Endgame_ Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise And Fall Part 5

The European crowds who were watching preparations begin for the Candidates tournament liked Bobby too, but for different reasons: Americans weren't supposed to play as well well as he did. And at sixteen! He was a curiosity in Yugoslavia, a chess-obsessed country, and was continually pestered for autographs and interviews. Lanky, with a loping gait, and dressed in what some Europeans thought was Western or Texan clothing, he was described as being "laconic as the hero of an old cowboy movie." as he did. And at sixteen! He was a curiosity in Yugoslavia, a chess-obsessed country, and was continually pestered for autographs and interviews. Lanky, with a loping gait, and dressed in what some Europeans thought was Western or Texan clothing, he was described as being "laconic as the hero of an old cowboy movie."

Bobby had tolerated Tal's stare when they first met over the board in Portoro. That game had ended in a draw. More recently, in Zurich, three months before this Candidates showdown, they'd drawn once again, with Bobby coming in third, a point behind the first-place Tal. But now the stakes were much higher-the Candidates results would determine who played for the World Champions.h.i.+p-and Fischer wasn't going to let an obnoxious eye-jinx keep him from his destiny.

The Candidates tournament, spread throughout three Yugoslavian cities-under the beneficence of the dictator Marshal Josip t.i.to, an avid amateur chess player-was a quadruple round-robin among the world's best eight players, meaning that each would have to play everyone else four games, alternating the black and white pieces. It was a grueling schedule and would last more than six weeks. Four of the players-Mikhail Tal, Paul Keres, Tigran Petrosian, and Vasily Smyslov-were from the Soviet Union. Three others-Gligoric, Olafsson, and Benko-were indisputably among the world's best. Fischer was the only American, and to many he was the tournament's dark knight. In a moment of youthful bravado, though, he declared in an interview that he was counting on winning. Leonard Barden, a British chess journalist, claimed that Fischer was asked so often what his result would be that he learned the Serbo-Croatian word for "first": prvi prvi.

During the contest, Fischer habitually dressed in a ski sweater and un-pressed pants, and left his hair matted as if unwashed, while the other players donned suits, s.h.i.+rts, and ties, and were scrupulous about their grooming. With thousands of spectators appraising each player's sartorial-as well as strategic-style, the match moved from Bled to Zagreb and ended in Belgrade.

Bobby's second, the great Danish player Bent La.r.s.en, who was there to help him as a trainer and mentor, instead criticized his charge, perhaps smarting from the rout he'd suffered at Fischer's hands in Portoro. Not one to keep his thoughts to himself, La.r.s.en told Bobby, "Most people think you are unpleasant to play against." He then added, "You walk funny"-a reference, perhaps, to Fischer's athletic swagger from years of tennis, swimming, and basketball. Declining to leave any slur unvoiced, he concluded, "And you are ugly." Bobby insisted that La.r.s.en wasn't joking and that the insults "hurt." His self-esteem and confidence seemed to have slipped a notch.

But that made him no less combative.

Still enraged from the disrespectful way he felt he'd been treated during his visit to Moscow a year before, Bobby began acting the role of a Cold War gladiator. At one point, he declared that almost all the Soviet players in the tournament were his enemies (he made an exception of the redheaded Smyslov, who displayed a gentility toward him). Years later, records released by the KGB, the Soviet intelligence agency, indicated he was right. One Russian master, Igor Bondarevsky, wrote that "all four of [Fischer's] Soviet opponents did everything in their power to punish the upstart." Tal and Petrosian, close friends, quickly drew all of their games, thereby conserving their energy. Although not illegal, indulging in the so-called grandmaster draw-in which neither player strives to win but, rather, halves the point after a few inconsequential moves have been made-bordered on unprincipled behavior.

Bobby, for his part, was livid at the seeming collusion: "I will teach those dirty Russians a lesson they won't forget for a long time," he wrote from the Hotel Toplice. That resolution would become a lifelong crusade.

At his first game against Tal, in Bled, Bobby was already at the board when the twenty-three-year-old Mischa arrived just in time to commence play. Bobby stood and Tal offered his right hand to shake. Tal's hand was severely deformed, with only three large fingers appended, and since his wrist was so thin, the malformation resembled a claw. Bobby, to his credit, didn't seem to care. He returned the gesture with a two-stroke handshake, and play began.

Within a few moves, though, Bobby's mood soured. He became annoyed at Tal's comportment at and away from the board. This time "the stare" began to rankle him. Tal, in a seeming bid to increase Bobby's irritation, also offered a slight smile of incredulity after each of the American's moves, as if he were saying: "Silly boy, I know what you have in mind-how amusing to think you can trick me!"

Fischer, deciding to use Tal's tactics against him, tried producing his own stare, and even flashed Tal an abbreviated, sneering smile of contempt. But after a few seconds, he'd break eye contact and concentrate on more important things: the action on the board, the sequence of moves he planned to follow, or the ways to counter the combination Tal seemed to be formulating.

Tal was an encyclopedia of kinetic movement. All in a matter of seconds, he'd move a chess piece, record the action on his score sheet, position his head within inches of the clock to check the time, grimace, smile, raise his eyebrows, and "make funny faces," as Bobby characterized it. Then he'd rise and walk up and down the stage while Bobby was thinking. Tal's coach Igor Bondarevsky referred to his charge's movements as "circling around the table like a vulture"-presumably, a vulture ready to pounce.

Tal chain-smoked and could consume a pack of cigarettes during the course of a game. He also had the habit of resting his chin on the edge of the table, peering through through the pieces and peeking at his opponent, rather than establis.h.i.+ng a bird's-eye view by sitting up straight and looking down, which would have provided a better perspective on the intricacies of the board. Since Tal's body language was so bizarre, Fischer interpreted it as an attempt to annoy him. the pieces and peeking at his opponent, rather than establis.h.i.+ng a bird's-eye view by sitting up straight and looking down, which would have provided a better perspective on the intricacies of the board. Since Tal's body language was so bizarre, Fischer interpreted it as an attempt to annoy him.

