I have a theory on Bobby Fischer and Jose Capablanca

#20
Fischer was always nice and courteous towards other chess players. He was also friends with Spassky, Hort, Torre, Gligoric, Byrne, Lombardy, Larsen.
He was a tough negotiator with tournament organisers regarding fees and playing conditions. Like a one man union for professional chess players. At the Lugano 1968 chess olympiad he showed up to play board 1 of team USA, but after inspecting the playing hall he objected to the boards, pieces, tables, chairs, and lighting. The organisers refused to meet his demands, so he flew back to the USA, relinquishing all his fees.

I think both were pretty good. In terms of talent I'd say Capa was much more naturally talented. Legend has it that he learned the game just by watching him and his uncle play and he beat his father in the first game he ever played. That's insane.

Bobby started early and worked really really hard since he was 6. He was obsessed with chess. He ate chess, he slept chess, he spent almost all of his time thinking about chess. He played against himself. Yeah, I think his hard work materialised and he showed brilliant combinations on the board. Towards the end of his career I guess he was fed up of opening theory leading to boring draws. Everyone knew the exact lines till move 20 ish and led to equal positions. That's why he suggested Fischer Random. I'm personally a fan of chess 960. But sometimes it can lead to very unbalanced positions from move 1. 

Yeah I agree with Capa that to get better at chess you certainly need to study endgames.

You think too much. Have a beer and chill bud 🍺

     It is hard to argue that Fischer wasn't (quite) a bit mentally unstable. He seems to have felt that chess was the only thing that mattered, and being world champion meant his life was a success. Reuben Fine, a world class player before "wasting" his talents to become a psychiatrist, knew young Fischer well. Before the 1972 match he predicted that if Bobby won he would be too afraid of losing to ever play again.

All that means is that computers prefer Carlsen's playing style - not surprising since Carlsen's style is very computer like.

Fischer never said anything about endgame theory in what he said about opening memorization ruining chess...on that account I believe he is right even if not 100% right. Yes, he was an unpleasant person but keep that stuff separate from his chess games because that part of him had nothing to do with chess. Going with what JRC said about endgames, Fischer had one of the best endgame play of his generation, which was one of the main reason he dominated his contemporaries. In regards to Karpov, Fischer wasn't scared of him in the least. If Fischer had to face him I believe that Fischer would have come out on top because I don't have any reason to believe he wouldn't...but that's just my opinion. 

     Probably right that Fischer wasn't particularly afraid of Karpov. He may have felt he could easily handle him. What Fischer was afraid of was that he might (even a slim possibility) lose or even just scrape through with a tie. This would have punctured his self-image as the greatest player ever, and that was worth more to him than any further championships or successes. 

I don't believe Fischer tried to avoid Karpov.

Fischer was so confident (arrogant, even), that he likely believed he could checkmate God.

He would've scrutinized Karpov's games and surely spotted weaknesses, here and there, no matter how small they were.

It was Fischer's sense of entitlement that made him refuse to play. He made unreasonable demands, then felt outraged when they weren't met. So his refusal to play Karpov was not done from fear -- he did it as a form of punishment.

Fisher in a sense was quite lucky. Remember he would not have been world champion except Benko helped him.

Also Spassky was quite generous to him.

So my theory goes like this:

Bobby Fischer is one of the greatest players of all time, he holds the record for the largest rating gap between him and 2nd place and him and the rating average of 2nd - 10th place.

Bobby Fischer was asked in multiple interviews if he thinks he's the greatest / most talented player of all time and he very confidently replied that he believes he is.

Bobby Fischer is known for being an unpleasant person and not a very good gentlemen. Bobby Fischer quit chess just before Anatoly Karpov came into the chess scene as world champion and Fischer probably knew from analysis Karpov's game looked much stronger than Boris Spassky's. 

Many believe he did this because he didn't want to risk being beaten and wanted to remain as the best / most talented ever (This isn't the theory, hang in there).

So Bobby Fischer, possibly quit chess before Karpov became world champion to not risk being proved wrong, he wasn't a very good gentlemen and he claimed that opening theory has ruined chess.

So where does Jose Capablanca come into all this? Well Capablanca believed that to become a great chess player you need to study the endgame as appose to Fischer's claim of the opening. Capablanca was also much more well known for being a gentlemen however there were still some squabbles in chess around that era. 

So this is my theory, Bobby Fischer wants to remain the most talented chess player to have ever been born, he possibility stopped playing chess to avoid Karpov and as well as that claimed that opening theory has ruined chess and all of the games are just memorization.

But what if he's wrong? And what if he knows he's wrong and purposly said that in order to hinder future generations of chess players study quality as an attempt to increase his chances of remaining as the best / most talented ever? This could definetly be the case in my view especially when you have another super strong master like Capablanca who says the opposite.

That was my theory and if you read this far then well done.

Please share your thoughts and tell me what you think!

Hmmm

Bobby Fischer was the supreme gentleman!

    The "supreme gentleman" that got sponsors of the 1972 match to up their price and then refused to let customers see or cameras record the proceedings, costing them big bucks?

     The "supreme gentleman" who refused to play a single game while he was world champion?

     The "supreme gentleman" who claimed for years that the Soviet Union was cheating to keep him from playing for the championship?

     The "supreme gentleman" who celebrated the killing of more than 3,000 people on 9/11 and said he hoped it would result in a military dictatorship in the US that would execute hundreds of thousands of Jews?

     Perhaps you have some more positive examples of Bobby's supremely gentlemanly behavior of which I am unaware.

Fischer often behaved well.

Fischer often behaved terribly.

The well declined over time.

     Yes, but the qualification "supreme gentleman" would be reserved for those who ALWAYS behave graciously.

Many years later Karpov said Fischer should have played him in 75', that Fischer was slightly stronger. Karpov added that he eventually became stronger than Fischer was in 75'. 

How is accusing one’s opponents of collusion “behaving well”? Asking for Magnus. 

lolz Bobby at least had some evidence, Russians were discussing games between themselves during tournaments while in play, Maggie was I dunno, paranoid?

I’m not saying Bobby was wrong. 

I always thought Fischer suggested chess960, simply because he didn't want to study 15 years of opening theory that has advanced before he suggested it.  I wonder if it is actually because chess960 puts him in his wheelhouse and hurts his current opponents.