Fischer Thoughts-Rothbard Follow Up

Murray Rothbard's piece on Fischer is a mixture of the good and the bad. To the best of my knowledge, Rothbard's understanding of chess and its history wasn't too extensive but he makes some valid points. Its never bothered me that Fischer violated U.N. sanctions in Yugoslavia so I'm on board when Rothbard defends him.

When asked about the "sanctions" against him, Bobby heroically pulled out a letter from the U.S. Treasury, warning him that if he went through with the match, he would be violating UN sanctions and subject to fine and imprisonment. Bobby met this challenge by heroically spitting on the Treasury letter, and declaring that he doesn't recognize the sovereignty of the United Nations in fact, that the world would be a lot better without the UN.

On the other hand, Rothbard is too quick to dismiss charges against him at times.

Two: Bobby makes excessive, trivial, and loony demands of tournament directors. And yet, virtually all of these supposedly wacko demands have now been adopted, and chess experts have begun to see their merits. For example: It was Bobby's correct charges of Soviet conspiracy that forced the international chess authorities to change the way they pick championship contenders, turning from tournaments (where deliberate draws can be concocted) to one-on-one matches, where such conspiracies cannot take place. Bobby has also pioneered in changing tournament time clocks, to guard against being rushed to beat the time clock. This innovation showed a principled regard for the good of the game, since one of Bobby's attributes as a chess player is that he himself was virtually never in time trouble.

So, Fischer isn't always wrong but his demands on tournament directors, not to mention other players, have reached ridiculous heights at times. For proof, a great book to turn too is Bobby Fischer Goes to War: How the Soviets Lost the Most Extraordinary Chess Match of All Time that deserves quoting here:

Just before midnight on 9 May, the thirty-three-old Benko came looking for Bisguier in Fischer's room; he needed some help in analyzing his adjourned game with Petrosian. Fischer and Benko started scrapping- What Bisguier calls "fisticuffs". The following day, Fischer wrote to the tournament organizing committee, saying Benko should be fined and/or expelled from the tournament. It was a letter they chose to ignore.
Pg.14

This passage is included in a paragraph documenting Fischer's desire to have Bisguier only assist him.

Apologizes and More to Come

I promised to write much more in this blog, and apologize for taking so long to finally getting around to it.

Look for more frequent posting this week!

Under Renovation

I've switched to a new and improved look for the chess blog and thanks to the people behind blogger.com for offering more features.

Chess in New York City

To begin the lack of neglect I spoke of here; A piece I've had collecting dust for awhile is offered. I also have a three part series of posts on the Missouri Chess Festival planned. General commentary, annotated games, and a take on the Missouri Chess Association bulletin report will be posted.

Its often been a habit of mine to call New York City the chess capital of America. A recent family trip to the city left me with this favorable impression intact. From risking cash or wagering push-ups in Union Square to visiting the Marshall Chess Club, a good time was always had. Next to the above, a stop at the infamous Washington Square Park of Searching for Bobby Fischer fame was also made. My results in all three of these venues was mixed. On the first stop in Union Square, a lost match of first to win six games left me 30 dollars less in spending allowance. The opponent I faced was a very friendly guy who provided enjoyable conversation. In a second trip, he was kind enough to play me with the time odds of 3:1.40 in my favor. Enough games were won to garner 4 dollars but there was no repeat of this in Washington Square. Here, I lost both of two attempts to triumph over a local player. While these excursions into NYC park playing were fun, visiting the Marshall turned out to be the real highlight of my chess experiences. Being able to catch glimpses of chess history captured in many photographs was worth the visit alone.

On the Move Again

The Westport Chess Club makes a move back to the Westport Flea Market next Tuesday. Be sure to drop by!

Back in Action

More posting on here is about to come. My long neglect of the chess blog will end.

Chess Life Redesign-Follow Up

Many thanks to all of those who left comments on my Chess Life Redesign post. It managed to be my first post (to the best of my knowledge) mentioned elsewhere on the net at the Boylston Chess Club Weblog. On a similiar note, my blog is linked at All the King's Men.

Chess Life Redesign

Chess Life has a new look! Perhaps, they decided the old format was too stale for the times. There is quite the contrast between the old design and the new. They've upped the ante with a flashier presentation likely designed to make it easier on the eyes. The old format, despite being kind of bland, never really bothered me much though. Being a hardcore chess enthusiast, content takes precedence over style for me. I'm sad to see Larry Evans column disappear but it's my hope that we'll get to see it online. Speaking of which, I've got mixed feelings about the shift of more content to the net. We do live in an age where net access is becoming increasingly widespread but those without a taste for the web would be left out in this change. Not that it's possible for the USCF to completely please everyone but accommodations for those without a net connection could be made. Two versions of Chess Life could be published with one retaining more content in print form. Of course, there's the issue of increased costs and thus USCF dues (not really knowledgeable on how the current revenue is spent or whether it's mostly spent in a good way) but offering two deals with any extra costs added in could solve that. Anyway, that's my take.

What's yours?

Update: It's a shame to see David L. Brown's Key Kracker's column disappear.

Fischer Thoughts-Another Perspective

I've written a fairly critical essay on Bobby Fischer in the past and I'd like to provide a link to a more complimentary piece written by the late Murray Rothbard. There are some similar areas of concern but the points in time that our respective writings were put together are very far apart.

Judge for yourself! I'll be doing a follow up post with my thoughts on it eventually.

Favorite Tourney

Let me know about the tournament that made your day.

Mine would have to be the 2005 North American Open.

Chess Buzz

Is blitz chess an adrenaline rush for you?

Share your thoughts!

Game of the Day-Spectacular Attack

Young Bobby Fischer played more than one game that awed chess players. One of my favorites is Fischer-Bent Larsen that was played at the 1958 Interzonal held in Portoroz, Slovenia.

Game of the Day-Artistic Finish

Today, I'll promote a game that has an absolutely sparkling finish. It's the fifth match game between Capablanca and Marshall from their 21 game series played in 1909. Those interested in an annotation should track down a copy of Capablanca's Best Chess Endings:60 Complete Games that contains it, along with several other battles of the event.

An Intense Tournament-The 2006 Chess Club Championship

Intensity! Chess is often a quiet game on the surface but it can be quite different inside the inner worlds of the players. I had an experience that is to be treasured in my last game when intense calculations were made. No doubt, others have their own memorable moments from this event. Once again, I'm at a loss to poke holes in the running of a Chess Club tourney. If anyone has a grievance to air than here's one forum to do so.

Memorable Moments

What's your most memorable chess moment?

My piece on the 2006 Chess Club Championship will be up sometime this week.

Sorry for the delay!

Surprise Surprise

Chess can be a limitless game that manages to keep us on our toes.

It can throw new and exciting situations at us even when we think we've seen it all.

What kind of surprises has chess provided for you?

Place Your Bets

Topalov or Kramnik?

Take your pick!

I'll confess to not knowing enough about either for much of a judgment.

Therapeutic Chess

Do you find solace in chess?

I love to get lost in it when my life feels chaotic.

What's it do for you?

Drop me a note!

How Kooky Are We?

"There is nothing abnormal about a chess player being abnormal. This is normal."
-Vladimir Nabokov

Speak to you?

Let me know!

Revisions Alert

I've been going through most of my old writings and making tweaks to spruce them up.The changes make them much more concise.