Endgame (64 page)

6
He, not the organizers, would decide when he’d play and when he wouldn’t
Letter from William Lombardy to Anthony Saidy, November 13, 1967, FB.

7
“He felt he should enjoy whatever money he could get before it was too late.”
Evans,
The Chess Beat
, “Bobby’s Dilemma,” p. 5.

8
Bobby withdrew from playing competitive chess in late 1968
Letter from Bobby Fischer to Ed Edmondson, October 29, 1969, JWC.

9
later telling one interviewer that he’d refused to play because of undefined “hang-ups” Sports Illustrated
, April 20, 1970, pp. 62–63.

10
“to plot my revenge” NYT
, November 14, 1971, pp. 32 ff.

11
Then, unpredictably, he made an exception NYT
, April 27, 1970, p. 30.

12
Larry Evans, who was reporting on the match instead of playing in it and would act as Fischer’s second PRO
, p. 161.

13
“This is not surprising, but if you see Bobby kiss the girl
, then
you have a news item!” CL&R
, May 1970, p. 247.

14
fans filled the large hall to capacity in less than half an hour
“USSR vs. the Rest of the World,” Glenn Giffen at
Olipbase.org
, 1970.

15
“At home they don’t understand. They think it means there’s something wrong with our culture.” CL&R
, May 1970, p. 246.

16
He wanted to
win
the car, not to
keep
the car Chess Digest
, September 1970, p. 194.

17
“He prefers to enter chess history alone.” CL&R
, June 1970, p. 301.

18
If Bobby Fischer was ever going to become the World Chess Champion
As published in
Courier Journal
, December 13, 1970, and NYT News Service.

19
Fischer and Geller were to meet in the twelfth round in a pivotal matchup PRO
, p. 177.

20
“No draws in under 40 moves is an essential part of his philosophy.”
Wade and Blackstock, pp 120–21.

21
“Maybe this was a good thing.” PRO
, p. 181.

22
Taimanov arrived with a full Russian entourage NYT Magazine
, November 14, 1971, p. 130.

23
“Well, I still have my music.” PRO
, p. 188.

24
Fischer-doubters, especially the Soviets, had suggested NYT
, July 21, 1971, p. 33.

25
For eleven minutes, Fischer continued to visualize the position in his head Time
, November. 8, 1971, p. 68.

26
Bobby was obviously sick with a bad head cold NYT
, November 11, 1971, p. 33.

A great amount of the facts that appear in this chapter were garnered by the author as an observer and working journalist/broadcaster during the two-month duration of the 1972 Fischer-Spassky match, and some of it has appeared in my book
Profile of a Prodigy
, 1973, 1989 editions.

1
Questions arose almost daily about such details as the prize money
Interview of Fred Cramer by the author, circa April 1972.

2
But none of those topics interested the three men in the room that evening
. Darrach, p. 6.

3
Fischer was concerned about the strength of Spassky Chessworld
, Vol. I, No. 1, January–February 1964, pp. 60-61.

4
“Spassky
is
better”
Darrach, p. 6.

5
Eventually, internecine warfare erupted between the United States and Soviet Chess federations and FIDE
. Official report to FIDE by Dr. Max Euwe, May 16, 1972, No. 138, pp. 1–18.

6
He was encouraged to play there by Freysteinn Thorbergsson
“Welcome to Iceland, Mr. President,” a pamphlet written by Freysteinn Thorbergsson, p. 30 ff.

7
Spassky ensconced himself in the Caucasus while Fischer settled in the Catskills PRO
, p. 215.

8
This microscopic analysis often continued until the early hours of the morning. PRO
, p. 216.

9
Almost as a parlor trick
As told to Yasser Seirawan by Allen Kaufman in
Chess Duels
, by Yasser Seirawan, (London: Gloucester Publishers plc, 2010), p. 28.

10
“The odds should be twenty to one” NYT
, June 13, 1972, p. 40.

11
“It’s true that he works alone”
Interview of William Lombardy by author, July 15, 1972, Reykjavik, Iceland.

