Bobby Fischer

Chess and Negotiations was a great point of understanding for me. After all I had known the late USAF Colonel Ed Edmondson here in Hawaii, while considering what to do with my life in 1979 when I first really met him. He was the manager for Robert James Fischer at Iceland, and had retired here to Hawaii with his wife Nancy who had family here.

Ed was there when I won the Hawaii State Chess Championship preliminaries in 1979 played at the University of Hawaii. Chess was really no career for most people, unless you are at World Championship level and actively writing books. Even then you have to write many books to make any kind of livelihood, and it is a specialty market.

Ed shared some interesting stories including his note about the Fischer-Taimanov match when he suggested in the next to final game adjournment 41. Rxf6 for Taimanov, Bobby scolded him upon instantly knowing it lost that Rook to 41....Qd4 check. Well of course he was quite humored when Taimanov obliged, and dropped the rook and next game to lose the match 6-0. Game 5 was not necessarily an easy win for Black.

Mrs. Edmondson remarked to me recently that Bobby was a house guest in 1971 for a while, and that she cooked dinner for him even when Ed was going out to meet other Grandmaster players. Bobby would stay home, eat dinner, and then study chess. He was really dedicated to the game.

In any event Ed was finishing his manuscript of a book about the Karpov-Korchinoi match at the Philippines in 1978, as he was there observing. Bobby had already missed the defense of his FIDE title in 1975 due to a dispute over the terms of it. Karpov got those terms and more for this World Championship match. But there was a great deal of psychological warfare in it. That was the gist of his detailed book.

In any event I was called upon to proof read his book, which was a great honor for me.

Now Bobby Fischer has passed away, one best chess hero who inspired many victories over the board.

In 1993 as noted in another writing, I worked the full two months at the Kasparov-Short match in London. That was one of the greatest experiences in my life, and I remember Bobby for his inspiration in the chess world. Most of all chess has made it possible for me to meet some of the greatest people in diverse backgrounds, professional, and every area of study. It is this interest in meeting people that has been the greatest part of playing the game for me.

One illustration of this was how I was able to do a simultaneous set of games in a basketball gym in Greenwich, and perhaps I should have allowed some victories to inspire the young players, but won all the games. Chess is a game for the young, for the old and everyone. I was glad to be a hero for the young in some way, while I was participating in the work of a World Chess Championship.

Here is an interesting article on Fischer from the New York Times.

Another article details Fischer at Chessbase.