In the summer of 1972, with a presidential crisis stirring in the United States and the cold war at a pivotal point, the Soviet world chess champion, Boris Spassky,and his American challenger, Bobby Fischer, met in Reykjavik, Iceland, for the most notorious chess match of all time. Their showdown, played against the backdrop of superpower politics, held the world spellbound for two months with reports of psychological warfare, ultimatums, political intrigue, cliffhangers, and farce to rival a Marx Brothers film. Thirty years later, David Edmonds and John Eidinow have set out to reexamine the story we recollect as the quintessential cold war clash between a lone American star and the Soviet chess machine. A mesmerizing narrative of brilliance and triumph, hubris and despair, Bobby Fischer Goes to War is a biting deconstruction of the Bobby Fischer myth, a nuanced study on the art of brinkmanship, and a revelatory cold war tragicomedy.
This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.
Portrait of an obsessed genius A few quick facts: in 1972 there were only 90 GM's, and according to the book there are now about 550. The world championship order is: Steinitz 1886-1894, Lasker 1894-1921, Capablanca 1921-1927, Alekhine 1927-1935, Euwe 1935-1937, Alekhine 1937-1946, 1947 there was no living champion, Botvinnik 1948-1957, Smyslov 1957-1958, Botvinnik 1958-1960, Tal 1960-1961, Botvinnik 1961-1963, Petrosian 1963-1969, Spassky 1969-1972, Fischer 1972-1975, Karpov 1975- (I believe Kasparov took the title in 1985, and Kramnik in 2000). There are over 300 billion legal ways to make the first four moves in chess. There are more variations in a typical game of chess (1080) than there are atoms in the universe. And there are even more ways for the game to turn out (10117).
Bobby Fischer was born in 1943 in Chicago. He was not raised by his biological father, a Hungarian. His mother was very intelligent, receiving multiple degrees and learning several languages. Bobby learned chess at age 6. He joined the Manhattan chess club at age 12, and a year later met future Grandmasters William Lombardy and Robert Byrne. He won the US Junior Chess Championship at age 13. He became the US chess champion the next year at age 14! That year he traveled to the Soviet Union for the first time to play chess, but did not do well, and was supposedly rude, and was asked to leave. He did, however, play in the 1958 Interzonal tournament, scoring 6-2-0, and became the youngest International Grandmaster ever. He later met Danish GM Bent Larsen, who helped him with his preparation. At this time he often cried after losing games.
Fischer met Boris Spassky for the first time in 1960, and ironically they shared first place at the tournament. Two years later, Fischer won the next interzonal, the first non-Soviet to ever win it (the interzonals started after 1945). However, he lost in the zonal tournament, and accused the Soviets of cheating by pre-arranged draws (which later turned out to be true). Fischer was such a talented player, not to mention coming from a capitalist country, his complaints were heeded, and the round-robin system was scrapped in favor of knockout matches. It was about this time that many players started saying that Fischer had a strange effect on them, draining their power of concentration and stamina. Maybe it was his IQ---estimated as a teen to be 180.
Three years later, in 1963, Fischer qualified again for the Interzonal, winning all 11 games against his American opponents. But he complained even more about the tournament system, and voluntarily sat out of the interzonal. Three years later, he easily won the US title again, and did play in the 1967 interzonal. He played Spassky twice in that tournament, losing one game and drawing one. In two other separate tournaments, Spassky also won one game and drew one. During this time, Fischer was a member of a Jewish sect called the Worldwide Church of God (he later vehemently rejected Judaism). He was not supposed to "work" during the weekends, and that made tournaments very hard to attend. The constant rescheduling of his games put him under a lot of stress, to the point that he completely dropped out of the interzonal tournament. He did not play tournament chess again for two years. Although Fischer by now had a terrible reputation in the greater chess community, he was known to always be a gentleman over the board.
The Leningrad-born Boris Spassky also became a Grandmaster at a very young age. In 1966, at the age of 29, he challenged the world champion, Tigran Petrosian, for the title, and lost. Two years later, he defeated Efim Geller, Bent Larsen, and Viktor Korchnoi, losing only 2 of 26 games. In 1969 he faced Petrosian for the second time for the world champion title, and this time Spassky won, 6-13-4. Spassky was well-known to be anti-Soviet, but since he was the world champion, the authorities more often than not turned the other cheek when he made anti-communist statements. Many of his chessmates were not so fortunate. Spassky became world champion by intense concentration and suppression of emotion---however the stresses of the tournaments often made him physically ill afterwards.
