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Bobby Fischer Goes to War: How the Soviets Lost the Most Extraordinary Chess Match of All Time
In the summer of 1972, with a presidential crisis stirring in the United States and the cold war at a pivotal point, two men - the Soviet world chess champion Boris Spassky and his American challenger Bobby Fischer - met in the most notorious chess match of all time. Their showdown in Reykjavik, Iceland, held the world spellbound for two months with reports of psychological warfare, ultimatums, political intrigue, cliffhangers, and farce to rival a Marx Brothers film.
Thirty years later, David Edmonds and John Eidinow have set out to reexamine the story we recollect as the quintessential cold war clash between a lone American star and the Soviet chess machine - a machine that had delivered the world title to the Kremlin for decades. Drawing upon unpublished Soviet and U.S. records, the authors reconstruct the full and incredible saga, one far more poignant and layered than hitherto believed.
The authors chronicle how Fischer, a manipulative, dysfunctional genius, risked all to seize control of the contest as the organizers maneuvered frantically to save it - under the eyes of the world's press. They can now tell the inside story of Moscow's response, and the bitter tensions within the Soviet camp as the anxious and frustrated apparatchiks strove to prop up Boris Spassky, the most un-Soviet of their champions - fun-loving, sensitive, and a free spirit. Edmonds and Eidinow follow this careering, behind-the-scenes confrontation to its climax: a clash that displayed the cultural differences between the dynamic, media-savvy representatives of the West and the baffled, impotent Soviets. Try as they might, even the KGB couldn't help.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 208 reviews
February 5, 2016
Audiobook: A fascinating analysis of both the players and the chess culture and its history in both the United States and Soviet Union leading up to the famous duel between Fischer and Spassky in 1972 when chess, for a short period of time, captured the attention of the world.
Bobby Fischer had never grown up and was uniquely focused on chess. Outside of the game he could be obnoxious, eccentric, bratty, rude, and incomprehensible. At the chess table he was unfailingly polite, obsessed with the rules and the game. The beginning of the book is a bit disjointed with quick summaries of his appearances or lack thereof at national and international tournaments. His paranoia and need for control was already quite apparent as was his chess brilliance (he had little brilliance in most other areas of his life.)
The author is stronger when discussing Spassky and chess in Russia. Chess players were expected to play in service to the state where the aftereffects of the "Great Patriotic War" was a sort of Russian exceptionalism that celebrated state nationalism. Everything was in service of the state and chess was no exception.
Their match became a symbolic battle for leadership in the Cold War. Here you had the Soviets who had dominated chess for decades on the one hand, and the lone, individualist Fischer on the other. Spassky was complicated. A Russian patriot, he was no Soviet one. He loved the game and admired Fischer who hated everyone and was the archetypal loner with no admirable qualities.
The authors could not get an interview with Fischer who was notoriously devoted to his privacy so the reader might sometimes feel as if the book is mostly about Spassky and the Russian perspective since they were quite willing to be interviewed. That's OK. Fischer’s erratic and paranoid behavior make him less prone to analysis.
Whatever else you say about Fischer, he was a tormented soul one cannot help but feel sorry for. He was often derided and celebrated. In the end he must have been extremely lonely and he died alone and embittered, a prisoner to his genius. I remember the extraordinary attention surrounding the match which probably did more to elevate the popularity of chess than anything before.
Political science junkies and chess fanatics will love this book. Nicely read by Sam Tsoutsouvas.
Bobby Fischer had never grown up and was uniquely focused on chess. Outside of the game he could be obnoxious, eccentric, bratty, rude, and incomprehensible. At the chess table he was unfailingly polite, obsessed with the rules and the game. The beginning of the book is a bit disjointed with quick summaries of his appearances or lack thereof at national and international tournaments. His paranoia and need for control was already quite apparent as was his chess brilliance (he had little brilliance in most other areas of his life.)
The author is stronger when discussing Spassky and chess in Russia. Chess players were expected to play in service to the state where the aftereffects of the "Great Patriotic War" was a sort of Russian exceptionalism that celebrated state nationalism. Everything was in service of the state and chess was no exception.
Their match became a symbolic battle for leadership in the Cold War. Here you had the Soviets who had dominated chess for decades on the one hand, and the lone, individualist Fischer on the other. Spassky was complicated. A Russian patriot, he was no Soviet one. He loved the game and admired Fischer who hated everyone and was the archetypal loner with no admirable qualities.
The authors could not get an interview with Fischer who was notoriously devoted to his privacy so the reader might sometimes feel as if the book is mostly about Spassky and the Russian perspective since they were quite willing to be interviewed. That's OK. Fischer’s erratic and paranoid behavior make him less prone to analysis.
Whatever else you say about Fischer, he was a tormented soul one cannot help but feel sorry for. He was often derided and celebrated. In the end he must have been extremely lonely and he died alone and embittered, a prisoner to his genius. I remember the extraordinary attention surrounding the match which probably did more to elevate the popularity of chess than anything before.
Political science junkies and chess fanatics will love this book. Nicely read by Sam Tsoutsouvas.
August 13, 2018
I still remember those days in the summer of 1972 when everyone was talking chess! There were chess-boards everywhere! It was really cool; here was this board-game making the front pages of newspapers and the nightly news broadcasts.
After lengthy negotiations, the championship tournament between the American challenger Bobby Fischer and the title-holder Boris Spassky, from the Soviet Union, was to be held in Reykjavik, Iceland. Mostly it was about the quirky American challenger, Bobby Fischer, usurping Soviet hegemony of the chess world. But Bobby was definitely a head-case!
Page 271 (my book)
[One writer wrote to the Washington Post] “Fischer is the only American who can make everyone in the U.S. root for the Russians.”
