100-102290, August 24, 1953, p. 2.
24 As it developed, Bobby was never questioned, but the fear had been implanted Preliminary interview of Bobby Fischer for the film My Friend Bobby. Interview is in “Chapters from the Film,” outtakes not used in the final release copy. Reykjavik, Iceland, 2009.
25 The agent remained throughout the broadcast but did not reveal his true identity FBI report to the director from SAC, NY100-102290, May 23, 1958, p. 1.
26 he tripped with youthful awkwardness on the microphone wire while making his exit from the stage I’ve Got a Secret footage, CBS, March 26, 1958.
27 “If I have to wear a tie, I won’t go,” New York World-Telegram and Sun, June 12, 1958.
28 “The eighth wonder of the world,” Bobby wrote to Jack Collins Postcard from Bobby Fischer to Jack Collins, June 21, 1958, JWC.
29 Nevertheless, he played some seven-minute games Postcard, circa 1958, JWC.
30 Before boarding the plane to Russia, Bobby plugged cotton into his ears Letter from Regina Fischer to Bobby Fischer, June 18, 1958, MCF.
31 Moscow’s finest hotel, the National. Background promotional material from the Hotel National, circa 2009.
32 “Call me,” she wrote to Bobby. “It’s on the house.” He didn’t. Letter from Regina Fischer to Bobby Fischer, June 30, 1958, MCF.
33 His mission was to play as many masters as possible Letter to Parkhito from Regina Fischer, June 2, 1958, MCF.
34 Everyone wanted to see the American wunderkind Interview of Lev Khariton by author, April 17, 2009, New York.
35 Finally, Tigran Petrosian was, on a semi-official basis, summoned to the club Golombek, Golombek’s Encyclopedia, pp. 236–37.
36 “None. You are our guest,” Abramov frostily replied, “and we don’t pay fees to guests.” Abramov to Fischer, in Johnson, p. 128.
37 Many years later, Bobby indicated that Author’s conversation with Bobby Fischer, circa 1964, New York.
38 When the Soviet Union had agreed to invite Bobby to Moscow Letter from Regina Fischer to Bobby Fischer, circa June 1958, MCF.
39 He likened himself to his hero Paul Morphy Chessworld, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1964, pp. 40–46.
40 he was fed up “with these Russian pigs” Johnson, p. 128.
41 “I don’t like Russian hospitality and the people themselves. It seems they don’t like me either.” Postcard from Bobby Fischer to Jack Collins, July 1958, JWC.
42 In mid-July, one hundred thousand irate Soviet citizens NYT, July 19, 1958, p. 1.
43 The situation was serious enough that Gerhardt Fischer, Bobby’s father of record, feared Joan and Bobby might be in great danger Letter from Gerhardt Fischer to Regina Fischer, August 4, 1958, MCF.
44 The only times he left the hotel were to play the two matches Mednis, p. 3.
45 Top players in the United States predicted that
Bobby wouldn’t qualify for a place in the Candidates this time CR, October 1958, p. 315.
46 Bobby, though, seemed to feel that he’d make short work of his competitors Plisetsky and Voronkov, p. 15.
47 Lombardy had captured the World Junior Championship by winning every game, and he was a formidable player NYT Magazine, February 23, 1958, p. SM 38.
48 “Bobby brushes his teeth daily but has more difficulty in taking a bath.” Postcard from Lombardy to Regina Fischer, circa 1958, in DeLucia and DeLucia, 2009, p. 49.
49 Lombardy also conveyed his initial impressions of Portorož CL, October 1958, p. 314.
50 Regina wrote to Joan that she was worried Lombardy might be damning Bobby with faint praise Letter from Regina Fischer to Joan Fischer, circa 1958, MCF.
51 “Bobby really didn’t need Lombardy” Author’s interview of James T. Sherwin, February 27, 2009, by telephone.
52 One difficulty arose when Lombardy had to leave the tournament for several days Letter from Regina Fischer to Joan Fischer, August 1956, MCF.