The next time Fischer and Spassky met to play, it was in the 1970 Olympiad. Spassky had white and played 1 d4. Fischer responded with the Grunfeld defense, but lost again. Later that year, both players of course competed in the interzonal. Both made the cut, and in the candidates matches there were eight players left to see who would face Spassky: Fischer, Taimanov, Hubner, Korchnoi, Uhlmann, Geller, Larsen, and Petrosian. Not an easy crowd to beat! The Soviets tried to study Fischer's style, and found out that he preferred a knight to a bishop in the endgame. That is strange, since in another book it claims that Fischer went out of his way to preserve his bishops. No one could successfully study Fischer's style. He crushed Taimanov, 6-0, Larsen 6-0, and Petrosian, 6.5 to 2.5. Fischer finally made it to the world championship in 1972.
Of course, the Soviets still tried to study Fischer's tendencies, and focused on his relatively narrow opening repertoire. Unfortunately for them, Spassky was now the defending world champion, and often refused the advice of his trainer and helpers. Later, this attitude cascaded into a blame game and finger-pointing by his entourage to avoid being punished by the KGB. Spassky also made enemies with former champion Mikahail Botvinnik. Supposedly Viktor Korchnoi had studied Fischer's play the most, but he also did not get along with Spassky. While Spassky was studying, an agreement was made for the championship to be in Iceland (which was initially chosen by the Soviets, even though it had an American military base there). The prize fund was a total of $125,000, which quickly doubled to $250,000, thanks to an English businessman.
Fischer quickly began complaining about the tournament conditions, even before he arrived. In fact it took a call from the US Secretary of State to motivate Fischer to even go to play! For those interested, Spassky's rating before the tournament was 2660; Fischer's was a whopping 2785. By the way, 90% of the commentary on the actual games is from Chessbase, not the book. The first game was a Nimzo-Indian with 3 ...d5, and was basically uneventful until Fischer blundered on move 29, losing his last piece (a bishop) for two pawns. It was a mistake that even a 1500-rated player would probably not have made. Was it a psychological ploy? Spassky won a somewhat boring technical game thereafter. After the game, Fischer began to complain more and more about the playing conditions, to the point that he didn't even show up for the second game. It's inconceivable to me that he would not play the second game, which Spassky won by forfeit. Some speculate that it was a psychological ploy to make Spassky feel guilty about an empty win. Later, Anatoly Karpov said that Spassky didn't recognize the psychology behind Fisher's absence, and added that had Petrosian been the defending champion, he would have `licked his chops and gobbled up that second point'. Fischer had already booked a flight back to New York. The only way he would play is if it was in a back room, away from the several-hundred member audience. He got his wish---Spassky conceded this request.
Game three was pivotal: Spassky was the defending champion, was up two games to none, and had the White pieces. Fischer played a Benoni defense and made an interesting, if not dubious move 11, ...Nh5. Spassky's bishop was on e2 and quickly took the knight after Fischer had casted kingside, thus ruining the pawn structure in front of his king. But Spassky could not take advantage of this and was slowly, methodically crushed. The match was on. Game four had Spassky playing a Sicilian defense and resulted in a draw. In Game five, Fischer played a true Nimzo-Indian defense and defeated Spassky in 27 moves, after a blunder on move 26. Game six had Fischer play a rare opening for him---the English. Fischer played a great tactical game, utilizing several pins, and won. The seventh game featured Fischer playing a Najdorf Sicilian, successfully taking a pawn on b2 with his queen. Spassky actually played a great tactical game, but could only manage a draw.
Game eight had Fischer playing another English opening. Spassky blundered on move 15, moving a pawn protecting one of his rooks and losing the exchange to a bishop. Fischer's tactics in this game were much better than his opponent's, and he won in less than 40 moves. Spassky became physically ill after this game. In game nine, Spassky decided to play 3 Nf3 instead of 3 Nc3, to avoid the Nimzo-Indian defense. He could only manage a draw with this variation. Game ten had Spassky playing a Ruy Lopez. Fischer sacrificed a pawn on move 26, to set up a very impressive 7-move combination, and ended up an exchange ahead for a pawn, winning the endgame later.
Game 11 saw the frustrated Spassky switch plans and start playing 1 e4 again. The game turned into another Najdorf Sicilian, with Fischer again taking the supposedly poisoned b2 pawn. But this time Spassky and his team prepared well for this pawn grab by the Black Queen. Spassky played the game brilliantly; it was probably his best game of the championship. It took him 17 more moves to win Fischer's queen, but in the meantime Spassky created all kinds of pins and forks. Fischer resigned on move 31. Game 12 had Fischer play the English opening AGAIN (he hadn't played the English opening 3 times in any tournament before this). The interesting thing about his choice of the variation of the English is that it basically transposed into a typical Queen pawn game---the opening that Spassky played the most. It was almost as if Fischer was taunting Spassky by trying to outplay him with his own expertise. This game ended in a draw.
