Yes. It is true. I beat Bobby Fischer ('s wife) in an official chess tournament.
I have been rummaging through old boxes of stuff to find my chess journal.
When I find it, I will write up the story of how this came about.
(Please don't tell me you don't know who Bobby Fischer is.)
10 comments:
Dear Alan, First off I do know who Bobby Fischer is. But I do not know the skill level of his wife! Was she also a recognized chess player?
In any case, congrats on your success in that chess tournament.
Love Dad
I am sure that Bobby learned everything he knows about chess from his wife. Way to go Alan! Now can I say, "I knew you when..."?
I have rummaged though everything I can think of, but I can't find my chess notes. I have some records on my very old computer, but I'm not sure it runs any more. I'll keep trying though.
Here is some info on Bobby Fischer.
Robert James Fischer
Country United States, Iceland
Born March 9, 1943(1943-03-09)
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died January 17, 2008 (aged 64)
Reykjavík, Iceland
Title Grandmaster
World Champion 1972–1975 (FIDE)
Peak rating 2785 (July 1972)
This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves.
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer (March 9, 1943 – January 17, 2008) was an American-born chess Grandmaster, and the eleventh World Chess Champion.
Fischer became famous as a teenager as a chess prodigy. In 1972, he became the first, and so far the only, American to win the official World Chess Championship,[1] defeating defending champion Boris Spassky in a match held in Reykjavík, Iceland. The match was widely publicized as a Cold War battle. He is often referred to as one of the greatest chess players of all time. Iceland subsequently awarded citizenship to Fischer in recognition of a 30-year-old match that put the country "on the map".[2]
In 1975, Fischer failed to defend his title when he could not come to agreement with the international chess federation FIDE over the conditions for the match. He became more reclusive and played no more competitive chess until 1992, when he had a rematch with Spassky. The competition was held in Yugoslavia, which was then under a strict United Nations embargo.[3][4][5] This led to a conflict with the US government, and he never returned to his native country.
In his later years, Fischer lived in Hungary, Germany, the Philippines and Japan. During this time he made increasingly anti-American and antisemitic statements. During the 2004–2005 time period, after his US passport was revoked, he was detained by Japanese authorities for nine months under threat of extradition. He was then granted Icelandic citizenship and released to Iceland by the Japanese authorities. He lived in Iceland from 2005 until his death in 2008.
Wow, I am impressed Teresa! You must have done a research paper on him in high school or something. I am equally impressed that you could recall so many facts from your high school year on such short notice. Do you take some kind of Gin-sing or something?
Bobby Fischer was mentally deranged and he behaved in an utterly vile manner. He married Miyoko Watai as a way of staying in Japan and avoiding US authorities. Miyoko Watai was and still is the President of the Japan Chess Association. She is a master level player. She has been the Japan Women's champion on a number of occasions. I played in the Japan National Championship Tournament three different years. In my third year, I was matched against her in the 6th or 7th round. We played until adjournment (about 3 hours of game play). I had an advantage and we were to continue the game the next day. When I arrived at the tournament hall, she had resigned. It is legal to consult with other players during adjournment. I didn't, but she did and the other players told her that there was no way for her to win.
To be totally honest, she wasn't married to BF at the time, but she was a big fan. The game turned out to be one of the notable events in my life. I have victories over other FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs) masters, but I have lost to them more times than I can count. Chess anyone?
Well, you would surely beat the sockes off of me. I don't want to go against you! Congrats on your victories....on even being able to compete with the likes of them! That is so ccol. Brian....I just copied and pasted that from the internet....no sweat off of my brow. I can't play chess, but I can copy and paste! Oh...and I play the piano a little too.
Teresa
That is a cool story Alan. Thanks for sharing. I have tried to play Alan in years past but I think he got bored after the first minute or two. I would make my first move of Queens pawn to Queen pawn three and he would say something like, "oh, you're trying the Kasperian Offense, huh!?" I would just say "sure".
Enjoyed reading the stories. I am quite impressed Alan. I personally know very little about the game but Kaz did a little chess club at school when he was in 2nd grade and loved it.
Kaz could beat me too.
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