what made fischer so much better at his time?

I'm a bit confused as to the claims about his chess memory because I was watching a black and white interview on YouTube with Fischer and a Spanish interviewer and he was asked if he had hundreds of chess games memorized by heart and he said no that he had hardly any memorized by heart, except for his with Donald Byrne the game of the century. So was he lying or is the myth getting out of hand?

Here is the clip on YouTube. It's about 2:40 into it. The whole interview is interesting though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGjvNyPQ1A0&feature=related

I'd heard that -- it's a bit of a shame because it was my first chess book and the one that really got me interested in the game.

but it's still a good book isn't it? i have only a couple of pages left and it was fun to work trough. but it's only checkmating combinations tho.

i already had a feeling that fischer didn't actually wrote the book... but thanks for the clarification.

but which book by fischer was the documentary refering to? or did his book never made it?

thanks for the interview link gbidari

Basically hard work, he took on a group of highly trained people by himself and won, simply because he was willing to sacrafice more and work harder than them.

 I will be the first to admit that when it came to the game itself Fischer was a genius of the first order, and deserves to be listed among the top players of all time. 

When it came to life in general, Fischer was a dismal failure.  He was at best mentally ill, at worst a rabid racist, anti-Semitic, conspiracy theory nut who couldn't remotely manage his life.  He ended up an exile, a criminal, and a bad joke.  God gave this man a one-in-a-billion talent and he couldn't hold the rest of his life together enough to make use of it.  That may or may not be his fault.  I strongly think mental illness played a part in his later years, but whatever the case Fischer is at best a tragedy and at worst a repulsive hate monger.  His skill with a board game doesn't in any way justify or excuse his utterly reprehensible views on Jews and Blacks.  I get tired of people giving him a pass on total moral failure because he was good at a game.

I have to agree with stop the hate here.  Also the claim that in life he was a dismal failure seems absurd.  He made millions of dollars playing a board game, and was cool with people who were cool with him.  You underestimate all the pressure he was under, and that anyone wouldn't crack.  First off, he was dead set on revenge against the soviets who were "judging his character", after he completed his mission of taking the world championship (practically his sole mission in life), his own nation, who he thought cared less about him, isolated him.  He is what he is, but a failure seems quite a stretch, someone governments broke down and destroyed makes more sense.

On another note, I personally don't think he was "given" anything.  It looks like he took it all for himself.

 I cant disagree more.  As I said, perhaps he was simply mentally ill toward the end, but Fischer was the worst kind of hate spewing loony who ranted vile nonsense against jews and blacks.  It doesn't matter if he is the best player ever, it doesn't matter if he was further ahead than any other player of his day.  On the things that really count (being a decent human being) he was an absolute washout. 

So you only look at his behavior and actions after he was driven crazy by the pressure of two super-powers.  That seems pretty shortsighted.

Some of you are so envious, making it sound like Fischer was a random dude with barely above average intelligence who became good at chess because he worked harder than everyone else. It's understandable if you don't like Fischer's personality, but don't deny his genius. That's lame.

And that's total B.S. I have listened to his interviews and as far as I know he never said anything about black people. How can he be a racist when he claimed that the US should be returned to the Native Americans? That doesn't sound like something a racist would say. A racist would say "to hell with the Native Americans, this land is ours." His rants about jews were crazy talk. As a human being he was harmless and a great guy. That's why he became so bitter towards the end, thanks to people like you who always pointed fingers at him and never cared to understand him or see his human side.

Thomas Edison:

"Genius: one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.""

Fischer was way better because he devoted his life to chess. After he won the title of World Champion, my theory as to why he stopped playing chess was because his already weak hold on reality just got worse by achieving the one thing he wanted in his entire life.

Searching for Bobby Fischer by Waitzkin cites a few sources for Fischer's anti-black sentiments.

@TongLen... The book was "My 60 Memorable Games"

I can see great similarity between Morphy and Fischer, both in their lives and their chess.  I don't know this for sure but I bet Morphy thought blacks were inferior.  He was depressed at the South losing the Civil War.  Both turned paranoid at the end and turned their back on chess, the game that made them both famous and respected.  I believe Fischer's anti-Jewish rants were ideological (is that a word?).  I mean to say he wouldn't have actually hurt or encouraged anyone to commit physical harm.  He started his career in New York City playing hundreds of Jewish chess players and, by all reports, was a respectful opponent.  Where on earth he got his skewed ideas about race, i don't pretend to know.  Maybe without his hatred of "commie" cheaters he couldn't have become as great a player as he was.  A lot of unanswered questions that people will debate for years to come.

Really?

I had read that his budding law career was quashed mainly due to the fact that he was not a supporter of the Southern Cause during the War Between the States.

Simply put, Morphy couldn't find clients.

As for your speculation that he thought blacks were inferior, it's always better to broach the subject with some specific and supporting facts and then give your opinion.

But who knows...I'm mostly white and may just be in denial. Guilty by category.

Without any supporting facts I'd be willing to wager a safe guess that Morphy felt black was inferior.

I disagree.

Whatever it is that makes human life worthwhile most certainly bears a good related to our conscious abilities.

Fischer represented one pinaccle of human ability, and he deserves respect because he has shown what humans can achieve in his area of expertise. Don't tell me you have never been inspired by our accomplishments as a race. While we are all exponents of our environment none of these accomplishments came to be without individual effort.

That you decide to be uninspired by Fischer's accomplishment, unimpressed by his hard work and unaffected by the pain he caused himself - none of this convinces me you are especially fit to be the final judge on the things that really count.

I in no way support Fischer's irrational statements, but to me his bitterness does not bear the same mark we would ordinarily find on conventional bigots. The late Fischer was (not so hard to argue) mentally ill, and that does make a difference. 

Ofcourse Morphy HAD to think blacks were inferior ! I mean he was white and from the US South !  sheeeesh ...... and y'all have the nerve to call others bigots?!  Look in a mirror if you wanna see a bigot....

Fischer didn't take 3 years off to focus on his book, which, as mentioned is My 60 Memorable games, he worked extensively on his whole chess game during this period, the idea that he took 3 years off from chess, to focus on a book is ludicrous at best.