Game 13 saw Spassky again play 1 e4, and this time Fischer responded with Alekhine's defense---Nf6. Spassky advanced his e-pawn, and the battle was on. This game was absolutely fantastic. The maneuvering and intermezzos by both sides was spectacular. Fischer allowed his bishop to be taken, in exchange for what turned out to be a four-pawn advantage for black. Spassky desparately tried to save the game, but Fischer had three connected passed pawns and won in 74 moves. It was one of the best games I've ever seen. Game 14 had Fischer again playing the English! For the second straight time, he could only manage a draw, probably because he had so much less experience with this opening. Game 15 was a Sicilian that resulted in Fischer drawing by repetition. Game 16 was a drawn Ruy Lopez. Game 17 was again a Ruy Lopez that was fairly boring. Game 18 had Spassky playing 1 e4, with Fischer countering with the Pirc defense. For some strange reason, Fischer voluntarily gave up the exchange, and looked like he was losing, but managed to draw the game. Game 19 was a drawn Sicilian. Game 20 had Fischer again playing Alekhine's defense. Spassky give up two minor pieces for a Rook and pawn, but could only manage a draw. Game 21 was again a drawn Sicilian. This was the seventh draw in a row.
Game 22 was the final game of the match. Another Sicilian, but this time Spassky took too many chances with white. In the middlegame, Spassky probably blundered by allowing a combination in which he won a pawn, but lost the exchange to a bishop sacrifice, then rook capture by Fischer. Fischer played the endgame perfectly and won. There are many people who wonder why Spassky played the championship so badly, but in reality he only blundered away a few games. There are many games that Fischer played where he would have beaten ANYONE across the board. The Soviets accused Fischer of playing mind games, hypnotizing Spassky, etc. (even thinking that there was some cheating device in his chair). Spassky's opening advisor Efim Geller was convinced that their opening preparation was leaked to Fischer. Whatever really happened, the bottom line is that Spassky was not prepared for Fischer's opening deviations, and could not come back from an early deficit. Looking at their FIDE ratings, it's not a shock to think that Fischer, rated 125 points higher, would have ended up with a plus 4 score. Spassky only won 3 games, and none after game 11. 2785 vs. 2660 for 22 games will in all probability result in a match win for the higher-rated player. Spassky was not crushed by Fischer---he was simply outplayed.
Very interesting! It's a really interesting book, full of details and easy to read. The cover describes Fisher as a lone hero, but inside the description of the two competitors is much more balanced. Probably it could include some more details about the chess games: even if I'm not an expert, I was forced to find elsewhere the moves of the games which were described as particularly good or bad.
Summer of 72 Relived I first noticed this book on a stand at a bookstore because of its bright red cover. When I walked up to the stand and read the title I was surprised and excited to see that the book was about the famous Fischer-Spassky chess match held in Reykjavik, Iceland in the summer of 1972. I lived in New York City and was 14 years old then and I didn't know who Bobby Fischer was, neither did I know anything about chess, which goes for everyone I knew at the time also. I was aware of a cold war between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R though. The hype in the media is what got me and my friends interested in the match and chess, especially since Bobby Fischer was a New Yorker from Brooklyn. Before the Fischer-Spassky match I didn't know anyone that played chess except the elderly men I would see playing chess on stone tables in the neighborhood park. The serious expressions on the elderly men's faces as they played made me think chess was a boring game that lacked any fun. But, the same way that Tiger Woods got younger people and minorities interested in golf so did the match with Fischer and Spassky got me and some of my friends to learn to play chess and a good thing that was because it was a long, hot, boring summer and learning chess along with the Fischer and Spassky match kept us out of mischief. I had often wondered how this historic chess match came to be played in Iceland of all places and this book tells you how that happened along with the whirlwind of behind the scenes preparations, accommodations, negotiations and drama regarding Fischer's demands and the demands of other parties involved with this match. I felt sorry for the Icelandic people because the Fischer-Spassky match disrupted their obscure peaceful lives but they adapted gracefully. Even though this book is mostly about the people, events and issues surrounding the famous chess match it also provides some general background information about Fischer, Spassky and the chess world leading up to the match. There is more information concerning the Russian side than Fischer's side but that's only because Russian chess was a well-organized government funded sport that involved several committees, trainers, doctors and other Russian chess grandmasters. Bobby Fischer on the other hand was a loner who took