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December 7, 2005
My Prized Possession
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer is my chess idol. I still remember the day when the high school librarian, Mr. Mackey, gave me a copy of the original 1969 hardcover My 60 Memorable Games published by Simon & Schuster. This "chess bible" is a hard book to get, even by eBay standards! You can get your hands on the 1972 copy in large quantities, but is not as good as the original as this version was never endorsed by Fischer himself.
WHO IS BOBBY FISCHER? In 1972 Fischer became the 11th World Chess Champion by defeating the defending champion, Boris Spassky, with a score of 12½-8½ in Reykjavik, Iceland. In 1975, FIDE refused to meet Fischer's conditions for a World Championship match with Anatoli Karpov, and Fischer consequently refused to play. FIDE therefore awarded the title of World Champion to Karpov by default. Fischer then vanished from the public eye for twenty years. He resurfaced in 1992 to play a match against his old rival Spassky in Yugoslavia, which he won, 17½-12½. This action violated a U.N. sanction, and Fischer evaded authorities for twelve years until July 16, 2004, when he was arrested in Japan. On March 22, 2005, he was granted Icelandic citizenship and finally freed from Japan. (Source: Chessgames.com)
The sixty games in this book are thoroughly annotated, with "lucid introductions" by grandmaster Larry Evans, a syndicated chess columnnist. Here, Bobby offers explicit details about his opponent's moves, the proper way to handle the King's Indian Defense, and shares a wealth of innovative ideas on opening theory — which to this day continues to influence modern chess.
Looking back, I realize that Mr. Mackey wasn't aware that this hardcover is one of the most important chess books ever in the history of the game, with Aaron Nimzowitsch's My System and David Bronstein's Zurich International Chess Tournament, 1953 spoken in the same breath.
But I wonder how much I can get on eBay.
Posted by rene on December 7, 2005 10:18 AM
Comments
On your previous post, I have this to say: gripping.
Now, that one inane word demolishes all, doesn't it?
Peace.
Posted by: Medusa at December 17, 2005 12:17 AM
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