Shelby Lyman on Chess: A Question of Survival
Column C2242 for release July 13
Sunday, July 19, 2015
(Published in print: Sunday, July 19, 2015)
Even in the early days, Bobby Fischer was never easy. But as he matured, he brought an increasing armory of weapons to the chessboard.
His presence alone was intimidating.
Handsome and impeccably dressed with suits, shirts, shoes and ties tailored all over the world, glowing with good health and bottomless stamina, using an hour less time for his moves than most of his opponents, possessing an encyclopedic knowledge of chess theory, and relentless in his efforts to win, he knew more, saw more and played better in his maturity than any other living grandmaster.
It is no wonder that Garry Kasparov described him as a chess Minotaur, half human and half chess, who was at least 10 years ahead of his generation
Fischer’s most lethal weapon was his competitiveness and will to win.
According to The Bobby Fischer I Knew, by his friend, the former U.S. champion and grandmaster Arnold Denker, “Fischer strode the chess landscape with the abandon of a famished beast loose among defenseless prey.”
But as much as he strove to win, Fischer hated even more to lose.
Emotionally drained by Fischer’s agonizing resistance after defeating him at the 1970 Siegen Chess Olympiad, Spassky declared: “When you play Bobby, it is not a question if you win or lose. It is a question if you survive.”
Full article here.