53 Lombardy reported the following remarks about his friend Bobby CR, October 1958, p. 314.
54 Bobby’s managing to avoid a loss in his first European tournament “highlighted a noteworthy turn in chess history” New York World-Telegram and Sun, August 16, 1958.
55 Fischer off form in debut abroad NYT, August 17, 1958, p. S4.
56 he was actually the prototype of the grandmaster character Kronsteen in the James Bond film From Russia with Love Basalla, p. 142.
57 He was a fiercely attacking player, but at the board he’d often seem as if in a trance Golombek, Golombek’s Encyclopedia, p. 48.
58 Fischer had publicly announced before the tournament that there might be one player who could defeat him: Bronstein Tal, p. 105.
59 At the Marshall Chess Club, where players were analyzing the Interzonal games as they were cabled in from Portorož, there was near-delirium when word arrived of the draw CR, October 1958, p. 291.
60 “Bronstein?!” people were saying incredulously, almost whooping, as if the Soviet player were Goliath, and Bobby as David had stood up to him Schonberg, p. 230.
61 So great was the impact of that game that club members began planning a party for the returning hero CR, October 1958, p. 315.
62 Years later, Fischer would judge the Larsen game one of the best he ever played Fischer, My 60 Memorable Games, p. 18.
63 “Fischer won with amazing ease” CR, November 1958, p. 342.
64 Writing to Collins, he explained: “I never should have lost” Letter from Bobby Fischer to Jack Collins, no date, JWC.
65 “Nobody sacrifices a piece against Fischer” Ibid.
66 The New York Times was exuberant in running a salute to Bobby on its editorial page NYT, September 14, 1958, p. E10.
67 “Remember, next year I will have to attend the tournament of Candidates before I can think of meeting Botvinnik.” New York World-Telegram and Sun, September 12, 1958.
68 “One thing is certain—I am not going to be a professional chess player.” United Press International wire report, September 13, 1958.
69 Bobby felt manhandled in both Moscow and Portorož PRO, p. 168.
70 “That looks Continental,” he said in a courtly manner NYT, September 16, 1958, p. 29.
71 Six days after Bobby’s arrival back in the United States, the Marshall Chess Club followed through on its intentions and held a reception for him New York World-Telegram and Sun, September 29, 1958.
72 A week later Bobby was back at the Marshall to play in the weekly speed tournament New York World-Telegram and Sun, October 4, 1958.
73 But Collins also showed Bobby a father’s love Newsday, September 23, 1992.
74 Raymond Weinstein, a strong international master and a student of Collins, wrote Unpublished autobiographical essay by Raymond Weinstein, circa 1958, FB.
75 “If someone was willing to pay $50” Interview of Asa Hoffmann by author, March 2008, New York.
Chapter 5: The Cold War Gladiator
Bobby Fischer’s letters to his mother and to Jack Collins provided the most telling of the sources for this chapter. Information regarding his preference for radio shows and how that had an effect on his religious beliefs came from an interview with Bobby and from his conversations with the author.
1 J. H. Donner, the gigantic Dutch grandmaster, noted the contrast Elsevier Weekend, June 13, 1959.
2 “laconic as the hero of an old cowboy movie.” NYT, September 11, 1958, p. 46.
3 Fischer was the only American, and to many he was the tournament’s dark knight Plisetsky and Voronkov, p. 21.
4 he learned the Serbo-Croatian word for “first” Wade and O’Connell, essay in Leonard Barden, From Portorož to Petrosian (New York: Doubleday and Co., 1972), p. 331.
5 Bobby’s second, the great Danish player Bent Larsen, who was there to help him Letter from Bobby Fischer to Regina Fischer, October 1959, MCF.
6 One Russian master, Igor Bondarevsky, wrote that Plisetsky and Voronkov, p. 16.
7 Bobby, for his part, was livid at the seeming collusion Letter from Bobby Fischer to Regina Fischer, October 9, 1959, MCF.
8 Tal was an encyclopedia of kinetic movement Letter from Bobby Fischer to Regina Fischer, 1959, MCF.
9 Tal’s coach Igor Bondarevsky referred to his charge’s movements as “circling around the table like a vulture” Plisetsky and Voronkov, p. 31.
