A Memorable Life: a Glimpse Into the Complex Mind of Bobby Fischer
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JULY 24, 2014–JUNE 7, 2015 1 A MEMORABLE LIFE: A GLIMPSE INTO THE COMPLEX MIND OF BOBBY FISCHER You do not need to be a chess player to teachers Carmine Nigro and Jack Collins, understand the impact that Bobby Fischer many of the major tournaments in which had on the game of chess. Born Robert he participated, as well as his historic World James Fischer on March 9, 1943, he received Chess Championship victory, and his later a $1.00 chess set from his sister Joan when retirement from tournament play. Through he was six, and his love of the game quickly artifacts generously loaned from the Fischer blossomed. Already showing a proclivity for Library of Dr. Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield, puzzles and advanced analytical thinking, a we are given unprecedented access to young Bobby began what his mother Regina Fischer’s preparatory material for the referred to as an obsession for the game. 1972 world championship run, as well as Little did she know that this passion would the initial versions of his classic text My 60 eventually lead to her son becoming the Memorable Games. Never before exhibited, World Chess Champion, ending 24 years these materials supplement highlights from of Soviet domination of the game in 1972 the collection of the World Chess Hall of and changing the way the entire world Fame, donated by the family of Jacqueline would view chess. Piatigorsky, which include photographs, correspondence, and other artifacts A Memorable Life: A Glimpse into the Complex related to his 1961 match against Samuel Mind of Bobby Fischer presents a few key Reshevsky. These remarkable artifacts moments in the storied life of a man who illuminate Fischer’s brilliance, showing how was both a source of intense admiration and he revolutionized American chess. controversy. Beginning with his rise to fame as a young boy, this exhibition includes —Shannon Bailey and Emily Allred material related to his early training with Tarrasch’s The Game of Chess. This was the start of a life-long love of chess literature INSIDE AN ENIGMA: that was to serve him well. The Fischer Library of Dr. Jeanne Fischer’s first source for chess books and Rex Sinquefield was the Brooklyn Public Library, More literature is devoted to chess than whose collection he quickly exhausted. all other games combined, but today it is Fortunately by this time he had befriended not uncommon to find world class players Jack Collins, the founder of the legendary who seldom open a book. Long-running Hawthorne Chess Club, which would publications like Chess Informant continue become Bobby’s second home. Collins had to be published, but young stars of 2014 an extensive library and introduced Bobby do almost all their study with a computer, to great players of the past including be it by accessing databases with millions of Wilhelm Steinitz and Adolf Anderssen. games and analyzing them with powerful The two spent many an hour going engines, or by playing online against through Steinitz’s The International Chess TOP: opponents around the globe. This certainly Magazine and Hermann von Gottschall’s Chess board signed by Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky, 1972. Chess Pieces from Game 3 of the 1972 World Chess Championship, 1972. was not the case when Bobby Fischer began work on Adolf Anderssen. Their influence his brilliant career. Bobby learned to play on Fischer can be seen in his habit of BOTTOM: in March of 1949 and soon was reading transforming “museum piece” openings Young Bobby Fischer and Jack Collins playing chess in his home, date unknown. Photographer unknown his first chess book, quite possibly Siegbert into dangerous weapons with Steinitz’s 2 3 9. Nh3 in the Two Knights one of the best Bobby may have stopped playing after known examples. This line, violating the winning the World Championship, but well-known maxim “a knight on the rim is he continued to keep abreast of new dim,” had scarcely been played since the developments in chess. His mother Regina 1890s when Fischer resurrected it in 1963. bought him subscriptions to magazines from around the world, particularly Collins wrote of Bobby and his reading habits: Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union. The collection grew so large that by 1986 Bobby Bobby has probably read—more than ‘read’, ran out of room at his apartment and had rather, chewed and digested—more chess to rent space at a Bekins storage facility in books and magazines than anybody else. This Pasadena, California. When Fischer left was no task; it was a pleasure, and it has the United States in the summer of 1992 made him the most knowledgeable player in to play the rematch of the 1972 World history. Five to ten hours a day of reading