Tal's gestures and staring infuriated Fischer. He complained to the arbiter, but little was done. Whenever Tal rose from the board, in the middle of the game, when Fischer was planning his next move, he'd begin talking to the other Soviet players, and they enjoyed whispering about their or others' positions. Although he knew some Russian, Bobby had trouble with the declensions and usage. He'd hear the words ferz ferz' ("queen") or lad'ya lad'ya ("rook"), for example, and he couldn't tell whether Tal was talking specifically about ("rook"), for example, and he couldn't tell whether Tal was talking specifically about his his position. All he knew was that it was maddening. Bobby couldn't understand why the chief arbiter didn't prevent this muttering, since it was forbidden by the rules, and he told the organizers that Tal should be thrown out of the tournament. That Soviet players had for decades been talking to one another during games with no complaints didn't help Bobby's cause. position. All he knew was that it was maddening. Bobby couldn't understand why the chief arbiter didn't prevent this muttering, since it was forbidden by the rules, and he told the organizers that Tal should be thrown out of the tournament. That Soviet players had for decades been talking to one another during games with no complaints didn't help Bobby's cause.

Fischer was also perturbed that when a game was finished, many of the players would immediately join with their opponents to a.n.a.lyze their completed games, right on the stage, just a few feet from where he was playing rather than in the postmortem a.n.a.lysis room. The buzz distracted his attention. He wrote a complaint about the chattering and handed it to the chief arbiter: After the game is completed, a.n.a.lysis by the opponents must be prohibited to avoid disturbing the other players. Upon completion of the game, the Referee must immediately remove the chess pieces from the table to prevent a.n.a.lysis. We recommend that the organization prepare a special room for post-mortem a.n.a.lysis. The room must be completely out of earshot of all of the partic.i.p.ants.Robert J. Fischer, International Grandmaster As it turned out, though, nothing was done. No other players joined in the protest, because most were guilty of doing the very thing Fischer was opposing.

Bobby was fast gaining a reputation as a constant complainer, the Petulant American, a role most of the players found distasteful. They believed he'd invariably blame tournament conditions or the behavior of the other players for a loss.

Whether or not Bobby was was hypersensitive, he did suffer from hyperacusis-an acute senstivity to noise and even distant sounds-and it was clear that Tal, in particular, knew just how to rattle him. The Russian would look at Bobby from near or far, and begin laughing, and once in the communal dining room he pointed to Bobby and said out loud, "Fischer: cuckoo!" Bobby almost burst into tears. "Why did Tal say 'cuckoo' to me?" he asked, and for the first and perhaps only time during the tournament, La.r.s.en tried to console him: "Don't let him bother you." He told Bobby he'd have an opportunity to seek revenge...on the board. After that, a local Bled newspaper published a group of caricatures of all eight players, and a souvenir postcard was made of the drawings. Bobby's portrait was particularly severe, with his ears akimbo and his mouth open, making him look as if he were...well, cuckoo. hypersensitive, he did suffer from hyperacusis-an acute senstivity to noise and even distant sounds-and it was clear that Tal, in particular, knew just how to rattle him. The Russian would look at Bobby from near or far, and begin laughing, and once in the communal dining room he pointed to Bobby and said out loud, "Fischer: cuckoo!" Bobby almost burst into tears. "Why did Tal say 'cuckoo' to me?" he asked, and for the first and perhaps only time during the tournament, La.r.s.en tried to console him: "Don't let him bother you." He told Bobby he'd have an opportunity to seek revenge...on the board. After that, a local Bled newspaper published a group of caricatures of all eight players, and a souvenir postcard was made of the drawings. Bobby's portrait was particularly severe, with his ears akimbo and his mouth open, making him look as if he were...well, cuckoo.

Sure enough, in the drawing, next to the portrait of Bobby was a little bird perched on his board. It was a cuckoo.

Spectators, players, and journalists began asking Bobby how he could take two months off, September and October, during the school year to play in a tournament. Finally it was revealed: He'd dropped out of Erasmus Hall. It had been crus.h.i.+ng for Regina to have to sign the authorization releasing the sixteen-year-old from the school. She hoped she could talk him back into cla.s.ses somewhere, someday, after he finished playing in the Candidates tournament. As an inducement to get him to change his mind about dropping out, the a.s.sistant princ.i.p.al of Erasmus, Grace Corey, wrote to Bobby in Yugoslavia, telling him how well he'd done on the New York State Regents examinations. He'd earned a grade of 90 percent in Spanish and 97 percent in geometry, making for "a really good year."

Good grades or not, an image began to attach itself to Bobby. As a result of the publicity about his schooling, or lack thereof, Fischer was beginning to be thought of as a nyeculturni nyeculturni by the Russians, unschooled and uncultured, and they began to tease him. "What do you think of Dostoyevsky, Bobby?" someone queried. "Are you a Benthamite?' another asked. "Would you like to meet Goethe?" They were unaware that Bobby had read literature in high school, and for his own enjoyment. He liked George Orwell's work, and for years held on to his copies of by the Russians, unschooled and uncultured, and they began to tease him. "What do you think of Dostoyevsky, Bobby?" someone queried. "Are you a Benthamite?' another asked. "Would you like to meet Goethe?" They were unaware that Bobby had read literature in high school, and for his own enjoyment. He liked George Orwell's work, and for years held on to his copies of Animal Farm Animal Farm and and 1984; 1984; he also read and admired Oscar Wilde's he also read and admired Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray The Picture of Dorian Gray. Voltaire's Candide Candide was a favorite, and he'd often talk about the comic parts. Tal asked Bobby if he'd ever gone to the opera, and when Bobby burst into the refrain from "The March of the Smugglers," from Bizet's was a favorite, and he'd often talk about the comic parts. Tal asked Bobby if he'd ever gone to the opera, and when Bobby burst into the refrain from "The March of the Smugglers," from Bizet's Carmen Carmen, the Russian was temporarily silenced. Bobby had attended a performance of the French opera with his mother and sister at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York shortly before going to Europe. He also owned a book that told the stories of all the great operas, which he'd dip into from time to time.

Unfortunately, cultured or not, Bobby played poorly in the tournament at first. He was frustrated at being down two games to none against Tal, who never pa.s.sed up a chance to annoy his younger opponent. Just before Bobby and Tal were to play a third time, Bobby approached Alexander Koblentz, one of Tal's trainers, and said sotto voce, as menacingly as he could: "If Tal doesn't behave himself, I am going to smash out all of his front teeth." Tal persisted in his provocation, though, and Fischer lost their third game as well.

