Searching for Bobby Fischer

By Dave "Large" Larzelere

"Mr. Fischer won with such brilliance and dramatic flair that he became an icon, an unassailable representative of greatness in the world of competitive games, much as Babe Ruth had been and Michael Jordan would become."

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The above quote is taken from Bruce Weber’s obit for Bobby Fischer today in the New York Times, and I reference it only because I think it puts Fischer’s achievement in proper perspective to the sports fan, although one would have to admit that in fact Bobby Fischer’s legend dwarfs that of either Jordan or the Babe.

Last year I reviewed Michael Weinreb’s book, The Kings of New York, which is about the high stakes high-school chess scene in Brooklyn. The most striking thing about the book to me was the extent to which the legend of Bobby Fischer still hovers over the chess world at every level. And not just because of the cult of personality, not because he was a difficult and iconoclastic madman. Chess people are obsessed with Fischer because he was such a visionary player that even now, over thirty years after his most significant matches, they still can’t quite comprehend the vicissitudes of his genius.

In this way, Mozart seems a more apt comparison than Jordan. Something tells me that twenty years from now, basketball will not still be shaking its head in disbelief at MJ’s game. Which is not to say that he won’t be respected, and even rightfully argued as the best who ever played. But look – we don’t sit around today and wonder how Oscar Robertson managed to do what he did. The game itself caught up to the Big O and surpassed him a long time ago.

Chess still hasn’t caught up to Bobby Fischer, and like Mozart in music, that simply may never happen. It’s difficult to really respect and celebrate Fischer because of the objectionable and hateful lunatic that he became. Nevertheless, it’s very possible that the genius of the man who died today will still be inspiring awe in people a hundred, two hundred years from now. That’s a rare kind of achievement, a heavy trip indeed.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.