Bobby didn’t show up in Iceland and by default lost the first game. Before, and constantly during the tournament, he had a nonstop list of demands. And stuck in the middle of this was poor Iceland! As the authors make clear this was the biggest event to happen in Iceland – EVER! An epic confrontation of chess, of superpowers, with an erratic American who kept threatening to not play, to not show up, and with a fluctuating list of never-ending requirements. Without Fischer’s presence the tournament was doomed; and all the attention would evaporate – the world’s media would pack up and leave and Iceland would recede back to its isolation in the North Atlantic.
The authors’ suggest that if the tournament had been held in a major centre (one on the list was Amsterdam) Bobby’s petulant demands would not have been met – and Boris Spassky would have retained the championship. Iceland just had too much invested to simply ignore Bobby Fischer.
One aspect the authors do not mention is that the Soviets and East European countries, where chess is much more popular, would groom their prodigies and ensure that they had outside interests besides chess. In other words, they tried to ensure that their chess geniuses would act like “normal” human beings. This didn’t happen to Bobby Fischer – for Fischer chess was not just an obsession, it was everything.
We get really interesting portraits of the chess world – of both Fischer and Spassky – and also of the pressure of being a world class player in the Soviet Union. The authors spoke to many people to write this book including Boris Spassky who was very cooperative (Bobby Fischer refused the authors request, or was unavailable, no surprise there).
We also get a view of chess as a really grueling psychological grind.
Page 286 Boris Spassky
“In a long match, a player goes very deep into himself, like a diver. Then he comes up very fast. Every time, whether I win or lose, I am so depressed I want to die. I cannot get back in touch with other people. I want the other chess player. I miss him. Only after a year will the pain go away. A year.”
Very sadly Fischer never played competitive chess after winning in Reykjavik. He went completely off the rails. Among other stupidities, he became viciously anti-Semitic (despite having Jewish parents) and praised the 9/11 hijackers. He died in 2008 after this book was published. As of this writing Boris Spassky is still around and is 81 years old! He lived in France for several years, but is now living in Moscow.
After lengthy negotiations, the championship tournament between the American challenger Bobby Fischer and the title-holder Boris Spassky, from the Soviet Union, was to be held in Reykjavik, Iceland. Mostly it was about the quirky American challenger, Bobby Fischer, usurping Soviet hegemony of the chess world. But Bobby was definitely a head-case!
Page 271 (my book)
[One writer wrote to the Washington Post] “Fischer is the only American who can make everyone in the U.S. root for the Russians.”
Bobby didn’t show up in Iceland and by default lost the first game. Before, and constantly during the tournament, he had a nonstop list of demands. And stuck in the middle of this was poor Iceland! As the authors make clear this was the biggest event to happen in Iceland – EVER! An epic confrontation of chess, of superpowers, with an erratic American who kept threatening to not play, to not show up, and with a fluctuating list of never-ending requirements. Without Fischer’s presence the tournament was doomed; and all the attention would evaporate – the world’s media would pack up and leave and Iceland would recede back to its isolation in the North Atlantic.
The authors’ suggest that if the tournament had been held in a major centre (one on the list was Amsterdam) Bobby’s petulant demands would not have been met – and Boris Spassky would have retained the championship. Iceland just had too much invested to simply ignore Bobby Fischer.
One aspect the authors do not mention is that the Soviets and East European countries, where chess is much more popular, would groom their prodigies and ensure that they had outside interests besides chess. In other words, they tried to ensure that their chess geniuses would act like “normal” human beings. This didn’t happen to Bobby Fischer – for Fischer chess was not just an obsession, it was everything.
We get really interesting portraits of the chess world – of both Fischer and Spassky – and also of the pressure of being a world class player in the Soviet Union. The authors spoke to many people to write this book including Boris Spassky who was very cooperative (Bobby Fischer refused the authors request, or was unavailable, no surprise there).
We also get a view of chess as a really grueling psychological grind.
Page 286 Boris Spassky
“In a long match, a player goes very deep into himself, like a diver. Then he comes up very fast. Every time, whether I win or lose, I am so depressed I want to die. I cannot get back in touch with other people. I want the other chess player. I miss him. Only after a year will the pain go away. A year.”
Very sadly Fischer never played competitive chess after winning in Reykjavik. He went completely off the rails. Among other stupidities, he became viciously anti-Semitic (despite having Jewish parents) and praised the 9/11 hijackers. He died in 2008 after this book was published. As of this writing Boris Spassky is still around and is 81 years old! He lived in France for several years, but is now living in Moscow.
January 19, 2009
An extraordinary examination, not only of the man and his simultaneous ascent to greatness and descent into madness, but also of one of the more interesting sideshows in the forty-five year standoff between the US and the Soviet Union known as the Cold War. In many ways, the 1972 World Chess Championship between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky was a microcosm of the Cold War itself: it encompassed the paranoia of espionage (including accusations of drugging, kidnapping attempts and even mind control); the elevation of an otherwise trivial skirmish (prior to the match, chess was about as popular in the US as competitive turkey calling) into a winner-take-all battle for global hegemony; and the polarization of the world behind either a Soviet or an American in what became the most improbably important sporting event of all time.
And at the center of the narrative is a man as fascinating and complicated as the political backdrop against which he played. Bobby Fisher was quite arguably the greatest player to ever open with a pawn. He was also bitterly antisemitic, despite the fact that he himself was Jewish. He made petulant, seemingly impossible, demands about everything ranging from the height of the bishops, to the brightness of the lighting, to the size of the victory purse (he routinely demanded prizes of hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single tournament at a time when most chess grandmasters made less than fifteen grand over the course of an entire year), but such was the magnitude of his talent that he usually got his way. By all accounts, he had the genius of a Mozart trapped inside the temperament of an Attila the Hun.
Even if you're not a chess fan, it's hard to imagine not finding anything in Bobby Fischer Goes to War that would make it worth reading. It is in equal parts a psychological study, political thriller and a biography of one of the most mercurial and strange personalities of the 20th century.
