13 In preparation for the interview, Ginzburg had read Elias Canetti’s classic work Auto-da-Fé See Canetti.
14 “I don’t want to talk about it! Don’t ever mention Ginzburg’s name to me!” PRO, p. 47.
15 It honed his instinct and forced him to trust himself CL, February 1962, p. 25.
16 “the number comes up again and again [the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours of practice]” Gladwell, p. 41.
17 “Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” Gladwell, p. 41.
18 Bobby signed it using the Russian Cyrillic alphabet, needing to change only a few letters. CL, February 1962, p. 25.
19 “A charmer” CR, November 1961, p. 347.
20 Tal [Sighing]: “It is difficult to play against Einstein’s theory.” Fischer, My 60 Memorable Games, p. 196; also in CL, March 1952, p. 58.
21 Bobby was not happy with his eventual second-place showing in the tournament CR, November 1961, p. 323.
22 he was also having difficulty keeping food down PRO, p. 50.
23 the British Broadcasting Corporation invited him to London to appear on a show called Chess Treasury of the Air Tiller, p. 124.
24 Bobby spent a British Christmas with his mother and her new husband Letter to Regina Pustan from Bobby Fischer, January 1963, MCF.
25 “I wasn’t just ‘trusting in God’ to give me the moves.” “The Painful Truth,” interview of Bobby Fischer in Ambassador Report, June 1976.
26 Bobby wrote a preachy letter to his mother Letter to Regina Pustan from Bobby Fischer, March 9, 1964, MCF.
27 A good and tolerant life was the best life, she said Copy of letter, perhaps unsent, to Bobby Fischer from Regina Pustan, August 1964, MCF.
28 “If anyone tried to live by the letter of the law, it was me” Ambassador Report, June 1977.
29 “The more I tried [to be obedient] the more crazy I became,” he noted “The Painful Truth,” interview of Bobby Fischer in Ambassador Report, June 1976.
30 the real prize for Bobby was to qualify for the Candidates tournament Conversation with author, April 1962.
31 “Bobby Fischer’s margin of 2½ points reflects his complete domination of the event.” CL, April 1962, p. 69.
32 entered Bobby’s room at the Hotel Intercontinental in Curaçao shortly after Arthur Bisguier, Bobby’s second, had arrived. DeLucia, p. 270.
33 “No, you get out!” Benko replied, somewhat illogically. Interview of Pal Benko by author, summer 2008.
34 “I am sorry that I beat up Bobby. He was a sick man, even then.” Ibid.
35 The day after the fight, Bobby penned a letter to the Tournament Committee, asking them to expel Benko. Chesscafe.com/FromArchive/FromArchive.htm, “The Fischer-Benko Slapping Incident,” September 1977.
36 the Candidates tournament had furnished “a series of early-round surprises that are probably without parallel in chess history” CL, August 1962, p. 172.
37 “Chess is better.” Interview of Arthur Bisguier by author, February 21, 2009.
38 “There was open collusion between the Russian [Soviet] players” Sports Illustrated, August 20, 1962, accessed December 10, 2009, http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault.
39 Korchnoi, in his memoir Chess Is My Life, backed Bobby’s accusations Korchnoi, pp 44–45.
40 “He simply wasn’t the best player.” Interview of Pal Benko by author, July 2000, Philadelphia, PA.
41 The article was reprinted in German, Dutch, Spanish, Swedish, Icelandic, and (with modifications) Russian. Bobby Fischer, “The Russians Have Fixed World Chess,” Sports Illustrated, August 20, 1962.
Chapter 8: Legends Clash
FBI files of an investigation of Bobby Fischer added facts, heretofore unknown, about his life. Interviews with players who knew him well provided additional insights. Observations by the author served as a catalyst to the research.
1 “tinkering with the engine of a plane” Quoted in the film Me and Bobby Fischer, directed by Fridrik Gudmundsson, DVD, 2009.
2 Winner three times of the World Championship, he’d defeated Alexander Alekhine, José Capablanca, Max Euwe, and Emanuel Lasker Golombek, Golombek’s Encyclopedia, pp. 38–39.
3 Bobby shook hands and said succinctly, “Fischer” CL, November 1962, p. 262.
4 He knew he was a major representative of the Soviet Union Interview of M. Botvinnik by author, Skopje, Macedonia, September 1972.
5 His pupil, Anatoly Karpov, said of him that he had an “Olympian inaccessibility” Karpov, p. 41.
6 When the game was adjourned, it appeared that Fischer’s position was clearly superior. CL, November 1962, p. 261.
7 “Look,” he said. “Botvinnik is getting assistance!” Botvinnik, pp. 170–78.
8 No official protest was put before the tournament committee PRO, p. 66.
9 Mysteriously, the nineteen-year-old wrote a letter of apology to Dr. Eliot Hearst Interview of Dr. Eliot Hearst by author, February 7, 2009, by telephone.
10 Aboard the New Amsterdam once again DeLucia, p. 96.
11 Botvinnik might have been able to become Premier DeLucia, p. 96.
12 But back in Brooklyn, Bobby said he just no longer wanted to be involved with those “commie cheaters,” as he called them. Conversation with author, circa December 1962, New York.
13 Saidy’s position was powerful, and Bobby’s was precarious. Observation of author, 1964.
14 Saidy’s blunder gave Fischer an opportunity to develop a winning endgame Interview of Anthony Saidy by author, February 21, 2009, by telephone.
15 Fischer’s first prize for his two weeks of intensity and brilliance was just $2,000 NYT, January 4, 1964.
16 “Fischer was playing against children,” he said CL, August 1964, p. 202.
17 he’d said that he would never play in the FIDE cycle again because it was stacked in favor of the Soviets. “The Stalemate of Bobby Fischer,” CL, April 1964, p. 186.
18 General George B. Hershey, head of the Selective Service bureau Author’s discussion with Harold M. Phillips, circa spring 1964.
19 Alfred Landa, then assistant to the president, said Interview of Alfred Landa by author, circa spring 1964, New York.
20 Bobby Fischer was classified 4F Draft deferment card, 1964, MCF.
21 Nonetheless, the State Department flatly refused to recognize him as a legitimate columnist CL, September 1965, p. 191.
22 “Cuban travel criteria make no provision for validation for the purpose of participating in chess competitions.” FBI investigation file of Robert James Fischer, 1958–1967.
23 Furious, Bobby cabled Castro NYT, August 25, 1965, p. 36.