Garry Kasparov on Fischer:
My Great Predecessors Part 4This book brings together the two greatest names in the history of
chess. The author, Garry Kasparov, is the world number one and, by
common consent, the greatest player ever. The subject of the book,
Bobby Fischer, is the only American to have become world champion and
is probably the greatest natural talent the world has ever seen. In
the period between 1955 and 1972 Fischer, more or less single-handedly,
took on the might of the Soviet Chess Empire, and won. During this time
Fischer scored astonishing successes the like of which had not been
seen before. These included 11/11 in the 1963/64 US Championship and
match victories (en route to the World Championship) by the score of
6-0 against two of the strongest players in the world, Mark Taimanov
and Bent Larsen. The climax of Fischer's campaign was his unforgettable
match win in Reykjavik in 1972 against Boris Spassky. Fischer is
almost equally well-known for his temperamental behaviour away from the
board, as his play on it. He made extreme demands of all those around
him including tournament organizers. When these demands were not met he
often refused to play. The 1972 match against Spassky required the
intervention of no less than Henry Kissinger to smooth things over. In
1975 when he was due to defend his title against Anatoly Karpov,
Fischer was completely unable to agree terms with FIDE (the World Chess
Federation) and was defaulted. After this he more or less gave up
chess, playing only once, a 'return' match against Spassky in 1992. In
this book, a must for all serious chessplayers, Kasparov analyses
deeply Fischer's greatest games and assesses the legacy of this great
American genius. |