And at the center of the narrative is a man as fascinating and complicated as the political backdrop against which he played. Bobby Fisher was quite arguably the greatest player to ever open with a pawn. He was also bitterly antisemitic, despite the fact that he himself was Jewish. He made petulant, seemingly impossible, demands about everything ranging from the height of the bishops, to the brightness of the lighting, to the size of the victory purse (he routinely demanded prizes of hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single tournament at a time when most chess grandmasters made less than fifteen grand over the course of an entire year), but such was the magnitude of his talent that he usually got his way. By all accounts, he had the genius of a Mozart trapped inside the temperament of an Attila the Hun.
Even if you're not a chess fan, it's hard to imagine not finding anything in Bobby Fischer Goes to War that would make it worth reading. It is in equal parts a psychological study, political thriller and a biography of one of the most mercurial and strange personalities of the 20th century.
March 21, 2016
Excellent book on the match -- the chess and the antics -- though the authors get a bit over their heads trying to relate it to contemporary Cold War politics. Fischer is a one-of-kind loony, beyond any game theory the Rand Corporation could invent.
January 2, 2009
I had no idea Bobby Fischer was such a jerk. As an amateur chess player, I had always held Fischer aloft as an American hero, but now after actually reading about his skills and exploits, I can hold a much more accurate picture of him. The book does a meticulously thorough job elucidating the political, cultural, and social aspects surrounding the great World Championship of 1972. The details are rooted in anecdotes, character descriptions, loads of primary sources, and a comprehensible approach to the complex events.
Although chess is fundamentally "just a board game," this book displayed how, at the Grandmaster level, it is as much a battle of psyches as of skills, as much a metaphor for ideological power as it is of mental dexterity. The antics of Fischer, and the gentlemanly sportmanship of his Soviet opponent, Spassky, make for great storytelling in which the guy we'd love to hate, the USSR, is really the more admirable of the two.
Amidst the obviously meticulously researched information and incredibly thorough portrayal of events and characters, the only defect is that the authors occassionally jump around from a particular line of description or narrative, making it difficult to follow. This is minor, however, and the largely objective and fundamentally formal tone covers over the moments of obviously biased perception. Overall, a thrilling informative work, enjoyable immediately for any chess lover of any nation.
Although chess is fundamentally "just a board game," this book displayed how, at the Grandmaster level, it is as much a battle of psyches as of skills, as much a metaphor for ideological power as it is of mental dexterity. The antics of Fischer, and the gentlemanly sportmanship of his Soviet opponent, Spassky, make for great storytelling in which the guy we'd love to hate, the USSR, is really the more admirable of the two.
Amidst the obviously meticulously researched information and incredibly thorough portrayal of events and characters, the only defect is that the authors occassionally jump around from a particular line of description or narrative, making it difficult to follow. This is minor, however, and the largely objective and fundamentally formal tone covers over the moments of obviously biased perception. Overall, a thrilling informative work, enjoyable immediately for any chess lover of any nation.
October 31, 2009
Especially interesting for an insight into Spassky and how impossibly difficult things were for him. Having seen him grow in something to say the last uninspiring...I was amazed to discover that he was, leading up to the match with Fischer just incredibly brave. No wonder he ran out of steam later.
January 18, 2010
This is a fascinating look into the Fischer-Spassky chess match in Iceland in 1972. One thing I really liked about it is it showed what a narcistic kook Fischer was but used his real life antics as an example as opposed to the usual "he was crazy because he said mean things about Jews" nonsense. To be honest the fact that he was willing to say non pc things was about all there was to like about Bobby Fischer. Its virtually unbelievable the hoops that were jumped through to accomodate Fischer in order to make this match happen. Whether he meant it to work out this way or not Fischers antics also served as psychological warfare that completely drained Spassky of his energy and focus.
This is not a conspiracy related book but there is also a whole chapter that looks into whether the CIA was somehow poisoning Spasskys food or using some sort of radio wave type secret weaponry to disrupt his thought patterns during the course of the chess match. Spassky himself brushes it aside but to this day many people who were there, including Spasskys wife, believe that this was the case. This is the best book I have run across pertaining to Bobby Fischer.
This is not a conspiracy related book but there is also a whole chapter that looks into whether the CIA was somehow poisoning Spasskys food or using some sort of radio wave type secret weaponry to disrupt his thought patterns during the course of the chess match. Spassky himself brushes it aside but to this day many people who were there, including Spasskys wife, believe that this was the case. This is the best book I have run across pertaining to Bobby Fischer.
November 27, 2013
Eight years before the Miracle on Ice in Lake Placid, there was a miracle on the island of Iceland, played out on a wooden board with sixty-four squares and thirty-two pieces. It was the chess world championships – which had been dominated throughout the 20th Century by the Soviet Union. And they were beaten by a young man from New York.
However, the Spassky vs. Fischer world championship had even more drama behind the scenes that there was on the board. Intertwined with the Cold War and Fischer’s own need for control, the match itself was in jeopardy from start to finish. Bobby Fischer Goes to War is really about the behind-the-scenes confrontations that surrounded the match. Edmonds and Eidinow leave analysis of the actual games to hundreds of other books and focus their efforts on understanding the numerous sideshows. With thirty years of distance, they put things into a proper context and provide deep analysis of these weeks in history where a chess match overshadowed Presidential election coverage and the Olympics.
The one weakness of Bobby Fischer Goes to War is that it is mostly isolated on that one tournament, so it leaves the reader a lot of questions about where these two men came from and what became of them afterwards. Still, for those who have an interest in the most infamous chess match of all time and want to know the facts from the legends, Bobby Fischer Goes to War delivers a definitive guide.
However, the Spassky vs. Fischer world championship had even more drama behind the scenes that there was on the board. Intertwined with the Cold War and Fischer’s own need for control, the match itself was in jeopardy from start to finish. Bobby Fischer Goes to War is really about the behind-the-scenes confrontations that surrounded the match. Edmonds and Eidinow leave analysis of the actual games to hundreds of other books and focus their efforts on understanding the numerous sideshows. With thirty years of distance, they put things into a proper context and provide deep analysis of these weeks in history where a chess match overshadowed Presidential election coverage and the Olympics.