It was a situation where a youthful player like Bobby could spiral down irretrievably, playing himself into an abyss. But he took momentary charge of his psyche, despite his losses, and began to feel optimistic. After defeating a cold, he placed himself in the abstract world of Lewis Carroll and the universe of reversal and wrote: "I am now in quite a good mood, and eating well. [Like] in Alice in Wonderland Alice in Wonderland. Remember? The Red Queen cried before before she got a piece of dirt in her eye. I am in a good mood she got a piece of dirt in her eye. I am in a good mood before before I win all of my games." I win all of my games."

"Let's go to a movie," Dimitrije Bjelica said to Bobby the night before he was to play Vasily Smyslov. Bjelica was a Yugoslavian chess journalist; he was also nationally known as a television commentator on soccer. He'd befriended Bobby in Portoro and was sympathetic to his complaints, and he thought a movie might take Bobby's mind off his problems. As luck would have it, though, the only English-language film being shown in Belgrade was l.u.s.t for Life l.u.s.t for Life, the lush biopic of the mad nineteenth-century Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh.

Bobby agreed to the outing, and right after the scene when Van Gogh cuts off his ear in despair following a foolish quarrel with Paul Gauguin, Bobby turned to his companion and whispered: "If I don't win against Smyslov tomorrow, I'll cut off my my ear." Fischer, playing brilliantly with the black pieces the next day, won his first game ever against the Russian, a former World Champion. The parallels of Bobby's life to Van Gogh's go only so far, however. Bobby's ear remained intact. ear." Fischer, playing brilliantly with the black pieces the next day, won his first game ever against the Russian, a former World Champion. The parallels of Bobby's life to Van Gogh's go only so far, however. Bobby's ear remained intact.

For Bobby, an unfortunate pattern emerged after that. If he managed to win a game from an opponent, on the next day he'd often lose to someone else. He defeated Benko then lost to Gligoric. After a win against Fridrik Olafsson, he lost to Tal again. Bobby saw his chance at a t.i.tle shot fading away, and he didn't want to end up like Terry Malloy-the character played by Marlon Brando in one of Bobby's favorite movies, On the Waterfront- On the Waterfront-with "a one-way ticket to Palookaville."

Bobby lost games he should have drawn and drew contests he should have won. He dropped ten pounds, and not because he wasn't eating. The hotel doctor prescribed a tonic that did nothing to improve his condition. His pocket money was running low after he lost seven traveler's checks, and he was having trouble extracting more from his mother, at one point calling her a "louse" because she wouldn't make up the shortfall: "You know I am very good with money," he complained. La.r.s.en, whom Bobby described as "sulky and unhelpful," kept discouraging him, telling him that he shouldn't expect to place higher than the bottom rank of those competing. When La.r.s.en repeated this line publicly and it was published in the Belgrade newspaper Borba Borba, Bobby was enraged and humiliated. La.r.s.en was his second, he was being paid $700-equivalent to about $5,000 today-and Bobby expected him to be something of a cheering squad, or at least not a public Ca.s.sandra.

He was losing to Tal, but some of his other games won accolades. Harry Golombek, the chief arbiter, said that Fischer was improving as the event progressed, and he surmised that "were the tournament [to go] 56 rounds instead of the 'mere' 28," Bobby's best days would lie ahead. "He is no match for Tal but his two victories over Keres and his equal score with Smyslov are sufficient in themselves to prove his real Grandmaster cla.s.s."

World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik misdiagnosed the young American's struggles when he wrote, "Fischer's strong and weak points lie in that he is always true to himself and plays the same way regardless of his opponents or an external factor." It's true that Bobby rarely altered his style, which gave his opponents an advantage because they knew in advance what kinds of openings he'd play, but Botvinnik didn't know of the rage that Bobby was experiencing because of the disruptive atmosphere being created by Tal.

Bobby began to plot. Tal had to be stopped, if not on the chessboard, then in some other way. Tal, he said, had purposely made him lose three games in a row using unfair tactics, robbing him of first place: "He actually cheated me out of a match with Botvinnik," he wrote in a letter to his mother.

Whether it was a clinically paranoid musing, malice aforethought, or merely a boyhood fantasy, no one can know, but Bobby began to wonder and scheme and penned his plan of reprisal against Tal: "Should I poke him in the eye-both beetlely eyes, maybe-with my pen? Perhaps I should poison him; I could gain entrance to his room in the Hotel Esplanade and then put the poison in his drinking gla.s.s." Despite his dreams of revenge, which he never put into effect, he played valiantly in the fourth game, a contest that he vowed to the press he'd win, no matter what sleight of chess Tal would deliver on or off the board.

Bobby tried a psychological tactic himself during that game, despite his oft-quoted demurral, "I don't believe in psychology-I believe in good moves." Normally, he'd make his move on the board, punch his clock, and record the move on the score sheet. In this game, though, on his twenty-second move, he suddenly altered his sequence, and instead of first moving a piece, he went to his score sheet and, in recording the move he was contemplating, switched to a Russian system of notation. He then offhandedly placed his score sheet on the table so that Tal could see it, and while the clock remained running, he watched Tal to gauge his reaction.

Tal, wearing an atypical poker face, recognized what he thought was a winning move for Fischer, and he wrote later: "I would very much have liked to change his decision. So I calmly left my chair and began strolling the stage. I joked with someone [Petrosian], took a casual look at the exhibition board and returned to my seat with a pleased appearance." Since Tal looked as if he were comfortable with the impending move, Fischer momentarily thought he might have blundered. He crossed out his move on the score sheet, made another move, and checked Tal's king instead. It was a mistake.

Bobby closed his eyes to counter any further Talian shenanigans-he didn't have to see his position, since it was imprinted in his mind-and tried to block out any other distractions. He concentrated his energies on finding a single move, or a variation, a tactical feint that would help him emerge from the dark waters of his position, all the while trying to avoid the temptation to move a piece or p.a.w.n to a fatal square.

Alas, nothing worked. He was lost. Tragically, emotionally, existentially, it was chess death. He cried, and didn't attempt to hide his tears. Tal won the fourth and final encounter, and with it the tournament. It would lead to the Champions.h.i.+p of the World.

