O.K. I will do that, but for now I'm starting to get a tad sleepy. It's late here where I live, and my body clock is shutting down for the night. Soon I'll have to hit the hay. And I start typing funny when I am tired pretty youuu cannnt undersssstand%77 whattt the heck I am tryiiiing to ssttryuhgui. Uytitoyijjurtfy ghytpoiyurttydfve.
Originally posted by kingisdeadDo you actually have something to say about the greatest chess player of the 20th century after Capablanca and Alekhine or did you just want your username to be on top of the forum list?
I should have known I'd open my mouth and stick my foot in it. Actually, I wasn't talking about his world views at all. In that regard, I too am averse to him. He is more than abrasive there. Actually, I was referring to his chess.
Why would you even let a thought like that cross your mind? Actually, I have alot to say, and some guys are new, and may not have heard about Fischer's legendary abilities. It is for their edification that I offered to contribute, and not for those who have heard it all allready. And actually, I don't even give a rat's hairy butt about where my user name appears.
Originally posted by kingisdeadSooooo ...... we're waiting for your erudite comments on what's inside Bobby Fischer's head. Care to share?
Why would you even let a thought like that cross your mind? Actually, I have alot to say, and some guys are new, and may not have heard about Fischer's legendary abilities. It is for their edification that I offered to contribute, and not for those who have heard it all allready. And actually, I don't even give a rat's hairy butt about where my user name appears.
Originally posted by no1marauderYou think that Capablanca is a better chess player than Fischer? You think Alekhine is a better chess player than is Fischer?
Do you actually have something to say about the greatest chess player of the 20th century after Capablanca and Alekhine or did you just want your username to be on top of the forum list?
Erudite? Well, I don't really know if I am more learned or scholarly than anyone else. Fact is, I rather highly doubt that. Truth is, I'm just yer basic booger head who happens to love chess, and happens to admire Fischer's chess even more. No when I think about it, I am surely NOT erudite. In fact, my erudition is nill. I don't put on airs.
Are YOU erudite?
Anyway, be that as it may, for newer guys, I just have a few anecdotes that should give you an inkling of his mind's capabilities.
Seems that the inner machinations of his mind are not just a product of random thought, but rather that the man is an established genius. Infact, his IQ has been cited in the range of !80 or higher. a very high genius.
Seems he was in Reykjavic before his historic match with Spassky, touring Iceland, when he answered a telephone that happened to ring in the house where he was staying. If IO remember the story correctly, he picked it up, and the caller spoke to him in Icelandic, then hung up. Now bear in mind that Bobby had never heard or spoken a word of Icelandic in his life. Later that evening, he repeated the phone conversation, word for word, with PERFECT inflection, in fact so well, that ther person he repeated it to was able to know exactly what was said in the message!
A couple more anecdotes: Robert Burger tells of a time when he was playing a match in New York, and Fischer paused at his board for a second, then went on toward the rest room.
That's not the end of the story. Several months later, he met Mr Burger at the Marshall Chess club and asked him how the game turned out. He asked what move he had played, and Burber said that frankly, he did not remember. Fischer said that he should have played Q B5, and promptly set up the board with the exact position to help him remember! Point is, Bobby rememberd the position AND his fleeting analysis as he passed the board on his way tio the men's room. And he retained the memory in his head for several MONTHS! Remember, this was not a studied thing, but just a brief, fleeting analysis! Imagine what he can do if he LOOKS at the board and studies it deeply for a while.
I have more anecdotes, if this is interesting, if not, then I'll shut my yap.
Originally posted by kingisdeadI'm listening, mate.
Erudite? Well, I don't really know if I am more learned or scholarly than anyone else. Fact is, I rather highly doubt that. Truth is, I'm just yer basic booger head who happens to love chess, and happens to admire Fischer's chess even more. No when I think about it, I am surely NOT erudite. In fact, my erudition is nill. I don't put on airs.
Are Y ...[text shortened]... while.
I have more anecdotes, if this is interesting, if not, then I'll shut my yap.
Originally posted by gambit3Yes and maybe. Fischer's match play record is flawless, but his record in international tournaments certainly does not match Capablanca who played in a golden era of chess. Actually, I had meant Fischer was greatest player of the 20th century AFTER C & A meaning in time (60's-70's rather than 20's and 30's).
You think that Capablanca is a better chess player than Fischer? You think Alekhine is a better chess player than is Fischer?
Those are good Fischer stories; if you have more I'd be interested to hear them. I have one: During the championship match against Spassky, Fischer went to the match referee to complain. He stated: "There are people in the audience coughing and it's distracting; I want it stopped." The bewildered ref said: "What can I do? If people are sick, they're sick." Fischer indignantly replied: "If they're sick they should be at a hospital, not at the World Chess Championship!"
Yup! I've heard that one before, and sad to say, Bobby was right. If I was palying the championship against Spassky, I think I'd want perfect quiet, too. Still, it's right in charachter with Bobby. And what were the other things he didn't like? wasntn't it the glare on the board or something? Oh well, again, I'm inclined to agree with the man. When you are playing for those kind of stakes, things should be to your liking.
But be that as it may, there are so many fine points about his chess that one can really consider, that it makes these quibbles seem unimportant. Consider for instance a simple "undefinable element such as the the position of the king in the end game. How many times has he sacrificed pawns or pieces to advance his king or to restrict the opponent? He was quite able to show how an otherwise even ending is won by the commanding position of the king.
Ican think of a dozen other elements of his game that were fine points that can either "make or break", that fall not into so much the you "move here I move there" rationale of thinking, but are rather points of fine, keen, and astute judgemrnt on his part. But that is off topic, so back to the anecdotes😲n his prodigous memory: It is a fact that he can remember and rattle off the scores of most of his speed games.The year was 1970, the conclusion of the unofficial Speed championship of the World at Hercegnovi, Yugoslavia. Bobby recited from memory the scores of all twenty two of his speed games, involving more than a thousand moves, from memory!
and i believe it was just prior to his historic match with Taimonov, in Vancouver, B.C., that he met with the Russian player vasiukov and did an instant reply over the board of a game that the two had played FIFTEEN years prior! And he rattled off the game MOVE for MOVE!
how'a THAT for a memory? How'd you like to play up against that?How far ahead does he see in his games? Postmortem analysis shows that he sees three or four moves ahead in any position, with a simple GLANCE at the board.
If he studies the board for five seconds, analysis shows that can see five or six moves ahead, in ANY position, and often MORE than that.
At times , just for fun, against strong opponents, he will set the clock for one minute, and have his opponents set theirs for ten minutes. He invariably wins with TIME TO SPARE!
The man is phenomonal. Simply phenomonal.