The one weakness of Bobby Fischer Goes to War is that it is mostly isolated on that one tournament, so it leaves the reader a lot of questions about where these two men came from and what became of them afterwards. Still, for those who have an interest in the most infamous chess match of all time and want to know the facts from the legends, Bobby Fischer Goes to War delivers a definitive guide.
February 11, 2010
In cultural history, certain events are churned up, when the world tunes into them and it appears that that a majority of heads are fixated on what is going on here.
In July, Reykjavík Iceland had the World's focus on it because two men were shuffling wooden pieces over 64 squares. The game was Chess, it was the World Championship and a wildly peculiar genius was about to end the quarter century Soviet domination of the event.
This game became known as the Match of the Century and in this book the authors go to work, clarifying what took place over two months in Iceland.
Why this book works, and why many people still remember this time, is because Bobby Fischer is enigma at the heart of this story. How this child prodigy at Chess came to represent the United States in a battle that took place against the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War is quite a story in itself.
Only ten years previously the world stopped as the Cuban missile crisis appeared to bring us all to the edge of the end days. Now a Jewish kid from Brooklyn raised by his mother who was both a teacher and nurse, was taking on the best that the Soviet chess machine could throw at him in the form of Boris Spassky.
Bobby lost the first game, where he should've been able to manage a draw and then forfeited the second because he demanded the withdrawal of TV Cameras. When he came back to the table he won game 3 and began to turn the whole match around. His play was always aggressive and exciting but the level of paranoia and intrigue which he brought to the match only served to heighten the excitement and wild speculation about at that time.
After his victory his celebrity was at it's height. Unfortunately, he refused to defend his title in 1975 and became more reclusive and never really played again until 1992 - when he did a rematch against Spassky but angered the US Government by breaking an embargo by going to Yugoslavia to play the match.
He was anti-American and anti-Semitic, (strange for a Jewish American you might think) and produced his own radio shows where he would vent these hatreds. He returned to Iceland in 2005 and lived out his last three years there, on the island where he'd ascended the heights to be World Chess Champion back in the Summer of 72.
This book is a great history of that summer when the world watched Bobby take his crown.
In July, Reykjavík Iceland had the World's focus on it because two men were shuffling wooden pieces over 64 squares. The game was Chess, it was the World Championship and a wildly peculiar genius was about to end the quarter century Soviet domination of the event.
This game became known as the Match of the Century and in this book the authors go to work, clarifying what took place over two months in Iceland.
Why this book works, and why many people still remember this time, is because Bobby Fischer is enigma at the heart of this story. How this child prodigy at Chess came to represent the United States in a battle that took place against the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War is quite a story in itself.
Only ten years previously the world stopped as the Cuban missile crisis appeared to bring us all to the edge of the end days. Now a Jewish kid from Brooklyn raised by his mother who was both a teacher and nurse, was taking on the best that the Soviet chess machine could throw at him in the form of Boris Spassky.
Bobby lost the first game, where he should've been able to manage a draw and then forfeited the second because he demanded the withdrawal of TV Cameras. When he came back to the table he won game 3 and began to turn the whole match around. His play was always aggressive and exciting but the level of paranoia and intrigue which he brought to the match only served to heighten the excitement and wild speculation about at that time.
After his victory his celebrity was at it's height. Unfortunately, he refused to defend his title in 1975 and became more reclusive and never really played again until 1992 - when he did a rematch against Spassky but angered the US Government by breaking an embargo by going to Yugoslavia to play the match.
He was anti-American and anti-Semitic, (strange for a Jewish American you might think) and produced his own radio shows where he would vent these hatreds. He returned to Iceland in 2005 and lived out his last three years there, on the island where he'd ascended the heights to be World Chess Champion back in the Summer of 72.
This book is a great history of that summer when the world watched Bobby take his crown.
February 17, 2016
"I fell in love with the white queen. I dreamed about caressing her in my pocket, but I did not dare to steal her. Chess is pure for me" - Boris Spassky
This is a quick informative read on the 1972 World Chess Championship match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky, it is much more suited to those that have no interest in the actual game play and have up to now had minimal knowledge about the proceedings and buzz generated by this international event.
To be fair to David Edmonds I cannot speak poorly concerning this books discussion of the games themselves since in no way is the publication marketed towards this type analysis. Broadly speaking the layout of this book is quite simple: give Fischer's back story, give Spassky's back story, summarize major global events that surrounded the meeting between the two and then discuss the intricacies of the prolonged match days (controversies, complaints and all).
I do still have major qualms about this book. For one it reads mostly like an extended 'Wikipedia' page (particularly first half) with the character biographies and political situations of both spectrum's (U.S & U.S.S.R) being given bland introductory treatments within an already loosely structured framework. I am not a huge fan at all of cursory historical discussion and this book's treatment of such topics forces the chapter transitions to give off a sense of detachment and what feels sort of like a 'cheapish' delivery of facts. A more minor surprise, considering the large cast of characters Edmonds employs in the narrative, is the lack of Serbian GM Svetozar Gligoric in the intertwining Fischer narrative. This gap is notable as Gligoric was said to be one of Fischer's best friends, a type of father figure who also had an immense contribution in documenting the match while also being a notable factor in Bobby's decision to leave for Iceland.
One thing this book did give me is a much stronger understanding of Spassky the man, whom for some reason I always assumed was a very cut-and-dry representation of the Soviet Chess Machine. Much to my surprise it seems like he was quite the opposite. Fischer fans will like this novel, though be warned you may lose a slight bit of respect for your hero when putting together all of the collective behavioral accounts.