12
He often stayed overnight in the Fischer apartment in Brooklyn
Author’s conversation with Jackie Beers, circa 1974.

13
“strike at the uplifted propaganda fists of the Communists.”
Thorbergsson, p. 33.

14
“The Russian Bear vs. the Brooklyn Wolf” Time
, July 31, 1972, pp. 30–35.

15
Asked if the bout would be a grudge match, he replied: “In a sense.”
Interview with Dick Cavett, 1972.

16
Photographic blowups of Fischer and Spassky adorned the windows of almost every shop
Schultz,
Chess Don
, p. 274.

17
Fischer canceled his flight to Iceland at the last minute
Chess Base News,
ChessBase.com/NewsDateline
by Prof. Christian Hesse, ABC TV, 1972.

18
But, strangely, Fischer paused to buy an alarm clock NYT
, September 5, 1972.

19
Sheed wrote: “Of Ezra Pound, as of Bobby Fischer, all that can be decently said is that his colleagues admire him.” NYT Book Review
, September 3, 1972, p. 2.

20
As Saidy later related, the house was subjected to an unending media barrage
Interview of Anthony Saidy by author, February 21, 2009, by telephone.

21
Journalist Leonard Barden phoned the Icelandic organizers to tell them that British financier James Derrick Slater
Roy Blount Jr., “Boris in Wonderland,”
Sports Illustrated
, July 24, 1972, p. 15.

22
The second call proved to be that needed nudge
Telegram to the U.S. Department of State from the American embassy in Reykjavik, Iceland, seeking assistance from the White House in prompting Fischer to come to Iceland, July 3, 1972, FB.

23
It was at this point that Bobby saw himself not just as a chess player
Gligoric,
Fischer vs. Spassky
, p. 9.

24
“I know you to be a sportsman and a gentleman, and I am looking forward to some exciting chess games with you” NYT
, July 7, 1972, p. 14.

25
“The challenger apologized”
Press release issued in Reykjavik, Iceland, July 6, 1972.

26
“I couldn’t believe that Fischer was capable of such an error”
Edmar Mednis,
How to Beat Bobby Fischer
(New York: Dover Books, 1997), p. 274.

27
Fischer then pointed to the camera aperture he’d complained about the previous day
Steiner, p. 68.

28
Fischer began fighting for a draw
Chess world championship, 1972; “Spassky’s View,” excerpted from
64
, p. 258.

29
“What will happen to Bobby?”
Interview of Lothar Schmid by author, July 15, 1972, Reykjavik, Iceland.

30
“He can’t be subject to the clicks and flashes of those machines [on their tall tripods] above him.” NYT
, July 21, 1972, p. 32.

31
“In case of non-appearance of Fischer in third game”
Released press statement by Dr. Max Euwe, July 16, 1972.

32
In an editorial entitled “Bobby Fischer’s Tragedy,” the paper wrote NYT
, July 15, 1972, p. 22.

33
President Nixon also relayed an invitation to Fischer
Interview of Harry Benson by author, August 1972, Reykjavik, Iceland.

34
Spassky, ever a gentleman, was willing NYT
, August 16, 1972, p. 26.

35
Schmid recalled later that “for a second, I didn’t know what to do”
Chessbase.com
, September 28, 2009. Accessed October 15, 2009.

36
Fischer was told that it was just a closed-circuit, noiseless camera CL
, November 1972, p. 679.

37
A thirty-five-year-old sociology professor, Shelby Lyman
“TV’s Man on the Move,”
NYT
, August 10, 1972, p. 71.

38
In New York, intense demand quickly made chess sets an out-of-stock item NYT
, July 9, 1972, p. 30.

39
“Iceland is a nice place”
Interview of Fred Cramer by author, August 1972, Reykjavik, Iceland.

40
Shortly before the concluding week of the match, the Soviet delegation, by way of a long and preposterous statement NYT
, August 23, 1972, p. 1.

41
But the secret weapon turned out to be a blob of wood filler NYT
, September 5, 1972, p. 41.

42
“Two dead flies!” NYT
, August 27, 1972, p. E5.

