"a little loopy" is a massive understatement
why hate on fischer?
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Because someone taught him how to speak.
Fischer was an amazing player, but he was quite hateful, and would likely lynch many a minority folk if he wasn't so obsessed with chess and if he had enough social wit to gain additional white supremacist friends. If he wasn't good at chess, he'd be another Nazi or KKK or other genocide-promoting @$$hole member, plain and simple.
Plus, he was too much of a pansy to defend his title. He couldn't accept the fact that at some point, younger players who started playing years after he started would eventually surpass him and learn everything he knew plus more in a much faster time frame. That's simply a part of the game...new folks will be able to incorporate the lessons of old masters, but at a much earlier age and will be better than the old generation. It is like that in all competitions/sports. It is like that in many other areas of expertise as well.
Fischer couldn't handle that he wouldn't always be the best, so he shortchanged the chess world with his abrupt retirement and tarnished his legacy with his crap social commentary which he thought was validated by his world championship in a board game. He shortchanged Karpov and indirectly shortchanged every player that came after him by refusing to be a part of the natural evolution of chess. He was a whiny poor fearful sportsman who ultimately couldn't lay it all on the line when it counted most, the way his successors were/are willing to do.
That being said, I admire the man for what he did OTB, what he accomplished on his own in a country without its share of dominant chess players, and against a dominant Soviet chess machine. Truly amazing, but that doesn't validate his ignorant bigotted genocidal views nor does it excuse him from defending his place against the #1 competitor, the way a true champ should.
It comes down to 2 quotes...
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulder of giants"
"You are not truly a champ until you defend it."
Wow, dannyhume! I think you answered ARandomPerson's question rather well.
I'm actually going to toast you soon as I open this bottle of vodlka!
Just be glad he was playing chess while in his prime. I respect his play and would not be playing today if not for his influence and the attention he brought to the game. Everything considered, he could have been a very dangerous person.
Bobby was a self-hating Jew and resented Jews at large for their consuming bagels and lox before chess matches. Bagels and lox are the chess world equivalent of course of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs in the athletic world.
What's interesting is that Sammy Reshevsky visited him in Cali once to try to bring him "back to the fold" at the behest of the 7th Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneersohn. At the time Bobby rarely accepted visitors but he actually spoke with Sammy very seriously at his apartment regarding Judaism and is said to have asked "many questions" over about an hours time. It seems that the meeting was unsuccessful however, as later audio/video recordings show an older Fischer blasting "the Jews" for one reason or another.
I think people were most shocked when Bobby used his incredible chess prowess to trick his opponent into helping him achieve this position:
if you look closely the pieces say: "Zig, hi L" and yes, I'm joking.
Dec 21, 2009
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#10
Because being good at chess doesn't excuse anything.
I find it shocking that people still think that it does.
I would love to hear what others have to say about Fischer rather than read the words "hog" and "wash".
A champ defends his/her title. In any other sport, when the champ refuses to face the #1 contender under the set rules, it is called "ducking", not just a word used by sideline patzers like me, but also top legitimate contenders who get screwed out of their big chance after years of hard work/obsession...it is the reason organizations that govern competition have to remove titles from "champs" who refuse to defend (including FIDE in 1975). A champ who does not defend his/her title cannot continue to rest on their laurels and call themselves "the champ" indefinitely.
As far as Fischer's hatefulness, we can just let Fischer speak for himself. As a further exercise, imagine Fischer's quotes coming from a neighbor, a white supremacist, a U.S. president, Bin Laden, Hitler, Kim Jong-il or a genocidal African tribal warlord, then decide if it is just the harmless rantings of a crazy misunderstood man.
We can all say he was one of the greatest players ever, this I won't deny, but he can never be considered the greatest because of his refusal to defend his title. Nor can one deny the hatefulness that spewed from his mouth.
Saying these things do not diminish his genius/accomplishments in chess. But even legends have to own up to their actions and words (Tiger?)
He went through hell to defeat not just Boris Spassky but the entire Soviet Chess machine-- single handedly. He was followed and mistrusted by his own government for the stupidest of reasons. He was nuts, but he was helped there pretty much every step of the way by the two big superpowers.
To me he is way more a tragic figure than a bad guy.
The hate at him is also part of an anti-US thing in a lot of cases.
I can understand how he got that way, and I do pity him, but there is simply no excuse for his behaviour.
musicalhair wrote:
He went through hell to defeat not just Boris Spassky but the entire Soviet Chess machine-- single handedly. He was followed and mistrusted by his own government for the stupidest of reasons. He was nuts, but he was helped there pretty much every step of the way by the two big superpowers.
To me he is way more a tragic figure than a bad guy.
The hate at him is also part of an anti-US thing in a lot of cases.
"He was nuts, but he was helped there pretty much every step of the way by the two big superpowers."
"The hate at him is also part of an anti-US thing in a lot of cases."
What the hell are you talking about?
I think it's absurd that we practice hero worship of the best in every field, whether it be Tiger Woods, as mentioned earlier, or Bobby Fisher, or anyone else. We expect them to be perfect in everything they do, not just the one thing they do so well, and when they're not, we're disappointed. This is why I don't care about Tiger Woods's "indiscressions": I wouldn't want to marry him, but I also recognize that he's probably the greatest golf player of all time.
Therefore, I have this to say about Bobby Fischer:
A) He had many faults, including mental illness and many racist tendencies.
B) He was one of the greatest players ever to sit at a chessboard.
Why must these things be mutually exclusive?
He dissapeared after the 1972 match at age 27...I was 12 yrs.old at that time and could only concluded that he was tired with all the preparation ( able to watch NOW his video in You Tube ).
I dont know but considering the time frame between 72 (add 10 yrs), 82,92 (he played spassky again), 2002...2009( passed away) at which stage he actually suddenly possesed the matuarity and intellectuality to talk about these jews thing and becomes what he becomes before his death.
My point is he was a hero and champ until 72 and he is always my idol. After 72 he is nowhere ( we can hate him as a person after 72 because he dont play chess anymore ). For not defended his title to Karpov could be aother reason ( mind of a 27 yrs.old Fischer).
Thank You.
I was in fifth grade when Fischer won the world championship. All the guys in my class immediately took up chess. We played during lunch every day. Our local club attracted over 100 people a week.
After about a year we all lost interest in chess. Not surprising for young boys. By the time I returned to chess in the 1980's, the local club was only drawing 6 or 8 people per week.
You have to wonder how much more popular chess in the US would be today if Fischer had defended his title and the momentum of the Fischer boom had continued.
tryst wrote:
musicalhair wrote:
He went through hell to defeat not just Boris Spassky but the entire Soviet Chess machine-- single handedly. He was followed and mistrusted by his own government for the stupidest of reasons. He was nuts, but he was helped there pretty much every step of the way by the two big superpowers.
To me he is way more a tragic figure than a bad guy.
The hate at him is also part of an anti-US thing in a lot of cases.
"He was nuts, but he was helped there pretty much every step of the way by the two big superpowers."
"The hate at him is also part of an anti-US thing in a lot of cases."
What the hell are you talking about?
Well, you could buy a book, read, and find out; but no, instead string together a bunch of emoticons. Yeah, that's what you should do. String together more emoticons, instead of finding out for yourself.
why is there so much hating on RJ Fischer? I know he was a little loopy, but he was still a great player...