This is a quick informative read on the 1972 World Chess Championship match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky, it is much more suited to those that have no interest in the actual game play and have up to now had minimal knowledge about the proceedings and buzz generated by this international event.
To be fair to David Edmonds I cannot speak poorly concerning this books discussion of the games themselves since in no way is the publication marketed towards this type analysis. Broadly speaking the layout of this book is quite simple: give Fischer's back story, give Spassky's back story, summarize major global events that surrounded the meeting between the two and then discuss the intricacies of the prolonged match days (controversies, complaints and all).
I do still have major qualms about this book. For one it reads mostly like an extended 'Wikipedia' page (particularly first half) with the character biographies and political situations of both spectrum's (U.S & U.S.S.R) being given bland introductory treatments within an already loosely structured framework. I am not a huge fan at all of cursory historical discussion and this book's treatment of such topics forces the chapter transitions to give off a sense of detachment and what feels sort of like a 'cheapish' delivery of facts. A more minor surprise, considering the large cast of characters Edmonds employs in the narrative, is the lack of Serbian GM Svetozar Gligoric in the intertwining Fischer narrative. This gap is notable as Gligoric was said to be one of Fischer's best friends, a type of father figure who also had an immense contribution in documenting the match while also being a notable factor in Bobby's decision to leave for Iceland.
One thing this book did give me is a much stronger understanding of Spassky the man, whom for some reason I always assumed was a very cut-and-dry representation of the Soviet Chess Machine. Much to my surprise it seems like he was quite the opposite. Fischer fans will like this novel, though be warned you may lose a slight bit of respect for your hero when putting together all of the collective behavioral accounts.
September 9, 2010
When the tapes begin, the narrator is a neutral reader carefully pronouncing all the difficult names of Soviet chess champions. He continues to gamely read the now almost obligatory setting-the-scene information that sounds like it was taken from newspaper headlines - front page world news to the sports pages. (yawn) He traces the Cold War and chess in the Soviet Union. Boris Spassky is presented as a decent man, a good guy who plays brillant chess. But when Fischer comes on scene with his frustrating demands and histrionics, the book becomes crazy good and you can hear the narrator grinning as Fischer makes wild demand after wild demand. I was laughing out loud as I drove. You can hear the narrator's sympathy for the kind Icelanders and the chess authorities struggling to make this match happen. It was great!!!! The descriptions of each game were also high points - the authors built the tension and made the significance of certain moves easily understandable even for one unschooled in chess. Unfortunately the book sometimes disjointedly cuts back and forth from the games to other stuff that was really boring in comparison. A couple of times I even checked the tape to find out if I had put it in upside down because the continuity was so odd. The book ends with an astonishing final chapter or addendum.
April 22, 2018
This is another book I don't really have time to properly review right now, but even for someone like me, an expert player and an amateur Fischer historian, this was enlightening and very interesting.
But this would be good for anyone who has never played chess. Fischer is a very compelling, interesting person, and this book overturns one of his most popular narratives - that of the conquering, Cold War hero.
This book really makes me want to know more about Spassky. Even within chess circles, he is largely remembered as 'the guy who lost to Fischer", but he seems like a very complex, interesting person.
My only knock on the book is in the organization of it. At times, I felt like the book lost focus, and perhaps this was from stretching the minutiae of some of the less interesting storylines. In other words, because the authors took us down some of the corridors, they had to let us into the rooms, but not all the rooms were interesting or all that relevant to the central thesis.
Overall, a very good read. Recommended for chessplayers and non-chessplayers alike.
But this would be good for anyone who has never played chess. Fischer is a very compelling, interesting person, and this book overturns one of his most popular narratives - that of the conquering, Cold War hero.
This book really makes me want to know more about Spassky. Even within chess circles, he is largely remembered as 'the guy who lost to Fischer", but he seems like a very complex, interesting person.
My only knock on the book is in the organization of it. At times, I felt like the book lost focus, and perhaps this was from stretching the minutiae of some of the less interesting storylines. In other words, because the authors took us down some of the corridors, they had to let us into the rooms, but not all the rooms were interesting or all that relevant to the central thesis.
Overall, a very good read. Recommended for chessplayers and non-chessplayers alike.
October 16, 2014
I don't even like chess and nevertheless found this book fascinating. "Bobby Fischer Goes to War" was well researched, engagingly narrated, and intriguing from start to finish.
I particularly enjoyed how the authors provided detailed biographies of not only the main competitors (Fischer and Spassky), but also for some of the lesser known characters who were entwined in the event (Palsson and Fox, for example). I also appreciated the level of detail they provided about the geopolitical climate in which the eponymous match occurred.
Perhaps most fascinating of all was the Epilogue, which revealed a secret about the Fischer family that is a true testament to rigorous research the authors put into the text. While it did feel a bit incongruous when viewed in the context of the broader narrative, it allowed the reader a whole new perspective on how Fischer's upbringing influenced his later character and actions.
Reading this book has motivated me to learn more about US-Russian relations during the Cold War, which is a truly unique period in our nation's history.
I particularly enjoyed how the authors provided detailed biographies of not only the main competitors (Fischer and Spassky), but also for some of the lesser known characters who were entwined in the event (Palsson and Fox, for example). I also appreciated the level of detail they provided about the geopolitical climate in which the eponymous match occurred.
Perhaps most fascinating of all was the Epilogue, which revealed a secret about the Fischer family that is a true testament to rigorous research the authors put into the text. While it did feel a bit incongruous when viewed in the context of the broader narrative, it allowed the reader a whole new perspective on how Fischer's upbringing influenced his later character and actions.
Reading this book has motivated me to learn more about US-Russian relations during the Cold War, which is a truly unique period in our nation's history.
March 17, 2016
Čitajući razne žanrove i bez predrasuda naći ćete ponekada na nebrušeni dijamant kojeg vam nitko nije preporučio, uz kojeg ćete se zabaviti i osjećati se kako ste naučili nešto novo. Bit ćete zadovoljni što ste pročitali takvu knjigu i tjednima ćete je, s potpunim neuspjehom, preporučati prijateljima.
