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SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Fred Waitzkin | 226 pages | 01 Aug 1993 | Penguin Books Ltd | 9780140230383 | English | London, United Kingdom Searching for Bobby Fischer movie review () | Roger Ebert The compelling sage of three years in the life of a real American chess prodigy - now a Major Motion Picture! Searching for Bobby Fischer is the story of Fred Waitzkin and his son, from the moment six-year-old Josh first sits down at a chessboard until he competes for the national championship. Drawn into the insular, international network of chess, they must also navigate The compelling sage of three years in the life of a real American chess prodigy - now a Major Motion Picture! Drawn into the insular, international network of chess, they must also navigate the difficult waters of their own relationship. All the while, Waitzskin searches for the elusive Bobby Fischer, whose myth still dominates the chess world and profoundly affects Waitzkin's dreams for his son. Get A Copy. Paperback , pages. Published August 1st by Penguin Books first published More Details Original Title. Bobby Fischer. Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Searching for Bobby Fischer , please sign up. Be the first to ask a question about Searching for Bobby Fischer. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 3. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Oct 31, notgettingenough rated it liked it. You might be more likely to have seen the film, which is a good representation of the book. I recall that the film got some flack for its representation of Washington Square Park as a den of iniquity, but it seemed spot on to me, having played there around the same time. That trip I played quite a bit of chess, often outdoors, around Manhattan, and apart from one game in The Village Chess Shop the only time I looked like losing was in Washington Square Park. Sat down and started playing a black gu You might be more likely to have seen the film, which is a good representation of the book. Sat down and started playing a black guy who was the consummate hustler. I'd never experienced anything like it, only read about it. Yep, I was going to lose, but it was going to be a lot of fun. Suddenly, however, another black guy came up and asked for table money. I was happy to pay whatever, these guys, whether legitimately or not, as I found out near the world trade centre, never asked for much, so what did I care? But I was completely ignored as these two started a big black dude mother-fucker argument about who owed what to whom. After a while the board was smashed, pieces and clock flying. I ran for it, quite nervous, I must confess, to another row of tables where people were - laughing at me. I'm not sure if this is the case or not, but when I gathered my wits it seemed like maybe the chess area is segregated and I was in the black part. Maybe somebody who has played there can answer that for me. It seemed like I'd suddenly gone from being surrounded by blacks to surrounded by whites and that the latter found the whole incident highly amusing. New York. Everybody's a hustler. I played outside near the World Trade Centre on this trip. Somebody asked me to play and said it was usual for the loser to pay the table money, a dollar a game. Fine, I said. After I won maybe the first half a dozen games I decided that was enough. I hung around to see if my opponent handed over money to the guy running the show, but of course he didn't. I think that's what amazes me about America. Not that there's a hustler near by whereever you are, but that they are so penny ante. There must have been a whole generation of fathers who lived vicariously through their children in that post-Fischer period. Children overburdened with unreasonable expectations. I hope they are all ashamed of themselves now. The fathers, that is. View all 3 comments. Chess has always been a particular passion of mine, which, much like other passions, rises and falls as the years go by. Most games and their inherent competitiveness are fun, but chess remains the most elegant. It has the physical beauty of the pieces, the simplest of rules, yet the potential for incredible complexity, and no dice. I hate dice. Chess requires pure intellect. During the 70's, following the famous Fischer-Spassky match, the virtual embodiment of Russo-American war, practically e Chess has always been a particular passion of mine, which, much like other passions, rises and falls as the years go by. During the 70's, following the famous Fischer-Spassky match, the virtual embodiment of Russo-American war, practically every American mother wanted nothing more for her child than to grow up a chess master. Chess even had its cadre of groupies who worked their way up the ranking ladder. Times have changed. Internationally ranked grand masters now must hustle games in New York's Washington Square Park, having no place to live or eat. Having devoted their lives to chess, they have no marketable skills. Meanwhile, the Russians coddle and nurture anyone showing the slightest hint of talent. Fred Waitzkin's son Josh was found to be exceptionally talented at age six. By 11, he had fought the current world champion Garry Kasparov to a draw in an exhibition match. Waitzkin writes of his own passion for the game and his relationship with his son, and the impact such intense dedication can have on a child and his family, in a marvelous book entitled Searching for Bobby Fischer: The World of Chess, Observed by the Father of a Child Prodigy. The book is a fascinating account of the chess world, populated with eccentric characters. As one reviewer has said, "chess lives, or windmills its arms, on the outer rims of sanity. Fischer, even yet a recluse, even though probably "insane" whatever that means , continues to dominate the American game. The Fischer-Spassky rematch in Yugoslavia may become the non-event of the century. By the way, the movie was great, too View all 4 comments. Apr 07, Lee Davis rated it really liked it Shelves: non-fiction. I went to the library to look for books about chess strategy, because, you know, I like chess. They were all out of Susanna Polgar, so I brought home this book instead. It's basically what it says it is; a chess prodigy's father writes about his son and the international chess scene in the s. And here is what I got out of the book: Chess is real bad news! Chess might seem like a classy pastime, or an intellectual pursuit, but it just wants to fuck you up and leave you getting rained-on in th I went to the library to look for books about chess strategy, because, you know, I like chess. Chess might seem like a classy pastime, or an intellectual pursuit, but it just wants to fuck you up and leave you getting rained-on in the gutter. Stay away from chess, while you still have time! If you're an adult, chess might turn you into a schizophrenic Nazi, but it will probably just make you a drunk asleep on a park bench. If you're lucky, you can hustle your skills for drinking money in Washington Square Park. If you're a child, chess is even more insidious. Your parents, who once loved you unconditionally and sought to give you a well-rounded childhood, will start wanting to turn you into a single-speed killing machine. The best part is that while everyone loves chess prodigies, with their little hands and big heads looking so serious and cute, once you hit puberty, no one cares. They might care a little if you're absolutely the best in the country, or world, or if you're super-hot like Susanna Polgar, but for most of you: it's over kid, find a new pastime. I bet you wish you had some childhood memories to guide you forward. So remember, chess is safe to read about, but never, never to play. If you ever see a kid with a chess board, take it away and introduce them to video games and sugar. They will thank you someday. View 1 comment. Jul 31, Jared rated it liked it Shelves: non-fiction , biography. I've loved the movie that came from this book for a long time, so when I ran across the book at the library I had to pick it up. He studied chess for awhile before realizing that he would never be better than a patzer -- a chess player who will never amount to much. Ten years later, Fred discovered that his six-year-old boy Josh has talent for chess. This results in several years of life I've loved the movie that came from this book for a long time, so when I ran across the book at the library I had to pick it up. This results in several years of life consumed by chess lessons, tournaments, and travel to meet some of the greatest chess masters and grandmasters of the age. This book covers the period between when Josh started studying chess and when he won the National Scholastic Chess Championship at eight.

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