Related Resources • Fischer - Part 2 • World Champions • World Champions - Links

Elsewhere on the Web • Fischer and the FBI • Atlantic Monthly Dec.2002

Bobby Fischer has been receiving a lot of attention lately. Fischer has always received a lot of attention, but right now it seems like a tidal wave.

On 17 November 2002, the Philadelphia Inquirer, in a story about Fischer and his mother Regina, said, 'FBI records obtained by The Inquirer under the Freedom of Information Act show that intermittently, from the 1940s to the 1970s, the Fischers were being watched.' See the link Fischer and the FBI in the right linkbox for that story. The Inquirer article includes a further link to scans of some of the original documents released by the FBI.

In its December 2002 edition, the Atlantic Monthly published Bobby Fischer's Pathetic Endgame by New York journalist Rene Chun. The feature, subtitled 'Paranoia, hubris, and hatred -- the unraveling of the greatest chess player ever', tells of Fischer's radio rants, recounts his career as a chess player, and informs that he has been a father since 2000.

As abhorrent as Fischer's personality has become, it makes a sharp contrast to the beauty and accuracy of the 1000 or so games that he left as his chess legacy. Fischer and Garry Kasparov are still the only undisputed contenders for the imaginary title Greatest Chessplayer of all Time.

It's been a little more than 30 years since Fischer - Spassky I and exactly 10 years since Fischer - Spassky II. In those 30 years, despite sporadic, unconfirmed reports that he has been spotted playing weird openings on the Internet, Fischer has left us with nothing newer than those 50 games against Spassky.

Let's look at some of his best games. Finding nice Fischer games is not hard. Just open up a file of his games and pick one at random. Finding nice Fischer moves is also not hard. Just pick a move at random.

He fought for the initiative at every move, presenting his opponent with problem after problem until the game was his. Well before the phrase became a cliché, winning was the only thing for Fischer. 'I like the moment when I break a man's ego.'

Since Chess Informant started publishing in 1966, every issue has listed the top ten games from the previous issue. Fischer had 24 of his games selected -- 17 wins and 7 losses -- including two wins from the 1992 match in Sveti Stefan and Belgrade. Of those 17 wins, 3 were judged best game of the previous issue, 4 were second best, and 3 more third best. Of those 7 losses, what can I say except 'it takes a great game to beat a great player'.

I have a database of games which have been published in different books and magazines, including Informant. It's not maintained scientifically. I add to it as I find the time to work on a particular subject. After asking it to give me all Fischer games, I ranked them by popularity, analyzed the most interesting, and picked a few for more attention.

In this article I'll mention 10 games Fischer played before he began his final climb to become World Champion. I've chosen a position from each game, given three moves, and asked you which move Fischer played. The positions cover the extraordinary and the mundane. I've also created a separate page with the full games in PGN format.

Match Wits with Bobby Fischer
Part 1 (No. 1-5)
Part 2 (No. 6-10)
PGN for No. 1-10

In a future About article, I'll add 10 games from the period 1970-1972, when Fischer captured the World Championship title.

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