Ovo je takva knjiga. Ovo je knjiga o šahu. Ali ovo je knjiga koja je puno više o toga, ovo je knjiga o događaju kojeg je pratio cijeli svijet, koji je promijenio stanje tog sporta i postao dio povijesti. Ovo je ideološka borba istoka i zapada, SADa i SSSRa, kapitalizma i komunizma, ovo je produljena ruka hladnoga rata. Zapravo, šah često izgleda samo kao bojno polje na i oko kojeg su se događale turbulentne stvari.
Premda je povijest i njena događanja nemoguće promijeniti, knjiga je napisana na takav način da će više podsjećati na neki krimić, okretat ćete stranicu za stranicom kako bi saznali što je dalje bilo. Ne morate uopće poznavati pravila šahovske igre kako bi uživali u knjizi.
Nadam se kako će barem netko tko pročita recenziju razmisliti o čitanju ovoga.
Ovo je takva knjiga. Ovo je knjiga o šahu. Ali ovo je knjiga koja je puno više o toga, ovo je knjiga o događaju kojeg je pratio cijeli svijet, koji je promijenio stanje tog sporta i postao dio povijesti. Ovo je ideološka borba istoka i zapada, SADa i SSSRa, kapitalizma i komunizma, ovo je produljena ruka hladnoga rata. Zapravo, šah često izgleda samo kao bojno polje na i oko kojeg su se događale turbulentne stvari.
Premda je povijest i njena događanja nemoguće promijeniti, knjiga je napisana na takav način da će više podsjećati na neki krimić, okretat ćete stranicu za stranicom kako bi saznali što je dalje bilo. Ne morate uopće poznavati pravila šahovske igre kako bi uživali u knjizi.
Nadam se kako će barem netko tko pročita recenziju razmisliti o čitanju ovoga.
May 23, 2011
Todo aquel que se considere ajedrecista debe haber oído acerca de Bobby Fischer. Dedíquese a otra profesión/diversión quien niegue lo pasado.
Una de las mentes más brillantes del siglo pasado, pero también una de las más trastornadas a nuestra forma de ver. Este libro es una joya que nos remonta al llamado Match del Siglo, disputado entre el campeón Boris Spasski y el retador Bobby Fischer.
De lectura agradable, divertida, fácil e interesante, éste libro merece un lugar en la estantería de los ajedrecistas e incluso de todo aquel que se interese por la historia mundial. Nos sitúa en un obvio campo de batalla, uno metafórico que alude a la Guerra Fría. Si bien ambos gobiernos lo desmintieron, al leer estas páginas uno puede concluir que mentían y sí podría tomarse como el único y más grande duelo entre los Estados Unidos y la Unión Soviética. O bien podría ser solo la cruzada de un hombre.
En todo caso, es una excelente obra.
Una de las mentes más brillantes del siglo pasado, pero también una de las más trastornadas a nuestra forma de ver. Este libro es una joya que nos remonta al llamado Match del Siglo, disputado entre el campeón Boris Spasski y el retador Bobby Fischer.
De lectura agradable, divertida, fácil e interesante, éste libro merece un lugar en la estantería de los ajedrecistas e incluso de todo aquel que se interese por la historia mundial. Nos sitúa en un obvio campo de batalla, uno metafórico que alude a la Guerra Fría. Si bien ambos gobiernos lo desmintieron, al leer estas páginas uno puede concluir que mentían y sí podría tomarse como el único y más grande duelo entre los Estados Unidos y la Unión Soviética. O bien podría ser solo la cruzada de un hombre.
En todo caso, es una excelente obra.
March 12, 2009
A friend (who plays chess) lent me this book to read. I was a little skeptical as to how much I would be able to comprehend and I put it off for 2 weeks.
What a mistake! The book is fantastically written and delves not into the plays themselves but all the characters surrounding and leading up to 1972 championship games Fischer v. Spasski. As well as basic psychological profiles of the two chess grandmasters, the writers full develop the supporting cast and ideologies in play on all sides.
Highly recommend the book; there are only a few paragraphs dealing with actual chess moves.
What a mistake! The book is fantastically written and delves not into the plays themselves but all the characters surrounding and leading up to 1972 championship games Fischer v. Spasski. As well as basic psychological profiles of the two chess grandmasters, the writers full develop the supporting cast and ideologies in play on all sides.
Highly recommend the book; there are only a few paragraphs dealing with actual chess moves.
November 16, 2024
I just wanted more chess and less dostoyevsky bullshit. Is it too much to ask
July 31, 2019
Immaculately researched. A lesson in history, politics, psychology, humanity, and chess. The moves of the games are barely discussed, but Fisher's moves off the board are equally as fascinating.
July 27, 2016
This is one of the best, most detailed accounts of the Match of the Century and the historical context around it. Growing up with a house full of chess books and a fanatical dad, I always found Fischer fascinating and probably played through half the matches at some point (we had an old 70s-era edition of the NYT correspondence/commentary). His run up to the '72 match is one of the most gripping of all time, as the world saw him rack 20 consecutive wins (including two 6-0 sweeps at the Candidates tournament).
In a lot of ways, the 1972 World Championship, now nothing more than an endnote in Cold War history, encapsulated it at its' best and worst. Besides the obvious (chess as a metaphor for war and superiority), there are accusations of espionage, strange communist connections (via Fischer's mother), conflicts with authority (by both Spassky and Fischer), etc. Undoubtedly, Spassky (who didn't love Communist ideology and preferred a soft life) and Fischer (who had nothing more than a personal grudge against the Soviets) weren't the best representatives for the front line of this war – needless to say, the story of how they got caught up in the battle is very interesting.
Edmonds' account is a great journalistic throwback to the height of chess in America. Recommended for serious chess historians and fans.