10 Since Tal’s body language was so bizarre, Fischer interpreted it as an attempt to annoy him Candidates Tournament, 1959, newsreel footage, no date, YouTube, accessed December 9, 2009.
11 and he told the organizers that Tal should be thrown out of the tournament Letter from Bobby Fischer to Regina Fischer, October 11, 1959, MCF.
12 He wrote a complaint about the chattering Handwritten statement of Bobby Fischer, October 1959, FB.
13 “Why did Tal say ‘cuckoo’ to me?” Letter from Bobby Fischer to Regina Fischer, 1959, MCF.
14 After that, a local Bled newspaper published a group of caricatures of all eight players DeLucia and DeLucia, p. 54.
15 She hoped she could talk him back into classes somewhere Letters from Regina Fischer to U.S. embassies in Mexico City and Buenos Aires, both December 15, 1958, MCF.
16 the assistant principal of Erasmus, Grace Corey, wrote to Bobby in Yugoslavia Letter from Grace Corey to Bobby Fischer, June 27, 1959, FB.
17 They were unaware that Bobby had read literature in high school Bobby Fischer conversations with author, circa 1963–64.
18 Voltaire’s Candide was a favorite Interview of Dr. Eliot Hearst by author, February 7, 2009.
19 Tal asked Bobby if he’d ever gone to the opera New York Daily News, March 26, 1958.
20 He also owned a book that told the stories of all the great operas FB.
21 “If Tal doesn’t behave himself, I am going to smash out all of his front teeth.” Letter from Bobby Fischer to Regina Fischer, October 9, 1959, MCF.
22 “I am in a good mood before I win all of my games.” Letter from Bobby Fischer to Regina Fischer, October 9, 1959, MCF.
23 “If I don’t win against Smyslov tomorrow, I’ll cut off my ear.” Bjelica, p. 118.
24 Larsen, whom Bobby described as “sulky and unhelpful,” kept discouraging him Letter from Bobby Fischer to Regina Fischer, October 1959, MCF.
25 “He is no match for Tal” Harry Golombek, 4th Candidates Tournament, 1959, p. vii.
26 World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik misdiagnosed the young American’s struggles CR.
27 Bobby began to plot. Tal had to be stopped Letter from Bobby Fischer to Regina Fischer, October 11, 1959, MCF.
28 Tal, he said, had purposely made him lose three games in a row Letter from Bobby Fischer to Regina Fischer, October 11, 1959, MCF.
29 Bobby began to wonder and scheme Letter from Bobby Fischer to Regina Fischer, October 11, 1959, MCF.
30 “I don’t believe in psychology—I believe in good moves.” PRO, p. 230.
/> 31 “I would very much have liked to change his decision.” Tal, p. 124.
32 “I love the dark of the night. It helps me to concentrate.” PRO, p. 174.
33 Next to each bed, resting on a chair, was a chess set. Saturday Review, August 27, 1963; Edmonds and Eidinow, p. 10.
34 “The Bahn Frei Polka” by Eduard Strauss NYT, March 26, 2000, WK7.
35 “It sounds like circus music,” he once said in a joyful mood Author’s conversation with Bobby Fischer, circa 1964, New York.
36 Sporadically, Shepherd would mention Bobby on the air From Jean Shepherd’s radio broadcasts, circa 1964.
37 “He seems so sincere” Ambassador Report, June 1977.
38 “We take the broken bread unworthily if” “Does God Heal Today?” Sermon originally broadcast in 1962 and reprinted in a sixteen-page pamphlet published by the Worldwide Church of God, pp. 10-11.
39 “What is the basic cause of war and human suffering?” Biblical Understanding. Correspondence course, Lesson I. MCF.
40 “The Holy Bible is the most rational” Ambassador Report, June 1977.
41 Bobby became very upset. Author’s conversation with Bobby Fischer, summer 1964.
Chapter 6: The New Fischer
1 “We can eat at the Oyster Bar. You like that. C’mon.” Observation by author, circa 1959 or 1960.
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.