"I love the dark of the night. It helps me to concentrate," Bobby once remarked. With his sister now married and his mother off on a peace march from San Francisco to Moscow, the Brooklyn apartment was all his-deliciously so, he felt. He only had his dog, Hoppy, a quiet mutt who limped, to keep him company. Alone, the teenager could think and do whatever he wanted, without familial or social constraints. So that he didn't have to change the sheets in the apartment's beds so often, and to give himself a different perspective, he rotated where he slept. Next to each bed, resting on a chair, was a chess set. Flopping down on the selected bed of the evening, he'd glance at the board and muse: Should he look into the Four p.a.w.n attack against the King's Indian, which presented him with difficulty in speed games? Should he study endings, especially deceptive rook-and-p.a.w.n configurations? Maybe he should just go over some of the thirteen hundred high-level games played at the 1958 Munich Olympiad.

Questions like these arose every night before he fell asleep, only to be interrupted for forty-five minutes on most nights when his favorite radio program was being broadcast.

"The Bahn Frei Polka" by Eduard Strauss-with the trumpet call to the racetrack starting gate that blasted as a preamble-would jolt him awake if he'd begun to nod off. This Jean Shepherd Show Jean Shepherd Show theme song had been recorded by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops orchestra, and the equestrian feel to the piece made Bobby feel good the instant he heard it. "It sounds like circus music," he once said in a joyful mood, and it was one of the liveliest dances ever composed by Johann's son. But it wasn't the music that was so important to Bobby. It was the cantankerous, curmudgeonly talk show humorist Jean Shepherd who entranced him. theme song had been recorded by Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops orchestra, and the equestrian feel to the piece made Bobby feel good the instant he heard it. "It sounds like circus music," he once said in a joyful mood, and it was one of the liveliest dances ever composed by Johann's son. But it wasn't the music that was so important to Bobby. It was the cantankerous, curmudgeonly talk show humorist Jean Shepherd who entranced him.

More than a loyal follower of the show, Bobby was a fanatic. When the broadcast-variously described as part kabuki, part commedia dell'arte-started in 1956 on WOR Radio, Bobby listened to almost every show when he was in New York. Shepherd was an acquired taste: He told tales in novelistic form about his childhood in the Midwest, his life in the army, and his adult misadventures in New York City. He cracked jokes, wailed old barroom songs (he had a terrible voice), and played the toy kazoo, the lowliest of musical instruments. Most of his shows were hilarious, others so dark that they sounded maniacal, and he had a studied laugh, not quite a cackle-more a pseudo chuckle-that made him sound deranged. Still, he emerged as if he were a modern-day Mark Twain or a J. D. Salinger. His tales had a bite and a message and could be delivered over and over again.

Bobby sent Shepherd notes, attended live performances that the radio host gave at a Greenwich Village coffeehouse called the Limelight, and visited him at his studio at 1440 Broadway. After the show, the two would engage in a New York City ritual. They'd walk two blocks north and eat hot dogs at Grant's on the corner of Broadway and Forty-second Street, at the edge of "the Crossroads of the World," Times Square. Shepherd remembered that they didn't converse much, just ate. Once, Bobby did talk about a player he was to face in a tournament and kept saying over and over again, "He's stupid," without revealing who the player was or explaining why he felt that way.

Sporadically, Shepherd would mention Bobby on the air. While Shepherd didn't play chess, he admired the idea idea of Bobby Fischer and what he was accomplis.h.i.+ng. of Bobby Fischer and what he was accomplis.h.i.+ng. "Bobby Fischer," "Bobby Fischer," he'd whisper conspiratorially as if he were just talking to one person, not tens of thousands. "Just he'd whisper conspiratorially as if he were just talking to one person, not tens of thousands. "Just imagine imagine. This really nice kid, this great chess player, maybe the greatest chess player who ever ever lived. When he plays chess he is... lived. When he plays chess he is...mean! I mean, I mean, really really mean!" On a few occasions Shepherd helped fund-raise for the U.S. Chess Federation, the non-profit members.h.i.+p organization. He did it for Bobby. mean!" On a few occasions Shepherd helped fund-raise for the U.S. Chess Federation, the non-profit members.h.i.+p organization. He did it for Bobby.

Bobby preferred listening to the radio rather than watching television. One advantage of the former was that while he was listening he could also be glancing at a board. He'd also heard that television emitted possibly harmful electronic rays and he was skittish about spending too much time in front of the ubiquitous tube. He loved the intimacy of radio. When Shepherd was on the air, Bobby would darken his room and have a one-way conversation that eased his loneliness. There, beside the glowing yellow night-light of his radio dial, chessboard at his side, chess books and magazines spread around the room, he'd let his thoughts drift.

When Shepherd went off the air, Bobby continued to twist the dial searching for other broadcasts and shows. Sometime he'd settle for pop music, which, if the volume was turned down low, still allowed him to concentrate on his board a.n.a.lysis. At other times, he'd hear late-night preachers, often of a fundamentalist bent, giving sermons and talks, usually about the meaning and interpretation of the Bible.

Intrigued, Bobby began listening more and more to religious radio programs, such as the revivalist Billy Graham's Hour of Decision Hour of Decision, which featured sermons calling for listeners to give up their lives and be saved by Jesus Christ. Fischer also followed The Lutheran Hour The Lutheran Hour and and Music and the Spoken Word Music and the Spoken Word, a performance by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir that contained inspiring messages. On Sundays, Bobby made a habit of listening to the radio all day, flipping up the dial and back. During one of these electronic perambulations he found what he was searching for: a broadcast by the charismatic Herbert W. Armstrong, on what was called the Radio Church of G.o.d Radio Church of G.o.d. It was a condensed church service that included songs and hymns as well as a sermon by Armstrong, often about the naturalness and practicality of the scriptures. "He seems so sincere," Bobby later remembered thinking. "He has all the right principles: dedication, hard work, perseverance, never giving up. He's dogged; he's persistent." These were the same qualities Bobby brought to the game of chess. He wanted to know more.

One of the tenets of Armstrong's creed was that you can't trust the role that doctors have a.s.sumed. In one of the sermons in which Bobby became engrossed, Armstrong preached: We take the broken bread unworthily if, and when, we take it at communion service and then put our trust in doctors and medicines, instead of in Christ-thus putting another G.o.d before Him! So, many are sick. Many die!If G.o.d is the Healer-the only only real Healer-and if medical science came out of the ancient heathen practice of medicine-men supposed to be in the good graces of imaginary G.o.ds of medicine, is there, then, no need for doctors? real Healer-and if medical science came out of the ancient heathen practice of medicine-men supposed to be in the good graces of imaginary G.o.ds of medicine, is there, then, no need for doctors?Yes, I'm quite sure there is. But if all people understood and practiced G.o.d's truth, the function of the doctor would be a lot different than it is today. Actually, there isn't a cure in a car-load-or a train-load-of medicine! Most sickness and disease today is the result of faulty diet and wrong eating. The true function of the doctor should not be to usurp G.o.d's prerogative as a healer, but to help you to observe nature's laws by prescribing correct diet, teaching you how better to live according to nature's laws according to nature's laws.