In a lot of ways, the 1972 World Championship, now nothing more than an endnote in Cold War history, encapsulated it at its' best and worst. Besides the obvious (chess as a metaphor for war and superiority), there are accusations of espionage, strange communist connections (via Fischer's mother), conflicts with authority (by both Spassky and Fischer), etc. Undoubtedly, Spassky (who didn't love Communist ideology and preferred a soft life) and Fischer (who had nothing more than a personal grudge against the Soviets) weren't the best representatives for the front line of this war – needless to say, the story of how they got caught up in the battle is very interesting.
Edmonds' account is a great journalistic throwback to the height of chess in America. Recommended for serious chess historians and fans.
January 14, 2016
I knew a certain amount about Bobby Fischer before reading this book, but little about Boris Spassky, the World Champion Fischer defeated. As the subtitle suggests, this book is particularly informative on the subject of the Soviet chess program of that era, and how that program did and didn't cope with the personalities of both players. It also chronicles a number of Fischer's demands, escapades, and eccentricities. I would have liked the authors to address more directly (as the title promises) the question of to what extent Fischer was intentionally waging psychological warfare -- which, in effect, he did quite successfully.
There are a few odd discontinuities, contradictions of sorts between earlier and later chapters, as well as redundancies, both of which may be the result of some problems with the authors' collaborative process.
There are a few odd discontinuities, contradictions of sorts between earlier and later chapters, as well as redundancies, both of which may be the result of some problems with the authors' collaborative process.
January 24, 2009
I was turning a score around in my head while I was finishing this book. I had really low expectations for it. I pretty much nabbed it on a whim. I used to play a fair amount of chess but it's not an interest of mine. However, judging from the fact that I'm now following famous matches online and asking my family if there are any "unused sets" lying around their place--I think it's fair to say this book had an impact on me.
I could recommend this to anyone even if you don't know a pawn from a queen. The authors stumbled on a truly incredible story and do an excellent job of relating this simple chess match to the whole zeitgeist of the era. There is more political espionage, dramatic tempers and mysterious plots in this book than anything Tom Clancy or Dennis Lehane ever penned.
I could recommend this to anyone even if you don't know a pawn from a queen. The authors stumbled on a truly incredible story and do an excellent job of relating this simple chess match to the whole zeitgeist of the era. There is more political espionage, dramatic tempers and mysterious plots in this book than anything Tom Clancy or Dennis Lehane ever penned.
March 25, 2015
The best book written on the "Match of the Century", which is saying something considering this match I am nearly certain has generated more books than anything other single subject in chess, certainly any other championship match.
The authors do an amazing job of sorting out all of the fact from fiction first off and then presenting analysis of the match both in front of the public and behind closed doors. We get everything we want or could ask for concerning this world championship.
Combine this with the Evans-Smith book also listed on this shelf and you'll have plenty to study-up on concerning the most famous world chess championship ever played.
The authors do an amazing job of sorting out all of the fact from fiction first off and then presenting analysis of the match both in front of the public and behind closed doors. We get everything we want or could ask for concerning this world championship.
Combine this with the Evans-Smith book also listed on this shelf and you'll have plenty to study-up on concerning the most famous world chess championship ever played.
March 18, 2016
The book that got me playing chess again after a 25 year break.
April 12, 2025
Relato do confronto xadresístico pelo título mundial em 1972 entre Bobby Fischer e Boris Spassky apelidado na altura de “Match do Século”. Pela primeira vez os EUA tinham um competidor que podia pôr em causa o domínio da URSS nesta modalidade que durava há largas décadas.
Estavamos em plena guerra fria e os confrontos entre as duas superpotências que dividiam o poder global, tinha lugar neste tipo de duelos (em que podemos incluir também os jogos olímpicos e a corrida espacial) e felizmente não com tropas no terreno. Esta foi a razão porque este confronto foi alvo de tanta atenção mediática e as expetativas não sairam defraudadas.
O livro começa por focar-se no panorama xadresístico mundial no pós-guerra onde o domínio soviético era total e também no perfil e nas características de ambos os contendores e do universo que os rodeava que era bastante diferente, fruto das características dos respetivos sistemas políticos mas tambérm das personalidades dos mesmos, nomeadamente de Bobby Fischer que era realmente muito excêntrico para não dizer mesmo paranoico. Aliás, na sequência deste comportamento tão “excessivo”, Fischer recusou-se a defender o título em 1975 contra Karpov que se sagrou campeão sem mexer uma peça.
O grosso da obra relata de forma muito detalhada todas as incidências do confronto que teve lugar em Reiquiavique e que foram inúmeras e algumas difíceis de acreditar e é também interessante por nos dar o “ar do tempo” (início dos anos 70) em que tudo era muito diferente, tanto a nível social como político e também económico.
Na parte final debruça-se brevemente sobre o pós-match dos 2 jogadores até 2004, data da publicação da obra.
Por todas estas razões trata-se de um documento muito interessante para qualquer um, não sendo necessário conhecimentos de xadrez para o apreciar, embora obviamente os iniciados neste jogo retirarão informações adicionais e terão um interesse acrescido.
Em português a designação da obra é "A Guerra de Bobby Fischer".
Avaliação: 9 / 10
Estavamos em plena guerra fria e os confrontos entre as duas superpotências que dividiam o poder global, tinha lugar neste tipo de duelos (em que podemos incluir também os jogos olímpicos e a corrida espacial) e felizmente não com tropas no terreno. Esta foi a razão porque este confronto foi alvo de tanta atenção mediática e as expetativas não sairam defraudadas.
O livro começa por focar-se no panorama xadresístico mundial no pós-guerra onde o domínio soviético era total e também no perfil e nas características de ambos os contendores e do universo que os rodeava que era bastante diferente, fruto das características dos respetivos sistemas políticos mas tambérm das personalidades dos mesmos, nomeadamente de Bobby Fischer que era realmente muito excêntrico para não dizer mesmo paranoico. Aliás, na sequência deste comportamento tão “excessivo”, Fischer recusou-se a defender o título em 1975 contra Karpov que se sagrou campeão sem mexer uma peça.