43
“It started out as a farce by Beckett”
Interview of Harry Golombek by author, August 1972, Reykjavik, Iceland.

44
Then suddenly, wearing a maroon corduroy suit that he’d had custom made in Reykjavik, Bobby appeared
“A Replay Precedes Fischer Crowning,”
NYT
, September 3, 1972, p. 19.

45
“We didn’t know if you were going to be the winner!”
Interview of Dr. Max Euwe by author, September 3, 1972.

46
Euwe continued to talk and mentioned that the rules would have to be changed
Press release copy of speech by Dr. Max Euwe, September 3, 1972, FB.

47
“I should have played
here
as my sealed move”
Overheard at the banquet by nearby spectators.

48
“Fischer is a man of art
“Notes on People,”
NYT, CL
, November 1972, p. 680.

49
The mayor had offered Bobby a ticker-tape parade NYT
, September 2, 1972, p. 46.

50
Your convincing victory
As reproduced in Larry Evans and Ken Smith,
Chess World Championship 1972
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1973), p. 261.

51
“the grandest master of them all” New York Daily News
, September 23, 1972, p. 18.

52
“I never thought I’d see the day when chess would be all over the front pages here”
AP wire story, as appeared in
San Francisco Chronicle
, September 23, 1972, p. 23.

53
That day, Bobby was not the old curmudgeonly Bobby
AP wire story, September 24, 1972.

54
“Fischer has done more, however, than simply win the world title” NYT
, September 3, 1972, p. 20.

1
“I want to meet girls” New York
, February 20, 1975, p. 38.

2
So, working with Stanley Rader, the chief counsel for the Worldwide Church NYT
, September 23, 1973, pp. 26–34.

3
The words “secluded” and “recluse” NYT
, September 3, 1972, p. 46.

4
The Associated Press took the same tack
AP wire story, August 22, 1973.

5
As a result of the non-event event, the resulting press coverage was practically nil
. Reports from various news services, August 1973.

6
Attractive financial offers kept tumbling Bobby’s way—almost pouring over him NYT
, September 11, 1972, p. 28.

7
“I was not yet World Champion but they treated me like a world champion.”
Casto Abundo, “A Month in Manila with Bobby Fischer,” March 6, 2008,
HTTP://www.FIDE.com
, accessed March 10, 2010.

8
by the time Bobby came back from Iceland he’d received offers that could have totaled up to $10 million NYT
, September 11, 1972, p. 28.

9
The Church imposed a number of rules that Bobby thought were ridiculous
“The W.C.G. Talmud,” in
Ambassador Report
,
www.hwarmstrong.com/AR/Talmud
.

10
Bobby was appalled. “What? Don’t you believe in Satan?” New York Daily News
, August 28, 1972.

11
“But these new groups are attractive to the apostate merely because they are foreign.”
Mamet.

12
“Either God is a masochist and likes to be made a fool of, or else Herbert Armstrong is a false prophet.”
“The Painful Truth,” an interview of Bobby Fischer in
Ambassador Report
,
www.hwarmstrong.com/ar/fischer
.

13
“It is the bottomless rascality of the
goyim
people” Protocols of the Elders of Zion;
protocol no. 3, para. 16; as quoted in Eisner, p. 78.

14
“I
carefully studied the protocols”
Letter from Bobby Fischer to Pal Benko, circa 1979.

15
“The book shows”
Letter from Bobby Fischer to Jack Collins, June 1976, JWC.

16
At one point Bobby had both
Protocols
and
Nature’s Eternal Religion
mailed to Jack and Ethel Collins
Letter to Ethel and Jack Collins from Bobby Fischer, February 20, 1979, JWC.

17
Fischer sent the Collinses another hate-filled screed
, Secret World Government Letter to Jack Collins from Bobby Fischer, May 14, 1978, JWC.

18
“Then the true believers begin to lose their fear.”
“The Painful Truth,” in
Ambassador Report
,
www.hwarmstrong.com/ar/fischer
.

19
“I was really shocked when you refused to discuss the matter or do anything.”
Letter from Regina Fischer to Bobby Fischer, June 26, 1974.