Taken by Armstrong's argument, Bobby sent away for copies of the sermon and distributed it to his friends.

Armstrong's Radio Church of G.o.d grew into an international undertaking, the Worldwide Church of G.o.d, and eventually claimed more than one hundred thousand paris.h.i.+oners and listeners. Bobby felt comfortable with the church since it blended certain Christian and Jewish tenets such as Sabbath observation from Friday sundown to Sat.u.r.day sundown, kosher dietary laws, belief in the coming of the Messiah, keeping of Jewish holy days, and rejection of Christmas and Easter. In very little time, he became almost as absorbed in the Bible and "the Church" as he was in chess. On Sat.u.r.day nights, after his Sabbath devotion, he'd usually go to the Manhattan Chess Club or to the Collins home and play chess all evening, and though he sometimes didn't return home until nearly four a.m., he still felt that he should pray for an hour. He also began a correspondence course in "Biblical understanding" that had been created by the Church and was often tied in to world events as interpreted by Armstrong. There was a self-administered test at the end of each week's lesson. A typical question was: What is the basic cause of war and human suffering? A. The inordinate l.u.s.ts of carnal man. B. False political ideologies such as Communism and Fascism. C. Poverty. D. Lack of educational and economic opportunity.The correct answer: "A" [Bobby's answer as well.]

Eventually, Bobby sent 10 percent of his meager chess earnings to the Church. He refused to enter tournaments whose organizers insisted he play on Friday night, and he began a life of devotion to the Church's tenets, explaining: "The Holy Bible is the most rational, most common-sense book ever written on the face of the earth."

He began carrying a blue-covered cardboard box wherever he went. When asked what was in it, without answering he'd give a look that said in essence, "How can you possibly ask me that question? I'm deeply hurt and insulted." Week after week, wherever he went-be it chess club, restaurant, cafeteria, or billiard parlor-there was the blue box. Finally, in the mid-1960s, at a restaurant off Union Square, Bobby went to the restroom and left the box on the table. His dinner companion couldn't resist. Despite feeling guilty at invading Bobby's privacy, he slid the top off the box. Inside, was a book with a t.i.tle embossed in gold: Holy Bible Holy Bible.

During this time, owing to his newfound piety, Bobby used no profanity. One evening when he and a friend were having ice cream sodas at the Howard Johnson's restaurant on Sixth Avenue and Greenwich, a woman in her late teens kept coming in and out of the restaurant. Either drunk or high, she kept up a continuous babble of four-letter words. Bobby became very upset. "Did you hear that?" he asked. "That's terrible." He couldn't bear listening to her any longer. "Let's leave," he said. And the two friends walked out, leaving their sodas unfinished.

6.

The New Fischer

THE PLEADING WAS EMBARRa.s.sING to witness. "C'mon, Bobby. Let me pick you up. C'mon." Silence on the other end of the phone. "We can just hang out." Dead air. "We can play some Five-Minute, or go to a movie." A young chess master, a few years Bobby's senior, was calling from the office phone of the Marshall Chess Club, attempting to talk Fischer into getting together. "Or take a taxi. I'll pay for it." It was two in the afternoon and Bobby had just woken up. His voice, when he finally answered, sounded tinny and sluggish, the words drawled so that each syllable was stretched into two. His volume was loud, though-loud enough for everyone in the office to hear. "I don't know. No. Well, what time? I have to eat." The caller's optimism surged. "We can eat at the Oyster Bar. You like that. C'mon." Success. An hour and a half later sixteen-year-old Bobby was having his first meal of the day: filet of sole and a large gla.s.s of orange juice. to witness. "C'mon, Bobby. Let me pick you up. C'mon." Silence on the other end of the phone. "We can just hang out." Dead air. "We can play some Five-Minute, or go to a movie." A young chess master, a few years Bobby's senior, was calling from the office phone of the Marshall Chess Club, attempting to talk Fischer into getting together. "Or take a taxi. I'll pay for it." It was two in the afternoon and Bobby had just woken up. His voice, when he finally answered, sounded tinny and sluggish, the words drawled so that each syllable was stretched into two. His volume was loud, though-loud enough for everyone in the office to hear. "I don't know. No. Well, what time? I have to eat." The caller's optimism surged. "We can eat at the Oyster Bar. You like that. C'mon." Success. An hour and a half later sixteen-year-old Bobby was having his first meal of the day: filet of sole and a large gla.s.s of orange juice.

As he walked through Grand Central Terminal toward the restaurant, Bobby probably wasn't recognized by most of the people he pa.s.sed, but to his host-and almost all other chess players-having a meal with Fischer was like dining with a movie star. He was becoming a super-celebrity in the world of chess, but the more fame he achieved, the more unpleasant his behavior became. Inflated by his successes on the board, his ego had begun to shut out other people. Gone was Charming Bobby with the electric smile. Enter Problematic Bobby with the disdainful att.i.tude and frequently flashed warning scowl. Increasingly, Bobby viewed it a favor merely to be seen with him.

And it didn't matter if he rebuffed or rejected a person, because someone else was sure to phone with yet another offer to play chess, see a movie, or eat a fish dinner. Everyone wanted to be in his company, to be part of the Bobby Fischer Show, and he knew it. One mistake, disagreement, or mistimed appointment on the part of a friend was enough for Bobby to sever a relations.h.i.+p. And banishment from his realm would last forever; there were always others who'd take the offender's place.

If you didn't play chess, it was nearly impossible to enter Bobby's world, and yet his disrespect seemed to be directed more at weak players than those who didn't know how to play the game. The latter could be forgiven their ignorance, but a weak player-which, by definition, included almost anyone he could beat-had no excuse. "Anyone should be able to become a master," he said with certainty. should be able to become a master," he said with certainty.