O grosso da obra relata de forma muito detalhada todas as incidências do confronto que teve lugar em Reiquiavique e que foram inúmeras e algumas difíceis de acreditar e é também interessante por nos dar o “ar do tempo” (início dos anos 70) em que tudo era muito diferente, tanto a nível social como político e também económico.
Na parte final debruça-se brevemente sobre o pós-match dos 2 jogadores até 2004, data da publicação da obra.
Por todas estas razões trata-se de um documento muito interessante para qualquer um, não sendo necessário conhecimentos de xadrez para o apreciar, embora obviamente os iniciados neste jogo retirarão informações adicionais e terão um interesse acrescido.
Em português a designação da obra é "A Guerra de Bobby Fischer".
Avaliação: 9 / 10
January 13, 2021
Bobby Fischer Goes to War focuses on the famous World Championship Chess match between the Champion Russian Boris Spasky and the challenger the American Bobby Fischer. I mention the countries Fischer and Spasky are from because they play a major role in the chess match since it was played at the height of the cold war. Both men dealt with the added pressure of believing they were representing the good side in the battle of good verse evil. Henry Kissinger evens makes an appearance in the book as he is believed to have played a key role in getting Fischer to actually play.
I happen to find chess very interesting so that helped me enjoy this book but I don't think that is a requirement because for better or worse the focus is on the build up to the match and all of the crazy antics that took place around the actual games.
I have read quite a bit about Fischer including a biography before so I already knew how eccentric Bobby Fischer was but I was still surprised how difficult he was in the lead up and during this match. I think it is pretty obvious that Bobby had some mental illness that continued to get worse as he aged and it is sad see how it affected everyone around him and of course Bobby most of all. His demands were ridiculous and over the top and frankly I'm shocked Spasky put up with it.
I think many of the people involved in making the match happen deserve a lot of credit for actually getting it done and nobody deserves more credit than Spasky in my opinion. He comes across as a total gentleman.
I listened to the audio version and thought Sam Tsoutsouvas did a very good job with the narration.
I happen to find chess very interesting so that helped me enjoy this book but I don't think that is a requirement because for better or worse the focus is on the build up to the match and all of the crazy antics that took place around the actual games.
I have read quite a bit about Fischer including a biography before so I already knew how eccentric Bobby Fischer was but I was still surprised how difficult he was in the lead up and during this match. I think it is pretty obvious that Bobby had some mental illness that continued to get worse as he aged and it is sad see how it affected everyone around him and of course Bobby most of all. His demands were ridiculous and over the top and frankly I'm shocked Spasky put up with it.
I think many of the people involved in making the match happen deserve a lot of credit for actually getting it done and nobody deserves more credit than Spasky in my opinion. He comes across as a total gentleman.
I listened to the audio version and thought Sam Tsoutsouvas did a very good job with the narration.
March 2, 2019
I read this for the 2019 Popsugar Challenge category of "A book revolving around a puzzle or game". I selected it mostly because of the Cold War angle, and because this match was going on as I was entering my senior year of high school, so I have some vague memories of it. I am not a chess player, but most of the narrative centers around the personalities of Spassky and Fischer and those of their teams, with minimal blow-by-blow of the actual games, which suited me just fine. Fischer certainly came across as real "piece of work" with all of his demands and grandstanding. Spassky came across more sympathetically. Still, I didn't find it a very engaging book. The most interesting parts to me were the aftermath of the match, and the FBI file on Fischer's mother which showed up in the Appendix. Still it does give some interesting insights into that particular period of American and Soviet history, and I don't regret having read it.
June 4, 2020
What a book! Ya no se escriben libros así. Un cinco estrellas en todos los sentidos. Cuanto tiempo llevaba buscándolo, recordando aquella primera lectura en la biblioteca pública de Ourense. Finalmente lo encontré en Buenos Aires, cosas del destino. Y aunque la edición de la sucursal bonaerense de DESTINO deje mucho que desea a un bibliófilo como yo, el ejemplar vale su peso en oro.
Para el que quiera escribir una crónica de un evento este es el abecé que puede seguir.
No sólo se habla de Fischer y de Reijckiavik, sino mucho y muy profundamente de Spassky, de la URSS, y de toda la parafernalia alrededor de algo que, no amigos, no es la Guerra Fría como siempre se había comentado. Distando muchísimo siquiera de serlo.
Para tener bien colocado en cualquier biblioteca
Para el que quiera escribir una crónica de un evento este es el abecé que puede seguir.
No sólo se habla de Fischer y de Reijckiavik, sino mucho y muy profundamente de Spassky, de la URSS, y de toda la parafernalia alrededor de algo que, no amigos, no es la Guerra Fría como siempre se había comentado. Distando muchísimo siquiera de serlo.
Para tener bien colocado en cualquier biblioteca
July 19, 2017
World of chess is one strange place, I think it is one of the few places you can be insane and extremely respected.
Bobby Fisher was nut job, yet probably best in the world at what he does, playing chess.
The incredible story how one of the biggest matches in chess history occurred and all political background that followed it.
Very good book, easy to read, you don't need any knowledge about chess or history.
Bobby Fisher was nut job, yet probably best in the world at what he does, playing chess.
The incredible story how one of the biggest matches in chess history occurred and all political background that followed it.
Very good book, easy to read, you don't need any knowledge about chess or history.
July 23, 2023
I'd heard Bobby Fischer went crazy after becoming world chess champion. Apparently he was borderline crazy his whole life, and this book does an excellent job of telling the story of Fischer and one of the craziest chess matches of all time. Good read.
September 18, 2023
An absolute must read for chess fans and those interested political history alike. Bobby is truly one of the most interesting figures in sports history along with being a total racist antisemitic piece of shit
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