Bobby Fischer Goes to War

The True Story of How the Soviets Lost t

De: David Edmonds, John Eidinow

Narrado por: Sam Tsoutsouvas

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, authors of the national bestseller Wittgenstein's Poker, 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 Drawing upon unpublished Soviet and U.S. records, the authors reconstruct the full and incredible saga, one far more poignant and layered than hitherto believed.

Against the backdrop of superpower politics, the authors recount the careers and personalities of Boris Spassky, the product of Stalin's imperium, and Bobby Fischer, a child of post-World War II America, an era of economic boom at home and communist containment abroad. The two men had nothing in common but their gift for chess, and the disparity of their outlook and values conditioned the struggle over the board.

Then there was the match itself, which produced both creative masterpieces and some of the most improbable gaffes in chess history. And finally, there was the dramatic and protracted off-the-board battle -- in corridors and foyers, in back rooms and hotel suites, in Moscow offices and in the White House.

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.

A mesmerizing narrative of brilliance and triumph, hubris and despair, Bobby Fischer Goes to War is a biting deconstruction of the Bobby Fischer myth, a nuanced study on the art of brinkmanship, and a revelatory cold war tragicomedy.

©2004 David Edmonds and John Eidinow; (P)2004 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

A fascinating event, a peculiar man

What a truly peculiar individual Bobby Fischer is/was! I found myself, as an American, ashamed of Fischer's behavior throughout the match. It comes under the category of truth being stranger than fiction.

The cold war aspects are truly interesting and integrated well into the narrative.

I admit that I have a new interest and appreciation for chess and the people who play it with great skill. The story is read well (especially all those challenging Russian names).

awesome

great book. well done. u loced it and u will too. enjoy this great book

Great info, a little dry for first half

A great reading, the beginning is dry as we talk about the background that helped to build up the match. I have done a lot of personal research on this match and felt like all of the information was accurate but some items were glossed over, id imagine to focus on the match itself, the analog about Regina Fisher is probably one of the best insights to Bobbys early life and may have been my favorite part, despite it being at the very end, it's a great 40 min. Enjoy!

Great but too critical

Bobby Fischer Goes to War is about the most epic chess match in the history of mankind... Fischer vs Spassky in Iceland... That being said, the writers go out of their way to portray Fischer in a negative light. I do think a lot of what they say about him is accurate, but clearly Bobby Fischer had his issues and I don’t think he needs to be roasted for that. Besides that, this book is a great walk down memory lane for chess fans or really anyone who is interested in Bobby Fischer. Enjoy!

Engrossing

This is the enjoyable background story behind the immortal Fischer-Spassky chess match of 1972, the one that held the world spellbound and caused chess to become fashionable. No chess knowledge is necessary to appreciate this book. It not only sheds light on the chess world but on the relationship between the USSR and the US, a relationship that is no doubt being forgotten by the post-USSR generation. The most revealing moments in the book are the descriptions of the behind-the-scene struggles of the Soviets as it became clear that Spassky was losing the match. Much of the story is familiar to chess afficionados, but this retelling adds a bit of depth. It not only discusses Fischer's life and demise, but that of Spassky and many others in the chess world, from Steinitz to Paul Morphy to Tal, Petrosian, Smyslov, and even current #1 Garry Kasparov. This is a must-listen for chessplayers. Recommended further reading: "The Pathetic Endgame of Bobby Fischer", which I think is still available on the Atlantic Monthly web site. The only drawbacks of the book are its popular and somewhat superficial approach and the indications that its narrator and/or author are not particularly outstanding chess players. Fischer's incredible 6-0 victories over Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen are also discussed, along with various paranoid theories about how he achieved his victories, when it is clear that he was always a formidable talent and thus didn't need skullduggery to shake the chess world.