Ironically, given his regal att.i.tude, nothing seemed to be going right for Bobby in the fall of 1959. He'd been home barely a month from the Candidates tournament in Yugoslavia, and he was tired-never really weary of the game itself, but fatigued from his excruciating two-month attempt to become Botvinnik's challenger. He was psychically injured from not winning the tournament, and he couldn't eradicate the sting of his four bitter losses-robberies, he called them-to Tal.

Too, as always, there was the problem of money. Those still close to Bobby asked the obvious question: If he was one of the best players in the world, or certainly in the United States, why couldn't he make a living practicing his profession? While the average American salary at that time was $5,500 annually, Bobby, who certainly didn't consider himself average average, had made barely $1,000 for a year's work. His prize for playing in the Candidates tournament had been only $200. If there just wasn't substantial tournament money to be had, why couldn't the American Chess Foundation sponsor him? It backed Reshevsky, even sending him to college. Was it because Bobby wasn't devoutly Jewish, while Reshevsky was Orthodox? Virtually all of the directors of the foundation were Jewish. Were they exerting subtle pressure on him to conform? To go back to school? Did they not respect him because he was "just a kid"? Was it because of the way he dressed?

Telegrams and phone calls kept pouring into Bobby through the end of November and the first weeks of December. Some of the correspondents asked whether he was going to defend his United States Champions.h.i.+p t.i.tle in the Rosenwald tournament. He really didn't know. A letter finally arrived in early December that announced the pairings. It listed the twelve players who were invited-Bobby included-and detailed who'd play whom on which dates, and what color each player would have in each round. Bobby went into a slow fume. Public Public pairing ceremonies were the custom, he loudly pointed out, in all European and most international tournaments. pairing ceremonies were the custom, he loudly pointed out, in all European and most international tournaments.

The Rosenwald organizers, catching Bobby's implication that they'd colluded to make the pairings more favorable for some, expressed outrage at his protest. "Simple," said Bobby in response, "just do the pairings over again...this time publicly." They refused, and the sixteen-year-old Bobby threatened a lawsuit. The New York Times The New York Times picked up on the dispute and ran a story headlined picked up on the dispute and ran a story headlined CHESS GROUP BALKS AT FISCHER DEMAND CHESS GROUP BALKS AT FISCHER DEMAND. The fracas escalated, and Bobby was told that a replacement player would take his place if he refused to play. Finally, the contest of wills ended after officials agreed that if Bobby would play this time, they'd make the pairings in public the following year. It was enough of a concession for Bobby, and he agreed to play. Ultimately, he'd won the battle.

In the past, Bobby had been perturbed by the constant criticism he received for his mode of dress. For example, an article in the Sunday newspaper supplement Parade Parade, read by tens of millions, published a photograph of him giving a simultaneous exhibition with the caption: "Despite his rise to fame, Bobby still dresses casually. Note his dungarees and [plaid] s.h.i.+rt in contrast to his opponents' business suits and ties." Such potshots, he felt, diminished him-however subtle they might be. They detracted not only from who he incontestably incontestably was-a grandmaster and the United States Champion-but who he was-a grandmaster and the United States Champion-but who he believed believed he was-the strongest player in the world. he was-the strongest player in the world.

Later, Pal Benko, whom Bobby had played in the Candidates tournament, would claim to be the one who talked Bobby into changing the kind of clothes he wore. He introduced Bobby to his tailor in the Little Hungary section of Manhattan so that the teenager could have some bespoke suits made. How Bobby could afford custom-tailored clothing is a mystery. Possibly, the money came from an advance he received for his book Bobby Fischer's Games of Chess Bobby Fischer's Games of Chess, which was published in 1959.

When Bobby arrived at the Empire Hotel in December 1959 for the first round of the U.S. Champions.h.i.+p tournament, he was dressed in a perfectly tailored suit, a custom-made white s.h.i.+rt, a Sulka white tie, and Italian-made shoes. Also, his hair was neatly combed, completing an image makeover so total that he was barely recognizable. Gone were the sneakers and ski sweaters, the mussed hair, the plaid cowboy s.h.i.+rt, and the slightly stained corduroy trousers. Predictably, the press began talking about "the New Fischer," interpreting Bobby's sartorial upgrade as a sign that he'd crossed into young manhood.

Bobby's compet.i.tors tried to hide their astonishment at the teenager's transformed appearance. As play progressed, though, they were stunned in a different way. By the end of the tournament, the suavely bedecked Bobby had played all eleven games without a single loss. Fischer had not only retained his t.i.tle as United States Champion, he'd accomplished something unprecedented: For the third year in a row, he'd marched to the t.i.tle without being defeated in any of the pairings.

There was a financial windfall, too. Bobby received $1,000 for his tournament win-and the Fischer family's pocketbook bulged further when Bobby's maternal grandfather, Jacob Wender, pa.s.sed away, leaving $14,000 of his estate to Regina. It was enough-if invested wisely-for the frugal Fischers to live on for several years.

Indeed, Regina was prudent in her plans for the money. Joan had already married a man of means and was at the beginning of a nursing career, so Regina wanted to make sure that whatever income the inheritance generated would take care of Bobby and herself. She set up a trust fund with Ivan Woolworth, an attorney who worked for the Fischers pro bono. He was made the sole trustee, charged with investing the money in the best and most profitable way he could devise. Under the plan, Regina received $160 per month to help cover her personal needs. Since she was planning to move out of the apartment to attend medical school, perhaps in Mexico or in East Germany, she wanted the rent to be paid for Bobby for as long as he remained at 560 Lincoln Place. So he received $175 per month-enough to cover the rent, gas, and electric-plus a little extra. Additional money was added to the trust by Regina and Bobby over time, and the interest on the money invested allowed Bobby to live rent free for years, with some pocket money left over for himself.

Despite the small annuity, Bobby, to get by, had dinner almost every night at the Collins home and took advantage of lunch and dinner invitations from chess fans and admirers. Until he grew much older, he was never known to pick up a restaurant check, suffering what a friend called "limp wrist syndrome."

In March of 1960 seventeen-year-old Bobby flew to Mar del Plata, the seaside resort on Argentina's Atlantic coast, south of Buenos Aires. Known for its art deco architecture and expansive boardwalk, the city had a proud tradition of hosting international tournaments. Argentinean players were as enthusiastic about the game as the Russians and the Yugoslavs, and Bobby was treated with respect wherever he went. The only downside of being in Mar del Plata was the incessant rain and the cold wind from the sea. Regina, ever irrepressible and somehow aware of the adverse weather, s.h.i.+pped a pair of galoshes to her son and admonished herself for not insisting that he take his leather coat when he left the States.

