No CompromisesSunday, October 26, 2014 (Published in print: Sunday, October 26, 2014) Most of us steer a course between independence and conformity. Not so with Bobby Fischer, who defeated Boris Spassky in a now legendary 1972 world championship match in Iceland. Almost from birth, as few are able, he defined his own reality. As a […]
This day in history: Game of the Century!

This Day in History Oct. 17, 1956: Bobby Fischer beat Donald Byrne in the Game of the Century. Fischer was awarded the Brilliancy prize at Rosenwald Memorial Tournament in New York City. [Event “3rd Rosenwald Trophy”][Site “New York USA”][Date “1956.10.17”][Round “8”][Result “0-1”][White “Donald Byrne”][Black “Robert James Fischer”][ECO “D92”] 1. Nf3 Nf62. c4 g63. Nc3 Bg74. […]
Incomparable legacy

Shelby Lyman on Chess: A Great PassionSunday, September 28, 2014 (Published in print: Sunday, September 28, 2014) “Only passions, great passions, can elevate the soul to great things” we are told by the Enlightenment philosopher Denis Diderot. Few have been more consumed by passion in the pursuit of the object of their devotion than Bobby […]
Q&A about a chess legend

I often receive many questions about Bobby. Here are some selected ones. Question: How did you meet Bobby Fischer? Answer: In 1992, Bobby played his second match against Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia and was unable to return to the U.S. because of his defiance of economic sanctions. The organizer Janos Kubat arranged for my family […]
How I met Bobby Fischer

The question of the week is if I knew the late Great American World Chess Champion Bobby Fischer. As so many others of my generation, I was greatly influenced by the chess frenzy that Bobby created right around when I started to play chess. Fischer played Spassky for the World Championship in July and August […]
Pawn Sacrifice

Tobey Maguire nails chess legend Bobby Fischer in ‘Pawn Sacrifice’By Lou LumenickSeptember 8, 2014 | 6:58pm It’s sort of amazing that it’s taken so long for Hollywood to get around to dramatizing a fascinatingly bizarre event that riveted the world’s attention in 1972 between the Watergate break-in and the Munich Olympics massacre — the world […]
He beat his critics at their own game

Shelby Lyman on Chess: Fischer Found the Right MoveSunday, August 31, 2014 (Published in print: Sunday, August 31, 2014) In his early and mid-teenage years Bobby Fischer’s attire — dubious even by some middle-class standards — became an issue for at least a few in the New York chess community. Denims, flannel shirts and sneakers […]
Fischer: ‘I Don’t Believe in Heroes’

Shelby Lyman on Chess: ‘I Don’t Believe in Heroes’Sunday, August 10, 2014 (Published in print: Sunday, August 10, 2014) The notion of world champion has a magical quality. But it means different things to different people in different contexts. After Brazil’s elimination in the recent World Cup, Luiz Felipe Scolari,the coach of the defeated team, […]
A Glimpse into the Complex Mind of Bobby Fischer

A Memorable Life: A Glimpse into the Complex Mind of Bobby FischerJuly 24, 2014 – June 7, 2015 July 23, 2014 (Saint Louis, MO) – From his earliest years as a child prodigy to becoming the only player ever to achieve a perfect score in the U.S. Chess Championships, from winning the World Championship in 1972 against […]
The Cold War Pawn Sacrifice

TIFF ’14: First Pictures of Liev Schrieber and Tobey Maguire in ‘Pawn Sacrifice’BY: BRAD BREVET TUESDAY, JUL 22, 2014 AT 9:45 AM Seeing Edward Zwick’s Pawn Sacrifice among the films listed for this year’s Toronto Film Festival was a nice surprise as it seems the film has been in the works forever. Set during the […]