I grew up in the 60s when chess was not popular as it is today. No chess player those days considered themselves as chess professionals; they usually have full-time jobs and chess was just a past time. Then the world was mesmerized with this Bobby Fischer, the American player whose only job was to play chess. He had the greatest run in the late 60s and the early 70s, then won the world championship in 1972. A lot of people do not know chess history because they were not yet born in those days and were not exposed to the environment at that time. Some would say "Bobby Fischer is not the greatest chess player of all time". Are you kidding me? Soviet Union in the 50s until the 70s has a stranglehold on chess. It has more than 200 grandmasters and at least 20 of them are tough as nails-Spassky, Petrosian, Botvinnik, Tal, Geller, Korchnoi, Smyslov, Keres, Polugaevsky, to name a few. Soviet players have salaries and perks that other nations cannot provide. The Soviet Union Chess Federation cannot be controlled by FIDE, it was the other way around. Fischer was a solitary knight battling a well-organized, well-coached, well informed (Soviet GMs share their research to their own) coven of dragons hell bent of perpetuating their grip on the game of chess. Fischer fought, not just the tag-team Soviet players, but the Soviet chess system as well. He has some support from the USCF but those pales in comparison to those provided by USSR to its players. In the face of those adversities and very long odds, he triumphed by sheer talent and persistence. He did his own research. So, who of the other chess "GOATs" went through all of that? Nobody. After Fischer won in 1972, chess was elevated to the sporting echelon it deserves. Chess tournaments offered better purses. Chess professionals got the recognition they deserve. All because of what Bobby Fischer has started and todays players are reaping the benefits.
Yes, Bobby Fischer was the Greatest of All Time because virtually single handedly he defeated the entire Soviet Union who's national game was chess. After him, the World Champions were Team Leaders of their staffs.
Even before Fischer's WC run, the Soviets were notorious for cheating by arranging draws to preserve the strength of their top-tier players. The Soviets were one big team with the goal of showing that Socialist Man was superior. Then Fischer. Then Kasparov (who was, ideologically, not a Soviet).
who cares about ideology? Just focus on the players. Fisher, Karpov, Kasparov were all great players, regardless of where they came from. It would have been incredibly interesting to see a young Karpov go up against Fisher.
Fischer is a man for all ages, with his steely determination, work ethic, and talent, as well as his crystal clear understanding of chess. I chuckle and shake my head when critics post comments stating that current super GMs would mop the floor with him. I always counter with bring Fischer back from the dead and allow him time to study current theory, practice and compete, and equip him with a computer. He would be terrifying to play against.
If, if, if, all impossible ifs. I guess you are carried away with some kind of love and admiration for Fischer, which I understand. My guess is, as good as your guess, that Karpov, Kasparov, Carlsen, all at their best, would have given Fischer at his best a hard time.
@@paulbloemen7256 another disgruntled European who holds disdain for the highly talented American maverick who single handedly dethroned the cheating Russians. I did not include a single “if” in my first comment. Get over the fact that Fischer is a man for all ages.
@@paulbloemen7256Fischer himself observed that it’s impossible to compare great players from different eras because chess theory evolves over time. But in terms of sheer natural talent, I think it’s likely that Fischer was the most talented player who ever lived because he achieved such total dominance of chess entirely on his own, unlike the Soviet players like Karpov and Kasparov, who were carefully groomed and supported by the state. Fischer was a lone chess genius, studying chess all by himself in a roach infested apartment in Brooklyn. He demolished the Soviet chess machine all by himself. And he won 20 consecutive games at the very highest level going into the chess championship against Spassky. His Elo rating was way, way above anyone else at that time, including Karpov. Again, we can’t really compare, we can only speculate. But I think it’s fair to say that Fischer was a natural phenomenon, a chess super-genius, who crushed his opponents, just demolished them.
@@syourke3 Fischer was a great player, the best of his era, that stopped in 1972. Some call him the greatest of all time, GOAT, which I think is not the case. Right now that title should go to Carlsen. And I am fairly sure, my guess is as good as yours maybe, that Fischer would have lost to Karpov. Karpov was super strong in 1975, would undoubtedly be super prepared, and he was mentally strong. Fischer would have been rusty, not having played any serious game we know of in 3 years, and he was mentally vulnerable: he would have been at the defensive side, with his title at stake which he could only lose, not win. Karpov would have been at the offensive side, had everything to fight for, like winning that title. My guess (again) is that Fischer knew this all, and decided not to play, having a really lame excuse if you want to call it that way. To me, that was unforgivable, Fischer fell very deep in my opinion about him.
Indeed. It's a good illustration of the quote: "The winner is the player who makes the next to last mistake" - Tartakower. Although Fischer didn't actually win, he did well to hang on until Walther gave him a chance.
When Fischer won the championship, the Soviet Chess Federation was quick to criticize him as a greedy capitalist. But Spassky defended Fischer by saying that Fischer was a great union boss because he had raised the wages of the working class. Thanks to Fischer Spassky, Karpov, Kasparov, Korchnoi greatly benefited in their matches. And Magnus looks like an athlete with the commercial endorsements on his clothes.
Spassky was the consummate gentleman. When Fischer was sought by the U.S. for his inappropriate comments about 9-11, Japan jailed him for extradition. Spassky begged the Japanese to release him, and said if you won’t release him, but me in with him and give us a chess set. Absolutely mind blowing that he would advocate for the man he took the world championship from him….