Bobby thought he'd easily walk through the Mar Del Plata tournament until he learned that David Bronstein and Fridrik Olafsson were also going to play, in addition to the twenty-three-year-old grandmaster from Leningrad, Boris Spa.s.sky. But it wasn't Spa.s.sky or Olafsson who really worried Fischer. It was Bronstein.

A week before he left for Argentina, Bobby and the author of this book had dinner at the Cedar Tavern in Greenwich Village, hangout of avant-garde artists and Abstract Expressionists, and one of Bobby's favorite eating places. The night we were there Jackson Pollock and Franz Kline were having a conversation at the bar, and Andy Warhol and John Cage dined at a nearby table-not that Bobby noticed. He just liked the pub food the restaurant served-it was a shepherd's pie kind of a place-and the anonymity that came from sitting among people who preferred gawking at art celebrities to taking note of chess prodigies. the anonymity that came from sitting among people who preferred gawking at art celebrities to taking note of chess prodigies.

We slid into the third booth from the bar and ordered bottles of beer-Lowenbrau for Bobby, Heineken for me. The waitress didn't question Bobby's age, even though he'd just turned seventeen and wasn't legally old enough to drink in New York State (eighteen was then the age limit). Bobby knew the selection without looking at the menu. He tackled an enormous slab of roast prime rib, which he consumed in a matter of minutes. It was as if he were a heavyweight boxer enjoying his last meal before the big fight.

He'd just received in the mail the pairings chart and color distribution from Mar del Plata. Bad news: He was to have black against both Bronstein and Spa.s.sky.

During a lull in the conversation-lulls were typical while spending time with Bobby, since he didn't talk much and wasn't embarra.s.sed by long silences-I asked, "Bobby, how are you going to prepare for this tournament? I've always wanted to know how you did it." He seemed unusually chipper and became interested in my interest. "Here, I'll show you," he said, smiling. He then slid out of his side of the booth and sat next to me, cramming me into the corner. Next, he retrieved from his coat his battered pocket chess set-all the little pieces lined up in their respective slots, ready to go to war.

As he talked, he looked from me to the pocket set, back and forth-at least at first-and spat out a scholarly treatise on his method of preparation. "First of all, I'll look at the games that I can find of all of the players, but I'm only going to really prepare for Bronstein. Spa.s.sky and Olafsson, I'm not that worried about." He then showed me the progression of his one and only game with Bronstein-a draw from Portoro two years earlier. He took me through each move that the two had made, disparaging a Bronstein choice one moment, lauding another the next. The variety of choices Bobby worked through was dazzling, and overwhelming. In the course of his rapid a.n.a.lysis, he discussed the ramifications of certain variations or tactics, why each would be advisable or not. It was like watching a movie with a voice-over narration, but with one great difference: He was manipulating the pieces and speaking so rapidly that it was difficult to connect the moves with his commentary. I just couldn't follow the tumble of ideas behind the real and phantom attacks, the shadow a.s.saults: "He couldn't play there there since it would weaken his black squares"..."I didn't think of this"..."No, was he since it would weaken his black squares"..."I didn't think of this"..."No, was he kidding? kidding?"

The slots of Bobby's pocket set had become so enlarged from thousands of hours of a.n.a.lysis that the half-inch plastic pieces seemed to jump into place kinesthetically, at his will. Most of the gold imprint designating whether a given piece was a bishop, king, queen, or whatever had, from years of use, worn off. But, of course, Bobby knew without looking-just by touch-what each piece represented. The tiny figurines were like his friendly pets.

"The problem with Bronstein," he went on, "is that it's almost impossible to beat him if he plays for a draw. At Zurich he played twenty draws out of twenty-eight games! Did you read his book?" I was snapped back into the reality of having to converse. "No. Isn't it in Russian?" He looked annoyed, and amazed that I didn't know the language: "Well, learn it! It's a fantastic book. He'll play for a win against me, I'm sure, and I'm not playing for a draw."

Resetting the pieces in seconds, again almost without looking, he said, "He's hard to prepare for because he can play any kind of game, positional or tactical, and any kind of opening." He then began to show me, from memory, game after game-it seemed like dozens dozens-focusing on the openings that Bronstein had played against Bobby's favorite variations. Multiple outcomes leaped from his mind. But he didn't just confine himself to Bronstein's efforts. He also took me on a tour of games that Louis Paulsen had played in the 1800s and Aaron Nimzowitsch had experimented with in the 1920s, as well as others that had been played just weeks before-games gleaned from a Russian newspaper.

All the time Bobby weighed possibilities, suggested alternatives, selected the best lines, discriminated, decided. It was a history lesson and a chess tutorial, but mainly it was an amazing feat of memory. His eyes, slightly glazed, were now fixed on the pocket set, which he gently held open in his left hand, talking to himself, totally unaware of my presence or that he was in a restaurant. His intensity seemed even greater than when he was playing a tournament or match game. His fingers sped by in a blur, and his face showed the slightest of smiles, as if in a reverie. He whispered, barely audibly: "Well, if he plays that that...I can block his bishop." And then, raising his voice so loud that some of the customers stared: "He won't play that. that."

I began to weep quietly, aware that in that time-suspended moment I was in the presence of genius.

Bobby's prediction at the Cedar Tavern was realized at Mar del Plata. When Bronstein and Bobby met in the twelfth round, the Russian did did play for a win, but when the game neared its ending, there were an even number of pieces and p.a.w.ns remaining on each side, and a draw was inevitable. By the conclusion of the tournament, Fischer and Spa.s.sky were tied for first place. It was Fischer's greatest triumph in an international tournament to date. play for a win, but when the game neared its ending, there were an even number of pieces and p.a.w.ns remaining on each side, and a draw was inevitable. By the conclusion of the tournament, Fischer and Spa.s.sky were tied for first place. It was Fischer's greatest triumph in an international tournament to date.

