Robert James ‘Bobby’ Fischer, Part 1
How I “Met” Him
I first discovered Bobby Fischer back in 2021, during the pandemic. It was actually through a video titled “One of My Favorite Games Where Fischer Played Like a Computer!!” posted on November 19, 2021 by Satranç Analizleri. At that time, I didn’t really play chess much nor did I have much of an opinion about it.
From Blunders to Curiosity
But in 2022/2023 my curiosity slowly grew. I started playing some games with a friend, both of us making ridiculous blunders :P and sometimes winning purely by luck. Those amateur-level games made me realize I wanted to learn more! Not just about chess itself but also its history. Eh, being a history enthusiast I naturally gravitated toward Fischer because his name had been stuck in my mind ever since I first heard it.
Diving Into His Legend
As I dove deeper I learned about his legendary Candidates run, his World Championship match, his refusal to defend WC title and of course; all the public narratives around him: “mental issues,” “paranoia” and all that. Despite not agreeing with many of his views, I still developed enormous respect for him. He’s someone I often think “I wish I could’ve met him.” even though he was known for being a deeply private and difficult person to truly talk to :D