Games like this make me wonder how many games did I lose by resignation that were in fact theoretical draws. Thanks for presenting this fascinating game. 👍🏻
Mastery...he studied theory from books and analyzed games for thousands of hours over the board. Hard to fathom how much better he would've been with the aid of computers. (*cough* far better than Magnus)
13:42 -- it's honestly *SO WEIRD* that, after Black's Bd2, White *did NOT* play *Ka4* ... O_o So weird, honestly... With his *b6 instead* , he practically enforced the draw, when he still had winning chances... .
Walther played so brillantly the opening and the middle game, and spoiled everything in the endgame. Surely in time trouble, but what difference of level in the phases of the game! The contrary, playing weak middle games and super endings, is rarely seen.
14:19 Well, I think Fischer doesn't need to bring his king ever to h8 in this position. He can just move his king to b7 and his bishop to g3 and there is nothing white can do from there.
Who said there were no computers back then. It was placed right between Fischer's ears. There has been two great chess entities over the years. Now it is Fishy, back then it was Fischy!
12:20 -- it's funny... I -- despite being only a no-name anonymous online chesser, could *IMMEDIATELY spot **_b4_* as the winning move... O_o Does that make me *PRO ?? :D*
Bunny Rodgers not a chess player, but a coffee house waitress 1951-1957 could serve up pancakes and eggs over easy with the best of them. Stockfish however does not approve of her survivalist style lifestyle, but she came back and founded the Bunny Rodgers House of Ham, in Middlebrook, New Jersey, and the rest is history.❤
The easiest method IMO is to park the bishop on g3, then step back and forth with the king on a7 and b8. Just remember to check with the bishop if white ever plays Kc6, threatening a7#
Just reacting to the title of this video: despite all the amazing achievements of Fischer he isn’t the GOAT to me, as he refused to play Karpov in 1975. Had he played Karpov, and beaten him, Fischer could be called the GOAT (of his generation), but I doubt Fischer could have beaten that oh so differently playing Karpov. I feel Karpov is underestimated because of Kasparov, but what Karpov achieved was tremendous: Fischer should have played him, but now we can argue Fischer might have been afraid of Karpov.
Re-examine the results of the candidates leading up to 1972. Fischer rekt the entire Soviet hegemony - a state-sponsored chess machine - pretty much singlehandedly. The results of those matches is outrageous. There's nothing special about Karpov; he was just a great player. Kasparov was the one to beat but now we're crossing eras.
@@tonyennis1787 As I said: amazing achievements. But, he should have played Karpov. Him not playing for 3 years after 1972 didn’t help for sure, as Euwe told us later (he gave our club a simultaneous event!) Fischer lived in a different world. My guess is, Fischer would have lost, and Fischer maybe felt so too, who knows. If you want to be GOAT, you cannot afford such an attitude.
@@paulbloemen7256 your doing fuzzy statements with a categorical tone but statements are based on (romantic) suppositions. Facts doesn t leeds to what you mean, you have to suppose and dream something to state something else, your analyse - if it can be called so - has abbsolutaly no relevence
Fischer had been messed over by fide and the Russian grip on it. He wanted draws not to count and to play to 10 wins. As far as Fischer was concerned and what the world already knew for many years he was the best player in the world and did not need to submit to the so called governing authorities who he felt denied him of his rightful title. Fischer believed that the Russian players were saving their energy for him by drawing with each other easily but going all out on him. Fischer is goat because he took down an entire system and empire fully committed to chess and whom had dominated it completely for several decades.
I do enjoy your analysis of these games with Bobby Fischer, however you are like one of those really frustrating teachers we had in school, who instead of teaching to the average student, you are teaching to the smartest student in the class and consequently losing a huge amount of potential viewers, like myself. If you would just slow down a bit when showing all the different possible moves that could be made, not only would it be so much more enjoyable to watch, but it would be so much more educational. It's almost like watching "speed chess."
How could he be, when he didn't challenge Gary Kasparov ? A real G.O.A.T would never run away from the best and the truth. Bobby Fisher is not the G.O.A.T. Common sense.
@davidfoster2006 when light appears, darkness disappears. GOD alone is truth. A lie is truth perverted. And GOD alone is Creator. satan cannot create; he can only pervert what had been created. he hates GOD and runs from the truth or when he knows that he no longer had the upper hand, he, the scare-crow will flee away. Similarly , all his followers. A G.O.A.T must prove that he is truly a G.O.A.T. Simple common sense stuff.
@@DL_GB According to World Champion Max Euwe, who told us students loving chess, Fischer lived “in a different world”, which to me means, Fischer was a bit mad. I don’t care at all about Fischer’s “achievements” outside of the chess board, which are absolutely minimal if not worse, I focus on him as a chess player. He was a great, great chess player, but he refused to play Karpov, which to me, as a chess lover, is unforgivable. Furthermore, I think Fischer would have lost that match against that new, fresh, eager chess machine Karpov, and I believe Fischer thought so too. Hence, his refusal can be seen as cowardly, I see it that way, and a coward never can be GOAT.
@@DL_2025 Well, World Champion Euwe knew the chess world in quite a profound way. He also was the referee of the Spasski - Fischer match in Reykjavik, so he knew Fischer quite well too, had experienced a lot of his shenanigans. I don’t doubt his erudite view on Fischer. I’m sure he respected Fischer as a player, which could walk hand in hand with Fischer “living in a different world”.
@@DL_GB I think Euwe got it right, he always was a mild but straight thinking man. Insane are your words, let me put it in my words, keeping the tone of the music a bit light: Fischer was a great player, but a goat, not a GOAT.
Fischer's rating today taking into account inflation would be the highest ever. There is an argument for him to GOAT. This is subjective. It's not a science.
