Endgame

Bobby Fischer’s Remarkable Rise and Fall—from America’s Brightest Prodigy to the Edge of Madness

By: Frank Brady

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

From Frank Brady, who wrote one of the best-selling books on Bobby Fischer of all time and who was himself a friend of Fischer’s, comes an impressively researched biography that for the first time completely captures the remarkable arc of Bobby Fischer’s life. When Bobby Fischer passed away in January 2008, he left behind a confounding legacy. Everyone knew the basics of his life—he began as a brilliant youngster, then became the pride of American chess, then took a sharp turn, struggling with paranoia and mental illness. But nobody truly understood him.

What motivated Fischer from such a young age, and what was the source of his remarkable intellect? How could a man so ambivalent about money and fame be so driven to succeed? What drew this man of Jewish descent to fulminate against Jews, and how was it that a mind so famously disciplined could unravel so completely? From Fischer’s meteoric rise, to an utterly dominant prime unequaled by any American chess player, to his eventual descent into madness, the book draws upon hundreds of newly discovered documents and recordings and numerous firsthand interviews conducted with those who knew Fischer best. It paints, for the very first time, a complete picture of one of America’s most enigmatic icons. This is the definitive account of a fascinating man and an extraordinary life, one that at last reconciles Fischer’s deeply contradictory legacy and answers the question, who was Bobby Fischer?

©2011 Frank Brady (P)2011 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“The Mozart of the chessboard is inseparable from the monster of paranoid egotism in this fascinating biography. Brady, founding publisher of Chess Life magazine and a friend of Fischer, gives a richly detailed account of the impoverished Brooklyn wunderkind’s sensational opening…Brady gives us a vivid, tragic narrative of a life that became a chess game.” (Publishers Weekly)

“I learned something new on nearly every page of this wonderful book. Frank Brady is the perfect biographer for Bobby Fischer, and Endgame tells the full and fair story of Fischer’s astonishing rise and heartbreaking fall." (Christopher Chabris, author of The Invisible Gorilla )

“Fischer is America’s greatest antihero. This fascinating biography is filled with hope, Cold War intrigue, the fulfillment of genius, and an explosive fall from grace that is both deeply moving and, ultimately, profoundly sad.” (Jeremy Silman, author of The Amateur’s Mind)

A Great Life Portrait

The first book I ever read on Chess was Bobby Fisher teaches chess published in 1966 which inspired me to join the chess club in junior high school and follow Bobby'€™s rise and eventual fall.

This book is an amazing life portrait of a chess genius who lived a life of both poverty and wealth but was always troubled and self-destructive. It is insightful and riveting and gives context to the chaotic series of events that was Bobby Fishers life.

If you have any interest in chess or how excessive genus has its own inherent problems, especially when coupled with poverty, this is a great read. If you have read Malcome Gladwell’s book Outlines and his discussion on genius and success (or lack thereof) especially in the life of Christopher Langan (IQ 195) there are some staggering similarities. Bobby'€™s IQ was 180 and he had a number of the same problems Gladwell describes in the life of Langan, especially when it comes to authority figures and paranoia of the '€˜system'€™. As a reference point Einstein's IQ was 150.

Sad story of a sad man

This is a story of an absolute control freak. A shallow empty chasm only interested in people and situations which he has complete control. The only people who remained in his life were financially motivation. All fault is placed on others and no understanding that negative behavior toward others have an impact show they treat him. Absolutely no gratitude, like the concept eluded him.

Great story with very good details

Would you listen to Endgame again? Why?

Yes. Very interesting story of a very odd character.

What did you like best about this story?

The description on Fisher throughout different times in his life.

Have you listened to any of Ray Porter’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. It was very compelling.

Any additional comments?

This story is well researched and well narrated. I loved this book and recommend it to everyone.

well done!

love the story, Bobby's life story is so compelling and so tragic, the narration was done very well, only downside was so many mispronounced names, but other than that it was great... I'm currently listening to it a second time.

Must like Chess

You must really like chess in order to enjoy this book. I do not so it was impossible for me to stay interested. I love Ray Porter as a narrator so I gave this a chance hoping for a good story about Bobby Fischer. There was so much chess references that I found myself bored. I guess Bobby Fischer literally didn’t do anything but chess. Maybe I will give it another try later but as for now, I just can’t finish it.

Not Enough For Chess Lovers, Too Much For The Rest

What did you like best about Endgame? What did you like least?

The author gives a thourough account of Bobby Fischer's Life from childhood untill his death in Iceland in 2008. There are quite a few entertaining anecdotes spread throughout and the auther does an okay job of bringing Bobby's chess battles to life. However, the author never really goes into detail about any of the games. Chess players looking for actual strategy will find none. However, someone who is not familiar with chess on more than a basic level will have thrown thier way numerous lists of chess masters, grandmasters, chessbooks, internal politics of national and international chess organizations, etc. I personally found this mostly interesting, but I can see how someone outside of the chess world would not. Possibly the worst thing about this book is not really the author's fault, and that is that Bobby Fischer just isn't a likeable character. No doub't his radical personality is interesting, but mostly he's annoying and the reader doesn't really have anybody to root for. Overall the book is interesting and satisfying, if a bit tedious.

Any additional comments?

The narrator does a good job. his voice is pleasant and not distracting. However, rather amusingly, his accents all sound the same, no matter what nationality he's trying to depict. Still, he's on of the better narrator's I've listened to in a while.

A great surprise

Any additional comments?

I had no background on Bobby Fischer before listening to this book. I was hooked from the start. One moment I would be rooting for him and the next I would be screaming at him. Its the type of story that is impossible to put down and leaves with questions of what could have been.

I love it!

It's a detailed look at how Bobby Fischer acheived greatness! It's a wonderful book! Just buy it.

Genius on the edge of madness

I was intrigued by the story of Bobby Fisher. I knew his life changed dramatically after winning the word championship, but had little knowledge outside of this fact. This is an incredible (often times sad) story of the greatest chess player in the world and how personal fears and hate engulfed his life. The narrator does an outstanding job of telling Bobby’s story. If you’re curious to know more about Bobby, I highly recommend Frank Brady’s narrative.

The greatest chess master ever?

This book represents the entire life of Bobby Fisher and declares him to be the greatest chess player ever. He was definitely one of the greatest players. But Bobby never agreed to play Karpo v or Kasparov for the championship and this leaves the question open.

That question aside, this book is a fascinating read which goes into depth into the psyche of Fischer and his great gift.