and Chess Championship with Boris Spassky studying have been the rule, not the exception. in Yugoslavia, he entrusted his friend Bob And language has been no barrier.1 Ellsworth with making sure the payments on the storage space were kept up to date. Bobby began building his library early in his The two, who had first met in the early career and by the late 1950s he owned close 1970s through their mutual involvement to one hundred books and several hundred in the Worldwide Church of God, were magazines. His collection continued to grow close even though Ellsworth was not a until a 1968 move to Los Angeles forced chess player. This relationship changed him to sell much of his library. Once settled dramatically in late 1998, when Bobby in his new home, Fischer started acquiring suffered a tragedy brought on by a change chess literature in earnest. Ron Gross, who in ownership of the storage facility. had become friends with Fischer at the 1955 U.S. Junior Open Chess Championship and Ellsworth, whose name was not on the lease, would remain close with him for almost thirty only learned of the change in ownership years, recalls visiting his apartment in 1970 after a payment had been missed, and and finding piles of books and magazines Fischer’s treasures scheduled for auction. strewn everywhere, with only a narrow path He made a valiant attempt to buy allowing passage through the living room. everything back, spending over $8,000 of his own money, but in the end only partially This new library became an important succeeded, leaving Bobby devastated. Harry tool for Bobby in his march to the World Sneider, Fischer’s former physical trainer Chess Championship in the early 1970s, who attended the auction with Ellsworth, and many of the items in the Fischer arranged to have his son bring the twelve Library of Dr. Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield boxes of Fischer’s memorabilia that had from this time show heavy usage, particularly been rescued to Budapest where Fischer several issues of Chess Informant and study was then living. Later, after Bobby’s death, notebooks that Robert Wade prepared for the noted collector David DeLucia bought Fischer’s Candidates matches against Mark much of this material from Pal Benko, who Taimanov and Tigran Petrosian and for was Fischer’s close friend for 50 years. the World Championship challenging Boris Spassky. Wade compiled these notebooks The Sinquefield Collection comprises by poring through chess periodicals and most of Fischer’s other Bekins possessions. books, collecting hundreds of games by Primarily books and magazines acquired by each of Fischer’s opponents. Today, with Bobby between 1970 and 1992, it includes thousands of games by potential opponents several items used in preparing for the available with one keystroke, it is easy World Championship match. These include to forget how much work it took Wade a well-used copy of Chess Informant Volume to create these files. 12, containing many handwritten notes RIGHT: Publications from the Fischer Library Collection of Dr. Jeanne and Rex Sinquefield 4 5 and corrections and the aforementioned The next passage from Game 45: Fischer- files that Robert Wade prepared on Mark Bisguier was completely eliminated from Taimanov, Tigran Petrosian, and Boris the final version of My 60 Memorable Games. Spassky. Supplementing Wade’s work was However, Chess Life’s December 1963 issue Fischer’s copy of the famous “Red Book” published a similar note by Bobby: on Spassky. The last in the Weltgeschichte Des Schachs (World History of Chess) series, On the last occasion, referred to above, this hardback book with a red cover was my opponent played 4. ...Bc5!? alias the Fischer’s inseparable companion during his Wilkes Barre Variation. At that time I was preparations for the world championship quite unfamiliar with it and nearly laughed match, and he is said to have played out loud at the thought of my opponent through and remembered every game in it. making such a blunder in a tournament of this importance! I was just about to let His annotations, neatly handwritten in him just have it when I noticed that he had the margins are fascinating. Witness the brought along a friend who was studying following cryptic note to the game Spassky– our game very intently. This aroused my Suetin, Soviet Union, 1967. After 1. e4 c5 suspicions: maybe this was a trap, straight 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 e6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 out of the book. But a Rook is a Rook—so I Qc7 6. Be3 a6 7. Nb3 Nf6 8. f4 Bb4 9. Bd3 continued with 5. Nxf7 and there followed Fischer has written in the margin 9. ...d5! 5. ...Bxf2+! 6. Kxf2 Nxe4+ 7. Ke3 This novel way of handling this variation Qh4 and, somehow, I got out of the mess where putting the Black pawn on d6 is the with a draw.