tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27359163.post1270589001331294742..comments2024-02-13T12:55:06.784+01:00Comments on Chess for All Ages: Fischer PsychobiographyMark Weekshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10101044127493771263noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27359163.post-45298499980956708692019-04-08T23:58:25.290+02:002019-04-08T23:58:25.290+02:00Youtube shows the truth
Every single appearance of...<b>Youtube shows the truth</b><br />Every single appearance of Bobby Fischer on TV I ever saw on Youtube (until he became World Champion) shows a charming, extraordinary intelligent young man with kind of movie star looks and entirely reasonable views.<br /><br />I never saw him shouting out Cassius Clay style <i>"I'm the greatest"</i>, it's always the interviewer who forces him to agree with such statements. And it's amazing to see him react to statements like <i>"you are known for erratic behaviour and walking away from games"</i> by simple rational argument (<i>I walked away in 2 from a total of 60 games in my career due to unacceptable conditions, is that paranoia?"</i>.<br /><br />I wonder why they couldn't arrange a girlfriend for him, or bring him to the movies after 1972, the acting and even comedian skills he exposed in various talk shows seemed much more promising than anything Arnold Schwarzenegger had to offer in the beginning. So the US society simply let him fall into that deep deep black hole after reaching the chess olymp, and did not care anymore about one of its most splendid offsprings ever after he fullfilled his duty on Island. What a pity.<br /><br />And even the old Fischer, while looking pretty clochard like in interviews, offered completely reasonable views when it came to chess. They turned him into a persona-non-grata due to his political rants, but lets be honest, his Antiamericanism and Antisemitism is extremely popular among 1.5 billion Muslims world-wide, and there are millions of liberals and leftwingers who share these views too (they just call it Antizionism to cover up a bit), and nobody seems to care. <br /><br />So, in summary, he was the guy who all by himself made chess sexy, made chess champions wealthy and respected stars, won a huge propaganda battle for the USA against the UDSSR, showed some of the most brilliant chess ever, and deducted a smart and practical superset of traditional chess (FRC) that might even become the future of the game.<br />Besides of that, in all his now easily accessible TV appearances, there was never the slightest doubt who is the smartest, most charismatic and reasonable guy in the room. <br /><br />Seems there is a very strong bias in the perception of Bobby Fischer, and the US has a lot to atone for with regards to him.JustMy2Centshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04775507889240388751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27359163.post-69317476329568953272013-01-11T12:50:35.821+01:002013-01-11T12:50:35.821+01:00Very interesting topic.
I'm a huge Bobby Fisc...Very interesting topic.<br /><br />I'm a huge Bobby Fischer chess fan but I think most of the books about him outside of chess really miss the essence of Fischer.<br /><br />He was anything but a genius off the chessboard. From what I know through 1972 anyway, he could barely write, had little knowledge about the world, and couldn't really carry on a conversation unrelated to chess.<br /><br />It seems his whole existence was related to winning at chess which I think far exceeded even his like of the game.<br /><br />Probably considered disabled related to a "normal" person even in 1972 should it be surprising that given he devoted 100% of his life to reaching a goal and having made it with nothing to fall back, he basically wandered aimlessly without any future goals or aspirations for the rest of his life.<br /><br />I would think that any not-too-bright individual with nothing to do for years and maybe even a little bitter about what he had accomplished would come up with plenty of crazy ideas, why would Fischer be any different.<br /><br />Again, I think Fischer's one of the greatest chess players ever and his feel for the game is probably the best ever and I believe he was a decent enough guy. But as a well-rounded, intelligent human being, even through 1972, he probably doesn't rate very well and whatever craziness he showed should be viewed in that perspective. ChessClueshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13576060289496456129noreply@blogger.com