And then there was the Argentinean disaster two months later. Of all the cities Bobby had been to, Buenos Aires was his favorite: He liked the food, the people's enthusiasm for chess, and the broad boulevards. Yet something went uncharacteristically wrong with Bobby's play during his stay there, and the rumor that circulated, both then and for years after, was that he was staying up until dawn-on at least one occasion with an Argentinean beauty-allowing himself to become physically run-down, and not preparing for the next day's opponent. The worldly Argentinean grandmaster Miguel Najdorf, who wasn't playing in the tournament, introduced Bobby to the city's nightlife, not caring that he was undermining the boy's possibility of gaining a top spot in the compet.i.tion. And with the bravado of a seventeen-year-old, Bobby a.s.sumed that he had the energy and focus to play well even after very little sleep, night after night. Unfortunately, when he found himself in extremis at the board and called on his chess muse to save him, there was no answer.

Whatever the reason for his poor play (when pressed, he said the lighting was atrocious), Bobby as the brilliant Dr. Jekyll morphed into a weakened Mr. Hyde, a sh.e.l.l of a player. In the twenty-player tournament, he won only three games, drew eleven, and lost the rest. Bewildering Bewildering. Anyone can have a bad tournament, but Bobby's past record had been one of ascendancy, and his 131 result at Mar del Plata just a short time before had left his fans predicting that he'd take top honors at Buenos Aires.

For Bobby, the defeat was devastating. It's bad enough to fail, but far worse to see another succeed at the very accomplishment you'd hoped to achieve. Samuel Reshevsky, his American archrival, had tied for first with Viktor Korchnoi. A group photograph of the players taken at the end of the tournament shows Bobby with unfocused eyes, apparently paying no attention to the photographer or the rest of the players. Was he thinking about his poor performance? Or was he perhaps considering that, just this once, his determination to win hadn't been strong enough?

He'd agreed to play first board for the United States that year at the World Chess Olympics, which was to be held in Leipzig, East Germany, in October of 1960, but American chess officials were claiming that they didn't have enough money to pay for the team's travel and other expenses. A national group called the People-to-People Committee was attempting to raise funds for the team, and the executive director asked Bobby if he'd give a simultaneous exhibition to publicize the team's plight. The event was held at the Rikers Island jail complex, which stands on a 413-acre plot of land in the middle of New York's East River. At the time the facility housed some fourteen thousand inmates, twenty of whom Bobby played. Unsurprisingly, he won all the games.

Unfortunately, though the exhibition did garner coverage in local newspapers, not one story mentioned the reason reason for the event: to bring attention to the American team's financial straits. But if the State Department and American chess organizations couldn't help, Regina Fischer thought for the event: to bring attention to the American team's financial straits. But if the State Department and American chess organizations couldn't help, Regina Fischer thought she she could. Probing into the activities of the American Chess Foundation, she demonstrated that some players (such as Reshevsky) received support while others (such as Bobby) did not. A one-woman publicity machine, she sent out indignant press releases, as well as letters to the government demanding a public accounting. could. Probing into the activities of the American Chess Foundation, she demonstrated that some players (such as Reshevsky) received support while others (such as Bobby) did not. A one-woman publicity machine, she sent out indignant press releases, as well as letters to the government demanding a public accounting.

Although Bobby desperately wanted to go to Leipzig to play in his first Olympics, he began to seethe over his mother's interference, and on at least one occasion he openly took her to task when she made a public appearance at a chess event. She She felt she was helping her son; felt she was helping her son; he he felt she was simply being a pushy stage mother. felt she was simply being a pushy stage mother.

While picketing the foundation's offices, Regina caught the attention of Ammon Hennacy, a pacifist, anarchist, social activist, and a.s.sociate editor of the libertarian newspaper the Catholic Worker Catholic Worker. He suggested that Regina undertake a hunger strike for chess. She did so for six days and garnered yet more publicity. Hennacy also talked her into joining the longest peace march in history, from San Francisco to Moscow, and she agreed. While on the march she met Cyril Pustan, an Englishman who was a high school teacher and journeyman plumber. Among other areas of interest, their political beliefs and religion-both were Jewish-meshed perfectly, and eventually they married and settled in England.

When, ultimately, Bobby walked into the lobby of the Astoria Hotel in Leipzig, he was greeted by a man who resembled a younger and handsomer Groucho Marx: Isaac Kashdan, the United States team captain. Kashdan and Bobby had never met before, but the former was a legend in the chess world. An international grandmaster, he was one of America's strongest players in the late 1920s and 1930s, when he played in five chess Olympics, winning a number of medals. Having been warned that Bobby was "hard to handle," Kashdan was concerned that the young man might not be a compliant team member.

Bobby may have sensed the team captain's wariness, because he turned the conversation to Kashdan's chess career; the teenager not only knew of the older man's reputation, he was also familiar with many of his past games. Kashdan responded to Bobby's overture and later commented: "I had no real problem with him. All he wants to do is to play chess. He is a tremendous player." Although separated in age by almost four decades, the two players became relatively close and remained so for years.

One of the highlights of the Olympics came when the United States faced the USSR and Bobby was slated to play Mikhail Tal, then the World Champion. Fischer and Tal met in the fifth round. Before making his first move, Tal stared at the board, and stared, and stared. Bobby wondered, rightly so as it developed, whether Tal was up to his old tricks. Finally, after ten long minutes, Tal moved. He was hoping to make Fischer feel completely uncomfortable. But his effort to unsettle the American failed. Instead, Bobby launched an aggressive series of moves, waging a board battle that was later described as both a "slugfest" and a "sparkling attack and counter-attack." The cerebral melee ended in a draw, and later both players would include the game in their respective books, citing it as one of the most important in their careers.

That seventeen-year-old Bobby had held his own against the reigning World Champion didn't go unnoticed, and players at the compet.i.tion were now predicting that in a very short time, Bobby would be playing for the t.i.tle.

By the end of the Olympics, the Soviet Union, which had fielded one of the strongest teams ever, came in first and the United States eased into second. Bobby's score was ten wins, two losses, and six draws, and he took home the silver medal.

At the closing banquet someone mentioned to Mikhail Tal that Bobby, who'd been studying palmistry, was reading the palms of other players, almost as a parlor game. "Let him read mine," said Tal skeptically. He walked over to Bobby's table, held out his left hand, and said, "Read it." While Bobby stared at Tal's palm and pondered the mysteries of its lines and crevices, a crowd gathered around and hundreds of others watched from their tables.

Sensing the building drama, Bobby took his time and seemed to peer even more deeply at the hand. Then, with a look on his face that promised he was going to reveal the meaning of life, he said in stentorian tones: "I can see in your palm, Mr. Tal, that the next World Champion will be..."