up chess at the age of six and got deeply and passionately involved with the game and who mostly studied and taught himself chess. At a young age Bobby set the chess world championship title as his goal and he relentlessly pursued the title with intensity. Besides Bobby's passion and talent for chess I don't believe Bobby's life was interesting or special in any way. In fact, he grew up relatively poor with no father and dropped out of school to devote as much time as possible to the pursuit of excellence in chess. This is a guy that always carried a pocket chess set with him and he would pull it out anywhere and anytime he was bored or uninterested with his surroundings. One of Bobby's famous quotes is "Chess is life" at least chess was Bobby's life. The Russians knew years before the famous match that they would have to contend with Bobby Fischer for the world chess championship title and when he finally did achieve the right to challenge the Russians for the chess championship at the relatively young age of 29 he had become a juggernaut, mowing down all of the grandmasters in the candidates round, a feat without precedence in the history of chess Were the Russians concerned? You better believe it. But, since Fischer had never defeated Spassky in the past Spassky wasn't that concerned and that was part of his undoing. As we all know Bobby Fischer won the match convincingly and the repercussions were felt everywhere because the media had hyped this event as an east vs. west cold war showdown. The Soviet chess machine was dethroned and shaken to it's foundation, Bobby Fischer went from unknown to an instant heroe and international superstar celebrity overnight in a way that hadn't been seen since unknown pilot Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic ocean from New York to Paris non-stop to win the Ortieg prize in May 1927. The big difference is that Lindbergh basked in his new found celebrity status and prospered well and went on to promote aviation for many years. Bobby Fischer disappeared and forfeited his title to Karpov in 1975 when he refused to defend his title because the FIDE agreed to only 178 of his 179 demands thus adding more mystery and confusion to the enigma that was Bobby Fischer. Some people say Bobby didn't defend his title because he was afraid of losing, I don't believe that for a minute because as I wrote before Bobby had become a juggernaut and was in his chess playing prime. I will add another Fischer quote "The Russians have held my title for ten years and they're going to be in for it when I win the Championship. They're going to have to wait and play under my conditions." Besides Bobby's intense animosity towards the Soviet commies, and his desire to be in control due to his distrust of chess organizers, Bobby knew that the Russians were masters at drawing games and the one demand that the FIDE would not agree to was for draws not to count for half a point that way there would be more pressure to win a game than draw a game also Bobby believed it would truly decide the superior player and matches wouldn't last as long due to more decisive games and fewer draws. The FIDE thought the opposite way; they believed that with draws not being awarded half a point could cause matches to last indefinitely. I believe Bobby was right, thus Bobby's attempt to change some tournament and match game rules for the better was negated and he truly withdrew from chess competition. No one in history has done more for chess than Bobby Fischer. Even today using Bobby Fischer's name will sell books, DVD's and magazines. For the first time since the Fischer-Spassky match people were able to make a living from chess because of its increased popularity. It took someone like Bobby Fischer with his antics, demands, brashness and genius to get the chess world noticed in this country. Bobby Fischer was the perfect person to take on the Soviet chess machine because he was totally unpredictable. Even the Russian psychologists after studying the profile they had on him came to the conclusion that he was a psychopath. How do you play against a psychopath? to quote Spassky, "When you play Bobby, it isn't a matter of win or lose, it's a matter of if you survive" Spassky claims it took him a year to recover from the match with Fischer. The losers to Bobby's withdrawing from chess competition is all of us who enjoy playing and love the game of chess because one can only imagine the wonderful games and brilliancies he would've performed had he continued to engage in chess competitions. Thus, when Bobby stopped playing chess, I stopped playing chess also but, I started to have another interest and my new interest was girls. Since no girls played chess and no girls were interested in chess and no girls were interested in guys that played chess, I stopped playing chess completely until I bought and read this book two years ago and started to take up the game of chess again and it was such a joy to relive the summer of 72 again. Thank you Bobby Fischer, you are the immortal king of the immortal game. RIP
Strange, Disjointed, Unfocused, Tedious Book that is more about Spassky than Fischer I was pretty excited about buying this book, because who wouldn't want a book about how one man stood up to a Superpower at the height of the Cold War and won?
