Smile, Bobby You're on TV

Chessgames.com is a remarkable chess resource (you can find a link on the Rooty Hill home page) which, among other things, allows members to host their own forums. It's a great way to share information, especially about chess.

Bobby Fischer 1972

One man who took advantage of the forum is an IT student who uses the pseudonym "hitman84". His latest contribution is to provide links to a set of videos about Bobby Fischer. Some are interviews with Fischer, some show him walking around, while a third shows a very young Fischer giving a simul. Another video is a brief (but not unsympathetic) interview with Karpov about the missed title defence.

Mig Greengard, a well-known Chessbase writer once said, "Fischer is an American Chess tragedy on par with Morphy and Pillsbury" and these videos show a little of both sides of the man. Sure, he was a tragedy—but he was also the brightest star ever to shine in the American chess firmament.

These videos are brief and load very quickly via ADSL. If you only have a dial-up connection they are probably still watchable.

•   "Fischer is like Zeus: the God of the gods."
•   Interview with Fischer
•   Reykjavik 1972
•   "This is my reply to my order not to defend my title here…"
•   Fischer and Tal
•   Fischer at tournament
•   Simul—a very young Fischer
•   Karpov speaks about Fischer   (Only the introduction is in Dutch.)

Should you wish to see hitman84's forum you can find it HERE, while my own forum is HERE. Drop in sometime and surprise both of us.

Hitman is from India and apart from his forum at ChessGames.com he has an excellent chess blog. It's informative, entertaining, and well worth a visit. You can find it HERE

                              —Story:   David Evans