But then, when you get into it, the book becomes more of a breakdown of the Fischer/Spassky match, only one written for non-chess players. Apparently most all of the story comes from interviews and the recollections and memos of the participants
The problem with that is that they couldn't get an interview with Fischer, and the book shows it. In terms of pages, "Bobby Fischer Goes to War" is 40% about Spassky, 20% about chess, 30% about the reporters or other GMs at the match or whatever, and maybe 10% about Bobby Fischer. Which would be fine if it wasn't put out there as a book about Bobby Fischer, but it was and its not that at all
Written by 2 co-authors and apparently not edited at all, the book meanders from place to place and anecdote to anecdote, and the last 100 pages are intolerably slow. They cover the post-mortem of the match; what went wrong and where the participants ended up. The main problem with that, again, is maybe 10 of those 100 pages are about Fischer. I mean, its really great to know that some Soviet minister of whatever retired and had a good life, but to my mind the book is crippled by long detours into side characters' lives, and I think the authors only indulged in those detours because they had next to no information about Bobby, so they had to talk about something to run up the page count
The first half of the book is interesting and relatively fast-paced, and actually does illuminate the Spassky/Fischer match, even if it doesn't offer any actual insights into Bobby Fischer, beyond what some people who met him once or twice think of him. The second half is just a re-hash of things already stated, and a "where are they now?" type piece on each of the officials of the various organizations who put the match together
So to sum up: this book is basically just a story about that historic match up, and its more told from Spassky's side than anyone else's. If that's what you want, great. Here it is. If you wanted a book about Bobby Fischer, about any part of his life other than those few months in Iceland, you won't find it here. If you wanted his insight into the matches, or analysis of the matches, that's not here either
Also, you should be warned that the story is told about 75% from the Soviet side of things, so there are alot of Russian names and governmental titles. That might bother some readers; I found it difficult after awhile to differentiate between the various Russian officials, especially since some are referred to by nicknames at one point, then by their given names, then by title, etc.
Hope that helps you make an informed decision on whether or not to buy the book
The Mother of All Matches If Bobby Fischer's name is affiliated with a book, it comes to reason that there is some amount of weirdness forthcoming. I am not referring to the chess books Fischer wrote, as those are guidelines to chess perfection. This refers to any discussion of his life, which this book does. The world's greatest chess player, Fischer, has lived his personal life much less logically than his life is an eight by eight square cell.
To help the nonchess reader sort out the menagerie, authors David Edmonds and John Eidinow provide a "Dramatis Personae," listing 21 Americans, 24 Soviets, six Icelanders, four match officials, and six sundry others, explaining their relationship to the Reykjavik, Iceland chess match. They also include a short glossary to educate us in the vocabulary of competitive chess.
The book begins with a vital quote by Boris Spassky, "When you play Bobby, it is not a question of whether you win or lose. It is a question of whether you survive. This sets the tone for all that follows.
Edmonds and Eidinow lay out the social mire Fischer was growing up in, and his quick rise to chess dominance.
In 1954, when Fischer was 11, he was attending matches and doing well enough but not at his later prodigy level. In that year, as he is quoted, he "just got good." Modern chess history, or at least for one its most colorful characters, begins then.
1972: Boris Spassky was the champ. He deserved to be there. Bobby Fischer was the contender. He deserved to have the opportunity. Between these two men stood a world of complex politics, money, national pride, idiosyncrasies, and suitors to the game. Reykjavik, Iceland was the location of what has become one of the most legendary chess matches ever, between Spassky and Fischer.
Early on during Fischer's career, he had the same impact Michael Jordan would later enjoy later enjoy as professional basketball player. "Fischer-fear" was the description of some players' psychosomatic illnesses from Fischer's intimidation. Opponents would make mistakes as a result. Fischer had the bravado of Muhammad Ali, but none of his class. He would take this personality and boorish demands to the match.
Boris Spassky is painted differently. A product of the Soviet support system, he became professional about the game. Affable and popular, an opposite to in every way to Fischer, he still had what Fischer lacked -- the title "World Champion."
The bulk of the book moves on from biography and personality profiles. It follows the path the chess culture -- all chaotic in its apparent systemic approach. Going from the need to compete to the actual match turned through every convoluted corner, with Kissinger's involvement, the FBI, the KGB, and as much intrigue as a James Bond movie.
The travails of the match are outlined as needed (but not heavily), highlighting the most interesting parts and never boring nonchess players. The psychology of the players and chess players in general is discussed, as is the history of modern champions, providing a field for tension and a framework for the match.
This was in the midst of the Cold War, and the Soviets -- not just Spassky, owned the chess champ title. Nixon was president. Fischer, the bombastic, arrogant American who hated Russia, had a knack for successfully risking it all on the board by knowing the principles of chess as a sublime art form. Spassky, the methodical Russian, against Fischer, became a symbol of the Cold war itself. The image of the match was only half of the matter. Neither man was the caricature the press saw them as, but such are the stories of legend.
I fully recommend "Bobby Fischer Goes to War: How the Soviets Lost the Most Extraordinary Chess Match of All Time," (title from the hardback edition) by David Edmonds and John Eidinow. Oh, and if you somehow missed the big news back in 1972, Fischer won the match.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
